The Pulley Principle

Friday, December 19, 2008

A little snow

blew through today.

I was very glad to see the snow plow in our neighborhood. There is something to be said for paying local taxes.

Darren started blowing out the driveway as soon as he got home. I had called him earlier in the afternoon to have him tell me how to start the snowblower, but he wanted to do it himself.

I think he actually has fun blowing snow.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

This has been one of our best decorating years. Annabel has done most of it by herself. She decorated our living room and put up the tree. Darren did all of the lights-outside and on the tree, and the kids put the ornaments on themselves. This is always very stressful for me, but this year has been a breeze. Annabel put the angel on the tree herself. She put one of the kitchen barstools on top of one of the kitchen table chairs(which are very rickety) and climbed up. I was holding the stool for all I was worth!

That's what friends are for

I have lunch regulary with two of my best friends. We are so close that we can share our most intimate secrets, we can point out fuzz hanging off the end of one's nose, or fluff caught in one's hair. We are that close..., but not close enough to point out a huge piece of black bean caught in my teeth. I left these two "great" friends and then took Noah to piano lessons, went shopping to several different places, picked up books from the library, pretty much being seen around town. I come home and walk past a mirror and find this monstrosity staring me in the face.

Now I wonder just what kind of friends I have!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Baby Jane

My girls got to go see baby Jane the day after she came home from the hospital. Bea thinks April is the coolest to let them see Jane this early. (She let them see Adam this early as well) She is so excited about seeing a newborn baby.

Annabel is our baby whisperer. She is smelling Jane and says, "She smells so good. I love the smell of the womb." I told her if she had ever been in a delivery room, she wouldn't think the womb smelled so good.

Digging Holes

Noah spent the night with his friend, Kent. They decided to entertain themselves by digging a hole.

With a pickax, no less.
I'm glad they were smart enough to wear gloves.
Kent will have to fill the hole himself. Noah had to return to NY.
The girls thought the hole was pretty cool.
My kids then showed up for Thanksgiving dinner in these clothes. Really looking their best.
these pics were taken with my iphone

Thursday, December 11, 2008

My favorite pictures from Thanksgiving

The Annabel and Beatrice Show

One of the ways the girls found to keep themselves occupied during the drive home. Much better than fighting.

Freakin' Cheap Gas

We couldn't believe how cheap gas was in Utah and most of the states through which we travelled. Gas was a good $.50-.60 more expensive in NY.

This was a full tank of gas.

Kickball

This was one of the highlights of the day. Mary is the Pied Piper and we all follow.

Wedding Quilts

Grandma Pulley has been making quilts for her grandchildren's weddings. Noah and Bea have brought theirs home. Annabel's has the binding left to finish, so she will get hers a little later. What a wonderful heirloom for each of them to share with their own families.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Thanksgiving Dinner

All the obvious things. I just love the new Picasa 3 updates. Fun, fun pics.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Darren and his siblings

22 kids

showed up at Paige's house on Wednesday. I love that we have such good friends.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

FHE

Sheryl hosted a night of hamburgers and hotdogs, smores and games. David brought fresh trout that he had caught that morning. My girls were crazy about the fish, mostly, the cleaning of the fish. One would think they were city girls who had never seen fish out of a tank! They have, but don't remember their last trip to Texas.

It has been fun to be with all of Darren's family and especially for the kids to get to know their UT cousins better.

Dinner at Heidi's

First an apology for everyone I didn't get to see. We only had so much time and most of it was spent with family. This was our first trip back in 3 years to see Darren's mother (who is recovering from surgery) and siblings. I wish I could have seen all of our friends in UT, but it wasn't possible. That said...
My kids got to see their long-lost best friends. (As did the parents)

Bea was so excited to see Laurel and Clara. She hadn't seen Laurel since they moved from Rochester 2 1/2 yrs ago. That is a very long time when you are only seven--though these little girls have been friends since birth. It didn't take long for them to make up the lost time.

Noah and Kent have been best buds for 12 years. It is good to have friends like this.