Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas friends and family! We had a lovely Christmas in Ogden. It snowed and snowed and snowed. The first few days were fun, though we then started to notice how cold it was. Thank heavens for sunny St. George to warm us up!


Heather thought it would be a good idea to start a snowball fight....

I ended it....




Ben Lomond peak during a rare clear morning...

Two

This year Tennyson knew exactly what to do with his cake...

Mommy planned a Sesame Street-themed party, and Tenny supplied the theme music ("Na na na na, it's Elmo's world!")

Tennyson loved his new toys, and mommy's hoping they are a cure for cabin fever (it's been cold in D.C. lately).

It's crazy to think that in one short year our little boy went from this...

...to this.

We feel so blessed to have Tennyson in our family. He's our frenetic bundle of joy (frenetic from dad, joy from mom). We love you Tenny!

Round, Round, Get Around

Busy times. First, we went around the entire city trying to get the perfect photo for our Christmas card. Having a two-year-old in the picture didn't make that any easier. Here are some of the rejects....um, some shots of the good times. (If you don't get a card, we probably don't have your address....feel free to help us out by leaving it in the comments!)



I was working up in NYC again last week. Here's one of the lovely views from my hotel window (for all you SOHO fans).

Then Grandpa Stewart came to visit his favorite child and grandchild (Killing two birds with one stone...Thanks for coming dad!). Here's the ol' man in the brand-spankin'-new Capitol Visitors Center.

As to the visitors center, I generally agree with this review. It's very strange that the addition does not architecturally or aesthetically match the capitol at all (also true for the plaza outside, as seen in the below photo). We did, however, enjoy the museum sections that displayed some very interesting congressional history.

We spent a total of 2.1 seconds at the National Christmas Tree (below)--it was too cold so we went home to enjoy our artificial tree (thanks for the tree Katie & Joey--it's pretty). We hope your Christmas season is going splendidly (and that you're not procrastinating buying our presents).

Thanksgiving 2008

We hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. This year we are thankful for graduation, bar passage, good employment, great family and friends, good health, the gospel and one crazy boy.

Who's the cutest boy in the world?

Pick me!

Suzy shows off her "ladder golf" skills.

Suzy & McKenna

31.

7 Movies worth watching

By the time we get to date night, we usually don't have enough energy to hold our heads up. Sometimes, though, we muster enough strength to put in a DVD and push play. We're usually really disappointed. Is it just us, or have most of the U.S.-produced movies from the last few years been totally lame? Anyway, in case you're like us, here is a list of seven movies (with links) that we have enjoyed in the last few years. Feel free to return the favor!

1. La Misma Luna - Great story about a boy in Mexico trying to join his mom in the U.S. In Spanish with English subtitles. Great music. PG-13.
   
2. The Band's Visit - Israeli film about an Egyptian military band traveling to Israel for a gig. English subtitles. You'll laugh, and then you'll cry. PG-13.
   
3. Rabbit-Proof Fence - Australian film about racism, family, and humanity. Beautiful and moving. PG.
   
4. Danny Deckchair - Australian film about a man who just needs to get away. Light, funny, and entertaining. PG-13.
   
5. Waking Ned Devine - UK film about sticking it to the man -- or the lady, in this case. Strange, but hilarious. PG.
6. The Visitor - Nice story about the impact others can have in our lives (oh, and about immigration). Good rhythm. PG-13.
7. Murder on a Sunday Morning - Documentary (true story) about a boy who just wanted a Slurpee but ended up being victimized for years by the justice system. You'll hate cops. NR.

Trash Truck

Tennyson's a pretty happy kid. But he's never quite as happy as he is on garbage day. The instant he recognizes the sound of the garbage truck making its way down our back alley he begins yelling "TRASH TRUUUUCK! TRASH TRUUUUCK!" and runs to the back door. So we take him out to the alley so that he can cheer on his garbage man friends. The garbage men love Tennyson--in a thankless job like that, who wouldn't love an adoring fan? I caught the action on film this morning.

Watching in amazement and dreaming of a bright future as a garbage man.

It takes serious skills to get a truck that big down our little alley.

Watching as the "trash truck" rides off into the sunset.

And on a slightly different note, it appears that Tennyson is indeed advanced for his age. He's not even two yet and he's already entering the "terrible twos" stage. Here Tennyson commences another small tantrum when he doesn't get what he wants. Even though it's kinda cute, we try not to encourage this particular development.

Cousin time

Aunt Tessa and family came to visit this weekend, and Tennyson had a crazy good time with his cousins. Thanks for visiting Bailey family!

A gorgeous autumn day at Mt. Vernon

Picnic on the Potomac River

Tessa gets a visitor at the butterfly exhibit

Tennyson misses you already!

Ninosaurs

While in UT, we took Tenny to the Ogden Dinosaur Park. The park is really cool--Tennyson is still talking about the "ninosaurs...beeg ninosaurs....rawr!" Here are some of the highlights, but if you're in the area you should definitely go see it for yourself if you haven't already.

It's official

I've been sworn in, I've signed the court rolls, and I'm now an attorney.



Look, I'm just warning you so you won't be surprised if you get a bill in the mail following our next conversation.

Happy Halloween

Finding the perfect pumpkin (and a few other treasures) at Eastern Market

Partying at aunt Heather's Halloween bash

Tennyson the dragon terrorizing the "block party" on our street on Halloween night.

Calling it quits in the middle of the street.