Proof the economy is improving: Extravagant company parties

With our newlywed friends, the Holts.

The Enterprise party was super fun! Fancyschmany dinner at the Radisson, corporate schmoozing, wild dancing with drunken overworked employees, and enough adult conversation to hold me over for weeks! I was sad we didn't win any of the awesome raffle prizes, despite my best attempts to stealthy acquire extra tickets, but that's ok. We got a fabulous date night.  My cousin did a great job babysitting (and I LOVE that she's 16 now and can drive herself!! :)  She said the kids went to bed easily then she watched TV and played on her phone for the next 4 hours!  I hope Enterprise gets back to doing these big parties every year. So I have an excuse to get my hair done and buy a new dress and hire a babysitter...

Bennett's Pool Pout

Somehow between my morning race, Saturday errands, and ERAC party prep, we made it to our friend's birthday party. They rented out the Rec center for it - love friends like that! Swimming is probably B&C&B's most favorite activity in the world. But instead of posting all their happy-faced frolicking pictures, I'm posting this one. Bennett fell down and pretended he was hurt. He wasn't. He just pouted. And I love his pout face.

Hair done for the ERAC party!

SnowBum

We all agreed this snowman is obviously homeless and in need of a shower.
Or we just live in a valley with terrible air quality. And grass that comes up easily. And neighbors that don't clean up after their dogs.

And the early racing seasons begins...

Isn't this place crazy looking?! I think it used to be casino.
5K at Great Saltair this morning - so fun! Great weather, good course. I was 4th with 19:54. Hoping to have a good 2012 racing season! It might be helpful if I started actually running more than once a week... and sleeping more....Maybe I'll wait til 2013 to get back to racing.

Sleepy

I know everyone posts these kinds of pictures... In fact there's probably something very wrong with you if you don't have a picture of your husband asleep on the couch holding your baby.

QT

We're all about quality time here.

Entertaining themselves

Cardboard box + hardwood floor + Courtney = Fun for Brianna

Brianna's Wedding Plans

"Can we buy this dress for when the boy asks me to get married?" 

Don't you love Reverse Camera?

I find a LOT of pictures like this on my phone (like hundreds sometimes, no joke):

Kinda hard for Brianna to deny she was playing with my phone when I have evidence like this.

Black Eyed Beans

She loves black beans. She loves brown rice. She doesn't love her purple bruise under her eye.

Morning Breakfast Picnic

Normal people do this. 

Brianna the budding artist

I'm actually reallyreally proud of this drawing- its her first attempt at people!
She wanted to draw a picture of GreatGrandma Smith before we visited her on Sunday.
Grandma was thrilled, and said it was very accurate- a skinny body with a large bum.

A picture I probably shouldn't blog.

Brian misses Hawaii. A lot. Too much.

The Great Northwest Holiday Adventures - the full scoop.

I did a few random posts about our holiday vacation adventures... little blurbs sent from my phone.... but here's the rest (because nothing's more exciting than reading other's travelogues, right?!) In no organized order at all (cuz that takes too long), here they are:

The babies loved the loft. All day. Everyday. This is where we hung out. 

Saturday was our SKI TRIP on Mt. Spokane - LOVED IT! So much fun. I was pretty rusty - I've had to skip the last few seasons cuz of babies, but I got the groove back by the end. Meaning I finally stopped snow plowing down the bunny hill. Dad actually asked me if I was expecting, since I was going so slow.  Slightly offensive - do I LOOK pregnant? Don't answer that. =P  Seriously though - gorgeous weather, short lines, and hot cider at the very top in that cute Vista Cabin. Awesome day. Dad's BF Dale came along too. They made me go down a few black diamond runs, and I pretended I wasn't praying for my life all the way down.

Kindof blurry, but I'm lucky I got a picture of these two standing still at all! Lily and Brianna were best cousin friends. Though they're about 18 months apart, they played so well together - Brianna naming the game, and Lily happily following suite. They did tea parties, dolls, dress up, and ate off the floor together.  Wish we had Lily around more! She would fit in great with our little troop. 

We hit up Costa Vida a few times for dinner. Our friend Matt Turnidge owns it, so we like to support his business. It was great to see him! Such a nice guy. My kids did ok there. No permanent damage. But restaurants and lots of small people is never ever a good mix.  Mom and I both had fish tacos. It might have been mom's last fish taco, because she spent the next 48 hours in bed and the bathroom. Poor mom - she had to say goodbye to us Sunday morning in a weak whisper. Food poisoning is a nastynasty thing. And I don't blame the taco. Support Costa Vida! :)

Brianna went to her first movie in a theater! I know she's a little old for it to be her first - I'm sure she could've handled it a year ago or so... but hellloooo - Redbox movies are a dollar.  Of course my family doesn't care about things like that, so she got to go with Mom and Cougar to the theater. And oddly enough - not even a cartoon! The "We Bought A Zoo" movie.  She loved it! And she LOVES her big cousin Cougar! He loves her too... or at least tolerates her much better now. 

I title this collage, "View From My Nostalgia Run." I did a 9.5-mile loop and hit up my favorite old trails and paths. Made me so happy. The powerline trail is the best. The only thing that makes it better now is running with my iPhone and the "RunKeeper" app. So cool. 

I just had to post this - Bennett's starting a new fashion trend. 

 Oh. Another skiing collage. Whoops. We must've had a really good time!

I went to the movies with these lovely ladies. It's the first time my dear friend Melody has had all her girls in Spokane! I won't admit which movie we saw. Hint: very few men in the theater for it!  Maria is kinda the odd one out, eh? Four short pretty blonds, then BOOM. Tall gorgeous darkie. Poor super model. 

After a few days of Mom doing 3 gourmet fabulous meals each day, I left guilty for not helping out more. So I whipped up a homemade pizza - from wheat in their food storage I ground up in the Vitamix, then made into dough in the bread machine.  Half veggie toppings, half meat. BOOYAH. 

Photos at Red Robin for Coug's 7th bday. I love Bennett's expression, top left - he's almost smiling. And poor Brianna doesn't realize she's about to have the traumatizing experience of being accidentally LEFT at this restaurant when her parents leave in separate cars. I don't wanna think about that one again. [shuddering] Happy birthday Cougie!

Fridge escapades.

I reallyreally loved reuniting with my old BF after nearly 7 years apart! I figured since I never made it out to her wedding in 2010, I owed her a plane ticket. So she got to spend a week with her mom, and a week with me! We had a great time catching up and laughing over old jokes. Maria is one of those few people in my life who I feel like I can really be myself around. She's one of the most nonjudgemental I know. I love her to bits and hope it's much less time before I see her again! A trip to Florida is definitely in our future.

The SLC airport, Christmas Eve. We arrived two hours early, prepared for madness and crowds of holiday travelers. Wrong. There were about 6 of them, maybe. I still don't get it - Christmas Eve morning, and no lines anywhere?!  Such a blessing it all went so smoothly! These jammies from their Grandma McKell earned us a lot of attention - which I did strategically, so that we'd get more sympathy if the kids were wild. 

SAMMY JO!  One of my big goals during this trip was to get a good picture of her. No offense to Sammy, she's just not too photogenic. But I think I got some very cute ones. And I loved spending time with her and making her laugh. Since she can't travel, I only get to see her about once a year when we go to Spokane. I think she was happy to see me and recognized me. 

I didn't get to spend as much time with Meredith as I would've like to, and as we have in the past, since she's not living at our parents' house anymore. But we had a crazy coincidence - I ran into her at Northtown mall! I was in this new super cute store called Vivo (LOVE their clothes!) and suddenly I hear a surprised voice say, "CHELSEA?!" and it was Mere! So we hung out for a little bit. Always nice to see my little sister. I miss her. A lot.

The coolest place on the planet - SKYHIGH in Spokane! A huge warehouse with wall-to-wall TRAMPOLINES! A big dodgeball area, kids jumping area, and a giant foam put to jump into. I was doing flips I haven't done in yeeears (I feel so old saying that). I could've stayed there for days. Brian did dozens of backflips continuously to impress the masses. Seriously, if I lived in Spokane, I'd go every single day and jump for hours. Most fun workout imaginable. 

I ran by our old house on Zeus Ct. The home I lived in from age 8-18. So many memories. But I feel like the new owners have just spit over my whole childhood, because they painted my house a yucky puke green color and let all the trees and bushes get way overgrown. The backyard looked awful. They just pooed all over my memories. Ugh.

On a run, I stopped by my old high school to get a drink. It was open cuz some wrestlers were practicing. So I did a lap around the inside, and was reminded how thankful I am that high school is over, and wondered how in the world I'm going to protect my kids from all the crap that happens there. This photo is the current track records - I've fallen off the 1600 list, and have the very last 3200m record. Sad. My legacy there is almost gone. [totally kidding - I wasn't a good runner in High School.]

The COIN GRAB!  A tradition with Papa. He throws all his spare change into this big jar all year long, then on Christmas (or the day after, in this case - that's when Dave's fam arrived) all the kids get to reach in and see how much they can grab with one hand. Very fun. Brianna made about $6! 

Airport schnanigans to keep the babies happy - their favorite game - "JUMP TO DADDY!" overandoverandoveragain. 

Saved the best for last - Brianna's sweet happy little face, with her loving Grandparents on Christmas morning.
Thank you Mom and Dad for a wonderful vacation! We love you!

Diana's keiki shower

That bulge is my phone in my pocket.    I'm not pregnant. 

My dear BYUH friend and teammate now knows I love her, because I drove ridiculously far to attend her babyshower. Of course my definition of far is relative... and maybe skewed, because I hesitate before going anywhere in general... I'm such a homebody nerd. But it was definitely worth the journey to see Diana, and to see Brianna's eyes pop out at the "blue pretty juice with blueberries!" I have Diana my favoritefavorite new mommy book, "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding." Terrible title, so awkward, but amazing book. Best one out there, and I know there's a lot. It was so fun to catch up with Diana and Mike - friends from BYUH days. I miss that college-island life!

Bennett's BooBoo

3 little monkeys were jumping on the bed.
One fell off and cut his head. 
Momma went to the doctor and the doctor said... 
You should've gone to the ER when it happened last night because it's too late for stitches now so here's a cool camo bandage.

Faces I Love

Sunday Afternoon Lounging

I think if Courtney reallyreally tried she could smile bigger and cheesier.

Logically Love Donalds

Just finished reading this book for the 2nd time. Maybe third. Obsessed with it. We've implemented many of the ideas and it's worked wonders. Ever heard of the Love and Logic program? We attended the 6 week course for free when we lived in Vernal. So awesome, cuz usually it's way expensive. But totally worth it. Lovelovelove their ideas and the entertaining presentations. One stuck with me particularly - where Charles was telling a story about his son, who would scream DONALDS!DONALDS!DONALDS! Everytime they drove by those golden arches. Sadly, I can't remember the point of the story. But I'm sure it was a good one. Or maybe the point was actually just sneaky marketing secretly sponsored by McDonalds, because now whenever I need to get out of the house and it's too yucky outside, we head there.

 Sometimes we buy a couple parfaits, but usually just take advantage of the fun play area.
In Centerville.
Bountiful's McDonalds are ghettttoooo.
Centerville's is awesome - there's a HUGE jungle gym not pictured here, plus this hands-on musical adventure. The kids love it.
And I love their free wifi and comfy (though probably germ-infested) seating.

Concerned.

I told them all to smile and look happy. This is what I got instead.

Before I put them away...

Our Christmas book collection, courtesy of Nonny.  She gives us a new one every year, with an envelope and paper glued on the back for us to write about that year's Christmas memories.  Such a fun and thoughtful gift.  Now she just needs to buy us a new bookcase for them all.   This is one situation where a Kindle/Nook would definitely not work!

Getting ready for Spring. Because it's almost here.

Holidays are over, got my snow playing in.... now I'm ready for Spring.

[sigh]
It's going to be a loooong few months. 

To make myself feel better, I just ordered one of these:

Step 2 Patio Play Set. Actually I ordered THREE of them, because something is wrong with JcPenney's website and they're selling them for $15. These things retail for $50-$70. And since shipping costs were only $2 more to get 2 more...I'm buying a few extra to sell locally! I'm just a little excited about this. *If you're smart and jumping on this deal too, be sure to shop through Ebates - I got 3% cash back on this deal. And use code RMNAFF10 at checkout for 10% off. Booyah.

**Update:  I received an email a week later from JCPenney Customer Service. It WAS a pricing error! And they got flooded with orders. So I don't get my playset.  But even better - to say sorry, they gave me a $50 gift card! Yay!