22.12.08

check this out! it snowed all night! 

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21.12.08

desert plateau's annual luminaria. pretty...

and isn't that a gorgeous tree in the window? these pictures were taken just before the snow blew in sideways. i am pleased though. after helping ryan shovel the walks, i can leave the abdominals out of my next few workouts.

 
 

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more than a little snow...

 
 
 
 

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Sparky, I mean Ryan, hand picked a tree from a farm in Junction City, Oregon while visiting a client. Both Ryker and Em were excited that Daddy was bringing home a tree and Ryan was pretty pleased with himself until the beastly thing fell over...a couple of times. After several trips to the hardware store, all technical problems have been solved and it really is beautiful.

 
 
 
 

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 Ryker is only a little perturbed that gingerbread houses aren't really meant to be eaten. Or are they?

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YAY! Laykin Rohs Wilson is here and she is sooo beautiful! Beth's first ultrasound suggested strongly that little Wilson #3 would be a boy. That would make three little Wilson boys. Beth went to her third and final ultrasound alone, discovered she was having a girl and decided to keep that little secret from her husband. Lane is clearly delighted and so is everyone else. Ryker has just one thing to say to the Wilson family: Now you can go lock your own little sister in the dog crate! A story I'd love to tell but won't. I will tell you this - that little girl fits perfectly in my arms...

 

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 one of these years i am going to surprise ryan with a great birthday party. and it won't be a landmark year. maybe thirty three or thirty seven - just to throw him for a loop. i didn't even bother to dress the kids for his birthday this year. poor neglected man. but we love him and he knows it inspite of lame birthday celebrations. em thought her gift of an iron deserved a high-five.

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we enjoyed thanksgiving at the tippett's. i polished off four orange rolls over the course of the day and am hoping to get another shot at those on christmas. as always, we love spending time with great grandpa and grandma good. and NO, grandpa. this was NOT your last trip!!!

 
 
 

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11.12.08

a really long post and probably not worth reading...

Can you believe what day it is? Thursday, December 11. ACK! Exactly two weeks until Ryker and Em wake to stockings filled to overflowing with painstakingly and individually wrapped didn't-need-'em-not-now-or-ever-gifty thingys. Oh the horror! It is possible that I despise gift wrapping as much as ironing. Fortunately, I eagerly anticipate every other aspect of the holidays. We will be staying home this year and I am looking forward to a few days holed up in our cozy little house with my best friend and our babies. More than a few days actually. Ryan's next trip isn't scheduled until after the New Year. We are also looking forward to a post Christmas visit from the Texans.

I have so many pictures to post and I don't see myself getting that done any time soon. Recent changes in my work schedule have cured me of my addiction to this computer. I'm quite happy about it actually. Still, we have some fun pics of Tim's second 60th birthday party. We celebrated a birthday of Ryan's as well. Question: Is it appropriate for a wife to gift her husband an iron on his birthday? Keep in mind, he does his own ironing (and the rest of the family's for that matter). What do you say? Well...I'll pretend I didn't hear that! :-) We enjoyed having Grandpa and Grandma Good around for a week. They spoil us silly! And we're glad to have our boy back from his trip to Texas. I like to think he missed us too. I'm not at all about keeping it real.

Speaking of keeping it real...those of you who know me well will find this tale difficult to believe. But I can assure you, I'm keeping this one real real! It'll make you laugh - promise! So I woke Tuesday at 5:45 AM with at little boy on Texas time. I might mention that Mom was due at the hospital for a routine procedure at 6:00 AM. Hubby was out of town. Dear Friend #1 took Mom in but I fielded a few calls and so I was up for the long haul. Dear Friend #2 agreed to watch my babies while I worked. Mom would be sleeping off anesthesia for the remainder of the day. I began the first leg of my daily 83 mile round trip and was cruising along nicely except for the fact that there is absolutely NOTHING to listen to at this time of the day but conservative talk radio. Oh well...a little comedy never hurt anybody and things could be worse. A LOT worse! I was nearing my exit when my cruise disengaged on it's own accord. Strange. And the car wouldn't accelerate either. Very strange. Then I remembered. I needed to fill up with fuel before beginning my 83 mile journey. It occurred to me that I was only about 4 miles from the nearest gas station and at the top of a very nice hill. I could make it! Or not. I was coasting along when my cell phone rang. I sensed panic in the voice of Dear Friend #2. Her little one required an immediate trip to the ER. "He's losing color!" she whispered. My heart stopped. I ordered her to leave my kids and get to the hospital NOW. Great idea, Kristi. It would only take me a whole day to get there on two legs. The car rolled to a stop no less than one mile from the Exxon. I ran! I called Mom and there was no answer, of course. It occurred to me that my student, Sky, would be waiting and frantic because that is what she does. I called her cell and filled her in but my words of assurance couldn't compete with the hysteria in my voice. It began to rain. I mean pour. Finally reaching Exxon, I purchased a wee little bit of gas and begin to scan the frighteningly unfriendly faces for a ride back to the car. If you've ever been to Connell, you know exactly what I'm talking about. I picked the least frightening face and sealed the deal. As I followed the stranger out the door, I was called by a beautiful woman standing by a shiny new Lexus Genesis. How could she possibly know my name? "Sky sent me." the woman informed. "She is very worried about you! I can drive you to your car if you hold that can of gas on your lap." It turned out to be a five day old Genesis belonging to the attendance officer at Connell High. Did I miss something? Like several paychecks during my stint in public education? I attempted to call Dear Friend #2 at least 20 times to no avail. Eventually I learned that Dear Friend #2 called Dear Friend #3 who dragged her 10 month pregnant body and two children from bed and into their van. She met Dear Friend #2 as she was pulling out of the drive way with a very sick little boy. Dear Friend #2 told Dear Friend #3 to take the kids to my Mom's. Finally a little luck was on my side because Mom forgot to turn off her cell phone and I was able to wake her. Groggy as she was, she was able to drag herself to the door just as the bell rang. Dear Friend #3 stayed a while. I was back with my kiddos in under an hour. What an hour! I sighed and remarked that it was obviously one of those days where everything that could go wrong would go wrong. The day was not to be a total loss though. I headed home with my student and my kids. There was no reason why I couldn't tutor Sky at home while the kids slept. Well maybe one little reason...like finding one's self locked out of the house! I had exactly three options. Call the locksmith and fork over the $70 required for two seconds of service, wait several hours for my in-laws to return from out of town and let me in my own house or beat my faulty brains against the locked door. In reality there were no options. No way was I going to tell Ryan that I locked myself and our children out of the house again. There was no way I was going to tell him that this time it cost us 70 bucks. Uh uh. No way! So we returned to Mom's and waited. Much later Dear Friend #4 and I laughed and laughed. "Oh, Kristi!" she remarked (and I quote). "As cool and collected as you are after all of this, one might think this sort of thing happened to you all the time." Silence then...because we both know. And I'm EVER SO GRATEFUL for dear friends and family! A happy ending to this tale. Dear Friend #2 had a day that was much worse than mine and not nearly as funny but her precious little boy is feeling much better. And Dear Friend #3 is delivering another precious little boy as I type. Nighty night!