Christmas Greetings

Here is our Christmas card and picture this year. I'm sure it won't get to everyone we know and love, so I thought I'd put it up here for fun.

It was the best of times. . .
It was the worst of times.
2008

This year held lots of changes for our family – primarily Darren’s anticipated graduation from USC Dental School in May! Lots of family joined us on this special day and we were all so proud of Darren.
Mostly we were just happy to stop paying tuition and finally, finally be “making” money instead of “paying” money.

We were so sad to leave all of our wonderful friends in Los Angeles (we miss you still), so we drove away in late May with our eyes full of tears and our hearts full of memories.
The tears could’ve been from the inland smog or just frustration from the downtown traffic on I-10 at the 110, it’s a toss up.

We spent a week in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in June with Stacie’s family – enjoying the scenery, white-water rafting, Yellowstone Park, horseback riding, wildlife, alpine slides, hot springs, trams, and all kinds of fun with the cousins.
The best part was seeing all the grandparents in their wetsuits. Priceless.

In July, after a month of enjoying the perks and fun of living by family in Arizona, we made the exodus to our final destination – beautiful Boulder, Colorado – where we’ve settled and Darren has bought into a dental practice. We love Colorado – the “family-land” lifestyle, the outdoor activities, the mountains, and the great weather. We’re sold.
Last week it was 13 below zero. 13 below zero. They tell me it’s abnormal, but I don’t know.

Sweet little Davis turned ONE on July 11th, and we celebrated with all our family. He’s walking and talking (“No”, “I want”, “Bye”, and “What’s that?” being the favorites)
Stacie proved what a great mom she is by putting his birthday cake right in front of him as everyone sang to him – only to have him curiously reach out and grab his flaming birthday candle. Let me tell you – it was party OVER! Call C.P.S.

Darren became a legit and licensed dentist in June and began seeing patients in July. He really enjoys finally practicing and being a partner in his own practice.
He’s had some interesting experiences – like when one patient came in wearing dentures he bought off e-bay, sold because the owner died. True story.

This fall Dane started preschool with great enthusiasm. He attends a cute little Presbyterian Preschool where he’s made new friends, learned to do the monkey bars, is starting to read, and has picked up the habit of saying an abbreviated version of the Lord’s prayer over his snack.
Now his belief that our prayers are WAY too long have some confirmed validation.

In September we took a road trip to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota – a very fun and educational destination. Did you know there are crystal caves all over the Black Hills?
Poor Dane threw up all over the car as we drove through Custer State Park, attracting buffalo from miles around.

We traveled to Canada for Halloween weekend to surprise Darren’s parents on their 45th wedding anniversary. All 9 siblings, spouses and offspring (minus 3) were in attendance and the surprise was successful.
The kids favorite part was the new kittens in the hay shed. We don’t know why the kids’ forearms were covered in scratches. Could it be because they kept putting the kitties in pots with lids? Hmmm.

Dalton turned 8 in November and chose to be baptized a member of our church. He was so earnest in his desires and we enjoyed helping him prepare. Lots of family traveled to attend and it was wonderful to share the experience.
Deep down Stacie truly believed/hoped that he’d forever be more obedient and never trip his brother or say “stupid” or “fart” again. Wrong. But he is a great kid.

Darren got to take a 5-day unlimited golf trip to Palm Spring, CA, with some colleagues in November. He seriously golfed 2-3 rounds a day (that’s 18 holes per round?!). He was in heaven. This was his reward for such hard work in dental school . . .
at least that’s what Stacie kept telling herself as she slipped into the depths of insanity. That, and “I am earning one sweet girls’ trip.”

Darren and Stacie took a trip without the kids to New York City to celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary. They packed it all into 4 days and made wonderful memories.
Stacie realized that she can leave her children and they’re OKAY! (thanks Grandma!) They don’t die without her. Isn’t that amazing?

Well, after this eventful 2008, we’re hoping our 2009 is full of peace and happiness. We wish the same for you and extend our love at this special time of year.

Thinking of you,
Darren, Stacie, Dalton, Dane & Davis Rennaker

Shock . . . a new post

There's a little pressure when you don't post for say, two months or so, because it feels like the ice-breaking post should be significant. Well I'm going to buck a trend and just write pretty much nothing. Blah blah. It's two days til Christmas and we've had tons going on. Living life, not blogging it. Blah blah.

I'm so lame. Does anyone even check this anymore with my infrequent posts?

If so, you're in for a treat . . . here's some significance:

MY LITTLE SISTER ELIZABETH HAD HER 1st BABY TODAY!!!!

Hooray!

Welcome Brogan Ray,

son of Beth and Darrell.

I can't wait to eat him up, he's so adorable! Congratulations guys, and don't worry I won't let my kids touch him. As a matter of fact, I'll bring some face masks, okay?

No Snow

We thought that last night would bring the first snowfall of the season, but no such luck. The temps dipped below freezing for the first time, but we woke up to sunshine and green grass. It'll be cold today, but the forecast calls for the 70's through the weekend. We want snow!!!

Dane, oh Dane

Some tidbits from the trip - it occurred to me that each day included some special and unpleasant event for Dane. Poor guy - he's so fun and bright, but I think the stars were aligned to dish him out some H - E - double hockey stix.

Our first day, after Rushmore, we spent some time at this park to give his highness, Davis, some time to snooze in the car before the next attraction. It was a pretty area, centered around a small lake, with a bridge out to a gazebo on an island. The kids burned some energy running around, and where did they play? Right at the water's edge, of course. And what should occur while Dane is traversing the slimy, bird poopy covered rocks? He falls in, of course. Shoes, socks, pants, underwear, half of his shirt - SOAKED! And with our hotel roughly 17 miles away, we had three choices: 1. Stay soaked and stink. 2. Wear his buddy Sam's pants from the day before that had been peed in. or 3. Find the nearest Walmart or Target and get some new duds.
What did we do?
We hit up the Walmart in Rapid City - hands down the busiest Walmart I have EVER seen. It was like the center of the universe. Everyone was gravitating there and everything revolved around the action. Well I made it out safely with some sweet $3.50 pants, some clearance shoes and some Star Wars undies. Dane was kicking it South Dakota style and lookin' FINE! Here's his new outfit. (not the hoodie) He managed to survive the rest of the day incident free.

The next morning we visited a crystal cave and had a good time going down, down, down and seeing the sights. The boys were a little nervous at first, but nobody fell . . . that is until after we safely exited the caves and the kids were playing on some stone steps near the picnic area. Dane fell down a couple steps and we heard that ugly THUD you hear when a big human noggin hits a too hard surface (cringe). He was a mess and I wish I'd gotten some pictures of his injury - especially a day or two later when it was all scabby and the bruises were at their height of color. Yuck. Well, he was fine - but he slowed down a bit after that. Here he is a mere 20 minutes beforehand, exploring a little side cave with a flashlight.

*Incidentally, when I snapped this shot I was in complete darkness. I took the picture and was amazed at what I couldn't see. I had hit my head a couple of steps before because of course the kids wanted to carry the flashlights.

You may not know, but motion sickness runs strong on both sides of our family and Dane is severely afflicted. He's just like his Daddy. So on the last day when we took a scenic drive on the Wildlife Loop through Custer State Park, it was no surprise that Dane got a little green. We were listening to the Beatles, ironically, and really feeling the lyrics "The long and winding road . . ." when Dane (already prepped with a puke bucket) opened the flood gates. He felt better, but we had to hold on to that puke for WAY too long. I think the buffalo smelled it on his breath and wanted a closer whiff. They got pretty friendly.

But despite all his haps, Dane had a good time and said his favorite part was the Chuckwagon dinner where he rode the pony. He's lucky he didn't get thrown off into a pile of yuck. Aaahhh, I love that little guy.

Rushmore

Okay, be prepared for picture overkill. I took a bizillion pictures from a million different angles, but only posted some - and it's still too many. I just didn't feel like doing a slide show this time.

So Mt. Rushmore was amazing. The scale and scope of the whole thing was unreal. It was our first time there and we were really impressed with it. The memorial is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, about 20 minutes south of Rapid City (a bustling metropolis). The granite is abundant all over the area (it looks just like the granite used in SLC at the temple and conference center) and we discovered that the hills are really like giant geodes because they're all full of crystal caves! (I think I read that 68 of the world's 72 calcite caves are in the Black Hills. ) So we also visited a cave and I'll have to post those pictures later.

Anyway, the clever folks who take care of the area went to great lengths to enable visitors to have some pretty cool views of the mountain from the roads leading to it, especially Ironman Road. We went through 4 tunnels that perfectly framed Mt. Rushmore as you entered them. The whole thing was pretty cool. Here's a view through the trees from the same road on a turn.

It was pretty sunny so the lighting was tough, but you get the idea.

It was interesting to learn why they chose this spot - it had a large expanse of granite, mostly flat, and it faced into the path of the sun. It was very visible.

This is a shot of the valley that the mountain looks down on. Low rolling hills and meadows.

This is a shot from the visitor's center. Good idea of scale.

Here are Darren and Marc (his dental partner) hefting the stroller down some stairs. There's a trail you can take to get some closer views.

Here are our boys and two of Marc and Deb's girls, Ashley and Courtney. Of course, none of them are looking at the camera. BTW - Dalton slipped into his cowboy mode. It all goes back to the Rennaker farm, but it came on REAL strong earlier this summer when we spent about 8 days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Uncle Lee got him this sweet cowboy hat.

An up the nose shot - just to emphasize the undulating surface.

President Lincoln all by his lonesome, as seen from the trail.

Good Ol' George as seen through a crevice in some rocks at the base of the trail. He has such grandeur.

Their prominence in the rock face actually gives them more prominence period.

All four gentleman as seen from the viewing terrace. Classic, right? The pile of rubble at the base is interesting - from the blasting.

The entrance to the memorial is flanked on both sides by all 50 state flags. It was pretty cool.

So patriotic.

Hard to see, but this is Darren, Marc, and the kids at the entrance - just to give an idea of scale.

It was a fun trip and we were surprised at how much the surrounding area offers. Maybe I'll post some pics of the other stuff we did, but for now I think this is plenty.

Off We Go!

Headed with the Cannons to Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota! Pictures when we return.

Smitty Romney

Smith is Dane's new best friend. He lives right across the street and they're in our ward. The boys also go to preschool together. (His mom also went to high school in TULSA! Small world, eh?) Well, Dane and Smith hit it off right away and I've never seen him play like this with anyone except his cousin Benjamin. They are inseparable from morning until dinner time every day. They play elaborately imaginative games with their legos, communicating details of their adventures as though communicating by telepathy. They're totally in their own world.

Well, yesterday was cute little Smith's birthday. And yesterday we found out that his fun family is definitely moving to guess where . . . LOS ANGELES!!!

We are just switching places. Stinks for us, but I guess I am happy for them. Lots of you that I love are still in LA, so I guess we'll have to arrange blind couple dates so you can all be friends.

I just don't know how I'll tell little Dane. He was at the door at 6:30 this morning, dressed and heading to the Romney's before I could stop him.

September 11th

I haven't read any blogs or watched the news today, so I haven't felt inundated with reminders about 9/11. I've just been doing my little family thing and been thinking about how I felt that morning and thinking about how we were all affected by that day. Considering this is an election year - and there is no incumbent favorite, the polls are pretty split, and the climate is tense - a reminder about how unified we can be is so refreshing. It makes a sad commentary about our society that it takes a national threat to bring us together as Americans, and more fundamentally - as humans. I don't want to sound like an endlessly forwarded cheesy, but I hope I never forget that day. I don't mean the horror and terror and devastation, but I mean the compassion it inspired, the love for my unknown brother, the desire to reach out to help and give. Those feelings are usually strong for those in our immediate influence, but not always for those outside. Okay, enough soapboxing.

Croak

R.I.P.

Freddie the Frog

Freddie the Frog

Hi, my name is Stacie and I am not a pet-lover.

This may seem cold-hearted, (I have no problem with other people's pets - I really loved our old neighbor's dog Riley - I just don't really want one in my house until my kids can take better care of themselves) but it’s not personal – it’s completely practical and logical.

Practicality:

I am allergic to cats and most dogs. This means that I don’t enjoy the consequences of most animal encounters, so I avoid them.

Logic:

Animals = mess, mess = enemy, therefore animals = enemy. (it's an occupational hazard as a mom/housekeeper to have a desire to eradicate the source of a mess; I can't get rid of my kids, but . . . you see where I'm going)

Darren's with me on this, too. Growing up on a farm has made him see animals as functional - they all had a purpose (cats kill mice, cows give milk, chickens give eggs, whatever), plus you can't get attached when the animals die at regular intervals. (Some day I'll recount our experience when we were visiting the farm and they slaughtered a cow. ) Anyhoo, my non-animal-lover status coupled with Darren's functional view of animals (companionship isn't enough; they have to pull some weight) leads to circumstances rather unfriendly for pets in our house. I guess we're just plain old meanies.

I only explain this because I think my anti-pet sentiments have created a frenzied pro-pet environment . Perhaps our attempts to postpone the acquisition of a family pet have caused our children to exhibit such enthusiasm around little animals that it's possibly dangerous. And that brings us to this:

Our cute little neighbor boy, Smith - Dane's partner in crime, went on a walk and found a frog. His cute family left town this weekend and let us care for the frog while they were gone. The boys were, needless to say, THRILLED! Darren was not. He was mandating the application of toxic levels of hand sanitizer at every turn, but the boys didn't care. They manhandled that thing constantly, obviously putting him on a motorcycle and a little car and dancing him around all over like the performing frog from the old school Looney Tunes.

I just knew he was gonna croak (hee hee) from the overload, but he's still hoppin'. They christened him "Freddie the Frog"and they're gorging themselves on the fun of having a pet. Truthfully, I can tell they adore this little frog, but they treat it like a toy not a living thing - and that's a wee bit scary. I've given them the countdown. We're releasing him for FHE tomorrow night. Hopefully he'll still be alive amd can return to his family!

Please don't report us to PETA.