Girls Just Want To Have Fun

I just got back from a girls' weekend with my old college roommates and it was fabulous. I want to say it had been about 5 years since we had all been together but it was just like old times. Here are some of the highlights:

Running my long run Saturday morning in shorts and a tank top. ( no pics but just imagine my face with a big smile enjoying the warm weather and 6200 ft. difference in elevation)

Eating lunch at Hodad's (it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) Super delicious and totally worth it

Touring the USS MidwayLooking sweet in our audio tour headphones

The lady who took this picture obviously had never used a camera before

Getting pedicures (Tracy's pretty toes with a flower)

Jonnelle's baby shower
Hanging out on the beach
Being plain silly

There are more pics floating around among the roommates so stay tuned...only if you want to see more pics. :)

Christmas Part Deux

Tracie's parents came to visit this week, so that meant we had a second Christmas of sorts.
Brooke is a quick learner, which means that she didn't need to be reminded what to do to a wrapped present.


She really likes the Aquadoodle, and we enjoy the mess free marker.

We also went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to check out the Ghengis Khan exhibit. It was pretty cool, but Brooke was soon over being in the stoller, being held, being on my shoulders, you get the picture. She did enjoy the rest of the museum a little more, since it was a bit more interactive. It was a fun week, and Brooke enjoyed all of the extra attention. We appreciated the extra hands towards the end of the week as Brooke battled a bit of a stomach bug. All in all, a nice relaxing week of good company, great food and lots of laundry!

Year End Review - 2009

I can't believe 2009 has come and gone in a blink of an eye. Here are some of the fun memories of the past year:



January - We spent a lot of time taking pictures of Brooke and rang in the Chinese New Year with some friends.



February - Decided to sell our trusty '91 Acura Integra and upgrade to something a little more reliable in the snow - our Honda Pilot. Decided to get away from the cold and head down to California to visit family and friends.


March - Went to Hong Kong for my grandpa's funeral while Troy got to live it up at the Ritz Carlton in Puerto Rico for "business". Brooke decided to start crawling.

Troy's view from his hotel room. Rough.

April - Brooke finally gets crawling down and realizes she can get places...or take her clothes off. We get to celebrate Taylor's entrance to the world. My parents and Will and Kristin come to visit during Easter. Both kids and adults got to participate in an egg hunt. My friend, Megan, came to visit and check out the area.



May - Shane and Heather come to visit and partake in some Wii action. Add some flowerbeds to liven up the backyard. Take our first road trip with Brooke to surprise Troy's family...his parents decide to head to CA that weekend.



June - Troy's family decides to make it up to us and head out here to visit. Troy surprises me with a trip to Beaver Creek.


July - Enjoying the summer heat by heading to the pool. Celebrate Brooke's first birthday with my parents.



August - Enjoyed the Ware family bi-annual family vacation. Brooke starts taking her first steps. Also celebrated our 5th anniversary.



September - Head to Dallas with Troy while Brooke stays back and hangs our with Grandma. Then head down to California to celebrate my dad's and my birthdays. Also make a visit to the happiest place on earth, Disneyland.


October - Spend some time with Uncle Jonathan. Troy's parents and little bros come out to celebrate Troy's birthday, see Wicked, and Halloween. Brooke enjoys her first tastes of candy.



November - Make a quick trip to UT while Troy heads to Chicago and S. Carolina. Brooke hams it up for the camera. Enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with the Steeles.



December - Enjoyed the holiday season by baking and making treats. Brooke gets spoiled by Santa for Christmas.

Christmas at the Warehouse

Here are some Christmas highlights from the Colorado Wares.
The child was nestled all snug in her bed, while visions of sugar plums danced in her head.

Making Christmas sugar cookies to deliver to friends and neighbors.

Dressing up warm to deliver aforementioned cookies to said neighbors.

Christmas Eve crab bake with the Davis family.

Christmas morning. It took her a little while to figure out that there was a reason to rip off the paper, but she sure enjoyed her presents.

She enjoyed all of her gifts, and played with all of them for the rest of the morning.

A special thanks to all the gifts we received, we are very grateful to have such loving and caring families to share (albeit long distance) Christmas with.

Naughty or Nice?

Santa's coming to town on Thursday night, but only if Brooke is being good. Here's the list that Santa is making to see if she is naughty or nice.

Getting into the bathroom drawers while Mom gets ready for church, naughty or nice?

Discovering how to get Mom's Ipod on and open, naughty or nice?

Ignoring mom, naughty or nice?

Putting on her hat and mittens and hoping to go out and play in the snow, naughty or nice?

We've now completed all of our Christmas checklist items, the gifts are bought and wrapped, we've taken part in the ward Christmas program, and we've consumed numerous offerings from friends and neighbors. We are looking forward to a week of anticipation and peace leading up to Friday.

One note on the Christmas Program, the final number was O Holy Night, and it was amazing. Tracie was playing the piano and we had the organ going as well. All that sound was a great cover for the choir, so we felt that we could sing loud. It was a great ending and left a great spirit with everyone for the rest of the day.

I'm In!!!

Call me crazy but I've already made a New Year's Resolution for next year. I'm running a half marathon. Yikes!!!! I was inspired from watching Biggest Loser and seeing the contestants that used to be 250+ pounds run a full marathon. I thought that if they can run a full the least I can do is run half. Also, about 5 1/2 years ago I was supposed to run the Moab Half Marathon but got sick during the winter and couldn't train so my gracious roommate, Erin took my spot. I don't think, wait, I'm absolutely positive that I won't be able to beat "my" previous time but my goal is to do it under 2 1/2 hrs. That's feasible, right?! Anywho, thought I'd let you in on one of my resolutions. Let the training begin!!!!

Brrr

It is currently a whopping 3 degrees outside and I think we've already reached the high for today. The low for tonight is -5. Can't wait.

Onto more exciting news, we finally got our Christmas tree and decorations up. I had been busy with my Relief Society Christmas dinner that I had not been able to get into the Christmas spirit. No worries now. The Christmas music has been flowing everyday since last Thursday and I'm actually, kind of enjoying the white pre-Christmas we're having. Brooke loves looking at the tree and every morning when she sees it she always has to say, "wow" or "whoa".

Within the last couple weeks Brooke has learned how to open screw tops, ziploc bags, pen caps, etc. That has made things really interesting. I usually shut the door while I'm in the shower and let Brooke have free reign around the bedroom. On Friday, while I was squeeging the shower door I noticed that it was a little too quiet. I called out to Brooke but heard no answer. Quickly toweled off and opened the bathroom door to find Brooke with a blue highlighter in hand. I didn't get a picture of her in the act but here is the evidence that she left behind. Somehow she managed to miss the walls (thankfully) and her face. What a silly kid.

Brooke has also taken interest to the goings on in the kitchen. She "helped" me bake some cookies yesterday and enjoyed the fruits of her labor...some chocolate chips.

Gobble, Gobble

We spent Thanksgiving with our friends Justin and Kristin. Tracie was in charge of making the apple pie, and she did a fabulous job. She hires out by the pie, and I hire out for my hair-tying-back skills!
We made good use of the apple peeler/corer, and it turned out delicious.



So did the rest of the food, and it was nice to not have to be concerned about weather and travel on this Thanksgiving. It was a relaxing holiday weekend, and we even had time to sneak in a little Black Friday shopping.

Brooke did great during the meal, despite being the only kid there. She ate olives and played with Remi, who has gotten more used to Brooke since the first time they met (and vice versa).

On Friday, Brooke put on her hat and mittens to protect against the chill while we put the lights up outside. We made quick work, though it wore Brooke out since she was falling asleep in her high chair during lunch.

Saturday we had Jen, Gavin, and Declan over for chili and the BYU-Utah game. You may recall (not likely) that they were last down for the BYU-Oklahoma game. The outcome and the food were just as good this time around, and Brooke enjoyed having a playmate during the game. Turns out we are quite the potent combination for a BYU victory!

On the football theme, I took Tracie on a long deserved date last weekend. We had dinner at the Old Stone Church here in town, after ironically fighting traffic due to the starlighting festival. Then we headed to the local movie theater to watch the Blindside. It was very good, with a very good story, and a must see for everyone, in my opinion.