2009 in Pictures

I didn't do Christmas cards this year. But, really, who am I kidding? I never do Christmas cards. I at least try and do some type of "virtual" card though - something. But not this year. So, in a lame attempt to catch people up on our lives, here's the highlights of 2009. My favorite thing about each month:

January

January was cold and snowy. On New Years Day, we decided to go sledding as a family. We picked what we thought was a small, safe hill. There was only one tree at the bottom and the hill was just big enough to be fun for the little kids. Unfortunately, Brynlee's sled found the tree. She hit so hard that it knocked her boots off - her face was bloody and she wouldn't open her eyes. Defintely a scary moment. We spent the majority of New Years Day in the ER getting her check out. Luckily, because she had a hat and her hood on, her head was ok.








February

February was also cold and snowy. Really, not much happened other than Brynlee turning three. I cannot believe my "baby" is so big. She was potty trained right before her birthday too. And she is such a princess. I cannot imagine life without Brynlee - she brings the comedy to our family, as she is always making a joke. She's also compassionate, loving, musical, and really bright.











March

March was definitely a fun month, as we took a family vacation to Orlando Florida. We were able to spend several days at Walt Disney World and a couple more days at Sea World. The girls LOVED Disney. Gracelin is a daredevil, and went on every ride that she was tall enough for - including Tower of Terror seven times in a row. The only reason she stopped riding, is because the park was closing. Poor Brynlee was literally a hair too short to ride the majority of rides, and really felt left out. I suspect that we'll be making another trip at some time in 2010 to remedy that. The girls are wonderful travellers - even when we took the red-eye flight, and went straight from the airport to the parks. They didn't miss a step.





April

Easter came in April this year, and as part the festivities, we spent a rainy afternoon at the Easter Festival at Wheeler Farm. The yucky weather didn't deter anyone - the kids thought it was lots of fun to be able to actually use an umbrella (it doesn't rain much here). Other than the giant creepy Easter Bunny that followed us around, it was great.

May

May finally brought nice weather, and the chance to finally get outside. We decided to start a tradition of Saturday family hikes (I think we only actually went this one time though). Brynlee is still a bit young for anything strenuous, but Gracelin is a hiker. She just loves being outside, and is so athletic.

June

In June, is the annual Lehi Round-Up celebration. And since Lehi is my second home (thanks to my job), it is almost an obligation to attend the festivities. The girls love it though - dressing like cowgirls and going to the rodeo is right up their ally.

July

In July, we took a vacation to Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. We travelled with Grandma and Grandpa, as well as some aunts, uncles, and cousins. We all stayed in a condo at Teton Village, and had a great trip. It brought us the chance to do some hiking, swimming, shopping, and to spend an evening at the Bar-J Wranglers. More cowboy stuff - the girls were in heaven.

August

In August, Gracelin started kindergarten. She was totally ready, and so excited to be in school. She's really excelled too - she's reading well and making lots of new friends. G is such a bright and amazing girl - and she's so well-behaved. She's content to sit in the shadows, until she's doing something physical. She's learned to ride a 2-wheel bike this year. She played soccer and scored several goals. She's taking gymnastics, and can do some amazing things (especially on bars, her favorite). She's even taken up ice skating. I think that 2010 will be the year she learns to snow ski.

September

September was a quiet month. We spent our days getting used to having a school-age kid, while balancing gymnastics, soccer, and homework. Life is so busy.

October

October my favorite month - not because of Halloween, but just because I love the shorter days and the changing leaves. The kids love Halloween though, and I was even a good sport this year - I dressed up for them. G and I were both witches, and Bryn made a last minute costume change - from a "glampire" to a ballerina. She is such a girl.

November

Thanksgiving was spent at the Fairbourn's this year (we take turns). It was a small group, but it was still perfect. We are so grateful and blessed.

December

Which brings us to December - Christmas. What a fun Christmas we had this year. The girls, who are 3 and 5, are the perfect age. They really "got it" this year, but it is still magical for them. It has been such a great year for us - of course, we've had our "ups and downs", but we are richly blessed. Here's to 2010 - an even greater year.

Ice skating

Ben and I decided it would be fun to take the kids downtown to ice skate. We decided to go to the Gallivan Center, an outdoor venue in the middle of downtown. Knowing it was going to be cold, we were prepared: gloves, hats, scarves, and even snow pants for the girls. We made the trek through rush-hour/christmas traffic, and luckily found parking right across the street. As we began to unload, we realized that we had forgotten coats for the kids - gloves, hats, scarves, and snow pants wouldn't quite be enough. So, after a quick trip a couple of blocks away, and a purchase of coats one size larger than the kids need (they were REALLY on sale), we made it.
The place was alive. Christmas lights, carols, and a fire pit. All that was missing was Santa.
Neither of the girls had been on skates before. It was quite the adventure.
Of course, there were plenty of slips/falls/spills/near-misses. But they actually caught on pretty quickly. Especially G, who actually made it around the entire rink without falling. Of course I'm biased, but she just seems to pick up on athletic activities quickly. (a trait she obviously inherited from her father)

Brynlee did pretty well too. . . .for a 3-year-old. And I think that if she hadn't gotten hungry, she'd have done much better (she's like her momma when she's hungry. . . watch out!!)

After skating, we topped the night off with a trip to Jason's Deli - which of course wouldn't have been complete without the free ice cream cones. What else goes with ice skating?

G told me that she couldn't wait to "get back on the ice".

Being a stay at home mom

Just for this week, I'm a stay at home mom. Next week, I have to go back to work. But this week, its all about fun and frolic. Its only Wednesday morning, and check out what we've done already:

Painted Christmas ornaments
My laundry is caught up (usually there is a large pile of clothing in this area)
We've played dress-up
Decorated cookies inspired by the Pioneer Woman
Made our annual gingerbread house

I've been working on some hand-made Christmas presents
I've also cooked healthy meals - this one is whole-wheat pasta, low fat alfredo sauce, and grilled chicken.
We've made more cookies - these are yummy butter cookies.
And, of course G has gotten her homework finished before dinner every night. I've also had a good workout every day (gotta burn off all the cookie sampling I've been doing). Its been fun, and I love it! I wish I never had to go back to work. :( Oh well . . . I'll just have to enjoy it while I can.

Secret confession

Ok - so maybe it isn't such a secret, because I'm posting it for all the world-wide-web to see. But I do have a skeleton in my closet. Actually, it isn't much of a skeleton: its more of a mound of unwashed laundry. So deep in fact, that there are summer clothes at the bottom. And its clearly winter clothes weather.

Just in case you don't believe me, here's proof from inside my closet:
Yes, those are are all clothes waiting to be washed.

And lest you think I never do any laundry, here's proof that there is no less than 3 clean loads just waiting to be hung and/or folded:
Clearly, I have issues. It is not uncommon to have to get clean clothes from the dryer - in fact, it may be more the rule than the exception. Its just that I really hate laundry. And the further behind I get, the harder it gets to catch up. Maybe we should join a nudist colony.

Cute butt jeans

I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for cute jeans. Especially the cute, trendy ones, that cost way more than they're worth. But, I'm also frugal (read: cheap), thus I refuse to pay full price. In fact, its rare that I'll actually pay more than $40 for a pair of jeans. I'm pretty good at scoring a bargain. In fact, I recently found a pair of $240 Diesel jeans for only $35. That was a total score.

But, I've recently lost 12 pounds. And to celebrate, I've really been wanting some button pocket jeans. Unfortunately, the bargain hunt has been fruitless. Then, the other day, while browsing the sale items on Buckle.com, I came across the perfect jeans. They were on sale - $85 marked down from $120. Before I could even stop myself, I pulled out the debit card and they were mine.

They came just a few days later. And they are cute:

Really cute.

They look great on too (I tried to figure out how to take a picture of my own derriere, to no avail. You'll have to use your imagination) I love those stinkin' jeans - most especially because they're a size smaller than the last I bought. Score!!

Of course, hubby wasn't thrilled with my purchase. But, dang it, I make good money, and if I want to indulge in something occasionally that makes me feel good about myself, than I should be able to. Right?

One problem though: those cute buttons have an evil side.

They rip my car seat. Notice too that it has been ripped on 3 separate occasions.

4 months in a nutshell

Here's some of what we've been doing for the past 4 months:



We took a vacation to Jackson, Wyoming - riding the alpine slides.
and visiting Grand Teton National Park.
G caught her first fish.
The girls were in their first gymnastics recital.
They loved it.
G started school.
She also played soccer.
Bryn got a haircut.
Our yard produced lots of fresh food - especially Roma tomatoes. We made homemade salsa and
We took some family pictures.
We met a witch
Gracelin's art was chosen to be hung in the new Primary Children's Medical Center.
We picked pumpkins.
I got my hair cut - here's the before
And 12 inches later . . .

Remember me?

I'm a big fat slacker.

I haven't blogged since July - FOUR months. Its not necessarily because of slacking though - my life has been CRAZY (to say the least), and something had to go. And I also used to be able to post at work, and I can't anymore. So that significantly has reduced my blogging time - for both posting and keeping up with my friends.

I am on Facebook though, so if you want to be my friend there, let me know.

I am going to do better too about keeping the blog updated.

July 4th - only 10 days late

I had good intentions of taking my camera with us for our July 4th activities: parade, waterpark, bbq, and fireworks. It was a busy day. And all I have to show for it (photographically speaking) are a few pics of the girls in the morning before we left: