Call Me a Wimp...

Maybe it's my "old" age, but I've decided I'm not very adventurous or daring. Over the weekend, Nate and I drove up to West Yellowstone to go snowmobiling with some friends (who from here on out will be refered to as "the experts"). Now mind you, neither Nate nor I had ever even sat on a snowmobile, let alone rode one. We were excited though for a fun weekend away and took "the experts" up on their offer to go ride with them. We were the only two "novices" in the group; the other six ride constantly and are much more willing than I am to go up crazy steep hills (and back down them) at heart-pumping speeds. I told them after the first day of riding that I can get a much bigger "rush" by finding a good deal at Baby Gap. The first day, I managed to run into a tree (going very slowly, easy to fix), tip the machine as I tried to turn uphill, and get thrown from the snowmobile-it flew through the trees one way, I flew the opposite. Luckily I wasn't too hurt (emotionally maybe, but not physically). Nate had only one incident that involved holding onto a tree for dear life. We had fun with "the experts," but I don't think we'll be buying a snowmobile in the near (or distant) future.

Although we froze our behinds off in Chicago, we had such a great time! We gained some weight, spent some money shopping, and had some really good laughs! We even found Oprah's favorite cupcake shop, Mandy B's. One word: yum! Being at the Oprah Show was kind of surreal. I still haven't watched it, so I'm not sure how much we were even shown. Nate said you pretty much had to know where we were sitting and what we were wearing to find us. It was pretty dang cool when Oprah walked out. I have to say, I think she looks older in person. She didn't talk to the audience during the show (she was always studying her notes during the commercial breaks), but after sat and talked and answered questions for about twenty minutes. The show itself was ok. Kate Winslet was on and was a great guest, but the rest of the show was spent talking to people through Skype (satellite). I had a great time with the girls and am so glad I got to spend these days with them. Thank you Nate for an awesome Christmas present and for playing Mr. Mom while I was away. Hopefully next time I'm in Chicago the temperatures won't be in the negative figures!

We brought home a lot more bags than we took! The shopping was too fun!

While Mom is Away...

While Mom is away freezing in Chicago, I get to play with Quincy and Max all day long!!! We have watched Tinker Bell for the 4th time this morning, did watercolor painting (and cleaned up a couple of times along the way), and avoided work as much as possible. Quincy even taught Dad how to make cupcakes (must be pink). Notice Max watching on from the sidelines eating his chicken nuggets from McDonalds (Dad is the best cook in the world). Notice the laptop computer on the table--unopened as I great intentions of doing some work (not going to happen I don't think). Also, you can see some of Quincy's pretty artwork on the counter as well.

The cupcakes actually aren't half bad. We didn't make very many because we ate most of the batter before we cooked the cupcakes.

We will be back to regularly scheduled programming Wednesday or Thursday (once Lindsay returns). Check her out tomorrow on Oprah as she hangs with Kate Winslet and Leonard DiCaprio.

Tuckered Out

I forgot to post this picture of Q from Christmas night. I thought it was too cute. I think that's how we all felt that night.

In With The New

New Year's Day we headed up to Brian Head to do the tubing runs. I hadn't ever been up there, and have to admit, when I got to the top of the hill the first time, I got nervous! I think I must be getting old! I thought Quincy would completely freak out, first at the top of hill, and then the entire ride down, but she absolutely loved it! She was a brave little thing and wanted to do it over and over! Max had fun just sitting in a tube being pulled all over the place.

Out With The Old...

The last couple of years we've stayed home with our kids on New Year's Eve and partied like rockstars with them. Alayna and Tim were in town still, so their cute family and mine and Nate's parents came up to our house for a little food and Guitar Hero. We watched the ball drop in New York at ten and Quincy was so excited that we let her stay up until "midnight." She really thought she had pulled a fast one on us! Nate and I actually made it until about 12:01, so I'm quite proud of us!

I have to concentrate pretty hard! Tim killed me!

Merry Belated Christmas!

We hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! Ours was spent enjoying our time together and with family. Growing up, Alayna and I had a very hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve (we inherited this from our mom. She still can't sleep and she doesn't have any kids at home!) The two of us would start singing Christmas songs, or any other thing we could think of to wake the house up, around 4:00 a.m. (that is not a typo). It would drive my brother Cameron insane! My kids of course wanted to wake up super early, but six was our limit (have you been around Quincy when she doesn't get enough sleep?). The three older kids all slept in Q's room, and right at six, Tanner came bouncing out. The other two actually had to be woken up! They had a great time exploring their gifts from Santa and were spoiled by each of their grandparents as well. Unfortunately, the day ended too quickly, but now we can just count down until next year!

*I've mentioned before what a great gift-giver Nate is. Well, this year, he went above and beyond. He had each of the kids write a page of "My Favorite Things About Mom" and then he included a list of his own. At the bottom of his page it said:

"Watching your reaction when you find out that you are going with your friends to Chicago to shop and watch the Oprah Winfrey Show live."

Can you believe it? I was sobbing/screaming/laughing! I'm still in complete shock. I actually leave this Saturday and will be going to the show on Tuesday, January 13th. I'm not sure if the show we're watching will be showed live that day or at a later date. Just plan on watching that day, and if anything is different, I'll let you know!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I just wanted to tell the very best dad in the world happy birthday! I'm so grateful for this good man and for the example he is to me. He has always been so supportive of me. While I was in high school, he was at every game I cheered at, every softball game, and every concert. He still supports me now by supporting my family. He's such a good sport to attend the kids games, even traveling sometimes to watch Trey play baseball. My kids are so lucky to call him Grandpa, because I don't think they come much better than him. They each adore him and love to sneak into "his chair" so that he'll tickle them. They love walking down to KB Oil to get a special treat with Grandpa. I feel so lucky to be able to live near him and be able to spend time with him and my mom. I love that he's retired and being able to pop in during the day just to say hi. I love you, Dad! I hope your day and year are the best!

Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve afternoon, we get together with our neighbors, the Wilkersons. It's always a good way to kill some time and get the kids' minds off of the big delivery that takes place that night. We either go to a movie or go bowling, and since Max is at a terrible age to go to the movies, we headed to the bowling alley. It was crazy busy out there and luckily we were able to get a couple lanes. The kids always have fun and we love being able to spend time with our good friends.

We spent the evening with Nate's parents, eating, singing, and just enjoying each other's company. Nate's mom made a delicious meal, and then the kids entertained us with a little program. Trey played the piano for us while we sang, and Quincy danced away. The kids always get to open new pajamas and can't wait to put them on.

One of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions is listening to my dad read a new children's Christmas book. This year was "The Wooden Shoes". After he reads the story, my parents give us a little keepsake to remind us about the book. They had found little miniature wooden shoes to add to our collection. I love getting these items out each Christmas to display.

While we were in NYC, we found these pjs for Q and her doll. We couldn't pass them up! She was so excited to have matching clothes with her Bitty Baby!