Christmas past, Christmas present

Past: My little sister Rachel 2.25 yrs old, Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas from Jerry Thomas on Vimeo.

Present: Levi 3.5yrs old, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Selections

grinch selections from Jerry Thomas on Vimeo.

Recently

Snowflakes for the window.


Christmas tree made from one of our last moving boxes. A tribute to 2010.


A visit to the Joseph Smith Birthplace Memorial. Its about 25 miles away and is all decorated up for Christmas.

quotent quotables

Levi has been trying to incorporate new vocabulary into his repertoire, with varying degrees of success. I find myself chuckling and the sentences he puts together.

"Mom, can you certainly get up?"

"Don't come in here, just go on eating your dinner"

"Oof, these bananas are quite heavy"

While looking at a postcard from Krissie, "Looks like a pretty classy neighborhood" (a direct movie quote)

"Mmm, I smell a delicious aroma"

"Dad, you need to put on your pajamas and go to bed too. It's impossible. No, uh... it's urgent!"

Update November 2010

Here's what we've been up to:
Jerry is really enjoying his new job and new coworkers. Perks include interesting work, first class facilities, and quiche. Also swimming at the River Valley Club, where his work pays for his membership.

Vivian is in the middle of a tough course in school with group projects every other week. Also, trying (and failing) to upgrade our apartment from college dumpster to... whatever the next step is.

Levi goes to preschool Monday and Tuesday mornings. It is a co-op with 2 boys and two girls. He also enjoys when I babysit for our neighbors. He and their 4 year old, Molly, play really well together. He likes to act out stories from a book we've been reading. Stories like the gingerbread man, 3 little pigs, and goldilocks.

Happy Halloween!

Quebec City

What a beautiful city! None of use could stop taking pictures.

First look at New England + the Cooks come to visit

Road Trip of the West

Finally getting around to putting up some pictures. Here are our travels around the wild west.

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Vacation is always a mixed bag.  First pic is this morning, second pic is this evening.  We'll post some more soon.

packed up

Its strange to look at all your possessions in one spot. This is our home packed into a 8'x 10 x 6' space. We depart tomorrow for a grand tour of some beautiful western states including Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.

Faux Chinese Wisdom

Before the fateful job interview a few weeks ago we all went out to a chinese restaurant and afterward each got a fortune cookie.  The fortunes above were what we found (transcribed again below).

• Jerry - There are many new opportunities that are being presented to you.
• Vivian - Many pleasurable and memorable adventures are in store for you!
• Levi - Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

I know it is probably not advisable to read too much into faux wisdom, but I find it interesting that I'm headed for some "new opportunities" (new job), and Vivian will certainly have some memorable adventures (with an exclamation point!).  And... well... I guess Levi is just gonna have to deal with it (quit your whining kid, this is supposed to be fun).

New Hampshire: Live Free or Die!

Just for some perspective...

Sales Tax By State

California:            8.25%

New Mexico:       5.125%

New Hampshire:  0.0%

Are we moving in the right direction?  Kinda feels like it.  And did I mention NH doesn't have any state income tax either?  I'm sure they must compensate for this with a little in property tax, but who needs property?

Its not me, its you

Sorry New Mexico, I liked you, I really did. But you weren't ready to commit to a long term relationship. I picked up on this when you told me you were planning to forget about me at the end of the year.


Well guess what, I've found someone new. Someone who isn't putting limits on their feelings for me. I'm not saying you weren't good to us. It's just that a lot of my belongings have been in boxes for over a year and well, New Hampshire is talking real nice. It isn't too painful to look at either.

June and July adventures

Singing Random Sampler

singing july2010 from Jerry Thomas on Vimeo.

3 years old!

Visit Home Part 1

Visit Home Part 2

april/may photos

No captions needed for these photos. They would pretty much all say "went on a hike".

2 yrs, 9 months

Cars (the movie) Explanation

cars explanation from Jerry Thomas on Vimeo.

Is it springtime yet?

Spring Slopes from Jerry Thomas on Vimeo.

Feb/March pictures

We're number 1*

Yes, the rumors are true. My pie plus Jerry's equation=first place in "non-fruit" pie category! There were points awarded for "appearance" so I think Jerry definitely gets credit in this win. I'd like to thank my sponsors Ghirardelli and *Jeannie Sprague.

I say, if you can't beat them maybe you should steal their recipe and enter it in a different contest. If anyone from Santa Barbara was at the Pi(e) contest they may have recognized a copycat version of Jeannie's chocolate cheesecake entry from the elite 8 round of the SB dessert contest. Is it cheating? or just learning my lesson?

Pie for Pi Day

Tomorrow our ward is celebrating Pi day (one day early because 3.14 is on sunday). Here is my entry into the pi(e) competition. A chocolate cheesecake pie. Can you figure out the equation on the top is for? Can someone at least review it for accuracy before the big day?

Artisan

Here are a few pieces of high art produced by a 2yr old with a camera.

Breaking News - Back to School Special

Interviewer: Hi, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. So you're about to have a major change in your life, would you like to share it with the folks?
V. Thomas: Yes, I've applied and been accepted into the MBA program at Norwich University.

Interviewer: But you don't live in Vermont.
V. Thomas: They have a program that can be done remotely.

Interviewer: Like an "online" program? Will you really learn anything?
V. Thomas: The program consists of online lectures, reading assignments, online discussions, conference calls for group projects, and a research paper due at the end of every week.

Interviewer: How did you decide on this program?
V. Thomas: I read a lot of reviews of programs and I liked this one the most. It is a university with a campus instead of just being an online entity, the class sizes are small, and they offer an emphasis that interests me (Organizational Leadership). I also like that they require an on campus "residency" at the end of the program where you go to the school and meet your classmates and professors before you graduate.

Interviewer: How do you plan on making time for the work?
V. Thomas: Well the program is designed for working professionals. So I'm going to try to complete it after my mom work hours, during naps, and sigh...Saturdays. If that doesn't work, I might have to do some serious work to get Rachel a job out here.

Interviewer: OK, so the real question on everone's mind is - what if you have another baby? What then?
V. Thomas: The program cycle starts 4 times a year, so if I need to take some time off and then go back it should work.

Interviewer: Thanks for meeting with us, and good luck.

Recreating the Past

One great toddler picture of me that has survived is from a snowy day when I was around 20 months old (see below).  One day my mom found a jacket for sale that reminded her so much of that picture that she had to buy it, and a year ago she gave it to Levi for Christmas.  For the last 14 months we've been trying to convince Levi to help us recreate the past (much like this) by posing for a picture in the jacket.  But with Santa Barbara palm trees in the background the picture never looked quite right and the project stalled.

Once we moved here and after receiving buckets of snow the project resumed with only one little hurdle to overcome.  I took this video so you can appreciate this little hurdle in all his "terrible two" glory.


We have this same conversation a lot, and for the last two months he has refused to touch the coat.  But eventually with a bit of coaxing we were able to get him in costume and outside.  And here is the result.

And with a little help from photoshop here is an enhanced version.

What do you think?  Levi seems to think it is funny.

In the bath

I've been having an increasingly difficult time getting Levi to play along with the movie making. I had to catch him in a small corner to give you an update. Its not cinematography genius, but its a fair sampling of his current stage in life.

in the bath from Jerry Thomas on Vimeo.

The Black Hole - Atomic Surplus

For Sale at the Black Hole
1. Missile casings
2. Cryogenic container
3. Centrifuges
4. 4 ft long slide rule
5. 100 hard hats
6. Radiation monitors
7. Surveillance equipment
8. 6ft x 10ft chalkboards
9. forklift
10. A photoplethysmograph and bi-directional doppler (2 in 1!)
11. And much much more!

Snow Day.... Again.

This is the view from our front kitchen window this morning.  At least this time I get a few hours off of work.

Notice they have already plowed the road at least once, and I already brushed 8 inches off the car last night thinking it was done.  And you can see our nice neighbor trying to figure out where to shovel the snow.  It's kinda like bailing out a boat that is under water and far from land.

Anybody want to go sledding?  Maybe Jen again?

Jen Jen in Twenty-Ten

And here's the link to the photos from Jen's camera - http://jenurena.blogspot.com/2010/01/new-mexico.html

January

Wintertime fun

A shout out to Carrie who was the major benefactor of Levi's outfit. All except the 80's retro snow pants (are there any other kind? seriously...), which we found at the thrift store.

Does it look like we shop at the same stores?

Last Saturday we decided to take another trip down to Santa Fe to do some shopping. We decided to go to REI first since that is the one we both wanted to visit most. Accidentally we got there right when it opened, and we were really confused that people were lining up at the door. We knew something was up and hurried in to find that we had stumbled into their biggest sale of the year (Scratch and Dent Sale) where a bunch of barely used gear was being resold. It was like a thrift store dedicated to good quality outdoor goods (which is surely one of Viv's favorite fantasies). 90 minutes later we came out with big grins and a bunch of cheap stuff. The picture above kinda shows the end result. Do we look like we really like each other?

SNOW DAY!!

Santa Barbara never gets out of work early for SNOW DAY!!

One of the perks of living in a place that actually has seasons.

But Viv has shoveled the walkway about 6 times in the last week, do you think it will be the last?

Quote

Me: You need to get back in bed, its bedtime.
Levi: I want to talk about the options.

Me (from the couch): Do you have a stinky diaper? Get over here so I can check.
Levi: Mom, go to sleep.

My spidey senses

We were in shock for a few days when we first got here. I think they call it "cold shock" and our Santa Barbara all-weather gear (equipped for such weather extremes as 65deg and partly cloudy) wasn't quite cutting it. We took an emergency trip to the Target in Santa Fe to look for some warm gear, but I guess I wasn't desperate enough because the $18 leather gloves just didn't seem like they were worth it. Especially not when I found this $3 pair in the kids section.

Sure, I kinda have webbed fingers now and maybe they don't quite cover all of my wrist. But, these gloves give me a sixth sense. A Spidey sense. Wouldn't you pay $3 for some spiderman gear?

Stinkface Cousins

Levi will often times give you a stinkface on cue. It looks kinda like this.

After seeing this picture we were reminded of another great stinkface caught on camera from Levi's cousin, Lucy, a few years back. Enjoy.

10 Things I like so far

1. Sun- everyday, all day.
2. Friendly, healthy, happy people who all seem to love living here.
3. The water comes out of the tap ice cold and tastes so good.
4. High per capita income remarkably paired with very very little consumerism.
5. Low humidity - Jerry's allergies are much better, there is no mold growing in the corners of our house, and it takes me 2.5 minutes to dry my hair.
6. Trails everywhere. Most are under snow right now, more on this in coming months.
7. Dishwashered clean sippy cups
8. Our neighbors/landlords are beyond nice and helpful.
9. Jerry looks good in sweaters.
10. There is a free activity for kids somewhere in town every morning except Monday.

Road Trip and Arrival

Christmas Good Times

Last days in SB

OK, I know I've got some catching up to do. We're here in Los Alamos and our stuff arrived, and its pretty much put away. Here are some photos from our last days in Santa Barbara.