Happy New Year!

We have really enjoyed reuniting with old friends this year. Between spending Thanksgiving and Christmas in Utah and Wyoming we almost felt like we never moved. To all of those friends we missed or have lost contact with -- Keep in Touch!! Combining old friends and New Years, how could one not quote Burns' wonderful poem? (for modern English click here) (btw, for those David O. McKay fans out there (mom), McKay wrote an essay on Burns, who was his favorite poet) So come on by Grand Junction, we'll have a few pints and talk a gude-willie-waught.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stoup! And surely I’ll be mine!

And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes, and pou’d the gowans fine;

But we’ve wander’d mony a weary fit, sin’ auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl’d in the burn, frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roar’d sin’ auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! And gies a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll tak a right gude-willie-waught, for auld lang syne.

My Christmas

Justin wanted me to post about our Christmas, but I want a post all about MY Christmas. Besides, Justin just got a bunch of books and Isaac got some new toys he probably won't play with. I'm a pretty spoiled Momma! Justin splurged and bought me an Electra Cruiser Bicycle complete with tassels and a bell. Actually, it's my birthday and Christmas (my birthday was in July during the bar exam).
Justin went to great lengths to hide it from me. He had it delivered to his office then took off the chain guard, wrapped it, and put it under the tree. He told me that it was autographed sports memorabilia or a clay pigeon thrower. He really had me stumped. Today was the first day I could take it for a spin. Despite the fact there is snow on the ground and it's 24 degrees I still loved my ride around the neighborhood.

Merry Merry

MERRY CHRISTMAS from IJ (and Grandpa McDowell's deer) !!!

Pax Vobis

A few years ago I stumbled upon the Pope's Christmas message. Ever since, I have waited for it with anticipation. I am not Catholic, nor spiritual, but I like what he has to say. Here is a section of his message:

"Man is so preoccupied with himself, he has such urgent need of all the space and all the time for his own things, that nothing remains for others, for his neighbor, for the poor, for God...Do we have time for our neighbor who is in need of a word from us, from me, or in need of my affection? For the sufferer who is in need of help? For the fugitive or the refugee who is seeking asylum? Do we have time and space for God?"

We truly wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Tagged

So we have been tagged, and tagged again. So here are a few things you probably did not know about each member of our little family.

Diana loves Justin (yes, believe it), is scared of stickers, craves cookie dough, really wants a four door truck, must sleep on the side of the bed closest to the door (while refusing to shut off the light, which is always next to the door), uses inordinate amounts of Kleenex and lotion, employs a myriad of cute phrases (known collectively as Diana-speak) such as: I dunno, I'm the boss, RARRR, Amblience (for ambulance), Ruuude, and Possibly (in response to any and all of my questions).

IJ loves gruyere cheese, can throw a ball really far, wants to claw other babies on the face, laughs at loud noises, wishes that mom would not make him wear a diaper, thinks being naughty is funny, is obsessed with a picture of Nora Wiedrich (pronounced Why-drick) that is on our fridge, and loves to push my books off of the shelves.

Justin hates mayo (who wants a sandwich with soggy bread? -- that's crazy), thinks that Sherri Dew is absolutely loony (no doubt about it), craves yerba mate, wants a new fuel sender unit for a '93 jaguar, wishes that Grand Junction had a decent used book store, would like to go back to school for a PhD in the classics, spends his lunch hour at the library across the street from the office.

That is it! Our tag related obligations are now fulfilled, henceforth and forever more. Consider yourselves tagged.

Robert Frost

In addition to showing off my cute family, I also wanted this blog to be a place to talk about the books I read and the things that move me. The problem is that Diana has dubbed most of my ideas as either "boring" "radical" or "inappropriate" for our blogger audience. So instead of creating a new blog under a radical pseudonym, I will just post the least offensive, and most uplifting, items of general interest that cross my path.

Today's installment is poem by Robert Frost; and if it tickles your fancy, for further reading I would suggest Crossing to Safety by Stegner.

To Time it never seems that he is brave
To set himself against the peaks of snow
To lay them level with the running wave,
Nor is he overjoyed when they lie low,
But only grave, contemplative and grave.

What now is inland shall be ocean isle,
Then eddies playing round a sunken reef
Like the curl at the corner of a smile;
And I could share Time's lack of joy or grief
At such a planetary change of style.

I could give all to Time except - except
What I myself have held. But why declare
The things forbidden that while the Customs slept
I have crossed to Safety with? For I am There,
And what I would not part with I have kept.

Walking Man

Thanksgivin'

We went home for Thanksgiving. I must say, driving 4 hours to see family is much better than driving 13 (although the shorter distance means you have to see them more...)

We spent the first few nights at the Rammells eating, eating, and eating. We spent Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Boothes house. IJ gave the turkey two thumbs way up! We also got to see alot of old friends - thanks to Anne for letting us invade her house.

On Saturday we headed to Wyoming. D's family has the tradition of cutting down Christmas trees in the Uintah mountains. Everyone got a pretty nice tree, but I think Ty and Joy got the best one.

Our last night in town, the Wiedrichs (pronounced Why-driks) stopped by on their way back out to Nebraska for ice cream. They had us longing to move back to Nebraska...

Fix-it Weekend

IJ really wanted to hike this weekend but it was too cold. So we worked on some projects instead. Project #1 was troubleshooting electrical problems on the Jag. A few new relays and that pesky transmission light went away! Project #2 was to install laches on our kitchen cupboards because someone can't seem to stay out of them!

Have you taken the pledge?

A shout out for all my fellow Etsians.

What is Etsy you ask?

It's a marketplace that sales only handmade items! You can buy almost anything on Etsy. The best part, you're supporting the little guy. Some of you know I have an Etsy shop, there's a link on our blog. My shop is just for fun, but some people make a living out of Etsy. Click the link below to take the pledge, support the little guy and get some one of a kind Christmas gifts while your at it.

http://www.etsy.com/

T R O U B L E

San Rafael

This weekend we hiked from Tidwell Draw to Mexican Mountain in the San Rafael Swell. This was really our last weekend to hike before it gets too cold. The hike starts at an old abandoned ranch and heads three miles up, up and up until you come over a rim and look down over Mexican Mountain. We, I am mean I, took a wrong turn and added a few miles onto the hike.

This is the canyon that old outlaws would run horses through to get to Robbers Roost. There is still a remnant of the trail they used to get off the rim down to Mexican Mountain, a few hundred feet down.

Anyway it was a beautiful day to hike.

Dark Canyon

We spent Saturday morning hiking Dark Canyon in the McIness Canyon Wilderness Area outside of Grand Junction. We did 8 miles. It was beautiful. If IJ keeps growing at his current rate, I won't be able to pack him around in that backpack much longer...

Happy Halloween

I know we are a day early, but I couldn't wait to share our pics of Isaac.

We had our ward trunk or treat on Saturday. I had no idea what to dress Issac as. While running around doing our Saturday errands Justin said, He should be a ______! (fill in the blank, can you guess what he is?) So two hours before the trunk or treat we hurriedly put together his costume. He was a hit at the party and of course we think he's cute!

We carved our pumkin last night for family night. I thought Isaac woud love to play in the pumkin goo, but he just turned up his nose.

Happy Halloween!!

Jaguar

So Di and I have been looking for a "paycheck" car (a car that costs less than a paycheck) to get me to and from work. We came across this 1993 Jaguar XJ6 on Ebay which was well within a paycheck and well below book. We set off to Heber City, Utah to pick it up. After a week of work and several visits to AutoZone, she is roadworthy. And if anyone wants to spend an exciting weekend in my garage...she still needs tie rod ends, a transmission relay, and some interior work. Later she will get a rockin' system, tinted windows, more chrome, a roaring exhaust, tight rims, suspension that jumps up and down, and a laser so we can roll through the Gran J in style (so far Diana has rejected all of these items as "excessive").

Denver

We spent last weekend in Denver for the bar swearing-in. We stayed in the Marriott for $46! (thanks, Matt) Apart from playing in downtown Denver we swam and swam some more, went out to lunch with Matt&Evige, Carl&Erica, Heather&Brad, Josh&Kim (whom were also being sworn in), and cruised through 16th street. Fortunately the swearing-in was on Monday, which got me out of work. Four day work weeks are definitely the way to go.

Climber

IJ has started climbing. So it is time to impliment our full range of safety procedures (Di says I'm paranoid) such as attaching bookcases to the wall and removing everything from shelves within his reach. Anyway, I think his climbing is cute, so you get to see it.

Simba

So IJ has been acting like a lion lately. He has a little tuft of hair that looks like a mane, he growls, he bites, and he is at times uncontrollable. So if you want to act like a lion, my son, then I will treat you like one!

Husker Disappointment...

Isaac is upset; upset at the Cornhuskers after a humiliating loss at home.

Luckily we were out and about. This picture is of the Colorado National Monument, just ten minutes from home. I hope it consoles you grieving fans.

IJ

Proud of Daddy!!

As you can tell by Isaac's face, he's very concerned. He has never heard me scream before, but we just found out JUSTIN PASSED THE BAR and I freaked out!!! We are so proud of him and all his hard work. We'll head to Denver in a couple weeks to be sworn in. Congratulations Justin!

Grand Mesa

Last Sunday we took a drive up to Grand Mesa National Forest to see the leaves. To our surprise, we also encountered snow. We stayed close to the road to avoid being target practice for bow hunters. Our only adventure was when Diana's wedding ring fell off her finger into a creek. After a few minutes and numb hands, the ring was recovered.

Baby For Sale

Cute Baby for Sale or Rent! Serious offers only. 2007, Rammell Edition, Like New. Loves playing outside, tearing up magazines and already knows how to brush his teeth. Estimated diaper use = 19 per day. Favorite Foods: mama milk, nectarines, saltine crackers and oatmeal. Caution, this baby bites. (see below).

Moab

We finally got back to Moab. Granted I was there for work, but we still had a great afternoon. This was the first time Diana has been to Moab in the summer, typically I drag her through Moab for Valentines Day (romantic, right?). IJ loved the scenery but thought the prices were high and that the microbrews were rather amateur.

FamDamnly

The whole family all under the same roof for an entire weekend and not one fist fight -- Amazing! Isaac was throwing a few open handed slaps though. There are more cute pics under Our Pics on the top right of the blog.

Go Huskers!

Isaac was cruising through the blogosphere and saw that his buddy Jorgen had been cheering for Nebraska. He begged us to get out his Husker gear for the Saturday morning game. I guess you could consider that healthy peer pressure, right? I mean at least he is not cheering for BYU!

Isaac seemed oddly interested in the cheerleaders but also enjoyed the bright lights and the band. After kickoff he was diverted by a shadow on the wall which occupied the rest of the afternoon.

Our 2007 Labor Day...a.k.a The trip to Southern Colorado to pick up a motorcycle that ended with sunburns and NO motorcycle.

As you can guess from the title, we spent our Labor Day weekend in Southwestern Colorado. The trip originated when Justin bought a motorcycle in Durango. We decided to take the long labor day weekend to pick it up and also to explore parts of Colorado we had not seen. Well...we did the latter, but didn't end up with the motorcycle. Justin took the bike for a test drive and discovered it was missing an engine mount and was leaking all over the place. The seller assured us it was checked out by a bike shop and was in tip top shape. We past on the deal and left wondering what kind of 'bike' shop he was talking about.

So, we had another crazy Rammell adventure and wandered around Southwestern Colorado exploring old Indian ruins and very cool mining towns, getting sunburned, and waking up in the San Juan mountains to elk bugles. We loved every minute of it. We are really lucky that Isaac is such a good traveler.

Isaac's first experience with water that wasn't his bath. A little too cold for his taste.

Canyons of the Ancients is the newest National Monument. We hiked a six mile trail that is full of cool old ruins like these.

The two extremes of Isaac during the trip. And no, we are not unfit parents, he was not riding in the front seat (although he does look pretty secure with the seatbelt).

Camping just outside of Silverton, CO. There are hot springs feeding the lake. The steam coming off the lake and meadow in the morning...beautiful.

Isaac enjoyed being able to roll around in the tent, instead of being in his car seat or in the backpack with Justin.

Box Canon Waterfall just outside Ouray, CO. It really was beautiful. The pics are kind of dark, maybe it was a had to be there thing.
This momma is lucky to have such cute boys!!