We took the kids to Cali just before Christmas.
First it was to San Diego, where we were entertained by Rian's cousin Diane, hubby Dave, and son Drewsalem (Andrew) with carne asada french fries and Sea World...

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During






After

We had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday. 20 people lined the 3 tables set up through our downstairs to feast on the best tasting thanksgiving I think I have ever had (sorry mom). I am proud to say that the third time is the charm, with many thanks to Alton Brown from the food network, because our brined turkey was juicy. But before the day really started, even before the turkey came out of it's bath, I went for a little walk/jog up to the Provo temple.

As I panted on the quiet streets of Provo you might say that I was visited by the spirits of Thanksgivings past. I first remembered my first Thanksgiving in Taiwan. I was a brand new missionary and hadn't a clue what was going on. I understood very little and spoke even less. We lived in a comic book store, the door to our apartment was literally between two shelves of books. On Thanksgiving the three other sisters and I did our best to make a quasi American meal and carried our table and chairs up an additional two floors to the roof to over look a Buddhist park. We only had 60 minutes to pull it all off, but it was wonderful.

My second thanksgiving in Taiwan, my new companion and I street contacted at a Carefore (like unto a Walmart but with fish and duck heads) so that we could go to the basement Subway for a turkey sub for lunch.

Then on to Sid and my first Thanksgiving together when we journeyed to Ghana, West Africa with my dad to do medical service. We met Liberian refugees who had seen and lived through the things that nightmares are made of.

I then visited last year. It was such a hard time, only a month since losing our dear Stephen. We gave thanks for the 23 years Sid and his family had with him and sorrowed that this year he was not there.

But, now we are here, Ghost of Thanksgiving present. Looking back I am amazed and over whelmed at all that we have been blessed with. We live in a free land. We have a beautiful family and we need for nothing. I do not fear my neighbors, but can easily recall the many times they have come to our aid for which I am so grateful. I have been blessed with a healthy body, which doesn't like to run, but can, and some times does. There are still those who we wish would come in our door and sit down to our Thanksgiving turkey but are gone from us, and yet we have reason to rejoice because we have been given the strength to carry on and hope in the Resurrection. Indeed this was a wonderful Thanksgiving.

And as for the ghost of Thanksgivings yet to come...well, I'll be checking in with Alton Brown's gravy recipe to make sure it is on par with the turkey next year. The best is yet to come.

Thank you Coy for making sure there is never a dull moment...especially on a Sunday afternoon. The doctor said it should "pass" in two to three days. I'm not going after it, just going to let it go. Although I'd like to know how much to deduct from Coy's future allowance.

I had a wonderful time in DC living the city girl life for 4 days with my dear friend Kaarin. We stayed up till 3 in the morning and didn't get out of bed till 10 am. We saw monuments and museums, visited the zoo and ate in some fantastic hole in the wall restaurants. I had such a great time, but most of all it was a beautiful opportunity to reconnect with a person that I love dearly.In anticipation of my vacation I wanted to have a memorable day with my kids so they could remember how totally awesome their mom is and hopefully appreciate me a little more... so I took them to the zoo. My mom and nephew Dylan came along for the adventure. The pictures tell all and actually helped carry me through my time away from them when the separation ached a little.The looks on their faces at the airport (actually I didn't get Coy's look till half way home because she was asleep) was the best welcome home present I could have asked for. The honeymoon period lasted for about an hour and a half before a full fledged fit came on. So, now I'm back to normal life and I realize more than ever why I choose this life. Motherhood suits me and I receive great fulfillment in doing it.

Halloween was a blast. The kids looked so cute. My mom started these bat costumes about 25 years ago so all I had to do was finish them. Kees was amazed over and over again that some one would present a large bowl of candy to him and let him take what ever he wanted. He watched himself drop his candy into his bucket every time. Coy finally "got" Halloween this year allowing Sid to carry out one of his life dreams of trick or treating the River Bottoms (aka the rich people who give out a king size candy bar). We had a great time.

returned from dinner at mom and royce's. just put the kids down. rian comes home tomorrow. i don't think i've been with coy and kees for this long a time alone. nearly 4 days (3 full, 2 half). it's been fun. a few observations...

they are a couple crazies. i was attacked on several instances. first, we wrestled each day. i'll body slam coy (gently) on the couch and follow up on kees. once i bury my head in one's ribs, the other will attack. they love it. nonstop laughing, even when we all bonk heads. next, playing with toys. coy will have something and kees will notice. he sneaks up, grabs it, then holds it away from coy. coy gets 100% bugged. she'll grab it back, usually hitting him, and i throw myself into the mix. this usually ends in both parties whining or, worst case, crying. still, kinda funny. finally, church. classic- i was sitting with both. coy was on my lap. kees, after inhaling cheerios and honeycomb cereal, notices and wants in. he comes over, demanding a place on my lap. coy is cool at first, but soon wants to increase her real estate on daddy. she tries to shove kees, but i block it. she persists undeterred, wrapping her body on my shoulder and face. i'm trying not to laugh or curse (both inappropriate given the setting) and keep ahold of kees.

they are nonstop. they are like little duracell bunnies- you turn them on and they just keep going and going and going. don't know how rian does it when i'm away. as if the 9-5 wasn't enough, these kids don't understand it when i'm tired. i will make the mistake of trying to reason with coy. she's like a python- she sees weakness or letting up and she clings tighter. i've commented to mom and a neighbor friend i don't know how single parents do it. 4 real. the best vignette i have for this was saturday evening. coy wants to go to the park to kick around the soccer ball. so i stuff kees in the pack and let coy ride her Dora trike while i push her with my feet and carry the ball. simple enough, right? wrong. first, she we get all the way to the park and she loses interest quickly in kicking the ball around. she wants the playground. fine. then she says, "daddy, i've got to go potty!" so we jet to the public restrooms. kees is on my back, i pick her up and the trike. we make it just in time, clean up, then head to the playset. she plays until i force her to leave. i promise i'm not a party pooper- we were the last bodies on the playground, leaving even after the tennis players left.
problem is at that point coy says, "daddy my legs are tired, i can't ride my trike."
i reply "ok, just walk."
she fires back, "but daddy, my legs are too tired to walk. carry me"
"coy, i'm tired too, please, just walk."
"but daaaaaddy." that's the secret line- hook, line and sinker every time.
So i'm carrying Kees on the back (i have him carry the soccer ball which he does, dropping it only a few times), coy in one arm, and the trike in the other. now i think i'm fit, not like strong, but not too gangly. i swear my arms were going to burn off. we finally made it just in time to go to bed. after, of course, 4 books, brushing teeth, saying prayers, reading scriptures, one more book and a story-song and regular song. dang girl. never thought i'd be so put out to sing to my girl :)

they're good company. coy summed it up best this evening right before i kissed her goodnight-

"daddy, do you know our favorite things? singing songs, making money, making cookies, going to the park, and wrestling."

the only thing i don't get is the making money. i think it's because when she asks me for a treat at the store i'll ask her if she has money to buy it. if not, i'll point out, then you need to save up. still, kinda funny.

i'd say i could do this another day but i'd be lying. one of those, "the heart is willing but the flesh is weak" sort of things. and, you know, i sort of miss rian; like a ton. the kids do too, even if they don't know it yet. once they see her they're probably going to go into attack mode.

Lest any of our distant friends think I have been hiding a nine month secret, this week my sister Amber welcomed baby boy Caden into their home. Kees was very excited to see someone smaller than him and Coy was overjoyed to hold her new cousin. Caden was born on Monday, October 13th at 6 pounds 9 ounces. He's got his nights and days mixed up, but is other wise a heathly and wonderful little addition. Congratulations Amber, Greg, and big brother Dylan!

we have been negligent in our cyber duties. you know, those duties that are so important and contribute so significantly to the growth of our children, happiness in our marriage and overall well-being in our neighborhood and community. right. that's probably why rian posts less often than I do; she actually occupies the majority of her time with humans, face to face, making them better the old fashioned way- by actually being with them. but as long as i'm making less effective use of my time I may as well do the 'ole "i've taken out all the bad pictures (kids crying, parents frowning) and am going to now share these photoshop enhanced pictures of my kids (eg Kees with huge biceps and coy with digital extensions in her hair) so you think my family is perfect-- giggling all the time, wind in our hair-- Leave it to Beaver/Little House on the Prairie/pick the tv show of your era type of life.

kees is growing. he took his first step this past Saturday, October 4th. Kees is a simple boy. i'm not kidding. his life revolves around a few things:

get married . have a child (no rush, but I would advise it if you're able to). they'll grow (just water and feed). when you're with them, just watch them for awhile. watch their movements, their eyes, and their personality. the personality is so often overlooked, but it's right before us all the time. unfortunately we get accustomed to how they do things, what they say (whining sometimes, maybe a lotta times), and how they respond. too often we are robbed of the experience you need to have. so back to the excercise... keep watching them. then ask yourself, "is this life simply a function of blood being pumped through organs, synapses being triggered throughout a body?" no way. absolutely no way. science is the last thing you see in all this. nothing about life, and by life i don't mean bi-products of life like breathing and hurting and consuming and excreting, is scientific. nothing about my little girl is scientific. many things about her body are scientific (and leading up to this age, i might add, science mostly involves bad smells). but nothing about her, her being, her essense, is scientific. it's Divine.

September 12th was both the family fiesta and Kees' birthday. after tamales, rice, beans, and killer salsa we enjoyed a little cake and ice cream. It took a minute for Kees to get the idea, that the cake was all his, but he eventually got it...

just finished my first turn teaching on our rotating preschool schedule. the first day I was a little nervous, not that three year olds are that intimidating, but i really want this to be a good experience for Coy and me. today we really had a great time. everything went smoothly and the kids got along great. we did a show and tell and the girls were exploding with excitement to share their little treasures (a ballet slipper, a plastic triceratops, a seashell and a painted rock). On Tuesday we had a lesson on our uniqueness and did an art project making hand prints, over the last two days I finished off their hand print artwork into some art aprons for future use. they look so cute in them and their princess crowns used for our follow the leader parade today. Hurray for Mother Goose Time making this so easy for us. Hurray for preschool.

a couple nights ago i was putting Coy to bed. as usual, she was asking for me to read 10 or so books to her, delaying her teeth brushing, and complaining that her knees hurt so she has to lay down to pray. typical routine. only this time, i had some new firepower to threaten with- preschool.

rian has organized a preschool with a few neighbors who have 3 year old children. we're pretty excited... but not as excited as Coy. she's been telling us for a year or so now that "i have to do my homework." so for a few weeks leading up we've been reminding her that preschool is starting soon.

now, when Coy is stalling sleep, i just tell her she needs to go to bed so she can be ready for school. wonder how long this will last?

in other news, Deuce is climbing up the playset ladder and going down the slide on his own.

a little of our lil nuggsy

When I was sixteen we were living in Georgia. we only lived there for 11 months, but it really changed the course of my life. by no coincidence I was assigned to share my locker with one Kaarin Moore. I was too afraid to use my locker the entire first semester and so carried all my books everyday, until after Christmas when Kaarin assured me that it would make things a lot easier. We became fast and best friends. Kaarin opened my eyes to life and adventure despite my fears. For the next six months, till I moved to Alabama, Kaarin and I jumped from one crazy idea to the next. Thank you Kaarin. At one point we started writing what we then referred to as our life list. Hollywood has now re-coined it to be a "bucket list" or the things you want to accomplish before you "kick the bucket". as I am now staring down a milestone birthday I have thought to revisit the list of my youth and add a few new ones.

Things I have accomplished:
#8 plant a garden (accomplished summer of 2008 - it wasn't great, but I actually used some of it for dinner)
#28 learn to drive (accomplished April 2002 at the age of 23- long story)
#35 go snow mobiling (accomplished January 2006)
#39 go cliff jumping (accomplished July1999 at Lake Powell on a 55ft cliff- I will not do that again)
# 50 sing the national anthem on the steps of the lincoln memorial (accomplished spring break of 1996)
#51 learn to water ski (accomplished summer of 2005)
#124 meet African hunters (accomplished Thanksgiving 1999 in Mali, West Africa)
#153 ride a bike in a veladrome (accomplished January 2000)
#165 hike on the Great wall of China (accomplished March 2002 with my parents and April 2006 with Sid)
#171 kiss my true love on the top of the Eifle Tower (accomplished Thanksgiving 2002 with Sid)

Things I no longer have any desire to do:
#18 kiss a total stranger
#38 pierce my nose
#46 build a car
#126 run a marathon
#146 climb Mt. Everest (but I would like to see it in person)

Things I still want to do:
#12 go sky diving
#25 whitewater raft the Colorado River
#47 ride in a taxi in England
#75 paint a mural
#94 visit each continent (I still need South America, Australia, and Antarctica)
#140 ride an elephant
#151 be on Oprah (as long as it isn't for a deranged reason)

New things:
1. be a yoga instructor
2. learn to enjoy running, jogging, or even just walking really fast
3. learn to oil paint
4. start a writers club (how does tonight at 9 pm at Tippy's house sound?)
5. build a really cool bed for one of my kids
6. be in a story telling competition

"Coy, are you looking at me, Because one eye is and one eye isn't?"
"What?" Blink. Blink. Rub. Eyes back in sinc.
"Let's focus."
"Okay mom."
After 4 rounds of daily eye patching, only the right eye responded. So, yesterday we found ourselves back at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City for corrective surgery on her left eye. Everything went was well as can be expected and after only 6 hours we were driving back home.
I was quite anxious and so very grateful for several moments of comic relief provided by Miss Coy.
First, the night before surgery. "I need to go to the hospital tomorrow cause I have a beaver."
"What?"
"I have a beaver."
It wasn't until this morning as I was checking Coy's forehead for her temperature and she said, "I don't have a beaver mom," that I finally realized what she was talking about...a fever.
Then on the way up to the hospital.
"My mouth hurts, the doctor needs to check it. My nose hurts. I think it has smoke in it."
Finally, the always fashion conscience Coy refused to wear the hospital jammies. She preferred what she had on and would not change. After she was unconscious they changed just her top. When coy came to she noticed and was quite upset about it. With the nurses help we switched her back into her shirt. We then noticed that her shoes where still on and asked if we could take them off. Coy answered with a resounding "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" It was so sad to see her groggy and confused, but we couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that no matter where she was or what was happening she, at age 3, did not want her outfit disrupted. And to her credit the silver ballet slipper shoes did complete her ensemble.

Finally, yesterday evening Coy was sitting with Sid when she looked at me and said, "i see two Rians." Sid probed, "where." Coy replied pointing, "there" then pointing a little to the right, "and there." The doctor had indicated that she might have a little double vision. So whenever she does we put a cookie in front of her so she thinks she's getting double :)
The blue feather boa was a great well gift from Mama and Papa Rane and as you can see Coy is already feeling just about back to normal.

my sister was in town and humored us with a photo shoot. we do love to see her, but are always not-so-secretly wishing for some family photos. Kelli is always so gracious to comply. her talent is ever so inspiring and we are grateful for her willingness to share it with us. here are just a few of her favorites.

Coy, Kees, and I have had a great time exploring the wonders of Utah with some of the cousins. First we went to the Museum of Art at BYU for a children's activity day. We had a great time with face painting, story telling, water colors, and castle building. Coy's favorite thing was painting and Kees' favorite thing was his balloon. Unfortunately we live uphill from BYU, so my sister-in-law Amanda and I worked up a good sweat on the way home...really it was just foreshadowing for our all day outing the next day to This is the Place Monument. I now know, after a 5 1/2 hour test walk, that Kees is too big for a front pack. 21 pounds too late. We had a wonderful time learning about life "back in the day." Kees didn't fuss once (then again he was getting carried around) and everyone else's favorite thing ways the pony rides. Thankfully this time we got to drive home.