( Zach was sleeping and Trey was home teaching with Rich.)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Works of Love
These works of art were made by Brynn (above) and Kaitlyn (below) today at preschool for each other. The bond they share is something that inspires and amazes me every single day. What examples they are to their mother of endless love and enduring friendship.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Snow Day #2
4-6 inches of snow
5:30 AM call informing us school was canceled
2 hour school delay on Friday
the girls' dance studio was closed
we trekked out to piano lessons and crawled along the icy but nearly empty roads
Rich calls it a "hibernation day"
Safely tucked inside a warm house
playing fierce games of Clue (Trey won all three)
watching Redbox movies
drinking hot chocolate
munching on chips and salsa with lots of cheese
dancing to music on the iPod
baking muffins and bread sticks
playing endless apps on the iPhone
eating warm soup
wishing Rich had a day off too
watching the snow fall in glittery light flakes
times I will always treasure
Monday, January 17, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Random bits of life....
Snow has fallen steadily here in Cincinnati over the past 36 hours. The world is once again pristine and white and I'll admit the girls, Zach and I listened to a few Christmas carols in the car yesterday just for fun. Once New Years and the rain hit, the Christmas season faded as fast as the melting snow.
As the large flakes slowly danced and swayed toward the ground, I had to pause and watch in awe of their beauty. I once again could enjoy the elegance of winter and soak in the Christmas spirit just a bit longer.
The tree was down on January 1, but we had such a magical Christmas and New Years that there was no sadness as I boxed it away. It was strange to think that once again when I opened the containers of Christmas decor it will be in a new place, a new home, but I am excited for the change that 2011 will bring. Not only in Rich's job but for the growth and new discoveries we will gain through enduring another move. Our second one in less than a year and this time across the country.
I would like to think I'm helping the kids learn to do hard things and moving to Cincinnati for the length of one school year was tough, but I have seen drastic changes in the kids for the better that I know it was worth the pain and heartache leaving Lexington made them endure. Trey has bloomed. What once seemed like a dire situation has brought out the best in him. His teacher adores him. He made lots of friends. He loves doing the morning show and even when student council meetings get a bit dull, what a marvelous opportunity he's has to be the VP this year. He still has a huge, soft heart and can't watch a scary or sad movie if his life depended on it, but I can see how much he has matured and how it will help him when he's once again the 'new kid' in Utah. Josh and Matt have continued to excel in school, even when they are not quite as challenged as before. Rich's dad made a profound comment when he said sometimes it's just more than academics that can be learned. These invaluable experience of being the outsider and learning to adjust and settle in are the very things that will help them when times get tough later in life, especially when they are on a mission. Now if I can just get them to sweep the floor and load the dishwasher without being asked...
The girls have thrived here. They have a wonderful preschool that I can't say enough good about. They have a darling dance class and have made some wonderful friends, all of which are not LDS. It's great to have that connection with people of different faiths which allows me to share little glimpses of our church. It makes me happy to be a missionary in my own very small way.
Zach, well he's a complete character. He's killing me at the moment. He's utterly bored every day in our house, but with the cold and snow our only trips out are often to get the girls from school or venture to the grocery store or Target. He constantly finds entertainment in emptying cupboards, dumping out boxes upon boxes of cereal, is fascinated by the oven (purchased and installed oven lock today!), is enamored with the toilet, would climb on anything if he had his way, loves sweeping all his food off his high chair tray onto the floor below after taking only one or two bites, could spend every minute of the day exploring the freezing cold garage, loves to eat things out of the garbage can, pulls his diaper off the second his pants come off, constantly gets a firm grip on my hair and howls with laughter as he tries to rip it out of my scalp, delights in turning the TV on and off and giggles when he kicks out my workout DVD while I'm mid-squat, would escape the house in an instant if we let him and is currently a non night time sleeper. Oh yeah, and if you let him cry it out in his crib at bedtime he will vomit. 100 % guarantee. It's awesome and my carpet cleaner loves the extra use. Yes, he did cut four molars over Christmas break and I do cuddle with him at night when he wakes up, otherwise he'd wake up the entire house since we are all upstairs and within 10 feet of each other, BUT I'd sure love him a tiny bit more if he'd stop flushing toy cell phones down the toilet, stuff food, combs and toys into heater vents, bite every eraser off every pencil in the drawer, flush the broken toilet causing it to overflow and sleep more than 4 hour blocks at night. I love you to pieces sweet Z boy, but man, you are work 24/7!
Rich is busy and on interventional again. It's been a better week compared to some, but he's dead tire all the time and this year has been wearing on him. Thank heavens some humongous board exam is not looming in the near future otherwise life would be getting high stress instead of just remaining in a state of constant chaos.
The three old boys are playing basketball. They started two weeks ago and they got lucky and got a fabulous coach- their very own dad. Trey is on a fifth grade team and Josh and Matt are on a third grade team. Luckily the league worked out a schedule where their practices are back to back even though the days of the week change. Games start the end of January and go past mid March. Rich desperately misses the incredible league the boys played on for three season in Lexington, but enjoys this opportunity to work with his sons. He was Josh and Matt's coach for three years, but this is his first time working with Trey. Rich was able to find a couple of dads who will be his assistant coaches since there will be times when he gets trapped at the hospital and unable to get to the practices and games. Let's face it, I can't help with the hoops with my trusty, ever present sidekicks- the chicks and the little dude-, so it's nice to know that there are other people who can take over when Rich is not there.
We bit the bullet and purchased eight tickets to fly to Utah in March. Rich needed to feel like it was absolutely necessary to go to justify the price, but the truth is we do need to go out to look at neighborhoods and areas and try to figure out where we will call home in six months.
Things on the Lexington home front are beginning to feel more upbeat. We had an open house last Sunday and five groups came through. One was a woman who had seen the house online and wanted to check it out in person. The best part of the open house was that the realtor discovered our main floor/downstairs furnace wasn't working properly and contacted us so we could arrange for it to be repaired. The temperatures had been so low and Lexington had two snow days just this week (for a whopping total of six already this year, compared to our one here in Cincy) and if it had gone noticed I am sure we could have had a huge problem if pipes would have broken and flooding ensued. It ended up only being a faulty thermostat which they replaced, so we were grateful it was an easy issue to resolve. We had a showing last night and heard word that a buyer from overseas (probably from Japan since many Toyota employees come from Japan and live in the Veterans Park area) have shown interest in the house. I feel like it's only a matter of time until our perfect buyer is found. Hopefully sooner than later, even when that means we'll have to move the rest of our things up here for a third time and figure out what to do with that beat up old Lexus sitting in our Kentucky garage!
Life continues to move forward at a rapid pace and I am really trying to stop and take a few second each day to count my blessings, hug my kids and Rich and give my gratitude to my Heavenly Father who helps out in countless way and fills in the holes where I am often lacking.
As the large flakes slowly danced and swayed toward the ground, I had to pause and watch in awe of their beauty. I once again could enjoy the elegance of winter and soak in the Christmas spirit just a bit longer.
The tree was down on January 1, but we had such a magical Christmas and New Years that there was no sadness as I boxed it away. It was strange to think that once again when I opened the containers of Christmas decor it will be in a new place, a new home, but I am excited for the change that 2011 will bring. Not only in Rich's job but for the growth and new discoveries we will gain through enduring another move. Our second one in less than a year and this time across the country.
I would like to think I'm helping the kids learn to do hard things and moving to Cincinnati for the length of one school year was tough, but I have seen drastic changes in the kids for the better that I know it was worth the pain and heartache leaving Lexington made them endure. Trey has bloomed. What once seemed like a dire situation has brought out the best in him. His teacher adores him. He made lots of friends. He loves doing the morning show and even when student council meetings get a bit dull, what a marvelous opportunity he's has to be the VP this year. He still has a huge, soft heart and can't watch a scary or sad movie if his life depended on it, but I can see how much he has matured and how it will help him when he's once again the 'new kid' in Utah. Josh and Matt have continued to excel in school, even when they are not quite as challenged as before. Rich's dad made a profound comment when he said sometimes it's just more than academics that can be learned. These invaluable experience of being the outsider and learning to adjust and settle in are the very things that will help them when times get tough later in life, especially when they are on a mission. Now if I can just get them to sweep the floor and load the dishwasher without being asked...
The girls have thrived here. They have a wonderful preschool that I can't say enough good about. They have a darling dance class and have made some wonderful friends, all of which are not LDS. It's great to have that connection with people of different faiths which allows me to share little glimpses of our church. It makes me happy to be a missionary in my own very small way.
Zach, well he's a complete character. He's killing me at the moment. He's utterly bored every day in our house, but with the cold and snow our only trips out are often to get the girls from school or venture to the grocery store or Target. He constantly finds entertainment in emptying cupboards, dumping out boxes upon boxes of cereal, is fascinated by the oven (purchased and installed oven lock today!), is enamored with the toilet, would climb on anything if he had his way, loves sweeping all his food off his high chair tray onto the floor below after taking only one or two bites, could spend every minute of the day exploring the freezing cold garage, loves to eat things out of the garbage can, pulls his diaper off the second his pants come off, constantly gets a firm grip on my hair and howls with laughter as he tries to rip it out of my scalp, delights in turning the TV on and off and giggles when he kicks out my workout DVD while I'm mid-squat, would escape the house in an instant if we let him and is currently a non night time sleeper. Oh yeah, and if you let him cry it out in his crib at bedtime he will vomit. 100 % guarantee. It's awesome and my carpet cleaner loves the extra use. Yes, he did cut four molars over Christmas break and I do cuddle with him at night when he wakes up, otherwise he'd wake up the entire house since we are all upstairs and within 10 feet of each other, BUT I'd sure love him a tiny bit more if he'd stop flushing toy cell phones down the toilet, stuff food, combs and toys into heater vents, bite every eraser off every pencil in the drawer, flush the broken toilet causing it to overflow and sleep more than 4 hour blocks at night. I love you to pieces sweet Z boy, but man, you are work 24/7!
Rich is busy and on interventional again. It's been a better week compared to some, but he's dead tire all the time and this year has been wearing on him. Thank heavens some humongous board exam is not looming in the near future otherwise life would be getting high stress instead of just remaining in a state of constant chaos.
The three old boys are playing basketball. They started two weeks ago and they got lucky and got a fabulous coach- their very own dad. Trey is on a fifth grade team and Josh and Matt are on a third grade team. Luckily the league worked out a schedule where their practices are back to back even though the days of the week change. Games start the end of January and go past mid March. Rich desperately misses the incredible league the boys played on for three season in Lexington, but enjoys this opportunity to work with his sons. He was Josh and Matt's coach for three years, but this is his first time working with Trey. Rich was able to find a couple of dads who will be his assistant coaches since there will be times when he gets trapped at the hospital and unable to get to the practices and games. Let's face it, I can't help with the hoops with my trusty, ever present sidekicks- the chicks and the little dude-, so it's nice to know that there are other people who can take over when Rich is not there.
We bit the bullet and purchased eight tickets to fly to Utah in March. Rich needed to feel like it was absolutely necessary to go to justify the price, but the truth is we do need to go out to look at neighborhoods and areas and try to figure out where we will call home in six months.
Things on the Lexington home front are beginning to feel more upbeat. We had an open house last Sunday and five groups came through. One was a woman who had seen the house online and wanted to check it out in person. The best part of the open house was that the realtor discovered our main floor/downstairs furnace wasn't working properly and contacted us so we could arrange for it to be repaired. The temperatures had been so low and Lexington had two snow days just this week (for a whopping total of six already this year, compared to our one here in Cincy) and if it had gone noticed I am sure we could have had a huge problem if pipes would have broken and flooding ensued. It ended up only being a faulty thermostat which they replaced, so we were grateful it was an easy issue to resolve. We had a showing last night and heard word that a buyer from overseas (probably from Japan since many Toyota employees come from Japan and live in the Veterans Park area) have shown interest in the house. I feel like it's only a matter of time until our perfect buyer is found. Hopefully sooner than later, even when that means we'll have to move the rest of our things up here for a third time and figure out what to do with that beat up old Lexus sitting in our Kentucky garage!
Life continues to move forward at a rapid pace and I am really trying to stop and take a few second each day to count my blessings, hug my kids and Rich and give my gratitude to my Heavenly Father who helps out in countless way and fills in the holes where I am often lacking.
Why we have January
Straight from their mouths....
Completely clueless about smart phones, I called my brothers to get the low down on what they have. Brad told me in July he'll be getting a Sprint droid when he starts his residency program at the U of U. While it wasn't exactly what Brad said, this is what I thought I heard over the line, "I'm getting a Evil Android in July." Huh. This whole concept of Androids was like a foreign language, so I thought the name might be appropriate. Too bad they're not that clever at Sprint and he's only getting EVO instead.
Zach's hair was getting crazy long before Christmas. I pulled out the Flowbee and told them girls Zach was getting a hair cut. Kaitlyn quickly gave me the 411 on what he needed. "He needs a short cut too."
All throughout December the girls were singing Christmas song they learned in preschool or primary. One of their favorites was Deck the Halls. Brynn's rendition went like this, "Deck the halls with bally seasons! Fa la la la la, la la la la." I explained to her and Kaitlyn that the words were really Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Soon Kaitlyn was singing this "Deck the Halls with bows of Hollywood."
Matt walked into the room only to find Zach crunching and smashing his beloved Lego set he has just created. I told Matt how sorry I was. Matt remained calm while we pried Zach's hands from the pieces. Matt gave a wicked smile and said, "I might look alright on the outside, but I'm screaming inside."
What a whirlwind five days we spent with my parents. We were go, go, go the entire time. Just as we pulled away from the curb at the airport and waved goodbye as my parents walked inside, I asked the girls what there favorite part of Christmas was. Brynn quickly declared, "Playing with Grandpa's iPhone!" Reminded me of the time the kids loved the hotel swimming pool more than the amusement park.
New Year's Eve brought a slew of memorable quotes.
During an intense game of Poker Trey and I were in a bidding war over our hands. After 45 dollars of chips were tossed down from each of us, we showed everyone our cards. We both had Full Houses. Trey exclaimed that he had won, but with only 2 kings and 3 threes, my 4 eights were a better hand. As I saw my victory I screamed with excitement and told Trey unfortunately my hand was the winner. As I gathered the chips Trey started to cry. I had not meant to make him feel bad, but I had. "Trey I'm sorry I won," I told him. "Mom, it's not that you won, it's how you acted that made me feel bad." Then came the whammy from my lips, "I'm not trying to be a mean mom, I'm just playing poker." Sure makes sense why we are NOT encouraged to gamble!
As midnight quickly approached, we were trying to get in two more hands, allowing each of the kids to deal the cards twice. With just four minutes until the ball dropped I told the kids to hurry so we could finish the game in time. Rich grabbed the Dish Network remote and said, "We could just pause the ball dropping." Not quite the same dear.
After we celebrated the New Year outside with poppers, sparklers and some sparkling apple juice, Rich called his family in Utah. He happily announced, "We are one year ahead of you!"
Not to think we are so far ahead in Ohio, we laughed at the Mark Twain quote we heard the other day, "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times." I might have to agree....
Zach's hair was getting crazy long before Christmas. I pulled out the Flowbee and told them girls Zach was getting a hair cut. Kaitlyn quickly gave me the 411 on what he needed. "He needs a short cut too."
All throughout December the girls were singing Christmas song they learned in preschool or primary. One of their favorites was Deck the Halls. Brynn's rendition went like this, "Deck the halls with bally seasons! Fa la la la la, la la la la." I explained to her and Kaitlyn that the words were really Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Soon Kaitlyn was singing this "Deck the Halls with bows of Hollywood."
Matt walked into the room only to find Zach crunching and smashing his beloved Lego set he has just created. I told Matt how sorry I was. Matt remained calm while we pried Zach's hands from the pieces. Matt gave a wicked smile and said, "I might look alright on the outside, but I'm screaming inside."
What a whirlwind five days we spent with my parents. We were go, go, go the entire time. Just as we pulled away from the curb at the airport and waved goodbye as my parents walked inside, I asked the girls what there favorite part of Christmas was. Brynn quickly declared, "Playing with Grandpa's iPhone!" Reminded me of the time the kids loved the hotel swimming pool more than the amusement park.
New Year's Eve brought a slew of memorable quotes.
During an intense game of Poker Trey and I were in a bidding war over our hands. After 45 dollars of chips were tossed down from each of us, we showed everyone our cards. We both had Full Houses. Trey exclaimed that he had won, but with only 2 kings and 3 threes, my 4 eights were a better hand. As I saw my victory I screamed with excitement and told Trey unfortunately my hand was the winner. As I gathered the chips Trey started to cry. I had not meant to make him feel bad, but I had. "Trey I'm sorry I won," I told him. "Mom, it's not that you won, it's how you acted that made me feel bad." Then came the whammy from my lips, "I'm not trying to be a mean mom, I'm just playing poker." Sure makes sense why we are NOT encouraged to gamble!
As midnight quickly approached, we were trying to get in two more hands, allowing each of the kids to deal the cards twice. With just four minutes until the ball dropped I told the kids to hurry so we could finish the game in time. Rich grabbed the Dish Network remote and said, "We could just pause the ball dropping." Not quite the same dear.
After we celebrated the New Year outside with poppers, sparklers and some sparkling apple juice, Rich called his family in Utah. He happily announced, "We are one year ahead of you!"
Not to think we are so far ahead in Ohio, we laughed at the Mark Twain quote we heard the other day, "When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times." I might have to agree....
Orange Bowl 2011
We had the gear,
Worth a thousand words
"Trey will you go downstairs and put these new packs of hangers on the rod by the washing machine?"
Wow. Not what I had in mind. At all.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
New Year's Eve
It was always a big deal holiday with the Nance family. When my dad was young his family would play Tripoley together. As they got older, they never went out with friends on New Years but invited their friends to their home to play Tripoley.
My father carried on the tradition with us. First it was a small affair with just my siblings. Over the years it grew to a huge party and we often had three our four additional families join us to play. They too loved our tradition.
In fact, the Swensons, who came every year, gave me my own Tripoley set at my wedding shower. It couldn't have been a more perfect gift.
Usually we feast on shrimp, make sandwiches, or BBQ ribs then snack on Christmas candies and goodies once the game begins.
The chips have no monetary value, but the poker betting can get fierce and bidding wars are not uncommon. It's high stakes drama when Tripoley begins and your paying hearts get skipped and you don't get to collect from the board. It's pure FUN, FUN, FUN!
Rich and the kids fell in love with my family's tradition and we happily carried it on this year here in Cincinnati. We gobbled up Papa John pizza. Wore fancy hats and our table boasted bowls full of yummy munchy foods. The boys were old enough to play their own hands and we called my parents in Utah throughout the night to get an update on how their game was playing out.
Midnight brought the ball drop in Times Square (that one thing I was desperately miss when we live in Utah- being on Eastern Standard Time!!!!), hugs and kisses and a mad dash outside to watch fireworks, burn sparklers and give a proper welcome to the new year.
HAPPY 2011!!!!
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