Christmas Spirit

Christmas time has come and gone once again!  It was hard for me to get into the spirit of Christmas this year, but about a week before it took hold.  I think I was more excited for Seth to arrive home on the 15th of January.  We had a great, quiet Christmas.  Seth called on Christmas Eve and we got to talk with him about an hour.  He sounded great.   The first thing he asked for when he comes home is eggnog.  At a whopping 143 pounds I think we need to fatten him up.  He rattled off his accomplishments of the prior day in Tagalog.  It was wild sounding!

We joined some friends Christmas caroling and reenacted the Nativity.  The girls did our traditional Christmas skit. Santa Clause vs. the Easter Bunny this year.  Of course the skits always end with a happy ending.  Wendy and Abbey got new rollarblades, so all three girls were skating around the house for awhile.  Craig broke down and got me a Sony A100 DSLR camera.  It is two years old, (e-bay Purchase) but it works great.  He wants to make sure I will use it.  I have already had fun playing with it.  Abbey and Wendy have also.  We now have a record number of close-up pictures of our dogs.  I told them if they take one more picture of the dogs, it will be off limits.

We watched some new movies, talked on the phone with family, had a great ham dinner and enjoyed each others company.  Who could ask for more.  Of course I have already taken the Christmas decorations down.  Emily and Wendy think I was premature.  We are supposed to keep them up until New Years they said.  It is my nature to get things back in order.  I hope all of you had a great Christmas!

Record Snow in Apple Valley!

It has been four years since our last snowfall!  We made up for lost time!  We got 10 inches of snow! You east coast people might think this is no big deal, but it left many of us stranded on closed freeways and schools closed even though it was finals week.  Most roads could not be snowplowed because we have one snowplow per county.  OK I'm exaggerating, All the kids say "Yeah" until they have to try and remember all the information that will be on there finals four weeks from now in January.  

John Paul's Baby Blessing December 14, 2008

When I went up to Idaho to pick up Emily from college we stayed a few extra days to attend the blessing of John Paul Decker.  Emily and I had a great time visiting with family and watching homemade candy canes being made by Jennie's brother and Sister-in-law.  We spent some quality time with Grandma Roberts watching chick flicks and eating pizza.  We snuck into California with minimal snow through Cedar City and some snow in Las Vegas.  As we drove by stateline there were quite a few people stopped by the sides of the freeway getting there pictures taken with the snow.  I have seen snow before.  Not a big deal!  I am a Southern Californian now! Not crazy about the snow.

Halloween 2008

Abbey and Brooke Lacey were Twilight Vampires this year. Alisha Capps, Wendy and Morgan Lacey were the Power Puff girls (Buttercup, Blossom & Bubbles). I was a seamstress, prior to the Halloween party. Abbey can fit into all my shoes now!

Disneyland & California Adventure

On October 9th and 10th, Wendy, Abbey and I visited Disneyland and California Adventure to finish up our season passes. Luckily, my brother and sister-in-law were visiting at the same time from Utah. So we had a great time with Jeff, Emily, Gage and Gavin.

Favorites: Disney Animation-We learned how to draw Minnie Mouse.

Pixar Parade, California Screamin, Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, The new Toy Story ride and Splash Mountain. We rode the Carousel quite a few times this trip with Gage and Gavin. The girls and I spent the night at Days Inn right around the corner to maximize our two funfilled days. Pluto was a highlight too!!

Wendy ran on September 27th at Dana Hills Invitational and got her best time ever! 19:20 for three miles. She placed seventh out of 163 girls. I don't know how she does it!

Go Girl Go!!!

Abbey ran in a cross country meet at Ranchero this week. She ran like the wind. She ran two miles in 18:04 and came in 29th out of 84 girls. Not too shabby. She also ran around taking pictures of the meet for her broadcasting class. She is a natural!
A few weeks later Abbey ran this course in 16:30. Wow!

Deckers, Deckers, Deckers!!

Yes, I saw all three of my Decker brothers. I stayed with Matt a few days and tried to help with the new house organization and the kids. I probably did a fraction of what they need but every little bit helps I guess. Matt and Jennie have their hands full right now. My kids are leaving the house and theirs are just coming in. The little kid stages were alot of work physically, but I think I liked less mental stress. Free agency and independence is overrated!

Steve and Adam and Jeff and Emily, Gage and Gavin joined us all at Matt's house for my Birthday celebration. Gage thought it would be a good idea if we made circles with our arms for this picture. It was a good idea! We played a few games. There was quite alot of commotion, that's for sure! We had pizza and Matt and the girls made me a fabulous cake. I felt loved, that's for sure!

The next day we spent the day at home decor stops and Gardener Village. Jeff and Emily introduced me to the Paradise Bakery and Cafe. Super!!

I went to Church with Grandma Roberts and then headed down to Steve's house for a great spaghetti dinner. With meatballs I might add. Shelley's family came and Jeff and Emily and the kids. I love having time to spend with family! I left early on Monday and drove the long ride back to California all by my lonesome. Books on tape got me through.

Idaho Bound!

Last week I took Emily up to BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. We broke up the long 14 hour drive with a stop in Salt Lake to see Grandma Roberts. We made a quick stop to peek at John Paul Decker before we headed up to Idaho the next day. My little Volvo was definitely packed, especially after we got groceries at the Super Wal-mart in Idaho Falls. Emily definitely had more stuff than Seth did! We slept in Idaho Falls and drove the half hour to Rexburg the next morning. We then spent the day getting Emily settled into her new accommodations in the dorm apartments. She likes her new roommates, Alexandra (Alex), Matilda and Lauren. We stood in lines all day to get ID cards, books, pay tuition, apartment key, etc. I have to say it was a bittersweet experience. I know Emily was ready to be on her own, but we will miss her. I have to say it is really weird having only two kids at home. We even shrunk our table. :( I hope she will enjoy college life!

I have a new Nephew!!!!!

John Paul Decker was born on Monday the 25th of August at 11:02am! What a cutie pitooti! Weighing in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 21 inches long. Congratulations to my brother Matt and my sister-in-law Jennie! I am excited to see JP next week when I go to Utah on my way to take Emily to college.

The Grass is Not Itchy!

I think I am crazy to add another hobby to my list!

Too many people have suggested I start a blog. I have resisted for fear of not following through on a regular basis, but I will give it a shot. It could be fun. This is one way to make me keep a journal. I figured writing to Seth in the Philippines for two years has given me some practice.