Sope Creek Trail and the Paper Mills

The weather was uncommonly glorious this MLK Holiday weekend and we made sure to take advantage of that and get out of our house this Saturday. We decided to take the girls on a little hike at a nearby trail that runs along Sope Creek just 10 minutes from our house. I was excited to visit because the creek boasts several ruins of old paper mills that used to operate in the area. (In fact, the road that leads to the trails is called Paper Mill Road and our local ward (congregation) is the Paper Mill Ward.)

There are several trails that break off and meander throughout the park. We started off on an easier path that led to a small lake. Zara wanted to collect all the sticks and leaves she could find.

Adelaide walked more than half of the trail herself. She did a good job keeping up with us even if she did slow us down. (David and I like to walk fast.)

Sope Creek. 

Our chosen trail deadended at the Creek so we had to backtrack a little to get to the ruins. We could see one across the river but we had to go a long way around to get to it. 

 Hello from inside the paper mill!

All the ruins were constructed of stone and were mostly pretty well preserved. The roofs had probably been wood and those were all gone.

Adelaide didn't know what to make of sitting in one of the windows.

More ruins across the river. David got down into these ruins and explored more. He took some photos on his phone but I haven't seen them yet.

Tickle Fights

When Daddy's around, there's lots of tickle fights and dog piles and giggle fests galore. Zara and Adelaide seem to think being thrown on the bed and tickled by a ruthless Tickle Monster is all sorts of good fun. The apparently haven't yet had the sorts of traumatizing tickle experiences that I endured as a child which make me detest tickling in all its forms. (When it's being done to me. I don't mind doling out the tickles.) Still, the sound of their laughter ringing through the house is one of the greatest sounds in the world. You just can't beat it. 

The Nativity

For Christmas, David bought me a print of Brian Kershisnik's"Nativity" which is one of my favorite pieces of art. The original hangs in the BYU Museum of Art and it is breathtaking in both its scope and subject matter.

I had to have it custom framed because it's such an odd sized print. I knew it would be pricey (and boy was it) but I think it looks wonderful. I really think the frame we picked really works with the piece. It's hanging above the dresser in our bedroom now so it'll be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.

Sick Babies

For the entire months of November and December, it felt like we all just moved from one sickness to the other. I was as sick as I've been in several years over Thanksgiving. And just when I'd think we were on the mend, something new would strike. 

Last Monday we started in on week two of Christmas break. I blearily made my way into the living room where Zara was hacking up a lung and Adelaide was just an all-around goopy mess and I made the executive decision to strap on my big girl pants and get these kids to a doctor. We'd been miserable long enough. 

I got a same-day sick doctor appointment for that afternoon and even though I was still feeling pretty miserable myself, we all made it through still alive. Zara had bronchitis and an ear infection (right ear) and was given a 10-day dose of amoxicillin. (Zara had been telling me the day before that she kept hearing a sound in her ear which alerted me to the possibility of an infection.)

Adelaide had a rougher time of it. She had pink eye and was given the appropriate drops but the doctor couldn't see her ear canal well enough to determine if she had an ear infection too so she got to endure an ear wash to clean the wax build-up out of her ears. She was not pleased and let everyone know it. But once her ears were clean, the doctor pronounced that her ears were just fine. 

So with our prescriptions in hand, we set off to Kroger to hit up their pharmacy and stock up on foodstuffs for the week. They even got free balloons from the floral counter. (Big hit.) 

Adelaide loves her balloon.

So after a week and a half, I'm happy to say that we're about 90% back to health. (I have a pesky nose that won't clear up.) Adelaide is goop-free and Zara's cough has finally left and I can only assume that her ear infection has healed as well. Thank goodness for doctors and medicine and a week off from school so that we could all get better.

Talking to the Void

I was just looking at my list of the blogs of my family and friends and I realized how few of them actually blog anymore. I used to love reading all the blogs of my friends. If you're my friend and I know you have a blog, chances are, I'm still reading yours. I'm just not commenting most likely. There are a lot of other ways to stay socially connected now and many have migrated to other social media platforms.

I'm the first to admit that my blogging has taken a serious nose dive the last few years and the few people who used to read this blog have probably long since abandoned it.  I did so well for so many years, reaching a peak of 85 blog posts in 2011. And then it plummeted to 21 in 2012, 22 in 2013 and a measly 29 in 2014. But 2014 at least ended strong with 10 and 7 posts in November and December, respectively. I'm committed to blogging more in 2015.

I started this blog as a way to connect with friends and family, but its main purpose has always just been a place to document and record our lives. I re-read my blog posts often, marveling at how things have changed in the last 7 years and how the girls have grown. I'm glad this record exists and I'm disappointed that I've been so lax in keeping up with in these last few years because a lot of memories and moments have been lost. Even if I'm just posting into the online void and no one but me and David cares, I'll still be here. My personal journal hasn't been touched in years. (Five to be exact. My last entry was about Zara's birth and I stopped mid-story. Got distracted by a newborn, I suppose, and never made it back.) So this is it. This is our lives and I want to remember it.

Still, it'd be nice to think that other people are still stopping by on occasion and enjoying this blog. It might make me more diligent and consistent in posting if I thought someone else was reading.

As David would say, this is me blogging about blogging on my blog and he'd make fun of me. If you're there, I'm glad. I'm still here. And stay tuned. The best is yet to come.

Christmas Morning

Last year's Christmas was a little sparse since David was unemployed and we were living off the last fumes of our savings. Our families came through to give us a wonderful Christmas and the girls were none the wiser that we didn't have much to give that year. So I fully admit that this Christmas I may have overdone it a bit. In my defense, I didn't really mean to. I started buying up gifts here and there starting in October and by mid-December, I realized that I'd maybe bought a little too much. I contemplated holding back some of the gifts and saving them for later, but since Adelaide and Zara have birthdays in May and August, respectively, I just decided that we'd wrap them all and try to be more conscientious next year.

The stockings and presents awaiting the girl's arrival Christmas morning. David's family does most of their festivities and present opening on Christmas Eve so we spent our evening with them. The girls each got to open one present from us-- a new set of pajamas. The girls got into bed late (and we were up late putting together one of their presents) so we were all thankful that we got to sleep in till 8:00.

Zara immediately hightailed it to the crown in her stocking. Both Adelaide and Zara got new crowns.

Adelaide is so excited to have her stocking. Also her new pajamas are gigantic on her. Hopefully they will shrink and she will grow so she'll get some use of them this winter.

And Zara finally gives me a smile.

In addition to their tiaras, the girls both got little puppies, a puzzle, Play-Doh, LipSmackers, and two pieces of See's candy in their stockings.

Zara got a replacement Elsa doll to replace the one she got for her birthday that she promptly lost. She also got a tea set from her Aunt Cassy (which was a big hit), the movie Brave with an accompanying Merida dress, a kitty scarf and hat, and the Disney Princess Cupcake Party Game which we have now played approximately 1,467 times.

I love this face. So much personality in this little lady.

Adelaide was given the companion Anna doll to Zara's Elsa doll, some books, a new blanket (that matches the one she loves and is wearing thin), and a little plush rolly backpack.

The girls also receive joint presents of toy food and pots and pans and a Melissa and Doug pizza party set to be used with their big Christmas gift-- a play kitchen. We got it from Ikea many months ago and set it up Christmas Eve after the girls went to bed.

It was a big hit and they spent most of Christmas morning playing with their new toys, having tea parties and concocting new and interesting dishes.

(And because I often forget, I got David a hodgepodge of assorted gifts including a new gray shirt, purple tie, and tie pin (with Pi engraved in it), new pajamas, dress socks, book lights (for when he reads to the girls), a new computer game and a small Christmas Lego ornament.

David bought me a print of one of my favorite paintings (which I need to get framed), a Cuisinart Griddler, some jewelry, and a year's supply of Burt's Bee's chapstick. (Okay, maybe a few month's supply. I burn through the stuff.) It was a wonderful Christmas.)

Scenes from the Park

This past Saturday the weather was splendidly nice so we got outside and visited one of our favorite parks. Zara was determined to climb to the top of the "spider web" which she was able to do with David's help and Adelaide just wanted to swing. She would swing all day if we let her. I'm glad we got out this weekend because now both girls are sick and we're confined to the house for the time being. It's going to be a long week.

Holiday Baking 2014 Edition

One of the Christmas traditions I most fondly remember of my youth was helping my mom with the annual Christmas baking. We would make tons of cookies, fudge, and divinity to divvy up and pass out to friends and neighbors. It's something I've always done and it was great to do it again after a break last year. I may have gone a little overboard with how much I baked but I had a very eager helper in the form of Zara. Even though I gave a lot of our goodies away, I still have way too much left. 

I normally vary what I make each year but I always ALWAYS make sugar cookies. I don't make them often because how time intensive they are but I think they're my favorite ones to eat. Zara was very excited to help with the sugar cookies, but most of her creations aren't pictured. They were very light on the frosting and very heavy on the sprinkles. I also ran out of red food coloring so my stockings were a light pink rather than Christmas-y red. 

I made two types of fudge. I made this Rocky Road Fudge and Creamy Chocolate Fudge. The rocky road fudge wasn't as creamy or fudgey as I had wanted but the chocolate fudge (one side was plain and the other I topped with toffee bits) was delicious. I'd never made fudge that way before and I was skeptical at first but it did turn out really well. 

I also made angel thumbprint cookies which we used to always make as a kid. They were also more time intensive than I remembered and not as good. I don't know that I'll be making them again next year. 

I rounded out my baking with two new cookie recipes, a chocolate and butterscotch chip cookie and peppermint patty chocolate cookies. I think the peppermint patty cookies were my favorite of all the new recipes I tried this year. I love the combination of chocolate and mint which just feels so perfect for this holiday season. 

I think I'm going to go eat another cookie. I hope your holiday baking was just as successful and enjoyable this year. 

Handmade Christmas

I was super ambitious this year and decided to hand make gifts for my nieces and nephews. But my ambition faded pretty rapidly so most of them (on David's side) didn't get a handmade gift. But I did finish gifts for a few of them. Most of them, I think, turned out really great. 

These are the gifts I made for my sister's four kids. I'm pretty proud of these. 

These two bags were made for her oldest children, James and Anna, who both got kid's tablets for Christmas. I designed the bags to fit the dimensions of their Kindles and then lined each of them with quilt batting for extra protection. 

The bag with the S was made for Seth, who's Zara's age. Inside was Play-Doh and some cookie cutters. I thought this bag would be really quick but it actually took way longer than I anticipated. 

The snake was made for her youngest boy, Ian. It was fun to make but stuffing that thing actually took forever and I had to use an interesting combination of a spoon and a chopstick to get all that batting to the very end of the tail. 

Here's a few of the other things I made. I made blocks for the youngest babies in the family and I made the bag in the middle for my brother's daughter Grisette. That one turned out really cute. I also made a few bags for the littlest girls on David's side. Those bags are really easy and fast to make. They take less than an hour. 

I wish I had been able to tackle all the projects I had originally wanted to but I'm happy with how everything turned out that I did get to make. Handmade Christmas is a lot of fun. 

Jamestown and Yorktown

One of the few things we were able to do before I was laid out by my sickness was a trip to Jamestown and Yorktown. Along with Colonial Williamsburg, these are called the Historic Triangle. We'd visited Colonial Williamsburg several times but had not made it to either Jamestown or Yorktown. We decided to break them up into two visits spread over two days which was a good idea. 

On Monday, we visited Jamestown. Because my sister has a son named James, Zara was very excited to visit "his town" and kept telling him so. Afterwards, she asked us when we'd get to go to Annastown (Anna being her other cousin). We tried to explain that Jamestown was named for King James and that there was no Annastown or Sethtown but she didn't quite get it. 

Jamestown starts with a good-sized museum which details the life, culture, and interaction of the Native Americans, British settlers, and African slaves who inhabited this region in the 1600's. It was a reasonably well-done museum, although showing its age a little bit. I learned a few interesting things before heading to the replica of the Indian village and James Fort.

Zara insisted on taking photographs. I have about 30 pictures of wood, leaves, chickens, and chickens with leaves.

Zara did not find the colonial costume very fun. And normally she loves to dress up....

The houses are replicas of the wattle and daub constructions that were originally built at the Fort. The church was my favorite, with its beautiful exposed beams.

The best part probably (and Zara's favorite) was visiting the replica ships, the Discovery, Susan Constant, and Godspeed.

All I can say is that I would most certainly have not survived a long Atlantic sea voyage in one of these tiny vessels.

Zara loved the ships and wanted to keep exploring them.

On Tuesday, we visited Yorktown Victory Center which celebrates the Revolutionary War time period and the battles at Yorktown. The museum was oddly arranged and small but I did enjoy their outdoor Revolutionary War camp and the 1780's replica tobacco farm. They are building an immense new museum complex on the site which should be finished by 2016. I'm sure the new facility is going to be amazing and I hope we'll get a chance to visit it again someday.

I'm glad we were able to fit in a little history on our trip. It's nice to have a husband who is so indulgent of my need to visit every museum I possibly can.