Lucky Us and Our Poor Altima

We were on our way home from the temple last Wednesday when another car made a left hand turn right in front of us as I drove through the green light by Gibby's Floral in Riverdale.  The young man who was driving had assumed that I planned to turn right because the far right lane at that corner has been right-turn-only in the past.  They changed it recently to an either-right-or straight through lane with appropriate arrows.  So his insurance company is taking care of the claim.  We don't know yet if the car is going to be repaired or totaled.


The great news is that neither Guenther nor I were hurt.  Guenther had some pain in the center of his chest, and the paramedics felt that he should be seen in the emergency room, so the ambulance took him to the Davis Hospital.  Lindsay, wonderful Lindsay, and the munch-kins came and picked me up at Gibby's so that I could come home and drive the truck to the hospital.  Anyway, after a few tests, I brought Guenther home, and he's feeling fine now.  We have a lot to be grateful for.

Another Kai Guy Tale

I took these photos with my new smart phone.  I'm thinking they're pretty good, considering.  The first is of Kai (the jars in the foreground are filled with cooling chicken broth.)  I baked a turkey for lunch and stewed some chicken before Lindsay came at 3 p.m., and I must admit I had foolishly shot my wad of energy by the time the munch-kins arrived.  I'm glad that they're such sweet kids.


 I took the second one of the clouds tinged with pink early this morning as I looked out the window while I was working out on the Nordic Trac in our Exercise Room (formerly known as The Lisa-David-Jed-Lindsay Apartment).  Now for the Kai story:  yesterday I tended the Three Utah Greats while Matt and Lindsay met with their builder.  Lindsay drove them over, and Kai and Ellyn came to the door while Ema and Lindsay followed behind a bit.  As he walked into the house, Kai told me, "A 'folk' is coming."  (In an earlier blog I mentioned how puzzled he was when I told him his folks would be home soon.  He wanted to know what folks meant.  I told him they were his parents, so now he is using his new vocabulary word.)  Lindsay laughed when I told her what he said.  Then she related what happened earlier.  She and Kai were in a store, and Kai noticed a fellow with lots of piercings and tatoos.   Kai got Lindsay's attention and said, "Look, Mom.  He's beautiful!"
         Kai is a little sponge for information.  I believe that his favorite word is "why."  "Why do you have this?  Why is that there?"  Etc. etc. etc. He'll know everything by the time he's six.

Christmas Day 2010

The Crabtree, Cooks, Weights, and Olenslagers came over for lasagna on Christmas afternoon.  Here Lisa is unwrapping a gift from Nancy.

We all got a kick out of the elephant mug that Nancy gave her.

Some little characters enjoy their lasagna.

 

 Nancy gave Mike this fun shock game.  The last person to react when the light goes out gets a buzz.  I put a video on you tube  (http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhum  ).


This is what Guenther, Terry, Matt, and Jordan were doing.  The Lakers were being crushed by the Heat.

And then everyone went home.  It was a fun Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve Fun

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at David and Tami's house.  All the Utah Crabtrees were there except for Jen who was working.  I loved all the PJs that everyone purchased as their Christmas gift from me.  Mike turned 18 on the 20th, so we sang Happy Birthday to him.

Christmas get-together with the Stolls

We had a great time getting together with the Stolls last Friday night.  Bob reserved the cultural hall in the Millstream chapel, so we had lots of room.  Jackie, as always, put together a great menu, and everything was delicious.  We had clam chowder, squash soup, taco soup, and chili along with Jackie's home-made breads and lots of cookies and a yummy chocolate dessert.

Guenther and Jackie..taken with my new camera.

Brock, Amber, and 8-month-old Chase.

Guenther and David.  I can't get my camera to catch the expressions I want.

Lincoln and Dallas serve themselves soup while Lincoln's friend Julie waits her turn. 

 Kyle holds his son, Cole.  Krissie and Jackie visit.

 

The guys did a great job of leaving everything clean after the party.

Triumph and Tragedy

Early one morning this month, I looked out the window and saw some drama unfolding.  An "alpha" dove was monopolizing all the bird seed..no other doves allowed to land.  He (or maybe "she")didn't mind sharing with the sparrows, but no doves dared to intrude.

Here the losers are hungrily watching the bully take his fill.

When the sun came up I got this shot of the boss.

A few days later we saw this imprint on the window.  Looks like one of the doves came to a tragic end.  We found dove feathers in the yard..wonder if it was the "alpha."

Happy Thanksgiving for Us and the Birds

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner at David and Tami's.  Tami's brother, Jeff and his wife, Mary Jane and their son, Josh, were there as were Nancy, and Matt, Lindsay, and kids, and, of course, Michael and Jordan.  I took 3 pies   ( pumpkin..shown above, sour-cream lemon meringue, and a Granny Smith apple pie) and a sweet potato casserole.  I got the casserole recipe from the Deseret News where Jeanne Jones takes high calorie recipes and makes them less fattening, and everyone liked it.


Another Kai Story:  I was watching the kids while Lindsay and Matt were moving stuff last week.  The girls were watching a video, and Kai was eating a snack at the bar.  I told him that I loved his beautiful blue eyes, and he said, "Aunt Ancie's eyes are hazel."  So on Thanksgiving day I told Nancy what he'd said, and she said that they had discussed it when she had dinner with them the previous week.  I just can't get over what he retains for his age (barely 3).

We enjoy the finches (and sometimes the doves) who feed at our bird-feeders





Guenther spotted this bird perched in Phyllis Suzuki's tree.  He thought it was an owl, but my zoom lens shows a hawk.  We figure he was waiting for a "finch" snack.