Christmas Eve Morning

We had breakfast on Christmas Eve at Uncle Jerry and Aunt Mary's house.  Mary is a great cook and we had a wonderful breakfast. 

Jesse, Karen, and Piper

Simon with Grandma Ann

Masha and Karen just chatting

Simon and Grandpa Rich

Visiting Friends

We went to Salt Lake for a few days before heading to Idaho for Christmas.  We were able to see quite a few friends and some family. 

We had lunch with my friend Silvia and her husband Antonio.  It had been too long since we had seen them. 

We also visited my Aunt Marci and her family.  We met my cousins new baby and Piper watched "The Wizard of Oz" for the first time.

Crazily enough we were able to arrange dinner with my old roommate Kristin and her family.  I hadn't seen her in over seven years and hadn't met her family.  It was fun visiting with her again. 

And we got to see our friend Lofi from our old ward in Sydney.  She's serving a mission at Temple Square.  We tried to find her on Friday afternoon but she wasn't there.  I left my phone number and she called us that evening.  We got to see her the next day and she looked great.  It was so fun seeing her and hearing her little Aussie accent again.

Piper at Kristin's house

Simon's at Kristin's house

Kristin and me.  Please ignore my fatness - horizontal stripes were not a good choice.

Piper at Temple Square

The family with Lofi.  Simon was in the car seat.

Bathtime

Piper likes helping me give Simon a bath.  Here they are being silly, though from Simon's expression you would think that he's less than amused.

Mega Brows

At a White Elephant party we ended up with an poster of President Obama and these crazy Mega Brows.  They were so silly.  Really we should have put them on Simon 'cause that would have been genuinely hilarious.  Cheap fun is always good.

These were the Grandpa eyebrows.

These were the Angry Scotsman eyebrows.

The Unibrow, of course.

Gingerbread houses

Back in December I decided to decorate gingerbread houses with Piper.  We did it last year too but this year we invited some friends over.  Sorry for the somewhat crazy photography, I was trying to help Piper while keeping from getting frosting all over me at the same time.  We had lots of fun and lots of candy.

Emily and her three boys

Piper, Anne, Hank, and Ellie

Gratitude Revisited

I was feeling a need for a dose of gratitude today.  So in no particular order, here are some things I'm grateful for.

1. Despite Piper's mega-tantrum in the car, which included screaming "you're a naughty poop" at me over and over, she didn't wake Simon from his nap.

2. Amid the seemingly endless barrage of idiot drivers today I was able to keep my cool and stay safe, though I may have muttered a bit of colorful commentary under my breath.

3. I have a healthy body that functions properly.  It may not be the shape or size that I want it to be but at least I'm not sick.

4. I got in a mid-morning nap today while Piper was at pre-school and while Simon was sleeping.  It was just the perfect length.

5. Milk.  This might sound odd but it's a great and filling snack for me, on its own or paired with something else.

6. After a little coercion Piper tried the bell peppers and mushrooms in last night's chicken cacciatore and liked them.

7. The prospect of getting a much-needed haircut this weekend.

I'm Still Alive

I'm here but we're still adjusting from our trip.  I have to upload the pictures from our trip.  Stay tuned.