What I learned this week...

We determined as a family this week that my husband is a borderline AFOL with horophile tendencies. Please help me if you can!

One of my favorite things..

I'm a little late getting this post up, but I just learned about it last night. Last year, we went to this really great live nativity. We were so hoping they would do it again this year. Just yesterday, I finally found information about it, and it's this weekend. They'll do it tonight (Friday), tomorrow, and Monday.

It's in Alpine. You drive to a church parking lot, then they shuttle you to the beginning of the path to the nativity. You'll see Roman soldiers on horseback, you'll get to walk through the streets of Bethlehem complete with vendors and lots of animals (including camels). Then you'll see the live nativity itself. It's free of charge though they do have collection jars for donations that go to the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

We went last year, and it was truly moving. It was an awesome way to welcome in the Christmas season. And my kids loved it!

If you are in the area and have the chance to go, I recommend it! You can find a few more details here.

Merry Christmas!

Why I have a bruise on my knee...

Why do I have a bruise? Because I was hit in the knee by a 12 pound flying projectile in the form of a frozen turkey! How did that happen, you may ask. While turkey bowling in our basement, of course! And why was I turkey bowling in my basement? For a contest, of course!

The Simply Mac stores are having a contest - a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt to be exact. They are awarding a $500 in-store credit, and you receive entries for the contest by submitting various Thanksgiving-themed photos. You can read all about it here.

They frequently have good contests, so it may be worth your time to check out their blog occasionally. Until then, you can just enjoy the photos of me when I was bowling followed by me when Daniel was bowling! Maybe tomorrow I'll post the bruise!

There's a hole in my blog

Wow, it's amazing how quickly life can happen with no blog entry to document that it happened! I was shocked to see tonight how long it's been since I last blogged. Arghh! I may try to throw in some back blogging, but I'll for sure try to move forward. I've been tagged by my sister, so I'll need to add that entry. I've had some fun and some stressful times too. I'll have to throw in a few of those entries too. Several of my friends/family blogged a lot in November as they recorded all the things for which they are thankful. Maybe December will be my month. We'll see, right?

For now, trust that my life has been going on, there's just a big hole in my written documentation of that life.

My Old Birthday

Hello, everyone, look at your birthday, now back at mine, now back at yours, now back to mine. Sadly, your birthday isn’t mine, but if it were and you switched to a Conference weekend birthday like mine, you could enjoy an awesome breakfast of a beautiful parfait and sourdough pancakes. Look down, back up, where am I? I'm on a boat on Utah Lake with tunes playing on an ipod while Cheyenne drove (thanks Allen and Noreen) with my family and my neighbors that smell like Utah Lake. What’s in your hand, back at me. I have it, it’s cupcakes at Cathy's and ice cream at home. Look again, you're eating those treats with your sisters, nieces, nephew, and family. Look again, the cake has turned into a cute new generation ipod Nano. Anything is possible when your man makes the day special. I’m on a couch.

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes, all the fun (really, how often have I gotten to ride on a boat on a hot day for my October birthday??), and all the fabulous food!!! I was struggling a bit with this midlife birthday but you made it an awesome one. And so the birth season continues into this next week. Anything is possible!!

What I did tonight

What a fun date with my daughter - a small concert with David Archuleta (her first love)!

Shock and awe when we told her. Anticipation. Giddiness. Satisfaction that he was so nice. Giddiness. Happy dreams when she came home and went to bed. All kinds of joy when telling all her friends tomorrow!

*Thanks to my friend Bil for an amazing favor for my daughter!!

It finally happened

Have you ever had something happen that you've long feared or worried about? Well, I have. It happened yesterday, and I survived.

As many of you may know, I've always feared earwigs. I didn't like them as a little girl, then I saw "The Wrath of Khan" and it sealed the deal. (Note: I know that bug probably wasn't really a giant earwig, but it sure seemed that way! And I've always been afraid of them crawling in my ear. Why else would they call them EAR wigs?????)

Anyway, every time I do vegetables from the garden, I am on high earwig alert. Somehow today I was distracted by the chard. Next thing you know, I felt a pinch on my hand. When I looked, there was the offending earwig securely attached to my palm. They really do pinch and hang on!!!!! Knowing I had to exert some self-discipline so as not to encourage phobias in my sensitive children, I contained all screaming in my head. I did shake my hand a little freakishly, though, till I got him to release. Then I killed him!

After calling Dale for some adult sympathy, I finished the vegetables and knew I was just a little stronger than I thought I was before. (And the truth is that it really didn't hurt that bad or for that long. Just so you know.)

If any of you have had a similar "I've always feared..." experience, please feel free to share it here, or at least call me for heartfelt sympathy!!!