News Flash:

SURGERY A SUCCESS!

I simply didn’t have the patience this time around to hold my tongue.  We are so EXCITED and frankly a little suprised everything worked the first month after the surgery.  I have elevated my doctor to genious status.  Unfortunately with the positive result on the pregnacy test came colds all around.  This one has laid me low.  Serra and Brian seem to have minor touches of the same thing.  One appreciates the blessings of cold remedies when one can’t take them.  We hope it moves through quickly. 

 

As I was reading Julie’s site I remembered I had pictures of Gary and Liesl’s shelves.  I will share.  Yes they do cover an entire wall.

This next one I posted to embarrass Gary.  While Brian and Gary were trying to muscle the first of the shelves into place Gary’s pushed against the wall a little too hard with his bum and created this nice bum hole by the sliding glass door.  Hee Hee.

Since Brian’s birthday we have been kept busy doing life stuff.  Brian started two classes and they seem to be going well and not too terrible to take at the same time.  On Wednesday’s he goes to Young Men’s in the evenings and so we see him on Monday night and Friday night during the week.  We have had a lot of time on the weekends and we tend to pack in as much as we can together.  Up until last week we were spending Brian’s free evenings at Gary and Liesl’s.  Brian has been helping Gary build a slew of shelves in thier living room.  They look great so far.  The rest is up to them now for caulking and painting.  That is a huge job in and of itself.  I think Liesl is motivated by wanting the piles of homeless books in a permenant place.  We expect to be invited to a shelf-all-done-party when all is said and done. 

Brian often asks what I do all day.  It is kind of hard to make lists since we do a lot of little things.  The biggies since Chistmas have been picture organizing prior to scrapbooking.  Since the purchase of the new camera there have been hundreds of pictures added to the mix.  I have been doing about half on the computer and half printed for scrapbooking later.  I think if I work for 6 months on it when I get all organized I may catch up.  SO MANY PICTURES.  It will be so worth it when it’s done though.  I enjoy going back and seeing how much SV has changed. 

Last Saturday we finally made it to the Santa Barbara Zoo for Brian’s birthday activity.  Serra darted from place to place all afternoon and loved looking at all the things she has seen in books.  She has asked several times to go again.  We bought a year pass and so we will try to make it up at least once a month. 

I started some canning yesterday with the canner mom gave me.  I did 12 pints of sweet and sour sauce and it took me all day.  I made bread too and homemade pizza for dinner.  I was kind of dead on my feet last night.

We made a trip to the grocery store as well yesterday and there was a man a few lanes down checking out.  He had a big bushy white beard and a cowboy hat on.  Serra ran over to him  and said, “HI!”  Then she ran back to me and said, “Look, Mommy, it’s Santa.”  I’m sure he gets it all the time.

This morning SV woke up with a cough.  After a breakfast of scrambled eggs I set her up coloring so I could shower.  When I got out, she told me she was sick and took medicine.  WHAT!  In the bathroom I found some cold medicine opened and spilled on the floor.  I don’t even know how she got open the “child proof” lid or how much she consumed.  It is approved for kids 6 and over.  Not a good thing.  I decided it needed to come up and so we induced vomiting.  We unfortunetly didn’t make it over the toilet in time.  I had red eggy barf all over me and her.  As I held her over the pot, Mo decided it was Christmas all over again and started “cleaning” up the mess.  So do I help my barfing child or corral the dog?  I threw a towel over the mess and continued with Serra.  After two baths (the first one was to rinse all the chunks out of her hair) I wrapped her up in a towel and let her lay on the bed while I got her something to wear.  She proceed to hurl all over the bed too.  Then Mo started feeling a  little queasy from his little snack.  Up it came.  Serra fell asleep for about an hour,  is up and about, and good as new.  I have a lot of laundry to do today.

Here are Serra’s January obsevations, comments and logic.

Firetrucks are fire shucks

She talks about getting married often.  “Ina detton mooied”  To who?  “Sheck.” (Shreck)

I told her we would let her hair grow our really long and she would be a beautiful princess, to which she replied, “Ine not a pincess.  Ina ogre.”  I think she watches a little too much Shreck.

   

Brian’s treasure hunt and candle blowing.  Serra ended up blowing them out before we ended the song.  And the zoo…notice the crooked necked giraffe

   

 

…And just for the sake of information…the reason I don’t update often is because of the massive problems we continue to have with our computer and internet.  It took me over 3 hour to do this post.  I don’t have that kind of time every day.

I know everyone in the Western US got pounded this past week and we were no exception.  RAIN!  Yesterday it reached the saturation point here in Santa Paula.  Brian held off on leaving for work because on the tornado warnings.  Which ended up touching down off point Magu.  When he ventured out he was turned away at every exit from Santa Paula.  All freeways and side roads were closed becuase they were under water.  That included a portion of the 101 in Ventura.  We ended up relaxing all day and gonig to a movie across the street in the evening.  It was GREAT!  Today on my way to my doctor appt. I was amazed at the mess all this rain has left behind.  There are mudslides, sinkholes, and river debris everywhere.  I hope Liesl records how her kids spent the day even if she has no pictures. 

Saturday was Brian’s birthday and he is officially 30 and old.  We started off the day with his favorite breakfast.  Biscuits and gravey with spicey hot sausage.  Then I made him work a bit for his presents.  He scavengered.

I can’t believe you’re 30
You’re a fogey now, old coot.
Let’s start this day off right
With a hunt to find your loot.

That’s right, old fart, stand up!
You’re going to have to work
Even though it’s Saturday
Birthday duties you’ll  not shirk

To find a clue you must think hard.
He’s the color of a burn.
She watches him once a day.
He keeps her toasty in return.          (Serra’s elmo slippers)

An easy one to start you off
You think you are sooo smart.
No longer negatives in a book
I store my latest art.                          (The CD storage case)

So the brain has not begun to slip
Let us give another test
Mo makes a mess, you clean it up.
Avoid touching IT you must              (The pooper scooper)

I guess I must reward you
For your smarts thus far along
You’re first gift’s in the DVD.
Press play to see which one.                (A DVD of the Boy in the Plastic Bubble with john Travolta-a classic)

If we moved to California
you would have one it’s a vow.
We got it and it sits there
Doing nothing not even flower.             (The avacado tree)

Let’s move this thing along more fast
We’ve lots of things to do.
Your second gift is a family trip
To the Santa Barbara Zoo!                    (The trip has been postponed to next week due to inclimate weather)

Let’s get back inside the house
So arthritis doesn’t flare.
You are blessed to be alive…
A reminder in a bear.                              (The teddy bear Serra got from the ambulance drivers)

So to the movies we go tonight
After an Outback dinner.
You choose the flick, it’s up to you,
Make sure you pick a winner                 (Movie tickets – we saw National Treasure – very good)

Think you can handle one more task
Before you need a nap?.
Coax your boogus to say I love you, Dad
Give a kiss to Alemap.                              (A pair of binoculars for baseball games and such)

We enjoyed a tasty dinner at Outback which I will enjoy again tonight.  Gary and Liesl graciously let Serra V hang out with thier kids while we went out to dinner and a movie. 

Sunday we enjoyed some time in Calabasas with the family which included the Kochs and some of thier mission friends from Camarillo.  We enjoyed Brians favorite meal of Chicken a Porto.  Thanks mom, even though you were feeling lousy. 

Some Serra – isms:

When we were lying in bed after Doug and Darci’s wedding day, SV kept repeating something over and over.  It sounded like Dugamooied.  I asked her to repeat it several times she added to it and I finally figured it out.  She said Dugadawci amooied.  Translation Doug and Darci got married.  Where did they get married I asked her.  She replied Ina tempoo.

Serra and I stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Gee in Provo the last week on 2004 for Grandpa Browers funeral.  Grandma Gee asked her “How did you sleep last night?”  To which she replied, “In my bed.”

During this time we tried to explain to her about Grandpa Brower and that he was in Heaven now and didn’t have anymore owies.  She remembered visiting him and he had lots of owies on his hands that weren’t healing.  She asked “We fix him?” 

After the funeral we were saying goodbye and I asked her to say goodbye to Sara and Isaac who she was playing with.  She said,”bye Sara, bye psychic.

Here are more of those pictures:

 

I guess now that we have been home for a few days and have cleaned up Christmas and the holiday clutter I need to record all that happened.  I just realized I haven’t made an entry since the beginning of Dec.

            My recovery went well.  I didn’t experience any complications.  All my photo shoots went really well and I was able to finance Christmas as well as put a little more toward the camera.  It is really rewarding to be able to take pictures and see the results instantly and get paid for doing it.  I spent the week before we left for the holidays getting all the gifts and ourselves ready.  It was during this time that I was doing the pictures as well but with a little bit of time management it all came together nicely. 

            After attending our ward on the 19^th we headed to Calabasas for David’s mission farewell talk.  He didn’t have much time but he is a man of few word anyway and it suited him fine.  After enjoying dinner with the family we headed to Vegas.  We made really good time with Serra sleeping most the way and only one short stop. 

            Monday the 20^th was the day we celebrated Christmas.  Eric and Tracey were moving the next day and so we wanted to include them in the festivities.  So mid morning the ripping and tearing began.  Serra brought in many Elmo and Shrek paraphernalia as she is a fan of both.  A watch and a CD played with microphone, clothes galore, a kitchen set and grocery cart from the Anderson contingency and homemade aprons and hotpads from both grandmas.  Grandpa Anderson felt that Serra could us a bit more entertainment on the long trips we occasionally take and got her a portable DVD player.  She has already used it many hours as we have spent many hours on the road since then. 

            Brian got me a reflector X 4 (white, black, silver, and gold) along with a stand for it, for my camera.  I used  them the following day to take pictures of Serra with her cousins.  NICE!  I got Brian some needed winter clothes and a Router.  We will slowly build up the power tools as time goes by.  He is using the Router today to help Gary and Liesl build shelves in their living room. 

            Our parents and grandparents were both generous in their gifts and we appreciated everything they sent our way.  Serra A brought back little treasures from China for all; a fancy chopstick set, a mini terra cotta soldier, a bamboo fan, a tie for Brian, a T-shirt for SV, and a pearl that she plucked from an oyster.  Some of the gifts we bought on line didn’t come in time so when we got home Brian had a book waiting and I had a pretty little box. 

            We had a Christmas dinner of Turkey  and then went to Adrianes college graduation.  Serra didn’t make it through the whole thing.  She decided going potty was much more interesting than the reading of 2000 names of graduates. 

            Brian helped load Eric and Tracey up the next day and on Wednesday we were able to spend some time with Brian’s buddies. 

            During this time we received word from Mom that Grandpa Brower was deteriorating more rapidly and most likely would not make it to the weekend.  Uncle Bruce had given him a blessing of release.  He passed away on Wednesday evening the 22^nd of December.   I learned of this just as we were leaving for Park City on Thursday morning.  We made necessary adjustments on the packing and headed out.   Brian and Dwaine flew to Denver that morning to pick up Aunt Jo’s bronco that Dwaine purchased and were going to meet us at the cabin the following day. (Mom, Amy Jo, Pam and SV)

            The trip up was a bit crowded as we had a bunch of Eric and Traceys stuff that didn’t fit into their moving van along with everything we needed up at the cabin for the weekend.  We made it to Grandpa and Grandma Gee’s without incident and spent the night there.  The boys called us the next morning (Brian was freezing his tootsies off with out proper winter gear) and beat us to the cabin.  They were able to get the driveway plowed so we could 4 wheel drive in.  Before that though they had tromped through 75 yards of several feet of snow to get to the cabin.  They were both beat by the time we got there.  Everything was great  except for the broken water main for the whole mountain.  It broke the night before and since it was Christmas was not going to be fixed for several days.  We melted snow for washing dishes, ourselves, and toilet water.  It was definitely something to keep us busy.  I learned something new.  Snow melted into water is a 10 to 1 ratio.  We melted A LOT of snow. 

            It was really great to be in a nice warm cabin up in the mountains with banks of snow surrounding us.  It was very cozy and we watched movies, drank egg nog, went for long walks on the plowed roads, made a tiny snow man, and took loads of pictures.  Brian took this time away from everything to get sick with a nice cold and was a bit on the miserable side.  Isn’t that how it goes sometimes.

            Sunday morning we headed back to Provo where Serra and I would stay behind for Grandpa’s funeral.  The Bronco decided it had had enough traveling as we exited Provo canyon and quit running.  A Sunday in Provo on a holiday weekend is not a good time for a car to quit working when you are planning on driving it another 400 miles.  By sheer luck they got it fixed a made it all the way back without further incident.  Like I said this is when Serra  and I parted ways  with the other.  We hung out at Grandpa and Grandma Gee’s until the funeral on Tuesday. 

            From 9:30 until around 4:00 we spent time with the Brower contingency for services, a meal, and a final walk through the condo that I have always known my grandparents to live in.  It was hard to see everything so disorderly as the family divided up everything.  Grandma was such and tidy freak that it just didn’t seem right.  I must say though that I am really glad that Grandpa has finally gotten relief and is with Grandma again.  That is a reunion I will want to see on re-runs in heaven.  I have missed Grandma these past 4 years and will miss Grandpa too. 

            Dallas and I left at around 4pm and drove straight through with only gas stops and a quick stop in Vegas to gather Mo and other odds and ends Brian forgot.  It rained the whole way and sometimes so hard we couldn’t see anything.  I have never seen it rain that hard. We are glad to have made it home when we did as we heard by early morning that pounding rain had turned to snow along the northern part of the drive.  Brian met us at Mom and Dad’s in Calabasas at around 3am and we crashed there.  We took our time getting home the next morning after Brian went to work. 

            Last night I hung out with Liesl and all the kids while Gary and Brian worked on the shelves.  We left before midnight and rang in the new year with Ryan Seacrist while Brian fiddled with his Router.  We are now off to see how the shelves are going.  But first here are some pictures.

 

Here is our family and Serra with her Daddy and Mo

 

 

 

 

Serra and her Anderson cousins Erica Maiah and Kathryn.

There are more but this is taking forever and I need to leave….