Nate Gets Baptized

Nate got baptized on February 2 this year. It was a fabulous day. I loved having the opportunity to see my little one make such a good choice.


We were a little worried that the family wouldn't be able to make it in for it. The entire week before was day after day of snowstorms. The pass at the Utah/Idaho border had been closed off and on all week. We sat down and talked to Nate about the possibilities of the family not making it because of the roads. We knew that the Clarks would be there, and Grandma and Grandpa Orr (since they were flying in), but James and Anne, Christy and Eric, Mandy and Lee, and the entire Lister family was a big question (although Grandpa Lister said that he was coming no matter what). Anyway, we gave Nathan the option of postponing his baptism so that the family could be there, or getting baptized anyway. It was a tough decision for him--he thought about it over night--but he decided to get baptized even if the family could not make it. What an amazing little boy!

Well, we prayed a lot that Heavenly Father would find a way for the family to come--and he did! We watched the road reports, and, sure enough, the weather cleared and they opened the pass. It was such a great blessing! We like to think that it was all for Nate's baptism--even though President Hinkley's funeral was on the same day. Either way, we were very thankful.


We had to be at the stake center bright and early on Saturday morning so that he could get ready and take pictures before everything got started (although Nate didn't want to smile, for whatever reason). There were only a few baptisms that day--and only two from our ward. The stake called for our ward to go back, and about 2/3 of the congregation got up and went to the baptismal font! It was crazy how many people were there for Nate. We had several friends from here, plus all of the family--we had so many people that there were not enough chairs for everyone, and they had to separate us out from the other family that was there!

It was a beautiful day, and we had a lot of fun! We got to have everyone over for lunch (even though we had to use the church because there were too many people for our little town house). The kids got to run around and play, and the grown ups got to do a lot of talking. I sure enjoyed having everyone there. I was, and am, so proud of both of my boys. I'm proud that they are strong young men that can play with the best of them, wrestle like crazy, and make such good decisions at the same time. But, neither one of them is too old, or cool, to give Mom a big hug!

The Slacker is Back!

Ok, so who is the biggest slacker in the world?? Ummm. . . that would be me!! I really stink at this blog thing! There's not a lot that I can say for myself except that my life is insane. Anyway, I'll try to do a lot better where this is concerned.

So, yesterday was the last day of school. . . kind of. The boys are completely and absolutely finished, with one singing the Hallelujah Chorus, and the other crying big alligator tears (unfortunatley I wasn't here for that one, but Robert told me all about it). It amazes me how opposite my boys are! Nathan was so sad that he wouldn't see his teacher anymore. Apparently she was, "the best teacher in the world." That's great--he's had a couple best teachers in the world, and I certainly can't complain about that!

As for me, the craziness continues. I was a chaperone, again, at Lagoon Day on Wednesday this week. I had almost made it to the end of the day when my cell phone rang. The last thing I expected was to hear my principal's voice on the other end of the line. Apparently they were in desperate need for a creative writing teacher for the first session of summer school. Another principal in the district had called to see if David knew of anyone that might take the job and, yep, he thought of me (I guess it helps that I am the only creative writing teacher in the school). My initial thought was, "No, no, no, no, no. I barely survived this year, and I am ready for a break!!" Luckily, I guess, that did not come out of my mouth. When he dropped the $$ into the conversation, my immediate refusal kind of got stuck in my throat. I thought about it overnight, and discussed it with Robert, and decided to go for it. So, I will be spending every morning from 7:45 until noon for the next three weeks teaching a full creative writing course--to high school students! I can't decide if I am the most idiotic person around, or if this is a great blessing! Either way, I knew that I probably wouldn't truly regret doing it (even though I am bummed to miss out on the much needed break) but that I would regret passing up the opportunity.

So, that's what's new with me--Robert is working hard, he works two afternoon/nights a week and three days at RC Willey in Orem. I'm not sure if he likes it or not--some days I think he does, while others are not so good (I guess that's about the same with anyone). I still get to hear great stories, though, so at least it is entertaining. He is, however, enjoying his motorcycle. He rides it to work on days that aren't raining, and will typically ride it around the neighborhood at least once a day. He took the boys for rides last night--Jacob was a little nervous, but Nate was raring to go! He actually got me on to ride with him for a good hour and a half last night. We went up the Alpine Highway, through Cedar Hills, Pleasant Grove, Lindon, North Orem, and back via the freeway. It was fun, but very nerve wracking (I've only been on one less than a handful of times, and it has always scared me). Oh, and by the way, it takes some major muscles!! When we were done, my abs ached and so did my thighs! Maybe this could be a good muscle building activity!!

Ok, so I will do my best to update several times a week--let's see if I can truly get addicted enough to not let it slide when school starts up again in the fall!!

Another Year Older And Wiser Too!

Jacob has turned eleven! I can hardly believe it. It's taken a while to get this one up, but I'm doing better than I was before! If only I had an extra hour or two in the day. Anyway, Jacob invited some friends over and, after opening some presents and having some cake, we took them all to a Utah Flash game (Utah's new D-League team).

Jake got all sorts of gifts, and his friends know him really well!! He got not one, not two, but FOUR football (one was from his brother). We gave him the option of taking a couple of them back, but he would have none of it! He wanted to have all four footballs!He had eleven kids, including Jacob, his cousin Jax, and Nathan--I'm amazed we were able to get them all in the house!We had about a half an hour to open presents and eat cake, and then it was off to the game! I've never seen kids eat quite so fast!! Even for boys!We had to take two cars to the game. We borrowed Tammy's Durango, and piled everyone between the truck and the durango. I'm so glad I only have the two boys! Anyway, We got to the game and ended up with seats right behind the basket. It was pretty cool (especially as they had been on Bajio's 2 for 1 special!). We took up a good part of two rows, and I got to sit behind a bunch of boys so I could bonk them on the head when necessary! I probably considered it more necessary than I should have, but it was way too much fun! The Flash's mascot, Flash Fox, came by and paused in front of us, I happened to catch his eye, point at Jake, and tell him it was his birthday. The fox did a double take, made sure which one I was talking about, then thought for a minute and shrugged his shoulders and walked away. About twenty minutes later he came back with 2 cans of silly string and covered Jacob!! It was about the greatest thing ever!! We tried to take pictures with Robert's phone, but it didn't work very well. I have never seen a person so covered in silly string before! It looked like he was a bug wrapped up by a spider!! Every once in awhile, the fox would come by and torment Jake and then walk away. Toward the end of the game, he came out and gave Jacob a cupcake for his birthday. How cool is that?!? They didn't have to do anything at all for him, but they made it quite a special birthday! It was a great time!

Nate Turns Eight!!

So my little man has finally turned eight! I about can't stand it. Where did the time go? He was so incredibly excited for his birthday--he'd been counting down since before Christmas! The night before his birthday, when I was putting him to bed, he asked me if we were all going to come in and sing Happy Birthday while he was still in bed (obviously not excited at all). The next morning, he woke up incredibly early for a Saturday, so we did not sing to him in bed (is that like breakfast in bed or something?). I did make him a special breakfast at his request--a repeat of our Christmas waffles and ice cream. When we sat down to say the blessing, he told me that whoever was saying it needed to make sure that they talk about his birthday!! I couldn't decide if that was cute or being spoiled. Anyway, we had an exciting day planned. As this was his eighth birthday, he got to have a 'friend party' which is easier said than done with a winter birthday. We didn't have a clue as to what we were going to do. Nate wanted to go to Jump on It or Kangaroo Zoo, which are both indoor bounce houses--one with trampolines and the other with the big, air filled, creatures. Both options were extremely expensive, so we were still at a loss. Robert and I started talking after Christmas about how fun it would be to have a big room and a bunch of Nerf guns (the inspiration came from the Christmas day battles). Unfortunately, we had no idea how to accomplish that! Luckily, I was talking to the lady that does my hair about it, and she had a great idea: There is a place called Noah's that rents out rooms for pretty cheap!

There are all sorts of rooms--conference rooms, billiard rooms, theater rooms, even an ice skating rink! So I stopped by on my way home and found the perfect thing--a racquetball court! We rented it out for 15 bucks a session (it ended up being 2 1/2 hours!) We found some inexpensive Nerf guns, and had a ball!

It was a huge hit, and each kid went home with their own nerf gun! The best part of all was that I got to sit behind the glass wall and watch, without all of the noise and chaos that was going on in the racquetball court! Lovely! A grand time was had by all--and I didn't have a ginormous mess to clean up afterward.

Some of the kids said that it was the best birthday party they'd ever been to, even if I forgot to bring some matches to light the candles on the cake!! Nate wasn't too happy about it, and he wouldn't pretend to blow them out for posterity, but who can blame him!

Anyway, we had a lot of fun and now my little guy gets to be baptized--man, I'm getting old!

Winter Fun

Ok, so I've never been one for any type of winter sport--It's too cold!!! Well, this year all of my excuses were taken away from me. Robert bought me snow pants, boots, gloves, etc. and took us all out sledding. He invited our friends, the Fralicks, which made it impossible for me to decline. So, with very little complaining from me (just a lot of silence) we went out to the Cedar Hills Golf Course and went sledding.

Jacob and Nathan had a blast! They never tired out and wanted to stay all day. They were up and down the mountain faster than I could keep up with. They had a great time with their friends and tried experimenting on the best ways to go down the hill. This is Brennen, Caleb, and Nathan--if I remember correctly, they biffed it at the bottom! The second picture is all of the kids making a sled train. I'm not actually sure if they made it down the hill together or not.

Robert made it down safely several times! I, however, only made it down the mountain once without falling off of my sled! I guess it makes a difference if you've been sledding somewhere in the last, oh I don't know, twenty-five years!!! This one is a picture of one of Robert's perfect runs.

By the end of the day, I had fallen off about four times and made it safely down the hill once. Unfortunately there are no pictures of me actually on a sled, but I do have proof!! If you will notice in the picture of my friend, Mariah, and me, the whole side of my body is covered in dirt! This is thanks to all of the wipe-outs that I was oh, so good at!

Anyway, a fun time was had by all. We went home, a bit sore, to the warmth of home and some home made (with the help of Bear Creek) chili. Now, Robert says that he wants to take skiing lessons! I'm not so sure about that one!!

Christmas

Christmas was an amazing day this year! The boys both said that it was the "Best Christmas Ever! . . .so far." I think it is only because they were thoroughly spoiled rotten this year. I know that it's hard to tell in the picture, but if you can see the amount of presents that were under the tree. . . I'm not sure I could get anything else under there if I tried! Anyway, this was what the living room looked like on Christmas morning--we won't let the boys down the stairs until we go down and light everything up. Santa even remembered Cooper!

Nathan was (if you can't tell by the dropped jaw) absolutely impressed by what Santa brought him--it's a Vbot (there's a video on amazon.com that shows what this little guy does). Unfortunately, the picture that actually shows what it looks like got lost when I was trying to rotate it this morning (sniff, sniff. . .I am still trying to get over that one). It is a r/c car that transforms into a dancing robot! Kind of cool, and lots of fun! It can hook up to an mp3 player and acts as a speaker. Anyway--Nate had a great time playing with that one!

Jacob, after years of waiting, finally got his electric guitar! Santa decided that he deserved it this year (I'm not sure that he's ready for it, but it seems to be motivating him to practice a bit more!). He has had a lot of fun exploring what it can do! He went back to lessons on Wednesday, and has actually tuned on his own without being pestered! His goal is to be able to play Greenday and Metallica (we'll see on that one).

Anyway, the next few pictures show just how spoiled these two actually are (as if the first two didn't illustrate that enough!). Nate finally got his stereo system. This one will hook up to his mp3 as well, so he can listen to a cd or his mp3. Santa brought him a Naked Brother's Band cd that he's wanted for a while (sounds weird, but it's a show on Nickelodeon that he really likes) that has taken up permanent residence in his stereo.

Jacob also got a r/c toy--this one is a beast! It is a called Tri-Clops. It spins around on three legs and shoots round disks everywhere. Jake has had a lot of fun with it, but it makes me nervous!

Robert got a heavy bag and the stuff for boxing in the basement--you should have seen Jacob and me trying to get a 100lb heavy bag from the car and up into his closet to hide for Christmas! It was a challenge, but you know me! We used a two wheeled hand cart to get it up the stairs--me pulling and Jake pushing. We even enlisted Nate's help on the top stair! It was worth the reaction on Christmas morning, however. He was able to use his Christmas money to get a bag stand so he could get it all set up in the basement.

As for me, of course there are no pictures of me (which I will probably get reprimanded for) because I was behind the camera all morning! But, I got some great things--the boys, with the help of Grandpa Lister, got me the most amazing blanket! It is the warmest, coziest thing I have ever had, and it has gotten the most use since Christmas (as I am a cold blooded creature that can never seem to get warm). I have give strict instructions that everyone has to share--except me! That is MY blanket, and nobody else gets to touch it! Robert and Santa got me a bunch of Aveda product so I can pamper myself, and some sheet music for the piano. The boys got me a bunch of stuff to make my own jewelry! My friend, Jenna, used to be my connection but, sadly, she moved to LA (it's been great for her, but I miss her a ton!) and I have decided to use her as my example and try it out for myself. The picture is my first attempt at making anything, and I am pretty proud of myself! Thanks, Jenna, for being my inspiration!

The boys both got robes from Grandma Lister that they wore for most of the morning! They really enjoyed those!

They also got nerf guns from Grandma and Grandpa Orr--which I think was on of the great hits of the day--Robert got involved and we had nerf wars that afternoon (which ended up being the inspiration for Nate's birthday party--update coming!) unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the war--I was keeping my cover so I didn't get hit! Ultimately, however, the biggest hit ended up being the Wii. It was totally and completely unexpected--and a last minute addition to the Christmas gifts (we had a friend come up find one and gave us first option--Thanks Jeremiah!). The boys were so surprised--check out Nathan's face in the picture! They even got me playing before the day was over and I was surprised to find out how fun it is--it helps that I win at bowling almost every time ;-) Anyway, it actually gets up up off of your hind end and forces you to be active while playing! It puts us all on the same level--no body is really better than anyone else--Nate's beaten me at tennis almost every time!

They did say that they were surprised that they didn't get clothes other than PJs and robes--they always get clothes at Christmas--we didn't think they'd notice! Anyway, it was a great day--we got to take naps (well, Robert and I did, the boys were too busy playing!) We had the traditional Christmas breakfast of waffles and ice cream, but added some eggs and bacon as well--but, sorry Listers, I have corrupted the idea of strawberries--they all went for the maple syrup (which was a new recipe to us courtesy of Grandma Lister's recipe collection--it has become our favorite syrup)!

Another tradition of ours (thanks to my mom) is to see a movie on Christmas. We went to see The Water Horse, which was absolutely fantastic--I recommend it to all. Jacob made fun of me because I was getting nervous and reacting to certain parts of the movie--it's his new favorite past time--make fun of Mom at the movies!!

Anyway, it was a great day and, while we missed being around the rest of the family for the holiday, we loved having a relaxing Christmas day!

Catch Up

Ok, so I've not been the best at staying on top of this thing--I'm still trying to balance life and the updates. Today I will be posting a number of things that will catch you up as to what has been going on in the Lister family. We've had a lot of things going on of late, so there is a lot to talk about!