Christmas Eve

 The week leading up to Christmas the girls and I would pick a Christmas book to read before bed.  I love that my older girls still love to listen to picture book stories!

Christmas Eve we had plans to load up the kids for a morning of skiing, but with all the new snow we had (over 70 inches in just a few days) the parking lot was already full by 9:30 that morning.  Bummer.

Plan B: sledding.

We have a pretty good sledding hill at the park next to our house.

 Rory's face...it kills me!  I crack up every time I look at it!

That night we had lovely time at my brother's for a Christmas Eve meal.

We drove home with the snow falling and listening to Christmas music.

When we got home the girls opened their traditional Christmas Eve gifts...this year they received Mexican house dresses...I think they are beautiful!  Each one has a slightly different embroidered design on it.  Simply lovely!

Ryan read "The Night Before Christmas" (as always) before we tucked them all in bed.

One week countdown.

Okay...a week and a day really...but either way...oh my gosh...Christmas is almost here!

The girls have been begging Ryan to put up Christmas lights on the outside of the house, so finally a couple of days ago he put some up.

I know this pretty much knocks your socks off! 

Watch out Clark Griswold...we're coming for ya!!

 Also, this last week the kids made some Gingerbread houses...okay, graham cracker houses.

And unfortunately, two days into having them displayed in the dinning room the dogs (really...it was just Etta) already killed two of them.  Damn dog!

 We have been getting snow...lots of snow, and it's been fabulous!  In fact, it supposed to snow every day leading up to Christmas next week!  

And speaking of snow...I have a hunch that the kids will be doing much skiing this holiday break!  That is, we can all stay healthy!  Rory still has a lingering cough and unfortunately she has passed this cold on to me.  I feel pretty crummy, my nose won't stop dripping and I have a perpetual sneeze on deck at all times which is so irritating...but the show must go on!

The passes this year kill me...Haley and Piper's personalities were captured perfectly in these photos!

So, with that...I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Sick Day

 My little Rory has hit the wall.  Yesterday after dropping Piper off at Kindergarten Rory and I hit couple of stores for some Christmas shopping.  However, she was dragging quite a bit so I decided to drop what I was doing and just take her home.  Fever it was...poor little thing.  So today we are taking a proper sick day...lots of cuddling and napping and watching TV.

I've been full speed ahead with Christmas right around the corner.  There is much to do!

And with ski school starting up again, I'm back on the mountain three days a week teaching...so yeah, busy days around here!

 Last weekend we decorated.   

Growing up I had all brothers and they really never helped decorate the tree ( I assume it's a guy thing??)...I mostly remember my mom and I doing it.  So with having four girls there is NO shortage of help.  As soon as I pulled out the boxes they got right to it.  This month is just full of excitement for them...I love it!

On another note.

I received my Christmas present a little early this year!

New ski boots!

For the record, I have never purchased boots before.  The pair I used for the past several years (Tecnica) Ryan actually won in a raffle after a bike race.  They just happened to be my size, but the fit has never been steller for me.  So, Jeff and I drove to Park City and I got custom fit in a brand new pair of boots.

I am now a Lange girl!

Funny, I posted this picture as a spoof on Lange advertising.

You may want to check out the history of the Lange girl.

And my personal favorite:

I mean really...it makes absolutely no sense.

Indian head dress with ski boots??

They take "sex sells" very seriously, ha!  I kept my picture pretty tame...and most people probably never made the connection.

So yeah...I'm super excited to try them out.

Never had a custom fit anything before!

Thanksgiving 2015

I know I'm late with this post, but hey, better late than never!

So as usual we loaded up the 'Burban and headed south to Sedona...except this time we we made an overnight stop in Kanab.  The girls were thrilled to pieces to stay in a hotel. And then we surprised the girls with a visit to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (which is right outside of Kanab) the next morning.  

 This is a no kill shelter that houses around 1500 animals: dogs, cats, horses, pigs, birds, rabbits and so on.  We took the tour they offer and saw where everything is housed and got to pet and visit the cats and dogs.  The girls were in animal heaven!  We were lucky to get out of there without an animal to take home.  I told everyone we were filled to the brim already!!  Four kids, two dogs, a cat and three goldfish...I'd say we're doing our part!

Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Some highlights of the week.

We hiked up West Fork and took a photo of the girls on the exact same log from two years prior...

 ...so of course we had to create a side by side comparison.

My babies aren't babies anymore!!!

 We also did a bit of mountain biking.

The trails are literally right down the street...how can we not take advantage of that?!

There is a loop that I have become obsessed with...it's pretty much the only trail that I do.  I am determined to do that entire loop without putting a foot down!  One day, my friends, I will succeed!!  Too bad I can only practice it one week out of the year.  

 Ryan and I would go out on our own for a lap (yes, of my favorite loop) and then get the girls to join us on another lap (you guessed it, of my favorite loop).

I was super proud of them!

They did great!

 We also played a game or two of Sorry...and let me tell ya, it can get pretty fierce!

 And a trip to Sedona wouldn't be complete until we feed the ducks at Talaqapaque.  

The weather was quite crisp this year!

 With Grandma and Grandpa.

And of course, smooshed in there with everything else we ate ourselves silly with a wonderful Thanksgiving feast!!

We headed home Saturday and ran into this along the way:

Yep, winter has hit.

And I'm loving it!

Happy Birthday Rory!!

 Today my littlest one turned FOUR!

Good grief...how can that be?!

The day went like this:

We woke her up by singing Happy Birthday with a chocolate chip muffin (complete with candle) presented to her.

She was thrilled!

Kids went off to school and Rory and I headed to Costco to pick up a few things.

She took it upon herself to tell every person we passed in the aisles that it was her birthday.  And when I say tell, I mean practically shout at them, "So you know!!  IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!".  She said this to every person...did I say that already?  Good times.

So then it was back to the house where she played with her neighbor friend while I baked a cake.

The girls came home and before we knew it, it was already dinner.

We enjoyed a quiet little family party..

Wait...did I say "quiet"...ha!  Like it's ever quiet in this house.  But you know what I mean.

Her dinner of choice...pasta of course!

And dessert...purple cake with strawberry ice cream.

And then she opened presents.

I can't help but laugh at these next series of pictures.

Everyone changes their poses except for Rory, who holds strong.

Good job Rory.

And that was that.

My baby is now four.

Oh, how we love her!

Last Week and Weekend Review

Last week Ryan and I went on a few errands while the older girls were in school.

We came out of Costco only to discover that our battery was dead.  Easy fix...just get someone to jump it!  Well, that would be true if our hood could open!

 

A while back the cable to the hood release broke. We basically got a temporary fix and meant to really fix it...but we forgot.  So when our battery died and we couldn't open the hood we were like, "Oh yeah...we were supposed to fix that.  Whoops."  AAA to the rescue!  And I'm happy to report it has now been fixed and our hood is fully operational.  All ready for a road trip next week!

 We also got our first snow fall (well, that actually stuck to the ground anyway) in the valley last week!

This is good...really, really good for the resorts!

 Saturday the girls had friends over and I really wasn't in the mood to cook.  So we took everyone to Pizza Pie (a pizza/pasta buffet)...this is a kid heaven...seriously.  And to be honest, it's practically a parent heaven too.  1.  Kids can eat as soon as we are seated.  2.  It's super family friendly, so I don't have to worry about kids disrupting other patrons or food falling on the floor.  Pretty much every table has about a minimum of 4 children...so we fit right in.

And thank goodness for Pizza Pie coupons...they look out for us families!

So, for the past couple of months I've been pretty wound up about our Primary Program at church.  For my particular calling or job, I'm in charge of it...like all of it...and it's kinda stressful.  This is last years post about it...nothing much has changed with my stress level...this is my second year doing it and I'm still just as worked up.

Anyway, last Sunday was the big day this year for the Program.  And it is the first and only year that ALL four of my children are in the program together...which is kinda special.  And speaking of special...my mom flew out just for the program!!

So anyway, Rory was being a little peculiar Sunday...she said her speaking part (thank goodness it was right in the beginning) but then refused to come up for any of the songs with the other children.

In fact, she fell asleep on her teacher's lap.

Very weird, especially since it was only like 9:45 in the morning when she zonked out.

So, after the program the children go to the primary room.  Our little 3 year olds (the class Rory is in) sit right in the front row.  I happened to be conducting primary that morning and as soon as we were done with the opening exercises Rory decides that would be the perfect time to barf...all over herself...and the floor...and a little bit on the girl sitting next to her (which actually happened to be the little girl's first day!)  Yeah, welcome to Primary...BLAH!!  Poor thing, I think she was traumatized after that...hopefully she'll come back next week.  

I felt so bad for my little Rory...no wonder she was sleeping during the program.  I was so worked up that morning about everything that needed to be done I didn't even know she wasn't feeling well.

We got Rory (and the other little girl) and the floor cleaned up and I sent Rory home with Ryan.

She laid around the rest of the day and by morning she was back to normal...short lived, thank goodness!

And speaking of morning...Monday morning we woke up to snow!

Rory and Morgan watching the snow fall.

So, the program is done and I can breath again!

Now, it's all about getting ready for Thanksgiving and our trip to Sedona!

If everyone can stay healthy I would greatly appreciate that!

Happy Hump Day!

Monday

I want to share with you all what I did today.  Without guilt...because that's the way it should be.  

Got up around 7:15.  Got the girls breakfast (Haley always makes her own breakfast...and sometimes she has already eaten and made her lunch before I even get down the stairs...I know...what a girl!).  Then I pack their lunches and Ryan rides with them to school at 8:20.  Then I have breakfast...and this morning I enjoyed a cup a coffee (guilt free) along side it.  When Ryan got back we chatted for a few minutes (while we sipped our coffee) while the little ones watched some Netflix before he headed off to work.

I then got ready for the day, changed out of my pj's and into...wait for it...sweats (but they were cute sweats, at least in my eyes, ha!) and slapped on some mascara and lipstick and put my hair up...good to go.  

By this point the little ones ran outside to play with their neighbor friend and I cleaned the kitchen and straightened up while talking to my mom (gotta love talking using ear buds and having hands free!)...we probably talked for about an hour...but that's very normal when I talk to my mom...we just can't help it.

11:30 I get the little ones' lunch on the table and get Piper ready for school (PM kindergarten).  At 12:10 we're out the door...today I rode my bike and the little ones scootered there.

When we got back from dropping Piper off I made my lunch (fruit smoothie) and then cuddled up on the couch with Rory and watched...not one...but TWO episodes of American's Worst Cooks on Netflix.  At some point Rory fell asleep...I love that she still falls asleep on me!

Around 2:45 Rory and I headed back out on our bike and scooter to pick up the girls from school.  We left pretty early so Rory could play on the playground.  That girl loves her some swings!  I pushed her (and had a little photo shoot...I could not get enough of her smile...pure joy) until the bell rang for the kids to get out.

Haley rode on home after saying hi...Morgan, Piper, Rory and I stayed at the playground until about 4:15.  It was a perfect fall afternoon!

Came home, helped the girls with snacks and made some pizza dough.  Ryan came home around 5:30 and Haley was making some pumpkin cake (while I kinda supervised).  They did some homework while I finished the pizza for dinner and then we all watched an episode of Once Upon a Time while we ate.  And then of course Haley's dessert before they went to bed.

Sometimes I think I can be hard on myself if I'm not busy everyday, whether it's chores or errands or keeping my little ones occupied.  But the truth is, slow days are okay.  I'm learning that I don't need to justify it and I'm learning that I shouldn't feel guilty about it either.  Don't get me wrong...there is a balance.  Some days are really crazy, we ALL have those days...so why not take a slow day when you can get it!

 It's easy to compare our lives with others and the feel need to keep up with or impress that mom (you know the one)...but really...who gives a damn.  Just be you.

Today was a really good day.

Lately...

...Cyclocross has come to an end...sort of.  

I should say the P-Town Cross series has come to an end, but Ryan just may squeeze in another cross race in yet!

 We were super lucky as far as the spectating goes.  The weather was lovely for every race...I think...I"m pretty sure anyway.  I remember some years watching Ryan race freezing to death!  But this year, not so much...in fact our Fall as been really mild.  Kinda scares me really, cause I want an awesome winter this year...we got gypped last year!

FYI:  You should google the word "gypped".  I thought it was spelled "jipped" but no, it actually comes for the word "gypsies" and is said to be an offensive word because it is referring to gypsies as being cheats or con-artists. 

 So, I apologize to all the gypsies reading this.

Also lately...I started jogging...like a lot...okay, a lot for me anyway.  I have pretty bad knees, so jogging is kind of a big deal for me.  I started working up to it and mainly walked slowly building up until I jogged my whole routes...which varied between 3.5 to 4.5 miles...like a said, that is a lot of jogging for me and my weak little knees!!

I was pretty consistent there for a while.

 Ryan and I even got out a few times together...left the kids to their own devices and everything.  

We're such rebels!

But then Ryan went out of town for a while, then the weather got pretty chilly in the mornings which is the time of day I typically jogged (my knees are extra bad in the cold...and lets face it I'm kinda wimpy too) so my jogging days have gone to the way side these past several weeks.  BUT, the good news...I lost 5 whole pounds since the end of summer...so that's pretty good.  Go me.

 Rory and I enjoying our walks to school to pick up the girls.

Such a beautiful fall!!

 But...today we took a turn!

Today we had our first official snow fall!

You can't see it, but it's totally snowing in this picture!

Nothing stuck on the ground, but it snowed!!  This gives me hope that we'll have a good snow season...we need it sooooo bad!!

So with that, here's to hoping for a spectacular ski season!

Happy Thursday!