My sister Stacey and niece Haylee came to visit us for Thanksgiving - YIPEEE!!!
Because Allegiant Air is the only airline that has a direct flight from Vegas to Bend she arrived the day after Thanksgiving so we held off on our family feast until Sunday. Of course I’m cramped for time or I could write a book on how much fun we had, how awesome it was for my sister to see where our new home is, the late night laughs we had, and of course, loving on my adorable niece.
Some highlights of the visit included a trip to the theater to see Tangled. The kids loved it and I thought it was pretty good myself. Dinner out with the family, playing in the snow, yummy Thanksgiving dinner, and lots of arts and crafts….
and a little yoga/hip hop exercise. =) And FYI, BEST.VIDEO.EVER! I love love love the kids exercising and of course my hip hop Sissie. =)
Thank you SO much Stacey and Haylee for the visit, we love you and can’t wait to see you again!!!
I’ve written before about my little budding artist. Shenzie loves to hijack my camera and take random photos around the house. I love when I upload my memory card and sit for a minute thinking, when in the world did I take these, before it registers that I didn’t, she did. =)
So yeah, I suspect that Shenzie is just as crazy as her Mama (poor girl). Many months ago (like 6 months) Shenzie decided she didn’t want to wear undies anymore. I have no problem with no undies so no biggie. Then her whole thing with clothes came about and OMG somebody should have just put me out of my misery because that was pretty sucky! So anyway….fast foward six months and presto, Shenzie decided she wants to wear undies again. Out of the blue yesterday she told me she needed to put on undies and was so proud of them she ran downstairs to show them to Daddy. That girl is too funny.
Ok, and now onto the fun. We took the twinzies sledding at Al Moody Park the other day and had such a fun time!!! At first Shenzie was scared, but quickly warmed up. They didn’t want to sled alone (we’re working on being brave), but we all had a great time nevertheless. Afterward, hot cocoa {and coffee} to end a great afternoon!!
And yes, I was a scared Sissy lala in this last one. Oh yeah, and I look like a jackass climbing the mountain, but hey..whatever!You can’t tell from the video, but that hill was pretty darn steep and icy. I swear, I just laugh at myself and my “I’m not going to get hurt am I” over and over again. In my defense I have two photo sessions Thursday and a hurt wrist so I didn’t want to hurt it further and not be able to work. Does that excuse the exaggerated scared-i-catness?
A few weeks ago during one of my many weather checks I noticed the days high was a whopping 15 and the low -4 (Ummm, yeah…that is a minus) with like 6-7 inches of new snow. The last time I was in temperatures that cold (I think it was like -50 degrees Celsius with some crazy wind chill factor) was a 2003 Christmas visit to Jeffs hometown Shaunavon, SK (where I froze my batooty off….so much so that the tears unknowing flowing from my eyes froze on my face). Freezing!!!
So anyway….after swearing I was going to stay home all day in front of the fire I changed my mind and ventured out into the freezing cold for coffee and lunch with my good friend Marci. The roads were covered in ice covered snow and I wanted to test drive the roads. Las Vegas doesn’t really have weather so I have no experience driving in real weather. I practiced stopping fast, but couldn’t quite make myself go into a slide. Sissy lala. =) I am happy to say that the weather, while cold, was totally fine. I did manage what my friend Brandi calls a Slo-Mo Slide thru 2 or 3 stop signs going a whopping 10 miles an hour, but nothing too crazy. We’re most likely going to invest in a set of snow tires for peace of mind and extra safe driving for this Vegas girl.
This is Shenzie “channeling” the snow gods.
After snowing all day and night we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland. It was magical, peaceful, and beautiful. First thing the next morning we all headed out in full gear. Snowsuits, coats, snow gloves, snowboots, and hats (well except for Jeff who froze his butt off while we were nice and toasty in our winter gear). We had a blast playing in the snow. It was so light and fluffy, the fluffiest snow I’ve ever felt in my life (although I’m sure Idaho had fluffy snow, I just don’t remember). I cannot wait to get on the mountain for some snowboarding fun.
Shenzie made her first snow angel…and I didn’t even get a photo of it! I did however get a photo series of the worlds best hug. I call it The Falling Hug:
So stinking cute! They are playing together SO well these days. Shenzie is usually the leader (gee, imagine that), but she loves to play with his train table, so he is happy. All that kid needs are trains, trains, and more trains and he’s a happy little man. Shenzie loves the snow. She runs through it yelling WHEEEEEEE. She is so warm blooded and doing great in the cold. Heaten and I sit on the couch cuddled up shivering like little desert rats.
So yeah, I’m beginning to suspect my fear of the winter was a bit exaggerated in my head. Much to my relief.
And yes, we may be a tad bit lame. Just a tad mind you. =) And Stacey, I hope you don’t kill me for this photo. It was this or the one of us groping each other…totally TMI. =)
