winter white

So, have you noticed that it is December?? And,not just the beginning mind you, but almost the middle! It's strange because this time of year usually features a lot of white outside (at least where I am from), but here there is still a lot of green (and gray).I decided that a little snowstorm was in order.

The snowstorm also became necessary because I couldn't (nor did I feel inclined to) find our Christmas decorations in our storage unit. So I found some paper and a cutting implement and went to work. I've always found making paper snowflakes to be a little bit magical... and this bout did not disappoint. It's amazing to me that a little folding and a few snips here and there can become something so beautiful.

The next post will hopefully include a Christmas greeting from us as we didn't plan early enough to do a card.

This one's for my sisters!

So a few days ago I was cleaning the house and a specific cleaning song came to mind... I started humming it and was surprised by how much faster my cleaning went. Here's a picture to stir up your cleaning song memories.

For Veteran's day J and I went to the Lake Union Park which used to be owned by the Navy. It was fun to walk around the newly-renovated park and check out the docks. There was a really fun variety of boats including a boat that they had a farmer's market on it! And also the Arthur Foss which is an old wooden tug boat which featured a story-time that we participated in... the subject of the stories was... drumroll... tugboats! We found a spot for some Navy-themed pictures. It made me think of my grandpa and all of the stories he's told us over the years about his time in the Navy. He served through the Korean "Conflict" and the Vietnam War. I'm grateful for him. He's a very inspiring person, as I'm sure many who know him will agree.

Crayons

A few months ago while wandering through Office Depot searching for a mouse pad, I was strongly compelled to the school supplies aisle. Once there I picked up a pack of Crayola crayons and carried them with me debating with myself that buying them wasn't a silly idea. The childish side won the debate with the assurance that the crayons weren't for me at all but rather for my little J. (who is 1 year and 2 months old). All the while knowing that he probably wasn't ready for coloring sessions.

Yesterday was a somewhat gloomy and rainy day. To brighten things up, and because I needed some form of creative exercise, I decide J. and I were going to color. We grabbed some fresh white sheets of printer paper, my...uh... I mean J's pack of crayons, and settled on the floor in J's room. I gave J a sheet of paper and he dumped out the crayons for us. I put a crayon in J's hand and guided him a little to show him what they could do. When I thought that was under control I took a sheet and let go. I decided not to stress about whether I was creating something "good" or not and was having a lovely time of it. My focus was broken by a strange sound. Crunch, crunch. I looked over at J. Crunch, there went another one. He was biting off the tips of as many crayons as he could. I'm grateful Crayola made them non-toxic. I look forward to the day when "coloring" won't mean eating the colors.

Play date

Last week J. and I had our very first play date with a very nice lady from our ward and her two little girls. It was fun. Our children did not play together much, but that wasn't really the point I suppose... I got to know April a little better while J. got to run around and play at the park. Snacks were shared, swings were swung on, and bouncing occurred on see-saws. Needless to say it was nice to have some company for these activities.

July, August, September...

July, August, and September. Each month we had visitors. Which is a blast but I'm looking forward to being the visitor in October. I'm visiting the home state and family from the 26th to the 6th of November. Yay!

In July my lovely mother and my silly brother Michael came to see us. We were living in corporate housing (a ritzy place called "Harbor Steps") at that time so they got the "downtown experience." We walked around the town, visited the EMP/SFM, went swimming several times at the pool, shopped until Michael dropped, and then shopped some more. We were able to show them the outside of the Richmond which is where we live now but that's all they saw.

In August my two little sisters came for a visit. They had to sleep on the floor in our nearly unfurnished apartment but I dare say they still had a good time. We walked around Green Lake , went to the zoo, ate lots of good food, went to the Pacific Science center, walked Pike's, the pier, and the International district (i.e. china town). We also took them to the troll, J's favorite park, had a lovely picnic, participated in the Friday art walk/block party, and I forget what else.

September brought the in-laws, Mom and Dad Christensen. They didn't have to sleep directly on the floor, but rather on a very comfortable floor mattress. Which, I understand was still somewhat of a trial. With them we visited Leveanworth, Cashmere for the Aplets & Cotlets factory, and the Ballard Locks. We also went to Bellingham for a visit and dinner with the delightful aunt Cheri. J got really sick with an ear infection (and then an allergic reaction to his prescription) during their visit so the later half wasn't as busy nor as fun, sadly.

3 pictures from the locks.







cute grandparents

cool old lady selling at Pike's

beautiful mom

so handsome

J. at the park








J loves bath-time


K. loves A. and J.

So... it's been two months!? How did that happen? Oops. Well, we've been living in Seattle now for 1 month and 5 days. So instead of recapping I'll just throw a bunch of pictures at you. Sound good? "Yes, Katie that sounds great!"


Jonathan loves to make noise (imagine a yell here)


he also loves to kick back and relax


he's so durn cute!

caught in the act of making a mess (a daily task)

he cleans up nicely

Adam's hair is getting pretty long

one must always retain one's modesty

right when we arrived in the emerald city

a random state park we stopped at (yes, that's blue sky people)

Pike's Market flowers (p.s. loving my new camera! thanks darling hubby)

Mae Phim Thai our favorite place to eat so far

checking out the sites

lights at the market

more flowers

very blue view from our corp. housing.

thanks for looking!

washing machine world

Is the world spinning faster for everyone? Or is it just me? J. is growing up like a little weed and learning how to make more mischief every day. A. is moving us again. This time out of state. Yes, you read correctly. We're moving again after 6 months but this time it's far from all family and friends. Hurrah for change. Just as I was beginning to like it here too. It's laughable really.

Sometimes it's exciting but most of the time it's just terribly stressful. For all of us. We have a little more than a month before we go. Goodbye Bountiful, hello Seattle.

Here's a few videos for the visually minded.

J. only growled for a little over a week... so sad we loved it.

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Patience

Our bishop advised us to read this talk by Neal A. Maxwell. I loved it so much I thought it would be nice to share it with all of you. I know we could all use a little more patience in our lives.

love,

Katie

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Patience

march madness

In a moment of boredom (and madness) I took out the scissors and... that's right you guessed it, snip. I cut my own hair. I've always wanted to cut my own hair and yesterday I did. I was brave. Brave and stupid. Let's just say my career as a hairstylist was very brief. I must now go to have a haircut to fix my haircut. I won't post any pictures until it's more presentable.

Not to worry friends and family, not even one tear was shed during this experience (well maybe one by Adam), after I'd finished butchering my beautiful locks I looked at myself and laughed.

A few more things to add to the list.

4- A fabulous Rec Center just 2 blocks away

5- the hot-rod beetle (it makes it's appearance everyday around 8:30 am and every evening around 6. I have a self-given mission to capture a picture of it and post it here. It makes me smile every time it drives past.)

6- TONS of flowers we didn't have to plant

7- neighborhood walks with J. and A. Looking for peoples crazy additions to their houses (people don't build new here very often, if they want more space just build it onto your existing house. I will take a few pictures of the most wild and crazy of this category. Stay tuned.)

We've been trying to keep busy. I'm working on the last bird for little J.'s mobile then it just needs to be assembled. I also made a cake stand (yes, a cake stand). I don't remember where I heard about this craft but I love it. We went to DI found a .50 cent ice cream sundae dish, a .50 cent plate, and some glass glue from Home Depot, put all the pieces together and there you have it.

We also took some pictures of J. when we were down in Provo a few weeks ago. Here is a few of our favorites.




I had to add the first one for laughs. Well that's all I've got this time. I love you all my dear family and friends.
(P.S. Carolyn if you happen to see these pictures, know that I tried to send you an email but it didn't work. Did you change your address?)

So, we're making an attempt at having J. fall asleep on his own. Yesterday I put him down for his nap fully awake, I put on some music in the kitchen, and went about my business. J cried and cried but then all was quiet and I went to see what had happened. This is what I found. The poor dear.

(click on 'found' to see the video)

to new things.

I've been needle felting some birds for a mobile for J. They're coming along nicely I've made about 7 of them so far but I only really like 3 of them enough to use... here they are.

A bird in progress. They have been a nice distraction during the long hours that A. is at work.

I have been on the look out for things to like about B-town. I decided that it's time to stop comparing everything here to everything back in dear Provo. I realized that I'll never like where I am in the present if I'm continually thinking about the past. Yes, it is true that Provo will always feel like my home town. Yes, I miss my family in Provo, I miss going to the grocery store and seeing people I know. I miss Utah county's beautiful mountains and Timpview drive. I miss BYU and so many other things but it's time for me to move on (especially since I can go and see those things when I'm of a mind to). Who was it that said "it's hard to move forward with a foot in the past" ? Somebody said it I'm sure.

So, the humble beginnings of (hopefully) a long list:

1- One library card for all of the libraries in Davis county

2- Community classes held at all of the high schools with classes ranging from mandarin chinese to yoga. Oh yes, I will be taking some.

3- Being 12 minutes away from Salt Lake City.

I decided to make it easy on myself by just adding some pictures instead of actually writing something. These are:

1- Jonathan sitting up happy with himself for being able to get in his toy box.

2- A very charming view from above.

3- Jonathan getting into mischief. He's a pro at the army crawl.

4 & 5- Jonathan being Jonathan

6- A. reading to J. a little confused because I usually do the reading.

7- some more reading. Cutest boys ever.

Hope you enjoyed it.