Wish Lists to Santa

Here's what my girls have asked Santa to give them:

Rose:
Piano
Doggy
Choo Choo Train

Lacy:
Wedding Dress
Veil
Cake Topper

Lacy's a bit obsessed with getting married lately. The other day, she packed all her clothes in a suitcase and told me she was moving to Utah because she was getting married and her husband had a job in Utah.

What's your guess?

I asked all my family members what their guesses are for this new little baby. Here are our guesses, and we'll see who is closest! If you want to play, too, just respond with your guess in the comments!

Rose
Date: January 22
Time: Night/10 pm
Hair? Lots of blond hair
Weight: 9 lb 3 oz
Length: 22 inches

Lacy
Date: January 31
Time: 2 am
Hair?: Lots of blond hair
Weight: 8 lb 5 oz (shockingly, that's Lacy's birth weight)
Length: 21 inches

Carolyn
Date: February 2 (my second choice is January 25)
Time: 10:30 am
Hair?: Lots of brown hair
Weight: 8 lb 12 oz
Length: 20 inches

Dave
Date: January 21
Time: Sometime at night
Hair?: A medium amount of light-colored hair
Weight: 8 lb 14 oz

Past history to help you make your guess: Both Lacy and Rose were 21 inches long. Lacy was 8 lb 5 oz, Rose was 9 lb 6 oz. Lacy was born 5 days before her due date, Rose was born on her due date. Both girls were born at night. Lacy had a smallish amount of light brown hair, Rose had a ton of dark brown hair. As far as Dave and I go, I don't know many details on Dave's birth. I believe he was on the larger side, but he was early (his mother had complications due to the shape of her uterus though, which probably resulted in the early birth). He was a blond, bald baby. I was born in the morning at 9 lb 2 oz/21" long with tons of dark brown hair just like Rosie.

What have I done?

Thanks Brightonwoman for this meme!

Bold the ones you’ve done.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said "I love you" and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse well, I've seen partial eclipses and lunar eclipses AND I was in "Little Shop" and SANG about a total eclipse...
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe not backpacking, but camping.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain probably, but nothing "romantic" that stands out.
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period yay surgery!
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States at one point this was true, but not anymore.
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you if music is artwork then yes...
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ HOT 104!
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Image Tag

My friend Kathy has this on her blog, and it looked like fun, so here goes...

What are you doing right now?
My Age

First Name
Middle Name (I don't have one, so I'll use my "made up" middle name.)
Last Name
Maiden Name
Favorite Food

Bad Habit
Past pet
Grandmother's names

Past Love

First Job
Favorite Place
If I went back to School
If I could visit any place in the World

Now it is your turn!

Go to Google.

Do an image search for your answer to each question.

Pick a picture off the first page of images that best answers the question.

Name That Sidedish!

So, what is that interesting looking dish? Care to take a guess?

Test your color IQ

This is a really fun test you can take to see how well you can distinguish colors on a spectrum. I scored a 0, which is actually a perfect score. Frankly, it surprised me, considering my style ineptitude.

Go ahead-- take it and post your score!

Tagged: Unspectacular Quirks

Here are the rules
• Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
• Tag 6 fellow bloggers

1. My sheets have to be perfectly smooth when I go to bed at night. Otherwise I am kicking and fussing after I get to bed and end up practically making the bed right before bedtime. I learned about a year ago that making your bed daily solves that problem so now I have to make my bed every day. Dave knows it when I don't.

2. I turn off all the surge protector power strips to conserve energy at night, so all the little blinking lights will go to bed. I can't sleep if I haven't flipped the switch on them.

3. I hate making phone calls and will do almost anything to get out of making them.

4. If I am, for example, going on vacation and need a pack of pull-ups for the trip, I hide them in the bottom of my shopping cart so nobody will see that I am buying disposable diapers. I would be mortified if somebody saw those 'sposies!

5. If I mess up or get nervous I play with my hair.

6. I never had stage fright until I went to college!

I tag: Anyone who happens upon this blog. I'm using the honor system! ;)

Cool Website

Have you ever lost a camera? Well, now there's a website to help! I Found Your Camera helps to reunite people with their missing cameras, flash cards, and photographs. Czech it out!

A good time was had by most

We decided to do an impromptu salmon cookout tonight at my house, inviting all my local siblings for dinner. We didn't call to invite Mark because he's a bit farther away and I figured he'd be busily cooking dinner for a pretty girl up in Seattle tonight anyway. Other than him, we were all there.

For a while, we sat around watching Olympics on my OnDemand. Leslie had no idea of the outcome of many of Michael Phelp's races, so she watched them intently. She used to be somewhat of a competitive swimmer herself (she actually went to state for one event in high school), so she is really into this sport. Then to see him win by 8/100ths of a second was very exciting for her.

Eventually, we ate some grilled salmon, salad, and rice pilaf. After dinner was over, we decided it would be fun to play a few games in my very large backyard. I have the largest yard of anyone in my family, so we can do quite a bit in it. Unfortunately the grass hasn't come in too well, so it wasn't as soft as it could be, but we're planning on aerating it as soon as possible. Perhaps we'll have a soft lawn next year.

Our first game was a tug of war. We had Lacy and Regan be team captains, and didn't try to influence who they would choose to be on their teams. Here's both teams, ready to go:

Team Regan
Team Lacy
We played two rounds, and each team won once. The deciding factor was the slightly slanted piece of lawn, giving the advantage to the downhill team.

Next we played Red Rover, with Turner and Landon as captains. Dave wisely bowed out of this competition, as he was afraid he was going to hurt someone.

Team Landon:
Team Turner:
And how smart Dave was to bow out. Both the mothers in this game hurt a child of theirs. I accidentally dragged Lacy on the ground for a second (she tripped when we were running and then landed on her head). She didn't land very hard, but she seemed to really hurt herself. She may have been being overly dramatic because she was starting to get sick and currently has a temperature over 101. Actually Dave is trying to get her to take Tylenol as we speak to help her sleep better, but she is being stubborn about it (of course).

We next had foot races, with several different types of races, eventually morphing into fun and interesting races. We had a wheelbarrow/crab relay at the end. I'm not sure who won, but it was hilarious to be sure.

Then we just started getting weird. We did some leg wrestling, arm wrestling, standing arm wrestling with both arms (does it have a name?), and that thing that Joseph Smith liked playing with a stick. I have way too many pictures to post right now, but here's my favorite: Leslie and me leg wrestling. She beat me, but I had the final victory.

Olympic Cities

I'm currently obsessed with watching the Olympics. I was thinking about all the cities in the world where the Olympics have been held, and I realized that I have been lucky enough to live in two Olympic cities. Both are in Germany-- Berlin and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where the 1936 Olympics were held in both cities, summer and winter respectively. I used to take swimming lessons in the Olympic pool in Berlin. I remember visiting the ski jumps in Garmisch, and since it is such a small town I'm sure I've visited other Olympic sites and probably "raced" on a mountain where Olympic events took place. I say that in quotes, because I didn't really get it and I wasn't very good-- during one race I was told to ski between the flags, so I literally skied between the two poles instead of around them. I was a bit of a slow child, especially where sports were concerned. Both cities I lived in for three years, G-P from 1982-1985 and Berlin from 1989-1992 (yes, the year the wall fell). I have also been to several other Olympic cities, including Salt Lake City, Vancouver BC (hosting next winter Olympics), Atlanta, GA (well, sort of-- do layovers count?), London, Rome, Munich (many times-- we actually attended church there every Sunday for a while), Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and possibly several others. I'm very lucky to be so well traveled! Maybe Dave and I will have a little extra cash lying around in a year and a half so we can take a little trip to watch a couple of events in Vancouver-- it's only a 3 hour drive, after all!

This is me, going for the gold in Olympic city Garmisch-Partenkirchen in early 1983.

What Olympic cities have you lived in? What Olympic cities have you visited? What Olympic cities are on your wish list of places to visit?

My newest obsession

I picked up my knitting needles again yesterday. I haven't knit in a while because I get carpel tunnel while pregnant, and I just hadn't started back up again since Rose was born. Well, it's about time I do it again! I still have pain in my hands, but I'm hoping to figure something out to keep them from hurting so much. I really enjoy knitting-- it's therapeutic. I'm actually pretty good at it, too. I am self taught but I lack a lot of the knowledge, so hopefully I'll be able to learn everything I need to know thanks to the wonder of the internet. One resource I've been using a lot is knittinghelp.com-- it has video tutorials, links to free patterns, and loads more information.

One other motivation to knit again is the many skeins of yarn I have lying around the house (it might even be in the hundreds of skeins!). I need to get those knit up into a usable object! I can't buy any yarn until I have most of the yarn I already have finished up into projects. As I continue to improve my skills, I will share my finished projects on this blog.

My shrimpy little girl

Lacy has always been thin. She started out a normal weight at 8 lb 5 oz, gained weight to be about 18/19 pounds around her first birthday, but then it tapered off. She weighed 22 pounds when she turned two years old, and after her third birthday for several months she weighed only 25/26 pounds. Finally she started gaining weight and was 31 pounds by spring this year when she went to have her tonsils removed. I weighed her last month and she was 37 pounds, and now she's closer to 38. This is within the normal weight ranges for 4 year old girls, but 31 pounds with her height (40 inches at the time, currently 42 inches) put her well within the underweight category.

I thought it was the tonsil surgery that bulked her up. But now I have learned that I was mistaken. It was not the tonsil surgery at all. It was Regan and Marilyn who did it.

Build your vocabulary, feed the hungry!

Check out this website! FreeRice.com is a vocabulary building website. On the screen, it provides a word and four possible definitions. For every correct definition, they will donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program! So far this morning I've donated 500 grains of rice while building my vocabulary! The words are challenging and this website is addicting. Be warned!

Dance!

Dave is one of the head stage managers at our region's LDS youth dance festival. There are 11 stakes participating in this, including my own stake and my sister's stake. I know some of the youth dancing, including my nephew Hayden, who is in the baketball dance. Dave has been busily helping out with the dance festival since Thursday, and the first performance was last night. While he was there, Dave got to meet Sister Dalton, the general Young Women's President, Kenneth Cope, an LDS musician, and Brad Wilcox, an author and inspirational speaker, as well as BYU professor. Dave was actually Brad's main assistant at the event, so he got to know him pretty well. Brad has a good impression of Dave, and Brad's words have inspired Dave. He has really loved helping out during the event, which I've been told is excellent, despite some glitches.

If you're in Western Washington, make a trip to the Tacoma Dome today for a 2 pm or 7 pm performance. It is well worth it! The event is free and parking is $8. I'm going today and taking Lacy and her best friend. I'm leaving Rose behind-- I just can't fathom trying to wrangle a 2 year old during this! No thank you!

Taking a trip down memory lane...

Let's take a trip down Memory Lane....Do you remember when?Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember(it can involve the family or even my husband too)!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you... either on your blog, in my comment box, or I will email you back!

3. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all ☺

4. Consider this a Tag: if you've read it, you have to do it!

A Few of Lacy's Favorite Things

In honor of Lacy's 4th birthday, here are some of her favorite things.

Favorite Song: "All American Girl," Carrie Underwood
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Toy: Dolls probably, though she loves a lot of her toys.
Favorite Animal: She loves all animals from a distance!
Favorite Book: She has lots of favorites. We really enjoyed reading Little House in the Big Woods together.
Favorite Game: Hide and Seek
Favorite Thing to do with Dad: Fishing
Favorite Thing to do with Mom: Cooking
Favorite Thing to do with Rose: Play dress-ups and family
Favorite Naughty Activity: Teasing her sister
Favorite Messy Activity: Playing with make-up
Favorite Food: Anything sweet.
Favorite Good for you food: Berries of all types
Favorite Class: Gymnastics
Favorite Part of Spiritual Time: reciting articles of faith
Favorite Sister: Rose
Favorite Prissy Thing: Tea parties!
Favorite Person to talk to on the phone: Anyone! Especially people she loves.

Thanks to everyone for coming to our party tonight. We had a really good time with you all! We really appreciate you coming over to help make Lacy's birthday so special!

To better keep track of everyone...

I've created a bloglist on my sidebar. I like it a lot because it updates with when people last posted on their blogs so it's easier to keep up with everyone, and it's nice to get notice when infrequent bloggers finally post to their blog (I'm not going to name any names here, but Kelly you really need to update your blog). I'm still adding people to it. I know there are some that I've forgotten! Please either email me or respond to this post if you blog on blogger and would like to be added to my list. These are blogs of friends and family that I read on a regular basis, and a couple special interest blogs that I enjoy. I hope all of you enjoy these blogs, too.

One of my current obsessions is staying on top of my sister's blog list. I'm so lame. But if you'd like to obsess over the same thing, feel free. I won't mind ;)

I've been tagged (twice)

OK, this is the second time I've been tagged on this one, so I guess it's about time I do it!

3 Joys: Dave, Lacy and Rose


3 Fears: Making phone calls, Dancing in front of people, and Heights


3 Goals: Lose 10 more pounds, Finish reading the Book of Mormon twice this year (or more), Get my house pretty inside and out


3 Obsessions: Like Leslie, I'm pretty obsessive, so I obsess over lots of things. Right now my obsessions are: Heritage animals and Heirloom plants, making watermelon rind pickles, and living on a commune someday (soon).



3 Surprise Facts: I am anti-mainstream and cannot do anything if it is trendy (except read Harry Potter), I enjoy doing laundry though you wouldn't know it based on the mess in my laundry room, and I want my own roadside farm stand (where I can also sell watermelon rind pickles).

I tag: Emily and Jennifer

A Few of Rose's Favorite Things

I meant to blog this yesterday on Rose's actual birthday, but my allergies are very severe right now and yesterday was the worst day of allergies I've experienced so far this year. Anyway. This is a list of many of Rose's favorite things!

Favorite Song: "Popcorn Popping," "Book of Mormon Stories"
Favorite Color: Yellow
Favorite Toy: Dolls
Favorite Animal: Dog (in theory, not in actuality!)
Favorite Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Any "Little People" lift the flap book
Favorite Game: Duck, Duck, Goose
Favorite Thing to do with Dad: Cuddle after baths
Favorite Thing to do with Mom: Nursing... duh!
Favorite Thing to do with Lacy: Play dress-ups
Favorite Naughty Activity: Coloring on walls
Favorite Messy Activity: Playing in dirt/sand
Favorite Food: rice and noodles
Favorite Class: Nursery
Favorite Part of Spiritual Time: family hug and kisses
Favorite Sister: Lacy
Favorite Prissy Thing: Painting fingers and toes
Favorite Phrase: "Family Hug!" (it comes out as, "ga ga ga!!!!")
Favorite Person to talk to on the phone: Daddy

Top 1000 Names for 2007

The top 1000 names for 2007 has been released by the SSA. I'm so excited! This is my baby naming bible. I always refer to it when naming a child to ensure that their name isn't too popular. Rose's name was ranked #347 in the year she was born, and is only getting less popular. In 2006, 945 babies were given the first name Rose. Lacy's name was ranked 897 in the year she was born, with just 270 children given the name Lacy that year. It has since dropped off the list completely. Lacey, however, is still on the list. Oh, well. At least she'll always have to spell her name for people. As long as Rose doesn't have to spell her name for people, we'll be doing fine.