Jaclyn: My own personal librarian.

I got the best package unexpectedly in the mail! A whole box of books from Jaclyn's own personal library! One of the closest libraries to us was destroyed in Ike and I haven't found another one yet and have been in dire need of books. I've just read the Twilight series again for the 60th time and was hurting for new material! Thank you Jaclyn! I've already finished one and know my productivity on life is going to be put on hold, but that's alright by me! Love you!

Happy Presidents' Day

PRESIDENTS’ DAY 2009

Okay, so we are not exactly on the ball so instead of the boring and mundane Christmas card, we are sending the new and awesome Presidents’ Day card!

Highlights of our life since last President’s Day:

1. We bought our first home!
2. Kristian Teik Ormson was born (June 27, 2008)
3. We moved to Houston, Texas
4. Jon started Dental School
5. We went through Hurricane Ike (it’s a big deal for an Idaho girl!)

Goals for the next Presidents’ Day:

1. Have Sevy potty trained
2. Have Teikers walking
3. Jon surviving what is known as the 2 worse semesters of dental school
4. Kat competing in some sort of race (shooting for a triathlon, but will take what I can get).
5. Finish unpacking

Happy Presidents’ Day!

Love--The Ormson Clan (Jon Jon, Kat, Sevy, and Teikers)

crocodiles, kites, raccoons, and my amazingly genius children

This Saturday we went to Rosensharon Park with a bunch of Jon's dental school buddies. Holy cow! This place is awesome! We took a picnic lunch and fishing poles and enjoyed a gorgeous day in the great outdoors. (all of you still playing in snow--it was a balmy upper 70's and I got a tanline!)

They have a visitor's center where you can pet a baby crocodile. Of course Sevy freaked out, but at least Teik sat next to a raccoon.












We've recently bought Sevy a kite for our next trip to Galveston. Well, we broke it out at the Park and I was super impressed with our $1 purchase. Sevy loved it!












This is Jon next to where the boys were fishing. If you look closely, you can see the crocodiles (okay, I don't know if they were crocodiles or alligators.) but there is one in the background of this picture. How cool is that?! We were chillin' in a park where these crazy man-eating beasts roam free!

And now for my genius children. Yesterday was quite the day for us. Sevy was playing with the packaging of some things I got when she told me to look at her bird house. I looked over to find this! Seriously, this girl is a genius! Sadly, she reminds me of Shawn and I growing up making airplanes out of Hot Tamale boxes and contact viles! But we were well over 3 years old!

And then Teik decided he would not let Sevy up him on anything so he started crawling! We have it on video, but it was taking WAY too long to upload. Anyway, this is a full 2 months before Sevy started. Teik just decided last week he would really start rolling, and just got two teeth this past week. Needless to say, he's been sleeping pretty good thanks to all the stress of accomplishments. My kids are amazing!

Walking in Bed Art - Click here for more home videos

The Latest

This is a picture I just took today. I thought it was too cute and even though Sevy's hair is a mess, this is how Teik always responds to her!

Last week we just played a constant failing game of potty training. One direction we took was letting Sevy pick out her own undies. She picked out these Mickey Mouse little boy briefs. I thought, huh, maybe this'll work. No. She pooped in one pair, peed in the other, and that was after only 1 hour of wearing undies. The battle continues . . .

Jon actually had the weekend to spend with us instead of with cadavers! Yeah! We tried to be as productive as possible. We got his car in the shop for an oil change, Jon finished putting up blinds, we cleaned the downstairs of our house, I weeded, Sevy and I attempted to move the bricks to the backyard in hopes of organizing our garage, and Teik took a couple of good naps. All in all it was a very productive Saturday! I really think it would have been even better, but we had to make a couple of trips out to Firestone because Jon's car has issues. Oh well. Maybe next Saturday we can finish the garage . . .

My Moment of Glory and other random things

I'm seriously late in posting this, but it had to be posted! I was officially famous for the month of January! If you turn to page 68 in January's Self Magazine you find this: Yes folks! That's yours truly! I was super excited to be chosen to be put in my favorite magazine, even though my stats are the lowest on the page. Oh well. I was famous for a month! (my scanner wouldn't work, which is why the picture is so fuzzy.)

Jon is mister fix-it at our house. He put in all the fans and automatic garage door opener when we first moved in and 6 months later we are finally putting up blinds. We gave in and purchased the $5 blinds, but hey, we finally have privacy. It's still a project in the works thanks to tests and quizes finally popping up, but we are halfway there to complete privacy!

Okay, I realize this picture is totally sideways, but oh well. This is Sevy and Kenzi at the park today. It was a balmy 75* day and they enjoyed the sun and riding Sev's bike! They are hilarious together!

We went to the zoo on Wednesday and do you notice anything odd about this pirhana? He's missing an eye! Weird huh?!? We've been going for months and I only noticed it this week. It deserved a blog comment!

Another park picture from today. I loved the way it looked looking up the slide at my daredevil child, but it was too bright to show the real coolness of the shot. One day I will be an awesome photographer . . . until then, this will do!

And here is my big boy! Jon likes to dress him up--hence the sweat bands and Sevy's bike helmut. He sits up like a champ now and is the happiest kiddo (at times)! He cracks me up . . . of course I'm the center of his world and it's fun to be loved so thoroughly . . . but he's just too cute!

Christmas Break Catch-Up

I don't think I'm going to do this in any particular order. I'll just throw on the pictures and give you my commentary. There's a lot of pictures. Here we go.

My mom (Gran) made all the grandkids the cutest pajamas and each family matched. Our family was monkey (very appropriate for my kiddos) and they love their pjs! So, here is my photo of my two little monkeys in a bed!



Sevy got a Tinker Bell costume for Christmas from Gran, and Tinker Bell just happens to be one of her favorite movies! She got to wear her costume for her cousin Nyah's birthday party too! Way too cute!









Pappa made little rocking chairs for each family. Teik loved ours and it's the perfect size for him!










So every girl in America has her "Twilight" picture. Here is my families! We finally went while I was home and 4 of the 5 waited to see it together!





One of the cutest things about going home is seeing the little cousins interact together. This is Juliet who just turned one with our little Teikers. So fun that they are only 6 months apart!





This is Teik with Cairo, his other cousin who just turned one. They were poking at each other while sitting side by side in Pappa's chairs.





Jon's favorite gift this Christmas was hockey tickets to see the Dallas Stars. He went with his brother Kris, and even though the Stars lost, they had a really good time!









Every time I'm in town, my best friends from high school make the greatest effort to get together. This year we managed to get four together and it was so fun to chat and chill and do what we do best . . . EAT!



We did the nativity with the Ormson clas and Teik was a humble shepard, Drew was Joseph, Nyah was Mary, Sevy was an Angel, and Avery was just not happy!























Last year Sevy was horribly afraid of the snow and this year she LOVED it! I was so excited. We tried to get outside everyday (even in the freezing Idaho weather) to let her play. Moo cow came along occassionally, and Sevy loved it!














Teikers chillin' with Pappa.







The Ormson clan on Christmas Eve. I have to mention that a missionary took the photo and somehow managed to cut off Kerry's head. At least all our feet were originally in the picture!






This is Teiker's the Little Elf. I know, too cute right?!




Since Jon has to pay dues for his classes parties, he got a Keg for Christmas! Party at our house!









I just love how cutey this was of Juliet! She's so little and has been walking around for a few months! I especially like how you can see her reflection in the glass!



This is mom and I after the dance recital. I love the picture and love the snowflakes in the picture!









Santa came to visit the Ormson house on Christmas Eve before he did his rounds! The kids were super excited and decorated cookies for him (pictures of that are farther down). Of course my kids cried, and Avery didn't want to be in the picture, but Drew and Nyah let him know exactly what they wanted!




This is Teik and his oh so perfect picture in front of the tree! If we only had one child, this would have been our Christmas card photo. Maybe if I do Chinese New Years cards, this would be a good option also. It is a true rarety to get a good picture of both kids together, but by themselves we can catch a few good ones!







Sevy got Elmo Live! for Christmas and loves him (almost too much. This makes sense if anyone has read our unpublished book called "Violent Love" written by my sisters and I.) He's a riot!






I had three neices and a sister in a dance recital while I was home! It was so fun to watch and brought back so many memories of the dance recitals of our youth. I was just too thankful to be in the audience and not on stage. (I was never any good!) The girls did awesome and Jaclyn was amazing! Click Candice's blog if you want to see the video!



The typical cousin picture. I love this one because everyone is looking in a different direction, none of which is the camera!
















The cousins decorating cookies for Santa! I was impressed with how good they all did! They all really liked it too, and we all enjoyed their final work! Thanks Jaclyn for your recipe!


This is Jaclyn's little boy Cairo! I haven't seen him since they got him last year for Christmas and he just has the funniest little personality! He's like a little man . . . quiet, but super smart! It was fun to get to know him a little on our trip!















For my birthday, Jon and I went bowling! There are two sports I like to play against Jon because I can hold my own. They are air hockey and bowling! I totally kicked his butt! It was really fun!

And there you have our Christmas break rundown. If you didn't read anything (don't worry--I rarely do) I hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Random Thoughts

Just a few random tidbits on my mind.  I spent the first part of December in Idaho and loved the snow and the family time.  (I promise I'll post pictures one day).  Candice and Sarah spent the better part of the time with us and it was fun seeing the interaction between Sevy and Sarah only being a year apart!  We were there for Shawn's and Candi's birthdays and had a party for all of us (December is a big month for our family)!  Talking to Candice is like playing 20 questions and I realized I need to do that more.  She asks question after question to get to know me even though we've been sister's for almost 27 years.  I've decided I need to ask people more questions to get to know them better.  I enjoy answering questions, and love to hear other people's stories.  Maybe I'll add it to my New Years Resolutions list.

Another thing I've come to realize is just how cool my cousins are.  I think I have overly creative, artistic, and freakin' awesome cousins.  If you don't believe me, just check out some of their links under my "family" lists.  They are creating records, are on itunes, amazing photographers, talented chef wannabes, awesome ad campaigns makers, competing in races (and winning!), and are story tellers to boot.  I just learned how to make my blogpage snow thanks to my cousin's blog!  Family reunions are a riot, and I'm sad that I've missed out on the past few.  Basically, what I'm trying to say is that my family's got skill.

I'm also excited to share that I'm famous!  Okay, not really, but I'm in a magazine!  My immediate family has a few published bragging rights.  My Mom was Miss December in the Diet Center Calendar when we were kids.  My Dad was a centerfold (not that kind--ya sickos) in a German magazine with his T-28.  And now I'm on the list with my photo in Self Magazine in the January issue (page 68).  Self is my favorite magazine and they had a thing to write in on how they helped you lose weight.  I sent my story in and voila!  The picture and quote are totally nerdy, but I'm excited.  Be sure to check it out!

I'm thinking of sending Chinese New Years cards out this year since I failed once again at Christmas cards.  If you are interested in receiving one, be sure to post your address!

We are now in Amarillo to spend Christmas with Jon's family.  Everyone will be here so it should be really fun.  They just did a home makeover on basically the majority of the house and it's amazing!  The kitchen is any chefs dream!  (Once again, I'll post pictures sometime).  Sevy is loving her cousin time again and it's going to be hard going back to Houston after all the time she's had with ALL her cousin's this month!  Hopefully I'll get some photos downloaded.  Until then, Merry Christmas!  

The Lights at Temple Square

We've made it to Utah and to start things off we went to see the lights on Temple Square!  I hadn't seen them since I was pregnant with Sevy and they are just amazing!  We went early enough (and in the middle of the week) that we missed any crowds and were there early enough to see them come on! Very awesome!

Sevy taking care of Teikers on the plane.
Aunt Candi and cousin Sarah.
Orange lights (Teik is the bundle in front of me!)
Salt Lake City temple at sunset.
Flollowing the leader.
A family shot!
Go figure yhough.  The day we get into Utah, it's snowing in Houston!