Today. 2 years ago.

These are still some of my most favorite pictures of these two girls.
When I looked back to see what was going on 2 years ago.
These photos were just staring at me.....making my heart happy.
Ellie told me this is the prettiest picture of Lucy she has ever seen.
Back then I was hoping they would always love each other as much as this day.
They do... plus a million times more.

In their own words.

Ellie: "Mom I am lucky I always have a friend that never goes home"

Lucy: Every day when Ellie leaves for school she says " I love you Ellie, I love you Ellie" following her to the door....every. single. day.

lost twice

Ellie lost her first tooth. It was just hanging on by one little thread for so long that when it came out she didn't realize it until she went to give it a wiggle and it was gone. She wanted the tooth fairy to understand the predicament she was in so she wrote this. And then drew about 2 dozen flowers to sweeten the deal.

Ellie still has high hopes of finding her little lost tooth. She thinks when Spring time comes and the snow melts it will turn up on the school playground somewhere. I don't want to be the one to crush those dreams of hers but I just don't see that happening.

p.s. the tooth fairy fully understood the situation and even threw in an extra quarter for the lovely bouquet.

These three monkeys spend a lot of winter nights pulling out the sleeping bags and going for bumpy rides down the stairs. I don't know how they talk Lucy into these things but they do. Sometimes the stunts they pull going down and the speeds that are reached make it hard for me to watch. Like the time they went down with Canyon Laying on his belly and Ellie and Lucy riding him like a horse. Each time the bags get pulled out I hold my breath hoping there are sounds of life after the thudding stops. Every time I think of telling them to stop, I remember how much fun I had doing this when I was little. I just don't remember going down such crazy ways. So far we are 100% accident free. I'll be crossing my fingers it stays that way.

the little inventor

It is no secret that Ellie has quite the imagination.
It is also well known that Ellie has a love for fashion.
Add that to her ideas that Teenagers are SO beautiful
(probably because the few she knows are)
And what do you get?
Ellie's new invention.
It's called the underwear bra.
Made out of two pair of underwear.
She must of wanted a bra really..really bad to strum up this idea.
She wore it for a weekend straight.
When Monday rolled around I told her she could NOT wear it to school.
She reluctantly agreed.
I still can't wrap my mind around how that witty little brain of hers thought of this.
If it wasn't borderline one the the weirdest things in the world.
I would have to call it a stroke of genius.
Nobody tell Victoria about it. We are totally patenting this :)

{For the record, some major bribery took place to get this picture}
{I figured this brilliant invention needed to be recorded in the books at any cost}
{Someday she will thank me...maybe?}

milk shampoo

While I was putting away the dishes I heard Lucy's little voice say...
"Look Mom I washa my hair" (with no R sound on the end).
I looked over to see her putting her whole hand into in her cup of milk
followed by rubbing it in hair real good.
And that's when her hair looked like this.
I asked her why.
She told me the same thing she always does when I ask her a question... "CUZ"
Awesome.
And because she just had a bath 15 minutes before even more so.

calendar

I need a new calendar in a hurry.

Any one of these would do.
Maybe I should just make one.
Or better yet, enlist my husband to do it for me.
It would turn out much better than mine. :)
I think the first one is my favorite.
Wondering if I have a wall to suit it.
The wall space above my computer perhaps....hmmmmm.

bird legs

This morning for breakfast she had.

2 bowls of cereal.
2 bowls of apple sauce.
1 egg.

She can eat with the best of them.



Yet somehow she manages to maintain these little bony bird legs of hers.

At 2 and a half years she is weighing in at 23 lbs and some ounces.
Just a little gal....with a BIG appetite.
She can finish off a cheeseburger in about 1 minute.....I swear it.

sort of missing

the excitement...the energy...the magic...that feeling that only comes once a year.
But my house is clean again, and it is kind of nice to spend a few full days at home.
I am still wishing there was something really fun (but simple) written on the calendar under January to look forward to.
I need to work on that.

2010

Happy New Year!!! Am I to late to say it?
We started off the new year in a place remote and removed from any form of communication to the outside world.
I have had a hard time getting back into the swing of things since January has hit....ok maybe since Dec 25th hit.
But up until the 4th of January it felt o.k. It doesn't any more...BOOOOO!
Here's to 2010!! May it be better than 2009 because lets face it no one wants it to be worse...always better!
Here's to hoping I survive January. It can be a downer after a beautiful December.
I'm wishing for some big snowflakes, time on my snowboard, and some spontaneous fun...but I would settle for planned fun to.
I'm already thinking I should have left a strand of lights of just to brighten things up a little.

Merry Christmas

Our Christmas season was merry, bright and packed with memorable events that make it the "holidays". Lucy tried to plant a big kiss on Santa's lips at the local library Christmas party. Needless to say she was NOT afraid of the jolly old man. Canyon got a Christmas miracle when he woke up to a upgraded i-pod from the one he asked for.At least that is what he called it "Ellie this is a Christmas miracle". Ellie as been rockin out to Band Hero all the day long. Her Choice Love song by Taylor Swift. Christmas has went by WAY WAY to fast this year. My house is still trashed with Christmas paraphernalia strewn about and I haven't done much to remedy that because it makes it still seem like Christmas a little longer.I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas season as well!

p.s. We were Christmas card slackers once again 2 years in a row....kind of pathetic. Hopefully next year we will be one the card wagon again. So Merry Christmas to you from us!

if only it were Christmas carols I got to listen to

Lately I get hear the sobbing cries of a 2 year old kicked up a couple of notches through a fisher price microphone. It is just her way of trying to outsmart me. She must know I send her to her room so the door and walls will somewhat mute the unpleasant noise that is pouring out from her little body. So she tries to makes it impossible to ignore by amplifying it with the good old fisher price. And sometimes if she wants you to feel really bad for her she gets her microphone sits in the same room as you facing the wall with her and cries away. You know she is faking it when her cries are half songs and you can make out some rhythm. It has been far to entertaining for the whole family to take the Fisher Price away. Little does she know her crafty plan is backfiring on her.

Christmas lights

I think Christmas lights are about the best little things in the world. The only reason shorter days in the winter time make since...to plug the Christmas lights in sooner. Can you imagine celebrating Christmas time without those glittery lights in the backdrop? They make everything better. I need more.

*photos out of the our archives of Christmas past 2007*

all that white stuff

When all that white stuff falls from the sky for the first time of the season.

A nine year old has big plans.
Did Canyon want his after school snack? NO!
He wanted to put on his snow gear as quickly as possible.
Then he disappeared into the snowy streets and fields to find the biggest snow bank around.
When it got dark, I begin to worry a little. It is dark. It is bitter cold.
He little bones must be frozen. Why isn't he home yet?
Maybe he is wondering around the dark streets delusional from hypothermia
or maybe he is waiting for help with his tongue stuck to a pole.
Yes, those answers are both much more logical and likely than having to much fun
in sub zero temperatures to notice it was getting very dark and late.
Eventually, he and his winter pal were tracked down by the headlights of a car.
(and it was not mine. I could not muster up the will to leave the warm house.)
They were found playing on that "biggest snowbank around" lit up by street lights without a care in the world.
When he found his way home I told him I was worried he was freezing to death.
He informed me that his body is a "winter body" and does not get cold easily.
Then in the next breath he asks for some hot chocolate and hot tub.
I guess to warm up that not very cold infamous winter body of his.

Cheers, The winter season is officially now upon us.

the great Christmas give away.

There is a great Christmas give away out there in blog land. I love this idea! You enter for someone else who could use the gift more than yourself. To enter you leave a comment describing who you would give the gift to and why. Be prepared to be truly humbled and feel extremely BLESSED as you read the comments of others describing who they would like to win the gift for and the hardships they face (I know I did). If you know someone out there who a simple gift could make their Holiday extra special go here and enter for them! There will be a new give away every 2 days. Tis the Season!

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Thankful for Zions

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Zions with our cox side family. Man, I love that place! Beautiful hikes during the day followed by a big turkey dinner at night. Lots of hot tubbin underneath a star filled sky and UNO until it was so late your vision blurred and you had to wear a home-made saucer anti-itch dog collar and act like a bull dog. (that was one of the winner makes the rules...rule.) On the way home the holiday season was in the air with the roads packed with cars filled with families. I was a little jealous of the lucky families that had Christmas trees tied to the top of their car. It just seemed so festive. The perfect thing to bring home from a Thanksgiving holiday.
**note to self: Next year don't come home without a tree tied to the top.**

lonely gangster

I'm thankful (it is almost thanksgiving) that my kids have a new found love for the basement...I am. Even the girls are on board. They love the ramp. But I have to wonder if that finished basement I had envisioned in my head will ever happen now. The other day when I told Canyon he had to stay in his room until it was clean he responded. "When you make me do this... you make me feel like a lonely gangster." What!? For reals. I couldn't help but laugh. Now it makes perfect sense why all the new tagging in the basement looks totally pro-fess-ion-al and shockingly gangsterish. My lonely gangster has been busy. My visions of "finished" don't stand a chance. This isn't my hood anymore. I hardly recognize it.

in all the universe

A couple of days ago Lucy threw the most epic tantrum I dare say the universe has ever seen. When every trick in the book failed to calm her little soul, I could tell it had escalated past the point of no return. So I did what any good, wise, mature mother would do. I walked away and hid in my closet hoping to not be found. I know...I know, best mom ever. I sat on my closet floor with the door shut with one headphone in and flipped threw the entire Crewcuts catalog just staring at all the beautiful pictures, blocking out sounds of terribleness and dreaming of all the clothes I would want to buy for the child making me hide in my closet (it must be love). I wanted it all! Every bit of that winter wear, but seriously that won't happen. When I finished my catalog it seemed safe to come out. She was asleep and I had survived. It is down right amazing how on occasion she can switch from such a dreamy little thing to big terrible thing so fast. It is miraculous...it is.

***did i mention I loved every photo and every outfit because I did. ***

dead men tell no tales

This Halloween Ellie had a inner struggle between a cowgirl with pink boots or a cheerleader. In the end the cheerleader was the winner. It helped the cause that her BFF had the outfit to lend us for the night (thanks Jada).

We really had no choice with Lucy remember her obsession with the pirate ride. Well it is still in full swing. She was going to be a pirate and a cute little scallywag she was. She was in full character in her outfit and got to sing her theme song a million times to anyone who dared look this pirate in the eyes, including grocery store patrons.
YO HO YO HO a pirate life for me.

Being that Canyon was "snake eyes" he was a little to stealth for some indoor pictures. I guess nearly 10 year old boys don't care to much for photographs of themselves in full body black spandex...maybe next time.

little wild horse canyon

Every time we come here be it the first, third, or sixth. I come away amazed at how incredible this place is. The tall winding narrow stretches, delicate shapes, soft sandy bottoms, the feeling, the color. I love it all. At the end, I am always, always just blown away at how great it was. It never gets old.....only better.

broken heart

Lucy had her first broken heart.
Her beloved bottle didn't show up like it has every night before.
And when I told her the bad news that it had left and wasn't coming back.
Her bottom lip quivered
Giant tears welled up
And with the saddest voice I have ever heard she said
" ma ma...please. please.. ma ma.. please."
Her heart was broken into pieces.
I felt so bad, my heart was broken too except probably into a little less pieces.
I'm not going to lie. I almost gave in.
But instead I rubbed her little head until her sobs became wimpers.
Then I whispered "I love you" and she said it back.
I am glad she thinks that bottle broke her heart and not me.
And when I packed up all the bottles away to never return.
It made me sort of sad...a little teary.
I still can't explain exactly why.
I think It has something to do with that no diapers and no bottle equals no longer a baby.
A new phase in life.
A part of me is going to miss that baby in her.

goblin valley

This was our first day on our road trip to Southern Utah. The kids kept requesting Thriller over and over again. It was fun at first and then after the millionth time.... not so much. We kept giving into their demands. We were going to Goblin Valley after all so Thriller seemed sort of appropriate.