Dear whomever may be reading this :O)
Guess what???? Life happened today.... let me explain.
Aaron and I had a huge day planned. We do not have much time to get ready for Christmas in Utah and Jackson, Wyoming....so today was our day to get everything accomplished, eg: pick up christmas cards, get a few gifts for our relatives, do laundry, so on and so forth...
However....NONE of these things got done....and we're pretty sure it just wasn't our day to do so.
The day started for me with a nice run (without the kiddy's, which was kind of nice...that's what saturday mornings are for right???...!:O).
I came home to find a very exhausted husband who really needed a nap (I'm not sure I've ever seen him so tired, he's just been working so hard on a paper that he is trying to get published and will be presenting in January). Aar took a nap, and I began to get ready for the day.
When he woke up he took the kids out for a stroll to the bike shop to fix the bike's flat tire. When they returned I had fallen asleep, because I too was very exhausted....I substituted 5 dance classes last night, and my body was exhausted from not dancing in quite some time....so I had a very nice and needed nap as well.
I woke up, and got ready to go shopping. I left the house ready for a fun afternoon of browsing some stores and getting a few gifts. However, I get to the first store, check my bag for my wallet....and it was not there.
I turned around, and went home.
While I was gone, Aaron decided to begin "gutting" our apartment. We are a little OCD when it comes to SPACE!!!!! We need space to breath and when we do NOT have space we get very claustrophobic, and this in turn makes us both very grumpy :O)
to say the least, we spent the day organizing our tiny little apartment. We finally found a way to contain all of my crafts in one place...this was very NEEDED, and very fun as I love seeing all of the things I can do in one spot...and it's all right at my fingertips, I really am soo happy about that!
We also reorganized the big closet under our stairs, and it is much more fitting for oliver to play in now....
Our biggest problem we have been facing is where to put the strollers....I am a real stickler :O)when it comes to keeping our strollers clean...I hate faded/dirty strollers....It's not that so much I guess, mainly that we put a lot of money into them (our jogging ones...the others are just hand-me-downs:O), and I don't want them to wear out faster than they need b/c of the rain, sun and so on....I want them to "wear" out...not "rust" out....(thanks for that one dad :O). Anyway, so we are trying to figure out how to keep them outside, but to protect them from the environment at the same time....they need a home, and we still don't know exactly what to do....any ideas?????
Anyway, So we had a fun day of organizing and didn't do anything on our "list".
Aaron also planned to work on his paper tonight as LONG as he needed, which he thought would take the whole night. However, the program he needs is not working~ so he is not able to log in.
THUS....the object of this post: LIFE HAPPENS....and don't fight it.
It is good to make plans...however, sometimes plans change~ and it is good to go with the flow, and let them change peacefully...don't bother fighting it because sometimes it's just how it is.
Anyway...I just thought this was all very interesting. I appreciate when things like this happen because it is nice to know that life moves on and works out even when we don't accomplish everything (or anything for this matter :O) on our lists!
Life is good these days. Aaron is doing well with his research, and as I said earlier~ he is trying to publish his research and will be presenting it in Reno in January. I am very proud of him, and most of all very happy that he is enjoying what he is doing.
He asked his adviser when he thought he could be done and out of here...and his adviser said he could be out of here in 2 weeks if he wanted. Which means Aaron has plenty of research done for his PhD and could graduate really at any time. This was very nice for Aar to hear, as it is a little stressful wondering when this phase of life is going to move on to another phase for us. We are patient...but it is just fun to think about!...and don't worry, we're not going to be out of here any time soon :O)
Oliver and Eliza are doing really well these days. Oliver does a lot of singing, as he is already competitive trying to keep up with his GF McKenzie who is only 2 months older, but knows almost every song known to man...really, she is hilarious! Anyway, oliver really wants to keep up, so he tries to sing as well, and it is very comical..but he is getting better, and it is very fun to listen to him....he has such an amazing spirit about him, and I just can't believe how much I love him.
He is such a fun little boy.
Eliza is really close to sitting. She can sit for minutes at a time without falling over....but she hasn't quite gotten used to the concept of using her hands to catch herself allll of the time. She will catch herself sometimes...but others she will just topple over...it's very fun to see her sit though. She seems very happy to be sitting instead of laying and rolling all over the place...she's a little higher, and can be a little closer and involved in any action taking place at a given time!...She is all about being IN on the action, which makes me a little nervous as I KNOW her and oliver are going to be getting themselves into a WHOLE lot of mischief when she is a little older. This will be fun, but also a little worrisome!
She is also pretty close to crawling I think...She really scoots around, and is trying desperately to figure out another way to get around besides rolllling rollling all over the place....it is very cute!
These two kids are just beautiful...I love them, and I am so happy that Aaron and I have them as our own, I know I have said that before, but I'm sure I will say it again and again and again :O)
Ok...I'm officially getting tired eyes, so I best be on my way. Good night everybody!!!
sly,
joni ann
ps...some fun pictures will come tomorrow!!!
pss...I actually did not post this at the time I wrote it...it is now tuesday, and I wrote this on saturday. I sometimes save them instead of posting them because I am a little bit of a worry wart when it comes to saying what I really want to say, and not being misunderstood even though I know that is inevitable as I know nobody can read my mind :O)
Anyway.... I am finally posting this, and hopefully I will send some pictures very soon!
We have some cute ones!
ok....
sly for now!
oliver and mama having a moment...ah
family pictures....it's tricky these days!
my favorite of oliver!!!!
just a fun one one!
oops...I must really like this picture :O) 
our pretty Christmas tree!
oliver fell asleep while "playing" in his room....
oliver was being such a big helper. He was being so helpful that when we were done opening the gifts under the tree...he would put the empty boxes and ripped paper back!!! This was very comical, and he was VERY proud of himself! 
oliver is loving to swing like a big boy these days, and he is really doing a good job at pumping...he kind of gets it :O)
cute little profile of eliza!
funny little girl! Sitting with her Giraffie!
we start our kids early on their veggies!!!! Just kidding, but she was eying me while I was eating this stick of celery...so I gave it to her just to see what she'd do with it! She actually seemed to like it!!!!! funny eh?
oliver wondering why the tree in our house looked so WEIRD!!!!!
cute little eliza swinging away! Thanks bean for the outfit...it is perfect!
another cute little hippie shot!!!
oliver being another very big helper!!!! He did a good job, but he kept saying that eliza was done after only 2 seconds of feeding her...eliza couldn't figure out what was going on because it kept stopping and starting...it was very funny! I had to take over though, or else she would have never finished her bottle :O)
just a very cute and funny smirk!
oliver's contribution to the christmas tree decorations....eliza's giraffie!
