Books of 2008

As I sat here pondering the past year and thinking of the year to come (because that's what you're supposed to do on New Year's, right?), I was trying to remember all the books I read in 2008. I read some good ones and some not so good ones. So here is my list (at least as many as I could remember) in no particular order (I starred my favorites):

*These is My Words by Nancy Turner
Sara's Quilt by Nancy Turner
*The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Great and Terrible series (except I haven't read the last one yet) by Chris Stewart
Escape by Carolyn Jessop
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
The Message by Lance Richardson
Blindside by Michael Lewis
*A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale

Does anyone have any suggestions for good books to read in 2009?

Feliz Navidad

Every time I get pregnant I kind of panic. Maybe you mothers out there can relate. I feel like my life is ending. And really, life as I know it IS ending. And so for my mental health I have to go on a vacation before I have another kid. Blair and I have sort of a deal going... sure, I'll have another kid as long as you take me on vacation first (or something like that). Before we had Eli we went to Fiji, before we had Jane we went to Puerto Vallarta, and since I'm having another kid in May, we gave ourselves an early Christmas present and went to Mexico again. Riviera Maya is beautiful. This is the first time we've been to that part of Mexico. We had a blast with our kids, ate some good tacos al pastor, and just enjoyed the warm weather. And yes, it was wierd and somewhat depressing to come back to snow!

12-0 Baby!

Before the season started I never would have imagined that the Utes would go 12-0, be out- right conference champs and headed to a BCS bowl again! What a season! It's been such a fun year. 2004 was different, we were so confident going into every game. It was just this methodical destruction of each opponent. But this year there has been a lot more drama. The stress during so many close games has taken a few years off my life I'm afraid.

But thanks to this guy (Brian Johnson, not Eli), the Utes have managed to pull out some amazing victories. BJ just finds a way to win. Last night he was 30 of 36, threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions. Not bad. Slightly better than the opposing quarterback.

Last night's game was awesome! I always love beating BYU, but it was especially sweet since so much was on the line. Whatever bowl we go to, I'll be there.

Go Utes!

Two Little Indians

Eli came home from school last week with an indian necklace and headband. So of course we had to make one for little sister too. Lately Jane just has to do EVERYTHING her brother is doing, including standing in front of the toilet pretending to pee. I keep reminding Eli that he needs to be a good example for Jane. He sometimes thinks it's funny to do something just to see if Jane will do it too.

Pics

My talented friend JoRae recently took some pictures of Eli and Jane. She is just kind of getting started doing this, but I think she already does an amazing job. She was awesome with the kids and you can see for yourself how well the pictures turned out. I usually dread getting pictures taken because it seems like it's just generally a painful experience for all involved. But with JoRae we actually had fun. Check out JoRae's photo blog at http://www.jncphoto.blogspot.com

Happy Halloween

Every year my mom has a family halloween party. Even when we were all in college and there weren't any little kids around, we still dressed up and kept the tradition alive. There have been a few minor "incidences" in years past, like when I choked on a donut during a donut eating contest. And lets just say my mom has now banned bobbing for apples after it got a little out of hand one year. This year's party was a huge success. This is Dad doing his version of "the broom dance."

Nate and Dani surprised us by coming down from Logan for the party. They are nerds (seriously, they are nerds).

Here's Jane giving the pinata a little love tap.

The whole gang.

I don't know who they are...

St George

A few weekends ago, in an attempt to escape the snow in SLC, we headed south for a few days. (I don't know about anyone else, but I am NOT ready for snow yet.) We had a lot of fun hiking, swimming, watching football and just hanging out. Eli and I made it successfully through "the crack." Here are a few pics of a fun weekend.