Life in the Tree's

I hate blogger!!!

2009-04-02T22:15:00.003-04:00

Okay folks, I have tried, given it a great effort, but I need to go back to my mac site. I just love the ease of blogging in that format. To get photos in there I have to resave them to my desktop and upload them....blah, blah, blah. I just really like being able to drag and drop. So, last time....here is the NEW address.

web.mac.com/bncrabtree

I will know who really loves the crabtree's by if you move your link one more time. :) I hope to see you there!!

I've been tagged!

2009-03-14T22:14:00.003-04:00

Well, It's my turn. Here are the rules:

RULES:
1.Go to your document/pictures file on your computer
2.Go to the 6th file
3.Go to the 6th picture
4. Blog about that picture
5. Tag 6 more people

So this is a picture of me and one of my friends from Boston, Jacob Gregerson. It was my 24th Birthday and some people in Utah threw me a party. I was so happy to see a lot of my friends from Boston there, in fact the party was thrown by a sister missionary I knew in Boston and she later ended up in my Singles ward in Boston. 30 days from this day...I got engaged to the love of my life!!!

So who do I tag?

Cindy S, Sandy B., Danielle, Becca, Val, Shannon H., Julia J., and Kate

Ramblings

2009-03-08T23:12:00.004-04:00

Well, I have been off the face of the earth for a long time lately. I have not been to church in over a month due to a flu that has left me VERY sick and this week I coughed so much Saturday night that I pulled muscles all down my back that made it hard to walk, move, and even breath. I am vowing to be there next sunday though. I really miss church and if I don't the missionaries will be knocking on my door soon. It has been nice to have the LDS channel and music in my home at least.

So with all this time on my hands (not really it's spent sleeping and getting better), but I have been able to do some thinking. Being sick forced me to slow my life down. I obviously went out less and I assure you that you should thank me for that by not spreading this to your family. I also have spent a lot of time with the kids who have gotten sick and different points this month.

Last week Brent and I decided to turn off the TV and get stuff done. We have not watched our "Show's" that we normally would and instead spent time together and with the kids. One little invention that I loved was Tivo or DVR. This is great in theory since you can record and watch your shows later. Well, we found ourselves watching our shows later, but there were too many and we even watched one too many with all the kiddos up. Go figure why Emma threw so many tantrums. She wanted us! I am not proud to admit any of this, but maybe you will see a bit of yourself in this. If not...don't tell me so I don't feel so bad. :)

Anyway, since unplugging I have had a lot more time at night to clean up the house and make it nice for the next day, plan meals, and read. I didn't realize how much I really liked to read. I think I have a new book coming once a week from amazon now. That's crazy since it used to be about once a year. Some of the latest books I have ordered is all about how important play is for our kids and to teach and allow them to use their imagination. It's great to have all the new fun toys and video games, but they don't have the ability to create their own ideas of what it should be like. Blocks and toys of that nature let you take what it should be and turn it into a million different things. I remember as a kid I begged for a Barbie doll house. I never got one, but I built some really cool houses out of cardboard, markers, glue, and paper. They had beds, cars, blankets, and anything I needed. I would spend hours in my room making those darn things and then playing with them with my friends. I also remember playing store with my Mom's ironing board as the counter and a hair brush to scan. I am starting to realize that those were the good'ol days. I knew how to invent, build, and play.

So where does all this rambling leave me...feeling like I am overindulging my girls and I need to go back to the good 'ol days of playing on the floor having tea parties and building forts. Using a card board box to time travel and putting on the boots more often to splash in the puddles. Essentially, it's time for the Mom to learn how to play again and watch my daughters faces light up as they discover it for the first time.

Author note: I did not proof read this after...I'm too tired to do that. So, sorry if it doesn't make total sense or flow.

My big girl

2009-03-07T11:19:00.003-05:00

I have known that Emma is growing up fast and in some ways it's nice to have that. She can get dressed by herself, stay in her room and sleep, play, and walk without being carried all the time. Last night though I was really shocked by how big she was getting.

Lately I have been trying to potty train her. It's going pretty well as long and I keep it up when we are out and about. That's the hard part for me. Last night she woke up crying and saying that she needed to go potty. I thought to myself "this is just another way to get out of bed", but I knew I would feel guilty if I didn't let her try. SHAME ON ME!! She totally went potty and then back to bed. HURRAY!!! I am not saying she is even close to being potty trained at night, but at least I know she knows when she needs to go. She also has gone number 2 in the potty. Thank you potty treats and stickers for some help.

On another note, I am finally feeling better. I have been SOOO sick for about a month now. Last weekend I had a 103-104 temp for a few days and that was in the 3rd week. Now I still have my cough and that annoying post nasal drip, but other than that I am doing great. To think...I even got a flu shot.

PS Sorry the photo is not the most recent.

Oh, and PPS Animal, Vegetable, and Miracle is a great book!!!

I am so excited!!

2009-02-24T09:47:00.003-05:00

Last night as I was browsing websites and looking things up I came across this event that is coming to Duluth. It's called Cirque de la Symphonie. When I saw this I knew instantly that Emma would love it. It combines two of the things she loves. The first is music. She LOVES music and even enjoys listening to her movies. I do that every now and then when we are "Showed" out. I turn on the DVD, then turn of the tv, it works because of our surround sound. The second thing it has is dancing like activity. I talked to Brent and we are for sure going. He asked for the night off and we can be found in the second row front and center. Check out this video about it.

There is light!

2009-02-22T11:42:00.002-05:00

There is light at the end of the tunnel. For about 2 1/2 wks I have been sick...maybe it's been 3. Anyway, finally I feel like a human that has life again! I love it!! In Duluth there seems to be this really bad cold that kicks your butt to no end. It has the sore throat, cough, tight chest, stuffy nose, chills, and all the aches you can bare. I was really lucky to have Brents' parents here to shower my girls with all the pent up love they had stored since January and allow me to sleep. Thanks you so much for all your help! Now that I am feeling better I can attend to my two girls that are getting it. Emma is doing pretty well, but Hannah sure has it. Poor girl.

While they were here we went up to a town called Ely. It's up near the canadian border and is one of the towns bordering the Boundry Waters. Brent had heard about a snow sculpture contest they have there and we saw some really impressive pictures. Apparently people come from all over the states to compete. So we piled up in the car, drove the two hours to see these impressive things. When we got there we realized that the warm weather we had had in Duluth had also hit them. There were two recognizable sculptures but the rest were snow blobs. So we went to a few shops and headed home. One of the shops I really wanted to go to was the Mukluk store. Mukluks are a Minnesota thing. They are like Uggs here, but they are made so much better and SOOO comfy. Check them out at www.mukluks.com. I ended up getting the Ladies Traditional ones and I love them!!!

I am sorry for the long post, but I have been out of the blogging world for a while now.

Last night we caught Tessa eating Emma's rubber ball. It's one of those big ones that kids play with in the summer. Apparently Tessa has an affinity for anything that fits between her teeth. I marched out to the yard and took it away as she was munching on a piece of plastic. As I came in I was mumbling about how dumb that dog is that she might need to go to the vet. Emma asked what the vet was and I told her it was an animal doctor. I then said that if she eats the plastic she might need to go to the emergency animal doctor like people go to Dad. They she said "and bonk their head...Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said...No more monkeys jumping on the bed". Kids are so cute and simple.

Lastly, I must tell you all about an AWESOME site I came across last night. This Mom is amazing and I am glad she is sharing her talents with the world! I hope you enjoy it and waste lots of time getting organized.

Just for fun...

2009-02-19T13:09:00.002-05:00

The first 3 people to respond to this will get something made by me! My choice as to what is is and it will be just for you! However, this offer does have some restrictions and rules:

1- I make no guarentees that you will like what I make.

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It will be done sometime this year.

4- You have no clue what it is going to be, that's up to me.

5- I reserve the right to do something strange.

The Catch, You have to repost this on your blog and do that same for the first 3 people that respond to this and do the same on their blog. Then once you get it, you have to be sure to post a picture.

Privacy

2009-02-19T13:03:00.002-05:00

I am in a quandry right now. I am not sure what I want to do. As many of you know facebook changed their privacy statement that made your account PERMANENT even after you deleted it. I protested that by closing my account yesterday. I figured there was enough info on there and I didn't want to give them even more. They claimed they could use your photos and everything without your permission. HELLO!!! There were pictures of my kids on there.

I read the drudge report today and they have done an about face. They have since recinded that and once you close your account it's closed. They claim they were doing it to get revenue. Where does this leave me? It leaves me realizing that this whole blogging technology age is getting a bit crazy. I am feeling like more and more of my privacy rights are being taken away. To be honest....I am considering not doing blogger and going back to iweb. At least with iweb it's my info and not some companies. Does anyone else out there feel this way?

{ N}

Ladies Night Out

2009-02-09T11:33:00.003-05:00

Last week there was an e-mail sent out about a ladies night out. It was a movie at 5 and then dinner afterwards at a mexican restaurant across from the theatre. Little did the person know who planned it that about 35 women were able to go. It was so much fun to get together. I have to admit that I contemplated backing out at the last minute since it was the one day Brent was off. Luckily, I didn't because it was SOOO much fun. Thank ladies for such a fun night.

Did you know?

2009-02-06T01:07:00.003-05:00

Who will be number 2 in our Justice Department? Well, take a gander...

He:

1. asked for Playboy to be translated to Brail in the Library of Congress

2. He defends Child Porn while an attorney

3. fought to have 13-14 year old to not have to notify parents to have an abortion

4. No restrictions on abortion

5. fought against internet restrictions on pornography

6. opposed to a law that prohibited child pornography and hard core pornography from being on your computers in Libraries and public schools.

Meet David Ogden.

Really??

2009-02-06T00:26:00.003-05:00

Okay, I am not a libral, the cat is out of the bag. :) I am a Republican who is seriously upset by a lot in the stimulus plan. I know that there are a few things that are good in it, but gosh...there seems to be A LOT of things in it that are bad. If we were in a good economy I could see how some of this would be fine to pitch, but in an BAILOUT...no way! Here are a few things you might have not known was in it.

$50 Million for the national endowment for the arts

$650 Million for digital-TV coupons

$90 Million to educate vulnerable populations

$15 Billion for boosting pell grand scholarships

$1 Billion for Community-development block grants

$150 Million for the Smithsonian

$34 Million to renovate the Department of Commerce headquarters

$500 Million for improvements projects for the National Institute for Health

$44 Million for repairs to the department of Agriculture

$350 Million for Dept. of Agriculture computers

$88 Million to help move the Public Health Service into a new building

$448 Million for constructing a new Homeland Security building

$600 Million to convert the federal auto fleet to Hybrids

$450 Million for Nasa (carve-out for "Climate Research Missions")

$600 Million for NOAA (carve-out for "Climate Modeling)

$1 Billion for the Census bureau

$89 Billion for Medicaid

$30 Billion for Cobra insurance extension

$36 Billion to expand unemployment benefits (this is great for a bad economy, but won't stimulate growth).

$20 Billion for food stamps

$87 Million for a polar ice breaking ship

$1.7 Million for the Nat'l Park System

$55 Million for Historic Preservation fund

$2 Billion for Clean Coal power plant in IL

$6.2 Billion for the weatherization Assistance program (does that mean they will help me weatherize my house...Yeah!! Bail me out!!). JK...Seriously...JK.

$300 Million for energy efficient appliance rebate program. (Hey, I lost my job, but dear...you wanted that new energy efficient fridge...we get a good rebate)....

$400 Million for hybrid cars for state and local government (don't forget the $600 Million to convert the federal auto fleet).

$1 Billion for manufacturing of advanced batteries

$79 Billion for state fiscal stabilization fund

$4.5 Billion to the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers. Did you all know that they currently have 3.2 Billion in an Unobligated balance? They can't figure out how to spend the 3.2 billion so hey, let's give them more. Great!

That is just to name a few...trust me...it's only a few. So my gripe is that I keep hearing about how that is going to help the auto industry since they will build hybrid cars....so they had better only by domestic and we all know how fast you get your money back on that fuel efficiency. Don't worry we can all watch our mayors and senators drive around in them while our schools get bigger classes and crappier buildings. But hey, they can leave there crappy schools to go and tour the new Homeland Security building, Department of Commerce, National Institute for Health, Smithsonian, Dept. of Public Health Services, and the Dept. of Agriculture. They can also tell us about how they run on solar power with all there "energy efficient grants", hey while your at it... grab a water from a "Kleen Kanteen" in our "energy efficient fridge". I agree these jobs will create some jobs, but not the mass amount our economy needs. This is crazy and I am writing on my blog to vent! How is that going to help job growth and get our economy going? I just feel like this is a way to get a shortcut around a lot of things and that as I stated at the beginning...a lot of this is good and all under different circumstances and under a different name. How would you feel if there was an article in the paper stating "Public Health Service wants $88 Million of taxpayer money to move to a new building".

*sigh*...I know that my followers have many different political views and I respect that. I just wish there was a lot more coverage about what is really in this rather than press conferences to scare us. I know it's bad and frankly, it is going to get worse. Shouldn't we take a bit of time and come up with a good plan though?

The Sound of Emma

2009-02-04T12:18:00.005-05:00

Our house lately, has been filled with the Sound of Music. We have had the music of tears, joy, piano, harmonica, flute, and now Emma singing. Emma has alway enjoyed music, but recently she is mimicing what she watches. As you can guess she loves to watch the Sound of Music. She can watch this movie 14 million bazillion times a day and never get bored of it. I have to admit that I don't get bored of watching her act it out and follow along. One thing I find funny is that at the beginning of the movie when Maria is on the hill singing "The Hills are Alive" Maria realized she needs to get back to the Abby. As she leaves she realizes she forgot her hat so she runs back and grabs it. Emma likes to drop a toy and move back a bit, then touch her head and say "O Gosh" and run and pick it up, then run around the house like she is going to the Abby. It's so cute!!!!

I pulled out the camera and tried to catch her in the act, but it's tough since she will only let me record when she can see what I am filming. That should explain why it's not always perfectly centered.

Enjoy!!!

Welcome Back

2009-02-03T11:40:00.002-05:00

I'm back to blogger. I have to admit that it's a lot better than it was last time I was here. Why did I switch? I wanted to be able to print our family blogs without cutting and pasting everything. Now that I have this up and running, there will be tweaks here and there, but this is the site. So now that I am here, I have a lot of posting to do. Please change your linky-loo's to this spot and come back often!

Love ya!

A Little Switcherooo

2009-01-22T13:50:00.001-05:00

Why again? Well, I want to be able to print my blog. Sadly, I can't do that with Apple....

Our NEW blog

2006-05-13T11:49:00.003-04:00

What? A new blog? It seems like I am constantly changing and updating huh! Well, we got a new program on our MAC that mades doing this blog stuff so much easier. It also allowed us to put up movies (there is link to the left of this and one in our new blog on the about me page). We will keep this site up, that way if any of you don't bookmark the new page, you can always get to it from here. Drum roll....

http://web.mac.com/bncrabtree

So there it is. Please come visit us and drop us an e-mail once in a while.

Love,

Nicole

Movie's!!!

2006-04-28T21:31:00.000-04:00

I wanted to let all of you know that we have a link off to the side called Home Video where you can see movies that I have made. I hope you enjoy watching it...I had a lot of fun making them!!!

Nicole

It's great when friends come!!

2006-04-21T10:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I have been really slacking when it comes to posting things. Brent and I have been busy doing so much over the past two months. This post is my first attempt at an "updated" Blogg. There are about two others that I need to do, but I can share EVERYTHING...or else why would you come back. :)

In March I had a good friend from Boston come and visit. She was up in King of Prussia (a.k.a. Valley Forge) doing some training for her work. After her training was over we picked her up and we did some sight seeing and she stayed the night. The only thing that I wish could have been different was my schedule. I would have loved to have more time to hangout, but you do what you can do on short notice.

When ever I travel with Lauren (the last time was to the Bahamas for spring break while we were in Boston) she is always very organized and has really explored the area she is visiting online. So it was no suprise that she suggested Valley Forge. Brent and I had never been there because we have been saving the "sites" until people came to visit us. So since Lauren was the second (Chris and Steve came but we did DC, and that was another post you can find in the archives), we hadn't done any of the Philly stuff.

Valley Forge suprised me. It was very small, but yet so beautiful. The whole park is about 10 miles and sits in the middle of hustle and bustle. Yet, when you enter the park it's quite. We chose to do the audio tour and at first we paid attention, but then we created our own audio in the form of conversation. :) The first site we saw was the bunkers that the soldiers stayed in. This was all they had for the winter, and as the tour said, some were built better than others. The one shown in the pictures happened to be a well built one and with a nice fire in the corner it would have been very warm. These were where General Peter Muhlenberg's brigade anchored the outer line of the defense.

The next site we saw was the National Memorial Arch. This made me feel like I was in France. It was beautiful. I took photos and they are posted here of the writing that is found on the inside of the arch on the right and left walls. If you can't see it close enough, click on the photo and it will pop-up in another screen and enlarge. Walking through it and around it made you feel so small. I felt so grateful for the "magnitude" (no pun intended) of what these soldiers and leaders did and endured for our country. It was intended to commemorate the "Patience and fidelity of the soldiers who wintered in valley forge".

The statue here from distance looks like George Washington, but it is really General Wayne. This is where Wayne and his troops made their first encampment. I also learned that the statue faces towards Wayne's first home (I bet it was in Wayne, PA). :)

The next site we drove to see was Washington's Headquarters. When we got there we were amazed at how small the house was. The tour guy (who did not lead a tour past the entrance of the house) told us that this house usually housed around 15-20 people at once. From the inside on the main floor there are two rooms. The planning room and the dinning room. When you go upstairs there is again only 2 rooms. These were bedrooms with one bed in each room. So I would imagine four slept here. Lastly, there was a third floor that had one big room. This room could have fit 15 people (that number would have kept it warm), but it would have been very tight. I guess you make it work in war though. I have included a photo of the plaque talking about Washington's Headquarters.

This last photo again is of someone I don't remember, but it looks good right? :) As I look at the Valley Forge map I think it might be of Von Steuben. *shrug*, but I don't remember.

This last photo is of Brent in the archway of Washington's Memorial Chapel. This chapel has an active congregation was built to commemorate Washington's service to his country. It was very beautiful and Brent said it reminded him of Cathedrals in England.

So that is Valley Forge in a nutshell. Anyone who wants to visit us can come and see it in person (is that incentive or what)!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

2006-03-24T21:52:00.000-05:00

Today Brent and I had our first ultrasound and found out we are having a healthy (and very active) little girl. We loved being able to watch her move and to actually see her for the first time. Somehow it really makes us feel like parents even though everything is still out of our hands. We hope you all enjoy the photos, we were very excited to share them with all of you!

Love,
Brent and Nicole

Just killing some time

2006-03-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I don't have anything really great to write about tonight. I am home while Brent is off at the hospital saving people right and left. I have to say that I have so much respect for him and I admire him so much for his dedication to what he does. When things don't go his way, he sticks it out till it eventually goes his way. Way to go hun!! So proud of you and appreciate all you do!!

So tonight I have been browsing and doing some blog updates. If you notice there is a link to the food network (this is a life saver and it's very free) I have loved this site and I thought I would share. Have any of you checked out the free credit reports? I actually got mine a while a go and found a fraudulent charge on there. I disputed it and they took care of it right away.

I have also added a link to a website for the Mormon Mommy Wars. I have not read it long enough to decide if they are actually Mormon, but either way their blog is great and their sense of humor makes me laugh.

Well, I hope you are all having a much more exciting night than I, and I do hope eventually all you closet readers will get the guts to post. I know you’re out there!

Night,

Nicole

And so life continues....

2006-03-16T18:14:00.000-05:00

Hey family, friends, and random blog searchers. I have been putting off posting because we had no pictures to add that would make it more intersting. As you can see I remidied that. The baby and I are doing great and Brent is getting more and more excited for the ultra sound in April.
In February I was able to hear the heartbeat and wow...that was a real moment. I think I always knew we were expecting, but hearing that heartbeat sends you into instant "Mommy" mode somehow. Suddenly I am finding myself touching my stomach more and then grinning a bit. We have started to think of names ( you can give us suggestions) and have bought a few items for the nursery. The excitment for both of us is really starting to set in. There is posting here of how big I am ( we are taking weekly picutres to see the progression).

Other things going on besides the baby is that Brent took me to Atlantic City, NJ for my birthday. We had a great time!! At first I was nervous that the area would not be very good (and it wasn't, but not as bad as I had dream it up to be), but when we got there we felt safe enough. We stayed in a beautiful hotel called the Flagship resort and the first night we were there we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner. The atomosphere was cool, but the food left you feeling jipped. The dessert was actually really good though, I mean can you really go wrong with a brownie sundae? The next day we went and explored the island near Atlantic City and had a good time there. In the afternoon we went to the outlets to wander and found out that my red purse I got for Christmas that keeps staining furniture and sweaters had a manufacture defect. I was able to return it and get another purse for free.

The people at the store were very nice (a lot nicer than they were in Pa). Then that evening we went to the Tropicana to walk around and had a blast there. The Tropicana looks like a casino in Vegas. It had elaborate architecture inside that made it feel like you were walking on a street. There were trees lining the street with little shops and streat performers. The best was the statue man dressed up like a silver Micheal Jackson that would move when you gave him money. He seemed to like to kiss girls hands a lot....we all knew Micheal was strange. :) On Sunday we went to a spanish branch there. The people were so nice to us and it was amazing how much I was taught by the spirit. I could not understand anything since I don't speak spanish, but after I told Brent what I got out of it he told me that it's what the people were speaking about. That showed me the power of the spirit! No matter where you go or what language it's in the church is always the same.

For my birthday Brent got me a new blender (our old one was on it's last blade rotation I swear). This new blender is fantastic! I whips up smoothies and other things in no time and makes them ultra smooth. Since March 10th our freezer is stocked with frozen fruit and ice. Our fridge always has milk and yogurt and the cupboard had protien powder. What more do you need? I even have the cute guy to eat it with. :) It's funny, I never thought I would have wanted a blender for my birthday, but I had been asking for one for a while.

To sum this all up...Brent and I are doing great and are so grateful for all of you in our lives. Are there many of you out there reading this? I dare you to leave us a message!!! Come on...Do it!!!! If nothing else we know we have our few faithful blog readers.

Bye- Nicole, Brent, and the pea in the pod. :)

We are expecting!!!

2006-02-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

We are expecting!!!
We wanted to share our good news with all of you and let you now that we will be welcoming a child into our family in August.

I hope all of you are doing well and we would love to hear about all the fun things in your lives. We will update you as we are updated also!

Love,

Brent and Nicole

We are back!!

2006-02-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

So it has been while since we last posted. Almost three months actually. I am not sure where to begin on the update since so much has happened. Here is a try. In December we went on a temple trip with the YW in our ward. We had a great time and while we were there I ran into a friend of mine from Boston, Stephanie Ketchum. She had just started her mission there at the D.C. visotors center. I also ran into a friend of mine from High School named Julia Debry ( I can't remember her married name, sorry). She and her husband and I believe two kids were visiting one lasts time before they moved back to Utah in a couple of weeks. Needless to say it was a fun trip for me, and I enjoyed introducing Brent to them.

Later in December I flew out to Utah and spent Christmas with my family. It was a blast!! Everyone was there and I loved the good times filled with stories and games. My Grandma Ranks had just moved out there from California and we got a chance to see her new house for the first time. It had a great view, and now we have officially made it a home with all our fond memories. Another treat for us was having my Aunt Karen and Cousin Jason out there. I think it was the first Christmas in a really long time that we were lucky enough to have Jason there. He is really fun to be around and my nieces and nephew adore him. Dallan kept on finding him all over the house. We also got to see Danielle and Richards new Horse!!! Now we have two horse owners in the family. On December 28th Brent flew out to Utah and spent a week there too. Everyone loved having him there and were so excited the week before to have him get there. During his time there with us he was able to go skiing with Chris and Steve at Alta. They said the weather was perfect and the snow was alright. Utah was seriously lacking in the snow department while we were there. My nieces got new tubes from LL Bean and had no snow to use them. Dallan enjoyed sitting in his tobagen none the less.

On January 4th we flew to Seattle to spend some time there with Brent's family. We had wonderful time there. When we got there the house was all decorated for Christmas and the lights were still on the house. It was really pretty! We filled our trip with lot's of family time like visiting family, and traveling around. We were able to travel to Spokane and check it out while we were there. Spokane was nice, but we are not 100% sure that it's are top choice. It's not off the radar, but not very high up there. We are very appreciative for Brent's parents driving us all the way over there so that we were able to see what the town was like. We are also grateful for the Crumps helping us out and introducing Brent to a doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital, he was able to introduce Brent to ER physicians there. That was very helpful! During our trip we were able to hold the annual Candle fest and I think we set a record this year with over 250 candles!! We will top that next year.

There are so many things about both trips that we loved and we are sorry we could not post them all. We hope everyone is doing great and we miss you all!

Love Brent and Nicole

Gingerbread houses

2005-12-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

Earlier in November we made a gingerbread house with our neighbors. This was the first time the Swagata and Nishika had ever made a gingerbread house before, so this made it a lot more fun for Brent and I.

When we first started to build it Nishika and Swagata were trying very hard to make it pretty. I had to explain to them that the more candy they put on the house...the more you got to eat later. Once I said that, they put a bit more candy on...but by the standards of my family it is very bare. *smile* For them it is perfect though. As they were adding the frosting both of them suddenly got very nervous (almost like stage fright), because they were afraid to ruin it. Once they got going and a bit less intimidated by the idea of designing it, they started to relax and really make a spectacular house.

Brent and I enjoyed making the house with them and sharing a bit of our holiday traditions. We wished that her parents were still here and able to take a part in it. I'm sure they are enjoying the nice weather in India.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the season. We all have a lot to be grateful for in our lives, and it's nice to have this season to help us slow down and take a closer look at our blessings.

Merry Christmas!!

Nicole and Brent

Thanksgiving

2005-12-10T21:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know it has been a while. It also might have been longer if it was not for Margo updating her Blogg. It's all about keeping up with the Clarke's *wink*.

For Thanksgiving this year we had my sister Chris and her husband Steve fly out from Louisville, KY. They flew in Thanksgiving morning, and I gave them a tape recorded version of the "Big Bus Tour" of Philadelphia. Mostly, because Brent had just gotten off work and was still waking up (he only got 4 hours of sleep).

Once we made it to our lovely apartment we fixed them a quick stir-fry and drove out to Lancaster, PA to spend the rest of the Day with our Uncle Bob and Aunt Jeanne.

The day before I had made two beautiful lemon merangue pies, banana cream pie, and some home baked rolls. The only thing that ended up going to Lancaster were the rolls since the pies were too hard to transport. Our neighbors said they loved the pies though. *smile*

When we got there we sat down and enjoyed the wonderful dinner that Jeanne had spent a lot of time preparing. Everything was cooked perfectly. The table was beautifully decorated and we ate by candle light. After the dinner was all over we all sat down for some fun conversations about Maine and family history. Bob used to be the president of the Mayflower Historical Society (I hope I had that right). He just retired from that this year. We got many great stories and saw some really cool geneology charts that were made around 1912.

The next day we went to the outlets to get the "Black Friday" sales. I was suprised to discover that the sales were not that great. We went to two stores and then called it quites (like I said, the sales were not great at all!!).

On our way back to Philadelphia we were originally going to go to Longwood gardens to see the christmas lights, but on a whim decided to drive down to Washington D.C. and stay the night. When we finally made it there we went to spanish tappas for dinner and enjoyed watching the dancers and eating over priced food. Then we did a whirl-wind tour of the monuments from about 10-1:00 A.M. Chris got some great photos of the WW2 monument and the Washington monument.

The next day we went to the Air and Space museum, the Museum of Natural History ( Chris took this great photo of the boy...it's photo contest worthy I think), Hirshorn museum, and the Botanical Gardens. To get to all of these places we took the Metro. Riding the Metro was Steve's first time on a subway. When they are in Louisville the prefer to travel by horse *wink*. Finishing with the botanical gardens was a nice touch since they were decorated for the holidays.

When we finally did make it back to Philadelphia, we again did a night time tour of the sites, and ended up calling it a day around 2 A.M. We loved having them here and showing them around our neck of the woods. Next time they come we will do more Philadelphia things...and do another first for them...NYC!!!

Good times

2005-11-15T14:43:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Brent's parents traveled through NYC, so Brent and I drove up to visit them for about 5 hours. The drive to NYC was a lot shorter than either of us thought it was going to be. Brent worked until midnight Friday and then we both slept for a few hours and then he drove to Newark where we met his parents. Brent's parents were flying through on their way to Jordan, Israel, and Egypt. They are going to visit a lot of historical church sites and experience a new part of the world.
After we met up with their travel group at the hotel, Brent's father rode the bus into NYC so they would know where to meet the group when it came time for them to go to the airport. Brent, his mother, and I all drove into NYC (actually I drove....and if I might say so myself, I was a great navigator).

After we got to NYC we picked up Brent's Dad at the Lincoln Center and went out for breakfast. After breakfast we walked over to Times Square and I contemplated getting tickets for Brent and I to see a show that night at TKTS. The lines were very long, plus there are not many good plays right now on Broadway. I know that sounds funny, but nothing jumped out at us. After we left Broadway we walked over to 5th Ave. and on the way I picked up a Prada purse. I could not believe all the amazing architecture in some of the stores. The Sephora store had these elaborate iron scroll designs in the store on all the railings and around the windows.

Eventually we found a Lindt store and we of course had to stop in and grab a few truffles as well as a gift for their tour guide. I guess he told Brent's parents that he wished he could have cocao as his Hebrew name (he said it meant chocolate). We were able to find him a chocolate that said cocoa/cocao. I'm sure he got a laugh out of his surprise.
After we took his parents to the bus by the Temple, Brent and I drove back to Philadelphia and drove around old city since neither of us had been there before. I loved it!! It has the constitution center, 1st and 2nd bank of the United States of America, Betsy Ross house, and many cute parks and other landmarks. When my sister Chris and her husband Steve come out for Thanksgiving we are going to go there and show them around.

To top off the fabulous day that we had we went to the Hard Rock Cafe here in Philadelphia. Neither one of us were too impressed with it and next time I think we will be a bit more adventurous and go to the Melting Pot (this is a great fondu restaurant, perfect for dessert). We hope you are all doing great and please leave a message every now and then.

Love, Brent and Nicole

Long time no blog....

2005-10-23T00:53:00.000-04:00

Hey family and friends. Sorry I haven't posted in a bit. I suffered a really bad case of an allergic reaction on Wednesday and I have been out of commission. I am on some medicine now and doing great. Still a bit puffy, but other than that great. I contemplated posting the photo, but truly....it was only for a SPLIT second. :) Other than those few restful days on Benadryl, I have been staying busy with school.

Brent and I have been keeping really busy with life and mostly school. Brent is working right now at St. Christopher's Children’s hospital in North East Philly (not the good part of town). He comes home with interesting stories, and over the past few days some really heartbreaking ones of child abuse. It just makes my heart ache for the kids who are in these situations. All in all Brent is really enjoying what he does, but looks forward to working in a smaller city that is closer to all of our family out west.

Brent has also kept busy as the Elders Quorum activity leader. He put together a BBQ/kickball activity that went great! He cooked up some great hamburgers with our "special spices" ( you can purchase at none other than Costco of course). We had so many people tell us that it was the best burger they had ever had. Then a few days later (okay...the next day) a guy from our ward asked to borrow it...It's been a week and it's still gone. Maybe we haven't gotten it because I told him we needed a recipe in return? Anyway, lot's of the Men showed up with their families, and a good time was had by all!! It was really fun to watch everyone play kickball. After it was all over Brent discovered muscles that he didn't know he had till they hurt. I guess he is spedning too much time working...can I change that on "Wife orders"? JK

On Monday I got together with my good friend Monica. I LOVE THIS GIRL!! She has the guts to say and do what I only think in my head (sort of like you Margo). She had to run some errands and asked me if I wanted to join her (I happened to be in the area) so I said sure. We roamed the mall (believe it or not family I came out empty handed...close your mouths...it's true). BUT...her cute son Chase didn't!! HEHEHE...there is always a catch. :) I learned a few lessons from her about bargain shopping as a mother. She has that one down!! You go girl! I have included a picture of the two of us on the steps of the art museum here in Philly when we had a girl’s day out at the Dali exhibit.

Which was also a lot of fun. I must make mention here that it is because of Matt, Monica, and their adorable dog Ginger, that my husband now likes dogs (and yes...there is a photo here of that too). Don't worry...we take notes on all their supper, duper, dog training tricks (there are many).

I hope you have all enjoyed my 1:07 A.M. post (Brent is working an overnight), and if you made it this far in the post...YOU TRULY ARE MY FRIEND or your the best, darn, family ever !! :)

Love you all!

Nicole

Neighbors

2005-10-09T22:19:00.000-04:00

I wanted to introduce all of you to our neighbors. Swagata and Nishika have been really great! We love being able to tap on the door or leave little messages on the door to say hi every now and then. Swagata's parents have been visiting from Kalkuta, India. I think in total they will be here for 5 months. A couple of weeks ago her mother cooked us an authentic Indian dinner. There really were not words to describe how good it was. They explained to us that real Indian food is not really spicy unless you want it that way. I am not a fan of a lot of spice and I was very glad to hear that. We also had the chance to meet her sister who was visiting this weekend while she was in NYC on business. Her father and sister are in the Tea business and they offered me some tea. She had some fantastic chamomile herb tea ( it wasn’t the ground up in the teabag tea, but rather there were real rose hip, chamomile, and other herbs) it was the best chamomile I have had.
Tonight I had a great time chatting with them about life, and the similarities and differences in our cultures. The more I talk to them, the more I want to go to India. Brent’s Visa to India is the closest we have come so far. One day....we will go.
We love and miss you all!

Love,

Nicole

How to post

2005-10-03T23:04:00.000-04:00

Brent informed me that some of you might not be sure how to post comments. At the bottom of each post (hygiene, the dog, this one, etc) there is a little line on the bottom right that says comments. Hopefully there will be a number higher than 0 (that means you left a post). If you click on that it will take you to a screen that will allow you to leave messages. If anyone has some questions let me know and I will explain it more in depth.

Friends and family

2005-10-03T23:01:00.000-04:00

Well, I went over to Margo's blog and saw that she was posting her friends and families blogs...so I am following her (it was her idea to start a blog in the first place). I have included a link to her blog for those of you that knew her in Boston or just want to see how cute her boy Thomas is. If anyone else starts a blog I will be quick to add a link to it from our site. I want to say Congratulations to Hilary and Ian Deanda on their incredibly cute boy Charlie!!! I can't write much now because I have three tests tomorrow. Take care and love you all!! Thanks for the messages and e-mails.

The dog we want

2005-09-24T21:45:00.000-04:00

Since our photo link requires a password, I figure I should answer the question for you. We want a Vizsla. I think the password needs to be in all lower case letters.

First Day of Hygiene School

2005-09-24T21:03:00.000-04:00

I know what you are all thinking...where can I find cute clothes like that! Hahaha....is blue my color? JK So this was taken not actually on my first day of school, but more like the second or third week. I guess the fact that there is a smile on my face is a good thing.

Hygiene school is really interesting and yet, really intense. I never really understood how much a hygienist needed to know to get that piece of paper that says "green light to clean teeth". Right now I am taking Dental anatomy, micriobiology, Histology and Embryology, and POSH 101 AND 100 (fancy term for clinic and lecture). I have passed my dental mirror and probing test. What that translates into is I am good enough with those two instruments that they trust me on real patients. That is usally a good thing if your the patient. *smile*

Durning the semester there are lot's of little projects that we are required to do. So far I have shadowed a second year student for 4 hours, helped with the Special Olympics reception dinner, and projects on medications and oral lesions. After doing the project on oral lesions and hearing about all the things that manifest in the mouth I understand why it is important for us to understand all the diseases and how drugs interact. You really can see symptons and signs of diseases. One example is HIV. You get very painful sores that are almost like blisters that come and go. I have also been very interested in the links between oral care and heart disease.

Anyway, I could go on and on. Today Brent went to a Temple vs. W. Michagan game with a friend of ours Matt Hudson. He said it was really fun. I made him take a picture so that he could post a blog about that and the Birthday party he went to.

Take care everyone!!

PS The Texas Nelsons (Uncle Matt) our thoughts and prayers are with you down in Texas. Maren, I don't have your phone number anymore, but know that we have been thinking about you in Baton Rouge too.

We hope you like our Blog!!

2005-09-22T22:08:00.000-04:00

Well, It’s official. All of you have now gotten a link to our blog. The photos above where taken when Brent and I went to Bar Harbor, ME. There is a history with me and car surfing. Anytime I am on a beach (or in Maine) in a sport utility vehicle….I must car surf. So far my car surfing locations include: Portland, Bar Harbor, Nantucket, and Boston. Tori and Rebekah…these photos were just for you!! I hope everyone will become active participants in our blog and leave lot’s of messages. This is a way for all of us to keep in touch. Enjoy this and know that we love and miss you all!!

Nicole

September 21, 2005

2005-09-21T22:13:00.000-04:00

Well, this is a new idea that I got from Margo Clarke. Her Blogg spot is much better, but hey, you have to start somewhere. I am hopeing that people will log and read this, plus leave a posting or two, to update us on their lives.

Brent and I are doing really well right now. I have started Dental Hygiene at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA. It's about a 45 min drive each way, but I have driven it so much I don't notice it anymore. I knew I was too used to it when I had to drag Brent out here and he kept asking..."How much farther". Then we kept seeing horse crossing signs.

Brent has just started a new rotation in the Nicu. That is slang for the ICU for infants. Over the summer we were really lucky to have great hours and enjoy a lot of time together. Brent is doing great in his residency at Drexel, and we have become much more adjusted to Philadelphia.

I will write more later when I have more time. I hope everyone is doing great, and please know that Brent and I love and miss you all!!

Love,

Nicole and Brent