What we've been up to

Really I had this vision of tons of free time once the kids moved out. Haha! What a joke! We have been busy but honestly I can't remember what all we have been doing. It's been fun, whatever it is. Here is a little glimpse of some of our busy:

1. The Garden - Jeny has been taking a little gardening course and it has caused her to be very anxious for Spring to arrive. The snow today did nothing to dampen her Spring Fever. She needs Spring, and needs it now. Mark would also very much like to sit at the dinner table without strange plant matter surrounding him.

2. The Puzzle - Tara gave Jeny this puzzle for Christmas and it really is the hardest puzzle Jeny has ever done. Seriously. It's harder than the huge one of last year. Every piece looks the same!

3. The New Arrivals - This is the best part!! These 6 little guys hatched within the last week and a bit and are so cute. You are all so sad that you don't have 6 of your own, right?

She's OLD now!

Tara came home Friday night and we started celebrating her 21st then. We had dinner at Tucanos, a Brazilian barbecue place that serve lots and lots of meat. It's her favorite place. She likes it even more than Tepanyaki. Nickell, Aaron and Kade joined us and it really was delicious. One of our servers served his mission in Brasilia 5 years ago, so we talked to him a little bit and he told Mark how to spell the stuff we were eating so he could email that crucial information to Spencer. After dinner they sang to Tara and made her stand up and dance. Kade thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Saturday morning Mark and Tara woke early and left for Sundance ski resort. Tara thinks she likes to snowboard more than ski, so she and cousin Mike did that, and Mark and Uncle Dave skied. I think the Olympics in Vancouver have inspired Mark to take up skiing again. This is the second time this year for him! They came home extra worn out, snow burned and happy.

Tara Snowboarding

Mark and Cousin Mike

Then all sorts of friends and family came over for a little party for her last night. There was lots of food, the Olympics for those who cared, lots of fun and games. She requested cheesecake since we all agree that cake isn't that good, and since the candles were forgotten yet again (have we ever had candles?) we improvised by using the number 2 candle from her 2nd birthday and the number 7 candle from Spencer's 7th birthday with part of the top cut off so it looked more like a 1. Now she's officially 21.

Spencer's new address

Spencer is in Brazil now, and his address is the mission home. I believe this will be his address for the rest of his mission. I'll let you know if that is not true. Please write him at:

Élder Spencer Grierson
Missão Brasil Brasìlia
SHIN CA 05 Salas 304/307
Lote B1
Brasìlia-DF-71503-505
BRASIL

He Made It!!!

Spencer made it to Brazil! Wahoo! Now, check out this picture of him and his mission president and wife. I LOVE it!

Remember that Tradition . . . ?

Remember how we make grahm cracker houses and then smash them on New Years Day and eat the candy and get sick? Well, here in Griersonland we have been keeping that tradition alive - until this year. We went to Holly's house on New Year's Day and I fully intended to take the houses and have Tara smash them with Shannon and Leah, but I forgot the houses. So we broke with tradition a little bit and did it on New Years Day plus 2, and Kade got to smash with us also. He had a GREAT time with the smashing, Leah and Shannon had a great time with the candy, and Tara said she felt silly because she's too old for this sort of thing.

Fun in the Snow

Tara is home for the holidays and will be heading back to school soon. It has snowed a bit since she came, and she made the most of it. She and Melanie decided that since the man who used to make the sculptures is not doing it anymore, they would make their own. Here is some of her snowy fun!

This is what they called their Dragon.

And this is their igloo. When the young, unmarried, somewhat excentric man next door saw them playing in the snow he came right over and helped them build up the mound of snow for the igloo. They "forgot" to get him when they started digging the igloo out a few days later.

Inside their cozy igloo.

Melanie is half way out the door. It's kinda hard to see with the white coat.

Tara handing Melanie her hot chocolate. They spent quite a bit of time in there playing cards and giggling. They giggle a lot.

I WON! A MAJOR AWARD!

Here's my major award story. Several weeks ago when I was Christmas shopping at the Art City Pharmacy (doesn't everyone do their Christmas shopping at a pharmacy?) I was told that I had spent enough to be eligible for some drawing. I didn't really listen because I was in a hurry, so I just filled out the form and went on my way. I never win anything but gym memberships. Well, yesterday afternoon I got a call from Dad while I was shopping saying the pharmacy just called and I won the nativity set! (Dad and Mom are here this week since Mike Albright just got married. They had to come out to make sure he wasn't faking the wedding.) So Mom and I just went right to the pharmacy and look what I won! It's a Willow Tree Nativity set about 15" tall and just beautiful! Way better than a leg lamp! And I didn't even have to sign up for a gym membership! Wahoo!