Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Fourth Annual Hope Christmas Video


It's that time of year once again. Take a break from all the wrapping (or, for those of you who haven't even bought presents yet, the anxiety of not wrapping) and enjoy the fourth installment of our Christmas tradition: The Hope Family Christmas Video 2011.

You may notice that the theme of this song seems to directly contradict the sentiments I expressed in a previous post. I think this was Suzanne's way to force me to apologize. Although this song was my idea. I prefer to say that I did this ironically. That's right, I just became the Christmas Hipster.

And yes, those atrocious Christmas sweaters made it in the video once again. Frankly, we'll probably keep using them until they fall off. Fear not, we'll wear shirts underneath.

I'm beginning to wonder why we don't do Christmas cards instead because this is way more work than sending out cards. After spending so long editing it and listening to the song of the year for the 627th time, we never even watch them again. Then again, I guess people normally don't go back over their old Christmas cards (Suzanne's mother probably just scoffed, "Well I do!")

For those of you who are new to the tradition, you can catch up on the previous installments at the following links:

Christmas Video 2010
Christmas Video 2009
Christmas Video 2008

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

questions/submissions

10 things i have asked myself today.

10. if i was to truly buy a car during the holidays does it come with a ginormous red bow on the top? can you buy that separate? or are they strictly for commercials? hmmmm.....i submit they should be included. and then i submit i should purchase a car in december.

9. can mariah carey give us a horrible christmas song? i submit not. here and here. so jazzy. and so easy to rock out to while making dinner. nova agrees. dan does not. but i like this song even better. sorry mariah.

8. why is mariah carey married to that guy that hosts americas got talent? i submit i don't understand. don't worry, i only thought of this for a moment.

7. is it obsessive compulsive to know how long i have to wait for the next green light at every light on the way to go get dan at the train? i submit it is--but only slightly.

6. is it strange to try to get my blinker to coordinate with the blinker in front of me while waiting for a green light? (clearly i am enjoying the california traffic.)

5. is it wierd that in this month called december i have not stepped foot in a department store? i submit that at some point in the next week i definitely will.

4. is nova ahead or behind the trend of wearing her headband like a hippie? i submit she is a tad behind, but could potentially bring it back with her sweetness.

3. could it be possible that i have mastered the chicken pot pie? i submit that i have, but am hesitant to declare myself marie calender.....yet.

2. what is the big deal with quinoa and couscous? the submission is still up in the air at this point. but i do submit i thoroughly enjoyed giving them a try.

1. will we ever get our christmas music video done? i submit that we will.

and for the grandmas who are less concerned about my random thoughts and more concerned about: WHY AREN'T YOU BLOGGING EVERYDAY????? WITH PICTURES OF NOVA????
this is for you.

nova with her representation of who-ville out of pie crust. (don't worry, i didn't actually use that pie crust after she had so lovingly worked with it.)nova and her mask she made. complete with hair accessories.
and nova and myself after she did my hair. i'm tellin ya, the headband hippie look is a good one. nova is totally stuck on it right now.





feet in the sand in december. we quite like it.


nova and mr. claus. (please note the hippie headband.) she loved him and was so excited she nearly lost control of her bladder. almost. luckily her good friend hazel saved her place in line. phew. nova and hazel at the san fransisco zoo. they had such a blast. they had more fun playing on the hippo statue, the staircase and the water fountain than actually looking at the animals, but they had a good time nonetheless. all the way home nova kept saying, "that was really fun huh mom."

we also attended a representation of bethlehem with our friends the stokers. it was crazy! they had roman soldiers, sand on the ground, booths set up to die fabric, make bracelets, taste wine, (skipped that one....) and they acted out the story. nova loved it. thanks for the invite stokers. they even had an angel come out of the top of a building singing. the angel.
and nova bundled up on the way over. it actually does in fact get a little chilly here people. a little. our blood is thinning but i will never admit that again.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

A Controversial Opinion

I must first point out that this is Dan because I am about to voice an opinion that seems to be in the minority. In fact, it's an opinion that draws incredulous looks and indignant snorts. So prepare yourself.

Ready? Here it is:



That's right. That's me expressing the unpopular opinion that December at the beach is infinitely preferable to December in the mountains and snow. Just wait, I haven't gotten sacrilegious yet. I would rather have Christmas morning with a view of the beach than with a view of snow-covered mountains.

Disown me if you must, but there you have it. The only white Christmas I want is sea-foam white (er, off-white to green, depending on the beach of course).

I had always kinda suspected I felt that way. I enjoyed the beach in Madagascar as much as anyone could without touching the water. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at Half Moon Bay, and while we quietly watched the sunset over the ocean, I came to the realization that I won't miss the snow. In fact, I am ecstatic that I won't see a snowflake this year. I tremble with joy at the thought that I won't have to shovel a single sidewalk or pay for hip-reconstruction after an unfortunate encounter with an ice patch.

I'm content to let the sand exfoliate my feet ... even though I'm still not clear on what this exfoliation stuff is and why it's desirable. Regardless, I have it. Envy me, ladies.

To be fair, I've never had many reasons to truly love the snow. I don't ski; I don't snowboard; I've never even been ice skating. Hockey, is cool, I guess, but I don't play it. One of my most frightened moments as a child involved a chunk of frozen snow and a broken window. And my snowball manufacturing skills are woefully inadequate. I have yet to achieve more than an uncertain draw in a snowball fight, and that was with a third-grader ... two years ago.

Don't get me wrong. There are things I like about snow. It's beautiful right after a snowfall, when everything is swathed in a glowing blanket of white. Snow days were the holy grail of our youth. We prayed for those harder than we prayed for peace on earth, good will toward men. Actually, I can't recall praying for world peace as a child. We prayed for snow days harder than we prayed to win our next game of Pogs.

I do love sledding and snowmobiling. I've almost died doing both, but that doesn't take away from the fun of it. Nevertheless, we rarely get in more than one good sledding session in a single year, and I haven't been snowmobiling since I was 16. So it hardly seems worth it to endure months of snow-bound agony for a few hours of fun.

So enjoy your snow; you can have my portion. Send me your photos of lawns blanketed in shimmering white and I'll compliment you, honestly. I'll also be grateful I didn't have to witness it in person. Oh, and if we do come visit, I'll hound you incessantly about scheduling a monster sledding day. But other than that, I'll stay inside with some hot cocoa for the rest of our visit.

I know I'm mostly alone in this opinion. Please don't be offended. I'm completely okay with you enjoying your mountainous driveways and near-collisions with other harried drivers skidding around on the slush, constantly accusing everyone else of not knowing how to drive in the snow.

But if you get a chance, come on over and we'll spend some quality time with our feet in the sand, listening to the crashing waves.

It's magic.

And it's addictive. We'll see if you don't change your tune. C'mon, who doesn't want to spend a December like this:

Monday, November 28, 2011

they lied

dan and i have been married 6 years and 3 months and 9 days. i have asked him on SEVERAL occasions to run races with me. but he has kindly declined. it just isn't his thing. he prefers bike riding. but i keep asking hoping that someday i can contaminate him with the running bug. WELL, whoever tells you that you can't change someone in marriage......well, they lied to you, because take a look at this:



















yep, that is dan's sweet, sweet backside on thanksgiving morning. we signed up for a race! as in BOTH of us. as in ALL of us. (and i think he even liked it.) better yet, i kept getting side hugs the whole way through as we ran as he told me how much he loved me. (or maybe he was just trying to slow me down.....:))

need further proof? here we are ready to walk out the door in our running gear. (and in front of our thankful tree which looks much happier than it did on nov. 1st)



















there were 21,000 people running the 5k! it was a run/walk and it was insane. one of dan's clients, applied materials, put the race on. this is one of the posters that dan's designers designed for the event.














nova in action, or should i say nov-action



















she was super excited and loved it when people cheered from the sidelines. she even got a ride.















then we had a dinner with just us. lots of people actually asked if that was going to be weird or lonely. it wasn't at all. sure we missed being with family. and yes cooking it all alone wasn't awesome, but listening to christmas music while we cooked and cleaned up rocked. and just to be with the people that i love the very most was so awesome. i am so blessed to be with the people who i need the very most. both dan and nova make me better and i couldn't ask for better people to eat thanksgiving dinner with. (and we may or may not have watched punkin chunkin later that night---that is CRAZY btw!)














friday we met up with the gibbs. (dan's old mission companion) we checked out the golden gate bridge. we saw a sea lion right off the pier and nova tasted some seagull poop. (totally not intentionally. she was posing for a picture and put her hand on the side of the pier and then rubbed her face. AHHHHHHH!!!!! ) then she freaked out because she had poop in her mouth. yep, i would say we definitely experienced the bridge to be sure.

it was so fun to hang out with the gibbs and really cool to see the bridge.














here we are all standing on the bridge.














it was such a fun weekend. we are so blessed. i am so thankful for Heavenly Fathers tender mercies to our little family. i love love mc-love this time of year. and i may or may not be extremely excited to be putting up our christmas tree tonight and to begin planning the annual christmas music video........

Saturday, November 19, 2011

terror+elation

although the october fun has come and gone, we still have been doing our best to enjoy november.

the other day nova and i went on a fall walk. i gave her the camera and i asked her to take pictures of things that she thought were beautiful. here are some of the pictures she took.





























i think this pole is one of my favorites, but she said it was "just lovely".














nova has also been quite the helper in the kitchen lately. here she is checking the low protein play dough with her 'mometer'



















and THIS is what she looks like going to do laundry. (can i say i particularly dislike this aspect of california living? i enjoy getting all of my laundry done in less than 2 hours--that i particularly LOVE. no complaints here. in one day, its all done! and then we have a folding party while watching castle. BUT....i don't like hauling it to the laundry room. i used to convince nova to help carry the soap and the detergent, but now, she needs to bring her baby----in the stroller. every. single. time. AND she insists on wearing princess shoes. so its not the fastest trek. and i hate giving my shiny quarters away. why must personal hygiene cost so much? boo. BUT, nova loves going over to do it and gets super excited when i tell her its laundry day. i am trying harder to share her enthusiasm......but i do miss my washer/dryer) ok, now we can move on.



















so, in addition to taking time to enjoy the fall foliage, keeping our tummy's full and keeping the stink down, nova has also been getting some serious time in on her bike. she is getting pretty stellar. and she is also getting stellar at crashing with minimal crying. is it bad that when she crashes she asks if it looked cool? because every time she crashes i try not to make a big deal out of it and say, "WOAH, that looked awesome!" thoughts?














we made a massive gratitude tree in our dining room that we have been adding leaves every night with things that we are grateful for. nova contributed the nice addition coming off the trunk.














and dan even carved our initials. ahhh....















dan treated the ladies in his life with some spa treatment. (he would also not admit that nova convinced him to let her paint his "tiny" toenail purple because it would give him "magic powers.") :) what a guy right?














nova met her team of doctors who will help manage her pku in california and i am so excited. they are so awesome and nova loved dr. enns, her genetic counselor, and nutritionist. they are going to be great. its a blessing to be so close to a hospital and is another tender mercy in how we have seen Heavenly Fathers hand in our lives. AND when they took 7 vials of blood she didn't even cry! (last time we were at primary childrens we had about 4 people holding her down to do her blood work. it was beyond horrible. but she did so awesome and i am so proud of her and she was pretty proud of herself too--which, when you get a rad bandage, why wouldn't you smile like this?



















and last but certainly not least: the most hilarious picture of nova ever. and also to show what nova picks for the activity for FHE. terror + elation=hysterical laughing from every single one of us.

Monday, October 31, 2011

dear october

dear october,
i love you. you are fun and spooky. you are chilly--even in california....at least at night and when it rains. your leaves are beautiful and orange is all around. you bring traditions old and new and get the holiday season rolling. you are just pretty much my favorite month. thanks to you, this is what we got to do:

nova has been really into dressing up and costumes lately so i decided to exercise my motherly powers and stated that you would not be fed this week unless you attended dinner in costume. i insisted we needed to practice dressing up. it was really fun and nova especially loved it. then on friday we had a "witches and warlock" dinner.

here are some highlights: 1st night: dan was "super-locker" (i don't know what that is, but when dan asked nova what he should be, that is what she said. nova was a super hero, and i was a cat















dan and nova "locking things" and getting the bad guys



















one night we dressed up in sleeping beauty characters. (per nova request)















don't tell sleeping beauty....but merriweather is takin your man!














1 little, 2 little witches














glow in the dark hide and go seek for FHE--with glow sticks














pumpkin carving at dan's work

































oh, and did i mention that we went swimming? (because its still totally warm here!) sorry to rub it in.....














we went with nova's new friend hazel to a mom 'n me trick or treat event on santana row in san jose



















and finally, the big day arrived:
we drew monster pictures



















made pumpkin pancakes and painted some "spooky nails"














the whole fam for the ward trunk or treat. (saturday)















in full costume:





















i think that she had a fun night....



















sigh....until next year october. don't stay away to long. we kinda like you around here.

suzanne

Saturday, October 15, 2011

pumpkin patch checklist

how to pick a pumpkin:
1. get hopped up on bunny love...check. (if you get this joke, we can be better friends if not, you need to go watch pysch.)














2. hold a baby chicken. (and look really proud of yourself.) (then immediately wash your hands.) check.















2. next, get the adrenaline pumping by running through the "scary" haunted house. check.














3. take a hayride to find the optimum picking spot. check. (take a picture with mom saying something to the attractive photographer dad.) check.















4. grab a wagon. check.















5. inspect the pumpkins to make sure you find "the right one". to find true happiness you must find the right pumpkin at the right time and in the right place.....oh wait.....i think that is not how that quote goes....but regardless: check.















6. make sure you look good with the pumpkin. check.















7. sit and breath in the pumpkin air. check.














8. find an extremely heavy pumpkin and make dad eat his words. "if you can put it in the wagon, we can get it." check and check.
















yep dad, she can get it in the wagon.... (its 20 lbs!)















loved loved loved today. i have never been to a pumpkin patch before and it was so much fun! nova loved it and so did dan and i! definitely something we will do again.

it got me in the halloween and fall mood even though it was flaming hot while we were there. if it doesn't feel like fall on the outside, at least it made us feel like fall on the inside. happy october!