Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas

Am I the only one who looks at pictures of myself and wonders if that's how I really look. It must be because I look the same in every picture I've seen of myself taken in the last year. Sad thing, I really don't like what I see. Not that I don't like myself, I just feel a lot prettier/self confident/ less frumpy/thinner/better hair/etc than pictures tend to portray. I just really hate pictures of myself.

So, I was really excited about posting a bunch of Christmas pictures... till I saw the pics of me and thought, "ugh". So when you see the pics of me... please just pretend I am much better looking. I would really appreciate your co-operation.

Starting off on Dec 20th we went up to cut our tree. We love cutting our own tree. Even though the trees are a bit, well okay, completely Charlie Brown, it is so much fun that we do it every year. I hope we NEVER get an artificial tree. What kind of memories can you have pulling a dusty old plastic tree out of the attic and "reshaping" it so it looks real, and plugging in a pine scented air freshener? The inventor of artificial Christmas trees should be taken out back and shot. Okay, maybe not. I'll probably get one eventually, but not till my kids have grown up, moved out, and have their own families.


We went up to Idaho City. It's a great little town about an hour from Boise. There had been a lot of snow so the first thing we decided to do was drive into a snow bank and get stuck. It was great fun till a kind hearted stranger came by and insisted on pulling us out. In the picture above Jennica is standing in one of the tire ruts. It doesn't look that deep, but you'll notice at the base of the picture, were the snow looks like it's kind of been brushed... that was were the van was bottomed out.


We started off on this road... It's tone one we tried to drive down with our van and got stuck. We walked about a 1/2 mile and decided the mountain side off to the right looked promising. At the edge of the road there was about a 5 ft decline and then uphill. We "assumed" there was a dry creek bed. I went first, and my boot went right through the ice (which was buried beneath about 7 inches of snow) into about 5 inches of water.



I thought that was going to be the end of it for me. My foot was completely soaked. Luckily, I have the best snow boots ever and in about 5 minutes my foot was actually warming up. My sock was sloshing about, but I was warm.


After about an hour we found our tree. It was beautiful. Noah helped me cut it down and carry it back to the van.


Afterwards I really wanted to go sledding, but Aaron was the only one who would go with me. We hiked up the steepest hill we could find and went for it. The snow was pure, in your face, powder, so one run was enough for Aaron. By the time we stopped moving we were covered in a thick blanket of snow.


Now are you ready? Time to start using your imagination... Think beautiful smile with full lips and sparkling white teeth. There. That's better.



On the way back from sledding the kids were taking pictures... in the dusk, through the windows, with the flash on most of the time. There were about 100 pictures of blurry glare, and then this one.

Amazing right?

I think Noah took it. I didn't enhance it at all. This is just how it came out. Beautiful. I think I'm going to make it my computer background image.


I should have taken a picture of our beautifully decorated tree, but I didn't get around to it. I did take a rather bad picture of my fireplace mantle.
On Chirstmas eve Noah and Aaron both insisted on having Mohawks. Normally I would have said no way, but I figured why not. Noah's hair is so long that his didn't stay in very well, but Aaron's was great. We put curlers in Jennica's hair and she looked fabulous!








This is my gorgeous sister Jill, and my grandma. Grandma is almost 91. When I was still in High school I bought my grandma a santa sweatshirt for Christmas. She wears it every Christmas eve with her red and green plaid Christmas pants. Me again, with my nephew Jonny. He looks great, but please picture me with a smaller nose, and fuller hair, and maybe a tan...


For Christmas My parents gave my sister and I, and our families, electronic concert piano's. I love it. So far, the only songs we know are Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Hot Cross Buns, but I love hearing the kids play on it, and I can't wait to get them into piano lessons. Noah seems like a natural.
I don't have many pictures of Kat and Justin, but I thought this one was cute. Cruz got a great big pillow soccor ball and he loved it!


And of course, Cruzer:
Here are my brother Pete, Jill's daughter Sariah, and Pete's wife Courtney. Courtney and Pete got married the same week we lost Vincent so I never ended up blogging about them or their wedding. It was beautiful and I couldn't have wished for a better wife for my brother. Courtney is awesome. She has such an amazing spirit and is a perfect match for Pete, and she's gorgeous! Their personalities are so perfect for one another. We all love her, well, except Aaron who is going threw an anti-girl phase and doesn't like ANYONE who has, or may one day have, estrogen... but I'm sure he'll come around.


Kind of an odd picture to end it on... Jennica and Johnny... but I'm done.

Tomorrow back to work. I am still working on kitting the final Reindeer Stables album. I'm hoping to have it finished by New Years and then I will be shipping all the rest of the kits out.

Here's the album count:

Album kit one - Santa's workshop - sold out
Album kit two - The home of Mr and Mrs. Claus - 2 left
Album kit three - The Cookie Cafe - 2 left
Album kit four - The North Pole Post - 3 left
Album kit five - The Reindeer Stables - 4 left.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

9 comments:

mandbrid said...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Cam!...It looks like you guys had so much fun getting your tree! Makes me want to do it next year. BTW I think you look great in the pictures - but they don't do you justice...you are stunning in real life!

Kindall Klan said...

what a fun time. I love hearing your voice in your posts :) Oh, but don't shoot the artificial tree guy, it's the only way we with asthmatic children can enjoy a Christmas tree :) Oh, but I do miss the smell of a real christmas tree!

Jesse Edwards said...

How fun!!! My sister cuts down her tree and we love laughing at the Charlie Brown-ness of it! I don't believe in fake trees either! and you look beautiful!

Amber H. said...

Love all the pictures! I think it's funny though that you said you don't like pictures of yourself. I feel the same way. I think you look great though, even if I haven't seen you in real life :o) I think the story about your grandma and the Christmas sweatshirt is the cutest thing I have ever heard. How sweet! Merry Christmas!

Kristi M. said...

Wow your camera takes such beautiful, clear pictures in the snow. I love that window picture. I would totally blow that one up big and frame it in my house. It looks so artistic. You look so great in all of your pictures. I have always been jealous of your curl. It is always so good looking. We have a fake tree and yes I do miss the smell. I don't have a good reason for having one except for the fact that it has saved us money. Growing up we always had real until my brother started having asthma attacks from it. So I guess you can say there is at least one good reason for them.

Emi said...

I hear you on the fake trees...we got a real one (even this year although it had to be imported and put on a cargo ship to get here). and dang! where did you get those pics of Angelena Jolie? oh wait, thats you!

Anonymous said...

I love your grandma's pants! It just so happens that my 89 year old grandfather wore red and green plaid pants to church on Christmas Eve! How can you not love them?!?!

Kristie said...

lol... so I have to tell you, for the first time EVER in 13.5 years of married life, we ACTUALLY did the whole fluff the pine tree ... plug in the fake pine... lol... your depiction is PERFECT!!!! lol... I loved it! I told Owen, with as much as I spent on the tree I only have to use it twice, and we can get another one! lol real this time!

Amanda said...

I love, love, love the picture of you and Aaron sledding. I also love the new look of the blog and your songs.