Happy Thanksgiving

Posted by Shannon & Lindsay

We had a great and relaxing Thanksgiving - well, at least Lindsay and I did. Jeremy got really sick and was out of commission pretty much all weekend. He took off Wednesday and Friday in hopes that he might be able to do some much needed resting but ended up with a really bad cold and was good friends with NyQuil all weekend. He's getting better but it was no fun for him to be sick on the one long weekend he got in a long while :(

Darren, Tracy, and Kelly drove down from up north and we were all able to hang out for a few days which was really nice. It's been a while since all 5 of us have been together so it was lots of fun to just sit around, reminisce, and make fun of each other like we always do. We wouldn't be Seegmillers if we didn't make jokes about each other :) Lindsay got to see everyone together and had a blast playing with Uncle Darren, not cuddling Aunt Tracy, trying to chase after an indifferent Rudy (my parent's dog) and showing everyone what an entertaining busybody she is. She's into imitating what everyone does and her thing now is to fake cough - so all weekend everyone would fake cough and she'd do it right back.

Lindsay & Aunt Tracy

Lindsay & Aunt Kelly (All the toys in the background are compliments of Hurricane Lindsay)

Tracy had been taking some cake decorating classes up in Provo so she and I made a cake while she was down and we decorated it together. It was supposed to say "Happy Wrong Number By the Sea" (a Saved by the Bell reference) but there wasn't enough room so I just made it say "Happy Sea Day" - I know, we're nerds.

The fish I iced look a little strange!

Teacher and student!

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house and then had another Thanksgiving on Friday at Jeremy's sister's house with her and his parents - an extra helping of turkey and stuffing is never a bad thing! Lindsay tried yams, stuffing, bits of turkey, and some cranberry salad which elicited her sour face - squinted eyes and puckered lips. I'm sure they all tasted better than bland old carrots or peas, though - I bet they get old real quick.

The whole family together!

Poor Lindsay was so tired at Aunt Abi's while we were waiting for the turkey to get done that she actually fell asleep in my arms - a rare occurrence - and slept for a bit.

Sleepy child!

We also went to Santa's Workshop at the Dixie Center on Saturday and Grandma bought Lindsay some cute bows for her hair. I wasn't ever into the big bows that most Moms put in little girls hair because I swear it's like they birthed a bow with a baby attached and those huge flowers make it look like the poor child has been working the mines wearing one of those flashlight hard hats! But since Lindsay's head is bigger and she's got more hair the bows looked REALLY cute. Maybe people will stop saying, "Hey Buddy" or "Big Guy" when they see her. I know it's hard to tell the difference when they're little...but come on :)

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!

It was a great weekend and a great time to remember everything that we have in our lives to be thankful for. With the economy struggling the way it is, I think we all have reason to humble ourselves and take time to recognize just how lucky we are just to have life's necessities - homes, jobs, food, clothing - many things that so many people are currently going without. I know I may gripe about my husband's late work hours but I am grateful for the job that he has that keeps a roof over our head and food on our table. I may open the pantry and complain that there isn't anything good to eat but I am grateful for the fact that I have food in there. I may wish that I had more storage room in my house but I'm thankful that I even have a house in which to store stuff :) I hope everyone took time out to give thanks for life's great blessings! Happy Thanksgiving to all! Let the holiday season begin!

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Milestones and Movies!

Posted by Shannon & Lindsay

Lindsay's been trying to take some steps here and there using her little walker/scooter for the last couple weeks but just the other day she stood up and walked/stumbled across the room using it! She loves playing with it now (she was rather indifferent when first presented with it). She teeters with it, falls over it, and sometimes pushes it way to fast for her little legs to know what to do, but she sure keeps trying!

I was able to get a little video of her pushing her way across the room - looking like a wobbly baby deer.

We were also able to go and see Twilight on Saturday morning with Jeremy's company. They rented out the theater for everyone so it was a lot of fun! Santa made a surprise appearance and Lindsay was able to have her first encounter with the jolly fat guy. She was not impressed. She's not a big fan of men she doesn't know - which is probably a good thing :) - and didn't care to be held for long. He didn't bring his bag of toys, so I'd feel the same way :)

Fortunately for me, Alyshia babysat her during the movie so that I didn't have to deal with a squirming child for two hours - and apparently she napped the ENTIRE time I was gone! I don't know what it is but she can sleep for hours in strange cribs but when I lay her down at home she's refreshed and ready to go again after a half hour power nap.

Where's the toys?

Seriously though, you said there'd be toys!

I really liked Twilight - I can't say I loved it - but I thought they did a really good job. It's hard when you see the first movie of a series because at the end you still feel cheated - like you're left hanging and with something missing. I still had issues with Bella (which I guess means Kristen Stewart correctly portrayed her insecure, codependent, and uncoordinated character), but Robert Pattison was great as Edward! I liked him much better with an American accent than I did as Cedric Diggory with his normal British accent. Here are the things I liked/disliked about the movie:

Like:

The Cullen's Makeup: They still appeared human, but had a very different look that wasn't off-putting, but very appealing :)
James: I loved him as Kevin Volchok on The O.C. and I loved him in this. He's just easy on the eyes, even dirty-looking and sadistically homicidal.
The Scenery: I've always wanted to go where it rains all the time (a severe lack will do that to you, I guess) and the mountains, trees, rain, clouds made me REALLY want to go!
The S.....L.......O......W kiss: I think everyone was just on the edge of their seats during the whole minute Edward took to finally kiss Bella. I just wanted to grab their heads and push them together :) I think they'll be a shoo-in for the MTV Movie Awards BEST KISS.

Dislike:

Edward's Piano Playing: I wish they would have shown him playing more. He only played a brief bit of something that wasn't even identified as "Bella's Song". There's nothing hotter than a guy who can play the piano - so more of that would have made me happy.
Hairy Edward: If I remember correctly, in the book Edward's skin was continually referred to as "like marble" and last I checked, marble was hairless - which Edward was not. A nice wax would have done some good - or at least a turtleneck :)
Rosalie's Wig: I wanted to rip it right off. It just didn't look real at all. Maybe she should turn on QVC and invest in some HairDo extensions from Jessica Simpson's line - I hear they're on sale :)

All in all, it was a good, entertaining show that stayed true to the book. Plus I ate Milk Duds while watching so that made it even better. Milk Duds + Anything = A Good Time.

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Ode to Twilight

Posted by Shannon & Lindsay

Althought I cannot say that Twilight is as good as pretty much the rest of the female population in the United States, I did change my blog background in honor of the release of the movie on Friday - which we will be viewing with Jeremy's company on Saturday as an early Christmas party.

The books definitely did get better as they went along (number 4 certainly my favorite - although certainly not made for young girls) but I think I can attribute my mild indifference to my complete and utter annoyance with Bella. I was unable to like her character enough which I think affected the books likability - at least for me :)

Here's hoping Kristin Stewart makes me want to strangle Bella less - because my goodness all I wanted to do was grab her, throttle her, and then send her off to therapy. There's nothing I know of that's less attractive than a clingy, desperate girl with next to no self-esteem - although apparently Edward must disagree.

Anyways, to all the Twilighters out there, I hope the movie is as good as we're all hoping and that Cedric Digg... I mean Robert Pattinson, does Edward Justice!

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8 Things

Posted by Shannon & Lindsay

8 TV shows I like to watch:
The Office
30 Rock
Kath & Kim
Real Chance of Love
Rock of Love Charm School
Fringe
The Soup
True Life

8 Things that happened yesterday:
Jogger got a flat tire
Made beef stew - it thickened way too much and ended up more like casserole.
Ate far too many cookies
Tanned
Found a chewed shoe in the backyard. Stupid dogs
Vacuumed around toys cuz I was too lazy to put them all away
Watched Zodiac and then was paranoid that anyone knocking on my door would be a serial killer
Vowed to declutter one room of my house and then ate a cookie instead (See #3)

8 Favorite Places to Eat
Paula's
In N Out
Olive Garden
Scaldoni's
Outback
Wherever I can get a good steak
Out of the cookie jar
At my mom's house

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
Going to bed
Graduating - one month left!
Thanksgiving
Having all the siblings together for a few days
My husband taking off the day before and after Thanksgiving
Not having to teach/tolerate nursery kids on Sunday
Going on a long run in the morning (depending on how early I am forced up)
Getting a pedicure

8 Things on my Wish List:
Prescription sunglasses
A trip to Hawaii
A night to myself
Reading a book from cover to cover in one day
Cookies with no fat and no calories that cause you to lose weight with every one you eat
Neighbors moving
Love handle reduction
8 More wishes

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Visiting Grandma & Grandpa Talbot

Posted by Shannon & Lindsay

Jeremy's parents are really into the Mountain Man rendezvous so the past few Novembers we have been going down to Vegas to Spring Mountain Ranch to hang out with them for the festivities. Jeremy's mom (Mountain man name: Sourdough) usually spends the entire time cooking a load of delicious food (sourdough pancakes, sourdough fry bread, chili, soup, etc.) that she sells to everyone - but this year they decided just to relax and hang out - which would probably explain why there was fewer people there - her cooking is famous 'round those parts!

LJ had a fun time meeting Dick & Doris (Jeremy's parent's good friends) and banging on the mountain man drums that were being sold. Grandma bought her a cute bonnet and she looked just like a little pioneer girl :)

Cute little Pioneer Girl!

Bangin on the drums! - Banging on stuff is her new favorite thing :)

Just havin' a good time - (Aren't her two little teeth adorable?)

Hangin' with Grandma

On another note, Lindsay has been waving for about a month or so - it's the cutest thing ever. It started out where she would put her arm out (like she was Heiling Hitler - I had to speak with her about her anti-semitism lol) but then evolved into a little hand wiggle. So now she loves to wave at everything - mom, dad, the puppies, the tv, random people, even at nothing) I finally got her to wave for the camera (it usually distracts her) so here is the cute video - it's short, but all i could get

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They Grow So Fast!

Posted by Shannon & Lindsay

Today my little one is 8 months old and she has grown faster than I ever thought she would! I remember when she was first born and wishing that she would do something other than sleep. Now she's forever on the move and I wish that she would stop and take a nap for second. She used to cuddle with me for hours and now she's so independent that she only has time to pat my face or affectionately pull my hair before she's off and running again. I used to complain that she

only wanted to nurse and despised the bottle, and now I'm a little sad that she no longer finds nursing important and the bottle is her new best friend.

It's been so much fun to watch her grow and keep track of all those cute little milestones that come and go. She's my favorite little friend and I couldn't imagine life without her.