Chocolate Vanilla

I just finished The Help yesterday afternoon. Yep, only took me 4 days! It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once I did I couldn't put it down. In fact I dreamt about it. Alot.

I won't give away too much in case you want to read it, but it is a book about black maids in Jackson, Mississippi who work for white people in the 1960's. It gives their stories and perspectives, but also a third perspective from a white person trying to tell the story.

Some of you know, I grew up in Sugarland, Texas. I remember not knowing the difference in the color of skin until I was in first grade. It never mattered. My best friend was a girl named Wellina. She was a plump black girl who lived across the street from us. Her dad was black and her mom was white. I remember playing in their garage one day and we were asking each other about our skin colors. I remember we asked each other if we tasted like chocolate or vanilla. We decided to lick each others cheek to find out. Now it being summertime, in Texas of all places, we were sweaty and sticky. The only thing we tasted was salt. We both said "Yuck" laughed and never brought it up again.

The next year we moved to another part of town and I had to change schools. Fort Meyer, I believe, was the name of the school. I was ONE of only a handful of white people in this school. But I still knew no different. We all played together. The only groups we formed were boys against girls. My best friend at the time was named Asia. I loved going to her house because she had so many siblings. My mom told me they had cockroaches the size of cats!

The following year we moved to Sandy, Utah. It was different. There were no colored people in my class. It. Was. Strange.

I am so glad that things have changed and evolved over the years. I am glad that there is not as much segregation as their was in the early years. I do, however, feel that we are starting to change. That everyone is beginning to fear everyone again.

There is a quote at the end of the book that I love.

"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I thought."

There are SO many great messages in this book!

Absent...

So, I've been absent for a while.

Nick had to take a business trip to Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago and I was lucky enough to join.

While he was busy in meetings and conferences, I had one goal...

To read a book!

It had been YEARS since I had picked up a book. (Well, besides parenting and pregnancy books.)

Life gets too busy and too crazy to be able to read, right?

Well that seems to be what I had been telling myself.

So, back to the conference.

I did get a facial and massage, but spent the rest of the three days holed up in my hotel room reading!

I decided to start with The Hunger Games.

Well, by the end of the trip I finished it.

And within the next ten days, I finished the trilogy! It was soooo good!!! I highly recommend it!!!

I just started The Help last night, so hopefully I'll get into it like the others.

If you don't hear from me in a while, my nose is probably stuck in my Kindle. :)

KaBoom!

Ave had her first accident of 2011 already!

My sweet sis was babysitting so we could go see a movie. She was making Ave some dinner when all of a sudden, KABOOM! Avery fell face first off the sofa onto the edge of the baseboard. Ouch! It could have been a lot worse!

We felt more bad for Ash than Ave. It didn't phase Avery that much, but my sister thought we would be mad. :( It happens Smash, you'll see!

See, she's still her same spunky self!

Love you Long Time Smash!

New Years

We realized that every New Year's Eve that Nick and I have been together, has been spent up in Logan!

Sad that this was our last one here!

We spontaneously planned to have dinner with our friends Matt, Em and Grace. Our party largely grew to include Matt and Emily's two friends. Emily's sister Karli and brother in law Robby. And my sister Smash and her boyfriend Feller.

We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (MAYHEM!) and went back to our house afterwards. We had so much fun watching Avery and Grace run around all night and play! Surprisingly they lasted until about 11:30.

I only took a couple of pictures...

Ash and Fell

Avery would not leave Grace alone!

Dancing?

Silly Grace!

Christmas

So I am now just getting around to posting about Christmas!

I cannot believe Christmas came and went in a blink of an eye!
It makes me quite sad.
I LOVE the holidays!
It's an excuse to see more of your family, decorate your house from top to bottom, bake special treats (that even the husband can't deny) and feel kindness and gratitude from others.
But POOF!
It was over like that!

We had an amazing Christmas!
A bit hectic.
But amazing none the less.
We were able to see ALL of our parents over the weekend.
Avery had sensory overload and I think it was all a bit overwhelming to her!

Avery got spoiled.
So spoiled that I am really embarrassed.
We kept quite a few presents in their boxes to rewrap for her birthday in March.
(Sorry Ave...if you ever read this in the future!)
This is what happens when you have 4 sets of grandparents who LOVE to spoil their granddaughter!
Note to self, buy one present for Ave next year & leave the rest to the grandparents! ;-)

Nick went above and beyond, as usual, but my favorite present was a book he made for me.
He turned our blog into a 250 page family journal!
This will become a tradition (sorry babe, you started it!) that I will look forward to every year!

I hope all of my family and friends had an amazing Christmas spent with their loved ones!
We love you all!

Soooo excited for the kitchen Santa brought her!

Avery didn't like opening her presents. She'd open one and we'd have to bribe her to open another. She just wanted to play with her kitchen.

I made Monkey Bread, which will now be a traditional Christmas treat!

Proud Daddy!

Opening presents at Grandpa Dale and Grandma Sheri's!

Grandpa gave her a book with his voice recorded on it. It is one of Ave's FAVORITE books ever!

A little tired from the exciting morning!

Pretty sure our family is obsessed with facial hair.

Christmas Morning with Thhe Holt's.

Christmas afternoon with my mom!

(My camera died right after this picture! :( )

Ty trying to have Ave show us her muscles. (Wasn't happening.)

Ty and Smash!

Ave with her Great Grandma Shirley.

Grandpa Glen.

Christmas dinner with Nick's mom, Vickie.

Love you Linds!

Day after Christmas my Dad and Dee Dee came by!

(Ave showing her muscles.)

Thank you to our wonderful families for providing us with such a wonderful and loving Christmas!

Day 30

Who am I...

...I am a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a woman. I am a perfectionist and am very picky. I obsessively worry about the smallest things. I rely on my husband for support, guidance and advice. (Although I tend to never listen...) I like to surround myself with good natured people. I battle depression and thyroid disease. (This last year has been a doosey!) I love going to the gym to zone out on a bike or to shake my Kim K (my big butt) in Zumba! I love to sleep, but can never seem to get enough. I do not have a lot of patience, but hope to work on that. I am a lover of taking a bazillion pictures. I am a person who has a very hard time sitting still. I am a daydreamer who loves to travel but am a homebody too! I am me...


...and YES, i did back date my entries...

Day 29

A picture that can always make me smile...

This picture sums up my day! It can get messy, but I can always look back and laugh!

Day 28

A picture of me last year and now, and how have I changed...

(Both taken at Festival of the Trees.)

I don't think I have changed all that much! But, my hair is certainly longer!

I have definitely grown and have learned valuable things in the past year. Such as:

-My marriage is definitely stronger!

-I am (still) learning how to handle a toddler!

-It's ok to ask for help! (And I do, ALOT!)

-I do things for me now!

I am still growing, changing and learning new things each day. I can only hope that I am changing for the better!



Day 27

A picture of something I am afraid of...

I am scared of someone I am close to dying. Especially Nick or Avery. If they were to go before me, I would be lost. I actually don't know how I would live without either one of them!

A few years ago, my dad got into a horrible motorcycle accident. I remember getting the phone call around 6:30 AM from Dee Dee telling me about the accident. My dad had broken his neck. In fact, the doctor's were surprised he was even alive. The tone in her voice was alarming and I knew it was bad. I remember the million thoughts going through my head. I remember pleading with God to help him, telling him we still had to make our relationship right.

When we all got to the hospital, we were basically told to say goodbye to our dad as he was being wheeled away to surgery. It was a risky, RISKY surgery! Thankfully, he was in the best hands and a true miracle happened.

This is the closest I have ever been to losing someone I truly love. I hope to never have to go through that emotional rollercoaster again!

Day 26

A picture of something that means alot to me...

These two are my world and are what I live for! I do not know where I would be without my little family!