This week, we...

worked on a Pinewood Derby car...

And won first place!

Ran a 10K.


Rode a mechanical bull.

Petted an alligator...

and a tortoise...

and a boa constrictor!

Sat in a helicopter.

And snuggled with Thelma.

I'm not that excited about planting a garden this year...

Can I just count this instead?

Because it may never happen again...

It's embarrassing, but I've been a nail biter off and on my whole life.

It's totally gross, I know.

As a child my parents used to bribe my sisters and I to grow out our nails by having 'fingernail growing contests'. I actually won a contest once and got to go out for a bubblegum milkshake with my dad at Snelgrove's.


Sometimes I bite my nails so short they hurt and bleed, and sometimes I can grow them out, no problem. I can't really explain why I bite or don't bite my nails during any given period of time. But when I do grow them out, I'm always amazed that they still look okay after all my years of abuse.

Seriously, they look decent, right? Almost like an ad for "Active Length Lee Press On Nails", huh?

Wait...what?

You're not familiar with Lee Press On Nails?!

Let me refresh your memory, or school you in some 80's pop culture in case you're too young to remember.

Here's an ad for the version of Lee Press On Nails targeted to teens, (or tweens, I can't really tell, the girls look pretty young to me,) which is why the sexual undertones are a little bizarre:

If my dad lived closer, I'd probably call him up and invite him out for a milkshake right now.

My treat!

It was so pretty outside today!

I snapped this photo with my cell phone while out on a run today. I couldn't believe how BLUE the sky looked!

Here's another on my way back home. The clouds were huge and puffy and low to the ground. So cool!

What's for dinner?

When I announced tonight that it was "Taco Tuesday", Noah, (the ridiculously picky eater right now) groaned and said,

"I like Mashed Potato Day better."

Sorry, kid.

Maybe you'll get your wish next Monday.

A sign I've taken the term "Christmas Break" too literally?

sigh...

Seriously. Whose crazy idea was it for school to start on the WEDNESDAY after New Year's?!

Mission accomplished!

Well folks, I did it. I reached my goal.

Earlier this year I accepted a challenge on a running forum over on Sparkpeople.com to run at least 50 miles each month this year.

Here are my results:

And that means the grand total of miles run in 2009 is...




[drumroll please]




628.31!

Yeah, that's right.

(Nate just popped his head around the corner and asked if I was bragging.)

Am I?

Okay, yes, a little.

Because back when I bought my first real pair of running shoes in February of this year, I was nervous that they wouldn't get used enough!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It was a Merry Christmas...

Wasn't it? We had a really nice time.

That's our annual Christmas Eve photo.

Because most of them looked more like this:

Thanks, Zach, thanks a lot.

And this.

I'm not sure why Noah was hiding, but I'm guessing it was because he was sick of having his picture taken by that point..

And the part that really makes me laugh is that for once, I don't think I look too bad in the photos, and it was ME who kept jumping up and reseting the timer on the camera.

Hello?!

And I don't know why the pictures came out so grainy. All the pictures for the last few days have come out that way and I think it's because I was playing with the settings and goofed them up royally. This next year one of my goals is to improve my photography skills.

And THIS is what the boys have spent most of the last two days doing:

(That's a Nintendo DS, BTW, and I think we all agree they are pretty awesome.)

It's really win-win because I see these little devices being great leverage for getting the kids to do stuff we want them to, like cleaning their rooms and doing their homework.

Score!

So, how was your Christmas?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

The stockings are hung by the chimney...ahem...the big screen t.v. with care. (How embarrassing. I can't believe I'm even posting this picture. Obviously my decor needs a little help.)

The giant tub of 'Extra Fancy 'mixed nuts from Costco meant to last through the holiday season is pretty much picked over.

And the most Christmas-y image of all - the lemons on the tree are starting to ripen.

Yes, it's that most wonderful time of the year when the lemons are ready for the pickin' and I can finally squeeze their tangy juices into an ice cold Diet Coke poured into the last, lonely survivor of our of vintage, special edition Utah Jazz glass collection purchased from Chevron in St. George, Utah during the early years of our marriage. This particular glass is dated 1997, and is the glass from which all beverages seem to taste just a little bit better.


Man, it just feels like Christmas now!

Zach's gingerbread house

Zach wanted to make sure our blog contained a photo of the gingerbread house he made at school yesterday. Impressive, isn't it?

These aren't just pieces of drugstore candy plopped willy nilly onto graham crackers and globs of Betty Crocker frosting. These are carefully plotted confections arranged to convey his conception of the ideal winter wonderland.

That's not merely a Tootsie Roll standing on it's end, it's the leftover stump of a tree chopped down to provide the cottage with much needed fire wood. And the Skittles and sprinkles in front of the door? That's actually a charming cobblestone path beckoning one and all to enter the adorned chalet to join in the Yuletide festivities.

In fact, it reminds me of the beloved creation we made together last year.

He definitely gets his artistic vision from my side of the family.