Christmas '08 Backpost

A Christmas To Remember!

The Three Musketeers in their new PJ's

What a crazy trip to Oregon! The weather was bad, bad, bad...but we were on a mission to get there! For a week, my mom called at least once a day with reports on the worsening weather. The Friday before Christmas, it was announced that the Columbia Gorge was probably going to be shut down completely within 24 hours. The Seattle area wasn't too far behind. It was now or never, so at 8 pm, we scrambled to pack and get on the road. Oh yeah, forgot to mention- we also had to load a trailer full of equipment to haul as well. It was about 5 below zero outside too. Oy! We finally left town just before midnight...

18 hrs later, we arrived just outside Seattle and hunkered down in a hotel. The boys were SO ready to be out of the car. We were too! Dinner, swimming, and a good night's sleep for everyone was much needed before getting back on the road Sunday morning. Good thing, too, because the roads were just plain HORRIBLE. The ruts in the snow on the highway were at least a foot deep, and it didn't take much to slide all over. Thankfully, we made it in one piece. Can't say the same for the trees in my parent's backyard, however:

18 year old maple tree we had grown from seed

As nasty as the weather was, there was something very beautiful about it as well:

A group of arborvitae bends under the weight of the ice and snow. It seemed almost like a picture out of a Dr. Seuss book.

We were so glad to finally be there! My entire family was able to get together this year, a true feat in and of itself. We live in Montana, one sister is in Idaho, another in Utah, and our brother lives in another town in Oregon. We're not sure when we're ever going to have the opportunity at Christmas again to all be at our parent's place. It's getting harder to coordinate now that we are all married and have growing families.

Christmas celebrations at the J's house always starts on Christmas Eve. We all get together for dinner, then have ice cream with brownies and homemade chocolate sauce for dessert. "Santa's Elves" usually leave new pajamas on the doorstep for everyone before the little ones hit the sack. The adults play some board games, then it's off to bed so Santa can come!

And Santa certainly did come to G&G J's this year! Good thing, because the boys, especially Kalvin, were worried that Santa would not know where to deliver their presents. They were very relieved to see a bunch of boxes under the tree come Christmas morning.

Henry (Cousin K's dog) investigates the boy's presents


Talmage found Grandpa's magnifying glass...

All in all, everyone enjoyed the trip. Yes, I had a cold, the boys frequently missed their naps because they were too excited to play with their cousins, the road trip was scary, we didn't get to go to the indoor aquatic center because the weather shut it down, and everyone's flights and travel schedules were totally off, but it was a fantastic trip nonetheless!

Are We Done Yet?

Yep. That's me.

I am officially tired and stressed out--from trying to put together paint samples, counter top choices, cabinet styles, carpet designs, Marmoleum color swatches, etc. to form a somewhat cohesive form of design for the new office building. You'd think I would have known better and called an interior designer after just going through the "self-imposed flogging process" of being the contractor on our house a little over a year ago!
Why did it seem so easy to figure out what I wanted in my house compared to the task of making choices for our commercial building? I can't figure that one out.Sigh. What's a girl to do? On the upshot, I think I got most of it picked out by the end of the day. The big boss (Matt) approves, so it's a go...

The boys have been asking every day this week when they will see their new plants come out of the soil. On Saturday, we decided to let each of the boys plant a couple lemon seeds in their very own pots. They are pretty excited about it. Kalvin understands the concept that it will take a few days before anything happens, but Xander and Talmage expected something to pop up just a few hours later after planting. They want to look at the dirt all the time to see if something is growing yet. It is so fun to watch their little minds at work!

Honestly, I am falling asleep as I try to type this. I think it's time for me to get some shut eye. I'll post again soon. And hopefully get some for "backposting" done...

The (Mis)Adventures Of A 20 Month Old...[Backpost from Aug 2008]

Just a warning for those reading this--our life really isn't this crazy, I promise! We just had one of those oh-so-memorable days and I had to write it down for posterity!

It started in the morning.
Talmage was not about to get into the car to go to church. Why would he do that when he could run around the car and into the front yard, giggling as both his parents tried to coax him into returning to get buckled up?

Ironically, the brute fell asleep five minutes into the ride to church. At just before 9 am. After being up less than 2 hrs already. Not waking up even while being taken out of his seat, carried into sacrament meeting, and having music in the background. He slept for an hour in Daddy's arms. Naturally, he woke up with a start and a big giggly grin on his face. It was time to run around again! So the usual exit to the hall ensued...

Lunch time. All goes well, if you count for the fact that he has decided that a high chair is not for him. No-he must be like his big brothers and sit/stand on the stools at the island. They are all now required to 'sit' at the regular table, to (hopefully) dispel any propensity towards a cracked head.

Naptime. He sleeps!

5:30 pm. Been up for some time now. Daddy leaves for a dental emergency. Snack time. Cherries. Yum. It wouldn't be proper to finish the snack without being thoroughly covered with cherry juice. Besides, it's fun to put the pitted cherries on your fingers, as if they were olives. We get undressed, wiped off, and new clothes on. Oh yeah--Mom got stung on the neck by a yellow jacket in the midst of our lovely snack. In the kitchen.

Five? Ten minutes later? Mom closed the 1/2 bath door, so we're safe. He comes into the office to sit on Mom's lap. Smelling very fresh, like just done laundry. And not the clean clothes he is now wearing. Mom forgot to close the laundry room door. There is a nice scattering of powdered soap on the floor now. And the dirty dishrags that were placed in the washer (with the door left open to prevent a stinky buildup) are now on the floor in the once empty laundry basket. We get hands rinsed off. Of course, this is playtime in the water streaming out of the faucet...

Mom is starting dinner. Kalvin is downstairs playing games. Xander is in and out of rooms and being generally un-mischievous (!). Mom actually gets dinner started. It's too quiet though. Talmage isn't playing with his brothers as Mom thought. He's in his parents bedroom. Specifically, the bathroom in the bedroom. He comes out of the bathroom with dripping arms, a huge grin on his face as he tells me what he's doing. As if I needed an explanation. The front of his shirt is somewhat wet and the bottom three inches of his pants are dripping. There is water all over the floor around the toilet. There is dirt (?) in the toilet. The toilet brush is out. We get cleaned up. Mom doesn't dare flush the toilet yet until more investigating is done. Two size 6 sandals are on the main bathroom floor, drenched, but sparkling clean, free from the dirt that encrusted them just a half hour before. At least the toilet can be safely flushed.

Daddy gets home. Dinner preparations continue with less drama. Talmage gets up onto the island. He sees the faucet at the prep sink. Faucet=water. Water=fun. He has a near encounter with the instant hot water dispenser. No, we're not getting up on the island again, as much fun as it may seem. Mom and Dad would rather not deal with little burned hands.

Our friends come over to pick up the trailer. They're helping get ready for girls' camp this week. Talmage goes outside to join in the fun. We have a "fireman's" hose attachment that requires only a pull on the handle to get it going. Talmage knows how to use it. And he does. Clothes are soaked. This would be the third outfit in less than an hour now.

A brief interim of relative calm ensues...

Bedtime. Past bedtime, actually. Everyone gets ready to snooze. Running away from Mom is way fun when she is trying to get everyone's teeth brushed. Prayer time. Why sit still when you can have fun instead? A quick bop of the head backwards really works when you want to get away from Mom. It effectively knocks mom in the bone under the eye and renders her still for a moment or two. Just enough time to escape! Big brother Xander wants a drink of water. He cries when he can't get his way. So it must be alright for Talmage to start in with the fussing too. Who wants to be left out? Talmage doesn't want to be put in bed (we moved his bed in with his big brothers. So far, it has worked out remarkably well).

He climbs out of his bed. By himself. Oh no.

Daddy comes in to help. Everyone gets settled down. Big brothers are quiet and going to sleep, so it must be okay to be in bed after all.

Night-night.


I really didn't exaggerate any of this!