My toes

I haven't done my own toes in forever. I get a pedicure every 4 weeks or so for my eczema. Yes, my eczema, honest. If you go here, http://callieandbryce.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-eczema-when-i-wait-6-weeks-to-get.html, you'll see why. However, I have not been able to get a pedicure. You know, Christmas and medical and all. Priorities, you know. Well, I got tired of not only having painful, itchy feet but looking at ugly toes along with it. So, I sat down and did my own toes. I haven't done them in forever. This is what I came up with.

Not wonderful but at least they're not ugly. I've had several people say they wish they could do it. So, If enough of you leave comments on wanting instructions on how to keep your polish from chipping for 4 weeks and how to do some simple decorations I will post some instuctions along with pictures. So, if you're interested leave a comment. If you're like me and normally let someone else do your toes, don't.

I was a little proud of myself for bucking up and doing my own toes.

Christmas and New Years

We started off the season with a 'funny' white elephant gift exchange. It was really fun. We recently bought a fire pit thing and so we just do get togethers in the back yard around the fire. We had hot dogs and Stephens hot chocolate. The we did the gift exchange. Due to the economy we did a funny one. So you could bring something you found the last time you cleaned your house or something.

It was probably the funnest gift exchange I've ever done. Surprisingly there were no trades. Everyone was pretty happy with what they got the first time around. Here's the loot.

Funny thing is that this book was brought with me in mind. I've always said we'll have a little black baby boy one day.

Great minds think alike. Spidey undies and Iron Man undies made an appearance. Ours were better because they had candy in them. Bryce wanted to use a candy bar to leave a skid mark on the Iron Man undies that we contributed but ultimately we decided not to.
Santa Potato head.

Bryce got a sweet vest.

Then came Christmas day. I've wanted a beach cruiser bicycle for a while and Bryce got me one for Christmas. A PINK one even.

So cute.
It had to be a beach cruiser because when I ride it I sit straight up and it's easier on my back. I would always say. " when I get a bike I will eventually put a cute basket on it so I could take my doggies for a ride with me", and it just so happens that my new PINK bike came complete with cute wicker basket. My doggies like it. I put a blanket in to keep them a little warmer and away we go.

We spent the afternoon with the Christiansen. Poor Katie and Kevin had to wait until 11 to start opening presents. My mother in law got a super cute purse from her best friend which just happend to be the same exact purse that she bought me for christmas.

Katie got several books this year.

And santa brought the family several new games and a few dvd's.

Bryce got several things including some UGG slippers. He really likes them. I think he's hooked now too. I got him several gift cards to food places he likes. Outback, TGIFridays, Wendy's, Dell Taco, Barro's Pizza and Arby's.

I got several fun things too. Top on the list is my bike, purse and new phone that I bought myself thanks to Christmas money. I got the HTC Hero. I love it so far.

We filled my mother in law's stocking this year and bought my father in law a book that is so totally Chris Christiansen, it's hilarious.

Katie made Kevin a pair of comfy pants for Christmas.

For some reason it's become a tradition in the Christiansen hom that on Christmas morning we get and play with some kind of young at heart toys. This year it was Nerf guns. Here's the conversation that happend when I walked in the door.

Me: So, what's with the kid blocks and stuff?

Katie: Target practice

Me: K. but what's with th baby blocks? (thinking she was talking only about the guns)

Katie: Target Practice

Me: I don't get it.

then Katie just looked at me and we both started laughing cause it finally clicked in my head that they had set up the table with things we could shoot at for target practice with the Nerf guns.

Then we all loaded up and started shooting eachother.



My mom does Christmas breakfast every year. So we spent the morning with my family. Huge delicious breakfast.

My mom made everything but the bacon this year. Mama G did the bacon. She's wearing the cute new quilted apron I got her for Christmas.

Trigg played his new Leap Frog game all day. I just noticed his shoes are on the wrong feet.

Aahhhh the Christmas year book. Due to the size of my family we stopped doing presents for eachother a long time ago and instead we do a Christmas yearbook.Every individual family does pages of some sort. Usually including pictures and events of the past year. Usually it's pretty funny. This is what the family looks like every Christmas morning.

This is Jan, Greg and Dave reading the year book.

A few of the kids came with their new swords. It just so happened that we had a few smaller swords in our garage because Yousif, bryce's friend, left them here the last time he visited. So, we pulled them out and gave them to the younger boys.

The doggies are always a hit with the kiddos. I love the candid shots of them.

The teens were told they could chill in my moms room. Instead they chilled in mine and Bryce's room. It was a wreck to begin with.

Then for New Years my family got together for some snack and games. Snacks included Jan's home made sugar cookies, Apples with home made caramel apple dip, salsa and chips, Pistachio's, cheese ball and crackers, and artichoke and jalapno dip with frech bread.

Then we played a couple games and ended with a gift game. We roll a dice and if we roll a 7 or 11 you put on gloves and try to open the gift before someone else gets a 7 or 11. Whoever gets the gift out keeps it. Usually it's very hard to get at.

This year was no exception. Teeth were used.

We get really competative in my family.

Like I said, teeth and punching. There were 2 gifts this year. Licorice piggies, red and black. And a giift card to PF Changs. The gift card was taped to a brick to throw people off. I got the licorice piggies. I love black licorice.

We had a seriously awesome holiday season this year and hope you did too.

Downing House

Do any of you have a childhood home? You know, a house that you spent most of your childhood in? I did. It was at 1752 E. Downing Cir. Mesa, AZ 85203 and the phone number was 835-7792. For some reason I will never forget those. My dreams still take place in that house. I met my 2 of my best friends in that house. I still keep in touch with both. One lived 2 doors down and one was just down the street and around the corner. I lived in that house for 13 + years. My family refers to it as the Downing house. It had a big pool and big back yard. We swam almost every day in the summer and had pool parties. It was the greatest back yard ever. Anyways, my downing house burned down this morning.


A child left a projector on in the basement and it overheated. He woke up with the projector burning his leg and everyone got out of the house safely. But nothing else made it out.

News people were there. We followed channel 10 in this morning.

The street was blocked, so we parked and I had a convo with the cops and firemen and police men and they let me right on through.

The firemen then asked me several questions about the layout of the house. Channel 10 asked if they could put me on camera but never did.

There was water and foam all the way down the street.

Once they found out it had a basement they wouldn't let a soul set foot inside and they prettty much had to just let it burn. Too dangerous. So nothing but the people made it out and everything burned.

When they turned the water off it didn't stop so everything then flooded. There was water and foam all the way down the street.

All the pretty details outside are all due to my family. The pretty wooden door my mom had always wanted.The pretty bay window.

The swingset my mom made my dad cement into the ground to keep us safe.

The covered front porch with victorian posts to complete it. Eventually a swing hung there and we would sit and watch all the monsoons. I would call my neighbor 2 doors down and tell him to meet me on my swing so I could poor my heart out. The shutters my mom hung on the windows.

I spoke to the neighbors who still live next door.

It looks small now but it was 4200 square feet of house, perfect for a family of 13. And almost a quarter of an acre of land. I will always remember the downing house and my dreams will probably always take place there. RIP Downing house.

Family Pictures

We (Margaret) took some family photos on Thanksgiving. If you check any of my siblings blogs then you've probably already seen these. If not, then here is just 3. There were probably at least 100 more taken but I don't have them. Everyone was there except my brother Jacob and his family, which consists of 6 and my other brother Russell/USOS and his family of 4-5.

This is just the chicas. All the girls were there so we got a picture of my mom withh all of us.From left to right and top to bottom.
Me(Callie Christiansen), Rebecca, Jannalee, Joy, Wendy, My mom, Cassie and Sherry. For those of you who wonder what my twin sister looks like she's on the bottom left, Cassie. You can't see the 4 inch hieght difference with her laying down at least.
My mom and all but 2 of her kids and our spouses. Again from left to right and top to bottom. Brandon, Cassie. Sherry, Dan, Jannalee. Wendell, Greg, Rebecca, Joy, Dave, Mom, Kim, Wendy, Margaret. Clark, Brianne, Me(callie) and Bryce. Cassie and Brandon are together. Jan and Dan are together. Wendell andd Sherry are together. Joy and Dave are together. Kim and Wendy are together. Clark and Margaret are together. Spencer and Brianne are together and Bryce and I are together. Oh, and my mom is looking for a good man so If you know someone send me an email. Missing are Jacob, Melissa, Russ and Tiff.

And this is all of us minus 11. 50 in the picture and 60 total.

No, I am not really bad at math. I didn't count my mom's mom in the 60 but she is in the picture. 59 human lives due to one woman and that's just so far. Suprisingly we all still love eachother. Most of the time anyways. 9 out of my moms 11 children live right here is Arizona.

I've decided that I want 2 possibly 3 kids. 3 is pushing it. Or maybe just a family of animals and babysitting all my nieces and nephews. Hmmm... We'll see.