Girlfriend Getaway

Before I got married, I loved to travel.  I mean, lots of people like to travel, but, I was passionate about it.  Traveling fed my soul.

Pre-kids, Brian and I did a fair amount of travel.  Road trips, Hawaii, East Coast, West Coast, etc. Since having kids, we've taken family vacations.  There have been a few getaways without the kids.  Brian has traveled alone for work, and, from time to time, for pleasure.  I, on the other hand, have not taken a single trip without hubby and/or kids since we wed eleven years ago.  Nada.  Not even one overnighter.  Probably not even eight consecutive hours away.

This occurred to me only recently.  

I decided it was high time to do something about it.  On the spur of the moment, I purchased a plane ticket to visit my very generous friend who lives near Washington D.C. for five days and six nights!!!

So, my husband who has never been alone with the kids for even one night, suddenly had the three oldest for nearly a week!  I'm glad to say, he rose to the occasion.

My trip was amazing.  It was massages, pedicures, movies, homemade hot fudge on ice-cream, shrimp and grits, shopping, relaxing on the couch, staying up late, sleeping in, no housework, eating out and lots and lots of chats with my good friend who I met my freshman year of college (we won't worry ourselves about how long ago that was).  It was oh so relaxing.  It was a vacation for my mind and body.  It completely fed my soul.

And, guess what?  The earth did not fall out of orbit while I was gone. My thanks to many wonderful friends and family members for making this getaway happen.  I arranged for Isaac to be watched by a different friend or Aunt each day and a babysitter came over after school to stay with the other two until Brian came home from work.  See what a difference a day shift can make?  Brian spoiled our kids with Lucky Charms and Coco Puffs, and took them to Dinosaur Park and the Treehouse Museum and the Pizza Factory in between.  

In fact, when I came home, the kids said, "Wow!  We had a great time!  You should take trips more often Mom!"  

Really?

I think I just may.

Time Warp

My baby is nine-months-old. It has officially been the fastest nine-months of my life. Time has sped by and I've barely taken any time to record the moments. Like, the sweet way Katie use to suck on her toes every time I held her feet up for a diaper change. Wow, that baby has stolen all of our hearts. Now, when I change her diaper, she's usually doing this:

Crawling away.

We rarely get to see her doing this: Sitting still.

And, on the day this photo was taken, she pulled that flower off so many times she finally succeeded in ripping it right off the clip.

Do you see the mischievous twinkle in her eye?
Let's just say the days of her napping quietly on my lap during a movie are officially over.

Katie and my mom.

At the beginning of the winter, I bought these monkey p.j.'s for Katie. The next time I saw my mom, she gave me these monkey p.j.'s for Sophie. We bought them matching jammies without knowing it.

I never knew Sophie would be this excited to have a sister.

Or, that all of us would adore this baby girl so much.

A Few Weeks Ago, I Laughed

I was with the kids. They did something funny. Or, maybe it was only funny to me. And, I laughed out loud. It was the kind of laugh that starts in your toes and shakes your whole body. My kids lit up. It felt awesome. I said to myself, "I definitely need to do that more often."

A few days later, we took the family snowshoeing. That provided lots of laugh-out-loud moments.
Katie Jane rode in this backpack and never made one peep. I love her.
The whole family off on a snowshoe adventure.
A lady in the neighborhood made matching stocking caps for our family. Then, I found out she made matching sets for every family on the block! Sophie and Ian model their new duds. I love those two. When did they get to be so grown up?
Isaac made us laugh out loud the entire time by accidentally-on-purpose falling into the snow in the most dramatic way, over and over. I love him. All of the kids were real troopers which made for a great family day. It was nice to remember that it's okay to be outdoors in the winter. We had so much fun, that Brian and I are taking the older two on a moonlight hike with snowshoes tomorrow night. Thanks Weber Pathways for the free family fun.

What a beautiful place to live.

The Unwrapping of Gifts

Brian and I are celebrating eleven years of marriage later this month and lately I've been thinking about all of the ways that our lives together were like a big present waiting to be unwrapped all those years ago on our wedding day. There were so many questions waiting for answers. Now, I feel like several of the big questions have been answered, such as:

How many children will we have? Four.

Boys or girls? You will have two and two and they will be unique and wonderful beyond your wildest imagination.

Will I enjoy being a mom? Too much to express in words.

Where will we live? Ogden.

Ogden? Yes, Ogden.

Will I like it then? Strangely, you will love it because: Ogden is Awesome (Bill says so)Will we ever live overseas together? Yes, you will have crazy adventures in China when you have three of your four kids.

Will Brian ever be one of those photographers whose work is featured in art galleries? Yes, but not because he followed you on an adventure to document Bedouins in the Middle East in your early years of marriage.

Will one of us be published? Yes, Brian.

Will Brian abandon his ambitions to be an artist sans "starving" and return to school to be a smooth talking lawyer? No.

What will Brian do for his career? He will be a photojournalist. He will be awesome. In fact, you will receive the Best Christmas Present Ever in 2009 when he is hired full time by the Deseret News.

Congrats on the new job babe! I'm so proud of you.

Here's to the beginning of the rest of our lives.

A Very Merry Christmas

From our family to yours.

Long Weekend

Today I asked Ian what he wants for Christmas.

Me: What do you want for Christmas Ian?
Ian: A Jet Pack
Me: A Jet Pack? What is that?
Ian: You know, it's a backpack and it shoots fire out the bottom so you can fly.
Me: Ummm . . . pretty sure those exist only in the movies.
Ian: Yeah unless I grow up and invent them.

Today I admonished Isaac to not go outdoors with no shoes on.

Me: Don't go outside.
Isaac: I want to!
Me: It's winter and you don't have shoes on.
Isaac: But my feet are hungry to go outside with no shoes on.

On Thanksgiving, my kids ate the following:
Turkey, rolls, olives and ice-cream sans pie. Are you kidding me right now? The day after Thanksgiving they visited their grandparents' house and were offered a lunch of Thanksgiving leftovers. Instead, they ate tortilla chips with melted cheese. What the?

Question: Can girls begin puberty at the age of eight?

And, finally, a true story that happened to me today. An editor at the newspaper called me with some questions. The entire time I was trying to talk to him, a certain four-year-old who shall not be named was screaming at me and throwing matchbox cars in my direction to get my attention because working from home is sometimes awesome like that. I apologized for the noise and he said, "No worries. I'm so jealous actually. I'm an empty nester now." So, after I hung up, I hugged my four-year-old a little tighter.

Kids.

My Name is Ian

My wish:
To Learn to Fly

What I like Most about school:
My teacher

My Favorite food:
Pizza

Favorite Animal:
Dinosaur

A person I admire:
My mom

I like: Math

What I do Well:
Ride my bike

Autobiography by Ian
My name is Ian. This week I turn seven. One of my favorite places is Classic Fun. In my backyard I made a giant leaf pile and rode my bike through it. I took a trip to China and learned a little Chinese when I was four. I have a cookbook that I can make lots of treats from. I have a sister who is eight, a brother who is four and a baby sister. My baby sister is really cute and whatever she grabs she sucks on. My dad is a photographer and he published a book called "I Am Ogden," with a picture of me in the very back. I like to go to Bear Lake and Eat Doritos. I play the piano. The end.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY E-MAN!