Something to View & Think About

Happy Birthday Jennifer & Rebekah

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Jennifer

and Rebekah


Happy Birthday to you.

1.20.09 President Obama

We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society.

We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.

We believe that all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people if a republic...

D&C 134:1-3

I love America. And the fact that we can transfer power in a such a peaceful way. Here's to a new PRESIDENT.

(photos ((I took them last week with my new camera, they look as awesome as the professional one of the swearing-in that I googled)) Inside Independence Hall, one table for each colony's representatives - here they worked out the Declaration of Independence; the liberty bell; the top of Independence hall...long may the flag wave)

No Need to Clean Your Glasses, You Are Seeing Correctly

- - Yes, it's an UPDATE

Here's a quick review of what's been going on.

This is a picture from my birthday dinner that I swiped from Jenn's blog. We're all at Magiano's at the Fashion Show. They gave us the really impressive wine cellar private room. Luxury! The kids did a fantastic job of planning the evening and especially keeping it a secret. After dinner we headed off to see Penn & Teller. As we were walking into the hotel, I leaned over to Ron and told him, "Going to this show is just too much for the kids to have to pay." Jenn heard me and assured me not to worry, "you know I'd give anything for you, mom, even my blood." The kids were just kind of laughing at me. I didn't find out until they got to the ticket booth, they had all given blood in order to get free tickets for my birthday. I just couldn't believe it! So we all enjoyed the show. It was a great way to celebrate the National Family Holiday.

(Thank you, Ashley, for getting the traditional table shot for us.)

Christmas Eve was great. I really enjoy having everyone here for the celebration. On the menu this year:

• crescent dinner rolls
• cranberry salad
• mixed vegetables
• cheese/garlic mashed potatoes
• beef wellington
• pumpkin pie

We enjoyed a quiet evening with our family. We miss Brad & Kara, but luckily Ron & I were able to go down to San Diego and visit with them a couple of days before Christmas.

On the 26th we had the Marx Family Christmas Party. The guest count this year was close to 60. This year we added a family talent show along with dinner. It was great to see what each family did. The menu tonight:

• Assorted salads
• green beans and/or brocolli
• seasoned rice
• chicken cordon blue

The neices provided some great appetizers and also dessert of cookies and cupcakes.

For New Years Eve we headed off to Armagosa Sand dunes. Ron's car had a great weekend, lasting right up to the last day we were there. An exciting thing happened while there. On day one, on the far side of the dunes from where we were Ron & I came across a little boy who was stuck. We helped dig him out and head him in the right direction just as the rest of his family drove up. We chatted. We sank into the sand. We all dug us out. And that was that. Two days later a knock came at the trailer door. It was the family we had helped before, and in their hand was....MY CAMERA! Yes, the very one I lost while there at Thanksgiving. They found the camera on the far side of the dunes, took out the memory card and put it in their own device. Scrolled through the pictures, and after 60-100 pictures of Drew, Charlie, and Hallie, came across pictures of Ron's car and the dunes during Thanksgiving. They recognized us, and the car, and went through all the campsites out at the dunes looking for us. Can you believe it?! I was thrilled. The camera itself is scratched up and not useable, but I have the memory card back, and closure of the case of the missing camera.

Here's a few pictures of Thanksgiving:

The More Things Change,
The More Things Stay the Same


Tonight our family will gather as it has for years.

(Prunie, Kim, Lisa -- and Paul, Ringo, George & John's legs 1967-68)

We'll eat Christmas candy and open the most exciting presents, perhaps you will not receive a life-size poster of the Beatles, but whatever this year's jewel is, I'm sure it's wrapped under the tree and waiting.

Grandma Pack

By the end of the night, there will be one tired hostess


Laurie
Babies then, babies now must be kept from breaking ornaments and rearranging the tree.

1969
Grandparents will visit to see what Santa brought.

1971 Kim, Laurie, and Lisa

It will be fun times.

Merry Christmas to all

seis meses

Six months ago Scott said his good-byes

Watched his last 20 minutes of tv

Packed his bags

Checked in for his international flight to Brazil

And boarded a plane.

more Retro Thanksgiving

Thanks for the comments. I only remember the screaming wire coat hangers scene from Mommy Dearest. The movie I think reminds me of my childhood the most is Apollo 13. The first time I watched that movie I was mezmorised. The engineers were all using slide rules and pocket protectors just like my dad. And don't you think Kathleen Quinlan resembles my mom in that movie - they even stole the clock we had hanging in the kitchen. Just proves how hip and stylish my mom was when I was little (and still is).

my parents are on the left. (Do you think Scott resembles my dad?)

I like how Prunie's hair is now sporting the Twiggy look. (straight behind me - I'm the one with the roll stuffed in my mouth) ((and no, Prunie is not her real name, she's legally Laura, but it's always been Aunt Prunie to me))



Great Aprons!

What does a typical Thanksgiving table look like for my family 39 years later? Traditional setting and casual people The Perfect Mix
Looking back on these photos - is it any wonder I have an obsession with dishes, serving pieces, and table linens. I recently pulled out all of my tablecloths, refolded and arranged them -- let's just say I have a lot (easily over 50). I doubt that you would ever come to my house and be served on paper plates. I have everyday dishes, Sunday nice dishes, and china. I have enough clear glass plates to feed the whole extended Marx family. If I was in charge of a ward Christmas dinner - yeah, we'd bust out all those plates in the church kitchen for sure. (for a ward dinner you're spending over $50 in paper goods, when it takes 3 people about 20 minutes to wash all the dishes, spend the extra $ on the food...) Just a little quirky like that.

still to come: Lisa & Kim's many matching dresses, '50s and '60s nick-nacks, birthday parties.

Retro Thanksgiving

Ron & I headed out to the sand dunes for Thanksgiving. The kids had dinner with their inlaws. I lost my camera....

Lacking current Turkey day shots, I share with you Retro Thanksgiving:

Left to right around the bird: Bill (my grandfather, who we've always called by his first name), Virginia (?), Mom, Uncle Leonard, LoLo - great-grandmother, Aunt Prunie, Kim, Lisa, Grandma Pack.

Oops, we couldn't see the baby, Grandma Pack and Kim switched places.

This is my great-grandmother Laura who we called Lo-Lo and one of her 4 sisters, I believe it's Virginia, I know it's not Blanche or Anna Belle, but my mother will have to comment and correct me. This is why I love this picture:

• My mother's wedding portrait is hanging in the background
• The Chopin bust on the piano, I miss that! I totally should have requested that momento
• Grandma's piano. One day she redecorated and decided the piano should be refinished in an off-white with antiqueing look. It looked fabulous when she finished and it was always the center piece of her livingroom.
• the glasses
• the dresses
• the sweet potatoes that were eaten at this meal. Lo-Lo always made the sweet potatoes.
  

Enjoy this shot of my mother and me. I was only allowed in the livingroom for photo-ops. At first it was because just to the left of us in the picture was the big stereo cabinet usually playing a record, and when I would stomp or run through the livingroom (their words, not mine "stop running" "Don't stomp so heavy, can't you just walk?") it caused the needle to skip. As time went on numerous expensive fragile items were added to the livingroom that little girls just didn't need to run around and break.

After recovering from Thanksgiving, I am trying desperately to get the house decorated and festive looking. Something I learned from my youth:

Tune in tomorrow for a peek at Christmas from the 60s. And birthday shots. Classics.

Thanks so much to my brother who scanned all of my dad's slides into digital files!

What's been going on the last 3 weeks?

Bekah, David, and Snuggles are still squatting upstairs in the Scotty wing. David was promoted with BlueMan Group in the video department and no longer edits at chanel 13. Rebekah was hired by the school district and it's kind of complicated to explain what she does. First of all she's considered a long-term substitute since there's a hiring freeze. Secondly she's like a case worker/advocate for deaf students in the district. She visits them at their various schools, makes sure they're where they should be with grades, helps tutor in areas they need help in, and conducts IEPs.

Ron's awesome. He changed all the outside lightbulbs for me. Fixed my Kichenaid mixer that was starting to wobble. Fixed the screen door that came off the track. Installed a dining room light dimmer switch 30 minutes before our party started because I decided at the last minute I needed to be able to dim the lights. That's the short list that I can think of right off that he's taken care of in the last couple of weeks.

I guess you could add changing Jenn's brakes to that short list. Drew was trying to help, he was just getting dirty.

Charlie ***LOVES*** the dogs. Every time she's over she likes Smokey to take her for a ride. Smoking has been feeling older and older lately and mostly now she just sits on top of him as he lays on the floor. She has also mastered playing fetch with Kruger. She throws the tennis ball, he chases after it and brings it back to her.

I drive by this place on Grand Teton all the time that sells produce and eggs. I read an article about them in our newspaper and decided to take the kids to look at pumpkins and turkeys.Good thing Matt came with me, I was too busy with Charlie to notice Drew's head got stuck. Matt must have prior head unsticking experience because he knew just how to twist and tip Drew's head to get it unstuck. Glad the turkeys didn't try to eat him, that might have been tramatic.
One Sunday evening, I had strawberries and koolwhip and was going to get shortcake on Saturday, but never made it to the store. So just before Sunday dinner, I remembered the dipping chocolates I had. Drew had a great time making dessert and was so proud of his final product.

We hosted a High Priest Group social at our house. On the menu: mashed potato bar, little weenies wrapped in bacon cooked in brown sugar, swedish meatballs, crab rangoons, chips and dip, and stuffed mushrooms. It was a lot of fun. I got the game for the evening from HERE. I think that's what made the evening. I thought people would only pass it around once, but the box of questions went around the room several times. It was a fun way to get to know everybody.

That's my update.