Where we live there are big swathes of open space. They are aesthetically nice to have because there are all these walking paths, though they are probably really more for flood control. Either way, they are bands of wild country in the midst of lawn and houses. We know there are wildlife -the bunnies are ubiquitous and the coyote yips […]
Anyone who knows me well (or is my Facebook friend) knows I read ALOT! For the last few years I’ve averaged around 200 books a year. So since January or so I’ve maybe read six books. You might foolishly believe I’ve finally mastered my addiction. You’d be so wrong. One day, browsing Pinterest I got sucked into a Harry Potter […]
I came home from work yesterday to the concerned story Haley had to tell of the large, rusty puddle in the furnace room. The water heater had given up the ghost! We were pretty sure it was on its last legs, because we were lucky to get a couple of showers out of a tank in the morning. But yesterday […]
My natural instincts are to stay at home and enjoy the quiet. I could easily be a hermit!! But I don’t think it’s all that great for my emotional health. Sure, an occasional “mental health day” where you don’t do much of anything can be a good thing. But a steady diet of such definitely contributes to the blues. So, […]
I grew up in a transient home. My dad began his career as a Navy officer right around the time I was born and I spent the eighteen years of my childhood pulling up roots every two and a half years (and sometimes even more frequently). There are obvious disadvantages to this family lifestyle, but there are some real advantages […]
I usually make a family calendar as a Christmas gift. To make it more interesting I’ve done different themes. One year I made an alphabet calendar and family members whose names started with those letters appeared on that page. One year I featured each family on a page and then the kids in that family on another page. One year […]
Just like people or dogs (so I’ve been told) cats come with their own personalities. We’ve had three cats in our marriage. Our first was living on a farm in Wichita, KS when we got her. Tom agreed to the experiment (with some reservations since he was allergic). I promised she would be an indoor/outdoor cat and it would be […]
If you know me at all you know that I’m a voracious reader. Seriously, it is probably a thing that borders on being unhealthy. Add to that, for a girl who studied literature in college and knows how to appreciate fine writing, I’m pretty indiscriminate in my reading choices. I’m a happy genre reader – give me a good cozy […]
Tom and I are trying to go to the rec center with the kids a little more frequently. We figure some fun family time together is a good thing, and we are also trying to be more active this year … So I took some pictures at the pool of the kids. They are pretty terrible, but the kids had […]
We want to wish you all a Merry Christmas! Since I didn’t get around to writing a Christmas Letter this year, I thought I’d take a moment to highlight 2013 for our family. Spencer spent a good portion of this year at BYU Provo, finishing up his freshman year in April and returning for a second year in September. […]