Halloween was fun. (Yes, I'm that behind.) Todd came to my class' party as a pirate and of course they love him. It's funny because all the kids call us "Mrs. Myers and Todd." I guess Mr. Myers is just to formal for the silly child-like man. That's why I love him! I was a mad scientist and he was a pirate. Quite a pair, I say.
I just had to add some before and after pictures of our shrunken heads. It was a fun science project that the kids really enjoyed. You peel an apple, carve a face, soak it in a brine, and let it dry out for a few weeks. Then you decorate it and presto...you have yourself a shrunken head just in time for Halloween. They got really into the decorating, and some were pretty gory. I'm pretty sure I didn't recomend stabbing a pencil through its head and coloring dripping blood around the wounds. Ah, the creativity of the 10-year-old mind.
Thanksgiving was really great. For the first time in a long time, we were all there. Tanna was able to get work off and come up from Salt Lake, Macie didn't have to work, and Todd and I had a long weekend to visit. Granny was even here from Florida. My uncle Quintin, who lives in Middleton (just outside of Star), had a bad work accident around Halloween. He got his hands smashed in a steel press, which if you know what kind of machinery that is, you automatically know the damage that would ensue. He's doing great now, but at first he couldn't do anything for himself. His right hand is full of metal now, and his left is still on the heal. The cold weather is hard on his fingers, but he's going back to work now. Granny came out for a few weeks to help him get settled back into his own house. (He stayed with my parents for the first several weeks while it was the worst.) So, although she came because of an unfortunate event, it made Thanksgiving all the more special.
Christmas was good, of course. Todd and I stayed in Rexburg for Christmas Day and went to Boise the day after to visit family. We really enjoy having Christmas with just the two of us. I am always a fan of family tradition, but I'm mostly a fan of establishing our own family traditions. Seeing our families the day after is just as great anyways, just less hectic. Who wants to haul all that stuff across the state? Not me. I'll take a relaxed day in my own home any day.
Our Christmas present for ourselves this year is a video camera. We really don't want to miss out on our "early years," and although we have some little videos from our digital camera, it's not quite the same. So we've been playing with that a lot and keeping a snow diary on it. The day we left for Boise, the snow pile by our walk was taller than me. Luckily, it melted down to 4 feet while we were gone. We were starting to wonder where we were going to put all that snow. The wind knows how to blow the snow just right to where it all settles right in our little "front yard." I guess I ought to enjoy it while I can, because I sure as heck ain't living here my whole life.
We're doing very well in general--healthy and happy. Those were just the highlights. I'll add more tomorrow since it's our two-year anniversary. But until then, I'll let those few paragraphs suffice.
I wish I could end this post with happy news, but I feel like I need to dedicate some space to a good old friend who is gone now. On November 4th, Rocky left us for good. He was our family pet for 15 years, and he was a good companion. The last year was really rough on him, as he was deaf, mostly blind, and suffering spinal degeneration. So the day came for him to be put down. The vet came to my parents house and they put him down in the grove where he is now burried. I was sad to miss it, but glad my last memory of Rocky isn't his funeral. Tanna made a special trip up since he was hers from the beginning. Rocky is the only real family pet we've all been really attached to, and I was surprised at how hard it was to take. I still get teary thinking about him, which I never expected. I guess pets really can be a real part of the family. And now Felix is the only one left. He's as old as Rocky was, but you'd never know it. He's just as lazy as the day we brought him home. He'll probably live forever. And if not, he'll get the honor of laying next to Rocky under the trees.
Good-bye, Rocky.
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