Merry Christmas

We had a great couple days before Christmas celebrating with friends and family. Dave and Em had their 3rd Annual Englund Christmas Party!



The stinking Griz game overshadowed the party, but we still had a great time seeing old friends, eating Dave's excellent food and watching the kids play and dance around together.

We celebrated Christmas with Dylan's parents and siblings the Wednesday before Christmas. We made pizza and opened gifts. Spencer was hilarious as always. Addison has really warmed up to him and even searches for him now. Just in time for him to leave for a year. She says Spencer is "funny" now instead of "scary"! Grammy and Grampy Powell got Addison a tricycle. She loved it so much she literally laid on it, hugging the box!


Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon and evening with my dad and granny. We had a wonderful turkey dinner in celebration of my dad's birthday and Christmas Eve.



Addison wasn't acting normal most of the night. We figured she was over tired from the past couple days. She wasn't hungry and turned down pie! She kept laying on the floor and grabbing her belly and asking to go home and she never wants to leave Papa's house! Around 8 pm she crawled up on my lap and threw up, big time. This is the first time she has had the "flu". She was so sick for 12-15 straight hours. For a few hours she would throw up every 10-15 minutes. Dylan and I took turns camping out with her in the living room throughout the night. She didn't understand throwing up into the pot so it often was splattered everywhere. We went through every sheet and blanket we had. On Christmas morning Dylan said to her, "Honey, Santa came. Look at your stocking!." She barely had the energy to glance up to see it full of stuff. She said weakly, "Yah." Around 11 am that morning she was sitting up on the couch
and we set presents and her stocking in her lap. She was very weak and had a hard time opening the gifts.

She began to light up and get some energy! We missed a large Powell Family gathering at Aunt Wendy's house. I also was ill and with Addi spent most of Christmas Day sleeping. It was such a bummer that she was sick on Christmas. We had spent weeks talking about Santa and she was starting to comprehend the idea and was looking forward to the day to open her presents. We had a nice, quiet, sick day at home! The very next day she felt so much better and was able to play and enjoy her new things. Even in the sickest moment of her little life she never lost her sweetness. At times she was worried about me and would say to Daddy, "Momma, sick." She has the sweetest little voice asking for juice or wa-wa and is so sweet and cuddly when she isn't feeling well. My poor little girl!



It was a little different Christmas than we were looking forward to, but happy, healthy (well, Dylan was) and together in a warm home. We are very much looking forward to the new year. God willing, a pay check will be in our future, another move (hopefully the last one in a long while), and maybe Dylan will allow us to talk about a little brother or sister for Addison!

Oooooo, Christmas Tree

Last Saturday Dylan, Addi and I and Emily, Dave, Jake, Jody and baby Christian bundled up and headed into the woods to search out the perfect Christmas tree. We found the snow up Elk Meadows. We went up as far as the snow would let us. We built a huge fire at the beginning of a gated road. The chili, hot dogs and hot chocolate kept us warm.

The girls and the kids set out in search of our tree. Jody found her tree right away. We joked with her that she stole the tree Emily and I had picked out! Addison found her perfect tree not long after Jody. She pointed it out to Daddy who chainsawed it down for her. She even drug it a little way! I finally decided on one right before we packed up. It is a difficult decision. Your relationship with your Christmas tree is an important one. You need to feel bonded to your tree! Plus I felt so happy to be up in the woods choosing my tree the right way! I enjoyed not being in Salt Lake City strolling through a imitation forest in a golf course parking lot! It just isn't the same.



We put Molly-Dog to work and had her pull Addison in the sled! It was fun until Addison started getting snow in her face.


On the way out, in the dark, Dave and Emily finally found their tree!

Dylan pulled out a slick-tired Saab that had slid off the road into the snowy ditch! Thank goodness for big trucks and four wheel drive.

There is nothing better than spending a snowing day in a Montana forest with great friends and good food.

Our beautiful Christmas tree is decorated and looks great! I love Christmastime and all the great traditions and memories our family is creating.

Who You'd Be Today

I missed you today, Danny, more than I have in a long time. The temperature was bitter cold, the sky was deep blue and clear, the mountain tips are covered in white, clean snow, and there is a silence about today that is screaming your name. Today would have been a day you, me, Jakey and Sara would have skipped school, piled into my Jeep and headed to Lost Trail for a cold, clear, day of skiing.

I look forward to the day that I see you and hug you and my soul is once again complete .

Until I see your smile again bro...Missing you and loving you, Your big sis.

These lyrics, sadly enough, say it perfectly.

Who You'd Be Today
Sunny days seem to hurt the most
Wear the pain like a heavy coat
I feel you everywhere I go
See your smile, I see your face
I hear you laughing in the rain
Still can't believe your gone

It ain't fair you died to young
Like a story that had just begun
But death tore the pages all away
God knows how I miss you
All the hell that I've been through
Just knowing, no one could take your place
Sometimes I wonder, who you'd be today

Would you see the world
Would you chase your dreams
Settle down with a family
I wonder what would you name your babies
Someday's the sky's so blue
I feel like I can talk to you
And I know it might sound crazy

Sunny days seem to hurt the most
I wear the pain like a heavy coat
The only thing that gives me hope
Is I know, I'll see you again someday

Addison's Words

Some things I never want to forget.

The way she says some words:

Ra-Ra = Sara
Dabe = Dave
Wiper = Fischer
Meelow = Mason
DubDow = Pug-Pug
Opple = Open
Cheese = Camera
Vitty = Vitamin
Toot = Cute
Boob = Boots
Forb = Fort
Mulp = Milk
Puter = Computer
Buttent = Button
Side = Outside
Boop = Book
Bankie = Blanket
E-oo = We have no idea, but she says it all the time
Nummy = Yummy
Kayoh = Kaidyn

We are quite disgusting and blame anything stinky on Pug-Pug's butt. So whenever Addi farts she says, "Pug-Pug did it"!!

For the longest time, she thought moles and nipples were owies and would try to pick them off.

She tries to sing along to several songs. She doesn't know the words, so she mouths silently random words. She looks like she is lip singing!

She still will only sign "Love You" and will not say it.

The way she dances...She puts her hands into fists and hold her elbows at 90 degree angles and bounces her arms up and down!

The way she used to have to hold my hand while she pooped. Now she is all grown up and needs privacy and goes into the bathroom all by herself and closes the door.

Her fascination with buttons, especially purple ones. Papa has a tin can full of buttons. She loves to dump them on the table and separate out the purple ones. She almost always leaves Papa's house with a purple button in a zip lock baggie.

The way she turns anything into a phone and pretends to call people. I saw her one day sitting on the recliner holding a remote (a pretend phone) up to her ear with her shoulder, pretend talking to Ra-Ra, while scrolling through her pictures on the digital camera. What?? When did she turn 13?

Whenever the dogs bark she says, "Heeeyyyy, Sshhhh." Whenever the dogs fart she makes them go outside and says, "side, stink, potty."

She loves having her toe and fingernails painted. After she gets them painted she has to show everyone her nails. She will even take off her shoes and socks to show people her toes.

The way she makes the noise the animal makes instead of saying the name of the animal. Monkey is "eeee oooo", Lizard is flicking her tongue in and out, Cat is "meeeoooow", Deer is blowing air out of her mouth! She may never say the words just make the noises!! She finally says the word wolf instead of howling like one!!!

The way she gets herself ready to go down a slide or jump off of something. "Ready, two, three, go!!!"

Literal World

Addison did or said something the other day, I don't even remember what it was. I said to her, "Wow, honey, you must have your smarty-pants on." She turned to me and said, "Noooo, Mamma. Piggy pants."

She had her piggy jammie pants on!!

Seriously, I about died. I forget that they see their world literally. We must confuse her daily with our silly sayings. I love that she can communicate to me what is going on in her precious little mind.

Addison's Favorites -- Two years, one month old

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, Brown paper packages tied up with strings, These are a few of my favorite things..."

As Addison grows her favorite things change!

Her favorite.....

Book: Her Dora books that Papa got for her.

Toy: Her dolls and all their accessories.

Breakfast: Cereal or oatmeal with cottage cheese and yogurt and a glass of orange juice.

Way to be silly: Acting like she is going to give a spontaneous, sweet kiss and then she gives a slimy, wet puppy-dog kiss. She literally licks our faces and then bursts into laughter. I blame Aunt Sara for this not-so-sanitary trick!

Way to be bossy: She drags people where she wants them to go. She struggles with saying "please" and can sound super bossy when she talks.

Thing to wear: Her "party dress". Any fancy dress and fancy shoes. She loves picking out her own clothes now. She isn't always coordinated, but she says she always looks, "Toot." (cute)

Word: "What?" If you look at her too long, she says very sassy-like, "What?".

Color: Purple. Everything has to be purple or she has to choose the purple one.

Person to call: Papa. Whenever she hears a phone ringing she screams "Papa" and gets so excited. She asks to call Papa a least 30 times a day! (this hasn't changed)

Snack: Fruit Snacks and Diego yogurts.

Animal: Monkey. She hangs on everything, while making her monkey noise! We play on the "monkey tree" on one of our hikes. She hangs on door knobs, tables, the handle in the car....everything and pretends she is a monkey.

Movie: Her Dora movie. I recently hid it. I couldn't take it anymore!

Game: She has started pretending. She loves serving us coffee and pop in anything resembling a cup. She fills the cup from a pretend spout in the wall. If she serves us milk she always brings pretend cookies.

Song: She makes up her own songs. We rarely know what she is singing, but she sings a lot!

Thing to do: Playing in her cardboard house that she got from her birthday or in a fort Emily or daddy builds for her.

Place to play: Outside. The yard, the park, the hiking trail. Rain or shine, she wants to be outside. (this hasn't changed)

Way to help mommy: She dusts and cleans the windows. She really just likes spraying the cleaning solutions.

Way to help daddy: She loves going outside while daddy cleans up after the dogs. However, she doesn't exactly help him, but she keeps him company.

Time of the day: Evening. She gets a burst of energy and gets super silly. She runs all over the house and loves to "rough".

Way to exercise: Dancing and doing silly arm lifts.

Chore: She helps set the table and she helps take care of baby "Wiper".

Place to "go-go": To the "museum" to play with Kaidyn on Thursday mornings. She loves painting and using Play-Doh in the craft room and making herself a kitty with the face paint.

New life skill: She almost always folds her hands to "pray" before we eat. She will say "pray" and help us fold our hands if we forget. The other day she prayed before our hot chocolate. So sweet.

Thing to do like Daddy: Use the elk call and make super loud, obnoxious elk calls.

Thing to do like Mommy: Wearing a bra. I have to tie one of my bras on her! She wears it over her clothes.

Big person thing to do: Using the computer. She loves playing Dora games, watching Diego, and using the paint program.

Way to be sweet: She gives back rubs and gently caresses our faces. She gives really tender kisses on our cheeks.

Accessory: Her hats and scarfs.

Thing to try and get away with: She is two. She tries to get away with anything and everything she knows she isn't supposed to do!!!!!

Kendall and Josh's Wedding

The "whorl wind of craziness" is over, Kendall and Josh are married. I have said it several times, the last few weeks have been crazy getting ready for the wedding. The Saturday before the wedding my house was packed with excited, supportive women celebrating Kendall. It was a great bridal shower. After Grandpa Phil's funeral Aleta and Emily helped me scramble a few more things together before guests arrived. I served brunch complete with homemade muffins of all sizes, fresh berries, "egg goop", coffee and juice. I all turned out surprisingly beautifully. Kendall got many, many wonderful gifts. We even got her to blush with some sexy lingerie! Deaette made the room burst into laughter with a giant, size 100, panties and underwear! It was hilarious. Kendall said, "I don't even know what this is or what to do with it!"


After the shower the wedding party and the mother's of the bride and groom went for pampering of our toes and fingers. It was relaxing, however, the paint chipped almost immediately. Later that evening the wedding party and friends went out on the town. It was a great night out. We laughed a lot. I was seriously sore the next day from all the silly dancing!

On Wednesday the decorating of the church and Hertiage Hall began. Several late nights later the decorating it was complete. WOW, is all I can say. The President could have shown up and felt comfortable with the beauty of the reception hall.

Josh's family hosted a Thanksgiving Rehearsal dinner at the C'Mon Inn. It was lavishly decorated and the food was great. Addison had a great time playing with her second cousin, Ari. Addi and I went swimming after the dinner, which she loved.



The wedding went very smoothly and was so sweet and beautiful. Addison did great. She was to sit in an adorable wagon and I was to pull her down the isle and she was supposed to toss leaves out of the wagon. She did sit in the wagon, which was great, because during rehearsal she would not do it! I helped her toss the leaves out of the wagon for Kendall to walk on. About half way down the isle she shied into laying down in the wagon trying to hide from all the people! She was, as usual, adorable!



Kendall was stunning! Her dress and her hair were perfect. Josh was very sweet and made us all cry when he said his vows.

As matron of honor, I gave a toast to the bride and groom. I don't even remember what I said, I totally winged it. It went well We ate and danced until around 7:30 pm. Addison loves to dance. Someone said she 'already has rhythm! She is so much fun. She is still talking about "Kendall's party" and the "dancing". The music ended and we sent the bride and groom away with fireworks and sparklers. I loved it. It was a really cool idea.


Kendall's family and friends spent the next several hours taking down all the decorations and cleaning up the reception hall.

The happy couple are in Vegas celebrating their new marriage!