Gobble Gobble

We flew to Seattle, then drove into Bellingham, WA to my sisters for the Thanksgiving Holiday. My other sister and her kids also flew in and my Parents made the trek from Alaska; so it was all 14 of us in a 2 bedroom townhome. Honestly it was great being so close together! Grandma and Grandpa and the 3 oldest grandkids (Cortney, Austin and Mercedes) slept out in the garage on air mattresses. They loved their slumber party every night. Mercedes mattress had a slow leak in it so it gradually enveloped her.

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I must say; we ate like Kings. Grandma and Grandpa brought fresh salmon, halibut, and shrimp (that tasted like lobster) from Alaska. The turkey dinner was great, but the Alaskan seafood was fabulous. I will not admit how badly I fell off the wagon; there were just too many treats.


Here's everyone (except Grandma and Grandpa and JT) on a walk to the park. Grandma was taking the picture.





Scott and I decided to head up to Vancouver (with Aspen) on Saturday. It's only 45 minutes from Bellingham. It was pretty, but rainy. As we crossed the border into Canada the speed limit signs switched from MPH to Kilometers. Scott looked at the dash and said, "This car doesn't have Kilometers!" so we never really knew what speed we were going. I don't EVER want to drive into Canada again. It took THREE HOURS to get back into the US at the border. Here's Aspen playing in the car while I did my Christmas shopping on the computer.





My little Pilgrim and Indian. Aspen would jump up and down on the couch yelling "Indian!" until Mercedes would put the hat on her and play with her.


We had a wonderful holiday. Isn't family the greatest!

Toddler Talk

Oh the wonderful verbage of the toddler. I spend half my day chuckling at what she says and how she says it. The other half I spend trying to not smother her with kisses and hugs.

Aspens baby talk:

Lall = pacifier (don't ask, I don't know where that came from)

Mee mee = blankie

Seis Seis = Mercedes

Bumpa = Grandpa

Bee Bah = what she calls anything she doesn't know the name of when we're reading

Got geez = cottage cheese; her most favorite food

Mo = phone

First Snow

This morning we woke up to a skiff of snow and within a couple of hours we had 3 inches. Scott sent me a text from Miami saying it would be 78 degrees there today. We love the first snow! When Mercedes got home from school we found whatever winter gear at hand and headed outside. Aspen was thrilled with the Spongebob hat.

DISASTER Weekend

So Scott and I flew out Saturday morning to do the Muddy Buddy race in LA. Just before we left my sister let us know that she had been up sick throwing up all night and couldn't keep the girls for Saturday, so we quickly arranged for Grandpa Fly and an Aunt to take them for Sat. and Grandpa would keep them Sunday. So on the flight I started feeling nauseous, which I attributed to motion sickness. We got our rental car, rented a mountain bike, checked in for the race, the whole while I was still feeling nauseous. We checked into the hotel and I took a nap hoping the motion sickness would subside. I woke up in a fog thinking - I'm not feeling well AT ALL. I then proceeded to spend the next 16 hours curled up in bed or on the floor of the bathroom vomiting and in intense pain. So we couldn't even do the race we flew in to CA to do. Not only did we not do the race I never left the room and made Scott watch after me. Meanwhile at home Mercedes had started throwing up and all I could think about was just getting home to our girls. We could've taken a 10 am flight out Sunday if it wasn't for the fact that we had to return the mountain bike after 11am; so we ended up making it out at 4pm Sunday afternoon. Thankfully I was able to keep everything down all day. I must say it's a torturous thing to be on an airplane when you're still sick and nauseous. Thankfully we made it home without incident to our girls. I do think Muddy Buddy will let us transfer our registration to a race next year - maybe Boulder in August; so start training and we'll all get Muddy! (And NO ONE is allowed to be sick)

Halloween

So Mercedes was a dolphin, for the 2nd year in a row and Aspen was a little devil. If we could have dressed her up as a tornado with angel wings then that would have been perfect. When we first started trick-or-treating she seemed totally amazed that she could just take candy from anyone and keep it; and then eat it. She was very good at saying "Tank tou" (thankyou). When Mercedes was the same age she would say "Thank you, welcome, see ya!" at every house. I love Halloween!

Disneyland Diehards

The only consolation to Scott traveling 3 days a week is mounds of Skymiles and Marriott points which means vacations more frequently than we would normally attempt. We felt compelled to use our season passes to Disneyland again so we headed off over fall break for 6 days of Disneyland mayhem. For Scott and I, 3 days would have been just fine at the happiest place on earth, but my Parents and sister Lexie and her 3 kids joined in and they are Disneyland Diehards. We did spend one morning at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and one of Scott's friends had an extra ticket to an exclusive celebrity party in Hollywood, but other than that we rode rides and ate Disneyland food until we were sick; literally. The day we had to leave I had a few hours with just Mercedes and I (Scott and I didn't exist with Grandpa and cousins around) and we went on so many roller coaster type rides I finally told Mercedes we were done because I was so nauseated. She rode every single ride with a look of pure glee on her face. My sister and I would take the babies back to the hotel every night about 7 or 8 and Grandpa and Grandma would stay until 10 or 11 with the 3 older kids. They had a ball.

We were so busy having fun we hardly took any pictures, and half were on the camera on Scott's Blackberry.

Our last morning; we're waiting in California Adventure for the rope to open.

Aspen and her cousin Casch (aka, the babies)

I learned to always wear my raincoat on the wet rides. From front to back; Cortney, Mercedes, Austin, Lexie, Me, and Scott.

You can't see Scott's face very well, but our niece Cortney said he always looked constipated in the pictures. It was a miracle we got him on Space Mountain since he hates roller coasters.

No we don't know the two ladies in the front but look at Mercedes face. She was like that the whole trip. Her cousin Cortney is sittin next to her with Aunt Lexie and cousin Austin behind.

It was a good thing Mercedes wore her rain coat on the river rapids.

Twilight Quiz

So I'm an 'Esme.' The whole quiz is a bit goofy but it's still fun to see who you are.



Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Climbing Protege

For a Young Womens activity we took the girls rock climbing up American Fork Canyon. Scott always said we needed two kids so there could always be two climbers and two belayers. Is that twisted motivation for having children? Mercedes did pretty well; Scott kept encouraging her to freeclimb and at 10 feet I said enough.


I miss the days of constant adventure vacations. We're in the "Disneyland" phase right (I do love Disneyland too). But it'll be fun when we can take the girls on climbing, biking, kayaking etc. etc. vacations. But I am finding that having children is motivation to discover those things in life that we probably wouldn't on our own.

Catching Up

Ok, I know. I've been really lazy about keeping up with my posting so I'll try and catch you up a little bit. I started working again this summer as a Personal Trainer - the extent of my brain power had fizzled to reading "Barney's Weather Book" over, and over to Aspen. I'm working 3 mornings a week. Positive's: using my brain again and getting back in shape. Negative's: it's just not natural to be at work at 6am and I SO miss my little Aspen when I'm at work. I seriously wish she could stay my little blonde baby FOREVER.

Aspen is now 19 months and such a little cuddler and explorer. I LOVE to hear her vocabulary develop. She can say just about anything now, even though I'm the only one that really understands her. She's named her pacifier a "Lall"(?) and her blanket is a "Me Me." Scott's usually out of town 3 days a week and she's constantly asking "Daddy?" and then answers herself with "Don know?!" She understands almost everything you say; however complicated it may be. She recently had a nasty reaction to her MMR shot and got the measles rash for 3 days and fevered along with cutting 3 molars at the same time. That was not fun for anyone!

Mercedes started first grade and insisted on riding the bus to school on the FIRST day. I kept trying to talk her into letting me take her. They only complaint I've heard about school is its too long (compared to kindergarten) and they boys chase her. I keep telling her that means they like her. She's always asking how things work; like eyeballs and motors. Complicated things that I've got to look up on the internet or in a book. She finally lost her 2nd front tooth (after the dramatic episode where Daddy accidentally yanked out the first one when it got stuck on her shirt while he was helping her take it off). It came out while she was eating an ice cream cone and bit into piece of chocolate she had hidden in the middle of it.

Scott and I are doing something we've never done before; training for a race together! We're signed up for the Muddy Buddy in LA in Nov. which is combination mountain biking, running and obstacles race with a huge mud pit at the end. I am SO out of shape. We've gone mountain biking every weekend and our own workouts during the week and I've got a long way to go. We'll be biking up a steep section of singletrack and I'll yell at Scott "My..heart...rate's...at...190! I...have....to.....stop!" But I'm excited to do it. Wish me luck!

Summer Fun

We've been trying to keep our summer busy and have found some great outdoor fun.

Hiking up American Fork canyon. Mercedes brought her bug catcher and we searched and searched for the fuzzy black caterpillars that Scott and I had seen the week before when we were mountain biking, but just couldn't find them.

The "Baa Baa"at Farm Country. Aspen is mastering her animal sounds and loved all the farm animals. Both girls are pros at riding the ponies. Aren't our girls just the cutest!

Horseback riding with our neighbors, Eric and Brittany out by Strawberry. Can you believe Scott gone on a horse of his own accord? He enjoyed it by paid for it with a heavy duty allergic reaction. Aspen had a great time playing in the dirt and had to carry her sippy everywhere even if it was caked in filth. Mercedes just wanted to keep riding the horses.

Seven Peaks. Mercedes is a fish and loves the slides. Aspen didn't like the floatie so Mercedes made good use of it. Aspen preferred pointing at the seagulls and dancing; she is a dancing queen!

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to Park City for shopping and the Olympic Park. Mercedes was nervous for the Alpine Slide but proclaimed "That was awesome!" when the ride was over.



Scott was asking Aspen "How much do you love Mommy?" And her response (in actions) is "This much!"

Sadies Soccer

Mercedes started soccer when she was 4 when we lived in California. She spent the majority of her time either crying or sitting on the field pouting because someone kicked the ball before her or kicked her in the shins. This was her usual field position.

She has now advanced to chasing the ball with determination and only occasional pouting. All the games so far this season with the exception of the last one, have required coats, hats, and gloves and loving your child enough to cheer them on in 30- 40 degree weather. Aspen is constantly running out onto the field yelling "BA" "BA" (ball).

Born to Bike

This picture just cracks me up; Scott giving Aspen a ride on Mercedes bike. Could they be any cuter?! Aspen points at the scenery and squeals in delight as Scott makes vroom vroom sounds.

Down to Dixie

I'd forgotten how gorgeous Southern Utah is in the spring; and how much fun mountain biking is, although I still get terrified every time I try to power up a technical bit, lose my determination, and can't get out of my pedal clips fast enough to make a graceful dismount off my bike. I've always said that I prefer rock climbing to mountain biking just for the fact that when I fall climbing at least the rope catches me but when I fall biking I hit the ground - and I always wreck at least once. I was not born with the superspeed reflexes that Scott was blessed with.

We had the chance to head to St. George for a few day with a few friends, without the girls (although I missed them terribly!) to bike around the area and hike in Zion.

Scott, Jason and David biked Gooseberry Mesa and Green Valley Loop while Becky, Jill and I hiked the Emeral Pools, Grotto and River Walk trails in Zion.


Here's Scott and I biking a slickrock section of the Church Rocks trail. I had never seen the desert so beautiful - there were tons of flowers blooming. Scott's now decided we should move back; we lived there our first few years of marriage before the life flight whisked us away. I do love it there; I just melt in the heat of the summer.

Spring Break

We spent our first day at Huntington Beach where Aspen experienced the ocean for the first time; she did not like the sand on her hands but thought the waves were fun. Mercedes collected as much seaweed as she could find. Aspen spent a lot of time zonked out in her carseat or the stroller the whole trip.


The first day at Disneyland was 98 degrees so we took an afternoon reprieve in the pool. Mercedes is finally tall enough to go on all the rides - her new favorite is 'Soarin'; she was a bit scared of 'Tower of Terror' and her first words after 'Space Mountain' were "That was so scary it made me cry!"

Mercedes also loved Splash Mountain and Aspen kept oohing and aahing in the Winnie the Pooh ride.



We had a great time on our first 'real' family vacation. Mercedes wasn't tall enough when we lived there before for all the bigger rides so it was fun for her and Scott (he never went as a kid) to experience them. Mercedes and I got completely soaked on the river run ride. Aspen was so cute toddling around but Scott finally had to put the brake webbing from the stroller around her waist so she wouldn't keep running off. We got to visit some of our friends and wish we still lived there. Of course Mercedes cried as we were taking off on the plane; begging to never leave California again, but it's always nice to come home - even though we got off the plane in freezing temps and snow. I'm sure we'll be back again soon!