Friday, January 25, 2013

Afternoon Sledding

I used to be sledding fearless! I would climb to the top of the hill, jump on my sled, and fly down. But all of that changed last year, after a truly disastrous experience. If you are a long time reader you may remember it. If not, here is a picture:


(If I ever need a laugh I just enlarge this picture and look at Jackson's face.)

My body may have recovered, but my mind and fearless sledding spirit did not.

However, when Amy suggested a trip to Mt. Charleston for sledding, I readily agreed, as I am loath to ever turn down an outdoorsy invitation.



After surveying the hills, we finally found a place that was fairly free of jumps and trees. After watching multiple children flying down the hill an unnatural speeds we convinced the kids to only hike halfway up before sledding down.

Sade, who last year despised sledding and did quite a bit of crying, loved it this year!



There were a number of adults at the bottom of the hill attempting to save children from hitting each other and hitting trees. Here Sade is on a collision course with a fellow sledder:



Jackson, who was not hurt last year, also had a fearless sledding experience.



I love watching Jackson and McKinna together. They exist in their own little world:



Megan, who remembers the pain of last year, was a little bit cautious:



After mildly hurting her tail bone she was done for the day.

Amy and I were nervous wrecks the entire time!



I don't even recognize myself anymore.

Jackson's baby snowman:



I felt tremendously thankful and experienced much relief when we packed up the car at the end of the afternoon all in one piece.

I was also thankful that the hat Jackson was wearing did this to his hair:



I am sure we will sled again, but I may have to take Valium to do it.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Born That Way

Miscellaneous picture post about Sadie cake.
1. I do attest that a warm laundry couch covering is one of the best feelings in the world:



Right?

2. Speaking of laundry, Sade is always my best helper and folds all pants and towels:



3. My two little puppies:



4. The other day she was pushing her shopping cart full of Goldfish crackers around and asking everyone if they wanted a "free example." Otherwise known as a free sample.



By the way, that shopping cart just may represent the best $8 I ever spent. She loves it!

5. Finally, a couple of pics of her and I:



After taking these pictures I asked her how she got so cute? She responded in all seriousness, "I don't know. Just born that way."

Monday, January 14, 2013

12 X 12 - January 2013

Just recently I was hearkening back to the days when Sadie would come into our room in the middle of the night to sleep with us. It hadn't happened for a few months so I believed those days were over.

 Apparently not!

 Just this past week she has shown up at my side of the bed around 1 am wanting to get in. I believe the blame rests with her new pillow pet. The pillow pet, added to her old pillow, places her head in an upright position that looks uncomfortable and I am positive ends up waking her up!
Anyway....Saturday morning was one of the mornings she ended up waking up in my bed:



(FYI: The last two nights I have secretly pulled the pillow pet out from under her head before I go to sleep and she has slept through the night!)

Breakfast remnants of hot chocolate and toast:



While cleaning up breakfast I spied Tucker in his very favorite place in the house to sit. Propped up on a pillow, with his paws over the side of the couch:



Then I had my breakfast/lunch of champions:



Diet Coke, chocolate twizzlers, and peanuts.

After eating it was clean-up time! With school, homework and activities, my kids really don't do a very good job of keeping their rooms clean during the week, so Saturday morning is often a time of deep cleaning for them.



Sade and I making macaroni and cheese for lunch:



Meg and Sade doing a little early afternoon dancing:



After lunch Jackson and I headed to Target to buy a present for a birthday party he was going to that afternoon. The toy aisles were empty! They have lots of toys on clearance and obviously have not restocked since Christmas:



Also, I had no idea January was such a big birthday month! At least one of my kids has had (or will have) one party to go to every Saturday this month.

After I arrived home Megan and Sadie braved the cold weather and took Tucker out for a long walk:



Happily they ran into other neighborhood friends on their walk which I am sure made the cold more bearable.

I then picked up Jackson from his party, picked up pizza for the kids, and took my boyfriend out to dinner after he arrived home from work. Buca di Beppo:



We tried their new steak parmigiana, which I thought was flavorless and gross. Luckily the chicken carbonara was as good as always.

Bill paying:



After dinner we stopped at the mall to do a little returning. I had received (per my request) lounge wear clothing from the Pink store for Christmas. I was thrilled! But then sad to discover that those lounge pants are not made for someone my size. I have never minded being short, but a couple of extra inches would have been helpful in this situation. That store is a bit pricey so I am consoling myself with the thought I am saving so much money by not fitting into their clothes.

While at the mall I also picked up a new case for my phone!



I was reluctant to get an iPhone. I believed it was unnecessary and that I wouldn't use it. It turns out I was completely wrong! I adore it probably more than is healthy.

After the mall we came home, got the kids ready for bed, I prepared my primary lesson and Eric went to the airport to pick up Todd and Mallory (my brother and sister in law) who were getting back from a cruise and were spending the night with us before heading back to Arizona on Sunday.

Good day.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Adventure Angles Activity - Ice Skating

Our Adventure Angels activity for January was ice skating at the Venetian. We had a decent sized group this time:  


I love to ice skate and was quite excited to go. Before leaving I had read that it wasn't real ice but rather a polycarbonate (high quality plastic) rink. Not knowing what to expect I wasn't too worried UNTIL I got on the fake ice. It was super hard for me to adjust to!

 Some pics:



Amanda, Me, Rachael



Tia, Me



Our group on the ice:



I have bruised knees to remind me of this activity for weeks to come.