Thanks Mister

I am so grateful for the man who got on our plane with the most HORRID, barking cough that I've heard this entire year... or perhaps two. It reminded me of how sick Hunter was when he had Whooping cough last winter. Every time you coughed, I jumped. As I was sleeping, I kept thinking the intercom was coming on with an announcement from the pilot. Well, I just wanted to say thank you kind sir. Your germs have infected my children, myself, and probably my hard-working husband too. I'm sure that many others are also thanking you from our plane and I'm wondering if the gentleman who realized you sat down only 5 rows behind him (and us) and then proceeded to move all his belongings and self to the back of the plane was able to avoid your generosity. I suppose I'll never know. Maybe a face mask (like Surgeons wear) would have made me feel a LITTLE better or perhaps, a little less accusatory. Thank you, and please keep your future "bronchitus" infections to yourself.

Disney World!

It was a dream come true for us - we went to Disney World for a week! It was a fabulous and unforgettable week. We went expecting Florida sunshine and perhaps a little sun on our cheeks for our return home - that was not the case. They had record setting lows and the crops were all freezing at night - not quite the warmth we had hoped for - but we survived. We had one day of rain - luckily we had brought rain gear and left it nice and dry in our hotel for the day we needed it. (hee hee) We did the Disney package deal - we arrived at the airport and we were shuttled around for the rest of the time by Disney transportation - no rental car, no gas pumps, and very short rides to each of the parks! Overall, it was pretty crowded - considering we had gotten a "discount price" to get people there in the "low season" - their marketing was obviously working.

So, I have to tell you about our Cinderella dinner. It was our favorite "character dining" experience of the week. I know - we have boys and why did we do a 'princess' thing?!? It didn't feel "girly" when we were there. It was really a treat to meet Cinderella and to eat in her castle. They called me "princess" and the boys were either a "Prince" or "Lord" - it was so fun! They gave the boys swords (little girls get a magic wand) and it was an amazing place to be at. You have to get a good laugh when looking at this picture - that's our Cole. He had just hurt his thumb (if he wasn't falling to hurt his head - there was usually another injury to complain about!) and that picture says a thousand words about his attitude. WE LOVE this picture.

Here are some more pictures of our week - it was really a great experience to be just our little family for such a special week!


This is one ride that Hunter could not go on - next time he'll be tall enough. (I hope we get to go again before he graduates from high school!)

By the way - this is a true to life Lion - we were just driving by it in our "safari truck" - it was spectacular! He must be kept well-fed... there was NO FENCE to protect us. This was at the Animal Kingdom.
Hunter was tall enough to go on just about everything (I think there was 1 ride he couldn't go on). But, poor Cole - got shafted. There were quite a few rides that he could not go on. At Animal Kingdom - Cole BARELY made the cut-off for this ride - of course on a hot summer day - it would have been fabulous to get wet. So, we threw on the rain gear and covered ourselves the best we could because we had to ride it twice just because Cole was big enough!

Danny was a great traveler. He smiled and made friends with anyone who sat by us! I love this picture. Shayne is the one who always gives him "tastes" of things that mommy says "no!" So, Shayne decided to see if he'd like Hunter's sucker. Well - as you can see, he was loving it. Shayne didn't even have to hold it and that sucker was the size of his head!

Farewell Disney World! The place of magic and wonder continues everyday and we hope we can go again someday!

Brian's Wedding

My little (well, he's much much taller than the rest of our family now) and youngest brother got married in January. We went to Idaho Falls (again!) and had a weekend with my family - it was GREAT FUN! Here are some pics from the weekend.

January and basketball

BASKETBALL SEASON! I signed up both Hunter and Cole for Basketball through our rec center. Cole's was super cute with little activities geared towards 3-4 year olds. He kinda liked it... not quite as much as I expected. I still thought it was fun to watch him to play and pout!



Hunter is also playing basketball and it was been such a hoot to watch him play - he is LOVING it. At the very first game - he was trying to dribble the ball (they aren't real tough on these kids as Kindergarteners/1st Graders) while running down the court. I was impressed with his absolute determination to dribble that ball, even though he'll often forget he's trying to get closer to the basket! Another favorite is seeing all the kids run underneath the basket and just hold of their arms. They aren't thinking about defensive playing - they are just suppose to have their arms up for some reason! Here are some pics of him in action.

Idaho - vist #1

We have driven to Idaho for the past two weekends. The first trip was to be with Shayne's family (cousins and his grandma). We missed the big "Grandma Hunter" Christmas the previous weekend. Weather had been bad and Grandma had insisted that we play it safe. Well, everyone decided to go - except for the Nelson family. Oh well. It was nice to have Grandma Hunter to ourselves! We were able to enjoy our time with her without 70 other people in the house. She is an amazing woman - 80+ years old and still shopping for 104 people (in her family!). Cole got a noisy little piano - that he played the whole way home. And Hunter got a great game with marbles and gosh - how do I explain it. I'll just show you a picture.


The next day we did a little bit of snowmobiling... or sledding (ID slang). When I say a little, really, we lasted for only 20 minutes! It was colder than cold! Scott, Shayne's cousin, took Shayne over to a creek and showed him to ride a snowmobile over water. Yes, he's insane. Shayne even tried it... but Scott - he is an AMAZING rider. So, here's the proof in picture!


Last weekend we drove to ID again - for my little brother's wedding. I'll have more to share when I remember to download my pictures to the computer!! Till then, toodles!

Cole says the darndest things...

I have a few quotes to share... did I share these already?

"mommy, I'm sick."
You're sick?
"yeah, I have the coughs and bless you's"
The bless you's???
"yeah, the bless you's"

this one is rated PG-16
Grandpa witnessed this one while helping him go to the bathroom. As he sat on the toilet, Cole looked down at his private parts and exclaimed,
"that looks like a little brown angel!"

And, most recently (yesterday),
"I'm not crying, I'm whining!"

So, he knows the difference!

I will run, I will run, I will run...

I have taken up a new challenge - running. I'm far from being good at it but, I plan on making it something I do regularly. I figure, if I can get up and do biking, aerobics, yoga, swimming, etc at 6am - then I can give running a true try! I ran around my block once in high school - that is the extent of my running experience. I started with a couple laps around the track - and well, now I'm up to doing a mile at a time. I can run 2 miles. I hope I can start growing that little number and I plan to run a 5K next summer with my friends. I spent my birthday money to buy nice running shoes and I can't believe the difference - worth every penny. This wouldn't be possible without Kristi cheering me on - so, here's a shout-out to you dear friend! Thank you for being my cheerleader and motivator... I couldn't do it without you!