D's Favorites Age 17

Movie: District 9

Color: Green

Restaurant: NOT JANBO

Birthday Treat: Papa John's Picnic Cake

Food: A good grilled steak

Day: Friday

Holiday: Christmas

Song: The Gravel Road by James Newton Howard

Musical Artist: People in Planes

Vacation: California

Book: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Animal: Dog?? (he doesn't really like animals)

Dream Place to Live: Scotland

Career Choice: Film maker/Director

How many kids does he want to have: 3

College:

Quote: If at first you don't succeed; try try again - Robert the Bruce (he thinks)

D's Birthday & Un- Birthday

So the boy has turned 17 now. His birthday was on Tuesday. He was out of school for a 'teacher prep day' but was not happy to wake up at midnight barfing up asian food. D has a very tumultuous relationship with asian food. He swears the only times he's ever thrown up has been asian food. (I have the funny feeling he may serve an asian mission and it makes me laugh)

He has mostly avoided asian food. Yet his friends love this disgusting fast food place called Janbo's. He's been eating there at least once a week this school year and smuggly telling me it doesn't make him sick anymore. But Monday night must have been a "kept the food on the counter too long" or a "don't wash your hands after going to the bathroom" special at Janbo's. D and his friend Andrew upchucked all of it. Needless to say, he wasn't feeling very in the mood for birthday cake or dinner out. Which was just as well since Ari was home sick that day too. I decided we'd just pretend that Wednesday was his birthday. When he woke up we sang to him. After his rehearsal we went out to dinner at the super expensive highly overrated Melting Pot restaurant. Then we came back for Picnic Cake & ice cream & he opened his present. It was a nice beginning to my low-key non-stress year of celebrating kid's birthday's. ZEN in 2010 already!

Watch out for Mr. T and his skewer!

Weekend at the Maxwell Cabin........

Check out Lucy on the back of the Snowmobile with B pulling Caden back up the hill!

The 5 tube super run that reached speeds of 31 miles per hour- Clocked by the snowmobile.

>>

Awwww tootsie warming by the fire is a must!

Mr. T and his bff Caden look so cool here on the 1988 mini mobile (bummer they discontinued those toys - they love it) But they are definitely 2 peas in a very goofy silly 8 year old boy pod!

Whitney, Ari, Cody & Lucy. The highlight of the weekend was Cody (the Maxwells golden retriever who is a direct descendant of the immortal Roxie/Kizzy) going down the hill all by himself on the sled just calmly checking everybody out. He didn't even jump off till the sled stopped. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough but he looked hilarious. Lucy needs more practice on the sleds - she's a chicken!

Cuddle time after a long hard day of sledding

Puzzle time with the cute preteens Morgan, Lelu and Jantz (the Maxwell's other friends that came along 12 year old son)

D was trusted to stay home alone so that he could go to rehearsal for his play at Alta. He got an early Christmas gift being cast as "Reverend Parris" (the evil minister) in The Crucible. It is the 3rd largest role in the play and he LOVES being evil. I know I will have a hard time watching him play this part. Part proud of him for being memorable and cringing at the same time with just how vile his character really is. He also entered the 24 hour LDS film festival. More about that later.

47 is better than 74!

That's what the clerk in the grocery store said as she rang up a 4 and a 7 candle and asked "47 or 74?" I said "Uh, husband, uh, 47" I took this to mean that I should be happy that on my next birthday I can be "24" again right?

We spent B's b-day up at the Maxwell cabin for the weekend. I made Mimi's cobbler with blackberries & blueberries to eat after we went to dinner at this really yummy restaurant in Kamas called Gateway Grill. Who knew Kamas could have a good restaurant? We met up with our other friends Kelly & Juan for dinner too. They have a cabin not too far away that they were spending the weekend.

B's birthday gift was a new mattress. I thought I was very sneaky having it delivered the day before and having it all made like usual. My plan was to see if he noticed it. We'd both been sleeping cocooned in perfect body-shaped indentations we'd created in the last 9 years and both assumed the other one would get us new mattress for Christmas. I did a bunch of consumer report research and then became more confused. I decided to take an afternoon to go lie down and roll into all of my different sleeping positions on each mattress sold in the store. The salesman was quite nice and just left me alone. I was surprised by my instincts and picked one that I'd never even really heard about or read about. The store guarantees 30 nights of sleep if you don't like it you can exchange it, so I knew I was safe.



So that night B goes in to lie down on it and I walk in with this goofy smile on my face and ask him if he's comfortable. Immediately all blood left his brain and assumed my goofy smile preempted another kind of "gift". I said "I got you a present already for your birthday" And he preceded to guess for the next 15 minutes everything from weird piercings, tattoos, mickeys in his drink or my drink and stuff I'd never even considered. I got a great laugh out his guesses.......and a slight case of paranoia. We both LOVE the new mattress - it is comfy comfy comfy.

B's Favorites In his own words (except for the parentheses I added)

Movie: 2009 was Taken

Color: The color green in new spring growth

Restaurant: Utah does not have good restaurants

Birthday Treat: Mimi's Cobbler

Food: Kristin's Tomato Bisque

Day: Any day with my family

Holiday: Christmas Eve

Song: The songs Kristin picks for me (Do you see the genes I'm working with?)

Musical Artist: Defer to song (Seriously!)

Vacation: Mountains

Book: 2009 was The Alchemist

Animal: Lucy our chocolate lab

Dream place to live: Cabin in Mountains

Quote: Never. Never. Never. Give up. - Winston Churchill

Even so, I'll still love him at 74!

I'm going to FIND MY ZEN IN 2010!

That's my mantra for this year. I actually stole it from a DJ on the radio - but I like it a lot. On New Year's eve me, B and the little kids just hung out eating Cafe' Rio and working on our 2000 piece puzzle of the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany. Is it just me, or does Germany come up a lot in our lives? We listened to the fireworks outside and watched poor Dick Clark on what, in my opinion, should be his last "Rockin New Years Eve". That guy is not looking too good! D had many plans that night.

Jan, 1st 2010 I had all of us who live at home write up New Year's resolutions. I gave them 5 categories 1. Health 2. Education 3. Creative 4. Spiritual 5. Social and then B added 6. Family.
D didn't think it's a good idea to put them on my blog because some are personal. I wanted to just scan them, but I will honor his request and just list some of my favorites:


B: Creative : COMPLETE MG (seriously one of my favorites and I do realize how selfish I sound but I am dying to drive my cute little convertible around with my hair blowing in the wind and pretending I'm 17 again) Social : Date Kristin more (that's for me too!)

D: Family: Try not to take 40 minute showers and run out all the hot water.

Lelu: Creative: finish learning "Clocks" on the piano Health: Eat 10 bites of butternut squash soup (seriously torture for her)

Ari: Creative: I will draw pictures for my teacher it will be like swirls everywhere. Social: I will not brag to Sierra (she hopes she won't brag to her either!)

Mr. T: Creative: I will make a new paper airplane I have never built. Family: I will shut my closet door, open my door and yous (use) my towels again.

Me: Education: Read Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C and Pearl of Great Price. Plus 50 other books of my choice. Health: Run Moab half marathon March 20th (no walking, run the whole thing) - train well! (I ran 8 miles today! it was tough!)


Well, I'll check back in to see if we made it come 2011!

Thanks Aunt Michelle For Tickets to The Children's Museum!

For Christmas Aunt Michelle gave Mr. T a pass to the Children's museum for 6 people. It needed to be used before the end of the year, so we decided to go up the day before New Year's Eve and invite some friends along. Poor Mr. T's buddy had just returned from Hawaii on a red-eye and his mother couldn't get him to wake up to go with us. We took Ari's bff Aubrey and her sister Summer. I'm pretty sure everyone else in the area decided to go that day too. Kids out of school, freezing rain/slush outside - not much else to do. I've never seen it so crowded. Yet another "stop and be grateful for those milestones to pass moment"......they are all old enough to not freak out if you don't see them for a few minutes in a crowded place.

The girls all hung out in the grocery store checking everybody out. Thank heavens I just read a book about kids and what they want to be when they grow up and learned that: when they say they want to be a checkout lady in a grocery store they don't mean "when I grow-up" They mean "right-now" because kids haven't developed the ability to foresee the reality of the future. (not that there is anything wrong with wanting to be a checkout lady when they grow up) There's your "know-it-all moment" for today's blog!

Of course, Mr. T did not have any desire to hang out in grocery all day - so he flitted from rock wall to water splashing fun to tractor building area and back to shoot balls up tubes. He's the one who took years off my life before we hit the 'not needing to be watched every second milestone'.

After our fun at the museum, we had the pleasure of meeting Michelle, her friend she met in Europe and B for dinner at the Blue Iguana. (I'm not even going to attempt to spell his name for you because I know I will slaughter the you know what out of it.) He's from Germany and was very very good natured around my bouncy, somewhat insensitive and rude kids. I take no blame for their comments about being old, wrinkles and waddles. B seems to really think it's funny that they tease him about his age, round pack, waddle and bald spot. He totally encourages it too. And then it bites me in the butt because they then say rude stuff to other people. This is public apology and my written vow to teach them it's not funny and it's mean!


Thanks Michelle for the pass and the opportunity to meet another truly wonderful person from Germany and your patience!