Our second FIFTH ANNIVERSARY trip!!

No, it's not how it sounds. Me and Russ didn't get married to each other twice and we don't have two 5th anniversaries. But we did celebrate our 5th twice...sort of. Last year we decided to take a cruise with our friends, Jason and Kenz, and call it our 5th anniversary trip. It was aout 8 months early though, but we knew/hoped I'd be pregnant when the real thing rolled around so we wanted to go when I wasn't pregnant. But me being the sentimental FOOL (that was for you mom!) I am, we decided to have a little getaway on the real day too.Our "first celebration" of five years...just a little early! --summer 2010
Carnival Splendor Mexican Riviera (yes the one that got stranded a few months later with some other poor travelers...luckily it wasn't us!) Doesn't Russ look SO HANDSOME here??? Just admit it!
Just a little brisk xc skiing at Soldier Hollow, just minutes away from our Bed and Breakfast, Invited Inn. It was fantastic! Russ doesn't love the concept of doing something active amdist nature (whatever the weather conditions) the way I do but he still enjoyed getting out and doing something different...he said so=)

dinner at Snake Creek Grill in Heber. Russ's meal had blue cheese on it (eckh!)...they coded it in the description by calling it gargonzola!! Apparently neither me or Russ are familiar with cheese lingo, cuz we both hate blue cheese and didn't realize that his dish would be COATED in it! It was pretty icky. But we both like my salmon!
Our first date was on a drive up to Heber where we went to Dairy Keen. We love going on drives together and talking or playing name that tune with the radio. So after Russ's unsettling meal, he decided to get full on a sentimental Dairy Keen treat instead of a good meal!
Then I surprised him by taking him to Midway Ice Castles, also minutes away from our fantastic bed and breakfast. It was such an amazing display of creativity and originality! You should check it out, if you are local. Here are just a couple of many amazing pics we captured.

I gave him a note for each day for 5 days preceding our anniversary. They were all little clues on what fun thing we were doing that day. (I'll do a post on that later). This was the clue for the anniversary day. The quote is from the website for the ice castles, and I thought it perfectly described our relationship.

On the day of our anniversary my prince gave to me...

the most beautiful moment of my life at 1:40pm on the most sunny and warm winter day we had seen yet that year. You have also given me a relationship that is beautiful because of its "ever-evolving nature." That is why tonight I am taking you to a structure that is beautiful for those same reasons.

I love you sweetheart, happy 5th anniversary!

This is just a little shot of our room. The thing that was so cool about this place is it had a sauna and steam room in your room! How fun is that? The owners are named Bill and Susi, what cute names! They offer an hors devours hour where they serve drinks made to order (she uses a Blendtec for her smoothies and doesn't put any of that sweet crap in them!) and cute little classy hors devours. The breakfast the next morning was very classy and they served drinks made to order then too. They stayed and chatted with us for about 45 minutes, they are a really interesting and neat couple. I said I would spread the word about them. We love B&B's with character, this one will go on our list of winners for sure!

The next day we were able to do some sealings too. It was such a fun and reflective 24 hours. Thanks honey! Here's to another great year.

A dose of emotional honesty...

So Gracee must've been peaking over my shoulder when I wrote that last post about her always trying to do good. ...yah we've had a major week of experimentation with boundaries and I'm soooo tired! She's so darn cute though, I just keep praying for more patience! I know I say this all the time but I SO admire mothers with two or more kids! Wow, I'm just exhausted. Anyway here are some pics of what has been going on over here.

25 weeks and counting!! He won't stop moving, what does that tell ya?

finger painting with Aunt Jesse (see FB for video)

Potty date with mom and dad because she filled up her

second potty chart!! Slide and ice cream!Woohoo! She

really seems to be solidifying this potty stuff. Phew!

Oh and I love that she likes to be girlie!! She always wants

me to paint her nails with the kit that Gramma Peterman

left here. I even put a sticker on today and so far she has

kept it on--woohoo!!!

Dry!!!

This beautiful person successfully stayed dry during her nap today!! She begged to wear her undies during her nap instead of a diaper, so I hesitantly put a towel down and explained to her to try and hold it til after her nap...Woo hoo! She got TWO stickers for that one! Children are so amazing. She is so patient with me and really tries so hard to be good. Sure there are those testing moments, but overall, she has a desire to do good. Thanks Gracee, for making my day today.

The perfect morning...

This was the perfect end to a perfect morning/afternoon with Gracee before heading out to work. One of the best. And yes, those are big girl undies you see on her...making progress=) go to this link http://www.facebook.com/video/?id=604500485 to see "the perfect morning". There are two videos from that day.

(It was too big for me to put on blogger)

Nikon D3100

Thanks honey for my new camera!! I haven't edited these photos or anything, but even unedited, they show off how wonderful this camera is. The pictures are so crisp.

It's a boy!!

Yes, for those of you who didn't catch my hint a few posts back, we are pregnant!! We are so so excited. We've had two official ultra sounds telling us it's a boy! They didn't give us a disk so I just took a pic of the prints. Pretty great huh?

I'm dabbling in nursery themes and/or color schemes. The first one that I've thought of is doing just a color theme: red and aqua. Is that girlie? I have white bead board, crib, and shelves. I want to have the curtains and quilt I make match. I have quilt material that kind of is a nusery rhyme theme. any sites you can send me to that while prime my creativity pump???

Oh the things you say...

Gracee talks a ton, and with that comes some really funny and cute things.

10. bye bye ___________ (to everything and everyONE! She is constantly saying bye bye to everything, ever since Grandma Peterman left home to AZ after a long summer stay.

9. "you mama" (this is her way of saying "I love you too)

8. ___________night night? (she asks this when ANYBODY is closing their eyes for any reason or has their head down.)

7. "too too chrain!!" (This is said in response to the sound of a train or the sight of a semi, a truck pulling something, or any vehicle longer than a pickup truck)

6. "too too chrain (jabber jabber) far (jabber jabber) see?" Me: "yes Gracee, the choo choo train is to far away to see right now huh?" Gracee: "Uh huh"

5. Me: "Gracee, do you want to go downstairs with me to switch the laundry?" Gracee: "uh umm.... (long pause) YAH! She considers every question negotiable and by taking a while to think it through before answering, it's almost like she is letting us know she is her own person.

4. "Pretty singing (a small pause for emphasis), Mama!" She'll do anything she can to get me to sing something and then finish off with that nice compliment.

3. The word "fesin" means "this one"--so clearly, it can mean several things. "Table...fesin. Ball fesin. Blanket fesin..." She lovingly taps whatever it is she is referring to as she chants.

2. (From Dorah the Explorer:) "Gracee, say 'swiper no swipin'!'" Gracee: "NO SWIPIN' NO!"

1. My favorite is when she'll run up and grab me with a squeeze and say "WUV!!!!" (meaning, of course, love.)