Once Upon a Time...

...there lived a little girl who loved to ski. Her journal pages had skiers at the bottom of every page, her favorite Christmas was the one where she received a new pair of skis and boots, and she eagerly anticipated the days that her family would pile in their van with all their snow gear and hit the slopes for the day. That little girl soon grew up, got married to a wonderful man, and had three little girls of her own. She still loved to ski (or snowboard), but the lack of time and funds prevented her from doing so... until one day her fairy godmother (ok - her mom & dad) surprised her with ski tickets for her and her sweetheart! Not only that, but she offered to watch her 3 daughters for the entire day as well. What a dream come true!

So - here's some pics & vid from our day at Brighton yesterday. Jason skied and I snowboarded. It SERIOUSLY has been about 7 years since I last was up on the slopes. Criminal, I know - especially since we lived in Park City for 3 years. It was SO much fun! What a perfect day to be up there - out of the smog - out of the daily grind. It was beautiful. There's something about the quietness of the ski lift, the sparkling snow, the clear, crisp air, and the thrill of the wind in your face that makes you want to yell "WAHOOOO!" - and I couldn't restrain myself from doing so a couple times :) We really never had to wait for a lift, but we did get to meet some people out of state & we even saw an adorable white ferret scurry across the snow. It was so cute.

I remember my dad when I was younger saying at the end of the day how his legs were getting tired and sore. I remember thinking "What an old guy. I have NO idea what you're talking about. I can't comprehend it - I could go all day!" Yesterday, I not only understood what he was talking about, but I LIVED it. I am majorly sore. But it was so majorly worth it! Thanks again mom & dad for the tickets, for watching the girls (my dad even took McKinley to see The Princess & the Frog), and for just being you. We love you!



Here's the video. We debated about unveiling it until we had sent it to the appropriate ski companies to be sponsored, but, well, we decided to let you guys see it first. Don't you feel so privileged? ;)

Hair Scare Dare

Ok Allison, this one's for you!
The dare is to post one of the worst hair 'dos you've ever had. Here's a couple pics for your *cough, cough* enjoyment:

I cringe whenever I look at these photos. Of course, I had to have the worst hair in the universe during the most important years of my life so far - end of Junior High to my Senior year in HS. It all started with diving during my Freshman year. I wanted to dive so I could get my letter, which I did - the sacrifice for that, however, was my hair. I don't think you can really even appreciate it from the first picture, but my beautiful blond hair had darkened & now was a dirty-blond, gross-shiny, chlorine-filled mess. Yuck. It really had green tints to it if you looked close enough.
So - what's a girl to do - cut it all off? Of course not! Instead I chose to start bleaching. Chlorine + tons of bleach + tons of sun (from lifeguarding during HS years) = DAMAGED hair! You can't tell me the 2nd picture doesn't look like I'm wearing some cheap wig. Ug. My hair was so damaged, I had to put leave-in conditioner in it just to brush through it.
So there you have it. The dare is to post the worst hair pics you have - and PLEASE don't tell me I'm the only one!!

Bumper Stickers and Books

Ahhh, here's one of those posts -you know - the "fill-in" kind when you don't have a lot else to say.

BUMPER STICKERS
Some people have bumper stickers that say "my kid is smarter than yours" or "my kid plays clarinet better than yours." Well, while my kids are certainly smart and beautiful, they are also unique, so I think my children would have bumper stickers that go something like this:

Ireland's bumper sticker: MY KID IS MESSIER THAN YOUR KID!

Honestly, this girl CONSTANTLY amazes me at how she can take almost anything and make a huge, massive, disastrous mess out of it. We keep trying to help her - and I keep thinking as she gets older she'll figure out how to be a bit cleaner, but not yet. Good thing she's so dang cute!


(Sorry about the video. Just turn your head)

McKinley's bumper sticker: MY KID DAWDLES MORE THAN YOUR KID!

This girl honestly could win an award at taking the most time for any one activity. I love her to death - and at the same time she drives me crazy. Every meal she is the last one at the table, slowly eating her food. I KNOW I should be better about just letting her take her time - especially when it comes to food - but sometimes you got places to be! Also - her morning things, which should take about a 1/2 hour when done continuously, end up taking an hour or two. If she was sent to me for any one reason, it would be patience!

Kezia's bumper sticker: MY KID LOVES CEILING FANS MORE THAN YOUR KID!

Ok - I realize that most infants love to look at ceiling fans - all my girls have, but SERIOUSLY, Kezia is in LOVE with them. This video just doesn't do it justice. She will laugh, talk to, and just generally smile like crazy as she watches that fan go round and round. Honestly, she would be happy as a lark if we just sat by the switch and turned it on & off all day long.

BOOKS

For me, one of the biggest perks of being a mom is that I get to read books to my kids. It is very hard for me to say no when they run up to me with a book and beg me to read it to them. The library is one of our very favorite places to go and we go through our fair share of books (and fines to match). Some books are blah, some of them are so-so, some are pretty good, and some are just amazing! The rhymes and story lines they come up with simply amaze me at times and I think I am just as entertained as my children. Here are a few of our favorites that we have checked out multiple times:

-Baa-Choo! By Sarah Weeks, Jane Manning

-Mary Had a Little Lamp By Jack Lechner (we just got this one and I had to renew it - so cute!)

-Knuffle Bunny & Knuffle Bunny Too By Mo Willems (we love Mo Willems. These books are just as fun for the parents to read)

-Moondogs, Daniel Kirk

-Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton (we're big Sandra Boynton fans and my girls LOVE to say OOPS!)

Progress not Perfection

New Years Resolutions time! Last year, I made a blog specifically for New Years Resolutions - to track, to have support, and accountability for goals. It was fun to support each other in our goals and see the progress we made.
I made another blog for that same purpose, but this year we are calling it "Progress Not Perfection." I don't know if you are like me and get trapped in the all-or-nothing mentality. This is why I stopped dieting. If I ate so much as one cookie, I thought it was all for naught and ended up downing the whole box. I had somewhat of the same mentality with my goals - if I didn't exercise for one day, I would just throw in the towel (at least for a while) - and get discouraged - till I found the willpower & motivation to start again.
Well, my first New Years Resolution is to stop beating myself up if I am not perfect in my goals! I'm still going to set them. I'm still going to work at them. What I'm NOT going to do is expect to be able to do ALL of them ALL the time & never mess up. I will mess up. I will have days that I don't exercise. I will have days that I don't wake up before the kids do to get my personal study in. I will have days that I don't get all the water or fruit or vegetables that I should. But the goal is PROGRESS. Doing the best I can given the circumstances. But not giving up.
Anyway, so that - in a nutshell - is what I'm all about this year with my goals. The site is http://www.nygoals.blogspot.com/. Anyone who wants to contribute is welcome! Just leave a comment w/ your e-mail - and if you're scared to do it for fear that you will fail, don't be. We are all going to mess up.
“It is not a disgrace to fail…one must analyze each failure and find its cause…he must learn how to fail intelligently. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. One fails toward success.”

~ Unknown quotes from Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins: The Paradox of Innovation

December Slideshow & Newsletter

McKINLEY:
-McKinley was pushing a stroller with a doll in it – and by her, pushing the other stroller with a different doll, was Ireland. McKinley was explaining to her “Ireland, these are our babies. I’m an aunt to your baby. Not a bug – a HUMAN aunt!”
-McKinley was singing “We miss you a Merry Christmas, we miss you a Merry Christmas…”
-One day McKinley asked “Why can’t we call Jesus?” (mom said we could pray) McKinley said “But why doesn’t He have a phone?”
-Mom told McKinley if she got ready fast, dad would take them sledding. McKinley got all excited, ran out of the room & yelled “Ireland!! We’re going on a sleigh ride!”
-Mom was driving McKinley to preschool one day & McKinley said, “I saw a cow!...no, wait –it was a yak!”
-On the way back from preschool mom told McKinley that she loved her. McKinley said “Why do you say I love you all day?” Mom said “so you won’t forget!” McKinley said “Mom. I never forget.”
-At This is the Place Heritage Park, we saw live reindeer. On our way out, McKinley said “But mom, where was the one with the red nose?”
-On the drive home, McKinley saw a deer sign. She said “Watch out for reindeer dad!”
-1 hour after we put the girls to bed, we heard singing. McKinley would sing “You better watch out, you better not cry!” and then both girls on the chorus SCREAMING “SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!”
-McKinley is big into jokes nowdays. She says “Why did the chicken cross the road?” And usually the answer goes something like “because he wanted to see his friends!!”
-McKinley was saying the prayer when some bodily sounds were heard. She stopped & said “Wow! I tooted and sneezed at the same time!!”
-McKinley likes to explain to Kezia how the world works. One day she was sitting by Kezia & saying “Kezia…Santa is nice! He gives us presents because of Jesus!”
-One day we had this lunchtime conversation: Mc-“I want to be an elf!” Mom-“Why?” Mc-“Because I like to work!” Mom- “Really? Well, you can help me work!” Mc –“Ok, well, maybe just a play elf.”
-McKinley asked one day “Mom – do people in heaven have TVs?”

IRELAND:
-One day mom found Ireland affectionately giving her baby doll Kezia’s used nose sucker for a bottle.
-Ireland plays her own game of “I spy” whenever we’re in the car. We’re constantly hearing “I see the sky! I see a plane! I see a car!” or “Daddy…watch out for deer!”
-For some reason, Ireland thinks everything starts with the letter P. She will try to sound it out & go “P-P-P chair!”
-After Christmas, we asked Ireland what her favorite part was. She answered “Chocolate!” We laughed & asked her what her favorite gift was. She said “Chocolate!” Hmmm – must be related to her parents.
-Lately when people ask how old Ireland is, she holds up 4 fingers & says “four!”
-We’ve had a lot of problems with Ireland biting lately. She bit McKinley 3 times & Kezia once.
-Ireland has been drawing a lot lately (she’s pretty good – and a lefty). She likes to draw lots of pictures of her daddy and spiders.
-For some reason Ireland has been wearing socks on her hands a lot.

KEZIA:
-We love our little Kezi-boo. She smiles all the time now & mostly does this cough-laugh thing, although we have heard her full-on giggle, too.
-Kezia is a pretty good sleeper – she usually goes 6-8 hrs, although one night she slept for a full 9 hours!
-Her 2 month check-up went well. Dr. Daynes says she looks great – about 75th percentile in height, 50th percentile in weight, and 80th percentile on her head. She had to get 2 shots, poor thing.
-Kezia was sleeping in her vibrator chair for about 2 months, but she was just getting too big. She’s been sleeping well in her crib now.
-Her sisters still love her to death & want to hold & talk to & lay by her all the time.
-Kezia was such a good girl on her blessing day. She slept a lot and was so good with everyone holding her.