Christmas 2011

This year we were able to spend 5 wonderful days with family in Idaho. The trunk was packed tight and I don't know how we fit everything, but we did. We left on Thursday evening and got up there at about 10:30 pm. The boys were wired to say the least and continued on like that for the next 4 days. :) All day Friday, we spent the day with Snedakers. It was the best night for everyone to get together since Marshall's brother's family was headed down to Utah for Christmas. We spent the day eating, playing games, and enjoying each other's company. That night we played chimes which is a pretty fun tradition that they've always done. We also did a fun little gift exchange and the kids got in on that one too. Then we sang carols and exchanged sibling gifts. We got a bunch of marshmallow shooters and I think everyone had some fun with those.




Christmas Eve we spent at my parent's house. I started the day with a nice long workout and then we all hung around. I went to Idaho Falls with my dad to do some last minute shopping as well. We spent a few hours making Christmas cookies and after 5 dozen somehow they all got eaten, (including the cookies we had set aside for Santa.)




We had our classic Christmas Eve dinner of Hoagies, salads and cold shrimp. YUM! The boys got to open their Christmas jammies and I must say that they looked VERY cute.





Afterwards we watched the nativity, sang some songs and watched the show 17 Miracles. It was a very humbling show to watch. The kids all put food out for the reindeer and then we got them into bed. It was close to midnight before they all went to bed. I made a fun movie of Christmas Eve, all on my phone. Marshall and I both got the iphone 4s back in November, and I've had so much fun with it. All of the video was taken with an 8 mm app and edited in iMovie. Yes they have imovie for iphone! Way cool, right?



The next morning we got up at around 8:30 am and the boys were so excited with what Santa had brought. He brought duplicate presents this year, thus no fighting. Santa is one smart cookie. We opened presents, and had a delicious Christmas breakfast.





And here's a short clip from Christmas morning.




At 1 pm, we headed to church. My parents were speaking and they did a fantastic job. What an amazing blessing to be able to have Christmas fall on a Sunday and to be able to go to church.

Sunday afternoon, we went back to Snedakers. We had a delicious turkey meal and played games and visited the rest of the night.

How grateful I am to spend this time of the year with family. It's so fun to have kids too. Their excitement rubs off and reminds me of when I was a child. Hoping that your Christmas was as wonderful as ours!

Kindergarten Christmas Program

Chan had his Kindergarten Christmas program yesterday. Lots of singing and lots of distracted little kids. We were sitting back a little bit and all I had was my phone so I didn't get any decent pictures. I, however, got some video of a couple songs. Chan is in red and keeps turning to the side. Gotta love the reindeer antlers.

The BEST Feeling

We Believe

I took the boys to see Santa today. While standing in line, there was a big sign that said, "We don't want your kid to have a picture with Santa unless you pay $25." Maybe it wasn't quite worded like that but they didn't allow cameras or cell phones for pictures with Santa. Lame. Might I add that the $25 package came with like 1 5x7 and a couple 4x6's? Talk about a 1000% markup. We waited for a half hour, and then Chan was star struck and didnt talk much. He told Santa he wanted a robot? Uh- yeah....ok? I think his mind changes every day, depending on what catalog we got in the mail that day. Santa told Chan to be sure to be good and not go to time out. Chan just stared at him in awe. He must have seen him in time out a few times this week. Amazing what the man in the big red suit knows. Rowan mumbled a few things in a very Rowan like way and we got a picture in front of a Christmas tree. (Free of charge, provided by my iphone.)

For the record, at 28 years old - I still believe.

School Update

Since three of us are currently in school, what better way to take a break from studying than give a little update on school?

First, the boys. We got a call from Rowan's special ed teacher. He will be going 2 days a week and will also be meeting with a speech pathologist on a regular basis. His teacher, Miss Anita and I set some goals and he will go in for his IEP testing next Friday. So, next semester he will go to the ECCLES lab preschool full time Mon, Wed, Friday, and his special preschool on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. I had parent teacher conference with one of Rowan's morning teachers yesterday. Her name is Lisa and Rowan adores her. She went over the whole semester and just how far he's come. We also got a nice binder that his other teacher, Miss Heather made to document his progress and pictures. It's fun for me to see everything that Rowan has done while in preschool. When I have a few more minutes, I'll scan in some of his preschool binder pages. I'm so glad that he will be going back there next semester.

Chan is soaking in school and doing well. I am helping with his classroom Christmas party next Friday and he's excited for that. Loves his teacher and is having a great school experience so far. I know many doubt the public school systems, but I have nothing but good to say about it so far. His teacher is wonderful, he has friends in school, and he's learning, happy and motivated.

School for me. I'm burnt out and am coming up on a much needed Christmas break. I just finished 480 clinic hours for the semester. I have a small final on Monday and then a Physics registry on Wednesday. This will be my second time taking the physics registry. I took it back in May and didn't pass by just a few questions. That was disheartening, and it costs $200 every time you take it. I've been studying a LOT this time and will be very surprised if I don't pass it this time around.



The thing about ultrasound, is that there isn't just one board you have to pass to be registered. You have to first pass physics. It is the only board you can take while still in school, you just have to have had a passing grade in the class. I want to get it out of the way so that I can take one of my other boards when I graduate. There are tests/boards for OB/GYN, Abdomen, Vascular, Neonatal Heads, and Breast. I'm planning on taking OB/GYN when I get out of school and then maybe taking another one a few months after that. I'm really excited that there are only two semesters left! There has been talk of hiring some students while we are still in school so I've been stalking the job boards to see when they post. Doesn't necessarily mean I'll get a job, but I can always hope. US techs make a pretty good amount and it would sure help us pay off some debt if I could get a job while still doing my clinical hours.

Marshall is the only one not in school right now, but he's expressed wanting to go back to get an MBA. I definitely think it's a great idea since it's always good to continue learning.

Staples

I can't believe we've made it 6 years with Chan without any stitches/staples. He did tear his top frenulum when he was about 2, but other than that, no big mishaps. I was at clinic yesterday and Marshall texted me saying he was going to pick up Chan early because his babysitter thought he needed stitches. I guess he fell down the stairs at the babysitter's house and hit his head on a bookshelf. The girl who watches him also lives in a townhome much like ours, so I knew he had fallen down a full flight of stairs. Naturally, I really wanted to be there, but I was stuck at clinic. Because I was so worried, Marshall gave me a play by play via text on my phone while taking him to the Dr. . I wasn't too worried after seeing him chill in the Dr.'s office with a sucker and a kid's magazine.



2 staples later, he was fixed up and ready to go home. :)