Christmas

Ryan had been very busy the week before Christmas plowing snow.  We got some pretty big snow storms that had him working 30 plus hours straight just trying to keep up.  Luckily the weather cleared up the weekend before Christmas and after finishing paperwork on Monday he was free on Christmas Eve. 

We started out the day with sledding, Andrea was a little more scared this year than she was last year but loved it when one of us rode with her. 

Our sled only lasted about ten goes, then it broke, so I'll guess we'll have to invest in a sturdier one. 

Christmas Eve we had dinner with the Lees and Matt, Sara, and kids had come up from Cedar City.  The grandparents gave the grandkids one present to open which were penguin "snuggies".  The parents had a good time laughing at the kids, but the kids seemed to really enjoy their "costumes" as Andrea called it. 

That night we opened our own pajamas at home, and Andrea even got a robe which she has been wanting for a while, don't ask, we don't try to analyze our unique girl.  We left cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer and went to bed.

The next morning Ryan and I were awake before Andrea so I started cooking our traditional breakfast of reindeer pancakes. 

Ryan and I had hurried to finish a puzzle we were both making for Andrea and got it done Christmas Eve.  It was the first present she noticed and she wanted to take the time to complete before she opened anything else. 

Andrea got her wishes from Santa of a Barbie guitar, bongos, and got a dress up mermaid outfit.  From Mom and Dad she got magnaformers, a fairy flyer, and an Ariel doll. 

Ryan got an rc hovercraft, headphones, a hoody, a battery pack for his camera, a hat and gloves from Andrea, and two movies

I got a jacket, a cardigan, a movie, a game, a willow tree figure, and gloves and a gift card from Andrea. 

Even Gideon got a new duck toy and a bone.

Next we went to the Lees where everyone there had already opened gifts so they got to watch us open ours.  We got lots of much needed items as well as some fun ones. 

We had lunch with the my side of the family and opened gifts there.  Andrea and her cousin Brigitta were most excited about their make up cases. 

After cleaning and decompressing we relaxed that evening with Matt and Sara. 

What a great Christmas, so much fun, lots of love and laughter!

Christmas Activities

Andrea was very busy this year getting ready for Christmas, each morning she had six advent activities to do, plus find Christopher Pop-n-kins, our Christmas Elf. 

We were invited to decorate gingerbread houses with Andrea's cousins, Roland and Brigitta, but our schedules never lined up.  Amy was so sweet to make Andrea her own house to decorate and even included frosting and candies, it was better than any kit in the store since it was homemade.  I think Andrea might be the luckiest girl in the world to have so many people who are always thinking of her. 

 Andrea got to visit with Santa twice this year, once at the ward Christmas Party, this one was the real Santa.

And once at her dance party, that was just one of Santa's helpers since the beard wasn't real.

She asked for a Barbie guitar, bongos, and a mermaid tail (which she created in her mind) that was going to be fun for Santa

Halloween

This year for Halloween Andrea wanted to be a witch, well, at least that's what she finally decided on.  She thought about Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Merida from Brave, but finally decided witch.  Even when I order her costumes, they always need fixing.  It needed to be shortened, so I shorted the bottom layer and then had to cut the velvet shorter for the top layer.  But then the velvet rolled up on me, and you couldn't see the jagged edges, so I sewed beads on to keep them hanging down.  Then she saw a witch hat in the store with hair on it, so I told her I could sew some hair on her hat, I wish I would have sewed some bangs, but oh, well, it's only a few days right? 

This was her best "mean witch" pose.

 

I love when Andrea gets a lot of use out of her costume.  This year was another great year because we had multiple dress-up activities.  The Saturday before Halloween our ward had their trunk or treat.  I also dressed up as a witch that night, but we forgot to take photos.  The day before Halloween was her dance class, and they were allowed to dress up that day and played a few games at the end of class.  That same night Eric and Amy had a Halloween party at their house with a few other families in the ward, and so I dressed as a hippie, but Ryan dressed as.....well, a party pooper, I guess :)  I'm glad he went with us.  Amy had made lots of yummy food and Brigitta gave them all scary names. 

 

On Halloween she got to exchange treats at preschool, but no dressing up.  But that night we trick or treated around the neighborhood, went to all the grandparents, and trick or treated on Grandma Bell's street.  We are still working on eating all that candy, although I did my part and ate all the chocolate, so now the rest is up to Andrea and Ryan.

Gideon

This past weekend I actually talked Ryan into letting us get another dog.  He is a dog lover, but has enjoyed leaving town when we like, no poop in the yard, and no hair in the house, or worries about what food or small chewable things we leave laying around.  But I really wanted a dog, and Andrea wants one so bad we hear about it almost every day.

So we found out Petsmart was having a big adoption day at each of their stores last weekend.  The first store we went to had a few dogs with promise, and very good descriptions of whether the dogs were house broken, good with kids, age, breed, etc.  But we thought we should check out some of the other locations.  We  did go to three other locations, and to the Human Society, but either didn't find the right dog, or things were very poorly run and couldn't talk to any of the volunteers.  We went back to the first store and noticed Gideon this time.

We were debating between Gideon and a Chihuahua named Zen.  Zen was more behaved and quiet, but not interested in us.  Gideon was very friendly, but barked at other people and dogs A LOT!  I figured the barking was something we can fix, but his love for us was definitely apparent, so we went with Gideon. We adopted him from a group called CAWS, and they are very particular with their adoptions, we had to provide a lot of past info, info about our house, our kids, our living situation. They wouldn't let us leave the store without a tag, collar and leash.  But we got an awesome book of coupons for Petsmart when we adopted that had great deals. CAWS may also pop in at any time to check on the dog.  I was very impressed actually that they put that much care into it. 

Since bringing him home his barking is manageable.  He only barks when he feels there's a threat, like people walking by, which is a little annoying in the morning when kids are walking to school.  But even then it's more of a growl than continuous barking.  Ryan's parents came over yesterday to meet him and he barked non-stop at the new visitors in our house, so we'll definitely have to work on that.  When he is not in his domain he is very friendly.  And when the windows are closed he doesn't bark at all.  He likes to do "parameter checks", as Ryan calls them, out the window.

His information sheet at the store said they weren't sure how he was with kids because he's never been exposed to them.  But he was very friendly at the store with Andrea, and their relationship since being home would make your heart melt.  The first night home Andrea was lying on the floor and Gideon went right up and laid his head on her belly.   The next morning he hopped right up and joined her on the couch while she watched TV. 

Last night we brought him home a toy, which he went nuts for! But he would keep bringing back to Andrea for her to grab, as if saying, play with me, play with me. 

Last night while reading Andrea her bedtime story Gideon decided to come listen in. 

Then in the middle of the night he left mine and Ryan's bedroom and I couldn't find him... well, he was in bed with Andrea and slept there all night.  So I think it's safe to say he's good with kids and they are becoming best buds.

It's fun to see the differences between Tessy and Gideon. Biggest difference is no shedding, that has been heavenly.  Tessy never liked toys and we have to take Gideon's away after a while for him to calm down.  Tessy wasn't a barker.  Gideon rides much better in the car, Tessy was so tense and didn't know how to distribute her weight well with the turns.  Gideon wonders all over the car, from me, to Ryan, back to Andrea.  Gideon loves to be outside, Tessy hated being outside.  And it's very tough for us to switch from saying "her" and "she" and switching to saying "him" and "he". 

As far as adjusting this dog has been great, no accidents in the house, knock on wood.  Eats, and drinks regularly, no chewing up anything. The only trouble is the kennel, he sure hates going in that kennel, but he'll learn.  Ryan likes to call him "old man" because of his gray beard, but he's actually only three years old, so hopefully we'll have lots of fun years with Gideon.

10 Year Anniversary Trip

Ryan and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary this past weekend, and I wanted our trip to be some place new.  We've spent most of our anniversaries in Park City, we've also done Wendover, and Vegas, but I was tired of all the local places.  We decided on Durango, Colorado since it's still within a day's drive.  We headed out on a Thursday, early, around 9:00 a.m. and dropped Andrea off with Gary and Linda.

We stopped in Price so Ryan could get some historic photos, he spotted the old theatre, but I spotted the JC Penney, and even found a $12 dress to buy. 

 

We arrived in Durango around 5:00 it would have been about an hour sooner, but it seemed like construction zone, after construction zone, after construction zone on the way down. Durango was crazy busy, but we figured everyone was probably getting off of work. 

 

When booking our hotel we knew there were two historic hotels that we would like to stay in, the General Palmer...

Or the Strater...

 

The General Palmer was a little cheaper and had free breakfast, winner, winner! We fell in love with this hotel the minute we arrived, here's why: The entrance...

The "Solarium", where breakfast was the next morning...

The elevator

Plus free cookies in the lobby! The room itself felt like staying at "Grandma and Grandma's house, with a smell to match.  But just thinking about how many others have stayed there in the last 115 years was amazing.  And, no, the teddy bear was not free, $25 extra, which we did not pay.

After check-in, we went to find dinner and explore the main strip of town, it was everything I hoped it would be.  I found my Christmas ornament in the first store we stopped in and the train station was right next door, so we went to check that out. 

 

After shopping on Main we drove up the mountain to discover an entire college.  And I mean an entire college on top of the mountain it was really trippy, but it had beautiful views of the town, which was bigger than we expected.

The next morning we knew we didn't need to set an alarm because the train left town for Silverton at 8:00, and our hotel was about 100 feet from the tracks.  Well, for some reason they decided to give the old horn a blow at 7:00 while turning it around.  Oh, well, I love the sound of trains.  Here is a photo Ryan took of it from our parking lot, so yes, we were very close.  Seeing an old coal car and the steam was just so cool, even if our car was covered in ash.

After breakfast we did a little back-tracking to Mesa Verde, we knew we couldn't spend much time there, but we couldn't pass it up either.  It was definitely a cool experience, we first hiked down to the Spruce Tree house, which led you right up into the cliff dwelling.

And, yes, I got some odd looks form the tree huggers hiking in their Tevas and shorts as I hiked in my scarf and boots, but it was a little chilly that morning. I saw a girl on our way back up wearing a dress, so that made me feel a little more practical.  I later took off the scarf and put on sandals since the temperature rose back to the 90s that day.

 

I was glad to be able to go right in one of the dwellings, but I was also happy to see that many of the other houses were only viewable from a distance.  Not only because I was afraid it would take up our whole day, but also for preservation reasons. 

 

We left Mesa Verde around 1:00 knowing we had another good amount of driving that day.  We could have rode the train to Silverton, but according to the internet, and others we've spoke to, it takes up most of your day, so we opted to drive there instead.  And boy, if you ever think "I would love to see an old mining town back in the day, Silverton is the place to visit. The only paved road was Main, and houses just popped up wherever they decided to be built.  Old folks sat on benches in front of the bars and gift shops, smoking and talking.  It was run-down, and dirty, and old, and awesome, and amazing all at the same time.  It started to rain, so I got a little souvenir shopping in, Ryan got some photos, and on the road we went again. 

 Our next stop was Ouray, and since we didn't know the correct pronunciation I think we tried them all that day "Oray", "Waray", "Uray"... we still don't know.  The road between Silverton and Ouray was dotted with old mining equipment. 

Even spotted a dog driving a Jeep.

Ouray was another town we fell in love with, the number of historic buildings was amazing, and the scenery was beautiful!

In Ouray I finally got me an aspen leaf necklace which I had seen in the other towns and regretting not getting one.  The necklace is made from real aspen leafs that are electroplated and dipped in sterling silver or gold.  I was glad I gave in and grabbed one.

 

Next we headed to Grand Junction where our next hotel was booked, we got there fairly late so we didn't leave the hotel once we arrived, but did take a dip in the hot tub, it was hard to believe we had hiked that morning, such a long, fun day. 

 

The next morning we explored Grand Junction's "Downtown District" and we got in some trouble when we found two antique shops.  I bet we spent over a half hour in each and couldn't take it all in.  I found some more collectables for my "vintage" kitchen décor I've started.  And Ryan found an old camera and an old coat and hat hook for his shop. 

 

After leaving Grand Junction we were on our way to Altamont, Utah to spend a night in the same cabin we stayed in on our honeymoon.  I actually figured out it would have been the same date 10 years ago too.  It's called the Honeymoon Cabin, and it's located at the LC Ranch.  I figured either the place had not had much upkeep in the last 10 years, or we were easily impressed while on our honeymoon.  There were just little things that needed some TLC, like the screen door's handle had broke off that leads to the balcony off the master, so the wind blew and slammed it open in the middle of the night.  There were a few lamps that didn't work, a few dead bugs on the decorative pillows, some mold in the shower.  I was still glad we went because it was fun to remember, and it was actually funny to see how much I didn't remember. 

 

We ate dinner in Roosevelt and then watched Ghost Adventures at the cabin.  Ryan took some star trail photos off the deck, I like this one with the lightning in the background over looking the pond behind the cabin.

I'm so glad this trip was as fun as I hoped, you never know when visiting new places.  Our schedule worked out just as we planned, and I never felt rushed or stressed.  It was a trip filled with a lot of junk food, soda, construction, crappy Colorado drivers, hair pin turns, winding roads up tall mountains, and more country music than I cared for, but Ryan did find some Mo Town and 80s for me every now and again. 

 

I can't believe it's been 10 years, and when I think of how I expected our life to be 10 years after we got married I'd say this is just what I'd hoped for. 

Poor Sick Girl

The first day of school Andrea had stomach cramps and diarrhea.  I thought, "great, perfect timing" but since preschool started later in the morning I waited it out and she seemed fine.  The next day of preschool she had cramping after school and more diarrhea.  Since then she has had an "episode" of cramping nearly everyday.  I believe she may have her Daddy's Crohn's Disease, I've wondered this since she was a baby.  Even as a baby she would occasionally have screaming fits followed by lots of tummy rumblings.  I'm sure other mothers would attribute it to gas pains, but the thought of something more was always in the back of my mind. 

This last weekend her stomach cramps turning into the pukes which started Thursday night about 1:00 a.m.  So I figured this was a stomach bug or flu that would pass.  During these rough nights and days I did get a few "Mommy Paychecks" which I definitely needed.  Friday early morning after laying with her in bed for a few hours waiting for the next round of pukes to come I said "let's go watch TV in the living room".  When she asked why I said, because it might good to get your mind off your tummy and we can try some crackers.  When I picked her up to carry her in she said, "you have the best ideas Mom!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek.  By Sunday she had stopped vomiting, but that morning she was sitting on the toilet screaming in pain, and both her and I were in tears not knowing what to do.  At that point Ryan and I were ready to take her to the hospital 'cause we were scared.  It's hard to ask a four year old if the pain is serious enough for the hospital.  She thinks the hospital is where "Grandma Bell" goes, so she's scared of it. 

Luckily the pain went away and even though she got a cold the following day, things are improving.  I mostly wanted to write about this so in the future I can look back and see how long these symptoms have been going on, and also to appreciate the sweet girl she is.  During these rough days and nights I would occasionally lay on the couch during the day to catch up on a few minutes of rest.  If Andrea noticed me resting she would quietly go get a blanket, cover me, and give me a kiss on the forehead. Even though it's been in the high 90s this week, and I really didn't need a blanket, I appreciated the sweet gesture of this caring girl. 

First Day of Preschool

One benefit of living in a "not so wealthy" part of town is we have a Title 1 school nearby.  Which gets enough extra funding that they offer a free preschool.  The pre-screenings were in the spring and Andrea was lucky enough to get in.  It's four days a week, two hours a day, completely free, we are going to love it!

Andrea's cousin Roland also got in, he was put in the 11:15-1:15 class while Andrea was put in the 9:00-11:00 class.  Since Amy was already taking Brigitta to school there at 9:00, she thought switching would work better for her.  I was all for the later time since it meant letting Andrea sleep as late as she wanted, and also breaking up the day a little more for her.  Luckily the teachers were fine with the switch and they both started school today. 

I wasn't going to get Andrea a bunch of new school clothes because I know she'll need winter ones.  But we did pick out one outfit online and then she spotted a shirt with a doggie, and a flower, and a bike that said "Let's go to class", talk about the perfect storm, it was a must have in her mind. So I had to give in and buy the shirt as well.

 

Her backpack she picked out over a month ago, we looked online and she was very excited about this one.  It's not what I would have picked, but she is very proud of it, and since it's not princess, or Dora, or Tinker Bell, I won't complain!

Her and I chose to walk to school the first day, and I'm hoping we can do that most days, we were a little early, but at least we know now how long it takes.

 

She was very excited to find her name on the wall.

 And found her name tag, there were quite a few A names though, so it took her a second.

 

There are quite a few kids in her class from church, Emyli, Ada, and Addy, so I think she'll do okay.  She first sat next to Jaxson, who is the son of some our friends but she doesn't know Jaxson yet. 

She was only a little hesitant to let me leave, she tried giving me clay heart she made to remember her while she's gone.  And I told her that was so sweet, but I probably shouldn't take the teacher's clay home.  Well, turns out the teachers let them take the clay home, so she told next time I can take the heart with me. 

After school she was so excited to tell me about her day.  Listening to her on the way home was so cute I could hardly stand it.  She even went into detail about how they told them to put their napkin inside their milk carton before they threw it away.  And how she went down the twisty slide on her tummy.  And that they got to play instruments to music, she got the maracas and the tambourine.  And how they got stuff to take home so they can play "school" at home.  Actually it was a packet of school supplies put together by the PTA, but that works. 

I'm so happy she loves preschool.  What an exciting step in her little world!