She's a walkin'...

It might be better to turn your sound off so you don't have to hear my cracking voice that is a little too excited! She has been movin' since last week and pretty much walks everywhere now, although still very cautious. She can officially go to nursery without being trampled on.

Christmas in Wyoming with the Skinners

We made our way through ice, sleet, snow, and rain to get to Gillette for Christmas. Although the drive was miserable (and we were recovering from the flu), we had an absolute blast. We went bowling, played tennis at the rec center, made goodie plates, spent a night in Deadwood, and watched Christmas Vacation. On Christmas Eve, my sisters and I even put our hair in pink sponge rollers like my mom did when we were little. (I didn't remember it being so uncomfortable - so I guess I'm not as tough as I use to be because once a year seems a little much now and she did it every Saturday night.) Max loved every minute of Christmas and after opening his Santa presents said, "I knew he would bring me King and Chick (from Cars), I just knew it." Avie was hilarious, just stealing everyone's stocking candy and torturing Max.

Photo Shoot

Our friend volunteered to snap some pictures of the kids for practice. She is professional already! I was so impressed with her natural ability. She's got my business (and I need to do it more often). The kids, on the other hand, had to be bribed with candy and wouldn't smile at the same time.... ARGH! It's hard with a 2-year-old and a 16-monther! They're still so darn cute. Max insisted on wearing his cowboy hat and boots. I only let him because he recently shaved his head with Brig's electric razor and we had to buzz his whole head. Thanks, Veronica!

Well, Avalon doesn't like Santa...

Guess who's the BIG 3-0???

I think I'll take a moment, celebrate my age
Think about my siblings and my ol' dog Gage
Now its time to focus in on where we go from here
Man, I can't wait for my next thirty years

Hey, my next thirty years I'm gonna have some fun
Maybe get an iPhone and shoot my shotgun
Now that I've conquered all my childhood fears
I can live life fuller in my next thirty years


My next thirty years I'm gonna follow ALL the scores
Sing a little less, dance a little more
Buy a ranch and horses without any fear
I'll have it firgured out here
In my next thirty years

Oh my next thirty years I'm gonna gain some weight
Eat a few more donuts and keep stayin' up late
Drink a little more orange juice and not any root beers
Maybe I'll even keep a journal for my next thirty years


My next thirty years will be the best years of my life
Raise a bigger family and play Yahtzee with my wife
Spend time with all my loved ones that I hold so dear
Do what I can in my next thirty years.
(Original lyrics by Phil Vassar (sung by Tim McGraw) and adapted by Shayla)

Happy Birthday, Brig!

That was October...

Halloween
Our tuckered-out puppy... She did enjoy the treats... a little too much I think.

Trick-or-treating at Grandma Gilberts - Max had to be the one to ring the doorbell.

He talked about being a fireman for weeks before Halloween. He also choose the rest of the costumes. Peanut was the dalmation and Brig was suppose to be the burnt victim and I was suppose to be a nurse.

I ran a half-marathon with my sister, Josie again on Halloween morning. We made these cool eyeball costumes. We filled ourselves with balloons and blown-up baggies so during the course of the run, we lost some of our stuffing. I will have to get the finished product pics from her. Brig brought the kids to cheer me on at the finish line and my cousin, Rob, came to support his sister and made signs for us as well. That was a fun surprise. Need less to say, after my aching body and helplessness the rest of the day and (the next), Brig suggested I don't run anymore 13 milers. It might be a good idea.

Random pics of Avalon... eating is her favorite time of day, and she loves noodles of all kinds. She calls them Noo-Noo's.

Girls Night Out with my cousins and niece... We went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Pointe. We had a blast. These crazy girls made me lead them through 2 haunted houses and I wasn't as tough as I thought I would be. The worst part was this inflatable tunnel that closed in on you - giving me the worst claustrophic feeling I have ever had. We rode go-tractors, shot corn from the cannons, ate yummy corn chowder, and giggled.

During Fall Break, we went up to the canyon with the Moffats and my grandma.

On a cold October morning, we went to the Homecoming parade. Brig and I had a good time laughing at the dancers and gathering candy for the kids (and ourselves). We also ate the blue pancakes. The best part of that was finally realizing that Peanut's Smurf blue poo a day later came from those. She often has funny colors, but I was a little concerned about this.

We became fans of the law school intramural football team. Here it was half-time story time. Dad was the MVP. Check him out.

Just another tackle for that stud. The season ended a bit rough last week, but they are already looking forward to basketball.

Lastly, we had a good visit from one of my Wymount friends. She babysat Max for me while I was in class during Brig's deployment. I was always bummed that Brig wasn't around because I knew he would really like her husband. They finally met and talked sports for well over an hour. Wish they were still here!

I didn't post any of our trip to Arizona because I'll do it in a separate post (maybe even before the end of the year).