the sweethearts...

This year Savvy's white picket fence - flower garden valentine box won! She was so excited and just knew she was going to win. She was just tickled all morning long. When she got home that thing was completely torn up just so she could get the candy out!

Carter's class didn't have a contest this year, but I'd say who doesn't love an eagle valentine box? He totally would have won.

He cracks me up!

The yearly heart pizza. It was different this year. Yes, that is wheat dough Savvy is shaping. It's part of the new us. The no white bread us.

Poor Carter's migraine started about an hour before this picture. Lucky for us, we caught it in time. And he slept through much of the rest of the day.

For years Alec has tried to catch us leaving our special delivery.

He'd better get a little faster and keep on trying.

We didn't even cheat this year!

He was mad last year when we rang the doorbell from inside the house.

They'll never get us.

So this is our new thing for the last few months. We've been working on some sign language and me and Lukie started doing the 'I love you' sign. All the kids have since joined in and we are able to silently tell each other 'I love you' at the perfect moment. I was so excited to find these dog tags with the sign for I love you on them. Perfect.

It was very special when these two sweethearts knocked on our door and hand delivered sugar cookies with a special letter. They each wrote their own letter to every single one of their children along with each grandchild. It was a perfect ending to the day when Alec read his and said, "I have the best family."

I couldn't agree more.

the American vs. the Russian...

It's been months since I ran the Wasatch Back. I gave my knee a rest for WAY longer than I thought I would have to. The first time I ran, it hadn't healed. At all.
So I started walking.
We walked until it was too cold.
With the swine flu and strep throat and all the other winter germs making it's way through my kids immune systems, I hadn't been able to go play basketball for forever.
I'm not going to lie and say that the word 'depression' hadn't bounced off my brain at the end of last year. I guess most of second half of the year...
Many pounds later (many lbs heavier), I thought - "I'd better put a stop to the madness."
I went and bought a scale for the first time ever.
Hubby and I made a bet. A challenge.


I joined a mini "Biggest Loser"weight challenge with some friends and ta-da - January 1st I had a new schedule! (and new eating habits)(haven't had a diet coke since then)(the no sugar lasted a month, which is too dang long for me!)


The smack talkin' has been going on over at this house.....even though J.P. has ended his e-mails with phrases like 'the future champion', I'm really, totally kicking his rear.


So here is my new schedule:
Monday - Boot Camp. Including a trainer who yells as loud as Jillian and calls me 'tall girl'. I can't get enough of the "Come on tall girl, get lower" thing she yells at me frequently. Tall girls just can't get that low....

Tuesday - Running and Yoga. I've always been a yoga hater. It's just too slow, and my ADD kicks in and I feel like I need to go run in circles. That's why I run first, then go to stretch. I actually really love it!

Wednesday - Running

Thursday - Kick Boxing in the morning and a scrappy basketball game in the evening.

Friday - Basketball first thing in the morning. For as long as we can bounce, jump and run. I love this day!

Saturday - My long run. Last week I ran 6 miles without stopping, which I believe is a miracle with my knee. I think all the other training and vitamins may actually be helping the fat knee. It's handling itself like a champ. I may or may not have cried when I walked in the house after that one. Then this past Saturday it took me a whopping 8 miles and was happy all the way. I hope it can again take me to a finish line or two!

Here is J.P.'s new schedule:
Tuesday night - Basketball in the SMALL church gym - Half Court.

And last Saturday he ran for the first time, because our Ragnar training has begun. He went 3.5 and has been walking like a crippled man ever since.

The lame thing is - he'll probably still win our bet. First one to lose 20 lbs wins, or the one who has lost the most weight by my birthday. It's just one of those permanent complaints the ladies have, guys lose weight faster and easier than girls. And girls are the ones who have babies...hmmm....awesome.

$100 dollars is the best prize we could come up with. Which isn't that great because it's really only a prize for me. If I win, I'll go buy new jeans, and if he wins, I'll get to go buy him new jeans. I'll get to shop no matter what, and that's exciting to me. It's really not fair to him. Which makes it all more fair, if that makes sense?
What do you think we should be playing for???

**looking happy at the Jazz game, only because we were watching the 'Bird Man' go down!
At home, I am Rocky and he is Drago...the ultimate enemy.**

(How's that for Happy Valentine's Day!)

New Years Eve...

After looking at so many blog posts the last couple of days, I had to catch up on a month worth of posts. I read many thoughts about new years resolutions, saw many pictures of your great New Years Eve parties, and realized that I am quite boring in my old age. You see, this was my brilliant New Years evening. We have never purchased crab legs for the whole family. The kids see them in the store and think they look disgusting. Well I know they are not, but didn't know this fact until I was about 24.
I decided, that to bring in the year 2010 I would go to Costco and purchase these lovely little legs and give my kids a fancy steak and crab leg dinner. Help them realize how divine those disgusting little things really are.
They all hated them.
Even with all the butter and garlic butter, they just didn't appreciate.
Such ingrates.

Luke was actually afraid of them.

We had way to many legs and J.P. and I can only eat so much (which is a lot), so we decided to take a few over to our next door neighbors, who we hoped loved crab more than our own little crabs. Turns out Bob was there by himself, and was going without dinner on New Years Eve. Sweet Savvy thought it was the coolest thing that we decided to give them to him when he needed a little surprise that night.

Turns out the crab legs were a hit.

With Alec being the adult that he is, he was off to his friends house for New Years. We were left with 3 excited little kids to stay up for all the New Years hoop-la. After a great visit with Lee the night started winding down.

This is what was happening with ALL three of them about 11:00 that night.

So J.P. and I had our own firework show at midnight.

In Mountain Dew pajamas and all.

We tried to wake Michelle and Greg up with the rounds of firecrackers.

Turns out they are as old and boring as we are.

Here's to hoping this year will kick 2009's behind.

After the delicious Christmas morning we had, after we opened everything we ever wanted, (cell phones, keyboards, pictures of bikes, BYU wallets) we made our way outside to play in the snow. Hours together making a jump, ruining the jump, making another jump, seeing who could jump the farthest, watching Papa fly off the jump, Lukie pulling Maddy and the twins eating snow and looking as adorable as always.

Lucky is the girl who married into this family. Who was given a beautiful addition to her own family when she was only 19.
We have been through so much together. Many things we would give right back! But because of those times, we are stronger. We continue to pull through what we have to.

We also continue to play together when we have to. And it's much more fun!

On the first day...I was given one 'Cabin Christmas'....

Other than the 'Carter and the Key' incident,
Christmas at the Cabin was again, picture perfect.

on the second day.....

My computer has been broken for a month. At first I hated it. Then I loved it.
One new modem later, the journal continues.

I know Christmas was weeks ago, but if I don't finish the second and first day of Christmas, my OCD will kick in and I won't be able to sleep. (I shouldn't have even started)

Soooooooo.......on the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me (blah, blah, blah)...

Two wannabe Jamaican bobsledders!

These two are really starting to scare me. They try the craziest things on the sleds, snowboards, their feet and anything else they can think of and get their hands on.

They are boys.

The kind of boys that make their mom way too nervous.

Carter is going to be one of those boys that will do whatever he is dared to do. No matter how dumb or dangerous. I just know it. I see his little mind, saying "absolutely I can do that, even if I might die doing it."

I'm scuurred. And so I pray.

In the winter when we go to the cabin, we have to park at the bottom of the mountain. We then pack up the Rangers and the tobogans and drive snow machines to get all of our 'stuff' to the cabin which is close to the top of this mountain side. It takes about 15 minutes (10 if it's only snowmobiles) to get all the way up. In some places it's pretty dang steep. The boys decided on the way down that they would hook their sled to the tobagon, which was hooked up to the Ranger, and ride it out in the freezing cold, windy night.

Crazy.

Leaning when necessary.

Falling off....

And jumping right back on....
That's right, Carter is pumping his arm for the 'great fall'.

Yes, Alec is wearing pink snow pants. He loves them. They belonged to his Uncle Ryan back when they were cool. He thinks they still are.

Ok, so do I.

While those crazy big boys were doing that, my perfect little boy was doing this.

I prefer this to last forever.