flamin' hurt locker

so yesterday we all bugged out to cochrane. the olympic flame was coming through and we thought that it would be an easy and fun place to see it right up close with the kids. we were right! i think every school aged kid in cochrane was out with their teachers and why not, the olympic flame doesn't come around too often, eh? the kids had painted faces and homemade torches. mom got in the action and ran a stretch hilariously and we cheered for her. then the real flame came through and the crowd went wild. eh, o, canada go! eh, o, canada go! {apparently that is the new national cheer, kind of like aussie aussie aussie, oi oi oi...}

last night c.j. and i watched "the hurt locker". it took us late into the night. then i had hurt locker dreams all night.

tired...

sweet potato city

today at the childrens hospital we are trying sweet potatoes. major highlight of the morning so far? seeing the olympic flame, they came right here to the hospital.

update: the other major highlight of today, sweet potato surprise! she can eat them!

yes we're going to a party party...

the only picture i have of ida on her actual birthdate. we went on a brisk walk before church and she decided to take nap. what a lazy sack.

chatting. notice ida standing there with a gift. she is this close to walking.


rave in the studio
spencer + 4 moustaches used in several different ways

the kids. yes, ida is picking her nose for the occasion. apparently one year olds do that...
party attendees. i really shouldn't have been on the side of this picture. i look 4 feet wide and terribly awkward. oh boy. as i am typing this and looking at this again it is making me laugh. holy crap! what IS GOING ON WITH ME??? i am not even looking at the camera!! is that a gunny sack i am wearing? and what the heck is on my bottom?? practically shorts??? in the WINTER?? what the heck! HA HHHHHAAAAAAAAAA. mental.
yup, more mental me, watch out
mum + ida + dad
ida loves family pictures

tonight we had a birthday party for ida. it was a hoot. we had tasty chicken and rice, black bottom cupcakes, family home evening, a fish pond and dance party. yes, just your typical 1st birthday party bash.

since ida was born and especially over the last few months, i have been asked if we will throw our hat in the ring again. you know, try for another baby. that is a delicate subject. there are so many outside factors involved. personally, i have felt since ida was born, that there is one more little child to come to our family. i would love to add another person and have another celebrated 1st birthday. {i mean come on. who is going to take care of me when i am an old crotchety lady? there needs to be as many as possible so when one gets sick of me they can ship me off to someone else, 2 options just won't do... :)}. so, when i think of the reality that this is it, i feel sad and guilty. i feel guilty about the embryos we have stored away. i feel sad about my age. i feel sad for my kids. i feel sad for myself.

boo-hoo, right? ah, i'm sure i'll get over it.

but not really.

ode to ida

dear ida,

last night around 10:42 pm, my side of the bed collapsed to the floor. it is a problem that we have had through the life of this bed frame. you were still awake, tired but happy. dad and i decided to pull out the big guns and fix this problem once and for all. we drug out the drill, some brackets and screws. while we lifted and shoved and moved and sweated and fiddled with this silly bed, you giggled and crawled and collected and clapped and smiled. by the time we finished it was 11:44 pm. you were still tired and still pleasantly perfect. did you know your birthday is today? 1 year ago you were born. while we were fixing our bed i cried and kissed you and we talked about how much we love you. we love your smile and your funny laugh and the relationship we have with you. you bring so much love to our family and we are infinitely thankful for you. i kept you up till midnight, just so i could sing our traditional birthday song by the Beatles. then i laid you down and nursed you to sleep.

you are my sweet heart. happy birth day.

xoXo, mum

cub car crazy

team burton as the winning streak begins...
ida! happy with grandpa!
jeff, c.j. and jimmy fine tuning between races
c.j. filming the final run, eli waiting...
#16!!!
eli's arm pumping reation!! woo woo!!

blue ribbon and match-box car as the grand prize



today was elis first cub car rally. i had purchased the kits several weeks ago, but as things happen, the box wasn't opened until the heat was on and it had to be finished by saturday at 10 AM. can anyone tell me what cub actually makes their car single handedly? you open that kit and staring back at you is a block of hard wood, 4 nails and 4 wheels. c.j. and eli worked feverishly this week, selecting a design, busting out the dremel, cutting, sanding, painting. we were putting the finishing touches on this morning as we were eating breakfast. c.j. and i wanted to junk it up with decals, but eli wanted it looking clean. i found through the experience it was truly a family project, as it should be.

the races were at the stake center. when we got there he was 3 grams to heavy, so c.j. began to madly drill out wood from the bottom. in the mean time they assigned eli a number for his car. after they stuck it on, he came to me, lifted the car up to my eyes and what did i see? 16. eli had a smile from ear to ear as he knows 16 is my lucky number. good vibes, good vibes. his car started slow, losing the first couple of runs, which was disappointing and frustrating to eli. but after some graphite and lane selection changes, eli started to win. now, i personally think that every cub should win, at least one race. reason: one win completely changed the experience for eli. i saw the transformation with my own eyes. suddenly he was excited, it got him interested and lit the flame of competition that every little dude needs sparked.

today was a lot of fun. there were some really great cars and some very close races.

who won 1st place at the end of the rally? eli burton did.

oh yes he did and i think the win was more exciting for c.j. as he had bags under his eyes from the all-nighter he pulled finishing up that crazy car. what a hoot.

the next rally? stake-wide in march. watch out! here we come!

tasks

today i have:

eaten 8 olives
processed 2 loads of laundry
gone through stacks of paperwork
washed all my windows, interior and exterior {minus a couple exteriors on the second floor that i couldn't hop out onto the roof to get to}
stood on a ladder
changed a poopy diaper
filed
ate 2 doughnuts
took eli to singing lessons
read a car manual
sanded wood
vacuumed floors

it's a random day. it's friday. start your weekend. NOW.

bock bock bock

here I am posting from the hospital, typing with my index finger, nursing Ida. this is not very easy or efficient I am finding. how do people update all their social network junk this way???

I just fed Ida pureed chicken, in 2 hours it will be D-day here if it doesn't work for her. CJ says if it does work, Kentucky Fried Chicken for everyone! cross your fingers.

Update: she is into her second dose of 2 tsps without incident {besides the front of my shirt stuccoed with chicken}

Up-update: chicken is tops! she seems to be able to tolerate it! yee-haw! add it to the list!

ssssssssssss

that is the sound i heard while i filled up the flat tire on the X3 this morning. not only could i hear it, i could see the air escaping like white, cloudy wisps into the cold air. that is rad. but not really. we have been filling this tire up for a couple of weeks now, hoping it would hold and we could get it in the dealership. today is the day.

we bought a "minivan" this weekend. a honda odyssey. the thought crossed our mind that perhaps it was too much vehicle for us, you know too much room. i have a feeling however, that we are going to be very happy with never having to worry about "room" ever again. yee-haw! last night we were trying to come up with a name for the new family wagon. some suggestions were: the mystery mobile, the silver bullet, the eyebrow, the burtonsnorthagon. eli came up with eyebrow, c.j. thought it was hilarious and gave it a second vote. you know like, "go get in the eyebrow kids!"

in 6 days ida will be 1. holy cats. that is so awesome. she is so awesome. i'm gunna have to have a party with balloons and cupcakes and tasty food for all who attend except for her. i will give her a large raw carrot for one hand and a spoon sized shredded wheat biscuit for the other. she is going to love it.

tidbits

first night @ cubs. you can tell by his take charge attitude and wide stance, he is ready. lucky him, he has 3 cousins that are in the same pack with him, carson, austin and spencer. pictured above are austin and spencer.

*on sunday, c.j. had the opportunity to bless the sacrament at church. eli thought this was terrific. after we ate the bread eli turned to me and said, "dad sure makes good sacrament bread, that was delicious!". this sunday was also elis first time fasting. we prepared him the night before, began with a prayer, read some stories from the FRIEND on fasting, and when time was up finished with a prayer. we specifically fasted for ida to be interested in eating food. sounds silly, but close to home and very relevant. when we finished the fast and was eating lunch, ida sat with us and we sliced up some pears and bananas as we usually do {which she usually sits and stares at}. this time however, she picked a pear up and began taking mini pecks at it like a small bird. this was thrilling to us, especially eli as he felt his fasting had worked! something small, but big in his eyes.

*eli started cubs this week. there he was, jeans on, shirt tucked in, cap planted on his head, sash hanging off his shoulder. we left him in the gym with 3 leaders and 20 boys after they "dib dib dibed and dob dob dobed" then immediately knelt in a circle to pray. i started to weep in the lobby, c.j. smiled big and was a bit misty eyed. he is a cub.

8 is great

eli = 8
birthday corn dog + slurpee, apparently this quick meal pushed his 8th birthday into "the BEST DAY EVER" category. thank-you claresholm 7-11
ready

us

off right

yes, it is the 2nd of january.

i made the mistake a few nights ago of suggesting to the kids go check the t.v. to look for some christmas shows to watch. then i realized christmas is long passed and we are not even in december any more. i guess that is what loafing around the cabin does to you after a few days. i have lost all sense of time and space.

new years was uneventful. i put eli down early, no countdown, he was having too much fun having a "sleepover" in the downstairs living room with cole watching ELF for the 32nd time. they finally conked out after i turned the t.v. off. 10:59 PM. then i tried to put ida down. darn this cold. every time she would get to sleep she would begin that gaggy cough that occurs when you have that cold that isn't that bad, but that urge to cough sneaks up on you making you cough and cough until you swig some water and pop a lozenge. too bad babies can't suck a lozenge and throw back water like hard liquor. instead i laid there with her, nursed her, picked her up and patted her back when the coughing hit, wiped away the spit and slobber, blowed on her face to cool her sweaty brow, then would gently lay her down and a few minutes later do it all over again. i heard the countdown upstairs, the whoops and hollers. it wasn't until much later and after the fact that c.j. came down to our room, where i was still working with ida trying to get her over the hump of the going-to-sleep-coughs that he matter-of-factly stated "happy new year". oh awesome, toot toot. happy new year.

yesterday, the 1st of january started off right however. sandra made eggs benedict, homemade hash browns with onions and bacon, sausage, waffles with raspberries and fresh whipped cream, french toast and orange juice. afterward we bundled up, drove across the frozen lake, kids skated and sledded. nena and i walked with eli and quinn on the lake around the bend. the snow was large and fell so slowly, just lazy. it was hazy and quiet. people greeted each other with hellos! and happy new years! just perfect. it was all new and amazing to me as i have never been down to the lake in the winter. it made me want to spend more time outside this year. so invigorating.

on new years eve we all sat around the fireplace {which has been burning since we got here on wednesday, morning and night, so fun!} and threw in a pine branch after we stated our best moment/moments of 2009 and what we would like to accomplish in the new year. the kids all mentioned something, then for some reason they all said "art" as their 2010 goal for the year. we giggled after that happened a few times. nervous lemmings.

highlights of the year for me? the birth of ida. the companionship of living with mom and dad. eli's baptism. moving into a new house. sewing my first quilt. getting to know chuck and sandra better. c.j.'s VISA job {the process and final product}.

what i wanted to work on for 2010? get into excellent physical and spiritual shape. make friends in my new ward. serve well in my new calling. get outside more often. be mindful. help eli make and keep some goals. keep ida on track. have self control. make sure my house is orderly. cook. sew with preciseness. smile more often. be prepared.

i guess i just got a good start to that 2010 list. here's to '10 being a good one. cheers.

p.s. i just read this through and realized i failed to mention that c.j.'s mum, dad and sister patrea flew in on the evening of the 25th and spent the entire next week eating, playing games, laughing, sleeping and eating some more with us here in calgary and out in invermere. we had a great time.

p.p.s don't get me wrong. i think my description of new years sounded a bit drab. on the contrary! we had a wonderful time out at the cabin and we had a wonderful christmas break. i guess the uneventfulness came from the uneventful dark bedroom i just happened to be in at the stroke of midnight. the evening as a whole was memorable and perfect.