The First Snowfall

We had our first snowfall last night and some snow showers throughout the day! Tis the season. Bring on the soft stuff! :) (We still miss Utah snow.)

Thanksgiving in St. Joe

We didn't take any time off for Thanksgiving this year so we found ourselves making a whirlwind trip to St. Joseph, MO (about a 4 1/2 hour drive for us). We left around 6:30 am and returned at 11:30 pm. And jam-packed between those hours we had lots of fun, family, and food. It was great to get to visit with everyone. But alas . . . even though I took the camera (a huge accomplishment for me), the only pictures I have to chronicle our trip are these two that I took on my new phone. Happy Thanksgiving! :)

I love this one of Grampa "wrastling" with Haley. I'm just sorry that I missed the action just before this shot when Haley was carrying him around. Oh well . . . maybe next year.

Ben's Day "Off"

Ben has been working at Home Depot part-time and this is the first Saturday he has had off in a while. So it was the perfect opportunity to cut down the tree on the fence line. Here is a little tour of our back yard and some pictures of our tree removal process.

Just a pile of wood from the branches we cut down during the week. We started this project a few weeks ago. (Thanks John and Mary for letting us borrow your chainsaw and thanks to our neighbors who let us borrow their extension ladder.)

A stump in the middle of our yard from our first tree removal.

The corner of the yard that was once the home of the killer poison ivy. Ben was my hero and removed all evidence of the offending plant. I am extremely allergic to poison ivy. It isn't pretty.

Just a few of the bricks and rocks we have had to remove since moving into this house. The yard was very overgrown and contained some various decorative elements that may have been beautiful at one time, but were old and worn out. Just behind this pile of bricks you can see a remnant of our statue of Mary that adorned the center of our backyard. That's a story for another time. It is common in this city to have statues of saints in your yard to bestow certain blessings for your home.
Ummm . . . this is our fire pit. But of course it is illegal to burn anything in the city.

This is a picture of our ancient cottonwood tree that is a humongous monster. Ben cut down the "smaller" tree pictured the lower left. This cottonwood blankets the neighborhood in downy cotton in the spring and showers the block with leaves in the fall. And we are all going to have to deal with that, because there is no way Ben is going to climb this one to cut it down. It is a pretty tree and we do enjoy the shade . . .

And now the real adventure.....

I am at the other end of the rope. My job was to provide the counter-weight so the branches wouldn't just come crashing down on the neighbor's chain link fence or garage or swing back into Ben. But that was pretty easy really since Ben strategically used the rope and saw. He did all the hard work and the fourth graders think he's Spiderman. Now that I'm using my camera more, I need to make sure it doesn't distract me from the other things I'm supposed to be doing. At one point Ben said, "Linda!" "What?!" "Pull!" "I'm just trying to document our adventure!" And with conversation like that, perhaps I should title this blog, "When Blogging Can be Dangerous." Oh well . . . He'll appreciate the pictures later.

Daila's Thumbelina Dance

Ben has just taught me how to upload pictures from our camera to the computer. (I know. It's shocking that I have gone this long without learning this very important 20th century skill. But better late than never.) So I will try to post decent pictures from now on. But habits are hard to break and I am still not used to carrying my camera around with me. So here are some photos from my phone of Daila dancing to Charo (who plays a toad on Thumbelina). If you are unfamiliar with our favorite movie, Thumbelina (or with Charo), here is a picture of her . . .

Now imagine Daila dancing impromptu in the style of this lovely entertainer and you will understand why I just had to capture the moment.

Do I have a Latina bombshell in the making, or what!?! :) She can sure shake it! Now we just have to teach her how to sing very fast, because as Mrs. Toad says, "We don't do ballads!"

where do they come up with this stuff?

So I've been blog stalking and leaving comments and I just had to wonder . . . who comes up with those "security" words? How much do they get paid for that? And where do they get their ideas? I just typed in "founduck" and "bummocks". I mean, really . . . are they just getting silly with all of us now? "Hey Fred! Let's make everyone type "bummocks" to verify their identity and communicate with their friends." Sheesh. ......Well actually, if it pays well . . . could be a pretty fun job. :)

Ahh Technology . . .

I am working on my "Tagged" project (which I will be posting soon) and was taking some pictures of the girls to illustrate it. After every picture, of course, the girls all said, "Can I see? Can I see? Can I see?" And this was starting to slow down the process because you have to stop after every picture so everyone can review it. So I was starting to let it irritate me and I said, "You guys can see them later. . . . You know, there used to be a time when you couldn't look at your pictures right after you took them. You had to wait until the film was developed and just hope you got some good ones." I wanted them to just be grateful they got to see any at all and stop asking. I think they got the jist of the meaning and could tell I was getting annoyed because they were quiet for a minute. Then Anna asked, "What's developing film?" I had to laugh, "Exactly my point!"

I've Been Tagged

Thanks for "tagging" me Cindy.
I am . . . an awesome substitute teacher who is highly sought after. Reserve me in advance, or you'll lose your chance. :)

I know . . . how to hula.

I have . . . 3 daughters.

I dislike . . . leftovers.

I want . . . to make a difference.

I win . . . word games.

I lose . . . my patience.

I miss . . . eating out.

I cry . . . in secret.

I feel . . . "pretty, oh so pretty . . ."

I don't . . . like cops and I don't want anymore speeding tickets.

I hear . . . kids calling me Mom, Mrs. Voelkel, and Teacher . . . incessantly.

I argue . . . when I really shouldn't.

I smell . . . clean kiddos just out of the bath.

I search . . . for macthing socks.

I listen . . . to Christmas music before Halloween.
I crave . . . baked goods. I am such a sucker for bad carbs . . .

I need . . . shoes. All the time. Lots and lots of shoes.

I regret . . . not being more generous. (and those speeding tickets)

I love . . . flying with Ben.

(I love Missouri.)

(the Mississippi River sparkles from the sky and doesn't look muddy at all.) :}
I care . . . about education.
I wish . . . I had energy efficient windows.

This picture is illustrating the lengths we have to go to in order to regulate our home's temperature. Behind our thick curtains you can see the plastic that covers our 100 year old windows to help reduce the draft. Without the plastic, you can actually see the curtains move on very windy days.

I can usually be found . . . wearing Ben's U of U sweatshirt.

I am scared . . . of crunching spiders. yechk

(1. Monster spider . . . in my sink! Unacceptable. 2. See how ugly he is?! Problem: I can't crush spiders . . . they make an icky crunchy sound. Plus, Ben said he wouldn't come home from work just to kill a spider. So much for Prince Charming. :{ 3. So I boiled some water and poured it on him. Squirmed . . . and died. I felt awful. Very traumatic experience. I think I will seek counselling. Stupid yucky spider.)

I worry . . . too much.

I remember . . . my first kiss.

I believe . . . everyone means well. It is just as easy to assume the best of people as it is to assume they mean to offend.

I dance . . . with the Young Women. (and when I make dinner, but that's a secret)

I write . . . with my left hand.

I forget . . . my keys. (I do NOT want to get into details here. But I WOULD like to thank my many friends and family, and the Venita Park police officer, who have helped me out in the past. I promise I will make a copy and wear it on my neck.)

I am happy . . . in the peace of a good book, all alone, or surrounded by the commotion of my extended family.

I tag . . . April, Kara, and Aleshia. If I can do it, I know you can. Let's have some fun.