Great Weekend

Friday evening Dustin took me skiing.  1st time in 14 years (2nd time ever!)  With the exception of one major crash on my last run that I tweaked my knee pretty good, it was So.Much.Fun!  I was so nervous to go and I was dreading the cold.  But we were not cold at all.  My 10 layers of clothes paid off.  The night started off iffy if I would be able actually ski.  There was a 10 foot hill (not that steep) that I needed to get down to get to the lift.  Dustin went down on his board and then waited for me.  And waited and waited.  I didnt even know how to start.  Once I did, I ended off yonder and could not get up.  We were both laughing so hard.  Well, I finally made it down I did the bunny hill twice and then we were off.  After a few runs I had it down and could get down without falling (until the last trip down, which I still don't know what happened)  I was slow most the time but Dustin said that was great so he had time to practice his boarding skills.  Once I kind of got the hang of it and could gain speed and not crash, it was so dang fun.  It was great to hang out with Dustin, doing something different, and just having time together.  It snowed lightly the whole time and it was really pretty up there.  Sorry, no picture of our adventure at Beaver Moutain.  Next time.

Saturday afternoon after the cleaning was done, Parker was asleep, and Ella and Dustin were out, I had some very rare down time.  I mean, I layed on the couch for 3 hours and read!!!  I have not had time to read like that in....oh 8 years. 

Dustin bought Ella a birthday present from China and it finally arrived Saturday.  So Dustin got us all together and we watched Tangled.  Then she opened her present and she found 8 Chinese lanterns.  So we had some family come over and help us light some of them.  The kids made some wishes and off they went.  They were pretty cool and so cute of dad to put everything together for Ella.

 

 Then we got some pizza and watched Les Mis (my favorite movie ever)

 

 

Great to be 8!

Ella is 8 years old!  She loves birthdays.  Her birthday wish was to have the best birthday ever.  And her gifts were "dreams come true"  She makes it fun.

The night before her birthday, aunt/sister Natalie gave her a spa treatment.  She got a facemask, new nails, new lip gloss and new earrings.  Nat is an awesome Nat and we are lucky to have her so close by.  Definately the sister Ella does not have.

Of course we had present and cake time!  Ella got some clothes and a game and most importantly, her very own brand new engraved scriptures. She has already jumped right into reading.

 

We loved having Grandma and Grandpa Alley over.  Parker has seemed to really bond with my dad.  And Ella and my mom are best of friends.

Any my birthday girl.  She is so grown up and pretty and smart and sweet...... I could go on and on.  We just love her to death.

There is sunshine....

There is sunshine in my soul today!  This song was stuck in my head all day Saturday. I could not make it stop.
Look at this sky.  Blue as blue can be. 

It was still definately cold, but we could not pass up this chance to enjoy the outside.  I breathed deep fresh air into my lungs.  The sun was shining and warmed our faces.  The kids loves having some freedom.  These are the days that keep me sane during wintertime.  I need them every once in awhile.

ValentiMes

One of my favorite things about little kids are the words that they say funny.  Ella had a bunch of words that she thought were pronounced a different way- even up to this last year.  But then one by one she would figure out the correct way to say the word, and stop saying it the way I loved.  It was kind of sad. 


Sharshamo- Marshmallow
Ookcompooter- computer
Musgit- Music
Packack- Backback
The Agoon- Lagoon
Moveon- Mulan

But as of yesterday, she still thinks it is ValentiMes day.  I love it.

And can you guess what she is most excited about today?  The boys in her class get to serve the girls refreshments.  Her dad keeps telling her to tell these boys that she likes that her dad has a gun.  Keep away.

 

 There are a billion reasons why I love my husband.  But this one plays a big part.  Not only did he bring home his big sweetheart roses, he also brough home his little sweetheart a rose.  She felt so special. When I see how much he loves his kids and when he makes them so happy....man oh man, it makes me love him all the more.

 

 

 

  

 

 

My little guy

Oh my gosh.  I live this guy so stinking much.  I smile everytime I see him.  Sometimes at night I say to Dustin "we should go wake him up and play with him"  (Never happens though)

He is so happy all the time.  He laughs about everything and tries to get people to laugh at him.  He is so smart and figures things out so quickly.  He copies mom and dad and Ella all the time.  He still doesnt talk much.  He pretty much says momma momma.  Even though I would love to know he is calling me by name, he is not.  Momma Momma means he wants food.  Which by the way, is ALL the time!! 

When "this girl is on fire" comes on the radio, he belts out noise as loud as he can.  He dances to any kind of music.  He sleeps 12 hours a night.  He still naps about 3 hours a day which is so good for mom.  He pretends to be a doggie.  He helps with laundry.  When he bonks his head or any part of him, he makes sure you acknowledge it.  He looks more and more like his daddy every day. 

Parker has started to learn to fight with Ella.  They get into it sometimes.  If he is annoyed with her, all she has to do is get by him and he will scream or push her away.  Then that makes Ella bug him even more. I am trying to teach them both to not do that but I secretly hide a grin when they fight.  I waited so long to have 2 kids to fight each other, that the sound of them fighting makes me a little happy.  I am suprised I actually got such a cute picture of the two of them together smiling!  I am noticing how old both of them look in this picture.

Parker does not like the cold.  We went snowmobiling again and he was not a fan.  I also believe he does not like wearing pink.  For a split second I tried to imagine that we had 2 girls.  That seemed too weird.

This kid is a complete joy to our family. 

January

Not too much happening in our neck of the woods this month.  We have stayed couped up inside to avoid the below 0 temperatures and awesome smog.  Today is February 1st and it actually feels warm...it got to 40 degrees.  The sun is shining between some clouds.  It feels like a sneak peak to spring.  My spirits really needed it!


Playing inside includes playing with all Ella's old toys we got out for Parker to now use.  Ella got way more involved than Parker.  It could be that she won't LET him play....

She likes to grab his hand and pull him away.

Exhibit #2.  Ella pushes Parker away from her tower. 

Ha, he finally got to it.

 Her look says "I dare you to come closer....."

When all else fails, give him a new toy to play with so her tower stays safe.

I have conluded that I have two sassy little kids.  The first one leaks sassy out of her.

Here the little one ignores his dad and looks right past him.  Ella jr?