When in Rome

Saw this last night

and loved it.

Now adding "Visit Rome" to my bucket list.  The architecture is absolutely amazing, and I can't think of a more romantic place.  Not sure how this wasn't on my list before.
 
On the to do list when I get to Rome:
Spanish Steps
Roman Colosseum
Pantheon
Roman Forum
Palatine Hill
St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City
Piazza Navona
And of course,  The Trevi Fountain (portrayed as the Fontana De Amore in "When in Rome")

My plan is to trick Brett into tossing in a coin, and then I will pull it out and never return it.  He will be forced to love me forever, no matter what!  He he he (done in a low, evil laugh).

I've a Feeling We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Lately, I've been slightly confused as to where we live. 
I've always thought we lived in the sunny state of Arizona, until last Monday when the weekly weather forecast predicted an entire week of heavy rain.  Since we don't get much precipitation in Arizona, I figured we must live in Seattle.

I went through part of the week wondering where all the coffee shops were, until our house suddenly became lake-front property, and not only many of the city streets, but several FREEWAYS, were shut down because of severe flooding.  Then I assumed this must be New Orleans.

I started looking for Bourbon Street, until Thursday when I heard that we would shortly be experiencing 65 mph winds and that a tornado warning was in effect.  I decided we must live in Oklahoma.

And then I heard that a 6 yr old boy was swept out of his car by one of the floods and was presumed dead.  A house in Scottsdale was slowly sliding off a muddy ledge into the Cave Creek Wash.  Hundreds of cars worth millions of dollars were destroyed at the Barrett-Jackson Auction when light-pole-sized tent poles were uprooted and smashed onto them.  Many roofs in Flagstaff and Pinetop were collapsing because of the 5-6 FEET of snow piling up on top of them.  Then, I didn't know where we lived.

A week later, things are back to normal and I've decided we ARE still in Arizona.  Except there's one thing still troubling me: a WEEK later, although the water has gone down SEVERAL FEET, I'm still living on a lake front.

Winter Beaches

Last weekend we took a VERY quick trip to Carlsbad and back to see these kids (plus 4 others)...

Brett's brother and sister and their kids were spending the Martin Luther King weekend at the condo, so OF COURSE we HAD to make a quick trip to visit them.  A six hour car drive to CA is much faster than an 11 hour drive to Utah or a 16 hour drive to Texas.  It had been almost two years since I had seen the kids from TX so it was a perfect opportunity.

Look how much they all adore him...

While we there, we couldn't pass up a night with these peeps...

Our very best friends Kim and John Bingham.

And of course we enjoyed a little beach time... 

We just don't get this kind of view out our windows at home.

Hooray for quick trips, family love, great friends, and empty winter beaches.

5,687

is how many e-mails I had in my email account until I spent the last 2 hours cleaning it out.  Ridiculous, I know!

My Uncle Brett

By Colby Odom

Are you looking for fun? Then get my Uncle Brett.  He'll do almost anything with you!
My Uncle Brett is very very tall.  He also has blue eyes and brownish, blondish hair.  Brett has very hairy, long arms and legs.
My Uncle Brett always says something like "Let's do something".
My Uncle Brett spends a lot of $$$$$$ money on us! Unless he's at his house in Pheonix, Arizona.
I love my Uncle Brett alot.

Brett's 8 yr old nephew Colby had to write a persuasive essay for school.  He could choose any topic he wanted, and this is what he wrote.  It's so sweet I couldn't help but post it.  Brett has a VERY special relationship with his nieces and nephews and it makes me so happy to see how much they love him.  He is going to be an AMAZING dad!
Note: We don't spend money on them, and Brett has almost NO hair on his arms or legs.  :)

Consumer Report

Yesterday I was able to test these babies out for the first time...

...and I'm in LOVE.
One of the things Brett surprised me with for Christmas was heated ski gloves!  I was so surprised and SO excited!!!  Because of my Raynaud's (see #3), when we go snowboarding my fingers are normally completely numb before I can even get my lift ticket attached to my coat.  Although I love hitting the slopes, this can make for some REALLY long days.  So, my thoughtful husband decided to provide me with a luxurious comfort.  The results were wonderful.  These gloves have heating elements that run all the way to the fingertips, unlike most heated gloves that only have them in the palms.  There were actually a few times where my hands were sweating.  NO LIE!  Toasty fingers, combined with the AZ sunshine, and a ski resort that was so deserted that on one run we made it from the top of the mountain to the bottom without seeing another person, made for the PERFECT DAY.

Orangealicious

One of the greatest things about Arizona winters: fresh citrus!!  So what could be a better pairing than fresh oranges picked off my parents' trees and the Citrus Press attachment for my Bosch? Not much!  So here's to the many glasses of the most delicious fresh squeezed orange juice that I just completely devoured. Now, could someone please get me some Pepto-Bismol.

Tips, Anyone?

I'm doing it.  I've decided to turn my blog into a book.  I've decided I've put way to much time into all the journaling and photo arranging that I need to have a hard-cover copy of this thing.  So.... since I know ALL of you are EXPERTS, does anyone have some tips for me?  I'm thinking about using blurb.com on Kalie's recommendation, unless anyone has had better success with another program.  Also, any secrets of the trade you wish you'd known before you started would be great.  Keep your fingers crossed and hope this doesn't take me until next January!  I'll keep you posted...

December Catch-up

Hooray it's January!  Don't get me wrong I do LOVE Christmas, but December seems to get so crazy every year there's hardly time to breathe, let alone get anything else accomplished.  With all the craziness, inevitably blogging gets put on the back burner.  So... here's a quick catch-up to what we've been up to the last month.

...Brett finished up another rotation and enjoyed two weeks off! 
Only 5 more rotations to go until he is an official Dr.  I'm so proud!

...We enjoyed a few days in paradise on the Inaugural Sailing of the new Oasis of the Seas.
We spent most of our time on the Flowrider, but managed to take a few breaks to go rock climbing and zip-lining, visit Haiti, become dodge ball champions,  and get our GOOVE on!

...I bid farewell to my six adopted children, and gave a huge welcome to my eight new ones!

Just call me Kate Gosselin.

...We took a quick trip up to Utah so Brett could interview at a few residency programs there. 

This included several CRAZY family Christmas parties, a day of snowboarding at Brighton, a trip up to the Flowrider in Ogden (of course!), a day of sledding with the nieces and nephews, picking out a Christmas tree for BJ and Christie, and of course, Brett's interviews.  ALOT of fun packed into a few short days! 

...And of course, a wonderful Christmas and New Years spent with my family [minus Spencer - who we didn't get a Christmas Day phone call from because he's still in the MTC :( ]. 
How lame am I? ... No pics of Christmas!

December was great, but I'm definitely ready for things to settle down again.  2010 here we come!