The Unbelievable Fact

Look at that FACE!! She had waited and planed this snow angel for months:)

It seems that our presence as humanoids has been noted in the mountains known as the Wasatch Front and apparently in an attempt to save us from the horrors of massively aggressive and yet unskilled drivers a higher power (the government or someone greater) determined to remove the once common winter variable of snow to save us from ourselves.  Do I complain?  Not necessarily (snow at Christmas would have been nice) however mild and comfortable as these conditions have been, they are not conducive to the joy of sledding and having children I declare that winter must be broken up with a sledding trip or two.  As luck would have it the stars aligned and snow fell in such a way and on such a day that freedom was ours and the winter games began. 

What you lookin at?

I may be wrong but slave labor comes to mind when I recall how much fun it was to drag them up hill so they wouldn't be to tired to keep going

Little man rocking the shades

Greg was afraid of falling so I gave him a ride down the hill;)

Forgotten Favorites of the Fall

If any of you even check this thing any more you are quite thoroughly aware of my lack of insight as it pertains to my public postings.  However I did want to acknowledge that one we are still alive and two we have done things of not I have simple failed to be forthcoming. So herein will follow a few meager highlights.

You guessed it Halloween!!! Proof that it has been a long time

Just LOOK at her.

And then look at what Will had to do to take it all in. 

A large pile of leaves... oh yeah, and some kids.

Thanksgiving in at the folks.  A small side note behind the lovely family you are looking at unfolded take two in the saga of the unsuccessful sniper of 2011 bringing the years tally up to 0 for 2.

The first family Christmas tree expedition, also over Thanksgiving weekend.

And to finish up the year the lights at temple square.  You think we we don't look happy here you should have seen us two hours later when the cookie was little more than a distant memory and we had vowed to never try this again on a Saturday night... and I do mean NEVER. 

 And on that note I hereby close out the few and flawed posts of 2011. No promises in 2012;)

Rolling on to New Firsts

As we bid farewell to what has been a reliable headache the negative aspects of Andrea's old Trooper fade away and we have cause to reminisce about all of the great things that we experienced in that car that we muttered and grumbled so much about over the last few years.  So springs up a list of firsts that that tough old rig brought our way.

What a beauty:)

• Andrea's first vehicle purchase.
• By virtue of the trooper I was delivered to one of God's greatest creations, the West Fork of the Blacks Fork River.
• By virtue of the same I did some mad wheeling and was the last to drive to the second crossing a great first.
• The first car I drove as a married man, also the first and only car I have ever driven that was covered in Oreos shoe polish and other unspeakables.
• Lucy's first car ride ever, hospital to home, as well as many crazy car rides with many a meltdown from our little girl.
• Will's first car ride.
• The first car I ever tampered with the air-intake so that I could nearly bury the fenders crossing a river. OH YEAH!!!
• James's first car ride.

With many more firsts in between it is interesting to recall how much of our life is connected to the car we use to get from point A to point B

• Oh yeah the first car I ever had to fill up on a regular basis that got worse that 15 MPG.  Now I feel a bit better;) 

Preschool & Postpartum

NOT depression, well that is not postpartum at any rate (there is a level of depression previously discussed in association with the growing up of our sweet children) so get your negative heads out of the clouds and come along for the story of our week.

77777...........

It was a whirlwind trip to say the least with little James Christian coming along on his due-date with no more complications than taking his sweet time to exit the watery abyss (14 hrs).  Mom was a trooper and did the whole thing unmedicated.  I must say that I am impressed having recently participated in my first endurance type race, this was so much more mentally and physically demanding and truly an amazing experience (for you ladies who have done this do not in any way take the preceding sentence in any way that would indicate that me, a mere man, now has any idea what it is really like.  I don't)  What I am getting at is that at 7:57 a little 7lb. 7oz. boy was born to our family, and we couldn't be more thrilled.  So as our nurse wisely pointed out if he goes to Vegas we know his lucky number. 

He's in there I promise

On top of all that our sweet Lucy started preschool this week.  Who knew that getting a kid to school at 9:00 actually requires planing?  She is very keen on the whole school thing which we hope sticks:)

and not a bit excited either

All in all it will be a long remembered week for us with two substantial mile markers, our life is moving forward with or without us and we are doing our best to enjoy all of it.

8:45!!!

Oh yea!!

 8:45!!!  Is the rousing cheer we hear every evening as the fated time befalls us.  I have no idea where it started but there is no doubt that 8:45 is Lucy's favorite time of day.  Every night she makes us watch it change from 8:44 to 8:45 which then results in convulsive jumping and wiggling that is what we now refer to as "The 8:45 Party".  So while sleep is on the schedule this time of night more often than not she is in bed alert and waiting, and should she fall asleep, the fact that 12 hours await the next turn of the magical number causes a fair amount of distress.  One funny side note is that Lucy often will abscond with Andrea's phone and type the number 845 over and over so that what we find looks something like this

84584584584

58458458458

4584584584.

Yep that's our kid and we love the whole package even 8:45 yelled at the top of her lungs in our tired ears:)  Not to be missed is the bedtime ritual of "snugging all the way to her feet" and "Can I say my things"? Yes. "Don't lock the door and close the door, I love you , good night , see you in the morning, mwwwa (a blown kiss)".  So that's tucking time at our house.

ReRailled

  After a rather long stretch of working every feasible Saturday in effort to please the pied piper we have parted ways as I now dance to a different tune. To celebrate this momentous departure we loaded into the Trooper and made tracks to Moab. My first trip to Moab was last year and it was fantastic.

He hawwww

  Highlights of the last trip centered on Arches National Park with myself being the two kid pack mule (I insisted, a manly display of machismo) to get to delicate arch, a truly magnificent work of nature.

Beyond expectations

  So this time in preparation for new things I decided to get the old mission bike back on its feet. This resulted in the purchase of a used but excellent wheelset with a proper rear cassette.This unfortunately resulted in the complete dismemberment of my old rear derailleur.

Aww XT you were good to me

  Which then led to the procurement of a vastly better derailleur that finally put a great old bike back on the trail. The result, I road Slickrock trail Saturday May seventh for the first time in my life (and I'm paying for it today) truly intense about sums it up. Sorry no pictures I was far to busy hanging on for dear life=)


  Other highlights were the attempted uni. ride down the sand hill. Which was unsuccessful in terms of full length, yet exciting in short bursts of craziness.

Good thing the sand is soft

  Then of course while at the sand hill the kids had the time of their life. Dirty is an understatement, yet they seemed even happier than they were dirty

Seriously sweet sand, seriously sweet kid

Loved it so much he even took a bite

  All in all a fine way to spend a weekend with the fam.

Documentation Of Youth

SAY CHEESE!!

So it seams that not only are our young truants unwilling to listen to their parents these days, they feel the need to salt the wound by documenting it. In the following video filmed by the young Lucy who is NOT allowed to use the camera, the young Will is dipping his digger in the dog water that he is forbidden to touch. If they weren't so cute I'd turn them in.
Note the devious nature of this adolescent director. Lucy only turns it off after you hear Andrea inquire as to their whereabouts.