My 90 Day Challenge-Grrrr

I'm not gonna lie-with all the pictures I've been in lately, I've been TOTALLY depressed and COMPLETLY disgusted in how I look these days. I could go on and on with details but I'll spare you the grief in words since you can see it with your own eyes already! So with it being the 1st of the month tomorrow-I have decided to start on DAY 1 with a 90 day weight loss challenge. My big butt is gettin' out of bed and will be headed to the gym in the morning before work & I'll also be keeping track of my food points for the next 3 months. I'll be competing against only myself-but still....here's hopin'-keep your fingers crossed for me and feel free to check in randomly to make sure I'm stickin' to it! I need all the help I can get. Trust me...maybe if I finish strong I'll treat myself to something special-like a new cute outfit in a smaller size!!! :)

The Lights at Temple Square

Last night was our last night in Salt Lake, so my dad took us to see the lights at Temple Square. I have never been before (in all my visits to Utah...I know...)

It was FREEZING cold outside, but we didn't care because the sights were completely stunning-and the grounds were packed with people from all over the world. There were lantern bags with pictures cut out in each one-as we followed the path they created, we realized they were telling the story of the 1st Christmas....how very cool!

Some bags lined other pathways and had JOY written on them in hundreds of different languages & pictorials....they were all very beautiful. By the time we reached the temple grounds we were half frozen, so we went into the tabernacle to warm up a bit before heading to visit the Christus. I have to say, I think this was surprisingly Emma's most enjoyed part...she just stared and stared at the white statue and kept saying "Look Momma...Jesus!"

We watched the story of the nativity on the lawn set to music, which put EVERYONE in a holiday mood (how could it not?) before heading back home. There were definately some lifelong memories made here...

Random Fun at Grandpa Allison's

These pictures pretty much sum up our "down time" at my dad's....I'm so proud of the "hands on" kind of grandpa he is. Always willing to get down on the floor to play with the kids on their level. Way to go dad! I never would have envisioned it in my past-but I'm glad he's such a great grandpa to Emee & Bryce. B-man (nicknamed TANK on our trip) dressed up and walked around in Grandpa's shoes and Emee took it upon herself to find Grandpa's glasses and wear them around too!

The poor dogs have been tormented more than they ever could have predicted or been prepared for too. Aside from Bryce chasing them around and around the kitchen daily-we made Dani "Toto" one day and Em took a picture with her as Dorothy! Poor puppy....

Thanks to Grammie Kathleen for putting up with a 2 year old and a 1 year old in her house (where children aren't normally present daily!) You can only imagine what kind of chaos we bring with us under the circumstances-but she is patient & kind nonetheless! She also makes a killer cheese dip that Bryce will never live down (he ate it by the spoonful!) Thanks for a great trip.

You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can FLYYYYYYYY!!!!

On Thanksgiving eve, we flew out of Seatac airport on our first plane trip with 2 kids-Salt Lake City bound....I'm not gonna lie-we were quite nervous about how the kids would handle the whole "airport/airplane" situation and I am pleased to say-THEY WERE AWESOME! We got there and valet parked our car in a car lot-which shuttled us over to the airport & everything was surprisingly smooth! We had purchased 2 new single strollers especially for the trip and they were wonderful to have! Each of us took & kid, we had 1 bag for all of us and that was it! We even had 3 hours to spare....so we explored the airport for dinner-(which was also surprisingly decently priced) but the BEST find of all was on the way to dinner-we discovered the "Kiddie Playland"-it was a terrific way for Em & Bryce to run around in a safe place to release some excess energy before a smooshed 2 hour flight. As we headed to our gate, Emma was so excited she kept asking dad, "Dadda-you ready to go fly now? You ready?" as well as sang us all the song from Peter Pan "You Can Fly, You Can Fly, You Can Fly!!!!!"Auntie Ashley let EmmaLee open her xmas gift of a TAG Jr. reading system, early on the plane and it kept she & Bryce occupied until they fell asleep-which is how they stayed until we landed! Could we have asked for it any better?

Thanksgiving Point DINOSAURS!!!

Grandpa & Grammie treated us to a trip to Thanksgiving Point today to see the Dinosaur Museum! On the way there we stopped in at SEE'S candy (duh-my dad was driving-you HAD to know he would detour there! lol) and the sad part was Em knew exactly where we were when we pulled up...CHOCKY! She got a chocolate covered Santa & Dad treated Mike & I to a pound box of our choice (of course Milk Bourdoux & Key Lime Truffles) and we were off! The museum was beautiful and the kids were completely overwhelmed! They got to see a 3-D dinosaur movie while enjoying their own popcorn & soda-then they went on a tour of the BIGGEST dinosaur museum we have ever been to! It just kept going and going and going....so much to see & explore & learn! They walked AROUND Dinosaurs, ON dinosaurs and UNDER dinosaurs-learned about erosion by playing in a sand & water pool (complete with fake trees & dinosaur toys), created their own species of Dino using a GIANT velcro dinosaur & velcro parts, made dinosaur picture rubbings, and played Paleontologist in an archeological dig using brushes to dig up dinosaur bones. What a blast! At the end of it all Grandpa paid for Bryce & Emee to make their very own FOSSIL! Bryce made a T-Rex tooth and Em made a prehistoric bug! Everyone was pretty pooped afterwards, but Dad & Mike HAD to go to Cabela's so we ventured there too....oh my goodness! Talk about a day filled to the max with EVERYTHING animals...our kiddos have never seen so many "stuffed" wild animals-lions, bears, foxes, elk, deer, moose, polar bears, zebras, horses...you name it! What a fun place for ANYONE! Bryce found every dog toy they sold and tried to drag them around with him, I found a log bed that I fell in LOVE with, Emma kept yelling at every fox she saw "SWIPER NO SWIPING-Silly Dora!", Mike & Em got to play Lazer Shot Hunting, and we bought Bryce his very first camo Cabela's ballcap! Needless to say the kids fell asleep on the way home, so Grandpa & Grammie babysat-allowing Ashley, Mike & I to go to dinner at Cafe Rio! YUM YUM YUM! What a fun packed day! 

Bouncin' Off The Walls-

Today the kids had a blast letting out their post Thanksgiving wiggles at a place in Sandy, Utah called "Bouncin' Off The Walls"...they had SOOOO much fun-but I think Grandpa and Grammie had even more! Good times-great memories....made for some very tired kids too!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thanksgiving Highlights...

On this day-6 Years & 2 Kids Ago...

The year-2003-back in our "dating" years...we had planned to spend Thanksgiving at the Martone's (I was always welcome for events like this-even when I wasn't "in" the family). I was living in Ellensburg earning my Bachelor's degree and Mike was living in Hillsboro with Marcy enjoying his first year teaching. I always LOVE hanging out with the kids and Mike's sisters (especially since my family is so far away) so I was excited to travel to Bremerton.

The traditional turkey dinner and dessert were terrific as usual and everyone went their separate ways (Marcy & clan went down to the Tell's for dinner #2 and Michelle & the girls started up a movie in the living room). Mike asked if I wanted to go out on a drive (which I LOVE to do) and so we did. He drove out to Port Gamble where there is this quaint little historical town-RIGHT UP MY ALLEY! The odd thing was that on the way there he wanted to hold my hand in the car-that's not the odd part-what was odd was his clammy hands and strange conversation...just talking jibberish and the cold & clammy hands made me think he wasn't feeling well (Mike has stomach issues with ALL food). He shrugged it off, so I let it go.
When we got to the town he pulled into this cute "little house on the prairie" type church. I got out and started to walk around the grounds thinking Mike was behind me...nope-he was thumbing through the trunk for something-so I just hung out and continued to peruse the place. Next thing I know-Mike is down on one knee....and look at what he was holding!!!

That was the beginning of our little family...6 years ago