New Year's Eve

It's the last day of 2008. I can't say it's been the worst year but it certainly hasn't been the best. With Alex being laid off a few weeks ago and jobs looking pretty scarce. We know folks who've been looking for months!

Christmas was nice this year. The kids said it was the best ever. My favorite moment was caroling (in garb) at the Cove Point Retirement Center. The folks' eyes lit up as we sang and many sang with us. It gave me the feeling I was looking for, that I could do something positive for the world at a time which is usually more depressing and stressful for me (the holidays). It made all the difference and even though we have done "Sub-for-Santa" for many years, this was much more emotionally fulfilling. We went to four different care centers on Christmas day with a total of 12 in our group all dressed in our medieval garb. After we went to IHOP which was the only place open. We did a good deal of visiting over the holiday but I think I could have enjoyed even more!

Tonight is up in the air for plans. We could go to the mall for "First Night" or stay home and play the new Wii or maybe some friends will call...

Here's hoping that 2009 is a good one!

Things come in threes?

Last week Alex was laid off. It was a new job he was hoping would turn into a new career in construction. He was learning building skills in preparation to learn to be a project manager. The contractor had 4-5 jobs lined up in September but one by one, they all decided that the economy was too unstable to go through with their plans. For the first time ever, this contractor had to report all his employees for unemployment. Needless to say, we are pretty upset. The job market is poor right now unless you want to work for $8.00 an hour or you are highly skilled.

We also found out a friend has bone cancer so I'm waiting for the final blow. Will it be a car break-down or the furnace goes out? I'm prepared cuz I know if it'll happen, it will happen to me. I'm living a Murphy's Law life.

Friday, my company gave away $25,000 in cash and prizes. I couldn't even dare hope to win (and I didn't) but it really hurt my Christmas spirit. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be working for a company that can afford to give away $25,000. It really means job security for me. I know that many people are in worse shape than us BUT it stings none the less.

Keeping the magic alive...

Why is it so hard to keep the magic alive? Our favorite Santa (the REAL Santa) stopped coming to Provo Town Center a few years ago. We heard he went to University Mall but I don't know if that is true, we haven't been able to verify it. We went yesterday to see his royal red roundness and found he had just left for lunch (at 3:30pm) and wouldn't be back for a hour. The boys begged to stay and look around the mall, promising not to ask for anything, so we did. Of course they both asked for things and then we waited another 30 minutes in line for Santa once he was back. It defintiely lowered my Christmas spirit but here's a look at the visit.

Annual Christmas Tree outing...

I have never had an artificial tree for Christmas, never! We have had a tradition every year of cutting down our own Christmas tree. Out first Christmas together we cut a beatutiful tree from a tree farm in New Jersey. The only year we didn't cut our own was the first year we moved to Utah (1993). We bought one from someone in Payson who cut trees from their property and sold them. It will forever be kown as the "Christmas bush." We picked it in the dark which as you know in Utah starts about 5:00pm around Christmas time. They had spot lights and we had a flashlight. We thought we'd picked a good one... not!

Our tradition of cutting continued at Riley's Orchard in Payson until they sold out to development (boo, hiss) and now we buy a permit and cut trees from Forest Service land. It has been an adventure most every year including the year we went to the area south of Tooele which the kids refer to as "the desert."

This year we returned to Ephraim Canyon and here are the results:

We posed on a log fence as we looked for a few good candidates.

Here's one possibility (this was my choice).

...and here's the next.

And finally, here we made the choice!

Halloween, better late than never!

Here are some photos of the family in costume for Halloween this year, taken at the local Mormon Church's "Trunk-or-Treat." (That's where you go car to car instead of house to house.)

Alan is Van Helsing and Benajmin is a Blaze (arena football league) football player.

You want candy? You'll have to fight Death to get it!

2008 school pictures are here!

Well, we recieved our school picture packages this week. Neither kid was impressed with their photos. Alan is finally to a stage where he has an opinion about how he looks in a photo. He did not like his picture. He complained that the photographer did not get him smiling.


I loved the concepts this school photo company has but the photographers are always terrible. You can see for yourself (I'm a little biased):

Alan is eleven now and growing up fast!

Benjamin is a boisterous boy at seven!


They are still MY beautiful boys!

First day of school 2008

I finally got around to posting pictures of the kids' first day of school. Enjoy!

Fall already?

Last week the kids started school. Alan is in 6th grade and Benjamin is in 2nd. Where does the time go? It doesn't feel like summer is over! It's still hot and we just didn't do as much as I hoped. We're camping this weekend and once more in September (with our medieavl group) but gas prices helped to keep us from camping more. So much didn't get done in the yard! Ah well, I guess there's always next year...

Sleep... or lack of it and other things.

What is it about getting older that wreaks havoc on your sleep patterns? It seems that I wake earlier and I am tired earlier. The worst is if I wake in the night, I often can't go back to sleep until it is time to get up. Last night being one such incident. I woke at 2:30am and couldn't go back to sleep until about 6:00am. I get up at 6:30am and I had been up watching the Olympics until about 11:30pm last night. Needless to say, I am a little fuzzy today.

Well, Lagoon was more fun than usual. The boys behaved well and we were all fairly happy even though we did not get to Lagoon-a-beach (the pool/water park area). The boys rode the go-carts and the adults drove the dragsters. I am proud to say that we raced each other as well as two men (four cars on the track) . I won twice and Alex won twice (we got an extra race due to technical difficulties). It is really quite fun and exciting!

Yesterday we spent with out of town relatives: Juliet, Rob and their two boys Kayden and Kyler. They visited the boys martial arts class and then went with us to our weekly medieval group meeting. (We hope it has piqued their interest!) We had a great time with them and hope we can visit them in WA next year.

Things are always busy and hectic for us but I'm glad to say that we are happier than ever regardless of our troubles. No matter your age you continue to learn and grow as a person. (I should be perfect by the time I am 100!) It is wonderful to love and be loved! It is never too late to choose happiness.

So I've tried posting between the last time and now only to have pushed the wrong button and my post is gone. A bit frustrating. I've been busy enough not to get here as often as I wanted. I'll try to remedy that...

I just wanted to make sure if someone is reading this they know I'm still alive!

Tomorrow we go to Lagoon ( the local amusement park) for my company's annual party. It'll be hot and muggy but the kids will have fun.

Hopefully, I'll soon have time to update more on what's been going on in our lives...

Blogging friends

I'm not sure how well I'll chronicle our lives here but I want to say I am really inspired by the friends I have who blog. It's nice to catch up even when you don't have time for an email or phone call! Thanks guys! Please add my blog to your "friends" list.

Returning from war

Well, we got back from Uprising War Sunday evening. Both to and from trips were harry as we almost ran out of gas each way. Pulling our vardo is very bad on gas mileage, we think it was about 6 mpg. It's like pulling a wooden parachute...

War was fun! Here's a link to my pictures: http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh103/kristinela/SCA/Uprising%202008/

We both got our Award of Arms (that means that we are able to wear "live" steel in the presence of the King and Queen) which was a total surprise! We shopped, shopped and shopped. Alex fought in the unbelted tourney and the melees. The kids and I took the basic archery class and they are excited to start shooting. I need to get bows for them and some arrows as well. The boys did a bit of youth combat as well.

We are tired and still need to unpack some. I will be really busy with this hobby and with church and work (I passed my Six Sigma Green Belt test, yeah!). We also have home improvement projects and the yard is a disaster. AND there is the big yard sale I am hoping to have (the whole neighborhood) as I am really going to purge excess stuff. I guess we'll see how it goes!

Preparing for war...

Well there's packing and then there's packing for war. 5 days in Idaho at Uprising. Alex (Rodrigo) is excited, not sure about the kids. Me, I'm just overwhelmed with the amount of work this little "hobby" is! Once camp is set up, I am looking forward to relaxing and that's about it. Who knows what else? This is our first time. I was looking forward to the shopping but then it may not be all that great. (Which, truthfully, is better for me. I don't really have money to burn...)

This is wierd!

Well.... not easy to start! The last time I did anything like this was my daily journal in 7th grade!! But it should be fun. And you'll be able to check out our new adventures periodically. So thanks for visiting and stay tuned for more posts and pictures and videos etc..

(this is wierd, he he)

Starting out

OK, here goes... I am starting a blog. It'll be mostly a family blog. I hope I can keep it up. I have no experience with this and not a lot of time on my hands. BUT it'll probably be a good place to post my photos and videos (better than U-tube!). Wish me luck!