The elves are watching!

Just jotting down some of our December fun, but I'm starting off with "I hate the cold."  I hate being inside all the time, but I hate being outside and freezing more.  So, for as long as I can remember I always picked back up my crocheting or knitting to keep me busy and out of the fridge, snacking, while I was bored.  My cousins daughter was born without hair (as most of us are) but never grew any and is now about 13.  I use her as my excuse to Knit cute hats so she can cover her head because she hates wearing her wig.  I love the look of knit, far over the look of crocheting, but this year my cousins 2 daughters sent me a pattern and asked it I would make them.  They are crocheted and so easy to make.  I got the patterns off etsy.com if any one wants to make them.  So easy and I made all my nieces a hat for inexpensive cute Christmas presents

 I guess a lot of high school girls are wearing these headbands???  I don't know I think style left me when I was dubbed "Mom"

 Some of the hats

Bryton with her hat.

Just 'cuz I think it's funny:-)

  Just a couple days after Thanksgiving. Eating pumpkin pie.

 This is how I feel about pumpkin pie, too. 

Just kidding, they love pumpkin pie just like their dad.  I can't remember what the faces were for.  

I AM NOT A TRADER TO MY BUCKEYES.  But, yes Zach and I went to a Boise State Football Game with the biggest fans on the planet (Judd and his boys).  Yes it was fun, and yes Boise State is fun to watch.  Way more excitement on the field than Tressel play calls.  However, to all the fans--- the atmosphere is NOTHING compared to those 105,000 Buckeye fans in the Shoe, and until you have experienced both I don't want you to fight with me about it (aka Josh Haws).   (Now let me get on my soapbox, the rule is; you should be the biggest fan of your alma mater, so don't tell me I should be a Bronco fan just because I live here.  You cheer for your team, it becomes your team because it was your school.  It isn't my fault if you choose lets say, U of I, to go to school. No offense to U of I, but if you went there don't be a bandwagoner and vote for BSU just because U of I's football team isn't the greatest.  My dad and brother Josh both went there and both cheer for them, proudly wearing their silver and gold).

This year Ty wrote an essay for the Chamber of Commerce about the 12 things he likes most about Christmas.  All elementary schools in town (4) where invited to write in, and winners were picked and given $25.  Ty won 1st place of all 1st graders.  He was so excited.  I tried to scan the essay into my computer but it just won't work right.  Some of his 12 things were "not getting a lump of coal because Santa knows I've been good" ,"seeing all my family at Christmas except Grandma Doris because she died"  I tried to get him not to write that but Zach said it was his essay not ours :-)  Who knows maybe it was weird enough that's what made his original and win.

He was most excited, that because he won the contest, he got to ride a float in the city lights parade.

Now to the best part about Christmas.  Threatening the kids if they are not good, Santa won't come.  My kids are never better.  We have an elf that moves each night and the kids have to find him in the morning.  It watches them all day to see if they are being good so he can tell Santa.

 Also, if they were good the day before then the elf will leave a treat for them in the Advent House.  This thing is usually the problem, the elf usually forgets until she is almost alsleep.  Which brings up a good topic of conversation. How in the world did it ever come to be that Santa is A BOY!!!  Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me most Ladies are the ones doing all that comes with Christmas decorating, making treats, buying presents.  At my house we live with Scrooge for 1 month of the year and he doesn't do anything Christmas except complain about it.  I blame it on his un-normal, unusual childhood :-)  However, this year I got Shingles and Zach blames it on Christmas stressing me out too much.  I blame it on him not helping out with Christmas :-).  Whatever the case I LOVE Christmas (even if it means Shingles and cold temperatures)  I love the warmth of friends and family, the magical nature of it all, and the comfort it brings reminding us of Christ's birth and life.

 My two rats dressed up for church :-) This morning they were fighting over a Nativity set my bro Josh gave them.  Both wanting to paint Baby Jesus.  Ty kept demanding that he asked for it first, which he didn't, and when I gave it to Bryton, Ty threw a fit.  Bryton then caved and said Ty could have Jesus if she got the Angel, but Ty was already off screaming about how he asked first !!!!  With me not feeling well and being annoyed at a 6 year old throwing a fit like that, I started to yell at him to knock it off. From behind me I heard Bryton say "Mom the elf is watching you."  

6 month update

I thought as my kids got older I would actually have more free time.  The last 6 months blew by and I thought I'd post a few things we did.  I don't have pictures of everything we did.  Bryn and Luke were here for a lot of that time and I don't have any photos with them :-(  But we BBQ'd and had lots of fun with them.  We also spent countless hours at the waterpark again.  I love that place!!!

Favorite shot all summer :-)

Ty's Birthday - In case you didn't know, Ty has a HUGE obsession with Spongebob.

And he loves to draw!

and draw.  It got to be so much of a problem with paper all over my house I finally bought him and art journal to keep all his drawings in.

 During the spring, Ty played Tball. Zach was the coach, and this is the trophy ice cream party they had.

 We also got to go to Utah (for me to run Ragnar) and see Erin and kids :-)  I was sad it was such a short visit. It's weird you can go so long without seeing friends and then when you get together, feel like you just saw each other yesterday.

Of course we fished!

 And rafted!

with cousins!

Everybody was here for this trip on the 4th except Bryn and Luke.  It was so fun but made for a super late trip back home and to work the next day.

Ohio State night at the Hawks game.  I love that no matter where you live there are so many buckeye fans (aka NOT bandwagoner fans like some local football team fans I know)

We also meet at the Bulls Head Pub every football game to watch the game.  The owner Scott is a buckeye and opens the "family area" up for us to all watch the games with all the other buckeyes here in the valley.

We floated in inner tubes as well, and if you look closely at Brytons right eye you can see one of our adventures didn't go so well.  I had Bryton with me as we went over a check and got sucked under and fell out of our tube.  She banged her eye up pretty good on a rock.  Every time we would go over the bridge of the canal we fell out in, she would scream "I don't want to go on the waterfall" for about a month afterwards.

 My friend Jill from Ohio came out to see us for a week in July.  I had so much fun with her.  Again, another friend I hadn't seen forever and it felt like just days before we were studying in the dental school til late hours into the night, no kids and multiple diet pepsi's (coffees for Jill), to keep us going.  This picture of Bryton is at a natural water spring on the way to Yellowstone.  I had never seen it before and I can't even count how many times I must have driven by it.  I lost my camera in the car soon after this photo -- so no more pics of Yellowstone.

This was at Grand Teton National Park.  My parents were nice enough to take my kids while Jill and I hiked into Jenny Lake and lucky for us we got to see a couple bison.

 Jenny Lake

(Out of order but we also rafted the South Fork of the Payette with a rafting company)

Hidden Falls.  This place is amazing.  If you haven't been there you have to go.

 After we sent Jill home to go become the world renowned Oral Surgeon she will be someday, we headed to Stanley for a long weekend. Camped, swam, ate, floated... we had so much fun.  Our last night we even had a bear come into our campground.  Lucky for us it bumped the dutch oven off the table and it scared it away.  (Above; Papa Red and Ty on the Salmon)

 Judd and Trey.  Judd fell out soon after this photo - I thought it was the best part of the trip :-)

Jace and I trying out the little rubber kayak thingy....

More fun with cousins

I loved Stanley - If it wasn't so dang cold there for most of the year, or if I could have the weather we had there end of July I could live there.

Oh yeah, and did I mention fishing?  One of many fishing trips ( in fact as I'm updating this blog Zach and Ty are fishing) This was out at Zach's family ranch on the Payette River.  I love this shot.  The fish looks awesome, but also look how excited Ty's face is, and his carotid is about to explode out of his neck :-)

Now we are headed into the fall and I can't help but hope the cold months go by just as quickly as the last 6 and get back to summer.

Bye Bye Facebook

I deleted my facebook account.  I had too many requests from people I didn't really care to be friends with.  You know the ones that comment on what they had for breakfast, how much milk was in the cereal and what type of milk. Or the ones from work that I really didn't want on my account but how do you say no to them and then have to see them at work.  So, I figured the people I care to keep in contact with know my blog so I would love to keep up through this. 
So long waste of time-it's been a pleasure, but I need to be more productive with my down time.

TIm McGraw

Zach called me Thursday morning from work and said he bought 2 tickets for Tim McGraw for that night.  I had so much fun, and Zach was a good sport to listen to 3 hours of Country Western music.  Payback for those stupid concerts I've had to go to with him (i.e. Built to Spill).  He even sang Where the Green Grass Grows, which was the first song Zach and I listened to on our first date.  Sorry the pics aren't the best, they are from my phone.  Lady Antebellum was the opening act, not my favorite but way better than Jessica Simpson who was the opening for Rascal Flatts

Ragnar

Just got done running Ragnar with my sister-in-law Becky and her friends.  It was a lot of fun, a lot of pain, and not a lot of sleep.  It's 188 miles divided into 12 runners, 6 in each van, each of you taking 3 legs Running from Logan to Park City -- it was gorgeous!  Van one starts and you get to rest as the other van is running.  Our van was first so we ran our first and second legs on Friday.  We got to catch about 4 hours of sleep in a high school gym (something that isn't fun unless you are still in high school). Then up again at 6 to start our third leg on Saturday. Something about experiencing something so crazy actually creates a weird bond, which I think is why it was so fun...because the running part really wasn't :-)

Start of the race.  5 am wake up call that's why we're all so beautiful.

Our Van; Me, Becky, Rachel, Kristen, Lisa, and Camille

Some of what we got to run through.

After our 1st leg was complete

Just getting done with my third leg which was my longest leg 8 miles gradual uphill, with a one mile stretch that was super steep.

We wore these slap stick bracelets (remember them from when you were little?) and they had a computer chip thing in them I guess. At each exchange we would pass it to the next runner.

All of our van done with our legs.

Riding the Gondola to the finish line (this may have been my and Camille's favorite part).  The second van runners had the last stretch, but at about 100 yards from the finish line all the team members join in with the last runner and run together through the finish line.

Our team (minus Rachel and Kristen) at the end. 

As tired as Becky and I were we signed up to do it next year with our family...so Jim, Elisa, Luke, Zach, Judd, Mom,Bryn, Trey, Kade and Josh get training!!!!!