We're alive

Just wanted to post quickly to say that we are alive. We went to Farmington for Christmas with the Rhien side of the family. There weren't tons of people at dinner - but it was nice and relaxed. I am proud to say I didn't even eat myself into a turky and pie coma :) (however, in the days to follow I wasn't so diligent.....)

It was great to spend some time with my cousin Rachel too. We were so close growing up, and I'm so excited that she's back living in Farmington so I can get together with her when we go visit. And she is expecting baby #2 in several weeks, and I'm so excited to meet this new little one!

Last night was our Young Women's Evening in Excellence program. After a few snags (like 1/2 of our YW presidency being sick and not being able to make it) we pulled it off. And it felt like it was a success. Even though I was so stressed before it all happened, I couldn't help but feel so much love for each of the Young Women as they stood up to talk about their YW projects. I have a special place in my heart for our girls, and I LOVE my calling!

Now that we're home (and Evening in Excellence is done) I'm trying to focus on Christmas stuff, as well as a few other projects I have up my sleeve. I always wish at this time of year that I had planned things a bit better so I could spend more time making fun crafts and stuff.....maybe next year huh?

Here is the only picture I took on Thanksgiving. I have found that I have been taking fewer and fewer pictures....hopefully that's just a phase and not something new....

Hope everyone is surviving the holidays so far and enjoying time with family and loved ones!

(Edited to add....I said we'd gone to Farmington for Christmas.....see I'm crazy. It was for Thanksgiving!!!)

Randomness.....

Who me? Yeah - I know I'm cute!

"Look Mom - I can do it too!" (I was playing cars with him and I put one on my head. He thought it was pretty awesome that he got one to balance on his noggin too.)

Ok - this is kind of an odd picture.....but it has a point. This past week Gabe has figured out how to stand up on his own. Up to this point if he fell over he would crawl over to something to pull himself up - and then walk. But now he can plop down wherever he wants, and get up on his own. (Its super cute when he does it too!)

Just can't resist this cute little smile. I love how he tips his head back when he really cheeses it - it's so cute! Now this picture cracks me up. I think we may see more poses like this from Gabe. It's the "I'm too sexy" pose. Let's see....anything else???

Well Gabe has been OBSESSED with reading lately. He has always loved stories - but his limit was maybe 3 stories and he was done. But just the last several days he has actually been wanting to read like 10 stories at a time! The only way he gets off my lap is to get a new book. And when I try to put him down for bed, or a nap - he gets upset and points to the chair we read in and cries until I read some more. (I actually don't know if he loves to read, or if he knows I'm a pushover for reading and will actually stall his nap for a good book....) It's exciting to share my love of reading with him. I'd love to hear any recommendations for children's books if you have any.

Gabe also loves puzzles. We have a couple of the little wooden ones with animals on them, and a couple other wooden ones - he loves them. He matches up all of the pieces (although doesn't always get them into the spots...since you have to line them up just right) and then he'll dump the pieces out and do it again. I found a cute farm animal puzzle the other day that had animal noises when you put the pieces in. He knows all the sounds of the animals on the puzzle and he loves to tease me by putting the wrong piece on the wrong spot - and laughs. Almost like he's saying, "Ha-ha, a cow that sounds like a sheep - that's so funny!" He's quite the character!

And lastly - since I'm on a kick with bragging about my genius child (every parent thinks that right?) - another one of Gabe's favorite things lately is flash cards. We got these Baby Einstein flash cards that have pictures of things like apples, fish, cows - different words to teach kids. Yesterday he kept wanting to get them down to play with them. I'll show him the card and he'll either make a noise or a gesture that represents each item. It's so awesome to watch the wheels turning, and see things click - like he really gets it. SO awesome!

Anyway - that's our life right now, animal sounds, books, and flash cards. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

Cruisin in the Caribbean

Well we're back! We had a good time on our cruise. The weather was lousy for most of the cruise....but we had fun getting away, and doing something different. We ate, relaxed at the pool (proving that you don't have to have sun to get sunburned....), ate, watched shows, ate, and ate some more. I swear - I gained at least 10 lbs while we were gone!

The highlight of the trip was by far the "Sexy Legs" contest. Cory was not only a fabulous contestant - he won the coveted "Chicken Legs" award. He went all out for the contest - borrowing a blond wig, wearing my swim suit and skirt, shaving his legs (the smoothest legs on the ship!), painting his toe-nails, and wearing my sandals....it was quite the look for him. I wish I had some better pictures - he really strutted down that pool deck to show his stuff.

We also had a great time getting to know the people at our dinner table. There were 2 other couples, about Cory and my age - and they were lots of fun. They really made dinnertime fun.

And we loved spending time with Cory's parents! It was fun to get to relax and have fun with them, and for them to spend some time together alone - we were glad we got to bring them with us!

Now it's back to real life....catching up on laundry and the real world. It sure was good to see Gabe - we really missed him.

Oh - and thanks Mom for taking care of him! We really appreciate your help!

Zip Line Canopy Tour

Our first port-of-call was Ocho Rios, Jamacia. We booked a Zip-Line Canopy Tour - WOW! I had never been on a zip line, and it was quite the experience! I pulled my knees up right as high as I could (trying not to hit into any trees) - and apparently that is what makes you go faster...I was going SO fast! But it was quite a rush, and worth every minute of it (and even worth the 27 mosquito bites I got on my lower legs and feet!)

Sting-rays

The 2nd port of call we had was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. The weather was....lousy.....it was rainy and windy. But that didn't stop us from going out and swimming with the sting-rays at Sting-Ray City. The boat ride was a bit scary, and it was a little scary at first to get in the water with the sting-rays, but it was really fun once we got used to them. We got to hold them, kiss them, feed them (for the brave....) and touch them. It was amazing how soft they were - it was softer than silk! And their tails were so bony - kind of like sand paper. Even though we didn't get to stick around for long (because of the weather), we had a great time!