Fuller Family Four: January 2009

Last week for Lilly's preschool field trip we went on a tour of Home Depot. They did a really great job and showed the kids where the trucks came in, how they cut keys, a couple of big saws, and a forklift demonstration. At the end of the tour the kids got their very own aprons and got to build a memory box.

Lilly and Sophie in their aprons getting ready to build their boxes.

Lilly hammering away. The completed box with certificate.

It turns out that Home Depot does these kids projects for the public once a month and it is completely free. Ron was excited to hear about this and is ready to take the girls next month.

At the end of last week we got a call from my little brother, Brad, asking if he could stay with us a night or two. At the last minute he had decided to drive up from Arizona for a friends wedding. Sophie and Lilly were excited to see him, but also were sad that Aunt Dani wasn't along for the trip. Sophie often looks at their wedding picture and says, "I miss Aunt Dani, is that Uncle Brad? I miss him." We miss Brad and Dani being close to our house and being able to come for the weekend here and there with little hassle.

Sophie, Brad, and Lilly at Cafe Rio. A stop we made for Brad since he is no longer near one.

Tomorrow life returns to normal with Ron headed back to work and Lilly returning to preschool. We had great plans of fun and sorting the house for these couple of weeks that Ron had off, but alas it was not meant to be.

Three days before Christmas Sophie got the upchucks. Our big traditional Christmas Eve dinner was hanging by a thread. After a day and a half of a symptom free Soph, and no one else showing any signs, we gave the dinner the all clear. Ron's brother Lyle and his family joined us and things were going well until Sophie lost it again in the middle of dinner (sorry Lyle and Valicia). We made it through the Christmas Story and sang some carols, Lyle and Valicia headed home, and we put the girls to bed. At about 10:00 Lilly got sick and then at midnight I also lost it. Gratefully, Ron was able to persevere and managed to finish the preparations for the next day on his own.

Christmas morning was more of the same. Lilly still managed some good enthusiasm and Sophie had enough energy to ask "what is it? what is it?" at every new present. After that I went to sleep for the rest of the day. It was a fairly low-key Christmas.

The traditional top of the stairs Christmas photo. Sophie's face says it all. Lilly still manages a smile and ladylike pose despite all obstacles. All December Lilly has been saying, "this Christmas is going to be the best ever!"
Our big fat Home Depot Christmas tree. Yes, we still go for the real tree.
And this is the family photo we used in our Christmas card this year.

The week between Christmas and New Years Day is a kind of a blur. Although all of us were able to hold down food, various other symptoms kept appearing (I won't go into details) and no one had too much energy for fun or sorting. We did manage to meet up with our friends the Cornell's to check out the lights at Temple Square on the third scheduling and Ron and Lilly got a little sledding in.

On New Years Day we threw a little family party here at our house. Ron's brothers David and his family, Owen and Betsy, and Clark were able to make it up. We met David's family for dinner at Famous Dave's and than returned for games and reveling. We celebrated the new year on East Coast time so the kids could ring it in and than head to bed.

Lilly at "midnight". She had such a fun time and helped me get all the decorations set up. She keeps asking when we are going to have another party.

Sophie at "midnight". She collapsed shortly after this picture was taken.

Lilly keeping the party going, she somehow managed to keep partying until 11:00 pm.

After the New Year we were able to catch up with a few of Ron's old roommates and their families. We were also able to catch the BYU vs. Wake Forest basketball game. BYU did lose, but they at least gave Wake Forest a decent game.