Christmas

It has taken forever to finally post some Christmas pictures but I have finally taken the time to do it. I am sad because at my mom's house we didn't get pictures of Preston opening his present's with grandma because she had to take my dad to the hospital because of a snow blower accident. My dad is fine now.

The video is after he opened his present, well I opened it, while Preston was just staring at the video camera.

It was fun to have Preston's first Christmas although he didn't really know what was going on and was not all that excited. But he loves all his toys that he received.

My mom and dad gave him a truck set that is so cute. His favorites are the stop sign. Probably because it fits into his mouth. He loves his Caterpillar Edison and for some reason thinks it should be able to move with him. When he rolls and then looks to see where Edison is he looks amazed that he did not roll to, so he scoots back to him and pulls him with him wherever he goes.

He got a 4 wheeler from Matt's parents which has to be hidden sometimes because he wants to be pushed all over the house and my back can't take anymore. I think he may just give up on crawling and just be pushed everywhere.

Mik, Preston's cousin, gave him a tool set and he loves to bite the hammer and chew on the handle of the tool box. He is not quit big enough to pound the shapes into the holes. Pretty soon though.

Oh I can't forget the plaid shirt he received from Dave and Kathleen too. He looks just like his papa, on both sides of the family oddly enough.

Family Pictures

Matt's really good friend John was in town over Thanksgiving and his wife Jessica was nice enough to take some family pictures for us. She does an amazing job. When Matt and I first sat down to pick out our favorites we could hardly eliminate any they were all so cute. Her business website is jessicagowdyphotography.com she lives in Ohio but she comes to Utah often if any of the people who read my blog want pictures taken, you will not be disappointed.

Preston's Tympanostomy Bilateral Surgery...

(tim-pan-AW-stah-me) The nurse showed us a paper telling us the surgery that Preston was going to be having and that is what she showed us. Matt looks at it asking, "does that mean tubes?" Yes is does. It's quite the name for saying tubes in both ears. Preston had to get tubes because he has had a constant ear infection since he was 4 months old. By the 5th infection the doctors and I had enough. Preston was a trooper. He screamed the whole ride to the hospital which was hard for Matt and I because it was 5 in the morning and you cannot give him a bottle. I sat in the back seat with him and his face was so sad every cry he let out. Once we got to Primary Children's he was fine. He played with the toys, people, and bubbles and didn't even know what was coming. Matt and I were sad to give him the the anethesiologist who was taking him back to the surgery room and as he walked off with Preston we watched him go down the hall and Preston didn't care a bit. He just gave the usual "Preston Look" and he was off.

Here is a picture of Preston in his hospital attire.

Preston has been such a good boy since the surgery. He did so well Friday and yesterday we celebrated with banana splits allowing Preston to have a nice dose of Ice Cream as a treat.

St. George

This past weekend we were able to go to St. George because Matt had some work meetings. Preston and I tagged along to get away from the cold. It was nice to be able to take walks again and let Preston play at the park. The only thing he is big enough to do is swing but I think he enjoys it.

After a long day of being in the car, which we all know is Preston's favorite place to be, playing at the park and going for a swim. Preston was so exhausted.

Primary Program highlights...or mishaps

Well the annual 5th ward Primary program with music under the direction of Amy Field has come and gone. We train diligently all year for this program with vigorous voice exercises that will tune any child's voice to mirror any professional singer. Teaching the children to sing in tune is my job and I take it seriously. Actually I don't know if in tune is even the correct word or phrase, I do know that off key is and that is my specialty.
I really don't have much experience in the music department but we do have fun in Primary learning the songs, well at least singing them I don't really know if they are "learning" them. Anyway, so the Primary program went pretty well we did have a few mistakes that were pretty funny.
Matt was my handy dandy helper who was in charge of holding up the posters to "help" the kids along with the songs. When he was not holding a poster he was also in charge of holding up the sign that tells the kids to sing louder. Thanks for your help Matt, but I have to say you slacked a little on your job. On one of our songs the kids were singing so soft. I kept looking at Matt and his attention was impossible to get so on the third verse during a little piano intro I whispered to the kids to sing louder. So here they go nice and loud they all shout "IF THE SAVIOR STOOD" and I am shaking my head in a panic saying NO NO NO "HE IS ALWAYS NEAR ME" yes they sang the wrong verse and it was very obvious because they were shouting it.
Next the Senior Primary was up to show off their stuff but for some reason they always forget the 2nd verse to "We Thank Thee, Oh God, For a Prophet" so Matt is in charge of holding up the sign for that verse. When that verse comes Matt was a little slow getting started so I am singing but nobody else is until finally Matt gets the poster up and the kids join in. I love singing solos I am so glad that I got my chance.

And now for the most embarrassing of all. There was a little miscommunication in regards to the closing song. I was told that the closing song was going to be "I Am a Child of God" sang by the children because it was our finest piece. You know, violins, quartets, the works. Which was beautiful by the way - tabernacle choir worthy. Well the song ends with a bang and I sit down thinking it was prayer time. Instead a member of the bishopric stands up and says we would now close by singing hymn number ___ I continue to sit but the usual chorister does not stand up. I keep staring at her thinking that she would get the very obvious hint and then I notice that everyone is looking at me. I start to panic. I don't know this song! For those of you who may not know this, my preparations for Primary is listening to the songs that we are singing all week and learning how to lead them I don't do spur of the moment. It is a very time consuming process and usually I just end up making up what I do anyway. So, I very openly show my concern by telling all people in earshot that I don't know the song I can't conduct. But everyone is ready so finally I get up, knees shaking, face red, hands shaking, unable to look up from the book. The organ starts and keeps playing before I know it she is laughing because she has almost played the whole song and I still have not started the congregation. So she starts again and I start leading and the whole time I feel like I am going to fall over dead. I hoped for some small miracle that it was not that obvious and hoped nobody would say anything afterwards. No such luck. It is now burned in everyone's memories and laughs were enjoyed by all.

A Day at the Park

On Saturday Matt and I went "park hopping". We went to the elementry school park where Preston played on the kindergarten toys and then we went to the big kid park at the school. He went down the big kid slide but being the paranoid parents that we are we took him back to the little kid slides. Sorry Preston maybe when you are bigger. After that we trespassed on Cobblestone resident's park and played there too. His favorite was the swing at cobblestone park (which we did not take a picture of) and the bus. He liked the bus because Matt was shaking it so it felt like we were in an earthquake - He loved it.

Germany

We are finally back from our trip and it seems like I was away forever. Matt and I, along with Jake and Nicole, went to Europe and traveled around Germany, Austria and Czech Republic for a week. It was so much fun to go back to Europe and see the amazing scenery there. I would have to say that Germany is probably the most beautiful country or place I have ever been to. Vermont resembles it a little bit but it seems like they have been able to preserve the simpler times and as you drive throughout southern Germany it is just green hills and thick forest with little small "village" looking towns with a church built high on the hill. It was so pretty. We had fun, especially with Jake and Nicole, even though when Jake and Matt get together it's like they morph into 12 year olds and Nicole and I suddenly have to babysit. But they made us laugh with their "basic" humor. This trip we decided to rent a car and do all the driving. It was fun to be able to stop anywhere and not have a train schedule to keep, the only hard part is people drive in Germany at lightning fast speeds and it also makes things a little hard when you have no idea what the road signs mean. We figured it out but we still did not hit the top speed that most of the cars around us were going and that was about 180 km's. We did get lost almost everyday but usually an hour later and a stop at the local gas station where the boys filled up with candy and drinks we would get back on track.

Some of the places that we went to were the Black Forest, Fussen - Neuschwanstein Castle, Munich - Dachau concentration Camp, Salzburg, Cesky Krumlov, Prague, and Rothenburg - a piece of the "Romantic Road".

I am so glad that I am home now. I missed Preston so much. I would look at his picture everyday and wanted to give him a big hug so bad. It is a little weird getting back into "mom" mode once you have been away from it for a week, but I am adjusting. Preston seems a little confused as to what is going on but he will get back into the groove of things. Thanks again to Mom and Kathleen for helping out and watching him while we were gone!

These two castles were were King Ludwig the second  the upper was his family's and the bottom one he built but it was never finished completely.  They are in Fussen which is in the Southwest part of Bavaria.  It boarders the German Alpes.  The surrounding area was so beautiful.

 A city in the Black Forest.  We enjoyed some bratwursts that had Matt and Jake mouths watering and wanting more.  The forest was absolutely stunning.  The little town was full of koo koo clocks and little shops.

Driving into the Black Forest outside of Frankfurt

Dachau Concentration camp outside of Munich.  It felt somewhat weird walking into this historic landmark.  It was full of gloom and despair yet had a peaceful feeling to it.  To read about all the horrific things that took place here made me so grateful for my country and the liberties that we have.  The most astonishing thing to me is that this camp is right in the middle of a city.  People were living right outside of the gates living ordinary lives while the torturing of innocent human beings was taken place inside the gates.

Guard tower

Bunks for the prisoners

the cement foundations shows how many rows and rows of cabins that were at this camp.  When the Nazi's came to the realization that the war was coming to an end and U.S. troops would be marching in they burned everything they could.  Prisoners were either killed or taken to other camps.

Salzburg, Austria. Above is the Festung Hohensalzburg or Fortress.  Built in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard. It was so cool walking around in the fortress.  It had artwork to depict what life was like.  You also took an awesome mountain train that goes almost vertically up the mountain.

Mozart's Birthplace

 Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic.  I thought the colors here were outstanding.  It is this little walled city that had a river surrounding it.  It was incredible walking around and just feeling like you were walking back in time.  We even ate at this restaurant that was in a basement and they were roasting pounds of meet over an open fire.  You were served this pile of roasted meat and potatoes with metal plates and all.  It was fun, and I think the men in the group thought it was the best thing in the world.

Prague, Czech Republic.  I would have never guessed that a city so big would feel so old, and preserved.  They had cobblestone streets and amazing structures and then walk a little further down the river and you see amazing modern structures that are now part of the business district.  

 Rothenburg, Germany on what is called the Romantic road.  This is a cute little walled city close to the Rhine River.  It was our last stop on the way back to Frankfurt.  It was such a cute little town that you would expect a little Pinocchio to run out in front of you or a little Hansel and Gretel.