Christmas 2008 Wrap Up. 2008 IS ALMOST OVER!

So, 2008 is finally coming to a close. I don't know about anyone else, but I am ecstatic for this year to end. It's hasn't been the greatest one. Christmas this year was a good one-we've been blessed beyond measure, and love the spirit of service that comes with this time of year. Though I had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year, I did unexpectedly perform a Christmas service and was glad I did-you'll have to ask me about it sometime. So, here's our little 2008 wrap up. I've included our ten things we're grateful for this year at the bottom for those of you that didn't get our Christmas letter.

In November Jer took Misha with him on a much-needed visit to see his family. It was our niec Sophie's birthday while they were there, and I know that they had a blast seeing all of his family. Here's Misha with her Grandma Brown enjoying some birthday cake.
Misha made out like a bandit this year as usual. Thank you to everyone who sent her gifts-we had a hard time devising things to get her this year. Here she is opening a few presents.

I finally got the thing I've wanted for a couple of years now. It makes me happy.:)
Jerry got great gifts too-he's just not pictured here.:)

So, here's our grateful list (in no particular order). We hope all of you had a fantastic Christmas and that 2009 goes better for all of us.

10) Misha finally began walking in June!

9) Jerry finished precepting early in October for his EMT-Intermediate.

8) Hayley got a full-time job with the National Institutes of Health as a Respiratory Therapist-therefore no longer having to work night shifts! (Though, she does miss her co-workers at National Naval Hospital across the street.)

7) Misha has finally begun using WORDS to tell us what she wants. (Sometimes)

6) Hayley and Misha came out (mostly) unscathed after being hit as pedestrians by a truck at the beginning of April.

5) Finally being financially independent (though, maybe it’s our parents that are more grateful for that).

4) NOT having our car stolen, though, the catalytic converter was…

3) Jerry and Hayley BOTH having Thanksgiving and Christmas days off work.

2) Having two wonderful friends (Pam Harmon and Melinda Cole) who have been willing to watch Misha when Jerry and Hayley are both at work. (They are AMAZING.)

1) Our wonderful friends and family who have helped us through the difficult moments.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! (AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR-WE'RE STARTING OURS IN THE BAHAMAS FOR OUR 5 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!)

So, as you can see, we finally can kind-of get Misha's hair in a full ponytail. Sort of.

Thanks to the "Better Mothering Club" (Aka: Melinda Cole and Lis Nelson) for getting my cute daughter prepared for Halloween this year. She was this cute little flower fairy. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what she's supposed to be. Jerry found her at the Cole's house (we both worked!) helping Toddums hand out candy. I wish we had pictures of that! In fact, it was my original intent to get a picture of her helping to hand out candy, but by the time we all got home, there was no one out anymore.

This last picture is for my mom. She had some hopes for me that I think were a bit dashed. Perhaps this will give her greater hopes for her granddaughter.

The oh-so exciting things that happen in Boise.

So here's a little run down of my trip to Boise, ID. My very best friend, Collette, was gracious enough to put me up. It was her youngest sister that got married. So, here we go.


I went to see...

(Congrats Matt & Jill!!)

I drove a brand new...

(Oh my holy sweetness, Batman. This was a TON of fun to drive!!!)


I froze in...

(Yes, that's right-it's snow. And it was 35 degrees outside! I was all too happy to return to D.C.'s 80 degree weather!)


I helped build...

(This was the dance floor canopy. And a pain in the butt to make look like this. I actually left just as we were starting to put the lights on...I missed all the fun with the tulle. And yes, there was work that had to be done before the lights even went on.)


I made...

(I even mixed that periwinkle blue color myself! And I bet you all thought I wasn't one bit crafty.)

I danced with...

(Such a gentleman! Thanks Mitchell! I still can't believe that he's almost 16 and 6'3".)

I helped decorate...

(HAHAHA! It was fun.)


I felt loved by...

(My other two sisters Collette and Kelly. I love you two so much! Thank you for always being who you are with me-it means more than you will ever know.)


I played with...

(This cute thing is just a few months younger than Misha and literally weighs half what she does. She's so tiny and so adorable. The complete opposite of my little one-just like her mother and I are so opposite. Love you Co!)


I felt like I once again belonged to...(LOVE these two people with all my heart. "Oh! I win!")


I glimpsed...

(I had a very short 40 minute layover in SLC. It broke my heart to be there and have to leave and not see anyone. My heart ached to see all of you, and the tears literally fell from my eyes as the wheels left the tarmac. A few minutes into the air I looked out and saw this peak. I'd know it anywhere. Mt. Timpanogos...)


All in all it was a really good trip. Even if I came home with a bad cold, I had so much fun being there. It was a trip I desperately needed, and this family means more to me than they even know. I love you Sotto fam!!!

Conference weekend

We had a good time this conference. My mom and dad came up for a few days away, and it was fun, even from the beginning. Our first hilarious moment happened when they arrived very late Friday night. They brought along a queen size mattress with it's own automatic air pump....when it's charged.:) Needless to say-we took an hour pumping that thing up by hand (or I should say foot) with the pump that came with my exercise ball. Once in a while we got a boost from the automatic pump. It was amusing to say the least.
Misha had lots of fun playing with Oma and Opa. She really preferred Oma (sorry Dad!), but she finally warmed up and was willing to ride horsey on whom became affectionately known as the glue horse.;)
She also had lots of fun horsing around with daddy. Those two are like peas in a pod, and I just love watching them together.
The conference talks were inspiring. It always amazes me how the older I get, the less long conference seems. I get so much out of it, and really feel how important the gospel is. My favorite talk was by...well, I don't remember-there were so many good ones! Elder Holland was wonderful, and I enjoyed so many others. I hope everyone else got something out of it too!

Ah, updates.

It's finally the fall. The weather is turning perfect, and soon the leaves will begin to change. So, things are a changin' and we're likin' it a lot. First off, here's a little Misha update. She is starting to feed herself!

It's frustrating trying to keep her clean, but one must forge on! We're working really hard on being more patient and just letting her learn it herself. And...guess what....

That's right, she's ambidextrous. Hopefully she keeps this skill-it's so rare these days.

So, what's the cutest thing in the whole wide world?

Kids in footy pajamas. I love footy pajamas, and I love Misha in them. She's just so darn cute.

And, she's pretty cute in new Sunday dresses too. Her hair (as you may or may not be able to tell) is long enough for a half pony tail. We just got this dress, and I just love it! I need to find her a little sweater to go over it so she can continue to wear it through these upcoming cooler months. And so, I hope you all enjoy a few picture updates. Things with Jerry and I are going well-we're forging ahead and looking forward to a fun 5 day anniversary celebration coming up in January...we're looking into going to the Carribean. If anyone's heard of some good deals, let us know!

Fun at the Fair!

This week was the Jefferson County Fair. We decided to go so that Misha could have some first experiences with seeing all the animals and the awesome lights and sounds that accompany all fairs. All in all, I think she had a blast.

She saw bunnies and roosters...ducks and chicks...

(What you don't get to see is 5 seconds after this picture was taken, she was attempting to suck on the cage...yeah-that's right, my kid licked the cage. Gross.) She wasn't a huge fan of the horses and cows...there was an adorable 2 month old cow walking around, and she refused to touch it. It was sad-it would've made for a great kodak moment.

She and Jer had some fun trying on the weird random light-up things that get sold at all fairs and serve absolutely no purpose...I realize all these things about fairs now, but I'm sure that I didn't when I was much younger and most likely coveted all said useless objects...

Jer also took her on her very first carousel ride. She didn't scream-so maybe there's some hope for Jer that when she gets older she'll be more of a daredevil than I am and accompany him on all the rides I hate.
We got to spend the evening with some friends from the ward, Sandy and Lauren Crowther. Our many thanks for their always enjoyable and entertaining company, and for holding Misha for a few minutes while Jer and I hit a couple of the rides. We love you guys!

All in all it was fun, and I'm sure we'll be returning next year.

25!

So, I finally turned 25. Much as I may have liked a big deal to be made, it was kind of nice to have a quiet birthday this year. I got to sleep in (thanks Bear!), went to the store and purchased some desired things, and had dinner at...
It was tres delish. The sweet waitress, without even being asked, brought out this...
Jer actually ate the cake (well, most of it anyway), and I had that delicious real whipped cream on the plate.

I was very blessed with wonderful presents this year. My sweet husband got me the best present of all-something I begged my parents for for YEARS. (Ever since my 8th grade shop class!)
That's right--he got me a router.:) My hubby really does know me so well! I'm uber stoked to pull it out and use it, which hopefully will happen tomorrow. (And my many thanks to my parents who gave me money to buy router bits!) For those of you who don't know what a router is-it's a tool used to put detailed borders on wood. (Some routers-called plunge routers-will actually carve them into a piece of wood as well.) I love to wood work, though I haven't done it in years, so I'm really excited to get started. I actually already had a project I needed to do, so I'm super excited to get started on it. I'll post pictures of it when I'm done.

My many thanks to those of you who sent your well wishes and love. It was a spectacular birthday!

Growing Healthy and Strong

So, there's no harm in starting a good workout regimen too early in life, wouldn't you say? We try to stay healthy and workout-Misha should too. Already learning that good body image it would seem.

Things are well for us. We've been looking into moving, though not far, and we think we might have found a good place. We're pretty excited about things in the future. Work goes well for both Jer and I, and he's now thankfully back to 24 hr. shifts, so he works "less". At least he's gone from home less. We hope all is still well with all our family and friends. Oh, and if we do indeed move into this new place, there's a TON more room for people to come and visit!

I kinda want some memories.

I like this idea-and I want to see how you all remember me-good or bad. And if anyone wants to leave one for Jer, I'll be sure he gets it.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

First "beach" trip!

Okay, so it's not really the ocean beach. But, it is a beach nonetheless. It's actually a lake at Greenbriar State Park in Boonsboro, MD. This is actually a lake I have visited before, in my youth. In two years of the 6 I went to girls camp, we went to Greenbriar-actually quite nice if you were lucky enough to end up on "high" ground when the torrential downpour reared it's ugly head. One of the adults that was with us took a few of us girls "polar bearing" early in the mornings before we had to get up for camp. Being there brought back many fond memories of chilly water, blaring Shania Twain's "I Feel Like a Woman" (and I still love to blare it), and Brother Vinny. Brother Vinny, I thought of you often while we were there, and I miss you dearly.

Misha actually enjoyed the water quite a bit, and she even managed not to eat any sand, though she did play happily in it. Here's some viewing enjoyment, and a great excuse to go, "How CUTE is SHE!!!!"