"A horse is a horse, of course, of course!"

New Year's Day, my old brother invited me and the girls to come out and ride his horse. Gracey and Emily had been on a horse before when they visited their Grandma Jean in Snowflake, AZ. but that was almost 2 years ago. So they were long overdue to get back in the saddle! (get it?)





As usual, Gracey had no issues getting right on. In fact, she loved it.


Emily took advantage of the comfort Grandma Joyce gives!


As much of a cheerleader I was when my kids got on, I was surprisingly nervous when my brother asked me if I wanted a turn. I used to ride horses a lot when I was younger. My grandfather owned them as I was growing up and I was always very comfortable around them. It had been a really long time though and that is kind of a long fall to the ground if you get bucked off!

(Why these thoughts didn't go through my head when my own children were on the horse? I don't know.)

I did end up riding though and really enjoyed it.




The girls were so tired afterward! They could barely keep their eyes open on the way home. They perked up a little though after seeing me take a picture of them.



They are such cuties!

The Chefs

*December 31, 2009*

Gracey and Emily have no problem getting dirty and digging in to help cook anything. They are both such good helpers.



On another note, the apron that Gracey is wearing was given to me as a gift from my mom and dad for my 3rd birthday!! I love that my mom has kept it for so long!

Bounce House Galore!

We were planning on going to St. George for New Year's and so the girls and I were real excited to find out some friends were going to St. George and could give us a ride. Putting us there a day earlier than if we waited for Corky. It worked out perfectly because my sister had coupons to Jumpin' Jack's that were expiring, so that evening we took the kids there.

Gracey immediately had a great time. She is my child that has never had fear and is willing to try just about anything, especially when it comes to most any type of physical activity. Emily, on the other hand, is a little more cautious. It took a few times of riding down the big slides with somebody, before she was able to let loose. It wasn't long before she was doing it all on her own though!









One of my favorite pictures of the evening....


Gracey and Emily sliding down together, laughing the whole way!

And it wouldn't be normal if my kids didn't scope out the lamest thrill of the whole facility and insist on riding it!



As you can see, fun was had by all. It was such a fun place for the kids, and a great place for the adults to feel like big kids too! And don't forget about the great exercise! It's not easy climbing up those big, wobbly stairs...especially if you have a 3 year old in tote.

Word to the wise, unless you are actually going for the "crazy-hair" look in all of your pictures, wear a pony-tail!

Snowy Days, but a few miles away.

Have I mentioned how much I love the area we live? We get hot summers, cool winters, and are only 10 minutes away from the mountains. This year, Kingman didn't get any snow. I think maybe we got a small dusting of it in the middle of the night, but I am so not counting that. But only 10 minutes up the road from our home, the tempature drops about 20 degrees. Last Sunday after church, we decided to keep the girls awake by bundling up and using our $10 plastic snow sleds to play around with in the snow.

Needless to say, the girls were STOKED! They think snow is the coolest thing ever. They tried building a snowman, but the snow wouldn't pack at all. We couldn't even pack it enough to make a little snowball. Perfect snow for snow-angels though!

There was a lot of sledding....


A TON of eating....


And lots and lots of fun!
I am so glad we went.


And the best part? A short 10 minute drive home to our snow-free roads!

Children's Museum

*These next few posts are going to be a chronological mess. January has been crazy busy and just full of fun stuff. Sadly, posting about it has been put on the backburner. I will correct dates at a later time!*

Last Saturday, Corky and I had some things to do in Las Vegas. My mom planned on meeting us there to spend the day. We ran our errands and got somethings done, then we went straight to Lied Discovery Children Museum. We spent a good 3 hours there. Gracey and Emily had a blast!

I took so many pictures, and I am sure I could talk about every last one of them, but I will spare you. We had a great time though, and if I lived in Las Vegas I would definitely purchase an annual pass.














As you can see, fun was had by all!

Look Who's Dancing

This morning was Miss Emily's first day of dance class, EVER! She was so excited to finally be able to be old enough to do what Gracey loves so much. As you can see, it was all fun and excitement before we left for class.



Emily is in the class right before Gracey. As convenient it would be to have them be dancing together (less driving) I am so glad to have Emily doing something of her very own. Her and Gracey are only 2 years apart, and the older they get the less that age gap seems to matter. Emily follows Gracey around for everything, and as much as they both seem to love that, I think it will be great to also have some things that they do on their own.

This is what we will call the "Frankenstein" pose! The other move, Emily is holding her imaginary beach ball!

Round 2

Corky is currently baking another cake! Wish us all luck!

Do you remember the great cake disaster of 2009?

It looks promising that it will be better this time around. It's the frosting part that is always tricky though! Stay tuned...

*Update* It was so good. No pictures, we dug in too quickly! Just believe me.

Hiding place

This morning I woke up really feeling under the weather. I felt the beginnings of a nasty cold coming. I got the girls set up with breakfast, chugged some water, and went and got back in bed. (Have I mentioned that I LOVE having children at the age of independence?) Surprisingly, the girls didn't spend their whole morning watching cartoons, which they know how to turn on themselves. Gracey spent the morning drawing pictures and making her own envelopes for them and Emily was her shadow. Thankfully the fighting has been minimal.

Once I woke up again and feeling much better, the girls were still playing happily together. Their latest thing to keep them entertained was building a fort with their bunk beds. I did help them tuck the blankets under the top bunk, but it was all their idea. They started playing in this at about 11:00AM, took a half hour lunch break, and now at about 3:00PM they are still fully entertained. I have been able to put away Christmas decorations and relax.

Of course, the obligatory pictures....

Merriest of Days!

Christmas Day, 2009

As anticipated, it was a great Christmas. The girls didn't really get specific with Santa until only about a week ago. They both decided that they wanted a dollhouse. I will be honest, I thought that Santa already had all his lists made so I kind of counted that out. In fact, I had big plans for the next year to get all handy and Corky and I (read: only Corky) could build one! Luckily for the girls, Santa had a soft heart on Christmas Eve and was able to find a great dollhouse at WalMart!

It was a hit! The living room is between the master bedroom and the girls bedroom, so they came into our room saying "Santa came!! We saw it! He brought a dollhouse!" It was so fun to see how they were both so excited.

Santa also brought an art easel and a set of robes. These robes have since been worn over top of pajamas, clothes, towels, and anything else. They love them!


They also were able to rip into some presents.


And their stockings full of chap stick, loofahs, and notepads.


And then they played all day long!!


Gracey was heard multiple times saying "This is the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!"


I agree.

Go Fly a Kite!!

Dec. 23, 2009

Corky had the day off and so he had the idea to go fly kites in the afternoon. The girls always think that flying kites is the coolest thing ever. This day was no different, except that it was freakin' freezing! It was in the 40's and wouldn't have been too bad because it was such a sunny and clear day, but the cold wind just cuts right through your coat!

Obviously, the girls didn't care. I wouldn't have even minded as much except that I don't really have much cold weather gear.

Each girl took turns holding the string, chasing the tail of the kite, and getting a kick out of watching Corky try to catch the kite!



Despite the cold temps and wind, the girls wanted to play on the playground. I was a sissy and watched from the car. I watched as the Monster (Corky) ran around chasing the fair maidens. There was lots of screaming and lots of laughing.

Em is 3!

This little lady came into our lives at 8:19am, December 27th, 2006. It was a Wednesday morning, and I was so scared. She was a planned csection, so I had all the time to actually think about what was about to happen. (with Gracey, it was unplanned, therefore no time at all to freak out!) During one of my moments of "freak out", I asked Corky and my mom to leave the room and give me some time alone. I remember thinking, "I am not going to do this. I refuse. She can just stay inside me forever and that will be just fine!" Luckily, I had a distinct moment of clarity and my mood and nervousness turned around completely. Then I was excited. I could not wait to meet her. I remember having an ultrasound that morning before they delivered her, it was so exciting to know I would meet her in only minutes. I knew she would be a perfect fit into our family.

And she was! Still is, in fact.

An evening of BESTS!!

This month has been wonderful. And it is only half way over!

Last week, Corky told me that we should go to Las Vegas and go to dinner with our good friends, the Tidwells. I was so not wanting to go all the way to Las Vegas just for dinner, but he convinced me. We got a babysitter all lined up and were on our way. I had no idea where to and had no idea this evening has been in the works for over a month. He told me the whole evening would be a surprise.

I was all sorts of excited. I was thinking he was taking me to P.F. Changs. Even though I know Corky isn't particularly fond of Asian Cuisine, he knows that its my favorite. I was shocked when I realized we were going to TAO at The Venetian Hotel. The Tidwells then showed up and met us. Natalie knew they were meeting friends, but the evening was just as much of a surprise for her as it was for me, so it was fun to see the look on her face to see us!



We ate the BEST dinner of my entire life.


The BEST sushi.

The BEST pad thai.

The BEST dumplings.

The BEST Coconut Shrimp with Peanut Sauce (that was my meal!)



We totally acted like tourists and had the waiter take our picture. After the meal, Corky admitted that before the dinner he thought he was "taking one for the team" by eating at an asian bistro, but he was won over. He even ate the sushi (octopus, to be exact) and really liked it.

As we were eating dinner, Corky handed me something and said, "This is what we are doing next!" He gave me our tickets to see Phantom of the Opera!

I saw this play on Broadway nearly 10 years ago. I had nose-bleed balcony seats and could barely remember specifics. I am not sure, but I think I may have been jet-lagged and even dosed for a moment or two. Definitely not this time. I was SO EXCITED.


This production was the BEST. The costumes, the music, the theatre, the set, and the flawless scene changes. And BEST of all, our seats! Our seats were near the front and we didn't miss a detail. I must say though, this theatre is quite smaller than on Broadway so I doubt there is a bad seat in the house.

I won't say that I wasn't moved to tears more than a few times. Even just in the opening act. Being older, I appreciated it so much more and loved every second. I would go again in a heartbeat.

So to sum the evening all up....

BEST food.
BEST entertainment.
BEST friends.
and of course...

BEST HUSBAND!!!
(thank you Corky, I will not soon forget that night!)

I realize now, after seeing these pictures, that that is the most unflattering shirt I own. Oh well, I guess not every detail of an evening can be perfect.

The Polar Express

Pretty much all my childhood dreams came true last Thursday!! We got to ride "The Polar Express" in William, AZ.

The girls were excited from the beginning, even posing like they are in an engagement photo. All decked out in their warm pajamas and coats before we were even loaded up in the car.

When we got there it was cold! Our car's thermometer told us that is was a chilly 14°. While we waited to board the train, the girls kept busy blowing hot air out of their mouth, playing with Corky's gloves, and watching the "chef's" prep the train cars.




We finally were able to board. The girls were so excited to be on a train again and I am not going to lie, so was I. Just like in the story, we were given cookies and hot chocolate.



On our way to the North Pole, the book was read over the intercom. I honestly didn't know that they were going to do that, but it worked out perfectly because I had brought our book from home to read on the train. So the girls followed along as we read "The Polar Express" for the 100th time this season already.


After a while, we arrived at the North Pole. Our seats were on the opposite side of the train so the girls jumped across the aisle and sat with some teenage girls. Funny how the teenage girls all of the sudden seemed to be having more fun as they were sharing it with little kids. Little kids make everything seem magical, am I right?


Can you guess who visited the train after that? Jolly Old St. Nicholas himself! He posed for pictures and handed out bells to all the kids! The ringing of all the bells was deafening. Apparently there were a lot of believers on that train!


The night came to a close but we finished off with the obligatory family photo and also snuck one in with The Chef and Conductor.


It was so fun to do that with the kids. The Polar Express was a story that I loved growing up and now share it with my own children. I am grateful to have been able to enjoy such a fun evening with my family.

Frumpiness at its Funnest!!!

Some friends of ours threw a killer "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party!!! Let me tell you, it was hilariously fun!! For some, it wasn't just an ugly sweater....it was head to toe dress ups. It nearly surpassed the excitement and success rate of adults dressing up for Halloween.





Where did I get my sweater, you ask? I got it on ebay for $6.50. Funny enough, it was described as a "pretty sweater!" I suppose it can be considered pretty. It has glitter and sequence, and a pretty ruffled collar. The lady that I bought it from wrote me a sweet note. "I hope you enjoy the sweater," it said. I didn't have the heart to respond what I would actually be using it for. She never has to know.

Corky's sweater is a little more mild. We were going for the "Log-Cabin/Ski Lodge" look.

It was a great night! Complete with adult conversation, great food, and great friends!!

I have a new boyfriend

It is true. Let me tell you about this brand new relationship.

We snuggled with each other all during the movie "New Moon."
(Corky didn't even care.)

We stared lovingly into each others eyes.

We snuck kisses all week long while I was in St. George.

As much as I tried not to be, I was jealous when I had to share him.

What can I say? I am in love.

Please meet my brand new nephew Drake!
1 month old son to my brother Dallas and sister in law Jessica

Hush Little Baby

Tonight I did something very much out of the ordinary. I got in bed and laid next to Emily as she fell asleep. I can't think of a recent time that I have watched my children actually fall asleep. Even as babies I left the bedroom while they were still awake, it created good habits, you know? As they have grown and thrived on the usual routine, they have become good sleepers and bed time has never been too difficult. Tonight though was an exception.

Emily was especially sad (especially tired is probably more appropriate) and I was uncharacteristically sympathetic. As I was next to her in the bed, I watched her face relax and listened as her breathing slowed. As her mother, it was a sacred moment. I saw in her face the cute 8 month old that I was absolutely smitten with. She didn't look like my almost 3 year old, she was my little baby all over again. I will admit, sometimes I forget just how smitten I am by my children.

Time goes so fast. Luckily there are moments like tonight that help me to just slow down. Even for a little bit.