Yesterday I was about done in. By the time Danny came home my nerves were toast. It took him about 2 minutes before he offered to stay with the boys and give me a "night off". I had watched one of Jak's friends all afternoon and they spent the time screaming at the top of their lungs while doing activities such as throwing money (coins) at the wall, shaking Oli's crib until he woke up, banging on the table like it was a drum, dumping out everything in sight--cards, coin jars, books, toys...I couldn't keep up with them. Next time they are together will have to be much more structured and controlled--none of this letting them play together while I attempt to get other stuff done. Anyway, every week we usually have a night where we are totally frazzled by the time the boys fall asleep--but it is very discouraging to start the evening that way when dinner isn't done and the house is a disaster. Anyway, after dinner I went to Joann's with Agata (who was equally fried from writing a paper) and we indulged in some craft stuff. It was mostly just such a treat to walk through the store alone. When I got home Danny had Oliver asleep, the house clean, and Jak in bed. He's my hero.
Well there's my venting session. Most days are not so tiring. Here's hoping today is a lot better!
Jenni
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Posting Someone Elses' Photos
What did they hve for dinner? It looks so colorful and good.
That looks like the Great Salt Lake.
Here's the baby we all love. He looks just like Oli.
Tuesday at the Homestead
Oct. 30, 2007
I hope everyone is ready for Halloween tomorrow night. I like it for some reason. I took some giant patty pan squash from the garden (they are supposed to be picked very small) and hollowed out the top and put in a tea candles. I figure they will sit on the porch wall instead of me carving the giant pumpkin I bought. Carving pumpkins has a certain ick-factor.
Papa Herb had his hernia surgery yesterday. He had to stay in the hospital last night. They had to do abdominal surgery instead of laproscopic, because his appendix scar was in the way. (I did not know he had his appendix out...) He is doing well as of last night and should come home today. Hopefully it will go well for G-ma. I'm sure it will for Papa Herb. Dennis read an entire book on Queen Victoria when he had his hernia repaired. He might as well read it again. He couldn't remember the book or any movies he watched, but he enjoyed them all.
Alex writes tonight. It's always a treat to hear from him. I get to work at the temple tomorrow on Halloween. There is absolutely no connection, but it will be fun to see the people and to see how the attendance is. Probably it will not affect it. I do not understand the difference between affect and effect. Never did. Can anyone explain?
Travis, Agata, and Tommy are very busy and are started to feel the pressure of their classes. I wish they were around so that they could share some of the things they are studying with us. I love to hear about new ideas, and after the finals they usually don't want to ever talk about it again. Agata is going to Poland for Christmas. I'm sure her family will be very glad about that, but we will miss her. Travis will be here for a good visit. Danny and Jenni and boys are driving (with Travis). Good luck with that. It's quite the adventure in the winter. One I enjoy and dread at the same time.
I went to Costco today and bought nothing! I started some friends reading "Twilight" and now they are on "New Dawn" (the second book in the vampire series.) They want to talk about and can't until I have read it. It was supposed to be on sale at Costco. I know it was Saturday, but of course, boom! it's sold out. I'll have to find it somewhere or they will tell me what happens.
Dennis spent a wonderful evening last night playing games (Farkel: he loves it.) and reading his Agatha Christie book and watching Rockford. He needed that!
Take care! We love you all.
I hope everyone is ready for Halloween tomorrow night. I like it for some reason. I took some giant patty pan squash from the garden (they are supposed to be picked very small) and hollowed out the top and put in a tea candles. I figure they will sit on the porch wall instead of me carving the giant pumpkin I bought. Carving pumpkins has a certain ick-factor.
Papa Herb had his hernia surgery yesterday. He had to stay in the hospital last night. They had to do abdominal surgery instead of laproscopic, because his appendix scar was in the way. (I did not know he had his appendix out...) He is doing well as of last night and should come home today. Hopefully it will go well for G-ma. I'm sure it will for Papa Herb. Dennis read an entire book on Queen Victoria when he had his hernia repaired. He might as well read it again. He couldn't remember the book or any movies he watched, but he enjoyed them all.
Alex writes tonight. It's always a treat to hear from him. I get to work at the temple tomorrow on Halloween. There is absolutely no connection, but it will be fun to see the people and to see how the attendance is. Probably it will not affect it. I do not understand the difference between affect and effect. Never did. Can anyone explain?
Travis, Agata, and Tommy are very busy and are started to feel the pressure of their classes. I wish they were around so that they could share some of the things they are studying with us. I love to hear about new ideas, and after the finals they usually don't want to ever talk about it again. Agata is going to Poland for Christmas. I'm sure her family will be very glad about that, but we will miss her. Travis will be here for a good visit. Danny and Jenni and boys are driving (with Travis). Good luck with that. It's quite the adventure in the winter. One I enjoy and dread at the same time.
I went to Costco today and bought nothing! I started some friends reading "Twilight" and now they are on "New Dawn" (the second book in the vampire series.) They want to talk about and can't until I have read it. It was supposed to be on sale at Costco. I know it was Saturday, but of course, boom! it's sold out. I'll have to find it somewhere or they will tell me what happens.
Dennis spent a wonderful evening last night playing games (Farkel: he loves it.) and reading his Agatha Christie book and watching Rockford. He needed that!
Take care! We love you all.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Smoky October
Oct. 26, 2007
Hello everybody! I would have written sooner, but we've had a very ordinary week. Our cold wet weather has been replaced by sun and smoke from southern California. The high pressure that kept the fires burning has spread to Utah. Which is nice, because Dennis is still in the garage fixing cars. Tommy's car now runs great. Yesterday Tyler and Dennis towed Ty's girlfriend's car here and started working on it. By two o'clock in the afternoon, they looked pretty discouraged. They had just completed the tearing-it-apart phase. I was wondering how this project was going to go......but they rallied and began pounding. They were able to install a new radiator. Things look a lot better by the time they quit.
I had a good talk with Dawn while they worked. She has survived a horrible snowboarding accident and is still trying to make up for losing about two years of her life. I honestly would not recommend any back country snow boarding after hearing about it.
Anyway. We do not know what our Thanksgiving plans are yet. We wish we could see all of you regularly. It's hard to leave, even though Tyler and Dawn would only be available for Thanksgiving day. (they both have to work the week and weekend.) Well, we'll figure that out next month....
Each day seems like it's two hours long. No kidding. Time goes so fast. (I'm trying to justify the yard that isn't ready for winter and the kitchen that isn't remodelled yet...)
Have a great weekend! I bought a 25 1/2 lb pumpkin from Reams for the porch wall. Only at Reams would they be so cheap.
Love, Mom
Hello everybody! I would have written sooner, but we've had a very ordinary week. Our cold wet weather has been replaced by sun and smoke from southern California. The high pressure that kept the fires burning has spread to Utah. Which is nice, because Dennis is still in the garage fixing cars. Tommy's car now runs great. Yesterday Tyler and Dennis towed Ty's girlfriend's car here and started working on it. By two o'clock in the afternoon, they looked pretty discouraged. They had just completed the tearing-it-apart phase. I was wondering how this project was going to go......but they rallied and began pounding. They were able to install a new radiator. Things look a lot better by the time they quit.
I had a good talk with Dawn while they worked. She has survived a horrible snowboarding accident and is still trying to make up for losing about two years of her life. I honestly would not recommend any back country snow boarding after hearing about it.
Anyway. We do not know what our Thanksgiving plans are yet. We wish we could see all of you regularly. It's hard to leave, even though Tyler and Dawn would only be available for Thanksgiving day. (they both have to work the week and weekend.) Well, we'll figure that out next month....
Each day seems like it's two hours long. No kidding. Time goes so fast. (I'm trying to justify the yard that isn't ready for winter and the kitchen that isn't remodelled yet...)
Have a great weekend! I bought a 25 1/2 lb pumpkin from Reams for the porch wall. Only at Reams would they be so cheap.
Love, Mom
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
ok, so I'm posting as Travis. but I'm not Travis. it's Agata (as you would be able to recognize without me saying that after first gramatically weird sentence, like this one, haha). So , I went at jenni's place today ( which wasn't so far away) and I felt about embarrassed about the whole blog thing , cause I realized that I haven't blogged for a long long time.So, here I am. This post won't reveal anything interesting about neither my inner life nor my social experiences as I am exhausted today. Wednesday is the worst day - I have 3 hours of methodology class, which is a killer, after 2 hours my mind feels like a rotten carrot. but, one good news is I got my first paper back today and I guess that the professor was pleased with it!!!! Yeah!!!! so I decided to award myself and go to the shopping mall during the weekend - a little treat to keep me motivated. other than school nothing much happens, I still think that Travis is cool, it rains all the time, i have a bunch of international friends who come over for dinner every now and again. Oh, and a big thing I changed my first diaper last week ( I mean it wasn't my diaper- it was Oli's ) . new experiences everywhere...:)Big kiss for everyone I'm going to read now, a normal book, not art history mumblings.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
What's Going on with the Blog?
If you look in the drafts and post file after signing in with your email, there are two drafts that didn't post, one from me and one from Danny. Now I can't figure out how to get them to post or why they didn't post originally. Of course, I'm always stupified by what computers choose to do.....
Scenic Byways and Vampires
Oct. 16, 2007
If you look up National Scenic Byways Program, there are maps and descriptions of scenic byways roads. Stevens Pass is a Scenic Byway. I guess Utah is trying to get the Legacy Highway named a scenic byway. Some say "why"? But the wetlands, salt ponds and marshes are supposed to be unique. Not exactly like Stevens Pass.
I finished the book Twilight. Very interesting. The Northwest is apparently a haven for not only Sasquatch, but for vampires. And who knows what else. I think I'm going to Barnes and Noble to buy the next book......after all it is October.
Tonight it might snow. I need to go pick tomatoes before all the daylight is gone. Dawn and Tyler made the best salsa last night with the few tomatoes left in their garden. They left things in big chunks and added feta cheese chunks. It was delicious.
Tommy's car is under repair. We finally took it to tunex and found out it had a leak in the manifold intake. It isn't an expensive repair at all, just a paper gasket, but it was driving the computer crazy and the car didn't run. I am definitely sold on paying for the computer diagnosistics.
Hope you are all doing better and the colds are gone. We love you!
If you look up National Scenic Byways Program, there are maps and descriptions of scenic byways roads. Stevens Pass is a Scenic Byway. I guess Utah is trying to get the Legacy Highway named a scenic byway. Some say "why"? But the wetlands, salt ponds and marshes are supposed to be unique. Not exactly like Stevens Pass.
I finished the book Twilight. Very interesting. The Northwest is apparently a haven for not only Sasquatch, but for vampires. And who knows what else. I think I'm going to Barnes and Noble to buy the next book......after all it is October.
Tonight it might snow. I need to go pick tomatoes before all the daylight is gone. Dawn and Tyler made the best salsa last night with the few tomatoes left in their garden. They left things in big chunks and added feta cheese chunks. It was delicious.
Tommy's car is under repair. We finally took it to tunex and found out it had a leak in the manifold intake. It isn't an expensive repair at all, just a paper gasket, but it was driving the computer crazy and the car didn't run. I am definitely sold on paying for the computer diagnosistics.
Hope you are all doing better and the colds are gone. We love you!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Jak and Oli Photos
Photos of Oli and Jak that show that they are indeed the same child. Can you tell them apart?
Love,
Danny
Love,
Danny
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Tuesday
Oct. 9, 2007
Even as I write Dennis is at Disneyworld with a bunch of IT people, some from Brazil and Mexico. Tonight late (8:00) they let the IT people into Disneyworld. He said the class schedule is pretty intense and he has three more days to go.
Last night was fun. I picked Uncle Alma and Aunt Von up at Jennifer Coombs' house. We met Marty and Brandi and Daniel at Zupa's for dinner. Aunt Von loves soup and salad: therefore, she loved Zupas. They let you taste the soups. The Thai Curry Soup was delicious, and the Wild Mushroom. Surprisingly the Cauliflower Soup was great. I ordered Lobster Bisque. It's always good, but I'm regretting not getting the Wild Mushroom. We went back to Jennifer's house and played a six-dice game with the strangest scoring. It was fun. The goal is to get to 10,000 points, but how you got there is somewhat of a mystery. But I love games. Jennifer's Dad from Edmonton was trying to buy a new Toyota Highland. The weird thing is no dealer would sell to him because he was Canadian. They have signed agreements with the manufacturers (somewhat illegally?) to not sell to Canadians. I guess it forces them to buy the same car in Canada for $10,000 more. And that's free trade. Anyway, a few dealers haven't signed the private agreements, so he finally found one in Provo. I guess the dealer was doing quite the business during LDS General Conf. with Canadians in town. By the way, the Canadian dollar is equal to the U.S. and will quickly pass it by. I'm guessing it will reach $1.25 before it's done then flucuate there. Wheat is going up in price due to demand and short supply. A loaf of bread is expected to increase in price by $1.00.
Canadian news: from Vancouver. Joseph Bullock and his wife just had twin girls. They aren't identical. Michael Amasio, living in the same house as Bullocks with his wife, Heather, are expecting twins any time. They are identical, but they didn't want to know the sex. Believe that. Randy Jo is there in Vancouver awaiting the delivery of her first grandbabies.
Tommy knows how to make Gnocci. He helped me make it on Sunday. It was very good. He jammed his finger in an all day frisbee tournament in Logan. It rained and snowed on them the whole time.
Tyler got the heat turned on in his apartment finally. The whole boiler-radiator thing has been a mystery, and his landlord is certainly absentee, but finally it all came together.
Alex writes tonight. His letters are so fun to read. Some doctor from Hong Kong gave him parasite medicine that set him back. The news from Myanmar continues, but it doesn't seem to effect Thailand too much. Let's hope it stays that way.
Travis and Agata are surviving the first month at the U of W. They are meeting lots of people and making friends. (well, from my point of view.) We're going to miss Agata at Christmas. She is flying to Poland to see her folks.
Danny and Jenni are brave, wonderful parents who recently took Jak to the emergency ward with some pretty serious symptoms. Fortunately he is doing well and recovering from his mild pneumonia. Now Danny and Jenni need to recover. Oliver just coughs and smiles. We should be done with colds for the rest of the winter, don't you think? Oh yeah, flu shots have hit if anyone feels motivated to get one.
Wish you were all here. Really, I do. In spite of all the errands and projects, this is undoubtedly going to be a looooong week.
Even as I write Dennis is at Disneyworld with a bunch of IT people, some from Brazil and Mexico. Tonight late (8:00) they let the IT people into Disneyworld. He said the class schedule is pretty intense and he has three more days to go.
Last night was fun. I picked Uncle Alma and Aunt Von up at Jennifer Coombs' house. We met Marty and Brandi and Daniel at Zupa's for dinner. Aunt Von loves soup and salad: therefore, she loved Zupas. They let you taste the soups. The Thai Curry Soup was delicious, and the Wild Mushroom. Surprisingly the Cauliflower Soup was great. I ordered Lobster Bisque. It's always good, but I'm regretting not getting the Wild Mushroom. We went back to Jennifer's house and played a six-dice game with the strangest scoring. It was fun. The goal is to get to 10,000 points, but how you got there is somewhat of a mystery. But I love games. Jennifer's Dad from Edmonton was trying to buy a new Toyota Highland. The weird thing is no dealer would sell to him because he was Canadian. They have signed agreements with the manufacturers (somewhat illegally?) to not sell to Canadians. I guess it forces them to buy the same car in Canada for $10,000 more. And that's free trade. Anyway, a few dealers haven't signed the private agreements, so he finally found one in Provo. I guess the dealer was doing quite the business during LDS General Conf. with Canadians in town. By the way, the Canadian dollar is equal to the U.S. and will quickly pass it by. I'm guessing it will reach $1.25 before it's done then flucuate there. Wheat is going up in price due to demand and short supply. A loaf of bread is expected to increase in price by $1.00.
Canadian news: from Vancouver. Joseph Bullock and his wife just had twin girls. They aren't identical. Michael Amasio, living in the same house as Bullocks with his wife, Heather, are expecting twins any time. They are identical, but they didn't want to know the sex. Believe that. Randy Jo is there in Vancouver awaiting the delivery of her first grandbabies.
Tommy knows how to make Gnocci. He helped me make it on Sunday. It was very good. He jammed his finger in an all day frisbee tournament in Logan. It rained and snowed on them the whole time.
Tyler got the heat turned on in his apartment finally. The whole boiler-radiator thing has been a mystery, and his landlord is certainly absentee, but finally it all came together.
Alex writes tonight. His letters are so fun to read. Some doctor from Hong Kong gave him parasite medicine that set him back. The news from Myanmar continues, but it doesn't seem to effect Thailand too much. Let's hope it stays that way.
Travis and Agata are surviving the first month at the U of W. They are meeting lots of people and making friends. (well, from my point of view.) We're going to miss Agata at Christmas. She is flying to Poland to see her folks.
Danny and Jenni are brave, wonderful parents who recently took Jak to the emergency ward with some pretty serious symptoms. Fortunately he is doing well and recovering from his mild pneumonia. Now Danny and Jenni need to recover. Oliver just coughs and smiles. We should be done with colds for the rest of the winter, don't you think? Oh yeah, flu shots have hit if anyone feels motivated to get one.
Wish you were all here. Really, I do. In spite of all the errands and projects, this is undoubtedly going to be a looooong week.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Happy Birthday to Tyler
Oct. 5, 2007
Happy Birthday Tyler! It was so good to be with he and Dawn on his birthday. Dennis helped them move in the afternoon then Tommy and I met them downtown for dinner. We actually had to wait in line at the Red Iguana on a Wednesday night. We had a beautiful dinner in a very noisy, happy restaurant. That probably was the last warm night of the season. (The temperatures are dropping and it's raining now. ) Tommy drove up from Provo after his last class to meet us.
We have a lot to be grateful for this year. We love each one of you. Good luck in school, Agata and Travis. Everyone take care, dress warm, and enjoy the winter that is coming. Write and tell us what's happening....
Love, Mom
Happy Birthday Tyler! It was so good to be with he and Dawn on his birthday. Dennis helped them move in the afternoon then Tommy and I met them downtown for dinner. We actually had to wait in line at the Red Iguana on a Wednesday night. We had a beautiful dinner in a very noisy, happy restaurant. That probably was the last warm night of the season. (The temperatures are dropping and it's raining now. ) Tommy drove up from Provo after his last class to meet us.
We have a lot to be grateful for this year. We love each one of you. Good luck in school, Agata and Travis. Everyone take care, dress warm, and enjoy the winter that is coming. Write and tell us what's happening....
Love, Mom
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Mt. Nebo Herself
Oh yeah, this is the rain-shadow side of Mt. Nebo. It's about 11,000 feet high. The Interstate to Nephi runs on the otherside and the mountain is much greener.Devil's Kitchen
It's the end of a long drive with many hikes and lookout points. We see a sign telling us that Devil's Kitchen is near, a mini-Bryce canyon. We hiked for a short ways through white fir trees (there was a sign telling us that) and this is what we found.
So if you visit us in the Spring, Summer or Fall, we will be taking you on the Mt. Nebo scenic byway and to Reed's in Nephi for a real chocolate malt.
Even More Mt. Nebo
Where did all of these mountains come from?? Dennis said we were in the Uintah National Forest, and the Uintah Mountains aren't in the U
intah National Forest. These Mountains are part of the Wasatch and Mt. Nebo is the highest mountain in the Wasatch. (Was that perfectly clear?) 
More Mt. Nebo
Waht can I say? The hike to the waterfall had lots of log bridges and was very small-kid friendly
There were good views on both sides of the road.
Mt. Nebo Scenic Byway
This was my birthday present: to explore the Mt. Nebo Scenic road in September. It was beautiful.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Utah again
Just wanted to check in and let you know that we are doing fine. Tomorrow is Jo's birthday and I have today off. We are going for ride on the Mount Nebo loop. We have had frost at night the last few days so we hope the tree leaves will be changing colors. In any event, it should be a beautiful drive. We covered the tomatoes, so they are still producing, but the rest of the garden is pretty well gone. Other than that, our lives are just like usual and that is not a bad thing.
We hope you are all doing well and love hearing from you.
We hope you are all doing well and love hearing from you.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Seattle Family
Agata in her apartment
Currits in Washington
Jak, Travis and Agata
Agata in America
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
new year of school
Ok, so I am into the second week of school here at ol' brigham U, and thought it was time to post my schedule so you all know what I am up to. Here it is:
Comms 317: Media Research
Comms 300: Media Law and Ethics (Ugh, this has to be the driest and most boring class created)
Comms 330: Advertising Design Concepts 1 (This class Rocks! So far it has been great)
English 359: The Short Story
And that about does it. Should work out to be a good year! I am happy to be able to just take major classes. I am sad that that is my last English class to finish up my minor. I don't know what I am going to do without at least one English course every semester from here on out...
Oh, for those who care, I purchased a fine machine in the form of an iMac, the new version. It is pretty suped up, and it will be delivered by the end of the month. Its like Christmas in September. i won't lay out the specs here, for fear of boring everyone, but if you care to know them, just write a comment... Go Cougars.
Comms 317: Media Research
Comms 300: Media Law and Ethics (Ugh, this has to be the driest and most boring class created)
Comms 330: Advertising Design Concepts 1 (This class Rocks! So far it has been great)
English 359: The Short Story
And that about does it. Should work out to be a good year! I am happy to be able to just take major classes. I am sad that that is my last English class to finish up my minor. I don't know what I am going to do without at least one English course every semester from here on out...
Oh, for those who care, I purchased a fine machine in the form of an iMac, the new version. It is pretty suped up, and it will be delivered by the end of the month. Its like Christmas in September. i won't lay out the specs here, for fear of boring everyone, but if you care to know them, just write a comment... Go Cougars.
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