Making Snowmen

These are the only kind of snowmen we'll be making in Florida!

Ella was a great little helper when I made these snowmen for a Relief Society project.

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving this year we packed up the car and made the long trek up to Virginia. Blair's sister, Melissa, lives near Richmond and we were glad to spend some time with her and her family. On Thanksgiving day itself we went to Melissa's sister in law's house. They were gracious hosts and even put us up for the night. Some things worth noting about the trip:

*Ella did better than expected on the drive, mostly thanks to a portable DVD player and plenty of planning ahead on my part. We were so grateful for the DVD player we borrowed from our friends that we decided to get our own on Black Friday to use on long road trips/plane rides.

*Even though we were in an unfamiliar city, we still dragged ourselves out on black Friday and got some great deals.

*Driving up the coast from the bottom of Florida was a lot of fun! We loved going from summer weather, shorts, and flip flops to beautiful fall colors and sweatshirts to no leaves on the trees and jackets. It really made me miss the changing seasons.

*We loved spending time with Melissa and her family and hope to go back as frequently as we can.

I didn't take any pictures on our trip (lame, I know) so here is a picture of Ella a few days before our trip taking care of her baby doll.

Alligator Sighting

Since moving to Florida my family has been teasing me about alligators. Imagine my excitement when I looked out my back door and spotted an alligator in the canal! We happened to have people over to watch General Conference at the time so we all spilled out into the backyard and I grabbed my camera.

I got within about 6-7 feet of the big guy and snapped a few pics. I figured there was a 2 foot drop from the bank to the water level so he wouldn't come up on land. Only later did I learn that alligators have amazing jumping ability--they can travel twice their length in one shot. This guy was about 8 ft. long. Needless to say, I won't intentionally be getting so close to one again.

Butterfly World

Blair got a special deal at work for us to go to Butterfly World on the cheap. Ella loved seeing the butterflies and she talked about it for weeks and weeks afterward. She also loved smelling all the flowers and watching people feed the birds in the mini aviary. If the deal comes up again we'll definitely go back.

Welcome Baby Luke!

My friend, Toshi (seen here), had her baby and I asked her if I could snap a few pictures of him. It was a quick session as far as newborns go and Luke didn't want to sleep for us, but I still love what we got! He's 9 months old now and quite a nice chunk!

Halloween Deja Vu

For Halloween this year we didn't go all out. In fact, Ella loved her little jack-o-lantern vest from last year and it still fit (though verging on too snug). So, A jack-o-lantern it was. Again. Still cute.

Baby Shower

In October I helped throw a baby shower for my friend, Toshi. A friend co-hosted it and we had it at her house. I made the invitations and planned the decorations, favors, and a couple of games. We did a safari theme and I had a fun time with it. I managed to snap a few pictures of decorations before things started but I forgot to take very many pictures during the event! I'm lucky I even got one of the guest of honor! You can find some much better pictures of Toshi here.

Toshi's Baby Bump

I was so excited to take may friend's maternity pictures at the beach! She is such a cute girl and we had a fun time, wind and all.

This is her cute little girl--one of Ella's best friends

Dierbergs Cakes

When I was a kid, my family had a tradition. It all started when my mom had a birthday cake from Dierbergs. I'm not quite sure exactly how the story goes, but family lore seems to agree that my mom licked some of the frosting with her finger. It was her cake, after all. One of my siblings saw that and decided it was time to dig in. With his hands. Thus, the Dierbergs cake tradition was born. Dierbergs cakes must be consumed with hands only--utensils are not even optional.

Growing up my mom usually made my birthday cakes, but from time to time we would get a Dierbergs cake for some reason and dutifully follow tradition. Then I graduated high school, moved away, and haven't lived in close proximity to Dierbergs for several years. It's been a long time since I had a Dierbergs cake.

Last July when I visited Idaho and Utah to defend my thesis, I proposed a family birthday party. Three cousins, including Ella, have birthday within one week of each other in July, so it seemed like a good excuse to get together. And even though we didn't have a Dierbergs cake, my sister in law did some doctoring of the cake decorations and managed to write Dierbergs on the cake. So we had to follow tradition.

We had all the kids wash hands with soap then put them all on a tarp in the back yard. We explained the rules. Birthday kids get first swipe then everyone else could dig in. Hilarity ensued and great fun was had by all. The adults enjoyed a triple layer chocolate cake (with plates and forks) while the kids reveled in permissable food play. When the cake was finally demolished, only Ella was left primly sitting on the tarp with barely a hint of frosting on her face. The kids had a bawl and I wouldn't mind carrying on the tradition. Enjoy the evidence of the fiasco--unless eating with hands grosses you out. In that case, look away now.

Back off, buddy! This is my birthday cake!

Okay, you can have some.

Or not.