T'was a few days after Christmas...

It was a jolly holiday. I love Christmas, but there is a little part of me that says hmmm. It isn't really the day or season Christ was born, so they say...and Santa and the whole commercialization(here comes a real run-on sentence that can't be helped) and going on a shopping spree for weeks and then in a few hours on Christmas morning its over...and then I think, did I really think about the true meaning of Christmas enough? And what does Christ really think about Christmas, does he just kinda raise his eyebrows and say "What do I have to do with all this?" I think he appreciates our seasonal selflessness. There is definitely a feeling around Christmastime that is special and different. Is it just that we are thinking a little more about others and reflecting a little more about Christ? I don't know. But I do know I like giving (and receiving) gifts to those I love most and those in need. I know the most important gift is the one we give to the Lord. That's what I should be focused on, not just at Christmastime but all the time. So...with all that here is our Christmas.(Christmas morning I made this happen, on our couch, self-timed. Better than nothin'.)

A few days before Christmas, almost enough to keep Daddy home from work


St.Julien Christmas eve rendition of The Nativity. Incase it's unclear those are angels...and yes one of the angels is playing with an iphone.

Good morning! A little too early if you asked me...but nobody ever did, or does.



Our very own Rapunzel Scarlet Olivia St.Julien

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and has a Happy New Year!!

You make me feel like dancin'

Can you determine the true desires of your daughters heart at age 3 and 3/4ths? What I mean is, if Scarlet loves nothing more than to dance and prance and sing and bow anytime anywhere, does it mean something about her destiny? Or is it just what all 3 going on 4 year olds do? I just want a little peek at the future.

My girls are both killing me lately with their cuteness. Yesterday Rosie shocked both of us with a loud "burp!" She looked at me with that mischievous grin and said "Buup!" Who is teaching her these words?! I have been keeping track of her new words for the past few months and these last few weeks FORGET it. I can't keep track anymore, she busting out three to five new ones a day! Most astounding word as of late, "triangle."

trying out a new do...its a keeper.

Scarlet is a little bit obsessed right now with bad dreams. Every night before prayers she says "mom, say make me have good dreams, make me have good dreams, three times OK?!" I try to explain that it's unnecessary to be repetitive, we end up settling on 2 times. The last few nights she says to Dave, "when you come check on me if I have this face (scrunches up her face and pulls down her lip) then WAKE ME UP I am having a BAD dream!"The best is that they are really starting to enjoy each other. And Scarlet can be just a helpful as she is trouble, when it comes to Rosie at least.

Book weather

Looks like snow means back to the couch, absorbed in a good book. I just finished a couple and excited to read a couple more...

This was a really intriguing story. Wasn't expecting to sit down and almost read it in ONE day! Ok not quite but ALMOST. This story is told thru the eyes of a five year old which kinda worried me at first but works out well and is actually very sweet and endearing. Especially if you have kids, it is very true to form. I can't say more about the story I am afraid to give anything away. Makes you think, makes you tear up, chuckle and gasp...sounds good eh?

Another unexpected page turner, however it may not be for everyone. It's a life after death experience of a man who is now a psychiatrist. I love these kinds of stories, I am just s'dang curious about that whole realm. His experience is so AMAZING and it just hit me over and over again how small minded I am in day to day living. All the things he saw and felt seem to fit in with what I believe the life beyond to be like.

This book was very similar to the Lady Elizabeth, by the same author. I liked it a lot. Jane Grey is one of my new heroins and some day I want to tell her so. She was an amazing lady, and she was not even a lady really, just a girl. Dave and I read (listened to) this book together and we couldn't believe the sad short life she lived. It was very inspiring to say the least.

Dizzzneyland

We did it! We took a week long family vacation to Disneyland. It was a fun trip, we are glad we made the memories. Our girls loved it, we think...between the crying and hair pulling I think they had fun. Scarlet was terrified of all the characters, except for the princesses OF COURSE! It was pretty ridiculous, but I guess I should have known. It was fun for Dave and I, we had to laugh about how giddy we would act to try to get our girls to show some enthusiasm. Glad we braved the journey and glad to be home in one piece. And not a trace of vacation blues for me yet...

(Pure heaven, she was so cute with the princesses I got all choked up, it was like she was being reunited with her long lost friends)


(little Rose bud being the brave one, while Scarlet was most likely screaming somewhere in the background)


(And of course the BEACH!! It was like mid to high 80's all week. I am wearing shorts today JUST to try and make a point!! Oh sunny California, see you in my dreams.)

(this pic pretty much says it all)

Catchin' up photo style

Enough of that depressing post about the weather. Lets see some cuteness. We went on a hike up to Timpanogos caves. We got a grand (personal)tour from Katie's sister, Becky. Becky is one of Scarlet's favorite buddies. Scarlet was a little nervous of the caves, but hasn't stopped talking about it since.









It was a great day...look at those puppy dog eyes.

Lest we forget...

I am with everyone on Fall being so great and yadda-yadda. But, did everyone forget what comes after Fall? Well let me quickly remind you because it is still fresh in my mind. After fall comes that mean, creepy Old Man Winter knocking on our doors people. He isn't jolly, and he doesn't say ho-ho-ho. He makes the sun disappear. He stings your nose, and as if that's not enough, he will bite your toes. He makes it so you are a prisoner of your own home. He brings that white stuff that turns dirty gray and lingers and lingers forever. I just want all of you who are sending those welcoming vibes into the universe to stop and think for a minute. Isn't fall just a really mean trick?

I had this thought today, as I felt that autumn chill in my house this morning, that maybe if I am expecting winter to be sooo awful and unbearable...maybe...just maybe it won't be so bad. I have that problem where I start stressing out about things wayyy in advance. MOST of the time, things aren't as bad as I imagine them to be. BUT if I don't think about it and stress a little about it, then I get blindsided. So, if I am anticipating falling into a deep and inconsolable depression from late November until March, then I will be happily surprised when I am actually ok. Isn't that a great way to live your life!! Sheeesh, I am a weirdo.

THE END.

Oregon by the sea...

Home again home again jiggity-jig. Dave and I took a wonderful trip back to one of my mission areas on the Oregon coast. My sister, who recently returned from a mission, offered to watch the girls. How could I pass THAT up!?! I couldn't, BUT the reality of leaving the girls behind for almost a week made my insides churn, and my heart start to RACE! BUT I hadn't been back to Oregon since I came home in 2004(6 years)!! We DROVE the entire way. 10 hours to Klamath Falls, sleep (at Dave's old girlfriends parents house, not awkward surprisingly, anything to save a buck...). Then, 4.5 hrs. to the coast! I wondered if Dave and I would just stare at eachother. It's not like we don't talk...but its usually tid bits here and there in between the girls chatter, laughing, crying, whining, sleeping... you get the gist. Thankfully after these 5 years we are still the greatest of friends and had a dreamy time. There's no one I'd rather drive over 2000 miles with, and that's saying SOMETHING!!

The mission was just as it was in my memory. It was so AWESOME to drive up and down the streets and see houses I remembered knocking on. It's like the towns were frozen in time, just waiting for my return. One thing I didn't remember, it was COLD! That's the only thing I would've changed if I could. But it didn't stop us from walking up and down the BREATHTAKING beaches, whale watching and crabbing off the docks. YES, whale watching! We walked out to one of the bluffs in Port Orford and a big old whale comes swimming below us. I actually screamed, it was a roller coaster kind of scream and I don't know where it came from. The first few whales we saw were really close and I kept screaming! I heard myself doing it but I couldn't stop. I was just SO surprised and SO excited, I guess put those two together and you get screaming.

We visited with some dear friends I met those many years ago. I was sure they wouldn't remember little old (mission chubby) me...but they did. We had such great visits. The trip let me envisions Dave and I in 30 years, or what not, going on our mission, together. What a great day that will be. Bandon by the sea, Coquille and Port Orford will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart.

(A cool look out on our way to Crater Lake)

(Crater Lake)

(more of Crater lake.)

(I proudly informed Dave, in front of the exgirlfriend's parents, that a meteor made the lake. Oh, Volcano? Interesting. sometimes i am very smart.)

(headed to the docks for some crabbin')

(catching a big'n)


(some mossy, lovely waterfalls on our way to the coast)


(Bandon by the sea)


(more of those awesome rocks)


(flying)

(silly)


(silly, again.)

( plus our new friend Richard in bckgrnd, he is a 49ers fan, among other things of course)



(not silly, pretty)

(silly and pretty.)

(maybe it was all a dream)