Happy New Year!

Here it is, New Year's Eve already. Where does the time go? We have to miss out on our ward's annual New Year's Eve Oyster Bake tonight because Easton has a bad ear infection AND pink eye. How on earth does a kid get pink eye???? He started getting sick while in Salt Lake and now everything is in full swing. We spent a few hours at the doctor's office this morning. The one thing we won't miss out on are the fire works. Apparently EVERYONE sets them off around here. I can hear them going off all around already and it's only 9:00. We even get the good kind that are illegal in Utah. :) In lieu of Christmas and us being between here and Salt Lake, I've decided to put in a little slide show to link it all together. Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We are having a great time here in Bountiful. Easton thinks all the snow is pretty fun (until he face plants in it). Hope you are all enjoying time with your families and this special time of year!

What a week!

This past week my sister Shelbee came out to visit. Scott was out of town the majority of the time on training for work so it was nice to have some company. While Shelbee was here we played "tourist" and attempted to see many of the sites downtown Charleston has to offer. With all of Charleston's history I really wished I would have paid more attention in history class. Or at least tried to commit a little more to memory. The slide show above may be a little longer than normal but we really saw some cool stuff. This is also a preview of the fun you can have if you come and visit us. :) We had 80 degree weather the entire time. It was perfect! Where we went and what we saw:

Downtown Charleston: The city is beautiful with a ton of pre-civil war homes lining the streets. We took a horse-drawn carriage tour to see everything in a nutshell. After our tour we hit the Market. The Market is full of different vendors selling their crafts, merchandise, etc. In the old days the slaves would come here to sell their wares. It's fun to walk around and check everything out. While we were at the Market it just so happened that Bill Clinton showed up in the streets. I guess he was there on some campaigning gig for Hillary. Though I don't I'll vote for Hillary, I can't pass up a good opportunity to see and/or meet someone famous no matter who they are. I weaseled my was throught the craw and got close enough to take a few pictures and shake his hand! Now I can add that to shaking hands with Vice President Chaney at the Jackson Hole 4th of July Parade. To end the day we walked around town and found a place to have dinner. We then went to the James Island Light Festival which was unlike anything I've ever seen before. Tons of lights everywhere! You can even stop and park halfway through to roast marshmellows and drink hot chocolate.

Calhoun Mansion & S.C. Aquarium: The reason we chose to tour the Calhoun Mansion is because it was used in the filming of "The Notebook." Also not to mention the fact that it is 24,000 square feet and has 36 rooms and 36 fireplaces!!! This place was amazing. Because it is a private residece, we could not take photos inside. The owner bought it for between $4-$5 million 4 years ago. Crazy! The aquarium proved to be great fun for all of us. My favorite was the huge 45 foot tank and the Amazon section. They had an anaconda and I've never actually seen one before.

Patriot's Point & Fort Sumter: Patriot's Point is the home of the famous USS Yorktown aircraft carrier as well as a submarine, a destroyer, and a coast guard cutter. This boats were amazing!!!! They all took part in some major action in WWII and other battles. You could go inside of them and check everything out. Easton loved everything there but I liked the submarine the best as that was the only boat that he couldn't fall off things and run away from us. :) Fort Sumter was where the Civil War began. It is truely amazing to see and realize that all of that really happened.

December

We are nearly half way through the month and I have no idea where the time has gone. In fact, I'm doing a couple of posts tonight just to get caught up. We did manage to put up a few decorations and find a place for the tree. Easton has been a good boy and learned not to mess with the ornaments. :) The nativity however is a different story. The other day I walked by and noticed that Easton had rearranged and added a few extra animals of his own. He is so cute!!!

Tagged!

I've never been tagged before (thanks Marv!) so here' my best shot!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping. I love to wrap, even those odd shaped and challenging sized items. I pride myself in a good wrapping job and even taught Scott how to wrap so that there are never any raw edges showing. He does a great job!

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. I think I've always had a fake tree. However I do remember years and years ago my mom used to get a nice flocked tree for Christmas. Then she got tired of the mess.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the day after Thanksgiving but really whenever we feel like it.

4. When do you take the tree down? After New Year's.

5. Do you like eggnog? Love it! There are all kinds of new flavors constantly emerging. Pumkin eggnog isn't bad but I just tried gingerbread eggnog the other day and it was a little strong.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I have such a hard time remembering things that long ago. I remember my brother getting a battery powered 3-wheeler that I reallu liked. :)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes. Thanks to my mother I have every piece to the Willow Tree Nativity. Easton loves to look at it and point out Jesus and all of the animals. Last week he even added a few extra animals of his own. It was so cute I'll have to post a picture.

8. Hardest person to buy for? I would say my father-in-law. My family stopped buying gifts for each other a long time ago otherwise it might be my parents.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Scott and Easton. Pretty much anyone. I can always come up with ideas for others but have a hard time giving Scott ideas for myself.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't think I ever got a bad gift.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail! Especially because I love to get them from everyone else as well.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Christmas with the Krank's (Tim Allen)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I start thinking about it in August or September. Depends on what's going on.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peppermint ice cream.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear.

17. Favorite Christmas song? The Christmas Song & I'll Be Home for Christmas. The church hymns are fun too.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? So far we have traveled quite a bit. I'm getting to the point where I want to be home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph.

20. Angel on the treetop or a star? Star. I actually have a cool Santa Claus but the ceiling in our house isn't high enough to fit the tree and Santa anymore.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning. This year we got to ancy (and for other good reasons) and have actually opened presents already.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People who don't put up Christmas lights. :)

23. What I love most about Christmas? I like how people change around this time of year. I love decorating and having a tree in the living room. Now that Easton is a part of the family and knows a little more this year, I love watching him and how excited he gets. He won't say "Santa" yet but he will say "ho, ho, ho!"

Now I tag: Angie, Kelly, Mindy, & KayDee.

Utah ranks #1 for the most depressed people

A recent article on msnbc talks about a study conducted by Mental Health America that ranks Utah as the most depressed state in our nation. (To see the article copy and paste this link to your web browser: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22087867/.) It basically attributes the depression to having very few resources to mental health care. The study also states that the more highly educated a state’s population is, the lower its rate of depression. That theory makes sense but are they calling Utah uneducated?!!! So, this topic has sparked discussion with the family and I'm interested to see what everyone else thinks. I have my theories on why Utah could be the most depressed state. Anyone care to check out the article and share their thoughts?

Grandpa Jensen

Early this morning we got news that my grandpa Jensen had passed away. Yesterday morning we learned that he fell and broke his hip while getting the morning newspaper. He was on a blood thinning medication so they had to wait a bit before doing surgery. Supposedly everything went well with the surgery and he was doing fine after the fact. I think it was around 3:00 in the morning the nurses went in to his room and he was pretty much gone. They worked on him for a while but it didn't work. They think he may have had a little stroke or something. Through years of experience of working with the elderly I've learned that once there is a fall and a broken hip things don't usually go so well afterward. However, this was all very sudden and unexpected. Luckily we got to see Grandpa when we were home for Thanksgiving. The funeral will be this Wednesday. Easton was watching Sesame Street this morning where they were playing Simon Says and it reminded me of Grandpa. That was one of his favorite games to play with the grandkids. He was very good at tricking us into messing up. :) We'll miss you grandpa!!!