gift giving is not one of our strong points. To illustrate the point, I will share a couple of stories about gifts we have given. Last year for Christmas I surprised Dave by framing his ohio state diploma and AOA certificate. Nice gift, huh? Well, a year later they are still in the Christmas gift bag from last year on the floor in our room. Mabye they'll get hung for Valentines day!
Last year for Christmas Dave gave me a pair of XL Men's basketball shorts. No matter how you look at it, it's just not good. Either he thinks I am in need of XL mens clothes (and being 6 months pregnant last Christmas maybe I was!) or, he got the shorts for him to use (kind of like when Homer gave Marge a bowling ball that said Homer on it)! He actually got them for me b/c I like to wear his bball shorts and thought I'd like my own pair so I wouldn't have to keep stealing his....doesn't he know that the stealing is all the fun?! :) He definitely would have ended up in the dog house were it not for my fabulous sense of humor! He mentioned to some nurses at work that he got me these shorts and they are still giving him a hard time about it. They think he is a big jerk! I don't though. He tried hard, and he got me something else that was thoughtful as well.
here's a link to a video about the dog house. (Click on the word link to get to it). It is super funny! I stole it from a friends blog (thanks Deanne)!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Eight is great!
Today Dave and I celebrate 8 wonderful years together! Here are 8 things I love about Dave, in no particular order.
1. cute
2. smart
3. hard working
4. loyal
5. great sense of humor
6. light hearted
7. fun
8. a little unconventional
1. cute
2. smart
3. hard working
4. loyal
5. great sense of humor
6. light hearted
7. fun
8. a little unconventional
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Hello Dear blogging friends, Hope you had a great day! I sure love blogging with you and appreciate our friendship. It is a fun part of my life! Thank you for all of your kind and fun comments and also the blogs and emails and other means that you have to keep in touch as well. Love, Denise
Monday, December 22, 2008
my fam
from left to right: scott, lance, dan, kari, shi, bob, denise, lex, calvin, dave, clare, jessica, pete
Friday, December 19, 2008
THIS is NOT A JOKE
You will never guess what I just got in the mail. A ticket (addressed to me) with a photo (of DAVE) running a red light, AT THE SAME INTERSECTION AS BEFORE. SERIOUSLY, it happened last week on his way to the beach on his day off. He was turning right. He claims the light was yellow. The ticket claims the light was red and he only slowed to 14mph before going right though...... oh boy.
I have to write in and tell them that I am not the driver and dave says I should say "It could have been any number of people.....I can't be sure who it is...." (AKA, LIE so he doesn't get busted for another $400 ticket). What should I do? (Aside from returning his Christmas presents :) and filling his stocking with coal )
I have to write in and tell them that I am not the driver and dave says I should say "It could have been any number of people.....I can't be sure who it is...." (AKA, LIE so he doesn't get busted for another $400 ticket). What should I do? (Aside from returning his Christmas presents :) and filling his stocking with coal )
Thursday, December 18, 2008
It's been a little while since I posted pictures of my favorite little baby!
Alexey is 9 months old. Eating lots of real people food and squawking at us if she misses out on anything that looks good. She's learned to do the army crawl and can move about the room that way.
She is still a super easy going little person. Very happy to be a part of it all and always full of smiles for everyone.
In other news, I finally got my quilt up on the wall. For my birthday in July 2007 I asked Dave for a quilt rack. Dave said not yet...then for my bday in 2008 I ordered it, probably in August or september (dave said, "can you please hurry up and order that quilt rack so I don't have to feel bad about not getting you a birthday present!") Then last week Dave hung it up for me! I love it. It looks great. The quilt was made by my mom and then machine quilted to put the layers together (after she died). I picked the pattern after going to one of my mom's quilting classes with her and saw it up on display and we picked the fabrics together.
here's a closeup of one of the squares.
Alexey is 9 months old. Eating lots of real people food and squawking at us if she misses out on anything that looks good. She's learned to do the army crawl and can move about the room that way.
She is still a super easy going little person. Very happy to be a part of it all and always full of smiles for everyone.
In other news, I finally got my quilt up on the wall. For my birthday in July 2007 I asked Dave for a quilt rack. Dave said not yet...then for my bday in 2008 I ordered it, probably in August or september (dave said, "can you please hurry up and order that quilt rack so I don't have to feel bad about not getting you a birthday present!") Then last week Dave hung it up for me! I love it. It looks great. The quilt was made by my mom and then machine quilted to put the layers together (after she died). I picked the pattern after going to one of my mom's quilting classes with her and saw it up on display and we picked the fabrics together.
here's a closeup of one of the squares.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
12 days of Christmas
junk emal that I thought was worth passing along... I double checked on a few internet sites. It seems to be accepted as true although there are doubters (there always are)! Merry Christmas season!
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out
Of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone
during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each
element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,
Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
My "true love" is God and then "me" is each one of us (or speaking about the church collectively)!
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out
Of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were
not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone
during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning
plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each
element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality
which the children could remember.
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,
Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
My "true love" is God and then "me" is each one of us (or speaking about the church collectively)!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Santa's Village
There is a guy in our ward that does this crazy Christmas thing at his house each year. You can go and meet santa (my kids are afraid so we skip that part), then each kid can pick one toy. He open's his house to the entire community and thousands of people come each year. There are about 10 bins full of toys and each child can pick one toy to take home. Calvin is standing in front of a couple of the toy bins.
Then you can tour santas village and the house. The garage is decorated as Santa's shop.
.
The house (which is probably 5000 sq. feet), is completely decorated with Christmas displays. Who knows where they live in the month of December! This is Calvin standing in front of their living room.
and more house pictures. I stood in front of this camel just so you can see how big the stuffed jungle room is. The elephant is HUGE!!
Santa's village, in the back yard, complete with a snow maker! side note: CLare is a nail biter. She does it all the time. how do I get her to stop? She has no nails at all. A couple of days ago I caught her trying to bite her toe nails!! YUCK!
There are refreshments as well. Hot chocolate, cider and cookies and crackers. Behind the refreshment tables is this amazing FAO Schwartz clock that is as tall as the two story house. It's probably my favorite thing there.
Clare picked a crown (with earrings) out of the toy boxes. She loves it! On the way home DAve told her that we'd be going to bed as soon as we got home. She said. "I am not clare, I'm Cinderella and Cinderella doesn't go to bed."
Then we told her she could sleep with her crown and she jumped for joy and went to bed easily.
We checked on her late at night and she was still a sleeping princess!
All of this is free! The guy who does this is so generous and it is quite remarkable.
Then you can tour santas village and the house. The garage is decorated as Santa's shop.
.
The house (which is probably 5000 sq. feet), is completely decorated with Christmas displays. Who knows where they live in the month of December! This is Calvin standing in front of their living room.
and more house pictures. I stood in front of this camel just so you can see how big the stuffed jungle room is. The elephant is HUGE!!
Santa's village, in the back yard, complete with a snow maker! side note: CLare is a nail biter. She does it all the time. how do I get her to stop? She has no nails at all. A couple of days ago I caught her trying to bite her toe nails!! YUCK!
There are refreshments as well. Hot chocolate, cider and cookies and crackers. Behind the refreshment tables is this amazing FAO Schwartz clock that is as tall as the two story house. It's probably my favorite thing there.
Clare picked a crown (with earrings) out of the toy boxes. She loves it! On the way home DAve told her that we'd be going to bed as soon as we got home. She said. "I am not clare, I'm Cinderella and Cinderella doesn't go to bed."
Then we told her she could sleep with her crown and she jumped for joy and went to bed easily.
We checked on her late at night and she was still a sleeping princess!
All of this is free! The guy who does this is so generous and it is quite remarkable.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
winter beach time
one of our favorite activites in the winter is going to the beach. Dave has a wet suit so he can surf and we can hang out and enjoy the sand without the crowd. 
sand angels
There are just some things that I will never learn. #1 roll up the windows of the
car even if it is sunny outside. It just might rain while you are gone no matter how blue the sky. #2. the kids will take their pants off at the beach no matter how cold it is.
The sun sets around 5 right now so it is easy to catch the sunset when we make a quick afternoon trip to the beach. In the summer we don't often see the sunset b/c it is too late for us!
Yes that is dave posing as superman.
sand angels
There are just some things that I will never learn. #1 roll up the windows of the
car even if it is sunny outside. It just might rain while you are gone no matter how blue the sky. #2. the kids will take their pants off at the beach no matter how cold it is.
The sun sets around 5 right now so it is easy to catch the sunset when we make a quick afternoon trip to the beach. In the summer we don't often see the sunset b/c it is too late for us!
Yes that is dave posing as superman.
Monday, December 8, 2008
changes
I have been adding the links on the side for my blogroll. It is fun to see the connections on other blogs and I know how Laura loves it:) If I have left yours off, please let me know! I tried to do it really fast and may have missed a few. Thanks
Friday, December 5, 2008
bloggers block
I don't have much to write about lately, and don't have time to do it either. Don't ask me where my time is going...but it is going somewhere. So, this might not be a very good post but it is a post!
On Sunday I will be doing a little 5 minute mini lesson during one of the Sunday school classes for the 12-14 year old girls. The topic is Change. How to handle change. And stay positive. I guess I am somewhat of a poster child for change (as many of us are during this time when we are going to school, moving, getting jobs, etc.) Here are some of the changes I've experienced in the last 10 years.... okay I'm older than I thought...we'll say 11 years.
- graduated high school
- mom diagnosed with cancer, had a surgery, started chemo
- moved away to school
- true loves first kiss :) (November 1997)
- made all new friends at college, new living situation, new food, new life!
- dave left on a mission - loss of boyfriend and best friend!
- moved again
- got a job
- moved home
- back to school in a new living situation (meaning roomates and place to live)
- another living situation at semester break, another job
- moved home
- mom died
- started new school, new job, new ward, new role as helper at home.
- dad got married
- new step mother and step sister
- back to BYU in yet another living situation, new job
- Dave home
- engaged then married
- started masters program
- changed thesis emphasis and lab for masters work
- got pregnant, got sick, got big, had a baby
- baby diagnosed with craniofacial defect
- move to ohio
- baby had surgery and one week hospital stay
- new job
- another pregnancy followed by an early end to the pregnancy
- another move
- another job
- another pregnancy
- another baby
- move to CA, new house, new ward, etc., new job for dave
- Calvin starts school
- pregnant again
- another baby
- Calvin starts another new school
That is enough of that. So, here are 3 practical points I thought of which help a person stay happy and well adjusted through change. I haven't been perfect in these things but I think that the times when I've done them, my changes have been better. I try to help my kids do this as well but sometimes I'm slow at getting started. I just had a new school friend over to play for Calvin this week and we've been in school since August! Better late than never!
get involved -- join a club, talk to people, meet the neighbors, volunteer, have a playdate, set up a carpool.
give service -- call someone and offer to babysit, cook, help in some way
gain talents -- take lessons, play a sport, develop your creativity through music or crafts, or home making or cooking.
All of these things make you feel better about yourself, help you make and keep friends, spend time with people in need or people who can teach you great things, and direct your time toward worthwhile activities.
In the lesson I'd focus more on the 3 G's and not my life changes, but I am running out of time today!!!
If there's one thing that's constant, it's change.
On Sunday I will be doing a little 5 minute mini lesson during one of the Sunday school classes for the 12-14 year old girls. The topic is Change. How to handle change. And stay positive. I guess I am somewhat of a poster child for change (as many of us are during this time when we are going to school, moving, getting jobs, etc.) Here are some of the changes I've experienced in the last 10 years.... okay I'm older than I thought...we'll say 11 years.
- graduated high school
- mom diagnosed with cancer, had a surgery, started chemo
- moved away to school
- true loves first kiss :) (November 1997)
- made all new friends at college, new living situation, new food, new life!
- dave left on a mission - loss of boyfriend and best friend!
- moved again
- got a job
- moved home
- back to school in a new living situation (meaning roomates and place to live)
- another living situation at semester break, another job
- moved home
- mom died
- started new school, new job, new ward, new role as helper at home.
- dad got married
- new step mother and step sister
- back to BYU in yet another living situation, new job
- Dave home
- engaged then married
- started masters program
- changed thesis emphasis and lab for masters work
- got pregnant, got sick, got big, had a baby
- baby diagnosed with craniofacial defect
- move to ohio
- baby had surgery and one week hospital stay
- new job
- another pregnancy followed by an early end to the pregnancy
- another move
- another job
- another pregnancy
- another baby
- move to CA, new house, new ward, etc., new job for dave
- Calvin starts school
- pregnant again
- another baby
- Calvin starts another new school
That is enough of that. So, here are 3 practical points I thought of which help a person stay happy and well adjusted through change. I haven't been perfect in these things but I think that the times when I've done them, my changes have been better. I try to help my kids do this as well but sometimes I'm slow at getting started. I just had a new school friend over to play for Calvin this week and we've been in school since August! Better late than never!
get involved -- join a club, talk to people, meet the neighbors, volunteer, have a playdate, set up a carpool.
give service -- call someone and offer to babysit, cook, help in some way
gain talents -- take lessons, play a sport, develop your creativity through music or crafts, or home making or cooking.
All of these things make you feel better about yourself, help you make and keep friends, spend time with people in need or people who can teach you great things, and direct your time toward worthwhile activities.
In the lesson I'd focus more on the 3 G's and not my life changes, but I am running out of time today!!!
If there's one thing that's constant, it's change.
Monday, December 1, 2008
creative calvin
What is it with little boys at potty words?
Calvin thinks poop, toilet and diaper are absolutely the FUNNIEST things he's ever heard.
So, this week I read him a story and one of the characters said, "I'm pooped!" Calvin laughed 'til he cried and then asked me what it meant. I told him that I'm pooped is another way of saying I'm tired. He thought that was pretty funny. Several hours later he came to me and said, "Mom, I'm farted. That means I'm hungry." He wasn't trying to be silly at all, he was totally serious. I told him that we can't just add and ed to the end of any potty word to give it a new meaning. That was okay with him as he is completely satisfied to have found a way to use poop in a sentence where he won't get in trouble. He even taught Clare that I'm pooped means I'm tired.
Had I known the book said pooped in it I wouldn't have read it. THe book was called Fried Feathers For Thanksgiving.
Calvin thinks poop, toilet and diaper are absolutely the FUNNIEST things he's ever heard.
So, this week I read him a story and one of the characters said, "I'm pooped!" Calvin laughed 'til he cried and then asked me what it meant. I told him that I'm pooped is another way of saying I'm tired. He thought that was pretty funny. Several hours later he came to me and said, "Mom, I'm farted. That means I'm hungry." He wasn't trying to be silly at all, he was totally serious. I told him that we can't just add and ed to the end of any potty word to give it a new meaning. That was okay with him as he is completely satisfied to have found a way to use poop in a sentence where he won't get in trouble. He even taught Clare that I'm pooped means I'm tired.
Had I known the book said pooped in it I wouldn't have read it. THe book was called Fried Feathers For Thanksgiving.
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