16th Annivsersary

Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe that much time has gone by. It's been a great 16 years =) We had the opportunity to go away for a night. We dumped, um, I mean brought the boys to my sister's house ...

... and we went to Pacifica

The view from our room. It was awesome!! We went out to dinner, got some yummy hot chocolate at Starbucks (love the salted caramel add-in), and had a relaxing evening. I'm sure I can't say the same for my sister! I owe you one, L!

After breakfast, we walked around the beach and then hiked up a small hill to get a great view of the ocean. The massive amounts of fog from the night before cleared away and it was gorgeous.

The boys had a BLAST with their aunt and cousins. They were tired and worn out, but they were happy. I can't imagine them being able to stay awake tonight for New Year's Eve. We'll see ...

Happy Anniversary, G!!!

December Bike Ride

I decided that I wanted to go on a bike ride today. It was beautiful outside and I didn't feel like sitting around the house ... with those dirty dishes staring at me and all. All of the boys wanted to come, too, which is what I wanted. We rode down to the big neighborhood park nearby and spent a little time there, too. We only had 1 bike wipeout. It would have felt like a crime to not go outside today.

A Day in the Snow

We HAD to get out of the house yesterday, Saturday. We intended on meeting some friends in Northstar @ Tahoe, however, it would have taken 3 -4 hours to get there due to traffic restrictions through Donner. So, we went to Plan B. We detoured up to Grass Valley and found a huge patch of snow to play in. We spent about an hour and a half just messing around. It was perfect. See, here's the thing about snow for me personally: Fun to play in, but not to live in.

B with T

T standing behind our snowman

Mom & T. Like our matching hats? G's sister knit all of these hats for us a few Christmases ago. We love them!

G made a huge snow angel. After he stood up, he added a nice, big halo.



Of course, we made plenty of snow balls to toss at each other. Mom & Dad even got in on the action! It was so much fun. Then, we ate at this yummy Mexican restaurant. Everyone was happy with that. We headed back home and then later watched an action movie with the boys. Turned out to be a great day.

I will post our Christmas pictures soon. We had a very nice Christmas. It's been a challenge for me to get computer time with the boys home from school. Anyway, we've had lazy days. T spent 2 1/2 days in his pajamas!! We also went ice skating one day --- lots of fun. We're gearing up for New Year's Eve. The boys have made all sorts of plans for our night!

Merry Christmas Eve

I love this time of year! I love seeing the fun projects the boys make at school. When I picked T up from preschool the other day, he was excited to show me his Christmas Tree hat. So cute! J made a wood snow man at his school "Winter Party" (can't say Christmas in these politically correct times). He quickly put it up on the mantle, and it looks great. We've used poster tack and put up a few of their Christmas art work pieces, too. We're looking forward to having homemade ravioli's tonight and our own family gift exchange. Then family come over tomorrow. The boys are SO excited.

A Happy Birthday shout-out to my SIL, Dolly!

Ice Skating with T

T & I went ice skating today and had a blast! I haven't been on skates in years, but I caught the hang of it (again) pretty quick.

Here we are laced up in our skates, ready to go ... I think!

The skating rink has these little walkers (and some big ones too) for beginner skaters. It helped A LOT! T had a hard time at first, but didn't give up. He took a little pit stop over at the snow. They had a 'snowballer' tool to make perfect snowballs. The only problem: I forgot to bring gloves for T. His hands were freezing! I felt awful about this.

I gave T and some of his friends rides on the sleds. It was SO fun and it gave T a break from struggling on the skates. We went around dozens of times. It also gave him a chance to put his hands back into his pocket! At one point, they had a small snow machine on! We skated right under it and experienced a little snowfall.

Trying to warm up those hands!

After much skating fun, we had hot chocolate and sugar cookies -- a kid's dream! We visited with friends for a while and then called it a day. I want to bring the whole family soon. It was SO much fun! Won't be cheap, but it would be a great family outing.

Ward Christmas Party

Last Saturday was our Ward's Christmas Party. The Primary kids did a cute Nativity Play. T is one of the sheep. He's wearing a vest with white cotton balls. He's the 2nd sheep from the right.

J was a deer. He took his antlers off for the "cast" picture at the end. He had 1 line in the program and he did great.N in front of one of the many beautiful Christmas lit trees.

My friend, Tawnda & I were twins. We even had the same color of shoes! I guess we were in the same mood when we got dressed ...

After the pageant, there were a few musical numbers. G and two other men sang together and sounded great. Then we all sang and later enjoyed a fabulous dessert bar. The kids even got to visit with Santa and have their picture taken. It was a very enjoyable evening. Thanks, Raimi for all of your hard work =)

Way to go, N!

N came home with 2 certificates from his Middle School yesterday. 1 was for perfect attendance for the trimester, and the 2nd one was for making the Principal's List. This means that his GPA is between 3.5 - 3.9. =) He LOVES his new Middle School. He does a great job getting himself up in the mornings (better than his own parents, I might add!), and is doing great with keeping up with his homework. We're so proud of you!!

Happy Birthday, G!!

Age 2

My hubby & best friend =)

Happy 38th Birthday, G!

Here are 38 things about G:

1. He's the youngest of 6 children

2. He's a great singer

3. Plays the banjo, guitar, piano, ukulele ... I could go on

4. LOVES to read

5. Collects books like his Dad

6. Built our shed out back

7. Can fix almost anything (even his nieces and nephews are convinced)

8. Loves Indian food

9. Makes amazing Italian food

10. Used to pretend to be Superman full-time as a kid. Still has the costume!

11. Ran away from home to buy a gumball

12. Got a ride home via police car (see #11)

13. Scared his mom half-to-death by getting lost in KMart. He went to the car to look for her and then hid in the back and fell asleep. He woke up to much commotion and many police.

14. Made State Honor Choir when in HS

15. His official 1st car was a .... wait for it ... Gremlin. He traded it in ... fast.

16. Loves peppermint ice cream with hot fudge

17. He has made up several songs for the boys -- family favorites

18. Is a GREAT cook ... even if he uses EVERY pot and pan in the kitchen!

19. He's a master tickler & wrestler of the boys

20. Graduated from HS in '88

21. Finished up his Masters Degree and is working on a Ph.D equivalent in Chaplaincy (he can explain it better!)

22. Does foot races with the boys. B is STILL trying to beat him

23. Gives great shoulder rides to the boys

24. Takes us on great hikes

25. Can drive long distances. Yes, we're complete opposites here.

26. Has to wear glasses now, much to his chagrin

27. Likes to collect hats from places we visit

28. Unselfishly gave me the side of the bed I wanted ... 16 years ago. (Thanks, hun!)

29. Can still get me to laugh ... a lot

30. Is an amazing dad to our boys who absolutely adore him

31. Very knowledgeable of world religions

32. Loves his job as a Chaplain

33. Wants to take me back to Italy ... soon I hope!

34. Talks to his Dad each week on the phone

35. Loves his audio books on his iPod

36. Loves to have an Italian cake called Pondoro for his birthday. Now it's tradition.

37. Indulges me in my need to have a family picture taken every year.

38. He's my best friend! It was the best decision I made to marry him. I love you!!

Cove Fort

After seeing much of Southern Utah, and on the way up to see family last week, we stopped at historic COVE FORT. It was used back in the late 1860's by many travelers going through Utah. It was a great day for us to come because there was only1 other family there. We got some great pictures and a personal tour of the fort. The boys were at the top of the fort here. It served as a lookout at the time. We got a great view down into the fort as well.

Here, the boys were getting a look out of the main look-outs of the fort ... like giant peek-wholes to see who was at the main gate.

This chair was the only original item from the restored fort. It belonged to the Hinckley family. Several years back, President Hinckley brought it back to the fort saying that this is where the chair belonged.

The boys were given a toy that was one that children who lived at the fort would have played with.

We enjoyed our tour around the fort. The boys had a lot of questions and great insight to the fort. We're so glad that we stopped.

Bryce Canyon

I am so behind on my blog =( Between traveling and an unreliable laptop, it's been a challenge. On Wednesday, we went to Bryce Canyon, UT. We spent most of the day hiking around the top and down through the canyon. It was gorgeous! This is definitely a place everyone needs to see. We LOVED the views, and all of the unique rock formations. The boys also found little patches of snow down below and made snowballs. We figured that we hiked almost 3 miles around and down in the canyon.