Spring??!!!

Spring oh Spring, wherefore art thou Spring??

This is what I woke up to this morning. While it is rather pretty and eye catching, I think I'd prefer no snow and plenty of warm weather

California!

This year for Christmas and our birthdays my parents gave each of us a trip to Disneyland! YEAH! I was needing a Disney fix. We spent 3 days in Disneyland and then Ryan and I stayed an extra day to spend time in San Diego enjoying the beaches.
Disneyland was incredible. It was a great time of year to go----even though we did get some rain the first day. The longest we waited in line was 20 minutes---once for the new Toy Story ride and once for the improved Submarine ride. All the other rides the average wait was 5 minutes. It was seriously awesome. California was apparently having a cold spell, but it was still warmer than Utah and nice to see and feel the sun.
We made sure to ride some rides with everyone. Tanner's favorite ride is the Haunted Mansion--even though he covers his eyes.Anytime someone would ask what ride we should go on he would say "I know! The Haunted Mansion!" I loved taking Emily, Tanner and Cannon on the Winnie the Pooh ride. Joshua and Lindsay were fun to take on the roller coasters and Pirates of the Carribean.
We went on Peter Pan with Cameron and Bethany and it broke. The lights came on and we were stuck on the little boats for about 15 minutes. It was kind of an exciting twist on the ride. I thought for sure Ryan and I were going to have to shimmy down Captain Hook's pirate ship to get out.
The beaches were fun and I'm glad Ryan and I decided to stay the extra time. We stopped and watched the sunset in La Jolla, how romantic. We spent time in the gardens at Balboa Park. We ate mexican food in Old Town. Walked and shopped at Seaport Village, and ate lunch at Anthony's on the wharf---it reminded us of eating at Ray's Boathouse in Seattle. Boy am I lucky my husband love seafood as much as me.
Thanks mom and dad for the great trip!

Vegas Girl

This is why you shouldn't leave your wife unattended in Vegas. You never know what may happen, because as they say, what happens in Vegas.......

Japanese Dinner

To celebrate Ryan's new job with Tooele County School District I treated him to dinner at a Japanese Tepanyaki restaurant he'd been wanting to try. It was fun watching the chefs cook the food. I am excited my husband will be working closer to home, plus there's always the benefits of working for the county.

 

Max's Blessing

When Missy had her first two babies, my Grandma Smith made her a white blanket for each baby to use for their blessings. Unfortunately, my grandma passed away before the other 5 kids were born. Kimi always borrowed one of Missy's blankets to use on her kids specials days. When Kimi announced she was pregnant, I decided to knit her a white blanket to use that would just be hers, no more borrowing. I did a good job of keeping it a secret---amazingly since I take my knitting everywhere with me, I just managed to work on other projects when she was around. I wish I could say the knitting turned out as well as the secret keeping. It's not perfect but it's do-able. It was fun to make it and surprise Kimi with her own "blessing" blanket. I know it's not quite as special as one made by Grandma, but I made it with every bit as much love.

We were glad to be able to participate in Max's special day.

Thoroughly Modern Millie

One of my new favorite hobbies is to go to the plays at Rodgers Memorial Theater---it helps when family members star in the productions. This was Ryan O's second play. It was pretty good. I've never seen the play, but know the title song from the days of Small World. I'm trying to introduce my husband to the wonderful world of musical theater!! He's slowly gaining an appreciation.

Twin, oh twin

I've always known my brother Cameron and I are too much alike for our own good----we're both pretty much crazy! :D I came across this picture on his blog and about died laughing---out loud even. These pictures were taken on the same night but at different times and without the knowledge of the other. We had gone to dinner for Lindsay's birthday at the Mayan and when we came out I thought it would so funny for Ryan to take a picture of me pretending to be eaten by the snake. Apparently Cam thought the same thing. Oh and extra bonus points if you can name the "What show, What show" in the title of this entry.

World Market

I went to the World Market Furniture show with Ryan's mom this year. I was hoping to be able to find a suitable reclining loveseat for our family room. I had a lot of fun looking at all the things they had for sale. It was a good chance for me to be with Ryan's parents as well, since we don't get to see them that often.

Happy Birthday Cannon!

Cannon turned 2 this year! I can't believe how grown up he's getting. He's such a cute little guy and LOVED opening his presents. He was so excited with everything he got----even the clothes, which he insisted on wearing--we were just lucky no one gave him any underwear. I think my favorite thing we said was when he opened some new shoes he proclaimed "they're not too tight!" I loved how excited and grateful he was for everything he received.

 

SUPERBOWL

My mom throws a great super bowl party---no matter who's playing. She's always got lots of yummy food--lots and lots. She's such a great mom, her fun parties are just one of the many many reasons I love her! Since the Steelers were my Fantasy Football defense I was rooting for them, although the food and commercials is really the only thing I care about :)

 

Bowling

Ryan and I decided to go bowling for our date night at the local bowling alley. It was a pretty fun time. Of course Ryan bowled much better than I did, but at least I had fun. I did bowl a few good frames. Of course Ryan got lots of strikes which produced smiles and happy dances, I of course got some gutter balls which produced pouty faces. It was a good time and I loved doing something different with my husband.

 

Happy First Birthday Morgan

Morgan turned one year old! WOW! I can't believe she's been in our family for a year. We celebrated with dinner, presents and cake. Morgan loved the Minnie Mouse we got her---almost as much as Emily did. She did love her cake, and really got into eating it--and smearing it everywhere. We love you Mo-mo!!!!

 

Bad example

Ok, this probably shouldn't be blogged about, but I want to remember how funny Josh thinks he is. At Morgan's party, Cameron took a plastic banana out of the kids' play kitchen and started making jokes with Ryan O about a banana in his pocket. Josh thought it was so funny he actually put the banana in Missy's pocket and then asked her if that was a banana in her pocket. We all laughed and he thought he was being so funny and actually "got" what his dad and uncle were doing.

First Knit Hat

I knitted a hat for Max--the first one I've tried. It turned out OK, pretty good I guess for my first hat. I think it's great that this little guy came along so I could stretch my knitting talents :) I made it as small as I could and it was still pretty big on the little guy---and Kimi thinks her kids have big heads---obviously not big enough for my knitting projects--ha ha ha. He'll grow, right?

Maxwell Andrew

Kimi's third little boy---Maxwell Andrew---I love his bald little head! He's a cutie and we love having him in our family. Good job Kimi and Andy

Sugar Bowl Champs! 13-0! Perfect Season! 2x BCS Busters

This year we again had season tickets to the U of U football games! WHAT A SEASON! It was fabulous watching the UTES inch closer and closer to a perfect season with each win---especially the games that went down to the wire. I don't think I've ever screamed so much as I did at the TCU game or the BYU game. Missy and Ryan organized some tailgating parties which are always a fun way to start a game---and get a good parking spot. The BYU game was crazy, the atmosphere had a charge to it and the victory was oh so sweet! The UTES were invited to play in a BCS game---2x BCS busters!!!---this time it was the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Of course the U was the underdog against Alabama and of course the UTES came out ready to play, scored 3 touchdowns in the first quarter and Bama never could catch up. GO UTES!!!
I am already excited for next season and have been practicing yelling "1-2-3 Utah firstdown!" I'm so lucky Ryan was easily converted to cheer for the U and loves going to football games.

Welcome 2009

We welcomed in the the New Year in Las Vegas. Our friends, Allan, Neira, and their daughter Andrea joined us for a few days in Vegas as well. I had a great time showing them the strip and the more touristy parts of Vegas. We even got to eat at this little Cuban restaurant in downtown that I used to go to while working at the US Attorney's Office. It was fun being a tourist and remembering all the things I did when I was young, crazy and in law school. I thought it was funny that I knew more about things to do than my husband who lived in Vegas much longer than I did.

Ryan's parents threw their traditional New Year's party with (too much) yummy food and games. Ryan's niece Heather had a baby December 17 so we got to meet our great nephew! I'm freaking out a little that I'm a great aunt---aren't you supposed to be old before you get that title??! It was nice to see family and to get away from the snow for a bit too.
Here's to a great 2009!!