Girl's Day

Miss Sadie Grace and I decided on a Girl's Day after school on Wednesday.

We painted nails.

We went and had breakfast for lunch at Village Inn and then took advantage of 

FREE PIE WEDNESDAY'S.

Sadie ate most of both pieces.

She was in heaven.

Then we went and signed her up for Tumbling and Dance class.

She was sooo excited.

Early birthday present

Do not even say that I don't need it.

But of course, I do.

It is like the air that I breath.

Not the ugly inversion air.

It is like the air that has been finely

humidified and is fresh, like mountain air..

Like in Switzerland, at the top of a mountain.

This purse is my air.

My crisp, clean mountain air.

The blue interior just gives me a little thrill, every time it peeks out at me.

HEAVEN!

Another Sadie + Sophie + Fedora picture.

Can never get enough.

My life in pics (and words..) (and videos..)

Took the kids sledding on Saturday.

It felt like an expedition to the North Pole.

There is nothing more irritating than getting snow clothes on.

Finding all the stuff.

Making sure everything fits.

I believe it took me 2 full hours to get them all outfitted and dressed.

Then, of course, they had worked up an appetite.

So they had to eat.

I made them do it in their snow clothes.

With our layers and bundles we escaped into the Arctic air.

And by Arctic air, I mean..

"This is the most ridiculously cold frigid air that I have ever had the displeasure 

of feeling on my exposed skin" air...

Holy cold.

It was 12 degrees when we were sledding.

I had to bare my hands to take a few pics and video

and I now have black stumps where my fingers used to be.

(Sacrificed all for THE shot)

We went to 2 different hills in our vicinity.

One, we affectionately call "Death Hill" and the other I have 

deemed "Slow Death By Freezing Hill"

"Death Hill" is like the mother of all sledding hills.

It is steep.

It has bumps.

It has a buttress at the end to keep you from careening into the road.

It also has a lot of idiots that frequent it.

I took no pictures at this hill because I was trying to keep my children alive.

Sledding scares me.

I had a near death experience on a sledding hill when I was younger and

it has stayed with me.

"Death hill" has multiple hills and sled paths that all converge

from different directions into one spot.

AWESOME PLAN!!

My kids were oblivious, as usual, and I anxious (par for the course).

After several, "LISTEN TO ME OR WE ARE LEAVING!!"

I decided that I needed a Diet Coke and a little bit less deathy hill.

So the pictures I am posting are from the less deathy hill,

AKA "Slow Death By Freezing Hill"

Sadie almost died on this beautiful day.

You can see in the video above Tanner trying to keep

her from going into the pit,

but to no avail.

She bounces off him and narrowly misses a metal grate

that I didn't know was there.

Tanner did the noble thing.

He dove down into the ravine and sacrificed himself.

Our princess was spared impalement.

Later on in the evening,

Tanner was rewarded for his heroism by

being asked to the Sweethearts Dance.

Kind of fun!

Tanner had to piece together the "evidence" -letters of her name- amongst all of the candy.

We have a fun idea to answer her back.

Stay tuned.

(Yes, I said WE! He needs me!)

These lovely pictures are of Todd removing staples from his 95 year

old grandfather's scalp.  

He slipped on the ice a few weeks ago.

He is a tough old bird!

I have done a lot of baking in this foul weather.

Rolls, bread.

Cookies, cakes.

Lots of yummy fattening food.

It really needs to warm up, or I am going to be 200 pounds by the spring thaw!

Todd promised our little man that we would take him out to get him a suit.

What a fun time I had shopping with these two boys.

Luke is so handsome in his new suit.

Looks like a future missionary if you ask me!

(I know, he needs a haircut!)

That is some cuteness right there..

What to do??

My sweet dog, Sophie.

What can I say?

She is very stinky.

And lazy.

She makes awful noises when she is sleeping

(which is 23 hours out of every day).

She makes awful smells when she is awake and asleep.

She can't go for walks,

however will run for 10-20 feet if she hears her food bowl.

She loves sitting, especially laying, in the sun as the photos show.

She doesn't love anything involving movement, including going potty.

I swear, she can hold her pee for more than 18 hours.

Especially if it is cold.

She will go to the door, like she needs to go.

I will oblige and open the door.

She will lower her head, and sniff.

I can just hear the doggy voice in her head going, 

"Ahh, hell no! I am not going out in that!"

She looks up at me as if to say,

"You have got to be kidding!"

And then she turns around and strolls back to her comfy pillows, 

her princess bed.

Poor sweet fat thing.

I just love her.

Recently, she has re-discovered her love for the couch.

My dear parents let her on their couch a couple of weekends ago,

now she thinks that she is allowed on all couches.

My husband thinks this new development is not so funny.

I like it.

She gets exercise.

You should see the sweat she gets in to pull herself up on the couch.

She literally burns about 1,000 calories every time she sneaks up.

She waits until we are gone or in bed and then she

grunts and groans and pulls herself up.

So cute.

Doing her own version of P90X.

Yesterday, I came home from a fabulous day of physical therapy labor

and Todd ceremoniously handed me this paper.

He has been troubled lately with Sophie's exceptionally bad

smelling breath.

It really is awful.

Like something that would proceed from the other end.

So Todd, sweet man, took her to the vet.

She has 4 rotting teeth.

They need to be extracted.

The bill below DOES NOT include the price of extracting the teeth.

Which happens to be $120 a tooth.

Which happens to be $480 dollars.

Which happens to chap my hide... 

I find it very odd and amusing that they took the time to give us this print out of charges.

But you will notice the last line says, "does NOT include extractions".

Why would they leave the best part off?

Why would they include charges for 27 other items,

but leave the $480 charge off?

I love the LOW amount and the HIGH amount..

That is fun.

And annoying.

I also love that she has to be sedated for the extractions.

And because she is now a "senior" citizen dog

they have to do a Senior Profile (blood tests) and a Senior Anesthesia Protocol.

Can't you just give her a little whiff of the juice and pull her teeth?

Seriously, why do I have to bend over and grab my ankles so my

sweet pig dog doesn't smell like the sewer?

I hate my life.

Todd has informed me that it would be less expensive to put her to sleep.

He will be sleeping in her dog house.

He is not welcome on Sophie's couch.

He was joking, but I did not laugh.

She is my little angel.

My little sausage shaped angel.

Who does not smell like roses,

but the best little (big) dog anyone could every ask for.

Sophie can't find her pepperoni.

Sophie is disgusting with us for sitting on her couch.

CHRISTMAS FUN 2012

Me on Christmas Eve...

So lovely and spry.

Just like St. Nick.

Before Christmas, Todd went through all of our boxes of toys with Luke and Sadie.

He made them decide what they would give away, and what they would keep.

I am not exaggerating when I say that 90% if their toys are gone.

I almost had a heart attack.

The picture below of Luke shooting the basketball is our playroom.

Do you see a toy?

No you don't.

I tried to get them to keep some.

I tried to get Todd to see that there was wisdom in keeping

toys that my kids NEVER play with.

I was over-ruled.

My kids now have a toy room which has no toys.

Legos, yes.

Toys, no.

Ohh.. the easy bake oven.

Loved it.

LOVED it.

For just a minute.

The second minute, I hated it.

HATED it.

Our muffin/cupcake pan got lodged in the oven part.

Do not ask me how.

It literally disappeared into the heating element.

Some things never change...

I thought in the 38 years since I had one,

they could have improved more than just the outside color of the oven.

We took it back.

Stupid oven.

Sadie and I on our sledding date.

Such a fun 90 minutes.

Love this girl!

Tanner and Maddie

 on their snowboarding date.

Sledding behind the Ranger at Grandma's house.

Pretty much the coldest thing ever.

Despite almost dying of frigidity,

I laughed and laughed at the grandkids as they fell off 

into freezing snow..

 Not a happy girl after faceplanting into the frozen ground.

Tried my hand at home-made donuts.

I was on my period and I needed something.. BAD!

It must have been a legit craving because I made

home-made donuts, YO!

 Luke got to go to the church

and learn how to fly his helicopter.

Must admit, pretty awesome little toy.

Now he flies it around the house

terrorizing anyone he can.

Thanks alot, Uncle Brad!

More random Christmas pictures.

Tanner got a LoveSac so he has somewhere

to waste his precious teenager time.

Todd got me a bedazzled phone case.

Totally works with my Uppity persona.

Me and Paris Hilton are besties..

 I don't know why I am Asian. 

I love my little ear warmer Todd gave me.

 Cute Tanner and Sadie.

Max and Sophie getting in on all the Christmas love. 

Had a great Christmas!