Hoot Owl

Today, 6:05 am...

Me: "Russ, I don't feel like getting up today. I am so tired and I have a weird headache behind my eyes, like when I look from side to side or up and down it hurts."

Russ: (an angered bear awoken from his slumber): "Why in the world then are you whizzing your eyes around like a hoot owl!?"

1, 2, 3

Happy 2012! Here's what the Lees have been doing:

AUBREY

1. Teaching French reflexive verbs and excited to hit the halfway mark of the school year

2. Going to Young Women activities

3. Catching the flu from my students and throwing up in hallway trash cans while weird students watch

RUSSELL

1. Starting a new semester of school

2. Reading Machiavell, Hobbes, and Nietzsche

2. Adding a French minor which delights his wife

BOTH

1. Going to the new museum of natural history at the U

 

2. Making Oreo truffles, keeping resolutions better than we did in 2011, swaddling Sammy in blankets and then laughing at his little face peeking out, and having dance parties

 3. Taking weird self portraits in our church parking lot because I'm excited that it finally snowed
(and that I found this Dior skirt at D.I. for $5)

I Loved 2011

School. Teaching. Family. Travel. Friends. Hikes. Adventures. Weddings. Haircuts. Twenty-four. Twenty-six.

Paris. Geneva. Yellowstone. Santa Fe. Island Park. Los Angeles. Bear Lake. Las Vegas.

2011 was so good to us.

Midnight in Paris

Russ and I loved, loved, LOVED this movie.

We were delighted, nostalgic and heartbroken at all the beautiful Parisian scenery.

Owen Wilson was hilarious and it was fun to see how Woody Allen portrayed so many famous artists and writers.
Russ and I kept gasping every time a new artist came on the scene.

Go see it! Especially now that it's in the dollar theater.

Worst

My purse was stolen out of my car last night.

So I am down a wallet.

And credit and debit cards.

And a driver's license.

And a library card.

And ten dollars.

And a social security card.

And my collection of random euro coins.

And all the cute notes from Russ that I have saved for four years.

And a really cute purse that Target no longer sells.

And a Domino's coupon card I bought from one of my students who is on the basketball team.

And my makeup.

Yes, I am at school. Teaching. With not a stitch of makeup on my face.

My students are awfully quiet today, staring at me with a mixture of sympathy and disgust.

It's a perfectly bad dream. 

Too bad I can't wake up.

Skiing

Did you know Alta has free lifts every day from 3 to 4:30?

I didn't, but now I do.

And I want to take advantage of it every single day.

For all Russell's skills and ability, I appreciate his patience and willingness to scale bunny hills over and over with me, and also to race down the mountain when I'm going too fast, slide in front of me, catch me spectacularly and bring us both to a halt without me getting hurt.

Can't wait to go again!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We spent a few days before Thanksgiving in Logan with the Lees, and I don't have any pictures 

except for this one of my first-ever homemade pies:

And this one where we hurriedly squeezed into the mudroom and posed for a couple photo with Brian and MJ. I love the Lees.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandma Shirley's house. It was a beautiful day for a family picture.

My aunt Lorie made this beautiful horn of plenty.

Some people rested and let their stomachs expand rather than helping with dishes.

We played Bananagrams.

I had a genius round.

The next day, Melissa came over and we made Christmas garlands.

Today, we heard our friend Rachel give a talk. She is leaving on a mission to Independence, Missouri next month. She is an inspiration and a beautiful person, inside and out. I loved her talk.

Then I visited my darling friend Angie, who has a baby girl due next week.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time of year. I cherish the time I get to spend with friends and family
and eat several pounds of food.