Snow Shoeing and Skiing

I've lived in Utah since I was nine and I have never been skiing/snowboarding. Pathetic, I know. Combination low iron and broken thyroid make for a body that already struggles to regulate bodily temperature. Tim was an avid skier growing up and hadn't been in almost 10 years and every winter we've been married he has wanted to go skiing. But lets face it, unless you have all of the gear it can get quite expensive once you factor in equipment rentals and a lift ticket.

Fate smiled upon us while earlier this month, our visiting family sponsored us in a snowy day of fun. (Thanks Annie and John for the lift ticket/snowshoeing pass, Mom and Dad for the equipment rental for Tim and watching the kids, and practically family- Leigh for loaning snow shoes!) Tim and I debated about whether I should try getting up on the slopes. I have zero experience, and have a deathly fear of heights and moving too quickly while feeling unstable. I didn't want to be living it up on the bunny hills alone, constantly falling, with no one to walk me through techniques while Tim and John were out galavanting in the snowy slope covered forest. Skiing was going to be much needed therapeutic recreation for Tim while he was thick in his preparations for his PhD candidacy exam, and I assume for John as well, since he's hard at work in his plastics residency, and wouldn't have been nearly as fun for them, had I decided to go. So,  I chose to stick with the ladies who would be participating in the days adventures and have a go at snow shoeing. (Some day I still want to try out the slopes.)

Me and Tim ready to get our winter fun on.

Annie (Tim's little sister), Jennifer, Leigh, (both John's sisters) Tim, Me, and John (Annie's husband)

Off we went. It was cold and my hands were ice cold before we left the lodge. Once I got moving it was a bit better, until I started sweating (snow shoeing is quite the workout.) Eventually my sweaty body started to become cold and clammy. Even still it was good memorable fun.

Thanks to my go-go-gadget arm we got a picture of all four of us together.

....tasty....

A picture of me I blazing the trail during my second wind...

I perfected the art of getting up from falling down...

Beautiful and serene

No, for real, I fell a lot.

I was wearing boots that were too big and my feet kept sliding around in the boots. Once I was tired it became a poor combination for snow showing and bad ankle. So after about 3 miles, my ankles kept twisting in the big boots, I would loose my balance, and I kept falling.

Now for a Public Service Announcement: to those who may ever go snowshoeing and keep falling- turn around and use the snow you just packed down with your fall to push on to get up. Trying any other high patch of snow will only result in face plants.

Good times were had by all. In the end my hands had become a lovely white/bluish color (my gloves were completely soaked) so it was great to be done and back in the warm ski lodge. Tim and John had the time of their lives, dealing with bouts of nausea, each taking turns vomiting due to elevation sickness and had fun attempting to go off what looked like little jumps and ended up being insane piles of fresh power and getting stuck. Still it makes for laughs and great memories.

Snip Snip

Remember how Amelia is always busy and especially loves arts and crafty things? Well on the 16th of this month she had finished cutting something with scissors and was still holding them while watching some TV show on Netflix. The next thing I know, Amelia says something like, I did something and there's blood. To which after investigation I found that she wasn't paying attention to what she was doing and cut her lip with her little metal scissors.

I didn't get a great picture of the cut, but it was like a 270 degree cut (think door on hinges) that flapped open when she smiled. I could even see little white nerve endings... Lovely.

The pediatrician had the great news that lips heal super fast and that since it wasn't bleeding and clotted on its own, there would be no need for stitches. She had her tetanus booster a year ago so there was no need for a shot. Lucky girl!

Sure enough, it healed already. It was a nasty bump for awhile, and now is lovely and even again. Hooray!

Temple Square and The Church History Museum's Children Exhibit

Jan 17-23 we had family in town. Tim's parents came down for a visit and Tim's sister Annie and her husband John also came to Utah to visit his parents who recently had a house built here. It was wonderful to see be able to see them all. Annie and John finally met Brodrick, which was extra fun. One of the days during the visit we drove up to John's parents house for dinner. To beat rush hour traffic we left early and decided to stop off at Temple Square. We walked around and went over to the Church History Museum where they have a children's exhibit set up for the next year.

The Salt Lake City Temple where Tim and I were married. It took 40 years for it to be built.

Both boys fell asleep on the drive to SLC.

Amelia liked going into the tabernacle.

Fact: children are drawn to water...

Brodrick loved running around to try to keep up with our walking. He was very excited and enjoyed being outside. Sadly, he tripped several times. This picture was taken right before he fell onto the pavement. Note the happy face.... After he fell he just lay on the cold concrete till we could walk over to get him.

I sing songs to the children every night and Miles' favorite song is I Love to See the Temple. He has been asking for weeks now to go see the temple. I told him we would be going to see the temple, and he exclaimed "Wow! Thanks mom!" It was just tender.

Miles loved seeing the temple.

Brodrick by the reflection pond.

After circling the temple, we went over to the museum....

Amelia checking out a replica of the Gold Plates.

This section of the children's exhibit was about Lehi and his family crossing the ocean.  It was a favorite.

Miles catching fish

Brodrick driving a little truck.

Not pictured was the skirts and dancing part of the exhibit, which Amelia got into just as we were leaving. We had a great little visit to Temple square and expecially enjoyed the exhibit at the museum.

The LDS Church History Museum (which is just west of Temple Square) is free to the public and is open Monday-Friday from 9a.m.-9p.m. and from 10a.m.-7p.m. on Sat/Sun. The children's exhibit will be there until January 6, 2013.  I would definitely recommend a visit.

Running 'Jamas

Miles has had a thing for pajamas since about the end of November. If we are home I cannot convince him to wear regular cloths. When we leave the house and I insist that he wear regular cloths, I can only get them on Miles, if it is over his "running 'jamas." And as soon as we get home, he sheds his outer layer and sports the running 'jamas.

What are running 'jamas exactly? They are any pajamas that are tight to the skin, like thermals, that he can run in at a fast pace. He refuses to run in anything baggy. With his running 'jamas on, he really does run quite fast. He enjoys running back and forth in our family room on a daily basis. We joke that he is a little physicist and understands the concept of wind drag without having it explained to him.

Brodrick and Miles at the starting line at one end of our family room- Miles in his running 'jamas.

Running back to the other side

Love that he has his tongue on his lips as he is focused on running "super fast."

Since Tim ran track in high school and even went to Nationals in the decathlon we are quite excited that Miles is so excited about running. When I ask Miles what his cool trick is, (Yo Gabba Gabba anyone??) he tells me it is "Running Fast."

Pediatric Dentist

I love taking my kids to the dentist. It doesn't hurt that all of my children have been or are currently obsessed with tooth brushes and brushing teeth. All three of the kids like going. There is a great little play house, arcade games with no charge, a great fish tank to look at, and a big screen to watch movies. After x-rays, exams, and cleanings each child gets a balloon animal. If you are the Utah Valley area and have kids, I highly recommend Dr Markham.

My children go to the same dentist I went to as a child. He is my FAVORITE. So much so, that I went to him until I got my driver's license. Though the teddy bears are no longer hanging from the ceiling, it is still a laid back, fun environment for children's dental hygiene. I didn't get any pictures of the kids in the little green dentist chairs wearing sun glasses during their exams. Things were so quick and I was keeping tabs on the other two children when one was in the green chair that I didn't even think to grab my camera while I chatted with Dr Markham. We are three for three with no cavities!!! Hooray!

Watching Disney's Bolt on the big screen tv.

Amelia and Miles showing off their pearly whites and balloon dog and sword on the way home.

Pinterest Inspired

Are you on Pinterset? If not, you should be. Leave me a message with your email and you will promptly get an invite.

I love the ideas I get from Pinterest. Back in December, I saw a drawer that had wheels added to the bottom, stuck under the bed for some added/organized/inexpensive/easy access storage. Because my shoes were piling up at the foot of my bed I knew this would be a great solution for said shoes, and no more hunting for the lost half of the pair in the abyss. Since I happened to have a drawer in my garage from an old entertainment center, all I would need would be wheels for some great shoe storage. Perfect.

I went to Lowes to find some wheels. There in the isle I discovered that my "inexpensive" plan would not be so inexpensive as wheels were ranging from around $2 to more than $6, PER. WHEEL.... Pinterest fail. That is until I saw the furniture glides hanging above the bins holding the wheels. Furniture glides were just over $2 for 4 of them and could probably get the job done. Score. I went home to get my "DIY pinterest" on.

The drawer. When I'm feeling ambitious, I may paint this sucker.

A photo of me and the boys, since I can't pull the camera out and not take of picture of them these days.

...drilled some holes (4 total) into the bottom of the drawer...

...twisted these into the four holes (I- didn't need the white parts shown above)...

  

I have our bed on risers so there was plenty room for the drawer. With the glides, the drawer moves easily through our thick carpet.

There you have it. Now go have fun looking on pinterest for some great ideas to pin and share with others!

Happy Birthday Amelia! Cause You Only Turn 5 Once

On January 2nd, Amelia turned five years old. Since her 4th birthday Amelia told me she wanted a My Little Pony party for her fifth birthday. She stuck with that theme until late November, when she decided she wanted a fairy party. So we planned to do a fairy theme since then and worked little bits at a time making decorations and things for the party.

Amelia was so excited to set the table.

Birthday Girl

Amelia wearing her wings. Behind her are hanging the halo's we got for everyone.

Amelia wanted a Tinker Bell bun in her hair.

...so excited for her friends to arrive...

We ate lunch at the party, so cute seeing all the little girls with their wings and halo's.

This picture goes to show just how concerned I was about getting pictures of everything. I took a picture after we had searved all of the sandwiches. My friend Geidy who was also Amelia's Sunbeam teacher last year, and mother to one of Amelia's friends, made that delicious tortellini salad! (Thanks Geidy!!)

...we played the game Pin the Wings on the Fairy...
(I used this image and traced in onto a large piece of paper without the wings, an then traced, and cut out a set of wings for each girl to pin.)

....and sang happy birthday....

....Amelia was very excited focused on blowing out her candles and making her wish...

...  all the girls choose a cupcake to eat...

... and enjoyed eating them...

... what cute fairies....

The girls LOVED the wings and halos, and we sent them home with each of the girls instead of favor/treat bags. I bought them from halohaven.com and got an amazing deal on cyber Monday. If you are wanting to know where to buy fairy wings, look no further.

Even though Amelia wanted a fairy party, she still wanted some My Little Pony's. I told everyone what she wanted, and 6 of her 7 guests got her something my little pony. She was a happy girl!

...post party with a fairy pony...

These flowers I made for the chairs. They were SUPER easy. I made them with a double layer of tulle fabric tied into a bow with extra long ends, then tied the long ends into another bow and opened/separated the "bunny ears" part of the bows and fluffed them.

It's hard to believe how quickly time has passed. Oh how I love my sweet girl.

Happy Birthday, Amelia my love. The last five years have been the best of my life.