Trip to Dallas

Every year Tol has an Athletic Director Conference he goes to and I usually tag along with him. This year we went to Dallas, Texas. We stayed in the amazing Gaylord Texan. It is a beautiful hotel. We arrived Friday evening and stayed until Wednesday. Tol was in classes a lot of the time. So while he sat in lectures I slept-in, used the hotel gym (one day :o)), shopped, walked around in the huge hotel, and enjoyed not having any responsibilities for a few days. When Tol did get some free time we went and saw Dallas. It was a fun, hassle-free 5 days!

Outside the Gaylord Texan. It is so big we couldn't fit the whole hotel in, but here is the front.

Sitting out by the fire Sunday night

Inside the hotel

The Gaylord has a huge atrium inside, so, the lighting changes from day to night. It feels like you are outside. So beautiful.

A manmade river runs through the hotel

This is so cool! It is a real, life-size gingerbread house! This was also in the hotel.

Dealey Plaza

Looking out to the spot where JFK was shot. They actually have it marked by an X in the middle of the street.

Dallas Mavericks game

Rangers' Stadium

The massive Dallas Cowboys' new stadium

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was at our house this year! This was my first attempt at having a huge dinner like this at my house. I was really excited and maybe a little nervous. I got some great advice from friends and family and my favorite magazine, Clean Eating, on the best way to cook my turkey to keep it moist. It was so good! I will always brine my turkey. That is the secret to a tender, moist turkey. :o)

The night before, my mom came over and helped make pies. It was fun working in the kitchen together. Taylor and Brayden wanted to learn how to make their favorite pies, apple and peach. So, I helped them along and they did awesome! Parker and Nicole entertained themselves and us as we baked. Tol was the "errand boy" for me when I was in the middle of a recipe and realized I was out of an ingredient. He was also the "fireman" putting out the fire I started in the oven with my pecan pie. My friend Megan warned me not to say the "b" word (burn). But it brought a little excitement and a lot of laughs! The boys thought it was hilarious! Tol was a little sarcastic...surprise.

Brayden had an activity for the family before we sat down to eat. We had to tell 3 things we are thankful for and explain why. Taylor made color-coded name plates for everyone and while we ate dinner he stood up on a stool and explained what each color meant. He used three words for each person to describe them. The funniest one was when he got to Grandma and Grandpa and the first word that described them was old.

Overall, it was a really great Thanksgiving. I loved cooking for my family. I can't wait until it is at my house again.

Parker and Nicole. They are just like brother and sister. I love it!

Brayden and his Peach Crisp Pie.

Taylor and his beautiful Apple Pie

Me and Mom weary after an evening of baking

Tol exaggerating a bit.

Up at the crack of dawn, peeling potatoes, preparing the turkey, wondering who's great idea was this to have Thanksgiving at my house...oh yeah, it was me.

My moist, delicious, beautiful turkey!

The clan I fed, minus the late-comers, Wade and Gina.

After everyone left we got our Christmas decorations out.

Out with one holiday, in with the next!

13 Years and Counting

My how time flies when you are with the love of your life. I can't believe I have been married 13 years already. It has been more than I ever thought it would be. I have the best husband (at least for me) I could dream of. Sometimes I wonder who is looking out for me on the other side to have led me to him. May sound sappy, but I don't care, it's true. We have our ups and downs as do all marriages, but, I would say they are just little bumps in the road here and there. It would be boring if it was smooth sailing. Sometime or another we have our differences. I like to think we compliment each other most of the time. Tol's goal everyday is to make me happy and I him. That is what has made this 13 years go so fast. Time flies when you're having fun and enjoying life to the fullest!

Tol and I celebrated our 13th anniversary on November 22nd. I got the weekend babysitter and he made the plans. We were short on funds this year so no big trip to see Cold Play this year. But we did stay downtown in a hotel all weekend and had a marvelous time.

Friday night we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Love that place! It was yummy! After dinner we went to the hotel where Tol had flowers and a card waiting for me. He is such a romantic...I love it. The next morning we slept in (heaven) and headed down to BoDo. It was the opening weekend for the movie, "New Moon". Tol and I have both read all the Twilight books, so we went to see the much anticipated movie. It was great, much better than the 1st. We then had a light lunch at Tulley's (they have a really good Chicken/Walnut Salad) and walked around the Farmer's Market and different shops around downtown. That evening we went and did a little Christmas shopping and went to Chili's. We hit a late movie, "Blind Side," and got back to the hotel around 1am. It was great having the weekend all to ourselves.

1st Snowfall in 2009

The boys were so excited to wake up to snow last Saturday. We got about 1/3 inch. But that didn't stop the boys from trying to sled down the hill. They couldn't find their sleds so they grabbed rubbermaid lids. Later they tried making a snowman. Parker and Mom had hot chocolate waiting for Taylor and Brayden after their fun in the snow. Parker thought it was too cold to join them. Maybe if he would have put a jacket on. :o)

2 Days Out of School!

The boys had 2 days off school last week for parent/teacher conferences. This also meant I had 2 extra girls and my niece and nephew home, too. Seven kids in my house = planned activities if I want to keep my sanity. :o)

Thursday morning we had a Kiddie Boot Camp. I found some good tunes and made up a routine the kids would have fun with and use some of that abundance of energy they carry all the time!

It wouldn't be a boot camp without push-ups

Drop and give me 20

Here they had to do lunges down the driveway and sprint back

Way to go Kiddie Boot Campers! You rocked!

Friday was our Pajama-jama-jam!!!! We stayed in our pjs all day! I put the girls' hair (those that was long enough) in rag curls early in the morning while we watched cartoons. We ate Froot Loops for breakfast (A real treat in our house), built with K'nex, did yoga, made pizzas, watched a movie, read favorite bedtime books, and ate favorite bedtime snacks!

Back Rub Train

Lexie after we took the rags out of her hair. She is so cute!

Yoga time!

Taylor's favorite pose, the Bridge.

This was hilarious! Brayden's favorite pose is the handstand. He got some air on this pose and landed right on his behind.

Parker's favorite pose, ?????? He made this one up. :o)

My favorite pose, Relaxation pose. Let's stay in this one for awhile. :o)

Pizza time!

Everyone brought their favorite blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals and made their very own space on the floor for the movie, "Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure"(Girls won the pick for the movie).

At the end of the day the house was a mess! But luckily I had 7 great helpers. Everyone pitched in and we got it cleaned up in no time. Taylor even got the vacuum out and vacuumed the house. We had a great 2 days off together!

I don't have a picture for this, but, had to tell the story of our dinner later that night. After our 4 extra visitors left we got dressed and told the kids we were taking them out to dinner. Tol won a gift certificate at the BSU dinner auction about 6 months ago. We had to use it by the 9th of November so we thought it would be fun to take the whole family out. The gift certificate was for a place out in Marsing. The boys were excited. Taylor put on his polo shirt and khakis just in case it was a fancy restaurant. We hopped in the car and away we went.

We get almost to Nampa and Parker says, "I have to go potty!" You know how kids are, they wait until the last minute to tell you they have to go. We couldn't just stop on the freeway, so we told him, "Hold it! We'll stop as soon as we can!" After a few minutes we got off the freeway and pulled into a Subway. Parker said, "I'm OK." Well, we believed him and went on to Marsing. As we drove to Marsing we went past the Sugar Beet Factory and it really stunk that night. It stunk all the way to Marsing! When we got to the "restaurant" Parker got out of the car and whispered to me, "I peed and pooped my pants." I looked down and saw the evidence. I don't think it was the Sugar Beet Factory that stunk so bad that night.

We walked in the restaurant that was actually a bar that also served food. We walked in and they assured us we could eat here with the kids. Taylor whispered to me, "Guess it's not a fancy restaurant." We had a good laugh and the food wasn't too bad. The portions were pretty big. They didn't have a kids' menu, but, that didn't matter. Brayden ate all of his huge cheeseburger and curly fries and helped Parker with his! It was a fun family adventure.

FYI: Tol took Parker into the bathroom and took care of his accident, throwing his underwear away. It's nice having all boys in times like these. :o)

Halloween

Halloween festivities started out at Grandma and Grandpa Mac's. While all the men in the family watched the big BSU game, the ladies were in the kitchen having a Halloween party with the kids. It was quite the spread with Ghoulish greens, Skeleton bones, Clotted blood dip, Boiled worms, Eyeballs, Jack-o-lantern guts, Spider eggs, and Frog juice to wash it all down. Yum, I think?!

Later, we headed out to Eagle to Brian and Lisa's house for some chili, more football, and trick or treating. The kids made a haul this year.

This year's cotumes: Tol- the doctor; Nikki - the good witch; Taylor - Willy Wonka; Brayden - Harry Potter; Parker - a fierce lion

Nikki trying to get her witch cackle down, too funny!

Carving Pumpkins

We waited until the day before Halloween to carve our pumpkins. That way they would be nice and fresh. So, Friday after school we got out the carving tools and went at it!

Brayden's

Tol's

Taylor's

Parker and I opted for the Mr. Potato Head type.

Prison Break - Run for it!

Bet, I got your attention with that title! :o)

Like I said in an earlier post, Tol talked me into running a 1/2 marathon. It was located out at the actual prison on Pleasant Valley road. We ran with friends, Alec and Kelly Arhets.

Ready, ready, ready, ready to ru-u-u-u-n! :o)

Tol finished way before me (about 30 minutes) so I wasn't able to get photos of his finish. But, he was there cheering me on at the end. I saved just enough energy at the end to sprint it out. I was spent going through that finish line. Exactly how I wanted to feel, like I gave it all I had.

Alec and Tol were good partners. They pushed each other to do their own personal best. They rocked it!

Kelly and I had such a great time training together. I am so glad we did it together. We helped each other keep going and get out of bed those days we would rather not.

The weather was windy and cold. I was cold before the race. During the race I felt great. After the race we were all freezing. We grabbed our free breakfast and headed home.

RESULTS:

Tol: 1:41

Alec: 1:44

Nikki: 2:11

Kelly: 2:15