Sisters Trip!

The only thing better than having 4 sisters is getting to spend a long weekend together!!  

We all met up at Rachel and Jeremy's home in Colorado last weekend!  We shopped a bit, ate out a bit, drove around and saw cool places in Denver, and we even went snowshoeing!  But what we did the most was non-stop talking.

Work, kids, friends, husbands, boyfriends, food, diets, home decorating, exercise, childhood memories ("Ancient Chinese Secret, Moooooo?!"), favorite TV shows (Modern Family, Glee, HGTV, I Survived, Matlock, Little House on the Prairie, South Park Mormon episode), favorite movies (never did watch The Shining -- but saw the hotel where Steven King wrote the book and Bekah and I browsed on our phones as fast as we could to read all about "The Stanley."), pets, ailments, Dr. appts., movie stars in People magazine...

Hmmm... I know I'm forgetting something!

We talked as we drove and talked as we ate and talked as we snowshoed and talked as we ate ice cream and talked first thing in the morning and talked late into the night (Jeremy was SUCH a good sport!!!)!  And of course we continued talking in bed right up until we fell asleep and the next day it started all over again.

I love my sisters!

Courtney and Friends

Each weekend the Jr. High crowd plans lots of fun!

My friend, Julie, blogged about it here.
They migrate from house to house and yard to yard and walk the streets in between, sometimes on a  "photo scavenger hunt" and sometimes wearing dress-ups because it's funny.

(I'm a big fan of doing things because it's funny. 
But nice things that really are funny -- not mean things that really aren't funny.) 
This group is nice.  And they are always having fun and laughing.  I love having them over hanging out in the yard or in the kitchen.  Especially now that I've bought paper drinking cups.

Big high on Tuesday. 
I went to the Jr. High to assist in creating a new e-mail database. 
It was lunchtime so all the kids were milling about.  I know enough to try to act as "normal" as possible upon entering the Jr. High...  Smile and say "Hi" so as not to be rude by completely ignoring them, but be discreet to allow them to not have to acknowledge they know you if they are totally embarrassed by you :-)
  As I headed up the stairs, two of Courtney's friends shout my name, "Angelaaaaaaaa!!" and come running to say Hi!
Ninth grade is a good place to be!
Courtney came home and said she saw me walking to my car.
She said, "I saw you outside and said, 'There's my Mom!' and ran to the window and was banging on it to say 'Hi' but you didn't hear me!!" 
Wow!  Have all my dreams of motherhood come true?
She said, "You should feel pretty special that I wasn't embarrassed to see my mom at school."
Believe me, I do!  Even after the April Fool's wig incident?
I feel very special indeed!

Snowshoeing!

Christopher and I went snowshoeing today with his 3rd grade class.  It was sunny, warm and beautiful up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Our guide couldn't believe I'd lived here all my life and never had been snowshoeing or camping at The Spruces!  He'd lived in the midwest for 50 years and was thrilled to finally be living in a state with mountains!

I was thrilled to be there too -- especially with Christopher and lots of fun moms to chat with!  And now that I've been, I'll probably try it again.  Generally trying things for the first time are a little scary for me...I'm sure I've mentioned it before. 

Tomorrow is Christopher's birthday so I couldn't pass up this chance to volunteer to go with the class.  I'm so glad I went.  Not only was everything beautiful, but we had a guide teach us about animal tracks, trees and the area -- so it was educational too.

"Bewaaaaaare The Ides of March!"

Big shout out to my high school English teacher, Mrs. Carol Spackman-Moss!  Her enthusiasm for literature made English fun and every March 15th I think of her all day and love to remember her expression quoting Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "Bewaaaare the Ides of March!"  It's just so fun to repeat!

When Christopher did not arrive on his March 12th due date, I worried that he might come on the Ides of March.  Fortunately the 15th came and went without event--phew.  March 16th I woke up in labor--so happy to have gotten past the Ides and hoping baby would make it before St. Patrick's Day.  Wasn't quite sure we wanted a lifetime of dyed green carnations to celebrate our baby's birth.  But as March 16th progressed, and my labor didn't, it seemed inevitable we were getting a St. Patrick's Day baby.

More on that to come.  For now, "Et tu Brute?"  So sad for Caesar, but so many fun high school memories for the rest of us.

Aaaaaahhhhh!

Did I forget to mention that our trip to Disneyland culminated with two days on the beach in San Diego with the Wickhams?   

A beach in the middle of ski season...  It doesn't get any better than this!

VoluntEARS at the Magic Kingdom

Like everyone else in the country, our family did some service in exchange for a day at Disneyland.  What a great incentive to get our whole family working together thinking about someone else!

We headed to the Magic Kingdom over President's Day Weekend and had a great time!  

The last time we were there was 4 years ago which is significant because it means that last time we were there Marty was Chris' age and Chris was Nick's age.  Significant to us, at least...

We stayed at the newly remodeled Disneyland Hotel which I highly recommend -- so nice to be so close!  Last time we stayed at the Grand Californian which is beautiful, but I actually prefer the Disneyland Hotel because it's more "Disneylandish." The pool is more kid-friendly and you have all the same benefits -- early check-in to California Adventure through the Grand entrance on certain days, etc.

Highlights:

Christopher didn't break anything when he hopped the fence and landed on his face 

while I was buying tickets the first day we got there.

Seeing Kevin Jonas, his wife and his bodyguard 

(who has a name but you have to be under 17 to know it).

 Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Splash Mountain

Rider Switch Passes, Fast Passes and Single Rider Line

Figuring out where the cameras were on each ride!

Getting to the Peter Pan ride in the nick of time before the park closed--

thereby avoiding impossibly long lines the rest of the time.

Early entrance on Friday.

The Wickhams!

Toy Story ride at California Adventure and California Screamin'.

Mid-afternoon break at the pool for some and Percy Jackson for others.

Lots of BYU sweatshirts and Utahns.

Riding on Dumbo with Dan didn't feel cheesy at the time.

Long, fun, tiring days with the whole family!

Mothering Questions

 Within the past 24 hours, these are just a few of the questions I've been asked by my kids:

1) Can light sabers cut through force fields?
2) If you stick a pin in a Looloo doll will a real person feel it?  (Uh...do you mean "Voodoo?")
3) Can you help me put birds in my hair? (Do you mean "wings?")
4) What's the definition of "klompen?"
5) Can you teach me how to do the moonwalk?
6) Can you take a video of me skiing?  (While skiing down behind me?)

Time in the Saddle

Monday I took my first bike ride of the new year. Much earlier than usual, but much later than I could have. In fact, this winter has been so mild I could have ridden all winter through. Today I took my second ride of the season -- and realized my hinney is still oh-so-sore.

What I've read is to ride far you need to "spend time in the saddle." The more time in the saddle, the more comfortable you can be for longer periods of time...in the saddle. Last summer I worked up to 30 miles and felt great. Monday I rode 8 and my bum was not happy. Here's looking forward to spring and more time in the saddle.

Dan is on the phone making some hotel reservations. 

He gave the reservationist our kids' ages and finished with "they're a little older." 

I'm in awe that we're parents of kids who are "older" instead of younger. 

When did that happen?