Austin

Amy and I spent the weekend in Austin, Texas!  We were in desperate need for some sister time and we packed it all in in 24 hours!

The capitol building is a-maz-ing!

Inside the capitol, looking up into the dome.

We got to watch a little bit of our government in action!

There he is!  George W. Bush.  Love him!

Downtown is a fun place to be.  We walked around and checked out all the homeless people.  :)

We had just missed a pro-life rally at the capitol, which would have been cool to be a part of.  This lovely woman was standing outside the doors of the capitol building and protesting quietly and peacefully.  Really cool.  Good for her!

And these were our quarters for the night.  We stayed up too late but we had a blast just talking, eating, shopping, and laughing.  I love sister time.  It feeds my soul!!!!!

Pinewood Derby, New Sweater, and the Pool

It's Pinewood Derby time!  Jacob was feeling a little sad because this will be his last year as a Cub Scout.  On to bigger and better things; right? 

This was his car:  Black Lightning.

We didn't place this year but we had a really fun night with all the scouts and their families.

 This is not part of earning a cub scout badge:  armpit farting.  Hee hee!

 Two of Jacob's friends and fellow Webelos, Jace and Ryan.  Jace won the Pinewood Derby this year!

We made a car for Jimmy this year, too.  They always allow the "younger" scouts to compete for fun.

This is just a few of the cars that competed.  The winner was the green car with the white stripe.

Another look at Jimmy's car.  I did the lightning bolts on both cars.  I'm pretty proud of that.

And not to be forgotten:  Christiana in all her loveliness!!!

Grandma Joan knit her a new sweater and sent it to Christie yesterday.  She loves it. 

During the day when we're just home, her favorite thing to do is just explore the back yard.  She's so sweet.  She's a little bit on the timid side of things so she always comes back to the house frequently to "check in," make sure I'm still there and that she's okay to be in the yard.  She's very cautious and worried about whether or not she's permitted to do things.

And last but not least:  The pool awaits our return!

So Where Do You Want to Live?

Where do you want to live?

Where do you want to go to church?

Where do you want to send your kids to school?

Which climate do you prefer?

Where do you envision growing old with your spouse?

What do you want to see when you sit on your front porch?  Or back porch?

Which place will allow you to be the best person you can be?

I can't tell you how many millions of times Jason and I have asked each other these questions.

Residency is coming to an end in six short months.  SIX months.  Our three years is up. 

Now what?

Go on.  Tell us.

We Stick Together

Now that the boys are back in school and dad's back to work, the girls can come out to play again and get all crazy!  We had fun today with pink foam rollers.  Oh, we also did a load of housework and grocery-shopped.  I love this little girlie, my partner-in-crime!  We stick together.

Another New Year

How does it happen?  Another new year?  It seems like I just blink and we're celebrating the holidays and ringing in the new year ... against our will!  ha ha.  It's like birthdays, too.  I wake up on my birthday, crying, "Noooooo!!!"

Here are some way random pictures from the holidays:


I tapped into my suppressed-inner-Martha-Stewart-ness and baked this year.  I made toffee, chocolate-chip cookies, and peanut butter/chocolate fudge.  It was heavenly.  Although, I ate way too much toffee.  My teeth are still stuck together.  We gave a lot of it away to friends and neighbors and everyone was so impressed and enamored with me.  Ha ha.

Christmas Eve tradition:  Sugar cookies for Santa!

Look at these faces!!!  Whose children are these?  Ha!

Christmas Day dinner on our HUGE, EMPTY dining room table.  Everybody got their own wing of the table to spread out.  We made turkey, stuffing, rolls, sparkling cider, etc.  All the goodies.

Christiana loves riding on her daddy's shoulders because he's so tall!!  I love these two together.  It melts my heart.  By the way, we have had the most amazing weather.  Sunny and warm.

Christie loves her new shopping cart that Santa brought her.  As well as a pull-along doggy in front.

Jacob loves playing his new Harry Potter game on his DS.  And Santa brought Jimmy a Po-Go stick that's lying on the ground there.

Jimmy's favorite gift:  Reebok Zigs.  He's insane shoe-man!

Jacob also got a BB gun.  Oh, man.

...and an electric scooter!!  Fun!

Christiana found a little seat in the garage.

Jimmy got a new bike from Santa, too.

And this is my favorite picture, I think.  Jimmy got a new Book of Mormon from me for Christmas with his name, James Barlow Blaser, emblazened across the front in gold lettering.  We read it together at night before bed and this is where he keeps it during the day.  When I saw it there the other day, my heart skipped a beat.  I was one proud mama.  I hope he always values the scriptures in his life.

Well, that's all for now, folks.  Happy New Year to all of you, my dear friends and family.  I hope 2012 is your best year ever.