2008 In Review

I just read my review of 2007 and I'm so glad I did it. So, even though some of the questions aren't worth asking twice, I'm going to sum up 2008.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Saw a child of mine be baptized. Serve in a Relief Society Presidency. Made my blog private for a while.

Before the plunge.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn't make any although I secretly always resolve to lose weight. I do have one for 2009, however. I am going to try one new thing every month.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Clark and Stephanie welcomed Ethan into the world bringing the grand total of my nieces and nephews to 29.

Little Ethan (photo ripped from his mom's blog)

4. Did anyone close to you die? President Hinckley died in January and although I didn't know him personally, I miss his enthusiastic leadership still.

5. What countries did you visit? No countries, but I did visit South Carolina and Georgia, two states I had never been to before.

Maureen and me on Tybee Beach in Georgia

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A place to call my own. Or at least definite plans to have a place of our own.

Our current rental

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 24. Jay's last day of his ten year medical education, fourteen year post-high school education and 26th year of total learning.

Jay at his end of the year ceremony for the University of Utah radiology department.

8. What was your biggest personal achievement of the year? Driving almost 4,000 miles with my three boys by myself. I love when my independent spirit and wanderlust combine for a memorable odyssey. Or having my review of Thousand Splendid Suns win a prize on Goodreads.com

My boys and I at Mt. Rainier

9. What was your biggest failure? Losing a friendship.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? No, but Jay's illness has certainly had an impact on everyone.

11. What was the best thing you bought? A treadmill. I can't claim any drastic improvement in my health, but I'm still excited about the opportunity and convenience it provides me.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Sam learned to read this year.

Sam and his kindergarten teacher

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The banks, Wall Street, the government and anyone involved in the dismal economic situation our country now finds itself in.

14. Where did most of your money go? Moving is expensive. Between the lost deposit on our last rental (they claimed the carpet was beyond repair. Which, when you live with Henry, you have to expect) the deposit on this rental, paying people to help load the truck, renting the truck, the gas, etc. etc.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? I got really, really, really excited about living in the middle of the mountains but I'm kind of over it now.

Not a great picture but I did do more hiking this year than I've done in a long time.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? I don't ever listen to the radio but if there has been a song I've personally beat to the ground on my ipod, it would be Rhianna's Please Don't Stop The Music.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? 
b) thinner or fatter? 
c) richer or poorer?
a) Happier. I made some great friends last year and already feel blessed to know some great people here. My parents are home and more accessible, my boys are growing and dazzling me daily and my husband is happy in his career and achievements.
b) A little thinner. I'm 15 pounds lighter than I was last January. A start, at least.
c) Richer. Finally.

Welcome home Mom and Dad!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I would have liked to have gone camping at least once but it never happened. I also wish I had done more work on my food storage. I always wish I had more opportunities to sing.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Less grumbling. If I could take back all of the grumbling I made other people listen to - I and they would be a much better for it.

20. Did you fall in love in 2008? I love facebook and how easy it has made reconnecting with old friends.

21. What was your favorite TV program? We watched Flight of the Concords on DVD. Hilarious. Now, I want to watch them all again.



22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Still not a hater.

23. What was the best book you read? I read the entire Book of Mormon in January and that was a great experience for me. Since it falls into it's own genre of scripture, I'd say the best non-scripture book I read was The Book Thief or maybe The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. My total was 79 books for the year.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery? I think this is a funny question. I don't discover anyone. Right now, I'm really enjoying MGMT's Electric Feel. I had never heard of the Ting Tings before, but I have three of their sons on itunes now (Shut Up and Let Me Go, Great DJ and That's Not My Name) that are all highly enjoyable. I also love the soundtrack from the movie Once.

25. What did you want and get? Henry to have speech therapy. He's really come a long ways.

Henry and Marilyn during therapy

26. What did you want and not get? You know what I wrote last year? My car not getting detailed. Guess what didn't happen again this year. Add another years mess, a cracked windshield, blinkers that don't turn off automatically, an XM radio that no longer works, snow that makes me slide and spin and my van is not my favorite thing. But I think I'd like it more if it were detailed.

27. What was your favorite film of this year? My favorite movie theater movie was 27 dresses. Pleasant film. My favorite rental was probably Lars and the Real Girl. Just well done, I thought.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 33. I spent the majority of the day feeling sorry for myself but my sisters and parents were gems that tried their best to make it a special day, even though I was on the last legs of a long trip and away from my Jay.

A birthday kiss from Sam

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If Jay had been healthy.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Lady in Brown. I bought a lot of brown shirts this year.

31. What kept you sane? Books, family, friends. all...my lifelines.

Our family: January 2008

10 More Years Is Fine With Me

I just finished a game of Star Wars Monopoly with Seth and Jay. Sam started to play with us (as part of Jay's team) but very quickly got bored when he realized the star wars figurines never actually fight.

I have never liked Monopoly. I remember playing it once with my brother when I was about ten and it taking pretty much the entire day. I played it again with Jay a decade ago...before kids and before spending three to four hours at a time doing anything felt like a luxury. Yes, for a game that is as ubiquitous as Monopoly, I have avoided playing it most of my life.

Surprisingly, the game was fun, at first. We were all buying up property - Jay scheming in a way he never would in real life. Seth showed his typical caution, avoiding anything that might stretch his cash flow. I had unlucky rolls and seemed to fall way behind on the property ownership.

Seth said more than one time, "This is a really fun game!" and got excited every time anyone had to pay him $14 dollars in rent. Jay kept going into more and more debt for, what I considered, risky investments (I'm seriously glad he doesn't handle our own finances as he does his play money). I didn't do anything dramatic but with Jay mortgaged up to his eye balls and Seth's low rent on his properties, my own wealth began to accumulate.

As anyone that has ever played Monopoly knows, the game becomes miserable for the losers. Seth's enthusiasm waned more and more as his cause became hopeless. Jay had a tight-lipped smile at the end but I know he was just trying to show Seth how to be a good sport. I quietly accepted each of their hundreds of dollars in payments and almost wished I were the one losing instead.

Seth went bankrupt and left the table quickly and quietly to avoid any tears. Jay showed me how he felt about my winning ways with a sly finger gesture (but with a smile so I took no offense) and the game ended in victory a mere three hours later. That's called fun for the whole family, people.

So...yeah. I'm good. I'm pretty sure I don't need to play Monopoly for at least another decade.

Are you a Monopoly lover or hater?

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008 has come and gone.. We have about three feet of snow outside our house and it's still snowing. In case you feel all googly eyed, envying all our sledding and skiing, let me restore your normal vision by declaring that we do not feel it's safe to venture out in either of our 2WD vehicles and I left all the boys' snow clothes at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Christmas Eve, thinking it would be easier as we planned on returning the following day to snowmobile. Sooooooo.......I've got time. And the inclination to blog. Beware.

Christmas Eve has been long been at the top of my list of favorite days. I love the anticipation. I love the jubilee. I love the songs and the food and the pretty packages still protected from their future harassment.

Certainly, the day's positive image gets a boost from my happy childhood memories. While there were a few too many last minute shopping trips in which my reputation as a bad gift giver was cemented (Jon's giant Hershey kiss still wins the prize, I think. Or maybe Maureen's glass piano. Or Emily's vanity. All were purchased at a drug store for convenience), mostly the day was spent hanging out with my family, driving through the neighborhood where each street and driveway was silhouetted by luminaries, snacking on smoky cheese, summer sausage and crackers, sipping on ginger ale, caroling in the glow of candlelight and listening to my father read the Christmas story.

This year, Christmas Eve felt unbelievably ordinary. Not wanting to repeat my late-night wrapping marathon of last year, I had all gifts wrapped the day before. I had cleaned the day before as well - really wanting to allow Christmas Eve to be as special as I remembered it. Jay worked, the boys were on day three of vacation so much of the home-from-school novelty had worn off. We watched Kung-Fu Panda together (really funny. Jack Black is great) made fudge and played in the snow. I had soup in the crock-pot and we weren't due over at Grandpa and Grandmas until 6:00. Then, all of a sudden, the day became unbearably annoying. My kids weren't listening to me, my patience was thin and it all felt so unfair. This was a magical day! And I had run out of magic.

By 3:30, the four of us sat in the McDonald's play land....me, wishing myself in Montana, my children probably having the best time of the day so far. I looked around at the other sorry souls who occupied the restaurant and wondered if they either didn't celebrate Christmas or had no where else to go. My bleeding heart kicked in and I imagined their stories -- alone on Christmas, passed over and ignored by the merry and bright. I wanted to invite them all to my in-laws until I realized I looked every bit as sorry as them. Maybe they were just killing a few hours too. Maybe they dislike ham...or turkey...and wanted a full stomach before showing up for their own party. In any case, I fully repented of an earlier thought. A few days ago, after seeing images of the thousands of travelers stranded in closed airports and roads, I smugly thought to myself, "Why do all we make this holiday even more busy and expensive than it already is with our desperate need to celebrate Christmas en masse. Just stay home. Simplify. Relax." Now I know why people brave cancelled flights and icy highways. It is so they don't end up in McDonalds on Christmas or Christmas Eve.

Right before heading to McDonalds. I'm still playing around with the idea of sending out Christmas cards and was hoping for a cute shot.

Once we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house, my adult pity party lifted and it finally felt like a holiday. Grandma had the dining room table covered in dark, forest green table cloth with red candles burning on top. The ham was ready, as were the twice-baked potatoes and we only need to wait until Vaughn and Patty's family and the LDS missionaries showed up. They did, we ate and my spirits continued to rise. Next came the program and I love the program. All the grandkids, except Henry, performed and Jay and I sang our own duet to Baby, It's Cold Outside. It felt a little uncomfortable in front of the missionaries, but because I was at the piano and my back was facing them, I forgot about their possible embarrassment from listening to a song about a man and a woman making out. Its a fun song to sing, anyways.

Delanie rocking out on her guitar.

Derek blowing his horn.

Sam and Henry were pretty mesmerized by the trumpet.

Me accompaning Seth on his solo, "Born To Be Our Savior"

Derek is like a human jungle gym for his adoring younger cousins.

Once one gets a turn, they all want a turn.

Patty brought over their Melody Harp and Seth and Sam absolutely loved it.

They could have played with this all night.

Jay caught me angling the camera his way and, as usual, posed.

Grandpa started reading, "T'was the Night Before Christmas" and when we told Sammy to stop running around and listen...he pouted.

But the magic of the story soon brought him around.

The missionary's curfew was 8:00, and after they left we headed downstairs for the traditional pinata breaking. We haven't been to Jay's parent's home for Christmas since Seth's second Christmas in 2001, so it was fun to watch all of our boys take a whack at the armadillo. Sammy finally broke it open and the next few hours were spent watching PBS play last year's Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert with the King Singers and The Christmas Story on TBS.

Vaughn made his traditional rice pudding and hid an almond in one of the bowls, later discovered by Delanie. Sammy got upset, wanting to find an almond but being unable to stomach the rice pudding so Delanie handed over her prize, a giant chocolate bar, to him. Derek burned off all their excess energy with one round of wrestling after another and I smiled as I enjoyed this family gathering.

Broken and the treasure gathered.

Grandma and Patty

The Christmas Story movie. Pretty funny. Since so many people say that Henry reminds them of Ralphie, it seemed appropriate to watch it.

Eventually, we drove back home, in the blowing snow, and had a truncated version of our own recent Christmas Eve traditions. We had to skip the crackers and cheese and sparkling grape juice (like how I upgraded from ginger ale?) and we had already heard the New Testament scriptures telling of the birth of Christ from the King Singers. After hearing it in their almost regal British accents, it seemed anti-climatic to read it again. That left the opening of pajamas and group timer shot before bedtime.

Everyone's excited to open their first gift.

Jay suffers from chronically cold feet so I ordered him some adult footed pajamas, with a drop-seat flap (which almost gave away our secret identity when I physically couldn't stop laughing after the opening of his drop-seat got caught on the french handle of BOTH boys' bedroom doors as he walked by carrying one of their larger toys). The boys were more pratically outfitted in sweats and tops and I found my own sleepwear the day before at Wal-Mart. We changed, took our photo (it was 11:00 by now), set out the stockings and kissed our excited boys goodnight.

I'm so, so disappointed that the only pictures I am in are blurry. How can a timer shot be blurry? Grrr.

Cuter smiles but blurrier yet.

Jay and his "drop-seat"

We were up for a few more hours, doing what parents do and shut off our own lights shortly after 1:00 am. Seth promptly woke us five hours later and we were finished with all present opening at 7:00 am.

It is a joy to experience Christmas through the eyes of children. We tried out a new tradition that I heard about in a talk last Sacrament meeting and I wrapped up the Christ child from our nativity in as pretty a package as I was able and opened it last. Inside, along with the figure, was the scripture from John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." It was a nice moment for me even though it seemed quickly forgotten to the Legos, Hubba Bubba and Fisher Price Little People town. Still...it was a nice moment and I hope to do it every year, giving it the weight and emphasis that a tradition gives.

Seth, Sam and Henry loved everything, even their Sacrament Meeting busy books, and we slothfully enjoyed the rest of the day - shut in, talking on the phone, snacking on crackers and cheese and candy. I read half a novel while taking a hot bath, no one changed out of their pajamas all day (well...Jay changed out of his footed ones into his normal ones) and Jay and I enjoyed watching the first couple of episodes from his new complete collection of Arrested Development after the boys went to bed.

Opening up the first presents

Jay was still blurry eyed.

Looking for more.

Jay opening his gift from me. It was cash for a wood lathe but I disguised it well.

Henry never quite got the knack for opening gifts and his brothers eagerly helped him out but he was still giving it a go here.

Fun for the whole family

Jay got Seth a "Choose Your Own Destiny" Star Wars book. He's showing Seth how it works.

In fact, everyone but Mom and Dad got Star Wars stuff.

Henry loved his toys, but he was equally interested in devouring the candy in his stocking.

Presents from Grandma and Grandpa in Montana

Jay's parent's got us a table-top wood bowling set.

Taking their aim quite seriously

Jay made everyone hashbrowns, eggs and bacon as our main meal at 10:00

The snow at about 4:00 yesterday afternoon. Add even more to that now. My poor kitchen rug got left outside.

The aftermath

Evening bowling with crankier moods.

I'm not sure I can handle another pajama wearing, wii playing, toy cluttered living room kind of day but it looks like that is exactly what is going to happen. The snow has been falling for the three hours I've been awake so far and the sky is heavy and grey. If it does come to that, at least I have the second half of my novel, a treadmill and new fancy shoes to support me, a house full of people I love and blessings so great in abundance to appreciate.

Merry Christmas.