ok fine.

so i got tagged by my friend alissa (thanks sooo much). i've been procrastinating this post for a couple weeks but here it goes:

5 random/wierd things about me:

- my favorite treat is chocolate cake mix - straight out of the box. this is a result of my deprived childhood where the only treat in the house was powdered sugar. i'm not even sure why we had powdered sugar because nothing was ever made using it.
- i am an only child. i hated it growing up but now i love it - my kids will always be the favorite grandkids and justin the favorite son-in-law.
- i love talk radio
- i have to sleep with the blanket tucked under my feet because when i was three or four i swear i saw a ghost in my room that looked like brigham young and he touched my toe that was sticking out from the blanket.
- i am a closet hermit. i do my best to be social but i really really love to be by myself (which now means myself and my kids). a perfect day for me is getting up, cleaning the house, running with my kids in the jogger, taking a nap, shopping on the web (less human contact). no phones, no appointments, no contact with the outside world. is that wierd or what!

i tag...no one! this was pure torture.

happy valentines day!

this is my favorite holiday in the entire universe! i really need a sugar cookie right now. you will know i really like you if you get one of these clothespins in the next few days. no, i'm kidding. i love everyone but putting these suckers back together really hurts my fingers so i only made 8. we'll see who the lucky winners are... (hint: bring me sugar cookies and you might get one)

is there hope?

This is me - from the time my kids wake up to the time they go to bed. It doesn't matter where I am in the house or how quiet I am - my kids have this sonar that will lead them to me within seconds. And it's not like they just need to be in the same room either, they need to be touching, holding, rubbing, and generally mauling me.
Actually I kind of like it. At least I have two groupies that will scream my name and throw their clothes at me when I walk into the room.

the little nub is one!

a look back at the past year:

you know you want one...

"Angel's Landing - Zions" 24" x 36" oil $2300 obo

"Kolob Canyon" 30" x 40" oil $3000 obo

"Spring Snow" 30" x 24" oil $1500 obo

A glimpse at Karl's 2008 schedule:

Sears Dixie Invitational Art Show and Sale. February 16 - March 22, 2008. Recognized as one of the biggest art events in the state of Utah, over 288 works from 115 renowned artists will be exhibited. Call 435-652-7905 for more information. Each work is for sale to the public. Karl was last years winner in the oil landscape category.

Zion National Park is turning 100 in 2009. As a part of the celebration, Zion Natural History Association, in partnership with Zion National Park, the St. George Art Museum, and the St. George Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, will be hosting an exhibit of entitled, “Zion National Park: A Century of Sanctuary.” The Zion National Park centennial exhibit will premiere at the St. George Art Museum and feature three components: a historic exhibit in the Main Gallery, a juried exhibit in the Mezzanine Gallery of recently completed paintings, and a contemporary installation about Zion in the Legacy Gallery. The former will feature photographs and paintings covering the early years. The second component will be a juried (by Peter Hassrick) exhibit featuring the finest recent paintings of Zion National Park.

84th Annual Spring Salon - Springville Museum of Art

The premier exhibition opportunity for contemporary Utah artists. April 27 - July 6, 2008.

ellie is three!

christmas

here are a few pictures from throughout december. ellie and i had such a fun time doing christmas-y things.

grandma jann gave ellie this chair but really, what can compare to a pez dispenser?

cody at my parents checking out the presents

ellie dancing in her new dress ups from grandma nicol

our tree - we bought an artificial the day after christmas and i really loved not having a tree die within the first week!

ellie's tree decorated with ikea animals

i think ellie wasn't sure what with herself so she held up two fingers, i'm assuming to tell us that she is two.

classic

my neighbor gifts

this tree is right outside our window - we had a blast watching some huge birds eat our treats each day.

i made over 150 of these cards signed by Karl and I for all my clients who have purchased paintings. i got several emails from people telling me how much they loved them.

we used this wrapping paper for all our presents this year.

ellie learned how to write her name about a month ago and she is obessed - pretty good huh? she talks herself through it by saying, "a line and a circle, a line, a line, a line with a dot, and a line with a circle!"

i made justin a scrapbook of high country home which was the highlight of my christmas - this business was our entire lives for the first five years of marriage and we have so many memories. justin loved it.

making a snowman on christmas eve at my parents

when it rains it pours

- lawsuit for $100K against us by a former employee

- justins mom battling ovarian cancer

- partners with my parents on their new home just as the housing market crashes

- moving to my parents old home in orem and remodeling it (this is a good thing, but moving is always stressful)

- moving from mapleton ( how am i going to get through the day without five sis-in-laws and the best mother-in-law ever to help me raise my kids?)

- justin starting into a hard semester at school

- trying to float four properites through the down market

- justin learning (loosing) in the stock market (he will figure it out :)

i just wanted to list a few of the things on our minds right now - not to complain but this blog is for me and my family to read years from now and i want to remember these kinds of things too. if there is anything we learned from high country home it is not to worry too much because things always work out. really everything except jann getting sick is pretty inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. jann started her second round of chemo today - she has been so amazing through it, very positive and really seems to be doing okay emotionally - though i'm sure i don't see everything. she is a wonderful mother and grandma, i'm so glad we have been able to live here with them. if only every kid could grow up with so much love shown to them from so many people as ellie has, we wouldn't have to worry about our kids growning up in this crazy world.

sneak peak

more to come...life is crazy right now!

my christmas registry

i really don't want much...just these few things:

ipod nano, clyde aspevig painting, ugg tall crochet boot, trek tri bike, kitchen including wolf range, hood, subway tile, etc., new running shoes, this living room with a white couch that will magically stay clean, another painting (these are only $60K by the way), ogio bag, beach vacation, k2 tough luv skis, my family (priceless)

i made this list this morning between 3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., at which point I finally became tired enough to go back to bed. lately i wake up at 2 or 3, lay in bed for an hour, finally give up hope of falling back to sleep and surf the web for a couple hours - it's starting to become very annoying.

merry christmas

this is our christmas card photo...that will not get made into a christmas cards because that would take effort. so lets just pretend i printed pictures, licked, stamped and addressed 100 handwritten cards for each and every one of our friends and family. Merry Christmas!

Simple pleasures

Here's what has made me happy the last few weeks:

For Halloween my mom gave Ellie a bag with random crafty ingredients (this is so my mom, to think of something other than candy). Ellie now wants to have daily card making sessions which I love just as much as her - I try to let her make them herself, but I can't resist.

Hiking with our "backpack, backpack!" (sung to the Dora the Explorer backpack song). (Is "sung" a word?) This picture makes me teary-eyed because before I know it my best little friend will be starting school.

Gymnastics class. All I can say about this is "2,4,6,8, gymnastics is really great!"

My first quilt, for Cody. I'll get a better picture of it but this definately had to be in my "happy" post because I just love it and I LOVE having a baby boy! I also made a dolly quilt for Ellie with the scraps.

Sunbeam

Jesus wants me to be loving; and kind to all I see,

showing how friendly and happy His little one can be.

A sunbeam! A sunbeam!

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam!

A sunbeam! A sunbeam! I'll be a sunbeam for him.



I know, so cheesy - but what a perfect fit for my little chicky and turtle. I took the costumes and book to nursery last Sunday - a complete hit. Hopefully this helps the whole "be nice" concept sink in.