Trekkies Unite

For Mom

Reasons I Love Star Trek

1. I loved watching it with mom.
2. Spock
3. "Boy that sure looks uncomfortable."
4. Its fun to make up words to the theme song
5. Good always defeats evil
6. Humpback whales save the world
7. Smart, brave women
8. They talk science and even if its made up...I get it!
9. I always wanted to be an explorer
10. "I have been and always will be your friend."

You may have to be a trekkie to understand it all.

Mom posted her list to my comments and I wanted to share her Star Trek list too. Thanks Mom.

Reasons I love Star Trek:
1. James Tiberius Kirk
2. I remember how fun it was to watch with my mom.
3. Because it is so much fun now to watch with my daughter.
4. Because anything is possible in sci-fi.
5. Because I love to see the friendships between the characters.
6. The earth seems like a better place.
7. Spock and Data make me laugh-and remind me uncomfortably of myself.
8. Because I once wanted to be an astronaut.
9. Because I can remember reading my first science fiction book and dreaming I was there on Mars.
10. Because Trekkies understand each other.

Birthday Week

Birthday week for Madilyn last week. She turned 6 years old and according to her she's the youngest in her kindergarten class except for one boy so she's really glad to turn 6.

Here's a picture of the cupcakes Celeste and I made for her to take to class. (Picture complements of Celeste since my computer is a pile.)

Here's the masterpiece that Celeste decorated forMadilyn's birthday party.

Ok now the story of the birthday week. We couldn't actually celebrate her birthday on the day because Celeste, Jeremy, and I had to be somewhere nor could we do it the next day because her grandpa had a commitment so we celebrated it the next day. BUT she got a present and took cupcakes to class on all the days she wasn't celebrating her birthday. AND the day after the party she got to take Peter, Celeste's rabbit, for show and tell. THEN on Saturday we took her and three friends to see How to Train Your Dragon. (Good show, a little intense for kiddies, Emma won't be seeing it.)

That's the birthday week in a nutshell. I think she liked it all.

A word about Madilyn. She's a special girl. She loves all things girlie - sparkles, glitter, butterflies, hearts, dresses, skirts, flowers, dancing, singing (not that those two are exclusively girlie). She likes to dig and play with worms...until they fall apart. Her laugh at its loudest (trust me its loud we don't call her foghorn for nothing) turns into an infectious cackle. She has an intensity about life that is all her own. Her happy highs keep her bouncing off the walls and her saddest lows are heartbreakers. She talks enough to make even the most attentive person call for back up. Her creativity and imagination make our lives exciting and unpredictable.

We are so blessed to have this sweet, creative girl in our family. We love you!

List of Lists

This thing posted and I didn't know it. Now I'm finishing it.

My list for the week, is a list of the lists I want to write.

1. Reasons I love Star Trek.
2. Reasons I love Stargate SG-1
3. Why kids are better than having pets
4. Why (on occasion) pets are better than having kids
5. Driving styles
6. Best Movies
7. Best Authors
8. Best Children's Books
9. Movies I wished I'd never seen
10. Perks of having your apartment burn down

Letters to a Missionary

The girls wrote letters to their Uncle Philip who is serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Curitiba, Brazil. Above are Emma's pictures she drew. Below is Madilyn's letter. In case you can't read it, it says "Dear Philip. Are house burned down. 6 others burned down. We stole your room." That's our life in a nutshell.

Lists

I like lists. So once a week I'm going to post a new list. This one's a little serious but I can guarantee that most won't be. Recently I read an article in the Ensign, a magazine for our church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, about having an attitude of gratitude. I had just started having the girls tell me something they were grateful for each day and writing it in my journal. But now more than ever I am grateful (but not necessarily in this particular order).

I am Grateful for

1. my family. We've had some scary brushes with potentially deadly accidents in the last several months.
2. renter's insurance
3. extended family
4. in-law's (mine are awesome)
5. the beautiful green Northwest
6. music
7. running shoes
8. soft baby skin
9. Madilyn's made up songs
10. Emma's hugs

The last but in no way the least, the guidance of the Holy Ghost and our Savior Jesus Christ.

Condemned

Our apartment has been condemned along with lots of other units. The great news is our insurance company pretty much pays for us to move and literally moves for us. Anyone know of a nice yet cheap three bedroom somewhere?

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Ummm, our apartment building started on fire tonight. Not kidding. Jeremy and Emma were at home. I had Madilyn and Garrett with me at Madilyn's dance class. We're all fine but 14 of our neighbors have lost all their possessions. However, no one was hurt.

Here's what happened. Jeremy heard some pops and saw black smoke go by the window. He looked out and saw flames from the ground floor to the top floor. He grabbed Emma and left. In the picture our apartment is the one where the fire stopped on the middle floor. Click here to read the Komo news article and more pictures.

Jer got in to the apartment this evening. Very little smoke damage, some water damage but no fire in our apartment. We are grateful for all the Lord has done for us. Even if we had lost everything, I would cry, but everything I need in this world is safe and asleep upstairs at my in-law's house.

Leave it to Emma to lighten the mood. When the fire engines started pulling up (in all 14 of them) she said, "It's Santa Claus. He's a nice man." The fire department brings Santa Claus with candy canes through the neighborhood every Christmas.