It's a New Year! (Though I'm actually writing and posting this before the actual New Year.) We had a good year. I'd write about the major events, but I need to save those for our New Year, maybe Valentine's Day cards. I didn't get around to doing Christmas cards. Hoping to get some sort of card out, Soon!
I haven't made any resolutions, yet. I'll post them once I do. One our Sacrament Program on Sunday had this quote on it and I thought I'd share.
"Be kind to yourself. If you find you've made resolutions that are making you miserable, be willing to change them. After all, they are your resolutions. Sometimes you can resolve to do things that are really too big to handle. Instead of giving up as a failure, modify your goals so that they will be a true help and result in improvement." ("Keeping New Year's Resolutions", Liahona, December 1990)
2014 will be a good year. Some things we have to look forward to:
James going to Primary (can't believe he's old enough for Primary)
James turning 4!
Me crying lots because my little boy is getting bigger. ;)
Tracy graduating with a Master's Degree in June.
Which will bring Tracy starting a PhD programs.
Me turning the big 3-0 (Can I really be that old already?) and joining Tracy in the 30's (Only he'll be turning 33.)
More beach time and maybe trips to Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Sea World and San Diego Zoo.
Holidays, New Traditions and Family Fun!
And a possible move. Applications for PhD programs are in (almost, just have one more left). Now we wait for the acceptance/reject letters.
Here are the schools Tracy applied to/ will apply to and where they are located:
University of California - Riverside (Riverside, California)
University of Texas (Austin, Texas)
University of California (Berkeley, California)
University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
University of California - Davis (Davis, California
A good chance to stay in here in Cali. :) Now we'll just have to wait and see which ones Tracy gets accepted to. Where do you think we'll end up? (Notice there's now a poll on the right. Comment with your guess and place your vote.)
I hope you all are having tons of fun partying the night away. Have a Happy New Year!
It worked out that we could spend a few days in Utah for Christmas. We got up with the sun on Thursday the 19th and drove and drove and drove. We arrived in Salt Lake that night to freshly fallen snow and beautiful Christmas lights. We checked into the Plaza Hotel and enjoyed the view. James's favorite part was watching the TRAX trains.
After nap. Major bed head or should I say car seat hair.
He started putting the pencil for the magnadoodle behind his ear.
Our view from our room.
I'll admit I had too much fun people watching from our room
and occasionally would get people waving at me. lol.
James loved watching the trains.
The next day, Friday the 20th. We spent most of the day in Provo. Tracy was offered a chance to do a radio interview for BYU radio as part of their Apple Seed show. His little brother works as the sound editor for the show when they found out his brother was a paleontologist they couldn't resist getting an interview. Once we find out when it will be on, I'll let everyone know via Facebook. I wanted to sit in the sound both to listen to the interview, but James had other plans. We ended up hanging out in the waiting area.
That night we treated Tracy's little brother to dinner at Tucanos. We need to find a place like that here. We went back to our hotel and my two little sisters stopped in, since they were at temple square looking at lights. James loved having someone new to play with, even better that one of those was his favorite Aunt Kandace.
Our visitor passes.
My little sister's at the TRAX station taken from our hotel room.
Saturday the 21st, we bundled up and ventured out in the cold. When we were getting ready I asked James if he wanted to go out in the snow. He looked out the window and said, "Umm, nope." I concur kid, I concur. However, we put his snow suit on and away we went.
We walked around City Creek, did some shopping, then met my friends, Kendra and Sara, for lunch at the Blue Lemon, then did a little more shopping. There was an awesome toy at Deseret Book that James would probably spent the rest of the day playing with Video posted below.That evening we ventured out into the cold again and went to see the lights at temple square. I think we spent about 10 minutes walking around then retreated back to the warmth of our hotel room.
The view from the hall windows right outside our room.
Definitely will stay at the Plaza Hotel again.
The snow is pretty in some places (despite the cold), but makes other places dull and blah.
This was when he was still upset about getting bundled up.
He was much happier after awhile.
Us staying warm and having fun at City Creek.
Still he had moments of being upset.
Video of James playing with the Parachute Shooter at Deseret Book.
Sunday the 22nd, we went to church at our old ward. It was good to see old friends. Then drove down to Nephi to Tracy's parent's house. That evening they had their annual Christmas program. Lots of Tracy's cousins came, so it was fun to have an evening with his extended family mixed with Christmas music. We didn't get any pictures from this day. :(
Monday the 23rd, we went back up north and met my friend Angie for lunch in Orem. Then went onto AF and met my little sisters for Ice Cream before my family party. My family party was full of good food and lots of family fun. James loved playing with his two cousins his age. He got spoiled over this trip with so many kids to play with as well as aunts, uncles and grandparents giving him lots of attention. We ended up staying at my mom's house till 11 pm. We spent the night at a hotel in Lehi. We only got one picture from this night and it was of what my brother called "The Perfect Turkey."
You be the judge: Is it perfect?
Christmas Eve, we spent a few more hours at my mom's house. Had lunch with my two little sisters. My little sister, Kandace is leaving for her mission in February, so we had to get as much time with her as we could. Probably won't see her again before she leaves. :( After lunch we did some grocery shopping for the dinner Tracy was going to make, then headed back down to Nephi to spend the night there.
After Tracy's delicious dinner (he made the same thing we had for Thanksgiving), we opened presents. Tracy surprised me with a new tablet.
From Tracy's parents:
I received a gift card to get a new temple dress, laundry items (soap, hamper, coins) and the movie Sabrina. Tracy received a hot chocolate make and the Man of Steel movie. James received the movie Turbo, Legos, the Fishing Games, a magnifying glass and cars. Tracy's brother made us a collage of pictures from the National Parks we have been too. We all got new PJ's too. (I may have missed a few things they gave us.) I'll get to our other gifts we bought for us in a minute.
Love these mountains.
Behold the power of doughnut making.
Getting ready to open presents.
James played Santa and passed out everyone's presents.
I was just standing here and Tracy decided to take my picture,
so I obliged and gave him a smile.
James playing with his Legos.
Christmas day, we got up packed up the rental van, piled in with Tracy's family and headed to Vegas. We arrived in Vegas and stayed in our favorite place, Sam's Town. James was so happy to be there. His excitement was just too cute.
Looking through his magnifying glass.
Loving the Christmas Lights.
Thursdays the 26th, we drove the rest of the way home. First picked up our gifts that were shipped to a friend's house then, unloaded the van and then headed right onto the beach for dinner. After dinner headed back home and opened our gifts. Tracy bought us some new music (Piano Guys, Micheal Buble, Jars of Clay), The Dark Night Trilogy on Blu-ray. We also had purchased a new TV, a Blu-ray player with surround sound (pretty sure we are one of the last people to buy a flat screen TV and Blu-ray Player). He also got me a brand new vacuum. I had asked for it and had picked out the exact one, so no surprise there for me. He got a new computer, received it a couple of months ago, but we wrapped the empty box up so he has something to open. We bought James Finding Nemo, a stuffed dog and his big present (which arrived at the store on this day, but we didn't have time to pick up for a few days.)
One minute he's struggling to wake up.
The next he's running around being silly.
Friday the 27th, had lunch at the burger place, Bucket List Burgers, by our house, then we headed to the beach again. Only this day we went to San Clemente. Mostly for the yummy Clam Chowder at the Beach Garden Cafe, but the Cafe was closed by the time we went to get food. Oh, well. Then we headed to Laguna Beach to watch the sunset. James kept running around looking for Tide Pools. It was adorable. Then he took his shoes off to get his feet wet. This was a new thing, he has only gotten his feet wet after us forcing him to do it. After the beach we went and had dinner at the Yard House and Tracy's family was able to watch BYU's bowl game.
My cell phone takes fairly good pictures, but Tracy's camera takes better.
See pictures below.
Beautiful sunset and his family in the picture too.
James finding Tide Pools.
Just so breathtakingly beautiful.
Tracy took a picture of me trying to take a picture of James.
James getting his feet wet.
I eventually gave up trying to keep my shoes dry and went barefoot as well.
The water was cold, but got use to it after a while.
Saturday the 28th, we hit the local farmer's market, then headed to L.A. for the day. The first stop was to see the Twin Pines Mall from Back to the Future. After that we went to Santa Monica. When James saw the ocean, he yelled, "There's my ocean." LOL. Never a dull moment with that kid. We had a picnic lunch then walked around till we found Frozen Yogurt. Then drove onto the Griffith Observatory for the sunset. Past the L.A. Temple on the way to and from the Observatory.
James's Ocean. :)
At the 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica.
It had theses fun dinosaurs.
I was laying on a grassy area by the van while we waited for Tracy's family.
I thought the view was picture worthy.
James having a blast playing on the lawn of the observatory.
Sunday the 29th, we all attended church. James finally got to open his big present. (a play kitchen) after church. He sat and played with it for the rest of the day, making us all dinner. We all just mostly had a relaxing day watching videos and chatting.
Playing with his kitchen.
Monday the 30th, will bring the end to the Christmas Vacation with our visitors will head back home. Which also means I can finally put my new vacuum to use :) and get some one on one time with Tracy and our new TV.
Here we are at the beginning of yet another month. Only this time we are in I would have to say my second favorite, maybe it is even tied for first. I love Christmas and the time before when everything and everyone gets ready for this special time. Before I get carried away talking all about Christmas, I need to spend time talking about what we've been up to this past month. I've already posted about our Thanksgiving and have posted my 30 days of things I'm thankful for. You're probably wondering what else could I possibly have to talk about or maybe you're just sick of me posting things. Either way, I'm here to give you an update any way.
Let's go all the way back to the end of October. Tracy attended two conferences the last week of October and into the first part of November. The first conference he went to was for the Geological Society of America (GSA). This year it was in Denver. He had a poster presentation which he was a co-author for. He wasn't the first author, so he didn't have to put together to poster just provide some of the information. The first time he saw the finish product was at the conference. He attended the conference with his adviser and his other fellow grad-students. He had a good time and met new people, as well as saw old friends.
I just picked a few pictures from the conferences to share that I think are interesting enough to share on here.
The conference center had this big blue bear outside looking in.
This is what Tracy calls the Droser posse.
It is his adviser ( in the white shirt) and her current and past students who were at the conference.
Only Tracy isn't pictured because he was taking the picture.
The day he returned from the GSA conference, he left again to the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) conference. Only it was in LA, so an hour away. It was still far enough and not worth fighting traffic to drive back and forth each day. At SVP Tracy presented a poster on his swim tracks that he's working on for his Master's Thesis. I call them his swim tracks because he pretty much is only one working on the swims track in Southern Utah right now.
During the conference, he got to go to The de Saisset Museum. Here are a couple of pictures from there:
He was right in downtown L.A.
I'm a big fan of buildings. The cooler it looks the better.
Tracy also attended a conference a couple of weeks ago in Death Valley. His adviser wanted him to attend because on the last day of the conference they had a field trip to some track sites that the general public doesn't get to see. He attended with some other fellow grad-students.
The weekend of the conference there was a full moon.
At the track site there are these hoof tracks. Pretty cool.
Pretty much Tracy attending conferences has been what our month was like. I got sick with a horrible cold that started out as a cough for almost 2 weeks, then turned to nasal congestion and cough for a week, then just a cough again. Finally it has left me alone, though I still cough occasionally. James came down with the cold a couple of weeks ago and still has a little cough. Tracy got the cold last week and is still suffering. Hopefully, this is the only illness we end up with this winter.
I'm still in the habit of taking pictures of the sunsets from our patio.
And of James watching me take pictures of the sunsets.
And of the other funny things James does.
Being a big ham.
He pretended to be a cat for several weeks.
He even had a name, Gnocchi. (Someone's been watching Curious George, A LOT!)
One day he tried to get in the kitty cubbie. Didn't work too well.
James and I have a system when putting groceries away.
Now I think I have covered all the November happenings, except one, the Festival of Lights. The Festival of Lights has been going on in downtown Riverside for 21 years. It runs from the day after Thanksgiving till a few days after New Year's. It is completely funded and organized by The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa. The owners started the festival a year after they bought The Mission Inn. The Inn gets completely covered in lights and they put over 400 animated figurines on display. The festival includes an Outdoor Ice Skating Rink, entertainment each day, specialty vendors and food, Carriage Rides, and Live Music. It is so fun to go to.
Last year we went the night after Thanksgiving where they had the "Switch-On Ceremony" and we went again this year. The ceremony starts with songs played by the Riverside Community College Marching Band, which I enjoy a lot. We managed to squeeze into the crowd and got about as close as we did last year.
Then there's some talking, comments from city officials and the Inn owner. Then we all count down to turn on the lights.
Oh, did I forget to mention the fireworks? Seriously, the best "turn on the lights" ever. I'm going to miss that if we ever move.
Day 22: I am thankful for having 2 cars. When one is giving you troubles it is really nice to have a second one to use.
Day 23: I am thankful for talents and skills. And being able to use them and to gain new ones.
Day 24: I am thankful for kitty cuddles. I don't know what I'd do with out having a pet to cuddle with when I'm feeling down.
Day 25: I am thankful for Mondays. The day where I get to start a whole new week with new hopes that it will be better than the one before.
Day 26: I am thankful for my home. I really love my apartment. It is nice, haven't had too many problems with it. The grounds are well kept and the manager is great. I'm glad we found such a nice place to live with the short notice we had to find one. Now hoping I get some nice new neighbors, since the apartment next to me is empty right now.
Day 27: I am thankful for my little guy James. I was trying to save the best two things in my life for last (pretty close to last, though), but after today, I just couldn't help but feel grateful to be a mom to such a fun, loving, happy boy. I'm so glad to have him in my life to teach me to have more patience, to enjoy the tiniest things in this world (like ants) and to have unconditional love. How can you not love this kid?
Day 28: I am thankful for Tracy. I am glad to have him as my husband. There are so many things I love about him.
Day 29: I am thankful for family and friends. Love spending time with my little family and my very large family of brothers, sisters, in-laws, friends, parents, etc.
Day 30: I am thankful for the holiday season. Such a great time to give thanks, give service and remember our Savior.
This year for Thanksgiving, we ended up having the day with just the 3 of us. I hadn't thought much about what I would fix till yesterday, though I had our dessert picked out a week or maybe even 2 weeks ago (You see my priorities here? treats). My Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe has been sitting out in my kitchen for a week or so, staring me in the face. Yes, it is that good that I've been dreaming about it far longer than I've been dreaming about the other Thanksgiving type food.
We found ourselves on a tight budget this month and next month, because of grad-school applications and the 3 conferences Tracy attended the past month. Not to mention my car has died, so we have to get it fixed, too. Hoping all it needs is a new battery. Originally I hadn't planned on doing any thing special, except that cheesecake. One way or another I was going to get me some cheesecake, lol. Priorities, people, priorities!
So Yesterday I wrote up a shopping list and we hit the grocery store. After getting the things we needed for the week and picked up things I was planning on for today. We went to the meat department to pick up our protein. We didn't want a large turkey for just the 3 of us, because we knew we'd never eat it before it went bad. Yes, you can freeze it, but it is only good for so long. Plus, we couldn't afford a large one. They had small ones, but those were still a little pricey. My sister had told me she had Rotisserie Chicken one year. We considered buying one, but they are best the day of and didn't want to do shopping on a holiday. Finally we settled on a non-traditional Surf n' Turf Thanksgiving Dinner.
I made the cheesecake this morning. While I was making it, James knocked the eggs off the counter. Luckily, I only needed one more and one was saved enough to use. Tracy made our shrimp and steak. I love that he loves to cook and when he cooks it is always amazing.
Proof he was the one cooking. :)
Stake with Balsamic Reduction Sauce, Shrimp with Garlic Cream Sauce and Fingerling Potatoes.
It was incredibly delicious.
(I had to try before taking the picture.)
Pumpkin Cheesecake
I even whipped up my own whip cream to go with.
Before Tracy cooked dinner, him and James sat here together watching videos of car races/chases/other car related stuff.
I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! I'll leave you with this picture from a couple weeks ago:
I've become the master of train track building. :)
