Our Fun Anniversary and other life events!

We had the most amazing anniversary trip! Gma and Gpa C graciously offered to keep our kids for the weekend. We drove to Heber/Midway, Utah and stayed at this AMAZING Bed and Breakfast place called Johnson Mill. We spent Friday (our 1st day) driving there, riding the train and eating awesome food! We rode the Heber Valley Railroad on a scenic tour of Deer Creek Reservoir. The trip was so beautiful! We saw deer, bald eagles, and a beautiful frozen lake!
We went to dinner at this place called Mountain House Grill. Tall Boy got Ribs and Chicken, and I got Petite Medallions. The Ribs were TO DIE FOR, the chicken was dry, and the medallions had a gamey taste to them, but Tall Boy thought they were good. We retired to our gorgeous room, the Courtyard, ready to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.


Unfortunately, the room had other ideas...there were these big pvc pipes outside our room that were vents of some sort, but they whistled and moaned and groaned all night. We didn't sleep well.

Saturday morning we went to the front office and told them we couldn't sleep in that room again. They were awesome and moved us to another room, The Millpond, and gave us a gift certificate for dinner! What a nice upgrade!
After that we went into the dining area for breakfast. We were served a DELICIOUS french toast breakfast. The french toast had cream cheese in between them, and on top had mixed berries, whip cream, and nuts too. It also came with a slice of honeydew melon. It was AMAZING! After fattening up, we went to Soldier Hollow to go Snow Tubing and had an absolute blast! We played there for 2 hours, then we went to this little place called Cuckoo Cafe for lunch. I had the Swiss days half panini and salad. Tall Boy had the Cuckoo panini and bowl of soup. The soup was a creamy cheddar with veggies and it was REALLY GOOD! Are you noticing a trend? Everything Tall Boy picked was really good! But I think my sandwich tasted better...it was really good. After that, we went on a Snow Mobile tour! We went for 2 hours on a 2-person snowmobile. We took turns driving and had a blast. We even stopped along the way for some pictures!




So after our awesome adventure, we went back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner at the Snake Creek Grill. Since we had a $50 gift certificate, we decided to go crazy and get soup, entree, and dessert! Tall Boy and I both got the special soup of the day, an amazing onion creamy soup. Then Tall boy got cornmeal stuffed pork chops, and I got Maple Mustard BBQ Baby back ribs. They were SO GOOD! Then for dessert, Tall boy splurged on some Black bottom banana cream pie, and I opted for the Gingersnap ice cream sandwich with warm caramel dipping sauce. We had to roll our bellies out the door, but it was SO WORTH IT!

We waddled back to our room and settled in for the night. Sunday Morning we packed up our stuff and went down to breakfast. We had an amazing quiche and cinnamon strudel with a slice of honeydew melon again. It was amazing. Then we packed up the car and bid a fond farewell to our little hide-away. We decided to stop and look at a trailer on the way home. We liked it a lot and decided we would buy it in a few days. Then we drove home and spent the rest of the day playing with kids and acclimating to real life again.

Monday Tall Boy was off work and Super Boy was off school. We just hung out at home. Then Tuesday was payday, we could afford the trailer. So Tall Boy took a couple hours off work and went with his friend down to buy and tow home the trailer. It is a 25 foot long toy hauler trailer. It has a queen loft bed, 2 couches/twin beds and 2 tables that combine into 1 eating area at the couches. After we arrive at our campsite and unload the toys, then we have room for an additional queen bed below the loft bed. It has a bathroom with a small tub and shower, AC and heater, good sized fridge and freezer, stove, oven, microwave, awning, stereo and tape player, TV hookups including antenna, 105 gal water tank and 6 gal water heater, and TONS OF STORAGE. We really like it! We can fit motorcycles and quads and only have to tow 1 trailer! It also has storage racks on the roof so we can put MORE stuff up there if we run out of room inside!
Anyway, that has been our exciting life this past week! I weighed in yesterday at 207 even(pretty amazing considering all the yummy stuff I ate over the weekend!), so I'm still getting back in the groove, but I'm still on target for my goal. I've got 1 year to lose 47 lbs! I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN, I THINK I CAN!

My Life as of 2009...

BBBBBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEECCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!
Yep, that about sums it up! Since my last post we have been battling sickness and the associated laundry! I even went to a laundromat one day because all my laundry baskets were full and I needed it done fast. Thank heavens for 8 load washers! But less than a week later and there were another 5 to be washed! I'm still not done, but the end is in sight...finally! The holidays threw my schedule and body way out of whack, but now that Super Boy is back at school, my life can resume it's former glory. I haven't been to the gym since before Christmas, so I look forward to getting back to it. I am happy to report that I haven't gained any weight over the holidays, but I really wish I had lost some! I was sick twice and both times I dropped down to 205, but then I bounce right back up to 207...but that will change soon. I am re-dedicating myself to using my Body bugg to it's fullest potential!

In other news, Tall boy and I are headed off for a weekend alone to an undisclosed location! Gma and Gpa are taking the kids for a couple of days while we treat ourselves to a little alone time and celebration. 9 years of marriage, that is something to applaud! This past year has been a struggle. Between my depression diagnosis and my struggle to find a groove (and effective medication) we have weathered a pretty nasty storm...I only hope that our renewed efforts and dedication to one another will help this year be one of our best yet!

Some of my wishes and hopes for 2009 are already taking form, but here they are none the less!

1. A stronger, happier marriage full of love and devotion.
2. A potty trained Super Girl. Side-note: She had her 1st dry night yesterday, and she has been telling me 90% of the time when she needs to go potty, and it's usually right after she starts going...we are on the right track!
3. Less of me to love! I really want to get back on the wagon! I was successful in losing almost 13 lbs in 4 months, and I really want to get back to that!
4. More dedication to learning what others have to teach me. This has many facets. I am trying to learn more in church by studying before class. I want to open my mind and heart to ideas that others have that just might be better than my own. I want to go back to school (to learn what, I don't know!) and improve my home-making skills by learning from what works for others. So please, if you have some awesome recipes, or ways to speed clean your house, I am all ears or eyes! Please leave me a comment or a link to your treasures of knowledge!
5. Be a more balanced person. I need to learn how to balance my time and efforts between my husband, kids, myself, friends and all the things we want to do separately and together! Again, if you have any insight...please share!

To sum it up, I think President Gordon B. Hinckley (president and prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or mormon church) was on to something... He knew what we all need to strive to be:

Be Grateful,
Be Smart,
Be Involved,
Be Clean,
Be True,
Be Positive,
Be Humble,
Be Still, and
Be Prayerful...

Need I say more? He has it all, and more, of what I want out of life this year and always! I miss his insight and humor, but I know he is with our Heavenly Father watching over us and hoping we all make the kinds of decisions that will let us join him there when this life is over.

So, that's my life (hopefully) this year. I wish you all well for your year, whatever you choose to do with it!!!

Christmas, Igloos, Friends and MORE!!!

Sorry it's taken me so long to get a new post up, but I have some new goals for this year. I am trying to be a better wife and mother...that means spending more time playing with kids and doing the things my household and hubby need me to do. After that, then I focus on my other wants and needs. Anyway, I need to let you know what's been going on!

The Sunday before Christmas, we went to Hot Mama's house to exchange gifts. We got them some nice glasses, some martinelli's to go in them, some chocolates and a cute sign that says "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!" They gave us some cute mugs and awesome wassail from Stephen's...YUM! They gave Super Boy a football and Super Girl got a cute little puppy in a purse! It was a fun night!

Christmas: We had an amazing Christmas. So many presents! We videoed Christmas morning, so I didn't take stills of the opened presents (yet, and I might not get to it ever) But I can tell you what we each got!

Santa rocks! He got Tall Boy some Logic puzzles, got me a electric griddle for pancakes and such and a cute silver necklace, Super Boy got a science experiment kit and a red elephant, and Super Girl got some bracelets and a Clifford dog. He also got the whole family matching blue Peyton Manning Colt's jerseys! Of course we left him a note, hot chocolate and these cookies too!

Tall Boy also got a Colt's Superbowl hat from Super Girl, a red football from Super Boy and a foot care kit from me (along with the unspoken promise that I'm the one who uses these tools on his feet!) My parents also went a little crazy and sent WAY TOO MANY PRESENTS! They sent Tall Boy a Santa Mr. Potato head, some money, A Tetris cube puzzle and cute magnet. There may be other stuff, but I can't remember it at the moment...sorry!

I got new oven mitts (much needed) from the kids and a beautiful, long pearl necklace from Tall Boy. My parents sent me some beautiful jewelry, hand lotion, a tangram puzzle and a cool Rubik's cube puzzle. We also exchanged presents with The Super 5, and they gave Tall Boy and I an assortment of goodies and treats along with a gift card for blockbuster movies..THANKS! Gma and Gpa C officially gave us the Pancake Puff cooker thing.

Super Boy got an elephant puzzle and book from The Super 5, an elephant and elephant DVD from Super Girl, another science experiment kit from dad, and elephant blankets from me. My parents got him a Horton puppet, a webkinz elephant, a cars blanket, a Wii Burger king toy, a cookie monster small lunch box with chapstick, and a fluffy dog (sorry again if there are more missing) Gma and Gpa C gave him all the ingredients for smores and a microwave smores maker! He also got a chocolate bar, calendar and book from his teacher at school!

Super Girl got a monkey and the 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed book from The Super 5. She got a curious george blanket from me, some boots and alphabet magnets from dad, and a pooh bear toy from Super Boy. My parents gave her a cute rolling lauging Curious George toy, a curious george blanket, a cookie monster small lunch box, a cookie monster that plays the trumpet, and i'm sure there's more, I just can't remember right now! Gma and Gpa C got her a stroller for her toys.

We gave Gma C 2 signs, 1 said "What happens at Grandma's stays at Grandma's!" and the other said "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all!" Gpa C got a tie with pictures of Super Girl ironed on that said "papa's girl" and "I ♥ Papa!" and a tshirt with a picture of Super Girl playing in the snow and this phrase on it "My heart (and this shirt) belong to Papa!" He loved it!

We had french toast (courtesy of the new griddle!:) and played with toys and such for most of the day.

The day after Christmas, Tall Boy came home from work very excited. He found Super Boy and asked him, "Do you know what we can make with all that snow outside?!" The answer was AN IGLOO!!! Super Girl was nice enough to sleep through the almost 2 hours it took to make, but we all pitched in to make this amazing igloo in our front yard! We used a plastic storage tote to pack down snow into "bricks"
Then Tall Boy arranged the first layer in a circle, then built the front arch. Then added more layers until the igloo was finally completed!

Then a few hours later, we had some visitors! Tall Boy's Brother and family all came to visit and brought along another of Tall Boy's nephew's too! That was a pleasant surprise for everyone! We had so much fun while they were here. Super Boy and Super Girl were in heaven with 3 more friends to play with. We were just happy to see each other and catch up. Unfortunately it was a short trip and they left for home on the 30th.

For New Year's Eve, we decided to go to Hot Mama's house (even though I caught Tall Boy's cold and her youngest had thrown up) We played Rock Band for the majority of the night with 4 other couples that were invited. We had a blast and brought in the New Year with noise makers, poppers, fireworks and martinelli's of course. We left shortly thereafter, and came home. We've been recovering ever since! I still have the cold, but it's getting better.

Anyway, that's all folks! Are you tired yet? I am!