Christmas Picture and Letter

To all who visit our blog, we thought we would just post our Christmas picture and letter instead of mailing them. We love you! Have a wonderful Christmas season!

Season’s Greetings, Family and Friends!

We hope, as always, that this letter finds all happy and healthy! We have had a busy year and are looking forward to the many changes this next year will bring!

One of the biggest changes we will have next year will be the arrival of a little daughter, due in February. The kids love to feel her kick and hiccup, and they frequently stuff dinosaurs and dolls in their shirts to pretend they have a “big mommy tummy”.

The other big change will be that Dan is graduating dental school in June, and we will be moving out of San Francisco and into an as yet unknown location to have an as yet undetermined job as a dentist. Sound a little nerve-racking? Yes, we would have to agree, but we know that Heavenly Father will help our little family settle into a place that will be right for us. So, we will keep everyone updated.

Throughout this year, Dan has been enjoying treating patients and having more time to spend with the kids. They literally charge him when he comes home, and although drained from the day, he indulges every request for wrestling, “horsie” rides, and “swing me, swing me!” Poor guy has his hands full with dental school, three new callings, two tiny energy-suckers, and a pregnant wife.

Courtney is busy with kids and is growing daily. We’d like to say that she is growing in height or character, but mostly the growth is straight out front. She and the kids have been able to explore the local parks and discovery museums and enjoy doing projects and school-time at home.

McKenna has had a lot of fun this year in soccer, gymnastics, and swimming classes (one at a time, of course). She is active and talkative and has made many friends both young and old with her sweet and silly ways. McKenna sang her first solo and gave a talk in the Primary Program this year at Church. She thrives on practicing and performing. We are afraid we may be fueling the fire for our little drama queen. She is a wonderful big sister to Jacob and has taught him many important life lessons already, such as how to run in Cinderella high heels and how to sing “I am a Child of God” at the top of his lungs.

Jacob started gymnastics this year and absolutely loves to climb and jump on and off of everything; he knows it’s legal to get his climbing fix either at the park or at gymnastics. All bookshelves, counters, fridge shelves, and dressers are off-limits. Jacob talks constantly, and we understand most of what he is saying since he pronounces his favorites very clearly: chocolate, park, and vacuum. Jacob’s latest trick is to say “I love you SO MUCH, Momma” when he is in trouble.

We are ever grateful for our many blessings, the greatest of which being our Savior.
Merry Christmas to all,
The Budd Family

Let's Play Catch-up!

We have a bit of catching up to do to record some of the events of the Fall before Christmas is here! Time has flown, so here's a quick highlight of the past few months.

Jacob turned 2 at the end of September

and is our little comedian.

Here's a few pictures of his birthday.

(Who thought it would be a good idea to play baseball in the house?)

McKenna turned 4 at the end of October

and had a little Tinkerbell Party with her friends.

They loved following Tinkerbell footprints to

find a Hidden Treasure!

Then came Halloween: picking out pumpkins, decorating them using a power drill (another brilliant idea), sewing costumes (Courtney made the Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Wendy costumes herself!), and of course, trick-or-treating (for 15 minutes in the dense fog).

No...this is not Mexico

So every few months, I go on "externship". Which means the Dental School farms us out to community clinics in the area and we work like employees of the clinic. Well my externship site is in Oakland, and on the way home one day, we saw this lovely sight. I reached out the window with my cell phone and snapped a picture. Notice that about 80% of the car is simply hanging over the edge, and is simply secured by 2 chains. But at least he had the forethought to put on the little red safety flag, right? Amazing.

I've been "Tagged"

Okay, so I was “tagged” and this means that I put down 6 things about myself that people probably wouldn’t know and then I “tag” 6 other people at the bottom of my list and leave them a comment on their blogs to let them know they were tagged and to read my blog for the rules.

So,

1-I actually won a car when I was 17. Yes, a real car, for free. Problem was that it was this BOAT-of-a-Buick! The thing was old and had dents and dings everywhere, and it could fit all who cared to join me for ice cream runs and drive-in movies. It got me (and anyone else from the whole of BYU) back and forth from home to Utah each summer and Christmas break. Due to the amount of metal around us, we were always very safe, so my parents were happy. They called it “Courtney’s Ark”.

2-I can’t stand whistling in the house or car. Dan, you can whistle while you work, you can whistle while you walk, just don’t do it in the house or car. Like nails on a chalkboard. Come to think of it though, Honey, I think I could make an exception for inside whistling if you “whistle while you wash”—as in dishes.

3-I get silly and loopy and down-right witty when it gets late. I know that this happens to a lot of people, especially us giggly girls, but my “late” is a lot earlier than most people’s (try coming over past 9pm and see what happens) and my witty side also comes out after an overdose of chocolate or ice cream. These things make me happy, what can I say?

4-I was one of three nurses that delivered a woman’s eighth child only nine minutes after she entered the waiting room on our Labor and Delivery floor. Cool, huh? No doctor, no drugs, no time. Poor lady shouldn’t have even had to pay for that hospital stay.

5-I learned to water-ski when I was five and could do pretty cool tricks by the time I was seven. Thanks, Dad!

6-I love, love, love my husband and kids, and I think that our life (yes, dental school, loans, endless streak of car trouble, toddler terrorist negotiations, and all) is pretty much a fairytale. Not in the sense that I am wishing that it was not reality, just in the sense that we are SO, SO blessed. Dan is my dream-come-true and our kids light up our home. You may be thinking that this is cheesy, but I wrote this one down since no one would think this about me from my highly-developed sense of sarcasm! So there’s the truth under the sarcasm!

I tag Dawnelle, Kristin, Angela, Emily B, Jen R, and Liz.

Gender Score!

The score was tied for a while, but the GIRLS have pulled ahead! That's right, we are having a girl in February. McKenna has been praying for a little sister for about a year now, so we should've gotten the clue. She also told us that when the doctor looks inside to take pictures of the baby, "if it has long girl hair, it's a girl and if it is bald, then it's a boy." (Picture of "long girl hair" below.)

Day at the Park

We got season passes to a nearby six-flags amusement park called "Discovery Kingdom". It is kind of a mix between Disneyland, the Zoo, and Sea world. They have rides, and the Loony-toons characters, as well as Elephants and a Killer whale show. They have something called "Animal Encounters" where you can have up-close experiences with the Animals. You can feed the dolphins and the giraffes, you can ride the elephants, etc.

They have this Walrus exhibit that has about 4 HUGE Walruses. For some reason, every time we go, they always take an interest in Jacob and McKenna. I can't figure out if they want to play...or eat them. This time, I took some pictures. He was clapping his fins as the kids clapped hands and everything. At the end of the interaction, the Walrus started ramming the glass. (You can see his head pressed against the glass in the last picture.) Again, I'm not sure if it was play, or aggression. But we left either way.


The other pictures are from a park in San Francisco called Alamo Square that our friends the Fairbanks' told us about. It is where they filmed the opening credits for the TV show "Full House". It has great views, and the kids had fun swinging at the top of the world.

Always good for a laugh...LONG POST!!

Courtney was surfing the net the other day and found some jokes I thought were hilarious, so I decided I would share some of my favorites without sending a mass email. Courtney has her own favorites, but I did the post, so I got to choose. The site was sugardoodle.net if you want to go look up the rest of the jokes.

Enjoy!

The Husband Store
A store that sells husbands has just opened in New York City, where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates. You may visit the store ONLY ONCE ! There are six floors and the attributes of the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch . . .. you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building! So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband . On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 - These men have jobs and love the Lord.



The second floor sign reads: Floor 2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.
The third floor sign reads: Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good looking. "Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.



She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads: Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead good looking and help with the housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"



Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads: Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak. She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:



Floor 6 - You are visitor 4,363,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day!



The rules according to guys
Please note... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!



1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.



1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.



1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.



1. Crying is blackmail.



1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!



1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.



1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.



1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.



1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.



1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.



1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.



1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.



1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.



1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.



1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.



1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.



1. If it itches, it will be scratched! We do that.



1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.



1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.



1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really.



1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.



1. You have enough clothes.



1. You have too many shoes.



1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.



The Best Lawyer Joke Ever
A lawyer went duck hunting in rural Arkansas. He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing. The lawyer responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going to retrieve it." The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over here."

The indignant lawyer said, "I'm one of the best trial attorneys in Arkansas and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own." The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we settle disputes in these parts of Arkansas. We settle small disagreements like this with the Arkansas Three Kick Rule."

The lawyer asked, "What that?"
The farmer replied, "Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up."

The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.

The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick to the midriff and the lawyer's last meal came gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer's third kick to his rear end sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.

The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, "Okay, you old coot. Now it's my turn."

The old farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck."





Hilarious Point System
In the world of romance, one single rule applies to the men: Make the woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played. Here is a guide to the point system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed (+1)
You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
In the rain (+8) But return with Beer (-5)
You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
You pummel it with iron rod (+10) It's the cat (-10)

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
You stay by her side the entire party (0)
You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a college
buddy (-2)
Named Tina (-4)
Tina is a dancer (-6)
Tina has silicon implants (-80)

HER BIRTHDAY
You take her out to dinner (0)
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
And it's all-you-can-eat night (-3)
It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted
the colors of your favorite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT
You take her to a movie (+2)
You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
You take her to a movie you like (-2)
It's called 'Death Cop' (-3)
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

YOUR PHYSIQUE
You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
You develop a noticeable potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
You develop a noticeable potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and Hawaiian shirts (-30)
You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-100)

ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [Yes, you LOSE points no matter WHAT]
You hesitate in responding (-10) You reply, "Where?" (-35) Any other response (-20)

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem, you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned expression (0)
You listen, for over 30 minutes (+50)
You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-1000)


A child's last day on earth...

We're Expecting!

We are pleased to announce that we will have a new addition to the family in February of 2008. Here is our little kidney bean. It is about 42 mm long, which is about the width of 3 fingers for those of you who don't do the metric system. The Doc said development looks great so far! We should find out the sex in about 2 months.

Ok, ok, We give in...

Once I saw that Kurt and Kristin had their blog up, I decided we couldn't put it off any longer. I mean, if Kurt can do it, anybody can.

We are living in San Francisco right now. Dan is in his last year of Dental School at UCSF, and then we will finally be ready to start....making debt payments!

Many of you have never seen our kids, McKenna and Jacob, so here are a few photos:

Courtney and McKenna at Yerba Buena Gardens

Jacob at Grandma Keller's house

McKenna drawing pictures

Family Portraits

Look forward to hearing your comments.

-Dan and Courtney