Photos by Micaela the Great!

we love you micaela!!!!

Christmas Surprises

So I have my brother, Steve's, name for Christmas this year. He's never gotten a "real" massage from me. I arranged ahead of time to get a sitter (Russ is out of town) so I could surprise him with one. I had Aimee tell him to meet them at Miracle Bowl (right next door to my work) to go bowling with her and the kids. She even had the brilliance to pretend she had no idea where Miracle Bowl was--she just had a coupon. After I finished with my first client, I got the room ready for him, put on my coat, and excitedly ran out to the parking lot--like a giddy school girl. (Brooke, that phrase was for you, remember when we used to always say that??) I saw Steve on the phone in the middle of the parking lot. I called him and hid behind a car. When he answered he turned around and saw me standing behind him. He got off the phone with my dad and told me he was waiting for his family to meet him for bowling and that they were late. I told him it was a ploy and he crooked his head to the side and said, suspiciously, "Really?" I linked arms with him and led him to the clinic, telling him that he was actually here to get a massage. He sheepishly smiled and told me how sneaky me and Aimee are.

I think one of my trademarks is that I LOVE SURPRISES!!! What Christmas surprises have you given or received this year?

Thanksgiving time

(sorry the pics are all out of order again.) Playing in Micaela's fun yard.

Trying out the new car seat..

Me, Russ and Gracee made a quick trip down to AZ for Thanksgiving. It was sad that I couldn't see everybody I wanted to see--quick trips are tricky that way.

We got to continue our tradition of running a turkey trot thanksgiving morning--only this time we shared it with Diane, Dad, and Slade! It really was a blast! (dad, can you send me what pics you have?) Me and Slade had so much fun just being goofy and silly like old times. We ate dinner with everybody at the Stokers, it was cozy and yummy.

This is Gracee modeling the dress Grandma made for her birthday. She loved her visit with grandma! She slept there and when grandma had to get up in the night to change her diaper--Gracee was just THRILLED!! She kept smiling at her in the dim light saying, "Hi!" over and over again! She definately remembers her from when she used to live with us here in UT! Grandma was very relieved about that!

The day after Thanksgiving Micaela did a photo shoot for us--pictures to come! Thanks for sharing your talent with us Kala, you are such a dream!

We enjoyed our visit with the Adams family and fish boys. Gracee loves her cousins. Thanks everybody for hosting us! We are lucky to have such fabulous hosts!

Run for Fun? What the Heck kinda fun is that??

Ok, so as usual my photos are all out of order. Cute. Anyway, the first annual Halloween Provo Half Marathon rocked! I did it with my good friend Kimberlee. It was an honor to run with her for her FIRST Half! Congrats again Kimmie! We started up by Aspen Grove Family Camp. We got to stay warm in the lodge while we waited for the race to start. That's actually a HUGE perk for a race, cuz usually they make you wait out in the freezing cold and your muscles and nerves get all crampy!

They blocked off the main highway for us to cross over to run on the Provo River trail. I felt som important as we ran passed at least 100 vehicles. They weren't even annoyed-acting that we messed up their morning commute. They cheered fur us and all of the fun costumes.

As long as my knees do okay, this run will be a yearly tradition. It was on my favorite running path and was organized very well. Thanks for reading!

silly sock friends...next year there'll be a better costume.

chip off the old block..

Momma and Gracee usually have the munchies... lucky for us, we usually try to make it something healthy...

if possible!!

Ha! I love this one. As soon is the refrigerator is open even for a second, she bolts over and immediately starts going for the carrot bag or the apple drawer. She takes a nibble or two out of each one and moves on to the next.

What goes down must come up!

We are so happy to have our Gracee back to health! The last two weeks were rotten rotten rotten! She had a virus that gave her horrible blisters in her mouth! She was so miserable and wouldn't eat or drink for quite some time. It was very traumatic for us. Russ had to pick up the pieces of myself I kept losing throughout each day. He was such a big support.

Luckily, she's been catching up on sleep. Yesterday she didn't wake up until 11:15am! (17 hours of uninterrupted sleep). I was just talking to a friend who is waiting for me right now at a play group. At about 10:30am I was telling her WHY Gracee was still asleep, "Well she went to bed soooo late last night! It was almost 9pm!" She said, "Nora went to sleep at 9pm last night too, but she woke up at 5am!" She says I'm a "lucky dog"!

But hey, we deserve it after the last couple weeks, right? We knew that when Gracee did feel better, it would be so much more wonderful and magical than we ever remembered health being! What goes up must go down...the reverse is also true.

Confessions and addictions

I am addicted to Foyle's War. I want to watch it ALL THE TIME. But I don't. I practice a great deal of self-restraint. But just know that it is because of this series and Gracee girl being sick the past while that I seem to have dropped off the face of the blogging, texting, cell phoning earth. Sorry, if you watch it you'll understand. I promise. Stay tuned.

Follow the Yellow brick road!

So we couldn't find a straw hat, but Russ is supposed to be a "mildy-dressed" scarecrow and I was Dorothy. I think doing family-themed Halloweens are so fun! Russ just humored me. What a trooper.

Gracee and her friend Lily. I loved the medal she wore as the cowardly lion. It was such a nice touch, dontcha think?

Gracee and her friend Maddie. "ROAR! Who says I'm cowardly??!"

A love affair

Are you one of those people who can't go to bed with the kitchen messy? Bed unmade? Are you one of those people who has to lick your plate in order to feel satisfied? (I hope you're reading this Star!) Are you one of those people who feels incomplete unless they have vacuumed? Dusted? Do you have to have a bowl of cereal EVERY morning? Not eggs, not pancakes--it has to be cereal, otherwise you will be starved the whole morning?

I AM!!

Russ and I both have a deep love affair with cereal. It's an expensive habit! Recently we've had to get creative and start thinking of other snacks at night and for skipped meals (Russ's dilemma when I am not at home.) I am putting up a list in our cereal cupboard that says, "Wait! Is this just a snack? Have you already had cereal today? Try another option FIRST:" We have put our heads together and come up with about 10 other snacks that we could settle for--in order to reserve the cereal for breakfast. We will have to muster a lot of self-control, but as I always say, "We CAN do hard things!"

The love affair will continue--oh yes--there's no doubt about it. But perhaps it will feel more special each morning to know that I won't be able to have another bowl for at least 24 hours...

Do you have a love affair you'd like to share?

My Protest

Recently Utah decided that EVERY phone number had to have the 801 area code placed in front of it, no matter where you are dialing from. (Even if it's not long distance.) Ever since then, there has been this wave of people being "801- happy" (if you are one of these people, I still love you.) So you may be asking, "What does '801 happy' mean"? It means that when somebody tells you their number they ALWAYS say 801 before it, and they pause to let you write it down before moving on to the other, less obvious digits in their number. As if I don't know! Granted, some people have out of state cell numbers. That and ONLY that would be the time to give me your area code. If you don't give me an area code, it's pretty darn clear that you have an 801 like all the rest of us! So if you are getting a number from me and I just tell you 7 numbers...please,whatever you do, don't say, "is that 801?"

Frightening monsters? Tis the Season!

Happy Halloween to one and all!!! We have a couple of frightening 'monsters' around our house that always make chills run up Gracee's spine!
This may look like a mere stereo to the untrained eye--but to Gracee it is a huge-mouthed creature with spinning teeth! The mouth pops out whenever one of those many buttons is pushed--not sure which one til she tries it--but when she does, she has to speedily rush to mom or dad for protection. It hasn't hurt her yet, but she's pretty sure that it could strike at any moment....

This one has a name that speaks for itself, "Devil"! She keeps going around the door to peer at it. When she does, she starts whimpering and tries to get our attention Once she gets it, she stops whimpering and points to it with a VERY troubled brow! When we use it, she has to be in our arms or far from it. She just stares at it with a mixed look of awe and trepidation.

A Camera in my Heart...

Today me and Russ and Gracee went to the canyon to enjoy one of our last warm and sunny days. Gracee looked so cute and was so cheerful toddling around. (She's starting to take a step or two--videos to come!) The leaves were all sorts of vibrant colors. Red, yellow, orange, brown...they were swirling all around us in the breeze! We had a yummy picnic and then played around on the grass and went for a walk. Gracee loved it every time we passed the water--she'd tense up and reach for it. She loved putting her feet in it. It was such a serene afternoon. The whole time I kept wishing I had the camera. It was one of those times I just had to tell myself to take a vivid shot with the camera in my heart. I have a lot of priceless photos in there, ya know. These moments are what the epitome of happiness is to me.

Happy Happy Birthday Gracee dear!

So I am of the belief that every parent has the right to freak out over their child turning one. Hopefully I am this sentimental about all of my children's "firsts". She seems to have taken her birthday as a rite of passage for many things, as future posts will attest! Anyhow, please celebrate with us by browsing this post and sharing any birthday wish you may have for Gracee! "Welcome to my party SkyMax (her cousin). Can I touch your hair? It's so lovely..."

Sharing food with Gramma Hannig

Play time with Aunt Stef

"Mom, dad....why are all of these people staring at me?? I like it, but why?"

"You want me to do what??"

"You're sure this is okay?"

She really did own this cake. Ever since her birthday, she keeps wanting to hold the whole piece of whatever it is she's eating. "Nevermind all of this piece- breaking business, give me the whole thing mom!"

"I LOVE eating this way!!"

A blood bath! And yes, that is a tomato in her hand, she's obsessed with squeezing and biting into produce!! What can I say? A chip off the block!

She loves to clap! Her hands and cheeks were rosey the whole rest of the day!

Though she had guests to entertain, she got distracted by our apple stash--her best friend right now. She loves to toss them around and take one bite out of each one!

Surprise!! My good friend Jesse dropped in from Cali to stay with us for a bit.

Two Kenzies and two Grac(i)ees!

Where's Gracee Girl? One year today..

A year ago this day we were getting acquainted with our new little nearly 8 lb bundle. Now 11 lbs. heavier and bursting with joy, Gracee has enriched our lives immeasurably. All those who know her or have met her are struck by her engaging ways. She LOVES making new friends and seems to really have a love for people. Hope you enjoy these two videos! Let me know if they work, this is my second attempt at being fancy by putting videos on here...

STAYCATION! Try it!

So if anybody has advice on moving pictures around to get them in a desirable order--I would love it!! I used to be able to move them, but it's not letting me anymore!!
ANYWAY! Here are some very out of order pictures of a staycation me and Russ took. It was in an effort to get us all refreshed for the 2 year overhaul we have on our hands with Russ starting his MBA program. I think it worked!

We took a whole week off and just played...yup! Here in Utah. Gracee and Russ both do much better in their own beds. =) My mom came to be a permanent babysitter for Gracee so could come and go as we pleased. It was just lovely. Russ made it so fun. Here are some of the things we did:
Fishing with Russ's cute dad!
Dinner at our favorite restaurant--Carrabbas!

On my birthday, for tradition's sake (and mine!), we did a tandem bike ride up the canyon with Gracee hooked to the back! she fell asleep on the way up! (We're making the # 29 with our fingers, if you can't tell!)

Amazing eggs and breakfast in bed from my honey! He's so good=) Look at that cut up fruit, he sure knows me!

Living Aquarium with Gracee. She really like this place!

Gracee at the stingray petting zoo. She had so much fun here!

She liked it here a lot better than the zoo because she was closer to the animals I think.

The zoo. She was pretty bored I think. A little disappointing. Next year?

We at lunch at the Lionhouse in Salt Lake.

We watched a 3-D IMAX show about bugs...it was really cool!

We went to "This is the place Monument" and Village.

We saw the new Oquirrh Mountain temple. We also ate at Sweet Tomatoes that night, yummy!

Good food and good company. That's a vacation to me. The only thing I didn't love was that I still had to do the 'household things' in order to keep my sanity when we were at home. Mom cleaned a ton--but she couldn't do it all. When we go on vacations AWAY from home, I don't have to clean at all!!! Other than that, it was to die for! We wanna do it again!