Yes, life has once again been more worth living lately than reporting on. Brig is getting ready for another competition and the winter exhibition. We have recently switched coaches while her usual coach left to have a baby!! Congrats Rachel! Her new coach is really pushing her and has really helped her reach a little further. Believe it or not Brig is really loving it!?!

John and Brig have been training for a turkey run on Thanksgiving. Brig can even keep her pace for the entire 5K. Amazing! John is done with marathons, but is looking for the next 1/2 marathon to run. With his new job, motorcycling has been rare and he has really been missing it. The fall guys ride was really great for him.

I have just been running every which way! We got to visit Britt and see our new family member Mya!! Talk about adorable, and Hunter is really excited to show off his new sister!! How cute is that!?

Halloween has come and gone and as fall continues to move toward winter (ugh) we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and all the time we will get to spend with our wonderful family! Winter, not my favorite, is o.k. only because of all the wonderful holiday spirit that is soon to take over all. With the holidays fast approaching, we are looking forward to enjoying the seasons to come.

Sweet relaxation!!  We just got back from a trip to Seattle and the Oregon coast.  We went on a ferry ride for the first time ever!  Pike's Market was a little disappointing, lots of onlookers but no buyers leads to no "flying fish"!  They did have some fun by throwing a stuffed fish into the gawkers, Brig about freaked!  It was way too funny!  We are such inlanders, when we were walking through Brig didn't know the smell of fish and thought someone had gone potty in a corner and that was what we were smelling, much better after she found out it was only fish!  

We went up in the space needle with a bunch of people from Louisiana in town for the LSU game!  Ew, we saw a guy with his ears gauged, the hole was ginormous!!!  Everyone at tables around us was making fun, I don't think Brig would even dare consider doing that now!

The Oregon coast was absolutely incredible, and yes we ate at Mo's!!  We had fun climbing to the top of a lighthouse and watching the ocean.  Brig saw a whale, and we all saw a sea lion!  We watched high tide come in and watched the beach disappear!  I guess I didn't realize how seriously high the water got during high tide!!  Anyone that loves gorgeous scenery needs to see the coast, it was amazing!

How is it the month of July always seems to pass in a flurry and before you know it, it is long gone.

I know it's a little late, but Happy Birthday Brigi!!!  I can't believe she is already 10.  Talk about time flying!  This years birthday party was a karaoke party, unfortunately the kids were all too shy to sing.  The grown ups took over, Ruth sang and danced to "Don't Cha".  Too funny!!  She really set the mood for the rest of the night, thanks Ruth!!  Tif, Trev and Britt all sang "The One That I Want", also really funny!!

Back to school has already arrived, not really sure I am ready to say goodbye to summer.  It seems like it just got here.  With all the rain this year the summer has seemed like it has been really, really short.  Not sure when it happened I wasn't ready for kids to be back in school!  

Oktoberfest is the next skating competition, but I will be in florida during that time, so we are still trying to decide if Brig will participate.  Can you all see John doing her hair and makeup?!  Maybe we can convince one of the aunts to help if we do it!!!  For everyone's sake.  Of course, she may get the pity vote from the judges if John does it and it may help her place higher!!!  Hmmmm! Skating is all about strategy!!  What, you thought it was judged fairly?!

Pioneer Days has come and gone, and Brig took part in the parade with the skating rink.  Young kids in tights, leotards and roller blades, what could go wrong?!  All you (overprotective) parents know what I'm talking about!  Thankfully nothing did, and all the kids had soooo much fun they can't wait for next year.  

It's not all a vacation!!!

Since my last few posts have been about vacation, I was a little worried y'all would think we never work.  To dispel this myth here is a post about boring day to day stuff!!!

Brig has started piano lessons, at first they were great, then she found out she had to practice everyday!!  She assures me she never signed up for that!  Ice skating is still going great and we are preparing for Oktoberfest already!  Also, a parade this friday with the rink to promote the learn to skate program!!  

Our house is once again a construction zone, I know, no shocker around here!  Carpet is on the way, the tiling is done and we are just waiting now for wood to show up to finish the main level floors.  John has been so busy trying to finish all this there have been no races, what a relief!

I am trying to learn a new area at work and learn new personalities!  Some days are definitely better than others.  The best I can say about the people I deal with on wednesdays is they make mids look attractive!  

So you see now our life is something short of glamorous!!  We are just grateful each day for the opportunity that presents itself, there is always something.  Brig has a birthday coming up and will be moving into the older group of activity girls, something all her friends have already done.  It sucks to be the youngest (and only)!!!  Tomorrow she will be spending the day with a friends family at the local amusement park!  I can't believe she is old enough not to need me there!  When in the world did that happen?!  So sad I won't see her all day.  How are you supposed to trust other people to watch your kids the way you do?  Nobody else is as overprotective as me, just ask Brig!  Ah, letting go!

Quick little weekend vacations are sometimes the most memorable, aren't they?!  This thursday, Tif, Britt, Cyndi and I took the kids to Lava Hot Springs.  The big boys joined us on friday, and Trev came up saturday.  We stayed in this really great cabin, complete with trampoline and hot tub!  What an incredible time we all had!  The cousins all had a great time playing together, and Zoe was by far the biggest attraction of the weekend!  I can't believe how completely adorable she is!!  

Of course we went to the pool, and the boys jumped off the top platform, yikes!  If you look close at the top platform you can see Mark, Mike and Trev waiting for their turn!  Tif, Brig, Hunter and I all went off the lower platform and then I decided to go off the middle one just for fun!!!  What was I thinking?!  Something to cross off the list anyway!  Stone loved the water slides and Madysen even went down the super fast slide once.  It has really changed since I was there ten years ago.  Much better time!  There are now four waterslides and a snake in

 the kids end of the pool!!

After the pool on saturday some of us went 

down the river.  I don't ever remember the river being that high!  Or cold!!!  It was so much fun the first time that of course we did it again.  Trev tipped out of the tube once, and there were a couple of times we thought we would lose a few more of us.  Mike wasn't in danger of tipping over, just sinking!!  He went in a double tube with Brig and dragged his hiney over a few rocks!!  Ouch!  John had a wardrobe malfunction ripping out his shorts trying to get on a tube and had all of us cracking up trying to walk back to the car!!  Way too funny!  

Ahhhh!  Sweet Paradise!!!!  We took a cruise to Catalina Island and then to nowhere for 3 days!!!  Talk about relaxing, nowhere to go and all day to get there!!  Catalina Island is just off the coast of L.A.  The Wrigley's used it as a spring training place for the cubs, and then for a retreat for their employees.  It is very quaint and adorable, and suprisingly reasonably priced!!  If you get the chance to go it is sooo worth it!  The second leg of our cruise was supposed to be in Mexico, but with the whole swine flu thing we weren't allowed to go on shore.  As a trade off we spent a few blissful days at sea, that is once I got over the whole seasickness thing!!  Yikes!!  To compensate the lack of shore excursions, the ship had tons of activities onboard for those few days.  We even did a walk for the Susan G. Komen foundation. At the end we got real pink lemonade from real pink australian lemons.  Our cruise director Stu brought them with him.  We saw dolphins swimming at the front of the ship, who knew that really happened?!  There was a 24 hour ice cream bar, and the best chocolate cake in the world at dinner!!  

Brig is displaying her towel animal!!

 

There is sunshine in my soul today!!!  Finally, we have sun!!!  We really enjoyed the wonderful feel of warmth and sunshine, at least until once again, you guessed it rain!!!

Any sun at this point is a blessing.  I know, I know, we need the water.  After all we live in a desert, right?!  Is there a place where the desert becomes the next marsh?  We are there.  I tried to walk around my yard and was squishing through the grass.  How much water becomes too much, even for a desert?  

We bought a new piano this week, and Brig will begin piano lessons on Thursday.  If you can believe it she can hardly wait to get started.  I don't remember being this excited for my lessons, and my cousin Mckay is convinced lessons are extremely dangerous after 14 stitches.  Read Jodi's blog for that story!!  Having the opportunity to hear piano music in my home is really something I didn't realize we were missing until it was back.  Now we will have this joy (yes even while convincing Brig to practice, and enduring the attempts) for years to come.

I know you all think I have abandoned my blogging obsession.  I only wish it were that simple.  Instead life has gotten in the way of my lovely blog.  I was extended for a year on my sup job, it can be made permanent whenever they feel like it.  Probably when something really horrible needs to be done and they are looking for the sap to do it!!!  I get to move to another area at the facility and have been doing tons more training.

Brigitte made it through her spring show and now has a couple of weeks off while they clean the rink, yea!!!  Just my luck things would cool down so no warm weather to enjoy with the reprieve!!!

John finished his 3rd (yes 3rd) marathon and didn't do as well as he would like so he is now concentrating on the triathlons. He and Brig have been swimming like crazy to get ready.  

Brig is now out of school for the summer and started summer camp this week.  She is sooo excited so many of her friends are there again and the teachers all remembered her from last year.  She can't wait until her birthday, her best friend is in the activity days group with the older girls and Brig is left behind for another month.  Sucks to be young ( according to her, I would take it in a heartbeat )!!

We took a cruise to Catalina Island and then spent a couple of days at sea.  Once I was done being seasick we had a great time.  The kids camp was super fun and Brig made lots of new friends, I know, shocker!!  Catalina is gorgeous, totally loved it!  

When we got home from vacation, John still had a long weekend and needed a new project.  We couldn't get the wood we needed to finish all the floors, so we are in the middle of a bathroom remodel.  Our master didn't have a fan or a door between the bathroom and the bedroom.  We also had carpet throughout the bathroom that has now been replaced with tile.  Once we finish installing new lighting and patching the holes, we will be ready to repaint and that will include the closet, that they didn't paint and repainting the bedroom along with some new lighting in there too.  Ah, life in upheaval.  I wouldn't know any other way.

Just some fun photos from our vacation to Hoover Dam!

Have you seen the movie "Madhouse"?  Sometimes house guests are not the most welcome thing in the world.  The toll they take is high!!  I love my brother-in-law, but two strong willed women in one household simply doesn't work.  

Last night Adam and Maria moved into their own place for the last month they are here, and immediately I have begun to put things back to where I had them.  Brigitte quickly became her old self, curled up on the couch coloring instead of hiding out in her playroom.  

Trev and I have applied for the same promotion at work, talk about tough competition!!  Good luck to him.  Trev, you know I hope you get it but I hope I do too!!!  Were those narratives some of the hardest things you have ever done?!  Dang!!  

John is preparing for his final marathon.  He has really been doing well!!  Last weekend he ran 22 miles in 2 hours and 40 min.  After this marathon he is moving on to triathlons.  He will be able to spend more time with us while he trains.  He and Brigitte have already started spending more time at the pool together.  

We were just starting to really love spring beginning when the snow returned!!!  What the heck?!  I think it should just quit snowing after New Year's!!!  It doesn't look like the storms are over just yet either.  Has anyone started to see their tulips yet?  I was told we get one last storm after the tulips bloom.  Let's all look for the tulips!!!

Time flies when you're having fun!!! Happy Valentine's Day!! It really isn't a holiday we participate in, John is so good to me all year long that there really isn't a need for a once a year reminder that he still loves me.
We are enjoying our time with Adam and Maria while they are with us, possibly for another two months. Cindi and I planned a joint activity days activity this week that went really well. All the girls get along so great that the hardest thing for me is keeping their attention. They just want to play and visit with each other.
Monday Brigitte had a raging fever, of course I didn't believe her when for the previous week she had complained of a sore throat, so on a horrible snow day we are driving to the doctor's office. We watched people spinning donuts in front of us to find out that she had strep throat. O.k., maybe she really hasn't been feeling good for a while and I am the mother of the year that brushed off all her complaints. How do you know when they really are sick though and not just trying to get out of work?!
Last night we went to a college hockey game and my alma mater won!!!! Yay!!!! It was a total blowout!!! Before the game we all skated for an hour and Brig got to show off her moves. She had people on the ice applauding her and talking to her after the skating session. It really made her day!

Where does the time go? It's already been another week and I am amazed that it's flown by so quickly! Wednesday was sooooo busy, we had four birthdays!!!!! My very adorable niece Zoe was 1!!! My other very cute niece Morgan turned 6, and Brigitte's two friends both turned 10!!!! February 4th must be one of the busiest days in maternity wards!!!! Today my nephew had his birthday as well, Happy Birthday Christian, I hear you had quite the party!!!!

Thursday and Friday we were lucky enough to have Madysen and Harrison come and stay with us while their parents went to Cancun!! Lucky!!! Harrison hadn't been feeling well, he had strep and was on amoxycillin. Today he woke up with the worst rash!!! He was allergic to it!! I had never seen anything like it. The rash didn't bug him but I felt so bad!!

As this week ends and a new one begins, I was just appreciating how very blessed I am to have the life I do with the problems I face. After seeing some of the trials of others, I will take my own any day. I know I keep promising pics, but they really are coming!!! It's just a little too late to get them downloaded tonight!

John is back and had a blast.  Adam and Maria made it safely and today took Brigitte sledding.  Yesterday, the Winter Games began at the ice rink and Brigitte got to be a runner.  She really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes of the competition.  Runners get to take the scores from the judges and take them to where all the competitors can see them.  Ten volunteer hours done, only six more to go!!  I was drafted into volunteering as well while waiting for Brigitte.  I got to man the table where the flowers and programs were sold.

This is a really quick update, but all I have time for this week!!  Pictures still to come, promise!!

Changes coming soon!!! John went to Moab to ride with a bunch of friends. He just had the suspension on the new motorcycle done and had to go and try it out. It has been raining since he left so we hope he only gets a little wet. Since he went out of town Brigitte and I are doing what girls like to do best. We have been shopping and redoing her bedroom. My hawaiin girl went for a more tropical theme.

Yesterday we went to Stephanie and had Brigitte's hair cut. She really wanted to go short again and had lots of hair to lose. She was able to donate her hair to locks of love. What a cool thing to do. Of course she didn't know that until we explained what locks of love was!!! As smart as kids are these days, it amazes me the things I take for granted she knows! As soon as John returns with the camera, I will post pics of her new do!! We took before pics on her phone, but I still can't figure out how to get them onto my computer!!

Adam and Maria are returning to town on Sunday. We aren't sure how long they are going to be here yet. We only found out they were coming late last night!! Yikes! I have been a cleaning fool all day long. Brigitte is less than impressed with her call to service, and if it was anyone but Adam I'm sure I would have heard lots more about it. Anyway, we are excited for the time we will get to spend with them.

What a momentous day for America!!!  Whether you voted for Obama or not, today we saw history front and center.  As we move forward from here, we can only hope for a united America and one that is better in four years than it is today.  Every President faces challenges when they take over the toughest job in the country, but I believe Obama really has some major things to face.  With the shaky economy, an unpopular war and the challenge of our massive debt (both as individuals and as a country), it will be necessary to take immediate action to improve the situation.  I don't know about you, but I am grateful not to be in his position come morning.

On a more personal note, last night we got a cell phone for Brigitte.  At what time in our lives has this become something fourth graders need?  While we were picking out the phone Brigitte brought up the fact she is one of a handful that didn't already have one.  I understand they are great to keep in touch and keep tabs on what kids are doing, I just never thought I would have given her one at this young age.  As we have talked about this in the past, it was believed we would look at it around junior high.  The last few weeks have provided several challenges that have left us wanting in the area of being able to communicate with one another as we are all trying to get where we need to go.  Unfortunately, we had an issue with a plane at work and I got stuck late writing statements and investigating what exactly happened.  As this could become a much more familiar part of my new schedule, and because John is working so far from home we felt it would be good to at least be able to keep tabs so Brigitte knows what to expect.

Our cell company has this great family allowance program that allows us to limit her time, phone numbers allowed or not allowed, messaging and downloads.  I was really impressed by the way they cater to families with the ability to monitor and limit certain phones.  It really makes it nice to be sure the phone is only used to call certain people.  We can even disable the phone during school hours.  Who would have thought those abilities would exist when we first saw cell phones.  Once again I am truly grateful to live in a country and a time with so much possibility!

Here are some fun pictures from the holidays.  John and Harrison were deeply engrossed in fixing whatever they were working on.  Brigitte made the train in school and isn't Zoe so adorable?  The one of Harrison with the bears was just too cute not to include.  

Brigitte loves to be outdoors, can you tell by how big her smile is as she heads out to sled!  We are off to ice skating later today and she will be upset when I make her leave after an hour.  To prove that she is one of the girls, I can usually bribe her with hot cocoa if we leave without whining!!  What girl can't be  convinced with a little chocolate.  How in the world did I end up with a child that loves to be cold!?  Where do kids get their ideas?  Do they try to figure out what would make us the most uncomfortable and decide that is what they will love to do?!  Anyone who knows me knows I really don't like to be cold, and especially after living in a warmer climate, I never really climatized back to the freezing cold we get here.  To think that now year round I spend several days a week in an ice rink just goes to prove we really will do anything we can for our kids.  

I have a child that will not go outside when the sun is shining and the temperatures are up there, but give her a little snow and lots of cold and she won't come inside!!!  Saturday we spent hours sledding at the park with a friend, then her friend came home from school with her today and they spent hours outside sledding at the house and digging holes in the mountains of snow!!

Ice skating really was a good fit for a child that feels no cold!

At work today people were talking about what they give up for the new year, I asked why they have to give up anything?  Can't we start the new year thinking about things we need more of and have our resolutions follow along?  What about more family time, more exercise, more enjoyment of the little things or maybe more education!!  Aren't these things just as important to work on as losing weight, or giving up an addiction, or spending too much time on the wrong things?  I think they are!!  Lent is when people come up with things to do without!!  This year we are looking at the things we need more of!!  Our family will definitely be trying to improve ourselves with this years goals, but they will be more positive with what we need more of!!!  I know all of you need more of something, please tell me I'm not the only one!!  What are some things you all need more of?

So far so good!  Last night was the first scrapbooking class, it is going to be so much fun!  The best part is that I get to spend some time with my sisters-in-law and my sisters!  It amazes me that we can do all this stuff on the computer.  Just think about how much space it will save without all the extra stickers, ribbons, buttons, etc.    

Brig is still ice skating like mad, she is very disappointed about not doing the winter games, but she is working hard on new elements for her show in April.

John's still running like mad and loving it.  He and Brigitte are looking forward to warmer weather so they can start biking again.  The last few days have been wonderful!!  Snow is beautiful when the temperatures are pleasant.  

Happy Birthday to Grandma and Sandy!!!  Hope you both have a wonderful day!!

Happy New  Year!!!!!!!

Now that the new year is here, it is time for some new resolutions!!  You know, so next year we can realize we didn't even make it through January before those were a thing of the past!  As a result I have decided to go for some that will be easier (I hope) to keep.  

The first one will be to update this blog at least once a week regardless of crazy schedules!  The second one is to take some new classes (who said school wasn't fun?)  The first series of classes I am taking are for digital scrapbooking!  I have this really amazing sister-in-law that teaches these so I have signed up for all of them.  I even coaxed a few sisters to join me.  Tif and Cyndi we are going to have fun! Britt we look forward to you joining us after the first couple!  

John has already signed up for his first marathon this year and has been training diligently.  He just hopes to do better this time than last!  I say, after the first one isn't it all bonus?!

We decided to keep Brigitte out of the winter games.  Instead she has begun working on new moves so she can move up into higher brackets!  She is one amazing chicky!!  She will also be running the kids k while John runs the marathon!

We hope everyone made it successfully through the holiday season, and wish Happy New Year to all!!!!