Dear Santa,

I need a Dustbuster.


Thanks in advance,
The Mom

Ketchup

I'm playing catch-up (get the title? hehe...I know I'm a HUGE dork, but I can't help it), so be watching over the next couple of days for a big bunch of back blogging. I've got a load of posts ready-to-go or halfway there. Once they are done, I should be right on track for the rest of Christmas break.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

...to Grammy's house we go.

Today we drive down to Salt Lake City where we'll stay the night. Then we'll wake up bright and early, hop on a plane headed for North Carolina (only after a layover, of course) and come see Grammy and Grampy! We really will go over a river (the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio to name a few) and through the woods (anyone who has been to the East Coast likely knows what I mean). We are sure excited to visit all the family we haven't seen in far too long (about a year and a half in most cases) and to have Haylee and Miriam's first Carolina Christmas. In fact, this will be Miriam's first Christmas ever!

Red Robin...Yum!

Our town is getting the newest Red Robin restaurant.


Now, lest you think I actually get this excited over a new restaurant chain in town, think again. We're excited because Owen has a job working as a server for them! He should earn much better tips here than the local restaurant he's been at based on sheer volume. More people to serve = more tips. Plus, we really, really like their food, so the Red Robin employee discount will be an added bonus (unless it means that we end up spending all the extra tips).

The new Red Robin opens January 19th and Owen starts training as soon as we're back from our Carolina Christmas. Yay for this new opportunity!

Think Inside the Box

Having a highly mobile (and curious too) Miriam has necessitated increased creativity in the baby-proofing category. Owen came up with this a month or so ago.


At first it worked great! She'd sit in the little basket and play and play and then when she was tired of it she would whine and whine until someone came to rescue her. She has since discovered how to climb out on her own. We can still keep her in it for a short time if there is an exciting toy (the one in the picture is a new Christmas present from Uncle Kurt and Aunt Suzette -- we opened it early so we wouldn't have to pack it to North Carolina) or if she's just too tired to care. But, even though it doesn't hold her any longer, it was good while it lasted!

I'm Glad That's Over!!

The past few weeks have been a bit stressful for me and not because of projects and finals as is typical for this time of year. No, this time it was because of my grades. Usually I'm such a perfectionist that my scores are right on or so close to 100% that I never think twice about my final grade in a class. This semester has been quite different. I haven't done my best and as a result I have recently troubled over the summative marks headed my way (and I only have to earn a C- in order to pass -- leave it to me to worry, worry, worry).

I suppose I knew all along that I would be in the clear, but there was still that nagging worry in the back of my mind that said, "What if?" Today, all concern was put to ease. My teachers have all the scores and totals from my semester's work updated online and although the official grades are not available until next week, I'm fairly certain things will be just fine. In fact, things are better than expected!

My Home Away From Home

This is the Hinckley Building. It is devoted to the education majors at BYU-Idaho. I have spent the majority of my college education in the building, especially over the last three years. In fact, throughout the past three years, only seven of twenty-two classes has been anywhere other than there.

Today I set foot in the Hinckley Building for the last time as an on-campus student. It was a bittersweet moment. I took my last two finals, stepped out into the frigid cold and didn't look back for fear I might cry.

I have made many great friends, both peers and professors, and had significant personal growth there. I am excited for the next big step toward completing my undergrad but some things will be considerably missed.