Thanksgiving 2010

We traveled to John's Aunt Ann and Uncle John's house in Logan for Thanksgiving dinner. We've been there the last few years and it is a wonderful tradition. Logan is so beautiful (freezing, bitter cold but beautiful) and it is so fun to be gathered with family and friends.

John and Ann have a great playroom in their basement and we could hardly tear Charlie away the whole time we were there. It's packed full of fun toys but he almost exclusively played with the marble run. He loved it and played with it for literally hours.




John liked the playroom a lot, too :)

Part of why Thanksgiving is so fun in Logan is that John's family has several incredible chefs- we're talking true gourmet ability here. My favorites this year were Cameron's ganache cake, macaroni and cheese, cream of mushroom soup, Sue's stuffing and prosciutto wrapped asparagus, Ann and John's homemade rolls and of course, their incredible turkey!

John's cousin, Kim, made these adorable turkey cookies and they were a labor of love- she called them her sixth child.

Can you see the deer in the backyard?

The gorgeous sunset over the snowy mountains on the drive home

Charlie's First Snowfall

Charlie loved playing in the snow for the first time this year, especially once we showed him how to throw snowballs. He couldn't make them with his mittens but he searched the ground for clumps of snow and threw those instead. He loved helping us shovel the snow- we'll have to find him a Charlie-sized shovel of his own.

They say it's your birthday...

It was my 28th birthday at the beginning of the month and I spent it in the traditional Barbarakah fashion.

John's family hosted a birthday dinner for the October and November birthdays (Sue and Anne's are in October, Barb and Sam's in November). Since Sam is currently in Louisiana serving a mission, we took this picture to email to him so he'd know we we thinking of him on his birthday. (That's Anne's cute boyfriend Austin with us).

The traditional birthday song- we join hands and sing both verses of Happy Birthday, then For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, followed by three cheers.

All I wanted for my birthday was to gather with my family and to not have to cook dinner or do the dishes. Well, since Catherine and my mom were in town, they made the birthday dinner into quite the party! They decorated the room with streamers and Cat made this cute mini-pennant for the cake she baked! My family put together an incredible meal, plus spoiled me with gifts and words of kindness. It was so special to be with my family and to have Catherine, Elizabeth, Mom and Dad there with me.

Charlie loved singing happy birthday with us...

...and Sam and Lily helped him learn our family's tradition of the kids helping blow out the candles.
I went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour with Cat. It was so fun to see the dancing in person- and as expected, it was spectacular. The scripted dialogue in between numbers was so cheesy, but the audience made primarily of pre-teen girls ate it up anyway. Catherine and I had a blast- singing to Kelly Clarkson on the way there, laughing, talking, dancing, flirting with the snack bar dude to get free stuff (I have no game, for the record) and being without our kids for a few hours.



Catherine, Elizabeth, Charlie and I went to the Sweet Tooth Fairy one day to sample a cupcake or six

John and I went to dinner at MacCool's with both sets of parents- we had such a fun time together. My favorite part is when my mom, my dad and John's dad passed around a single pair of magnifying glasses so they could read the menu.

My friends took me out for a birthday lunch at Red Butte Cafe and then my visiting teachers, Allyson and Cheryl took me out for lunch another day. I felt very spoiled and loved and I really enjoyed having lots of fun things to look forward to instead of just one big day.

Felix, I mean, Phoenix

I surprised John with tickets to one of his favorite bands, Phoenix, in September. The show was incredible despite being at the worst venue in Salt Lake- the tritely named "In the Venue. Ugh, I hate that place. The place was packed and we spent a lot of the show on our tiptoes just so we could see more. But they sounded great and played a tight, fast-paced show with all of our favorite songs.

It was really fun to hear the crowd singing along, especially to the song, Lisztomania. Funny story: I thought for sure the words were "like a rhino" and John was adamant that it was "like a ride-oh." Turns out we were both wrong and the lyrics are actually, "Think less but see it grow like a riot, like a riot, oh." Whoopsies. I still prefer to sing "rhino" because it's more fun.



Another funny story: my 6-year-old nephew, Sam, was over at my house earlier that day and wanted to stay for dinner. I told him he couldn't that night because John and I were going on a date to see a band called "Phoenix". He couldn't remember the name and kept calling them Felix. Now anytime I have to go somewhere and it's time for Sam to go home, he asks, "Are you going to Felix again?" Priceless.

The Lower Lights

We have a love of good music, especially from local musicians. Most of our favorite local musicians banded together to create a new project called The Lower Lights and recorded a bunch of hymns in a gospel/bluegrass/revival style. At the beginning of October, John and I went to a free Rooftop Concert in Provo (sponsored by CJane) and had a blast- the weather was warm, the people were fun and the music was great. We even met up with John's little sis, Anne, and her beau, Austin, which was a rare opportunity that we were glad to have! Even though this concert was almost two months ago, I'm still digging The Lower Lights and you should definitely check them out (the album would be an EXCELLENT Christmas gift!)

My weak attempt at capturing the action

Chatting up Miss Courtney "CJane" herself- we reminisced about old times (forgive the stalkerazzi pic that I made John take from a distance)

Anne and Austin- ah, young love

My handsome date for the evening- My favorite person to be stuck with in horrible I-15 traffic on the way home!

The night ended with the performers walking out into the crowd with their instruments and singing us out. It was so fun.

Grateful...

(Charlie is on to my paparazzo ways)

... for these two. The past couple of days have been hard ones for me- a lot of little worries suddenly seemed large and overwhelming all at once. In between moments of despair and tears, I kept coming back to the incredible gratitude I feel for my blessings (which of course just made me cry more!)

Two days ago, my really tall and determined toddler was able to reach up onto the kitchen counter and pulled off a plate and a glass. They both shattered into razor-like shards, completely surrounding him. I ran to him and he ran away from me through the glass. I reached him just as he put a piece of glass into his mouth. I pulled it out his mouth and picked him up and ran into the bedroom where I could examine him closely. I didn't know if I had gotten all of the glass out of his mouth. He was crying but I couldn't tell if he was hurt or just scared and mad. As I put him on the changing table, I heard him GULP. I was so terrified that he had swallowed a shard of glass and it was tearing its way through his body. I looked him over carefully while praying that he would be fine. His mouth wasn't bloody, his feet and hands seemed unharmed and he had stopped crying. Although I was still shaken, I felt the Holy Ghost comforting me and I knew he was fine. I watched him carefully the rest of the day, just to be sure. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father watches over this imperfect parent and helps me and Charlie when we need it.

Everywhere I turn I am reminded of the Lord's bounteous generosity in my life. I am heartsick and mindful of the really hard experiences of those around me- a friend who buried her son yesterday, family members struggling with health and personal problems, friends looking for work, a neighbor fighting cancer, sub for santa service projects for battered single moms, and on and on (and on and on).

It shouldn't be hard for me to be continually grateful. But sometimes it is.

I have a healthy family. Our family is employed. We have a home to live in and food to eat. I have family and friends around me. And I have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ who have given me everything.

Proudly rejecting traditional gender roles

Spider-Man t-shirt + diva hat + baby stroller = a perfect mixture of gender roles for a toddler

Little Buddies

We sure love cousin James!

A Day at the Farm

We visited Thanksgiving Point for a fun day with our best friends- Susie, Evelyn and Alyce and Michelle (also known as Boo) and Andrew! Charlie even got to ride on a pony for the very first time! I forgot the stroller but luckily, there was room in the wagon with Evelyn and Alyce.

Canyon cookout

When Richard and Catherine were here in October, we had to take advantage of the gorgeous lingering fall weather to have a canyon cookout. It was so fun to gather our family with Richard's family in sharing a meal and our love for the mountains! Charlie was in heaven throwing rocks in the river with Lily, Sam and Taylor (Richard and Catherine's niece). And of course, Baby Elizabeth was the star!