Been a long time gone...

I'm sorry that it has been so long since my last post. And so many things have happened since then that I meant to write about. I was having problems with the lap top that I was working on and just recently moved my photo program to a different computer. Don't ask me why I have to have photos with this blog; I don't know. But it just doesn't seem worth it unless I can put some photos along in the postings. Although for all that I have missed I think that I will try to post the best pictures and just move on from there.

We had a really nice Christmas as hopefully you can tell from the photos. Nathan and Joshie got way too many toys. I got a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer that I have been coveting for years now and Richard got a flat panel T.V. that I figured that I had better buy before he did. We also had R.J's sister Katelyn visit us along with the regular family. It was crazy but a lot of fun.

Baby Sister?

OK, let me preface this by saying that I'm not pregnant nor do I plan on being so any time soon. But Nathan is getting obsessed with having a baby sister. It started out that he just wanted a new baby (Joshua was getting too much of his own personality for Nathan's taste). But then one of Nathan's Sunday school classmate's mom got pregnant and they found out that they are having a girl. So then Nathan started asking when were where going to have another baby. Then he just started talking like his baby sister was assured and we were just waiting for her to come. Richard is certain that I've been putting Nathan up to it but I really haven't (I've got too much on my plate as is).
I have to admit that I haven't really discouraged Nathan either though. His newest is that he wanted to know the baby's name so I told him the name that we would have given Joshua if he had been a girl. The end of it is that Nathan is now talking about baby Roxanne and I'm afraid that all sorts of rumors are about to get started.

The Reason For the Season

Last year our stake put on a Christmas musical performance called "The Reason For the Season." Several of our ward members participated in last years performance and they raved about how much fun it was and what a great experience it was performing. We saw one of the shows and it was a pretty good production. So when they said that they were going to do it again with the objective of doing it bigger and better, I decided that I wanted to participate this year. It has been a lot of fun working on it and it should be as good, but probably better, than last year's performance.

Tickets are free, there are three different performances, and I would like to invite you all to come. I am the understudy for the Innkeeper's Wife, which means that I have a solo and a couple lines on the Saturday matinee performance (all understudies will get to perform at that show regardless if they are needed for another). Friday and Saturday night I will be a towns person and angel only. If you can't read the flier, here is the important information.

Performances are Friday Nov. 30, 7:30 to 9:00 and two on Sat Dec. 1, 3:00 to 4:30 or 7:30 to 9:00. Doors will open a half hour before each performance and there will be carollers during this time. The performances will be at the Cerritos Stake center, 16115 Studebaker Rd, Cerritos, CA. If nothing else, it will be a great way to start the Christmas season.

I hope to see some of you there.

-Natalie

The difference between Richard and Me

You may not realize it, but Richard is a bit of a perfectionist and it is kind of annoying sometimes. For example, I would like to clean out the garage by just spending an hour or two every Saturday until the job is done. But I'm hesitant to start it because I know that as soon as Richard starts on it, he won't want to stop until it is done, even if he is working till midnight.


Another example is Nathan's sleep chart. Nathan was having a hard time going to sleep with out either Richard or me laying down with him and we were getting tired of that. So I made a chart that for every night that he goes to sleep by himself, he gets a sticker, and when he chart s filled, he gets a toy. Here is the chart that I made.

Now I probably spent all of two minutes on this and that would include looking for the pen and paper.

Here is Richard's version of Nathan's sleep chart.

I won't say how long it took, but it was a lot longer. Of course, it also looks a lot nicer.

-Natalie

Centennial Farms Field trip

Yesterday Nathan's class went on a field trip to Centennial Farms at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Here are a few photos from the trip. The first picture is of Nathan checking out the cow.

And here is Nathan posing with the cow.

Joshua meeting the cow.

Both boys checking out some baby chickens.

Navigating Rough Phone Lines

I was planning on writing about the Nathan's play date today, and probably still will, but I'm really tempted to rant about government offices and waiting to talk to a real person. I just spent 15 frustrated minutes on the DMV phone system to end up with a very unsatisfactory answer. And right now I am trying to get through Department of Social Services phone lines (long story) and I am convinced that they have about a half dozen phone lines that they say that you can talk to a real person, but they really just ignore them. I have been waiting on this particular line for 25 minutes now. OK, update, someone answered at about 28 minutes and although the answer for this one wasn't what I wanted either, it is progress and the woman who answered seemed nicer and more intelligent than the DMV lady. I still have untold bureaucracy to get through and I ignored Joshua's dirty diaper and fed both Nathan and Joshua ice cream at 4pm to keep them happy. but I got through on the phone to a real person. Yeah!

Yosemite Trip

The whole family went to Yosemite National Park on Thursday, November 1st through the 4th. We camped under the Sequoia trees and stars. Through Natalie's determination to take Nathan and Joshua camping with some teachers and students from Freemont High, I was persuaded to accompany her in this ordeal. I soon realized that I liked this camping thing. I didn't mind the cold weather, the smell of smoke on everything, even the constant threat of wild animals devouring my precious children. I think what made it bearable was that this campground was equipped with showers. I would dare say that this was the best camping trip I've experienced in my life. Nathan and Joshua enjoyed it so much that they wanted to stay longer. I guess I would have if I had more vacation time.