Pictures Pictures...

Hrmmm. Catch up.

Howdy folks. Ben here. Its been awhile since either of us have been on the ol' bloggy. I'm going to throw up a few pictures in a lazy attempt to catch up. Most people would then commit to keep current from that point onward. That is most likely not the case with me!

Family. Isn't it about...Blogging?

One of the funnest parts about being a mom are those times when everything is peaceful, and you get to relax for a minute, and maybe check your email, or putter around at anthropologie.com, but then you realize that it's too peaceful. Suspiciously peaceful. And sure enough, your daughter has painted her face yellow.


Another fun part is when your baby starts army crawling around the house, and eating whatever he can salvage from the recycling bin. (His favorites have definitely been church magazines.)

closer...

closer...

he got me!

A potato for your thoughts is just so much more delicious.
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Ahhh...sleep. Ahhh...milk.


Don't let her fool you. She's definitely not training. She just likes to read on the pot. And don't we all?


Looking particularly Bennish.

Baby No More

Not sure when this happened, but our Mae became a girl. I mean, not that she ever was otherwise... I mean... well, you know what I mean. She is just so big! She has thoughts and opinions and a personality. She pronounces blanket "bacon", she calls circles "bubbles", and she says "allriiiiight!" after she suggests you get her a snack. She's quick, my kid. I'd could go on and on and on, but we're off to the park. We'll run and play, and blow some circles.

Let's get down to the knitty gritty

Before I begin, a little light philosophy: Blogging is a nice way to share photos and anecdotes about one's life for the enjoyment and information of any who care. There are some who view it as a sort of online dinner party with a complex set of social rules and an exhausting standard of etiquette. I vote we take the surplus knives and forks out of blogging, and look at it as more of a spontaneous picnic. Let's take the "Emily" out of "Post."
Now, let's talk knit. Lately, I have become a knitter. (As in, within the last four months.) My friend Kristiina gave me a crash course on the basics, but I only recently knuckled down and commit myself. How this came about was our state of relative poverty. I wanted to buy some cute winter hats for the kids, but couldn't afford the ones I wanted. And so I did what any poor mother with cold-headed kids and nimble fingers and a stout heart would do. I went to the library and checked out some books about knitting. (I recommend Knitting School, and the Idiot's Guide to Knitting.) Encouraging Statement: It's really very easy, once you get the hang of it. I knit the winter hats for my kids, but grew hungry for more. I was surrounded by noodly tangles of yarn, my fingers were pickled from constant needlecrafting, I was becoming a real geek. (I also recommend the youtube tutorials of The Knit Witch. Very helpful.)

Anyway, here are some of my hats, knit for my nieces Avery and Parker, and my nephew Sam.


Avery is a touch camera shy. I had to nonchalantly snap this shot from the other side of the room, and then resume pretending to change a diaper.


There is something so delicious about knitted produce.




Who says warmth shouldn't attack your head?

New Year Resolution

It was a new year's resolution to improve my blogging performance, and so, first off, I'm giving the old girl a face lift. Please be patient while I rearrange and reconstruct. (My blog, not myself.) phew.
Eirene

Obamanomics

Holy moly. Much has changed in our little world since the last time I posted a bloggy. We originally started doing this so that we could feel like we were keeping folks up-to-date without having to actually keep them up-to-date. However, it has become kind of a "we really oughta update the blog" thing. Which, if you think about it, is pretty much the same as "we really oughta call those guys and see how they're doing." Oh well. As I was saying, much has changed, and not much stays the same from day to day anymore. It's kind of mind blowing. The Sinclair gas station just south of BYU's campus kind of is my barometer of change. I know things aren't yet stabilized each morning when I drive by on my way to work and school and am surprised by the gas prices listed lower than the day before. Some days after reading the New York Times, I come home convinced that the absolute smartest thing for us to do is to buy a house as soon as possible. The next day I come home absolutely convinced that the smartest thing to do is to take my family along with a chicken or two and some cornseed and build a mud hut out in the bush somewhere. Whatta world! Either way, I think we can all agree that we now officially live in a society where no one is expected to live with consequences of their choices and actions. Whether I choose to live in a hurricane prone area, buy a bundle of sub-prime mortgage-backed debt, commit petty crimes, build a substandard product for premium price, supply dictators and warlords with weapons and financing to protect my "interests" only to later topple them to obtain more "interests", or just buying a house that's way bigger than I need, the government and the courts are there to make sure that I have a warm bed to sleep in each night.

IN other news, I have an incredible little family, have you noticed? Tonight, Mae said "I want some pie." Of course, we obliged. She is learning so much every day, it never ceases to amaze me. Her mama is a champ of all champs. She is working so hard making gifts for everyone for Christmas, and she still finds time to teach sewing lessons, fulfill her calling, and taking care of our home. Whatta woman. As for Ike, he now rolls across the floor along with puking, laughing, and pooping. A star.

Merry Christmas all!