Painting, Baths, and Hair

Courtney is definitely ready to start preschool. Her favorite thing to do these days is water paint. She will usually make about 15 pictures each time she sits down to paint. She likes to make them, "for all the people." I'm not sure who all the people are but they are sure lucky. She uses each and every color and never mixes them together.
Bathtime has become a favorite part of the day for us all. I get a break while Dave watches her in the bath. She puts in all her toys and plays for nearly an hour. Lately she has been trying new things in the bath. We have been talking to her about swimming lessons this summer, so she now blows bubbles in the water and just recently started laying in the water with her ears under water. This is a big accomplishment for her. It used to scare her to death to have her ears under the water. Now she tells us she is ready for swimming lessons because, "I am big girl." Now we just have to work on her grammar.

I took this picture just so people would believe me when I say that Courtney has long hair. Although it springs up into tight curls and it looks as if it never gets longer, it does. It just gets curlier the longer it gets. In truth, her hair is pretty long.

I feel like I'm drowning

We had the very unfortunate experience of our basement flooding a week ago. Before I go on, I'll say that we are all fine and it could have been much worse. I am calling Courtney my miracle because she was sick last week and so we didn't go to church. Dave found the water seeping into our basement right after church started. Things would have gotten really ugly had we been at church for the next three hours.

As it was, we were able to get everything out of the basement before too much damage had taken place. Our window wells filled up with water and we had about two inches or so of water covering the entire basement. We had a specialist come out and suck up all the water. They also pulled up all the pad and then we had to have industrial fans on for four days. Now everything is nice and dry and waiting to be put back together. This is just one of those things that happen and cause plenty of inconvienence. At least it didn't happen when we had all those people staying here a few weeks ago. Soon it will be as good as new down there, maybe even better.

Idiosyncrasies

Ok, I finally get around to doing mine. I figure that if everyone else can let people know these strange things about themselves, I can too.

I have to get ready for the day and ready for bed in the exact same way every day. I cannot, say, brush my teeth before washing my face before bed.

I will not go anywhere without doing Courtney's hair.

I will not eat shredded meats at mexican restaurants.

I have to have a clean house. Like Jamie, everything may not be organized exactly right, but it has to have the appearance of being clean.

I love Costco. I could go everyday and never get tired of it.

I secretly love to bite my nails because Dave hates it.

I think I like playdates better than Courtney does.

Also like Jamie, I have to examine every piece of chicken I am preparing. Most of the time I end up throwing out more than I use. And along those same lines, I only buy the best beef. I can't stand having to drain meat.

I have to buy things if I think they are a good deal. I figure at some time in my life I will be able to use them.

I'm sure there are so much more, but I don't want to loose all my friends. Now I am officially tagging Darron(and Kristen) and Audra. Let's hear about what makes you guys tick.

Boys

I did a little better than Jamie, but not much. Dave took two pics actually snowboarding and two at dinner. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I'll explain. Every year Dave and some of his friends from high school take a snowboarding trip. It is a very good time for all of them(they get to come alone). No wives or children for this guys trip.


Of course they are always kind enough to invite Courtney and I out with them, but sometimes I think they're better left alone. I don't know who had a better time this trip, Courtney or the boys. Dave and I are thinking of locking her up until she's twenty. She thought Sean, Jason, and Gordon were the best things that have happened to her in quite awhile. She cried huge tears when they left the first day because she thought she could go snowboarding with them. She asked about them every hour and even drew pictures for them. She was sad to see them go.

We also had Dave's mom and brother and wife and baby staying with us this weekend. I didn't get any pics of them because Dave had the camera. After everyone had left on Sunday, we got this great pic of Courtney with all her things that Grandma got for her. Talk about spoiled. We had such a great weekend with everyone but I am definitely ready for a girls weekend!

Play, play, play

With the arrival of the new baby, Courtney has had the opportunity to play with her cousins more than usual. Here is her cousin, Brayden, who is about 2 months younger than her. They have so much fun playing together. It is amazing to me that children are so easily entertained. They spent much of their time together chasing one another around the tent and trying to scare each other. They also chase each other around with a stroller and crash into each other. They do it for hours and seem to love every minute of it. The good news for me is that it is actually easier for me to get things done when Courtney has a playmate over. She doesn't bother me at all, but the poor kids she plays with... well, you might imagine what she does to them. Also pictured here is her with her new favorite drink. It is grape Propel fitness water, but she refers to it as,"Daddy's drink." She is also doing her crazy eyes impression. For those of you who have not experienced it in person, it is kind of disturbing. Her dad, of course, loves for her to do it and got this rare picture of it. Next time you see her, ask her to do her crazy eyes.

Tyler Jay Johnson

Congratulations to Bryson and Shannon Johnson on the birth of their new baby boy!
Shannon, my sister-in-law, was scheduled to be induced on Monday. I got the great opportunity to watch their two kids, Brayden and Lauryn. Courtney had a blast playing all day with them. The baby, Tyler, ended up moving sideways and then into breach position, so they did an emergency C-section. Both mom and baby ended up being fine but the cord was wrapped around Tyler several times and there was a knot in the umbilical cord. We're so grateful that all is well! We ended up having to wait four hours for Tyler to get out of the nursery and into Shannon's room. Only a select few waited it out(obviously, including me). We also visited the next day, when Courtney got to hold him. She loves this little cousin of hers so much. She has been counting down the days with Shannon. Courtney says,"Don't worry, I'll hold the baby, and feed the baby, and burp the baby, mom." It's really cute. My grandmother, Nana to the great grandchildren, was able to stop by and hold her 31st great grandchild. Sorry to those of you who don't know my family members that I keep writing about. Let's be honest, how can you pass up looking at such a cute baby. If our life starts getting more interesting on it's own, we'll let you know.

My Trip to Denver

This past weekend I flew to Denver, more accurately, Castle Rock, Colorado to see my new niece Emma and be there for her blessing. It was a quick trip but a lot of fun. I flew in on Saturday just before noon and got home Sunday around 10pm. Of course, I made the most of my time there by holding Emma every chance I got. She is so adorable, as you can see, and a laid back baby. In case any of you are wondering, there was alot of snow. And in Castle Rock, the city does not plow roads that aren't considered main roads. Luckily we were all fine driving down the streets. It did seem weird that every store was sold out of snow shovels and ice melt though. Do the people there need to plan a little better? Yes!


She sleeps a lot but I got most of these pictures in on the rare occasion that she was awake. Besides seeing my brother, Darron, and his wife, Kristen, I also got to get more familiarized with the Alley clan. That is, Kristen's side of the family. They were so much fun to be with! We had a blast. We stayed up until 2am playing games on Saturday. It was a good thing Courtney wasn't there because I slept in.

Even though it was alot of fun to get to see my brother and his family(and to have time to myself), I did love coming home to a husband and child that missed me at home.

Christmas 2006

I can't seem to do anything on time these days. In my defense, I am the first to be posting any Christmas of our blogger friends. So, we'll say I'm right on time (it will make me feel better). We had a good time being in Las Vegas. We traveled down there in undesirable conditions but made it without any problems. Because we have been so blessed with many vacations this year, Dave didn't have any time off left for the holidays. We had to head back to Utah on Christmas day. We decided that Sunday would be our Christmas day. Unfortunately, Dave got very sick. He threw up all night and all day. This picture of him is the only one we have of him. He spent the day mostly in bed. The rest of us had a great time though. Of course, Courtney is spoiled beyond belief.



Everyone gets way too much for her. By the end of the present opening, she would hand me her presents and told me to open them. We were lucky to have the whole Bollard family together. Brian (Dave's youngest brother) got home from his mission a few months ago and we were happy to have him back with us. Plus, a new baby was added, Alison, so that was fun. Especially for Courtney. She kept rubbing noses with the baby and saying, "I love my baby Ali." She loves babies and especially her cousin.

When we got home, Courtney had Santa presents waiting for her. She got to open another stocking and more presents. Of course her favorite present was a dvd that she loves and someone (I won't name any names) gave it to her first. She was disinterested in opening anything else. All she wanted to do was watch the movie. We had a great Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope this new year finds all of our friends and family happy and healthy.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We had what I would call our first big snowstorm of the year. It started snowing last night around 9pm. When we woke up it was still snowing. It snowed all day and has not stopped. Now don't get me wrong, it has been lighter at some times in the day, but nonetheless snowing nonstop for 24 hours.
Dave and Courtney decided they would go out early this morning and shovel the snow. Dave realized that he could have just waited until tomorrow morning, since the snow piled up as he shoveled. Him and Courtney had a good time anyway.
Courtney decided, after being hit with a few snowballs by her dad, that she would get him back. She kept going to spots with the least amount of snow to try to make snowballs. Not only that, she usually ended up throwing the snow at herself. She has yet to figure out how to move around with so much clothing on and especially her mittens. It is very pretty to look at but truth be told, I would rather be with the Youngs(our friends) in Arizona right now, soaking up 70 degree weather. At least Dave and Courtney had a good time.

Thanksgiving

A tradition that started long before we had kids, has no evolved. We have always enjoyed getting together to make gingerbread houses. Although every year comes with the disappointment that we are not professionals at it, we have a good time anyway. As kids have joined us, they get their own little house to decorate. Courtney had such a good time doing hers this year, although she didn't know why she had to put the candy on the house and not eat it. She definitely takes after her dad, artistically speaking. She is much better at decorating than a two year old should be. Unlike my other family members, who put their houses out on display the whole Christmas season, ours don't last nearly that long. With two in the house that never pass up sugar, it didn't take long for Courtney's to be completely eaten, glue and all. And you can see what is left of my poor house. I guess it's better for them to get eaten than to go to waste.

Ok, so I'm a little late with this one. I still wanted everyone to see our thanksgiving day. It was a lot of fun because all of my family was in attendance except for one brother and sister-in-law. They had a good excuse. My sister-in-law, Kristen ,had a baby on November 19. Congratulations to them! While it is fun to get together, there are way too many kids running around under foot. We had seven there, 3 of them being 2 year olds. As you can see, Courtney and her cousin, Abbie, got very worn out. Amazingly, they both feel asleep together.


While the kids were sleeping we had the opportunity to play games together, which is tradition. We love it and have a great time. We have much to be thankful for and are always happy to have this day to reflect on the blessings that have been given to us by our Father in Heaven.

Trip to Guatemala

We went to a city named Tikal, which is where most of the recovered Mayan temples are. We had to take a small plane early in the morning to get there but it was worth it. We got to hike around and see all of the temples, and also some that were still being uncovered. Highlights of the day trip were: Bob being pooped on by a monkey, seeing a new animal called a coatamunde(which isn't spelled right but that's how it sounds), and our tour guide telling us that some of Star Wars was filmed here. In Tikal, we stayed at the Jungle Lodge, which has no power after 10pm and also turns off every so often in the daytime. Our room was even equipped with mosquito nets. There was also no hot water, so it was basically glorified camping. Also in Tikal, the boys talked us into a canopy tour. It consisted of eight different ziplines above the jungle trees. Needless to say, Danielle(my sister-in-law) and I weren't too thrilled to do it at all. We soon got the hang of it though and even smiled on the last line(due to the fact that it was over). It was a fun experience for us all. We also visited a place called Lake Attilan. We stayed in a hotel right next to the lake and took a boat across it to go shopping. We were told that this lake is what they believe to be the Waters of Mormon, so that was neat. What wasn't neat were the waves on the boatride back to the hotel. I was sure we would capsize and be lost forever in the lake. We made it back relatively in one piece but we were very wet. We also had the opportunity on our last day there to visit the Temple there. It was very beautiful but very small. The endowment room had a few rows of pews in it and if we had not been there going through, there would have only been 5 people total in the last session of the day, which is at 4:30. It was a wonderful experience to be in the Celestial room together as a family. We were also lucky enough to get to meet with Brian's(Dave's brother) mission president and wife. They were such great people and love Brian so much. They have some children attending BYU so we are hoping to get to see them again. We also went to were Brian served and it was neat to meet the people that love him so much. We attended church in one of his old wards and it was great. They were doing their primary program that day, so it proved to be very entertaining. We had a great time and would highly recommend the trip to anyone looking for a good adventure and humble, loving people.