Christmas in Utah 2010

Our Christmas trip has been quite an adventure for the few days we've been here. It started with a 15 hour white-knuckle drive through a snow storm up I-15 that didn't even get us all the way to our destination. Then we've had an action packed time ice skating, snow shoeing (how do you spell that?) and cross country skiing with cousins. (We love cousins!)

We had Christmas Eve dinner with the Garner/Iversons. We loved meeting babies and dogs that have joined the family since our last reunion. And no gathering is complete without some of the cousins being schooled in wrestling by cousin Graham.

Christmas Day was spent with the Johansens. It was exciting with our boys and a cousin all testing out their new fire-arms (who know nerf guns and rubber band shooters could be semi-automatic?). Games were played - digitally and physically. I wish I had taken a picture of the desserts, but they were awesome (and chocolate!)

Merry Christmas!

Stained Glass Cookie Ornaments

At Nathaniel's request, this year we made Stained-Glass Cookie Ornaments for the tree. You know - sugar cookies with a hole cut in the middle that you fill with crushed hard candies that then melt in the oven... Nathaniel was a great help in making them. He did all the sticky crushed candy work.

And then he helped me put the tree up, string the lights and hang the ornaments. I don't think I've ever had this much help decorating the tree.

I think it turned out pretty. I'm just worried that the ants will find the tree. I don't think my mom ever had to worry about ants in December in Utah.

Maybe I won't have to worry about ants though. The cookies are already being eaten. I tried to get a picture of the culprit, but he was so fast I couldn't even capture him on film.

Thanksgiving 2010

Where were you on black Friday? Up at 4am? In line with a bunch of other early shoppers suffering from over-indulgence from the previous day's feast? I was here.
So, I didn't save 40% off linens, or toys, or electronics. I think most everyone else did because it was quiet, peaceful, and oh yeah, SUNNY! I love Santa Barbara in the winter, and did I tell you it's less than an hour from my house now? (Santa Barbara hasn't moved. We did.)

Nathaniel loves it too. We were overdressed for the weather, but he loves his snow-hat, even at the beach.

He did manage to hit himself in the eye with the rapier-like stick he is swinging. But, no one else was hurt.

After proving that he could jump over a water inlet on the beach, Davis set about building a bridge with driftwood found nearby.

It was a pretty good bridge. It was even used by other beach goers who found themselves trapped by the inlet as they walked from the parking lot to the ocean. I think they said 12 adults crossed (and one selkie - a girl just transformed from a seal and came out of the ocean, or maybe she was wearing a wetsuit and just got out of a sea kayak) before it broke when a man in cowboy boots crossed while carrying his daughter on his shoulders. Oh well. Just the boots got wet.

Afterwards we had lunch at Stearns' Wharf.

We were very pleased to have visitors for Thanksgiving. Chris' folks came down for the whole weekend and feasted, hiked, and beached with us. My brother Mark and his family came over Friday to see our new place. The kids had a great time in the spa and then playing horsey in the loft. I'm surprised no one was trampled by the big teenage boy horsies. The horsies were very good sports.

Hmmm. In this picture it looks like one of the big horsies is getting a ride from his little sister. She was a really good sport.

We discovered a lovely arboretum about a mile from our place. We went there to get ideas of plants we want to put in our own yard.

It was a pretty, sunny day; just a little on the cool side (60's... Brrrrrrr). Yeah, I've lived in S. Cal. too long.

Nathaniel is 11!

A New Bike for Davis

A new bike came for Davis today. Chris ordered it off the internet. Davis has been waiting for a bike so he can ride from early morning seminary to school and then home after school. It will save me about 40 minutes of driving back and forth on some days. I'll still drive him at 6am to seminary - it's too dark to have him ride at that time in the morning.
The bike came mostly assembled - I just put on the seat, pedals, handlebars, and front brakes. It's a track bike with just one gear. It has a freewheel so Davis can hold his feet still while he coasts down a hill. But, it can be converted to a "fixie" which means it has a fixed gear so the pedals always move when the wheels move. You have to pedal really fast down a hill. He can change it when he gets used to the skinny tires and builds some bike muscles. There are lots of hills here and he'll be building muscles getting up them with just one gear.

Davis chose the color - clockwork orange. Nice.

Here he is on the maiden voyage. It's very different than riding a mountain bike - much more squirrely and you feel closer to the ground. Also, the skinny jean trend makes it a little more difficult getting on and off the bike. At least the jeans have a little lycra now-a-days.

He's pretty happy about it; he's even willing to pose for a picture... and smile.

And Nathaniel was a good sport about Davis getting a new bike while he is going to use Davis' hand-me-down bike. But, he did keep running into the pictures so as not to be overlooked.

Since these bikes don't have extra gears or derailers they are super light. Should be fun. It's a shame it will be locked up at the school all day. I'd like to ride it around a bit too.

Grandparents visit for Halloween

Halloween week has been fun. It started with cub scout pack meeting featuring a traditional doughnut-on-a-string eating contest. Nathaniel has a huge smile on his face while he's trying to get his doughnut. This is one of his last pack meetings before he goes into boy scouts.Grandma and Grandpa Johansen drove down to see our new house. Nathaniel received a basketball as an early birthday present and he enjoyed learning some skills with Grandpa.

Then we decided to see something new in our area. We went to a teaching zoo at a local community college. It was small and a little sleepy, but it was OK.

There were cockroaches to hold

and condor silhouettes.

It was a very pretty day though. Pretty good for Oct 30.

This was Davis' Halloween Costume. He wore it to a Stake dance and the ward Trunk or Treat. Since Halloween was on a Sunday we didn't plan to go trick or treating, and neither of the boys seemed that keen on it. We bbq-ed with the grandparents and watched a couple movies and met a couple neighbors when they came trick or treating to our door.

We took a drive to the beach to get out of the house. We're looking for a new favorite beach - I don't think this is it, but it was OK.

The boys liked fighting with bamboo sticks they found on the beach.

The life guards aren't around this time of year to enforce the rules about bamboo stick fighting on the lifeguard towers. We'll keep looking for the perfect beach. In the mean time, ask yourself if you wouldn't rather be on a sunny beach instead of the cold state you live in right now... We have a guest room and soon we'll be done with the master closet so we don't have to store all of our clothes in the guest room closet. Come see us - there are vacancies available for the holidays!

Nearing the end of the season

Davis is near the end of the cross country season. He is running 4 minutes faster for a 5k (3.1miles) than he was at the beginning of the season. Friday was the Ventura County Championship meet at Lake Casitas and he ran about 2minutes faster than he did at an invitational on the same course about a month ago. Its been a very fun season and he's done a great job. I love going to the meets.

Where has October gone?

I decided it was time to finish the entryway. One wall was unprimed texturizer and the other was halfway painted with yellow by the previous owner and left that way. So I taped all the carpet edges on the stairs (wish I'd have done that wall before the carpet went in) and primed everything. I tested painting over the yellow paint edge but the yellow was a different finish than the white they were painting over, so the new paint had a different sheen on the two surfaces. It seemed better to prime everything.
The flash washes out the picture, but the color is a darker peat. It looks much better now. Now for painting the living room...

The only costume I am making this year (that I know of) is Nathaniel's, so we went all out on it. He had a homemade bow made out of a bent stick and string from a friend that he wanted to use. And after seeing a make-your-own moccasin kit at the scout shop, he knew he had to be an indian (or blond indiginous north american).

We found some cool embroidered buckskin-like fabric and a ready-made war bonnet.

Little Hiawatha is on the war path.

Not sure what we'll do on Halloween since it is on Sunday this year. Tomorrow the elementary is having a fall carnival, to which the kids can wear costumes, and next Saturday there is a trunk-or-treat at the church so he will get plenty of costume time and candy. Maybe Sunday will be a night to sit on our porch and give out candy and try to meet neighbors. I wonder what trick or treating will be like in this neighborhood...