The feast of Sinterklass...& Swarte Piet

"Sinterklass kapoentje

Gooi wat in mijn schoentje

Gooi wat in mijn laarsje

Dank U Sinterklassje"

For many centuries the people of the Netherlands have celebrated Sinterklass day. On the eve of December 5th, Sinterklass and his helper Swarte Piet leave gifts for good children in their wooden shoes.

Sinterklass lives in Spain and spends all year recording, in a big red book, if children have been good or bad. Sinterklass rides a white horse and Swarte Piet carries the big bag of gifts. At night they ride across Hollands rooftops, listening through the chimney to see if the kids are being good. Piet then jumps down the chimney and exchanges the hay and carrots (left in the wooden shoes) for a gift and a chocolate letter that begin with the childs name. (I love chocolate, thus getting a dark chocolate "C" is a fabulous way to start out the Christmas season.)

All of the Leeflangs (which means Live Long in Dutch) get together and celebrate by eating lots of Dutch food-like split pea soup, waissil, gingerbread cookies, and a frozen eggnog mixture- these all have Dutch names but I don't know what they are. Then Sinterklass and Swarte Piet come and visit us. We end with a white elephant gift exchange that comes with a special poem and creative wrapping-which is a Dutch tradition as well.

The gift we got was so creative.

The poem read, " To be sung to the chorus of Jingle Bells. Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough. Coughing all the day. Oh what fun, this season is with all the germs it brings."

It was wrapped in a tissue box and contained cough drops and nighttime cold medication. Hooray, for Sinterklass day!

A LATE Thanksgiving recap

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Over Thanksgiving break I did everything possible except study...which of course I regretted during finals. Cambria came down from Rexburg so we went and got pedicures from Color My Nails school. Only $10.

........................................................................I decided to be adventurous and try TEAL toes. I was affraid that the teal might look like fungus but it didn't.

Next was the 5th annual CRAIGO PIE NIGHT. My mom invites lots of neighbors and friend over to the house, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I helped my mom this year by actually making some pies-not just eating the pies. We made 20 pies and had 75 people come over. This is a great way to start out the 5lb holiday gain.

........................................................................This is a happy Bart. I have lovingly nicknamed Bart a garbage disposal. He eats and eats and eats and eats.

I had to post this picture of Katie bug and Colin. They went to the Lamda Delta Sigma winter formal. I absolutley love Katie's dress. I wish I had a place to wear it-Katie is only 6 inches taller than me but that shouldn't be a problem-right?

Movies 10

I love the dollar theater! Bart and I only go to a "real" movie theater, maybe once a year.

1-The dollar theater is economical.

2-You still get the big screen experience.

3-By the time the movies are at the dollar theater you know if they are good/worth your time.

4-Sugarhouse movies 10 has replaced their old chairs.

Bart always smells the chair to see if they are stinky and he has been pleasantly surprised in the last few months with the decent smelling chairs. This weekend I think I will go and see Julie and Julia. If anyone is interested in coming with Bart and me on Friday night you are more then invited.

I would rather eat a 7 dollar meal and go to a dollar movie instead of a 8 dollar movie and no dinner. Maybe I just like eating :) Now I must admit that I will probably go see New Moon at the real theater BUT it will be a matinee and it won't be the 5 AM showing at Thanksgiving Point.

Bottom line-I like the dollar theater and I like saving money.

The Leeflang's Mash

I was working in the lab late one night (See my lab rat?)

When my eyes beheld an eerie sight

For the Leeflangs from their spooks and haunts began to rise

And suddenly to my surprise.....

They did the Mash

They did the Leeflang Mash

The Leeflang Mash

It was a backyard smash

They did the Mash
It caught on in a Flash

From the Olds house in the Northeast

To the patio the chillins did take their feast

The Ghouls (and boys) did take a wack

at the Scary Pumpkin Pinata before it could Attack

They did the Mash

They did the Leeflang Mash

The Leeflang Mash

It was a Pumkin Smash

They did the Mash

Though there was some Backlash

The leeflangs were having fun

The party had just begun

The guests included people from the mafia

and BYU fans - just to hastle ya

The yard was a rockin', all were digging the sounds

Brigham Young as even said to be around

Disco dancers were on the scene

There was even room for the Queen Bee!

We did the Mash

We did the Leeflang Mash

The Leeflang Mash

It was a blast

The Leeflang Mash

Not to be forgotten in the past

THE LEEFLANG MASH.

............................................................

Sjaanie and Jared did GREAT work

We think the Whole Leeflang Clan was Goulistic!

10-04-07

Happy 2 Year Anniversary to Us!

Bart was so sneaky and cute for our two year anniversary celebration. He planned the entire weekend and I just got to sit and enjoy.

We went up to Park City and stayed in the Hotel Park City and ate at Baja Cantina, which is exactly what we did two years ago before leaving on our honeymoon. The Hotel Park City is ULTRA POSH. I would recommend this hotel to anyone but it does come with a price tag-hence why we can only justify going every couple years.

The spa is marvelous, the eucalyptus steam room is amazing (if you can figure out how to turn it on), the outdoor heated pool and hot tub are lovely and the view of Park City ski resort and the golf course is great. Plus they give you bath robes and slippers and all you can drink coffee-or hot chocolate and spiced cider in our situation :)

Bart got me a new ipod so I can record my lectures and listen to them while I commute to Provo...hopefully it will help me understand what I am learning and get good grades.

I am one lucky girl, I love this guy lots. Two years down and Eternity to go!

My old life

An ode to my old life.

Oh where, oh where did my care free life go? Oh where, oh where can it be? Sleeping in, watching HGTV, making cookies, time to blog and blog stock, staying up late watching movies and cuddling, going to lunch and playing with my mom. Those are all just a brief memory, for now I am in graduate school and I am sentenced to studying and reading and practicing and reading and commuting to Provo and still working and being tired.

But wait, I must remember that I did this to myself!

IT'S NOT CEMENT!

Hello Blogosphere! Yes, my time has again come to impart to you a smidgin of my vast dam knowledge (by mandate). First, I want to thank all of you for the tremendous support you have provided this blog - despite our outrageous views and friends. It continues to grow at a rapid rate, and will soon be rated in the top million (or so) read blogs.

If I might indulge myself - there is a little piece of engineering knowledge that all the world needs to know: CEMENT IS PART OF AN ENGINEERING SYSTEM CALLED CONCRETE! Cement is the material that binds the sand and gravel together. So the next time someone tells you they like your cement you can politely correct them, and let them know that what you have is concrete - something infinately stronger than plain old cement!

Now that I have scared off the non-die-hards I will let you in on my little concrete story. It has been a little over a month since canessessary gave me a job to do - put in an automatic plant feeding system for our bushes. Some people like to call these things "drip systems". Well a drip system works best if it has its own designated valve. I was able to free up a valve for our front yard plants, but was a little perplexed as to how to free up a valve in the back.

Leave it to the engineer to fix the problem! While Canessesary was off at breakfast with her mother, I realized that if I were to add an additional lane to our driveway I could free a valve in the back by abandoning the set of sprinklers that waters that part of our lawn.

I was excited by my genious, and quickly went to work digging out grass. The grass was heavy, but not as heavy as my heart was soon to be. Upon her return to our little castle, I was greeted by a look of disgust - which indicated to me that I had made a mistake. The next step was a quick solution to the problem I had created - I was told to put the grass back. That is easier said than done - and I still kind of liked my idea.

As you might suspect these are decisions that should be made as couple - mostly its a money issue. Well - since I started the project I had to finish it - and I didn't get to hire a professional. I have never really worked this much concrete...... Thankfully I had some great help from some buddies. This little picture explains how I was feeling - no it not a pose. BUT I did feel like a poser.

Concrete work is for concrete people. Dam work is for dam people - Personally I think things might have gone better if it were dam concrete - hmmmm, it might have been???

Miss Iron County

I have always wanted to judge a "beauty" pageant and this August I was able to do so. I was invited to be the novice judge for Miss Iron County 2009. The pageant was held in Cedar City and 12 contestants participated in the pageant. Since Miss Iron County goes to Miss Utah and Miss Utah goes to Miss America I had to read all sorts of information from the Miss America organization and go through a judges orientation. There is so much more that goes into these pageants then just the beauty part. The 2 directors in Cedar City have spent months with these girls helping them get ready for the pageant- mock interviews, learning how to walk in high heels, choosing the best evening gown and swimsuit and polishing their talents. I spent weeks reading over the contestants bios, platforms and deciding on questions to ask them during their private interview. We ended up crowning Delaney Westfall (photo) as the new Miss Iron County. I know that pageants aren't for everyone but my experience with being the D-Queen and in the Days of 47 royalty has been nothing but rewarding. I got scholarships, I made lasting friendships, got new clothes, I learned to feel more comfortable on stage, answer questions with both small and large audiences and I played my flute much more than my mom ever thought I would. :) If anyone has ever been interested in doing a pageant I would highly recommend it...what do you have to lose? Nothing, in my opinion.

Eatin' and Floatin'

LAKE POWELL

2009

Some of my earliest and most cherished memories are from Lake Powell. I remember getting up double skiing with my dad (I think he held me, the rope and managed to get up), going to dangling rope, cliff jumping with my big/cool cousins, sleeping in my swimming suit and swimming out to the tires in the Wahweap Marina. Lake Powell is definitely more work now that I am considered an "adult" and I wouldn't say that it is the most relaxing vacation but well worth the effort. In this blog I want to tell you 10 things about our Powell adventure.

ZERO

Zero is the number of sunburns that anyone received while down at Lake Powell. I attribute this to all the sunscreen my redheaded mother brought and that fact that we are all over 18, know how to put sunscreen on and have been fried one to many times.

ONE
One houseboat is what you need at Lake Powell. I will never be able to camp at Lake Powell because I enjoy the luxuries of the houseboat too much-namely running water, flush toilets and air conditioning.

TWO

Two motor boats are needed to make everyone happy. 1 for slalom skiing and 1 for the wake boarders. Thanks dad for pleasing everyone!

THREE

Three is the number of people who ended up with the "lake powell" rash. Myself, Colin and Carter. I attribute this rash to a mixture of HEAT RASH (A heat rash is a rash that develops on the skin due to friction from clothing and heat. The combination of the two with some other factors causes a skin irritation know as heat rash), SUN RASH (A sun rash is seen as small, reddish blisters or small or large spots in areas that have been exposed to sunlight. This rash usually appears after minutes' or hours' exposure to the sun and can be extremely itchy), a sensitivity to SUNSCREEN (One of the few possible side effects of sunscreens is a rash from the SPF chemicals) and dirty water.

FOUR

We only had four girls on this vacation. My mom, sister Bria, sister-in-law Katie and myself. You will note that I am wearing a hat in many pictures and that is because I got that rash right in my hairline and it BURNED in any sunlight. I think we are pretty good looking boat babes.

FIVE

We had at least 5 people reading each others books. My dads idea of a vacation is reading. Some of the books that were being read were, Liberty and Tyranny, The Wall Strip Edge, Becoming Jane, The 10 Big Lies About America, Mere Christianity, Fighting for Your Marriage, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. Happy reading.

SIX

Six little moneys hanging on a tree. For one of our adventures we drove up West Canyon, hiked up the end of the canyon, saw 2 beavers, ate lunch and climbed on this huge tree in the middle of the canyon.

SEVEN

Seven is the number of 6:00 AM ski trips that my dad, Bart and I went on. We had a few others come with us once in a while but we are the die hards. Fabulous water and it was 82 degrees!

EIGHT

We have eight happy Craigo's, smiling at the bottom of the sand hill. Mom, Dad, Bria, Kaile, Carter, Colin, Canessa and Bart. It is a tradition to climb to the top of the sand hill each Lake Powell trip. It is a steep, long hill...I promise the pictures don't do it justice. We are at least getting smarter and going in the evening when it is cooler and in the shade.

NINE

Pirate dice, hot dice, hearts, spades, thumper, monopoly, speed, I got mine, big booty. Nine games that we played almost everyday and sometimes multiple times a day. It's fun to sit around the houseboat and play games together.

TEN

I give this vacation a 10!!!

MAD COW DISEASE

Welcome to my dam work!

For the last few months - much to the chagrin of my lovely wife - I have spent weekdays as the resident engineer for the rehabilitation of a dam and reservoir on the Ute Indian reservation north of Roosevelt, Utah (northeastern region of the state). I have to deal with lots of dam stuff; dam equipment, dam plans, dam weather, dam people, and even dam cattle (they are in our construction zone, so I feel like they have earned this prestigious title)!

Well, in an effort to lose the last of my extra cruise weight (yes, the cruise was in January - and I am still feeling the affects of the all you can eat fish and chips), I began my sojourn in the foothills of the Uintah mountains with the goal of running around the drained reservoir each night. The two and a half miles seemed like twenty the first time, and each subsequent time it seemed to get a little longer. After faithfully running each night for about a week and a half the relief I had been looking for came in the form of a yearling bull. Twice my weight and size, a black bull decided he didn't like that I was running on his road. I figured a rock or two, or perhaps a mean human holler might remove him from my path - alas, he became even more upset with me. He pounded the ground with his hoof thingy's, threw his head around - bull snot flying all around - and came closer to me.

I thought that "mad cow disease" had something to do with a virus or bacteria or something, but this bull clearly had a serious case of "mad cow disease". I am a little crazy - but not completely crazy. I figured this was a good excuse to abandon my lofty running goal, and carefully return to my trailer.

Needless to say, I haven't got any more exercising done at the dam and I haven't lost the last of the cruise pounds. But I guess I didn't really want to run around the lake anyway, say the dam bull made for a good excuse.

Tah tah for now - stay tuned for our next episode "DAM WORK FOR DUMMIES"

The 24th of July

Instead of dressing up, putting on a tiara and being in a parade, this 24th of July was low key and easy. I was scheduled to work a 12 hours shift at the hospital but I ended up getting cancelled! Hooray. So, we were able to go up to the Little Cottonwood cabins. These are "true" cabins-not the mammoth things that some people call cabins. These little pioneer cabins have been in the family for many generations. As I get older, family and traditions become more important. I am so glad that I was able to spent time with my grandparents, cousins and aunt/uncle.



Mom making homemade burnt almond fudge ice cream.



Ammon and Colin playing horseshoes. Colin is already asking for a rematch...but he is already the WiNnEr.

It takes many judges to decide who is closer and ultimately gets the point.

Carter and Matt went fishing in the dam and actually caught this lovely trout.

..................................................................We always play PIT while up at the cabin. It is a loud, noisy, fun game. I thought the game had been discontinued but my cousin just told me that they actually still make it!!!