Walking With Dinosaurs

On Wednesday night we were able to take Blake to Walking With Dinosaurs. He absolutely loved it!! He was so excited for the show to start; and when it did we no longer needed the paleontologist there to tell us about the different eras and types of dinosaurs, Blake knew it all! The minute he saw a dinosaur about to enter the stage he told me the name and several facts about it. I guess it helps that his favorite show is Prehistoric Planet.

I would list the names of these dinos...but I haven't a clue as to what the names are.

Blake's favorite part of the show was when the T-Rex came out! He loved it!!! He said it was so cool that the T-Rex looked right at him and growled!

Blake's play by play on the way home of his favorite parts of the show....this is the T-Rex!

This is what he thought of the show!! He was so cute at the very end he gave the dinosaurs a standing ovation and clapped his heart out! His excitement for the show made it so much fun for me.

Adventures in Snowboarding!

I had been wanting to find something Chad and I could do together that is a little more down Chad's alley. He loves anything outdoors, and especially loves winter sports! He loves to ski and is really good at it. I tried skiing a few times with him, but it is not for me. I don't enjoy it and am very uncoordinated when it comes to keeping my ski's together, I usually end up going down the hill in the splits! So I have been wanting to try snowboarding, this is something Chad has picked up in the past few years and loves it.

My sister-in-law Jessica wanted to plan a snowboarding trip while she was here for the holidays. She wanted to also take a lesson before hand. This was perfect, not only was I going to be able to try something new with Chad, I was going to do it with girls, and with some sort of instruction! A dream come true!!

Here we are in our group lesson. It was nice we all got to be together for the "Colyar private lessons".

Jess, Kirsti, Dan & Eli (instructor)

Me looking like a beginner! I think I could use more lessons.

Jess & Kristi getting the hang of it. Nice form girls!

Dan Shredding!

This is one of my favorite pictures-for some unknown reason Jessica kept getting drawn to this sign. It brings a smile to my face every time I see it!

This is for Chad and Craig---see your wives are cool and athletic!

The group!

(Chad, Kirsti, Kristi, Jess, Dan, Iris, & Jeff)

I ended up really liking snowboarding!! I hope Chad and I can do it again before the snow is gone. We all know I could use the practice--no worries Chad I'll get faster. Thanks Jessica for planning this amazing trip!

Christmas

We had a great Christmas! We had my parents over for an amazing breakfast, thanks to Chad! He made a baked french toast with a raspberry sauce, it was really yummy. Something good has come from him watching the Food Network.

Then we were off traveling from family to family the rest of the day. It is such a relief to finally get home at the end of the day and relax! I think next year we should stay home and let family come and visit us!

You can tell from the pictures who was excited it was Christmas and who was not. Luke had more fun with Blake's gift then his own, but he is really not a toy lover he would rather play with something electronic.

It's officially too cold for me!

Tonight as I was leaving work my windows were frosted over like usual. So I thought with a few quick sweeps of the wipers and the heat on full blast I didn't have to get out and scrape my windows. So I began to leave and soon realized that I couldn't see a thing. I was going to have to pull over, get out, and scrape. I got out and began to scrape my windows...nothing was happening. So I felt it with my bare hands...nope, no frost. Weird...? Then I felt the inside, and sure enough they were frosted on the INSIDE!! Who would have guessed that the inside of their car would have frozen over! Never saw such a thing! So, awkwardly I scraped the inside of my car windows, and was left with frost shavings everywhere, and an ice box to drive home in! I tell ya I have to get out of this place, much too cold for me!

Oh, a big thanks to Tara for waiting with me, and laughing so hard I'm sure you peed your pants!

Dear Shelley,

I know there are some thoughts and or concerns going through your mind about your recent trip planned to Utah. Here I am going to answer them for you!

• 1-Will my "warm" blooded kids get to experience somewhat of a "White Christmas"...or will there be snow?

-Yes! This is what we did today during Luke's nap. There will be snow...might be iced over by the time you get here but it will be here!

• 2-Did Kirsti really make the truffles that are to die for?
  
  

-Yes. It's a dirty job, but somebody has got to do it. Two days later and a huge mess; I think I am done in the kitchen for the holidays.

• 3-Will there be any truffles to partake of by the time you get here?

Ahh...little pieces of heaven!

-No guarantees on this one. I did make three different flavors this time, Chocolate, Mint, and Candy Cane. I have heard they are really good, but still have yet to try them. I know...I know I will do it tonight!

You better hurry! I will try to save you some, but I don't think that they will be in such cute little boxes! If I were you I would think about moving up your dates!

Best of luck,

-Kirsti-

Holiday Happenings!

Last year we started a tradition of letting the kids decorate the tree. This worked out really well this year because they put on all the decorations and everyday rearrange them. I could care less because there is no rhyme or reason to it and I didn't have the headache this year trying to make it look good. (which never ends up happening anyway.)

Luke helping to do his part. He practices everyday, and finds way to improve his masterpiece!

Blake is a pro this year! His careful placement of the bulbs are very well thought out.

Job done! Pure satisfaction!

This year we thought we would hit the "Big City" and see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. Blake really enjoys riding the "train" so we jumped on board with the public transportation. Big mistake...this is expensive! This cost us more then parking and gas to get there would have. But Blake was sure excited to show Savannah "NYC" (Blake thinks SLC is NYC), and tell her all about when he gets big he is going to live there. Next time, I am NOT going to remind him that we can take the train.

Enjoying their train ride to the "Big City"!

The boys bundled up for the chilly night.

Looks like we were all enjoying it at some point.

Next, I thought that we could make sugar cookies! Which was a lot of fun, but man this is a lot of work! This took me almost all afternoon. Blake was eating the cookies as fast as he was decorating them. I decided to do it all myself this year instead of getting the store bought cookie mix or the ready made dough. I even made my own frosting and colored it too! (I think my mom has just passed out!) See I do use the pricey mixer I "display" on my counter!

Blake loves doing this. If only he didn't make them look so appetizing and eat them as he goes!

Our finished product. I can't believe they turned out so well! They were very yummy, crunchy on the edges and soft and chewy in the middle. I surprised myself! Maybe I'll do it again next year!

Interesting Conversation...

Yesterday as Blake was getting to the end of his homework, I told him to see if he could be done by the time I went up and got Luke from his nap and made it back down. He was not thrilled with my comment and ignored me like usual.

When I got back down stairs he said that he had a new plan for his homework. He informed me that if I would would like to see his homework it was going to cost me. He then said that this was going to cost a dollar and a coin every time! I decided to play along, and said okay let me see it and I will pay you later...nope he needed his money upfront. I never have cash so I was out until Chad got home.

When Chad got home he was explained the situation and then kindly gave Blake a dollar and a penny. Blake took the money and handed over the homework, and then gave this little evil laugh. Then he said I think I am going to write Grandma Cook a letter and tell her to pay me if she wants to read it! As he ran upstairs to put his money in his bank, he said "this is great, I am going to get so much money! "
Where did this kid come from??!!!!