Merry Christmas!

Basketball Group!

So, I play basketball Monday, Wednesday and Friday with these women. Some of which have been playing together for over 20 years. These ladies do not mess around, they are very dedicated to playing ball and some hardly miss a day.

A few of these women are Grandmas, in their 50's. I hope that when I am in my 50's I am still in good enough shape to play as hard as they do.

Dental Talk

Finally, here is a photo of the room we remodeled at Jason's dental office. I wish so bad we had taken a "before" photo, because it was truly remarkable. Just picture the worst Grandma-ish decor you've ever laid eyes on and mix it with the worst dental smell you've ever experienced. And Voila. Alameda Dental Office.

And while we are on the topic of dentistry.
Here are a few reasons its hard to be married to a dentist:

5. I have to listen to "dental talk."
4. He makes me use an electric toothbrush
3. I have to brush for the full 2 minutes. (which I can usually get away with only brushing for 1 minute, if I get ready for bed when he's not around)
2. He comes home from work smelling like burning teeth

And the number #1 reason it sucks to be married to a dentist.......drum roll please....

1. He makes me floss.

And I hate to floss, I mean who doesn't right? But really, I absolutely loathe it. So, I used to only floss once or twice a week, but he was constantly lecturing me about not flossing. It is always the same conversation:

Jason: When was the last time you flossed?
Me: Oh, I don't know, a few days ago
Jason: Are you sure because I never saw you floss
Me: Well, just because you didn't see me do it, doesn't mean I didn't floss
Jason: Well, I just think I never see you do it, because you never do it
Me: Just don't worry about it

So, I have started a new thing. I make it a point to always floss when he's not looking.

Lynlee's Elmo Birthday!

See....Ramen Noodles gone bad!

Can you believe Lynlee is 2? Well, I can't. But can I just say, she just gets cuter and cuter everyday. And believe it or not, she is still just a little sweetheart. She has the sweetest disposition, and brings such happiness into our lives.

Let me tell you a quick story. Once upon a time I thought I wanted to be a career woman. I thought for sure I would never be a stay at home mom. It just seemed so mundane and boring....laundry, dishes, vacuuming, making dinner.....blah. I could never picture myself at home, crafting and decorating and changing poopy diapers. I couldn't see the joy and happiness that comes from being a mother and homemaker.

Well, after Jason was done with 2 years of dental school, I applied for my Master's degree in Biology at the Ohio State University. It was the perfect program. I would be done just as Jason was finishing dental school. I anxiously awaited my response to my application. One day, I got a package in the mail. I came home and waited to open it with Jason. I had gotten in! I also took a pregnancy test that day...... And I was pregnant. Yep, I found out I got in to the master's program and that I was pregnant with Lynlee both on the same day.

That was that, I knew that first and foremost comes family and although I didn't understand why it had to happen that way at the time, I knew I wanted to be best mother I could be, so I decided not to go back to school. I had a really hard time while I was pregnant, worrying if it was the right decision. If I would regret it later. If I would be happy staying at home. Little did I know, that would be the best decision I could've ever made.

I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with Lynlee and be here for her in every stage of life. I could not be happier. I could not possibly feel more pure joy and fulfilment than I do as a mother. It brings more joy and happiness than I could have ever imagined. I have never looked back on that decision in my life and wondered if it was the right one. As soon as I held Lynlee in my arms for the first time, all doubts were gone and I have never looked back.

She is the sweetest little girl I could ever ask for.

On another not so mushy note, did I mention she's been wearing underwear for the last week? Well, she is. And so far so good.

I know all of you out there are reading this, and wishing that my next child is a little hellian. I can just sense these things........

Thanksgiving Holiday Family Quotes

I think direct quotes are really the only way to give you a good idea of what my family is made of:

"Doesn't she look like death in the morning?"
-Matt, referring to my sister Bonnie (P.S. They are newlyweds)

"Sorry I farted when I was walking away."
-Ben, my mom forced him to apologize for crop dusting

"You're not crazy, its just a mom thing."
-Matt, to his new mother in law

"If I had your brain, I would turn it off."
- Moi, to my beloved father

"Lynlee's hair looks like Ramen noodles gone bad."
-Ariel, about Lynlee's birthday hair (pics to follow)

"Sometimes its a chore."
-Matt, once again, referring to his new wife

"Chance it! Chance it! Chance it!"
-We made a new tradition this year, each night we went out and played "around the world" on the basketball court behind my house, I'm sure my neighbors loved hearing this over and over at 11pm

Thanksgiving in Arizona!

Admit it, you're jealous.

Thanksgiving Break

My family came out to AZ for Thanksgiving this year, and it was the best time ever. I feel like I am going through post party-dom depression. I miss my family already.

Oh come on...it doesn't get much cuter than this.

We jumped in the pool a few times. Even played musical chairs with the towels.

If you are wondering who the photographer is for these photos, that would be my lovely and talented little sister Ariel.

Very fitting.

The Diva Gloves. My family made fun of me all weekend. In my defense, they were the only size small gloves.

Trying to prepare ourselves for the dive.

We went to the temple lights while they were here. They were gorgeous and it was nice to start getting into the Christmas spirit, because heaven knows the weather doesn't make it seem like Christmas.

After living so far from my family for 4 years, it has really made me appreciate the time I get to spend with my family. It has made me reflect on how grateful I am to have such a wonderful family.

We have such a blast when we get together and talk about fond memories from our childhood like: ghetto family trips to dinosaur museums in the cheeselog with no A/C, or how we were such ugly ducklings in high school, or how I never let my younger sister Bonnie play with me growing up, or how I used to tell my little sister Ariel stories about a tiny boy and his pet dragon who lived in the tree outside her window (which apparently gave her nightmares)........

But what it all comes down to, is I could never imagine growing up any other way. I wouldn't trade the memories I've made with my family for anything............

Bonnie's Wedding Extravaganza

Here are some belated photos from my little sister Bonnie's wedding. She looked absolutely stunning, and we just love her new hubby Matt.

Beautiful, right? Bonnie and Matt rode off after their reception on Matt's motorcycle.......In her wedding dress and a leather jacket.

Baby is in Time Out

Family Quotes

So, I just spent a week in Utah with my family for my sister's wedding. Best time ever. These are my favorite quotes from the trip.....

Quote #1
Dad: Wow, did you see the big hugs Lynlee gave me when she first saw me?
Me: Yes, dad I did. She must be thanking you for shaving off your mustache....
Dad: Well, heck, I'd shave the hair off my butt if that's the thanks I get.

Quote #2
Ariel: How does anyone know whether we really landed on the moon or not. None of us were there.
Me: Well, because they document these sorts of things.
Ariel: Yeah, but it would cost like one million dollars for each person to go. So, why didn't Oprah go?
Me: Good question Ariel. Good question.

Quote #3
Me: Come on Dad, its probably not a good idea to be taking naked pictures of Lynlee getting out of the bath to post everywhere.
Dad: Oh, its fine. What's the big deal?
Me: Well, I heard on the news that some lady did that and went to jail for extortion.
Dad: You mean, exploitation.
Me: Yeah, that's the one.

Pictures of the wedding to come.....

Gotta.Love.Family.

Our white trash version of Keeping up with the Kardashians.

And believe it or not, these are our best family pictures ever.

Africa 2010!

You know when someone gets home from a trip and they want to sit you down and have you look at all their pictures with them and you can't help but be bored to tears? This is going to be one of those times. But for those of you along for the ride, here goes....

We survived our trip to Africa and have amazing pictures and experiences to show for it. It was an incredible experience, I might even go as far as to say it was life changing. We flew from Phoenix to Houston, TX to Dubai, UAE to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It took us almost three days just to get to there. Here we are at the beginning of our trip.

It was a 14 and a half hour flight from Houston, Texas to Dubai, UAE. And guess what day we were flying .....9/11. The flight was a little scary, I'm not going to lie. Here's what we did when we got to Dubai.......

Yep, we went snowboarding. Indoors. In the middle of the desert. They had an indoor skiing place in the mall in Dubai. How crazy is that. It was a great way to start off the trip. We were completely exhausted the next day because we spent the night snowboarding and sightseeing instead of sleeping, but sleep is overrated. Dubai is incredible. It is a super wealthy country, so everything is shiny and new, and all the cars are super fancy. Very different from what we were about to experience in Ethiopia.

Well, the next morning we flew to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and there to greet us were Rochelle, and Chantalle (the two women that organize these charity trips for their organization called Hope Arising). This is Woudneh's little girl (pictured above). Isn't she just adorable. She was the sweetest little thing.

This is Woudneh. He is the one coordinating with Hope Arising to try to make positive changes for the people in Ethiopia. He lives in Addis Abbaba and is such an incredible man. He is a wealthy entrepreneur who does everything from running an orphanage, to managing a quilt shop, to selling flags on flag day, to helping Hope Arising with their water project.....You name it, he's done it. And he has done very well for himself. If he sees an opportunity for business, he takes it. The whole time we were there, he was wheeling and dealing, buying land to build a gas station on it someday, and selling flags to a group of men who would then turn around and sell them for him for a profit.

Here is Woudneh's house. I must admit, I didn't realize how amazing his house was, until later in the trip after seeing more of Ethiopia and how most everyone else lives. This house is a mansion. The amazing thing of it is, there is no credit in Ethiopia, you can't just take out a loan to build a house or land, you have to have the money before hand in order to do anything. So, Woudneh explained to us that it took him several years to finish his home because he had to do a little here and there, and then wait for more money to come in, then do a little more....and on and on until it was finally finished. I think there might be something to that.....

Here we are just outside the walls of their home. Jason and Carson were playing "football" with some of the local kids who just seemed to gather wherever we went. The little boy in this photo wanted his picture taken so badly...I love his little pose.

This is Rochelle. I love her to death, she is absolutely hilarious and was always smiling. She is holding Woudneh and Betty's newest member of the family. What a cute little guy.

I love this photo. I don't know why, but it's one of my favorites from the whole trip.

We went and visited Betty's parents. They live in such humble circumstances, but were so willing to share their food and welcome us into their home. And yes, that is a BYU shirt. We've got fans even in Africa.

Here is a little taste of the food we ate there. Pun intended. I'm just going to be honest, it was very........... different. Mostly what was hard was that everything smelled bad. By the end of the trip I was very smelled out.

Adorable.

Jason and I outside our hotel in Addis Ababa. The hotels were hard because there were bugs, the mattresses felt like wood, and sometimes the water didn't work.

"Wellcome"

All around Addis Ababa there were half built buildings. It is a pretty run down city. We were amazed at the homemade scaffolding on these huge buildings. How scary would it be to be standing at the top of this scaffolding working on the building. Not a job I would volunteer for.

We visited the Dental School. I love this picture.

This is Dr. Banshi. She is an oral maxillofacial surgeon. One of 3 in all of Ethiopia, and the only female surgeon. She too has an amazing life story about how she got where she is today. Leaving her youngest to travel to Russia and get her degree, and then leave again to study in China. Crazy.

Here are the operatories inside the dental school. It was a tiny school.

Janeen carrying a very girly purse. We had to get a picture as proof.

The waiting room at the dental school.

Here is the library. Notice the empty shelves, there weren't very many books at all. Very sad. Chet has been bringing dental books each trip to help them stock up.

The group.

Ahh..

O-H-I-O!

Jason hanging out with the dental students.

Chet getting a shoe shine. Classic.

Guess what these two are doing?

One thing I was very surprised about was how green and beautiful it was in Ethiopia. The scenery just seemed so picture perfect, especially out in the villages, everything was gorgeous. Apparently, it is not normally this green, we just happened to be there after a super long rain season. Jason and his tractors.

Here we are at the hospital in Nazareth, just before starting to work on patients. This woman was incredible, she was breastfeeding her little guy while Chet was giving her a shot. Ethiopians are pretty tough cookies.

Everyone was just waiting for us to set up so that they could get their teeth worked on. It was so sad, some of the people had swollen cheeks because the infections in their mouths were so bad. A lot of them were in a lot of pain.

What a cute kid.

Our waiting "room."

Some of the crew.

Chet being Chet.

Another common sight. Men holding hands.

Photo op after a long, hard day of work.

The little kids were always wanting their picture taken, I didn't even pose these boys, they were just standing there staring at me like this. We felt like movie stars while we were there, because wherever we went, people would just gather and stare.

This was at a park Woudneh took us to. They were in the middle of building a hut.

A Brooks photo.

Jason headed to the bar.

The people in Dhera (and a lot of the smaller villages) do not have running water. So, this is how they get their supply. Hope Arising is trying to fix this, by building a pipeline into the villages so that they will have running water. No small undertaking, but the project is underway.

Horse and buggies were everywhere, even on the freeways with all the cars whizzing by.

The fruit stand woman. She was not happy I was taking a photo of her. Right after I put the camera down she raised her arm to throw a piece of fruit at me.

Here is one of the water reservoirs for the water project.

Here is a family we met who live by the water reservoir.

The next day we spent doing dental work in Dhera. The people were so gracious.

This little boy was Jason and I's favorite.

Setting up the tools.

Notice the red bucket. That is what they spit in once their teeth were pulled. I'm telling you, these people are tough.

I, however, am not. Yes, I fainted and it was embarrassing.

All the little kids wanted bouncy balls. This little boy managed to climb up on the window sill, and put his hand out and said, "ball?" It was amazing to see how such a small thing, like a bouncy ball, made these kids so happy. I think there's a lot to be said for that too.

Poor little guy.

Jason tickling the little boy to distract him before getting his local anesthetic.

Jason and Chet playing football with the kids.

The crew in Dhera.

We ran out of anesthetic, so we weren't able to see any patients the third day. It was really quite sad, but we did have 5 dentists working at one time, so we got through a lot of patients in a short amount of time. We got a call the next day though from the director of the clinic, disappointed that we weren't able to work another day. He said a lot of people were coming from long distances to see the dentist, and they would be very disappointed we weren't there. Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do.

Lunch time....yum.

Chet eating Angera...(spelling?) It was quite wretched, let's just be frank.

This is the pipeline being made right before our eyes. What an amazing thing Chantalle and Rochelle are accomplishing, I want to go back when their pipeline is done, what an amazing feat that will be.

Here we are at the end of our trip, just before flying out, saying goodbye to Dr. Banshi. She was such an amazing woman, I wish I were more like her.

And there you have it. Longest post ever. But come on, I had to post all these pictures, we went to Africa for pete's sake.