Saturday, December 25, 2010
Wedding (pre wedding)
Well this marks a little over a month since Spence and I were married. We had such a delightful time through the whole process of finishing up preparations, celebrating, honeymooning, and now getting started with our new life!
Here are a few pics of us getting the table centerpieces ready for the reception. We had so much help from Becca and Kathy, Mercedes, Rax, and Bonnie, then in the next wave, Tom, Ellie, Rach… yay for your willingness to help! Thanks so much! Mom had some gorgeous paper she found so here we are making it into pinwheels for the vases. We had a great time. Spence and I were really pleased with how everything turned out.
We weren’t quite sure what to expect with this prewedding prep- from running around getting our marriage license to purchasing a bike horn for the guests to honk with a donation for a charity if they wanted us to kiss, but I’ll just say we were busy and it was way fun!!!!!!
Thanks for all your help everyone!! Of course there could have been many more pics taken... Char...
In Memoriam
Blog Post
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Happy Birthday Charla!!!!!
Ever since Charla joined the family, we've all been enjoying her fun, optimistic nature and her adventurousness. You are amazing Char! I love you lots and am so glad we can all see you more often now. I hope you have an awesome birthday with your boys (Jordan included)!!
I know this is an old picture but I really love it of both Char and Oliver. Anyways, here's Charla's answers to her birthday questions!
1. How old are you turning this year? 33
2. What is your favorite food? Indian
3. What is your most frequently purchased grocery item? milk/eggs/bread
4. What is your bedtime routine like: I brush my teeth, wash my face, moisturize, then pillow talk until Jordan politely tells me to shut-up and go to sleep.
5. What are three things you absolutely have to do every day? eat, pray, love
6. What do you listen to most (artist, radio station/program, podcast)? I have a bunch of playlists set up through playlist.com - I play music a lot. When we have clean up time Oliver always requests our clean up music...ABBA.
7. What’s one skill you wish you had? I'd like to be good at gardening
8. What skill are you most proud of? I wouldn't say I'm proud of my sense of humour but I think it takes practise to be good humoured and it has sure come in handy in my life.
9. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? Cuba
10. What is your favorite place you’ve been?Ok - I had to name at least three:
Dirt road, outside a village in Ghana by myself
Shabby hotel in Rome with Jordan
Hospital room after giving birth with Oliver and Benjamin
11. What are three of your favorite books? East of Eden, Isaiah, The Help
12. If you had to buy any magazine what would it be? A cooking mag
13. What is one thing that gets on your nerves? Whining
14. What is your favorite sport to watch or play? I really get into soccer but only during the World Cup
15. What do you love to do when you have nothing to do? I like to read, write, watch movies or TV shows. I also like just being still and giving some attention to my thoughts.
16. What are three things you wish you had? More energy, more money, time travel machine.
17. What is your favorite treat? Cheesecake cupcakes
18. What are a few things you hope to accomplish or learn this year? I hope to accomplish a lovely happy year for myself, Jord and the boys.
19. What are your favorite things to watch (tv show/movie)? I don't usually stick with anything for a long time - I liked watching The Waltons for a while then I really got into Thirtysomething which I loved. I like watching shows/movies that are meaningful to me.
20. What are your three most visited websites (besides facebook/email). I read cooking blogs quite a bit. Currently I've been trying to learn about yogi wisdom and buddhism. For a laugh I visit 'Seriously so blessed' and 'My religious blog'
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Jury Duty
Friday, December 3, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACH!!
Now what are we going to do? Rach turning 20 means no more teenagers in the fam :) :( Here's 20 questions for our twenty year old. Choose one of your favorite answers and tell us what you think. Happy, Happy Birthday! Have the best one ever! We love you Rach!
1. How old are you turning this year? 20! Not a teenager anymore!
2. What is your favorite food? I love all Mexican food and Indian food.
3. What is your most frequently purchased grocery item? Fruit and honey roasted honey bunches of oats- my favorite cereal.
4. What is your bedtime routine like: I basically roll into bed at the last second after everyone in my apartment has gone to bed. I’ll read some scriptures, pray, and fall asleep.
5. What are three things you absolutely have to do every day? Listen to music, talk to friends and/or family (whether at school or far away), and check e-mail and facebook.
6. What do you listen to most (artist, radio station/program, podcast)? Radiohead or the Shins, both of which are bands.
7. What’s one skill you wish you had? I wish I were an amazing ballroom dancer!
8. What skill are you most proud of? Playing the violin
9. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go? New Zealand and Australia
10. What is your favorite place you’ve been? The UK. I love the people, the culture, the history, and the landscape. I also really enjoyed going to Vietnam and Cambodia.
11. What are three of your favorite books? Pride and Prejudice, Welcome to the Monkey House, and The Time Traveler’s Wife. All are very different genres but I really got caught up in each of them.
12. If you had to buy any magazine what would it be? In Style or some other fashion magazine.
13. What is one thing that gets on your nerves? I very much dislike it when people are overly arrogant or cocky.
14. What is your favorite sport to watch or play? I love running and playing/watching soccer.
15. What do you love to do when you have nothing to do? I love to read! I never seem to have time for it anymore though.
16. What are three things you wish you had? I wish I had a cool convertible, a golden retriever puppy, and a plane ticket to New Zealand.
17. What is your favorite treat? I love Ben and Jerry’s icecream or Rolo cookies.
18. What are a few things you hope to accomplish or learn this year? I hope to get good grades in all my classes and learn a lot of interesting things!
19. What are your favorite things to watch (tv show/movie)? I love the show Arrested Development and some of my favorite movies are Star Wars, Zoolander, and Lord of the Rings.
20. What are your three most visited websites (besides facebook/email). Probably the BYU website, Schneidremarks, and Youtube.
A Sprout By Any Other Name
They're bought in job lots every year
To eat them with our wine and beer,.
They look and taste like rotting greens
And smell like tins of cold baked beans!
They even have the same outcome
As wind rumbles around in our tums.
Our usual sunny dispositions
Displeased by a cruel Yule tide tradition.
We ask why on Festive plate we allow
The horrible Brussel, it tastes so foul?
The humble looking little green bud -
We sit there, retching up the cud.
The mini cabbage will make us gag
That's only fit for a black bin bag!
Then more revolt - the veg and spuds
Served up warm for tomorrows' lunch!
That end up in a bubble and squeak,
Those leftovers' fried in oil so deep.
For Veggies' that are bought so seldom,
Why don't we just send them all to Belgium?
And most will end up in the bin -
Better out then in - they're so disgusting!
I know there's some who enjoy a Brussel
With vitamins to build up body and muscle,
While others like their taste and pungency,
But personally - they're really not for me!
Catharine Savage Brosman
In drag-foot March, and fastening my coat
at the greengrocer's stall I have in mind
Bermuda onions, chard, asparagus,
red peppers, corn-a salad for the eye
and long-stemmed hothouse marvels hastening
the spring in every hue; but daffodils
to mark St. David's Day have frumpy blooms,
carnations wither, and the tulip buds
are February's orphans. As for fruit
and vegetables, the apples look as hard
as wood, and flavorless; my leafy thought
of salads dies. But broccoli is out
in florets, with the kindred cabbages
and Brussels sprouts. Such lowly ancestry
they have, these sprouts, so plain! They could be beads
or dresser knobs, or marbles for a game
with winter, and at thirty-seven pence
a pound are not patrician. Yet their sweet
and minimal design, their modesty,
repeating an idea of round desire
and touched with Cezanne blue, invite conceits
with painted tables, sunshine in the shape
of fruit, a bowl, a porcelain carafe,
or curtains at a window by Matisse
as if in all things green there were a grace
awaiting hand or eye to contemplate
the world transcended in its common ways.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Rax the Roommate
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
When I was 19 I worked at a summer youth hostel in Grande Prairie Alberta. One night a traveling yoga instructor showed up with her backpack and yoga mat. (Unbelievably - her job as well as mine was funded by the federal government!) She showed me some cool yoga moves and I remember thinking some day I'll do that. Well someday didn't happen until a couple years ago when I found myself propelled to the door of our local yoga studio. I showed up in non fashion nonlululemon pants and Tshirt and put myself in the very back row.
Two years later I find that I can't go a week without a yoga class...
Home Stretch of the semester
Monday, November 29, 2010
Snowfall
First tobaganning run
winter vacation in Edmonton
I'm on active duty
I woke and saw that life was Duty
I acted, and behold, Duty was Joy
- Rabindranath Tagore
During my undergrad I chose quite a few poli sci classes that dealt with international development. I was fascinated with underdevelopment - why some countries were so poor while others were so wealthy. I really loved learning about this and loved meeting other students who were equally concerned with international social and economic issues. I remember one guy named Mitchell who wanted to farm onions in India when he finished his degree because he was disgusted with our greedy, indulgent North American capitalist system. His parents once returned from a vacation in Mexico and when they went to show him their pictures he mocked "That isn't Mexico! You guys didn't go to MEXICO, you went to some American resort that doesn't even come close to representing what real life in Mexico is....." He was passionate.
I too wanted to make a difference and my interest in humanitarian work grew....but then my view kind of shifted. At the end of my degree, after all I had read and heard my conclusion was this: The world doesn't need big heros, the world needs good mothers and good fathers. People who live decent lives and serve their immediate communities and their immediate neighbours. I'm not saying humanitarian work isn't important, I just really think there would be so much less of it to do if every one lived the gospel. I gave up my dream of being a Mother Theresa for being a Mom and I genuinely feel that I'm making a difference as well.
End of an Era
Sunday, November 28, 2010
We started off with a nice walk around the area next to a marina with a scenic view of Vancouver. It was a pleasant introduction to this part of Canada.
Fond Memories of Hiking
So having to slave away on some big papers due this week and next week I've been thinking about the blissful memories of summer. LA was great and it was fun to get to Yosemite but I think I had the most fun trip wise anyway when I was back in the good ol Rocky Mountains. I had three weekends between coming back from LA and the start of school and I used them well. First was going to do Northover Ridge in Kananaskis, second was doing the Classic Trail to Berg Lake and Snowbird Pass on Mount Robson and then lastly and probably the toughest overall was scrambling Mount Temple which is something I've wanted to do for a couple of years now. Peter and Uncle Jim joined me and my friend Ed and it was a lot of fun. I've included a few pictures for your amusement ........ I'm also already looking at some trips that I want to do in the Rockies and maybe in Washington as well. Ahhhhhh the mountains.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Nephews
So Lindsays wedding was so much fun. It was great to see Lindsay and Spencer so happy. Among other things I enjoyed seeing the LA nephews again. Ian and Melissa have taught them well because luckily they all still remembered who I was. It is tough to match their energy and excitement to play.
One of my favorite moments which I unfortunately was not able to get on camera was, during the dance, when Jack kept playing and running away with a little toy soccer ball that Oliver really wanted. Oliver would chase him and chase him and politely (and then sometimes not so politely) try to take the ball from Jack who was not willing to share. In one such chase Jack came running towards me with his arms open so as to avoid his pursuer. I scooped him up and asked him if he would be willing to give his ball to Oliver he looked like he was thinking about it when his eyes lit up a little bit and he pointed and said "there's a ball" implying that Oliver should get that ball. I turned around to see what he was pointing at as I noticed the giant silver disco ball that the DJ had set up for the dance. I turned back around to face Jack now smiling and had a good hard laugh. Luckily the send off of the bride and groom began soon afterwards and the soccer ball was forgotten. I've included a picture of the LA nephews from the summer that I took but will try to add another one soon that shows Caleb and Julian's new cool surfer dude cuts and Jack and Christian's expanding curly locks.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thank you!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Eat, Drink, Edmonton
Monday, November 22, 2010
What I would have belted out if I had been asked to participate in the wedding program
Congrats again you guys, it was a beautiful wedding!!!!!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
hellos and goodbyes
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Bridal Shower part 2
CHA CHA CHA!
This semester I am taking Social Dance 180, basically the most basic ballroom dance class there is at BYU. It's a lot of fun! I have really been enjoying it, and I hope to take a few more dance classes while I'm here. This morning, I got to compete in DanceSport, which is a huge event at BYU because there are hundreds of ballroom dancers at all different levels who compete. Me and my partner Lonnie danced in the Chacha competition and made it to the 5th round! I think there are about 8 rounds total or something so we were proud of ourselves. Neither of us consider ourselves very coordinated dancers so we were definitely not expecting to make it that far haha. It really was a lot of fun to dance 5 rounds and check on the TV screen if we had made it to the next one. We would come up with little routines right before we danced a round to make sure we would know what to do. Lonnie's roommate was watching us too and even got a couple video clips on his phone so maybe he'll post them somewhere. I guess my dancing career is launched now haha so I hope to do something similar in the future! Here's a couple pictures from today.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Our Big Fat Edmonton Wedding!
Building a Blog
I also just got published on another kid website: Although, unfortunately, still no feedback!! (this is not a hint, by the way, just a vent)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
White Wedding?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Tick Tock Tick Tock
So there's this clock that is in our bathroom and after all the shouting, cooking, cheering, talking etc. finally dies down in the evening and the stillness of the night sets in the clock seems to come alive or gain strength. As the hours of the late evening and early morning pass by, the clock seems to get louder and louder until finally someone stirs and you hear the creaking tiles or steps as a living creature wakes up usually around 7:30. The night however belongs to the clock. The tick-tocking reverberates through the hall and when I am ,before I go to sleep usually around 12:00 or 12:30, I can hear it quite clearly. It's just a cheap hunka but it still makes that nice tick tock tick tock loudly.
For some reason last night I woke up at about 3:30 and this clock was just booming I had never heard it so loudly before. As I was sitting in silence, I could almost hear the mechanical gears shifting and crunching to move the arms; it literally did sound like a metronome in a large empty room with excellent acoustics.
For some reason I got this eerie feeling that everyone of us has a clock that is ticking constantly and that the seconds should not be wasted (kinda like Captain Hook when he hears the tick tock crocidile). I think that the way we spend our time is the most important investment we make. As young people it is essentially the only asset that we have and so the way we spend it really affects our future lives. For some reason hearing this strange clock really made me reflect that I have a limited amount of time and that I need to make the most of it somehow.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Halloween Costumes!
Sorry this post might be a little past due, but I also wanted to put up a Halloween picture! Me and my roommates were characters from the Powerpuff Girls cartoon show, which interestingly enough I have barely ever seen. But it was lots of fun! Emily was Bubbles, Sydney was Blossom, I was Buttercup, (those are the three powerpuff girls)and Beatriz was Princess Morbucks, who is a villain in the show. Compare the two pictures of us and see how we did!
Sorting
The Rotisserie
Monday, November 1, 2010
Slow Down
"Let’s be honest; it’s rather easy to be busy. We all can think up a list of tasks that will overwhelm our schedules. Some might even think that their self-worth depends on the length of their to-do list. They flood the open spaces in their time with lists of meetings and minutia—even during times of stress and fatigue. Because they unnecessarily complicate their lives, they often feel increased frustration, diminished joy, and too little sense of meaning in their lives.
It is said that any virtue when taken to an extreme can become a vice. Overscheduling our days would certainly qualify for this. There comes a point where milestones can become millstones and ambitions, albatrosses around our necks.
The wise understand. They resist the temptation to get caught up in the frantic rush of everyday life. They follow the advice “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” In short, they focus on the things that matter most."
You should read the whole talk. Its terrific.Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sushi
Last exam ever?
So Where is He? And She?
Here we are, in case you didn't. Lots of fun, good friends, good music, "The Addams Family" movie playing.