James was frustrated today about having to dry the dishes. I told him I thought some upbeat music would help him along, to which his reply was: "Crap! that will just slow me down dancing."

Atta Girl Nan!

Today Anna's Activity Day leader encouraged her group of girls to find a way to earn some money to donate to the disaster relief effort in Haiti. Anna took this very seriously and as soon as she came home she began to create a flyer advertising her babysitting services with all the proceeds to be donated to Haiti. Then she made a list of families in our ward that she would feel comfortable sitting for and off we went to deliver. She knocked on each door and presented her flyer as well as a sales pitch., all by herself. WOW! I am so proud of her for being so proactive, and finding a way to serve others....even if she is only eleven years old.

Oops

Okay, so this morning I am on facebook and I see that one of my friends profile pictures is none other than the Wicked Witch of the West (who from here on will be known as WWW). Well, at the exact moment I see the WWW Ellie walks over to my computer, looks at the screen, sees the witch, and asks, "Who is that mommy?" I tell her it's the WWW. Her follow up question is, "What does she sound like mommy?" So of course, in all my brain-deaded wisdom, I cackle the spookiest most convincing WWW cackle ever (I mean it was REALLY good). Immediately I can see this was the wrong choice because I look over to see her terrified face. She begins to bawl her poor little head off. I now have to spend the next 30 minutes apologizing profusely and telling her that witches aren't real (of course she insists they are). In the end I worked it out by explaining that in the end of the Wizard of Oz the WWW gets melted by a bucket of water, and turns into slimy green goo. That seemed to satisfy her fears...for the moment. I sure hope she can sleep tonight. I guess that 'mommy of the year award' is going to pass me over yet again this year. Hopefully she'll block this entire experience out. At least I can laugh about it, right?

Some People Can Sleep Anywhere

It was long morning of holiday shopping for me and Ellen. When we arrived home Ellen went directly to the kitchen counter so she could eat a treat she earned for being such a good shopper. She didn't even get in one bite before she slumped against the counter and fell fast asleep.

It doesn't look that comfortable, but I know how she feels...shopping wears me out too.

We decided to spend Black Friday afternoon ice skating instead of shopping. When we first arrived the Zamboni was refinishing the ice. It was interesting to watch. I totally want to drive one. Then we took off on the ice. Ellen was Mike's constant attachment, she only wanted to skate with him and only gave Mike a break for once around the rink with the aunties. She loved skating....as I suppose anyone would if they had someone to push them around the ice. All the fun and none of the work :).

It was so nice of the Duncan aunties to come with us. The more grown-ups at the ice rink the better. We had a 5:4 ratio, so I sat out to take pictures.
This picture is a little squished, but if you look closely you can see James sitting on an ice-walker and being pushed around the ice by Uncle Paris. James really knows how to enjoy himself.

Sophia skated with Aunt Ali until she found her confidence, then she took off on her own. She has been really looking forward to go skating for a long time. I am glad we were able to make it.

I think James likes to wipe out just for the photo op. He is a mad skater, the boy has no fear. He is highly entertaining to watch.

Ellie loves her daddy!

Wish Me Luck

As many of you know I have been studying voice since September in the hopes of auditioning for BYU's vocal performance major. Last week, with the help of the most awesome camera man ever (THANK YOU PATRICK) I filmed my audition dvd,and today I finally turned it in. If I make it through the pre-screening process I will get a live audition on January 30. Hopefully all will go well. Wish me luck.

We're Back

Our trip across the pond was wonderful. It was great to spend a week with each other seeing new sights, eating new food, and enjoying life.

Here we are at the base of the Eiffel Tower. The thing is massive. We enjoyed sitting in the park, watching the gypsies try to hustle people, followed by the police chasing them down. Not to mention the soldiers packing M-16s. Plazas are awesome places to people watch.
Here is Mike near the entrance to the Louvre....the most overwhelmingly huge museum ever. I highly recommend Napoleon's apartments.

Here is me in one of the courtyards at the Louvre. I just can't get over the size of this place.

This is Notre Dame at night. We were walking by after having dinner in the Latin Quarter, and we noticed the cathedral was open. We went in, and they were in the middle of mass. We sat down to listen and enjoy the ambiance. Afterward, they rang the bells. It was an amazing experience. Paris really is like no other city I have ever been.

London was great too. We visited several places but one of our favorites was the Portobello Road market held every Saturday. I had no idea that Portobello Road was a real place. I highly recommend it. It's a great place to pick up trinkets of all kinds.

Overall it was a really great trip. I am so lucky Mike had to work!