Dear Santa:

So I forgot to include in my last post for Christmas about the letter Savannah wrote to Santa to send to the North Pole this year. Here are some of the main highlights I recall from the letter:

1. A pony named Sparkle with a white tail and pink skin.
2. Hair to my elbows.
3. Long finger nails, but not too long.
4. All the spiders and snakes of the world to be dead.
5. A Barbie car (and when asked if the Barbie car she got from Santa was the one that she wanted she replied, "No, the one I asked for was the kind you can drive.")
6. A pink mermaid tail (Savannah is obsessed with mermaids and wants to be one)

I plan to frame this letter - I couldn't bear to put it in the mail after knowing some of the words that she asked me to help her spell - I just knew I had to sneak a peek at this one and it is a keeper! She is just getting to be such a little girl!

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was quite simple. It started out with a few inches of fresh snow - in fact the first snow of the season. Jacob came over and stayed the weekend and unfortunately he had brought bad news with him though. He found out a few days prior to Christmas that his employer will be shutting down the plant he works at. We are hoping he can transfer here in the Bay area to keep his seniority and his job. (Not to mention my being excited to have him home again!)

Charlie and I decided we were not giving each other gifts this year - but we did get some nice gifts from Jacob -picture frames, wall hangings, and some movies. My mom sent us a nostalgic movie that I used to watch as a kid and a couple of classic books for Savannah. My sister sent us some great photo collections in a scrap book, she is so creative! Our favorite gift was watching the kids and dogs play with their gifts. Savannah's reactions were hysterical and I got all but one on video. I think this year was the first year she was as excited as she was. She set her alarm at midnight to make sure she could sneak up on Santa but wouldn't you know it that she was zonked out for a good half hour before I noticed too and had to turn off that dang buzzer? Needless to say 4:40 am is still pretty early to get up and wait anxiously for everyone.

We tried our hand at roasted duck and the meat was delicious, very tasty in fact, however not a lot of it on the bird and it is quite expensive. I think it was fun for a change and would also like to try a goose next.

Here are some photos of the fun we had!

Winter Program at Savannah's school. They really sang some cute songs.

Baking cookies!

Pugs1ey's new sweater, stuffy, and bone that Santa brought her.

Mermaids - Savannah just LOVES them! Anything mermaid she is just crazy for!

Who knew Jake could get so excited for socks? I think he was laughing at how smart Santa is for knowing he really needs socks.

Barbie deram house - hours of fun!

And since we all had Monday off we went out for breakfast and to see the movies. Savannah and I saw Chipwrecked and Charlie and Jake saw Darkest Hour. It was nice to be together as a family again. We don't have any big plans for New Year's which is fine with me.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

No snow yet...

We still haven't seen any snow...but it will come all too soon I am sure. The weather here has definitely moved to winter - right now it is a bone chilling 19 degrees, however it is in the middle of the night mind you.

Yesterday was Ryan's first birthday, I sent him a gift and I can only hope he received it with the love intended. I am sure he has already grown so much.

On another note it has been two weeks since Thanksgiving and I am still smiling from all the wonderful memories I was able to share with my family in. I can't listen to the Nutcracker music without re-experiencing Savannah's reactions and the time I got to spend with my mom. I just love the music and it will always be connected with this memory now.

I hope you all are having a lovely Christmas time as well. I am sure that soon I will be able to post pictures of the first snowfall.

Forecast is snow!

So they say it is going to snow tomorrow. Tomorrow is December 1st so this seems appropriate. What also seems appropriate is our plans to get our tree and decorations up this weekend. We usually do this the weekend of Thanksgiving but since we had our lovely company I didn't want to intrude on my visit time with the chores of getting the tree in and up etc.

Am looking forward to the season - is it too soon to wish you all a Merry Christmas?

Just Wonderful!

Despite the quick and stressful move Michael and Brooke made back to Utah we have had a lovely time these past two weeks. I will miss seeing Ryan grow but they have their own plans for life at this point.

Savannah's Improv Theatre was a lot of fun! Charlie and I got quite a few laughs - I think I will sign her up for next year's classes.

Savannah being an elephant during a game they played where they have to become what the other person says within the count of ten.

Mom and Grandy arrived on Friday before Thanksgiving - it was great to sit down and catch up on life. We enjoyed each other's company visiting and talking about nothing. Savannah lost a tooth shortly after they were settled in so it was funny to see her excitement and Grandma and Grandy get a kick out of the tooth fairy mysteriously coming not once but twice.

Sunday we took a ride up to Door County and ate at the Shipwrecked pub and grill and on the way home I stopped and got a couple candlesticks for my dining table that I've been wanting for Thanksgiving. Jake came over Wednesday night after work and Mom and Randy took us to Perkins. This past Saturday we tried Old Chicago - the food and atmosphere was all so awesome. This in addition to the food my hubby cooked for us in between the times we went out and of course ate left overs - well we were not underfed by any means. And not only did we eat a lot we watched a lot of movies, sat in the hot tub, and us girls went to the Nutcracker ballet. We had a lot of fun. It will be a Thanksgiving I will never forget!!

They left this morning and I am left with the memories. Here are just a few pics:

Mom and Savannah making pumpkin pies!

Apple, Cherry, and Pecan - yum!

Charlie's deviled eggs - triple yum! These didn't make it past half time during the Packer game either.

Waiting to eat while I take pictures.

The table setting - Savannah made these name cards. 

Grandy is telling another one of his stories as you can see by his expression.

Mug shots during dinner - these are always good for blackmailing...

I think I will miss sitting at the table in the mornings in our jammies and drinking coffee over the newspaper the most though. I hope I can visit them again soon. Thanks mom and Randy for a great time! We miss you so much already!

Halloween & Brownies

Halloween was a lot of fun, colder than last year however. I made taco soup and had cider and doughnuts to carry on Grandma Johnson's tradition. The kids got a lot of candy and we spent the night visiting without the TV on - it was quite pleasant. I would like to have the TV off more often.

Happy Jack O'Lantern

Neytiri from Avatar - all the people liked her costume and didn't know who it was, I think it was the most original.

Little dinosaur's first Halloween.

Savannah is in girl scouts again. This is her 1st year as a Brownie! She went with her troop to a compass course in the woods and they are now collecting items for Goodwill donations. She is also having a program next week for her final Theatre class.

We are looking forward to having Grandma and Grandy for Thanksgiving this year. It will be cold and icky but at least we will all be together. I even bought some tickets to see the Nutcracker for a girls day out - it will be nice and I will miss them when they leave but I will try not to think about that already.

Pumpkin Place 2011

We are a couple weeks behind in our annual visit to the pumpkin patch, but we made it and had a great time. Here are some of the pictures to prove it!

Savannah and Ryan at the petting zoo. He wasn't sure what to think of everything around him. I think he was more curious about that pokey stuff he was sitting on and all the people standing around looking at him than he was about the bunny rabbits.

Pretty Llama face. I just had to post this picture cause have you ever seen such a photogenic Llama?

Savannah met a real live Ballerina Bunny (the name of her favorite stuffy she sleeps with since she was 3 years old - and she is also white with long ears)

Two little Pooh Bears as cute as can be.

Ma and Pa

Savannah and Ryan and a tyke sized pumpkin.

Ryan was trying to eat this pumpkin...then it started falling to slide off his lap and as you can see he was trying to hold onto it for dear life. He did not want to let that pumpkin go!

I have so many more pictures it would take me all day to post them but after the petting zoo Savannah played some pumpkin bowling and then led us through the corn maze. She played in a corn box (a sand box with corn kernals in place of sand) and then she and Ryan went for a wagon ride around the rest of the yard. It turned out to be a beautiful day - on the cool side, but beautiful. Now on to carve the Jack O'Lanterns. Yep. The messy part.

Birthday Week

Had a better than expected #39 - my family splurged on me all week long. Michael and Brooke made dinner, Charlie took me out for my favorite food (Mexican of course) and wrote me a lovely poem with a silly card. Jake took me to Red Lobster and my mom, brother and sister called me. We continued with a weekend at Egg Harbor Fun Park in Door County, played a round of miniature golf - it was a bit windy but still a nice day. Guess it made the whole getting old part not so bad. Thanks everyone!!

Spooky spider web cake! 

Jacob and Savannah golfing. 

Woo hoo! Hole in one! 

We stopped to get some curds on the way home...they are sooo good! I just had to take a picture of this - Green Bay Packers Cheese all the way.

Me and my silly head husband. (He always seems to be talking when we shoot the camera!) 

Savannah and a Mouse who also loves his fair share of cheese.

IT'S AUTUMN TIME!!

It's AUTUMN time! It's AUTUMN time! THE LEAVES ARE FALLING DOWN....
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The season has definitely changed. I am approaching the last year of my 3rd decade and am changing right along with the season. I am hopeful this coming year is a good one. Here is a photo of the bouquet of leaves Savannah brought home for me a couple weeks ago.

I miss my family and Utah. Not enough that I am wanting to live there again...not yet. But it is funny. I miss the food more than I thought I would. I guess I thought they would have the same fare here as they do there. I asked a co-worker today where a good burger joint is that serves Pastrami burgers. He responded with, "What's Pastrami? Is that some kind of sausage?" I burst out laughing and then he seemed embarrassed. I feel bad now, but how can you not know what Pastrami is? (Or frysauce for that matter?)

Yep. They eat a lot of sausage here. They even make burgers out of bratwursts. I like my share of bratwurst but enough is enough sometimes!

Savannah is adjusting well to second grade, she is especially getting into her math - I am thinking of getting her signed up in the after school class for improvational acting. I think it would be a lot of fun for her. She often gets in front of the camera and "acts" like she is on the news. It is hilarious.

We aren't up to much other than working. Brooke is working temporary jobs - it is a struggle for now with trying to find rides and getting crazy schedules. Ryan is growing fast, he climbs up to things and is learning to feed himself and walk all around the house in his walker. It is funny to hear him laugh out loud at the dog playing tug of war. Michael is a stay at home dad for the most part and keeps the house up, which has really freed up a lot of time for me on the weekends I must say.

Well we hope you are all doing well. I don't get into blogging as much as I used to but I hope to continue more now that life has settled a bit from all the changes in the past few months. We have post poned our trip to Wisconsin Dells but plan to go when the weather is warmer.

Happy FALL!

South Dakota

Largest Pheasant

Grandma Wahus

Some wild sunflowers Savannah and I picked from the side of the road

Mitchel SD, Corn palace, the outside is constructed of corn made into designs

Corn and more corn

We went for a little trip to Charlie's home town where he was born, it was a lot dryer than here in Green Bay, reminded me of Utah a bit without the mountains and lots of corn and potato fields. I thought it would be good to see where he was from and to visit his elderly grandma who is 84 years old - Savannah's great grandma. She was so ecstatic to see us, and when we took her for a nice walk outside she admitted she hadn't been out since she started living there last year. Seeing her so happy it was hard to leave, I wish more family lived near her to visit and then maybe she wouldn't be so depressed. On the way home we visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD - it was pretty cool!

The trip was a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of working and life. Huron was a small town where everyone knew everyone and people were home grown - fields of old cars and cute home made fixtures it reminded me of my dad a lot. It really is cool how every place is different one town to the next. That is why I love road trips I guess. Next we are heading out to Wisconsin Dells to play for four days for my birthday month! A gift to myself!

In full bloom...

Thought I better post a picture to show you all how much my flowers have grown! Look at the previous post (two or so back) and you'll see the difference! Maybe 250 flowers weren't so bad after all - they are still going strong and are beautiful!

Summertime Summertime

Summer is here and yet it doesn't quite feel like summer. Where are the hot and dry days? It is still warm out here and there is humidity off and on, but it isn't hot yet - not hot as I've known it. There a lot of mosquitoes however and I did see one fire fly on the fourth of July - it was awesome.

Our holiday was good, we went to a friends for a BBQ and blew off the good fireworks, you know, the ones that leave the ground? We also went to a Renaissance fair in Door county, it was cute but not quite what we were expecting in that it was mild without a lot going on as far as jousts and sword fights and other reenactments. They did choose a good spot for it in the woods so it was shady and foresty, that part I did like. Oh and the turkey legs were good too.

Savannah's face painting

Savannah and the queen.

Mmm smoked turkey!

Savannah has been busy with summer school however this week she had a break and she has been so bored I am ready for school to start again and I am sure she is as well! Jake got hired on at Whitefield and moved out a few weeks ago to live near his job. He is rooming with some work buddies and keeping busy with truck pulls and RC car races.

Last week Michael, Brooke, and Ryan moved in and are adjusting to life here in Wisconsin. I am adjusting well to playing with Ryan and also the name "grandma" - with all the stuff I've been going through lately with feeling old it isn't bothering me as much as I thought it would. I guess this new season of life must be settling in. Finally.

More on Spring...

Before the new flower bed...

Finally the trampoline is set up! Savannah loves it - even Bear jumps on!

After the new flower bed!

Spring Perennials grow in the yard...

Rhododendrons (below)- I'd never seen these before and they are just pretty!

These are just some of the things we've been doing and enjoying at our house this spring....finally the flower bed is done! Next we will work on our water fall here...

Other happenings:

While we were doing the flower bed, Bear caught a rock that looked like a ball in his mouth and chipped his molar. He is okay now, but he thought twice about fetching for a couple of weeks after it happened.

It was a nice Memorial Day weekend - we had some friends over for beer and brats and mom's "famous potato salad" - and most of all it was nice to share our home with everyone! I love it! We also took Savannah to the De Pere festival to ride some carnival rides - we didn't ride much as we had plans to get yard work done that day but it did make me itchy to get to Bay Beach soon to ride more as well as the N.E.W. zoo and Egg Harbor fun park. The kids and I went swimming at Tundra park last week and really enjoyed the water there even though it is an indoor water park. This summer weather has been so mild so far, and I am not complaining!

Savannah starts summer school next week and Boys & Girls club activities. I am excited for her in that they have so much to offer the kids in the community at little to no cost. It is a great community for that. On another note I am really learning to love my new job at Conger and am getting to know everyone so well and feel like I am really wanted again. Michael and Brooke are still working to save to come out here, I hope they can come by fall time, it would be great to have a BBQ with all my kids again some day (especially since I can't have my brothers and sisters and parents on a whim when I am in the mood...) Jacob plans to move forward to living in Oshkosh and working at Whitefield permanently...I hope he gets the job - he seems to love what he is doing.

All in all we are doing well settling in. I still have my bad days where I am pretty sad and weepy, but they are fewer and farther in between - some of it has been feeling old, still missing my dad, and most of all due to adjustment of changes (I never get home sick for Utah but rather I do get "family" sick). Things are moving forward and life has a steady pace again.