January started with sledding and more sledding. First we went with the Jewkes' Family and Kanani and Maile to a small park close to home. It was the little ones, Maile and Olivia's, first time out. They are so darn cute. This trip was extra enjoyable. Why? Both boys can carry their own sleds back up the hill. One of the first transitions from babies to boys that I did NOT cry about. It was awesome. I certainly burned fewer calories, but enjoyed myself much more.

We headed up to Gorgoza Park for Josie's 4th Birthday. A tradition that we have come to eagerly anticipate. If you have not been there, do yourself the favor. It's great. There is a tow rope that pulls you up the hill and then various sizes of hills to go down. Seems a little safer, have never seen anyone crash and again, it is the lazy man or women's sledding. The Jewkes' rent a warming yurt for the birthday festivities which is pretty cool too. Sledding is the only real reason to have snow as far as I am concerned. Once again, the only boys there.....one day they will appreciate this. Look at those cute girls.

Ringing in 2010

We did have a really fun New Year's Eve.....2 and a half months ago. We did not have a babysitter, so instead of hanging out with friends like we usually do we packed up the kids and went to, ready for this, West Valley City. A long 7 to 10 miles away from our home. The boys had their eyes on this new hotel that has a big enclosed slide that can be seen from the outside of the building. I decided to make reservations there for a quiet night of swimming. Thought that we would have the pool to ourselves, it is New Year's for Pete's sake. Wrong!!! Me and everyone else had the same idea. Even saw 2 people I went to high school with. That's always awesome to see someone you haven't seen in 15 years while you are in a swimsuit. We swam, ate, swam, watched a movie and swam again. We were in bed by 10 o'clock. Woke up feeling like a million bucks too. It was so much fun. The boys loved it and so did Nolan and I. We are going to make it a yearly get away. Maybe not always on New Year's, but at some point in the long winter.

Look Mom, 2010!

Tucked in and ready for shut eye by 10:00, it was New Year's somewhere.

Soft Hearted Hippies..........

The boy's are saying and doing the funniest things lately. Most notably is their obsession with whether you are "a hippie, a hobo or a hillbilly." I'm not sure what this means. I mean, at least Cy doesn't cry about it anymore. When he was in kindergarten he came home upset one day because another little boy had called him a "hippie." He didn't know what it meant but he knew that he did not like it. If you have seen the movie Up, maybe you have giggled at the part where the old man yells to one of the people who are trying to kick him out of his home, "Take a bath, Hippie," this has become a family favorite, but I'm not sure where the hobo or hillbilly comes from.



Cole is at the age where I could just freeze him in time forever, although I felt the same way about 2 and 3 years old. As I have mentioned before he is my more aggressive, feisty kid. He is also my tender hearted little man. The other day as we sat in the dark watching TV he wanted me to come into his fort he had built. As he went to lead the way with his flashlight, he flashed it in my face and then said these kind words, "Eww. Mom you like kinda old like that." Thanks Bud, that's not very nice. In his sweetest little voice, "No Mom, I meant kinda pig-ish and crazy." So, I crawled into the fort and pretended to cry. He crawled in next to me and said," I think I am going to have to cry too." The waterworks started flowing. Of course, Nolan and Cy thought his comments were hilarious so they were laughing. After Cole stopped crying, he proceeded to yell at both of them for laughing. He has also cried another time he thought he hurt my feelings, during Avatar and Where the Wild Things Are. The first time I recall him crying out of sympathy was on a road trip with E.T. on the playing on the DVD player. I had looked back to see him looking not quite right but didn't think to much of it. Finally I asked him what was the matter and he just broke down. I had to insist that he finish watching the movie to see that E.T. survives. Anyway, he is really a sympathetic little guy, I just love him.

Then last week Cy had had a nightmare. Apparently, he was still having it when he woke up. He told me, "I'm not even going to tell you what I was dreaming about. It's too sad." Of course, he did and he said that he dreamed that my Dad got a new dog then killed it because it would stop jumping on people (pretty harsh for a softy like my Dad). Anyway, he tried to tell me about it without crying, but was unsuccessful. Cole was listening to this all and then he started to cry. When my Dad got there, Cy was still mad at him. He needed a "few more minutes." Needless to say, I was late for work, the morning started out rough, but within several minutes everyone was okay. Cy loves dogs. I love him.