Thanksgiving 2010 - Jackson, WY.

Before Andi, our annual Thanksgiving tradition was to go camping together. Goal was always one of the national parks in the region. Since camping in zero degree weather with a toddler doesn't really spell out "fun" to me, but we still wanted to have a little adventure get-away as a family, we decided to go with a cabin in Jackson, WY. Still close to a National Park :)
We had a lot of fun walking through town, we went swimming in the pool, played in the snow in Grand Teton National Park, got to see a lot of animals (lots of elk, deer, moose, a couple of buffalo, foxes, bald eagles, and even two wolves, which was a total treat!), went up in the gondola of Jackson Hole ski resort, and did what every other American does during Thanksgiving break: be lazy and eat :).

The antler arches in Jackson square:

Our Cabin:

The traditional shot by the National Park entrance sign:

Ben is demonstrating where the Tetons got their name:

Gorgeous views:

The fam playing in the snow:

Tetons by sunset:

Andi enjoying the gondola:

Ben and Andi in the gondola:

Andi practising her snowboard-pose ... she's a natural!

Lots of snow to play in!

:)

Walking in the snow.

First big snow!

A perfect wintery day yesterday, with the first big snow of the season. Also the first time really for Andi to get to go out and play in it! Last year she was only crawling, so she didn t get to enjoy much of the snow then (though she ate a lot of it then....I would put it in a bowl for her to play with inside). We bundled up and went out on the deck to play:


Snowflakes in my face :)


It's hard to walk in that stuff!


Making snowballs with mom and throwing them for Sage to go after.

Halloween

For Halloween this year I decided to make Andi a Dutch Milk Maid outfit! She already had the clogs, so it was only the logical decision :)
I googeled some images for inspiration, went to walmart for the fabric, started cutting and sewing, and this is the end result:

The basket is lined with paper that has milk bottles drawn on it. One side of the "label" says "MILK", while the other side says "50% DUTCH" :)

Our little milk maid

With chocolate in her mouth...had to bribe her for the pictures.

Ohhh, more candies!

We had a fun time trick or treating at the clinic with a bunch of friends!

Look at all the candies I got!

After that we went trick or treating at the UW Union, but we didn t last long there...too busy.

Runnin'

On several weekday mornings I strap Andi into her stroller, and together with Sage we head out for a run. We have several routes through the neighborhoods we take, depending on what mileage I feel like that day. Andi is comfy in her ride with some juice and snacks, and Sage usually trots some 10 yards behind me, tongue dragging, but still I think she enjoys it as well.

Then on the weekends, either Saturday morning, or Sunday before church, Ben watches Andi, giving me some time to do something alone, and them some quality father-daughter time. Yes, I could go back to bed with a book, take a bath, or go shopping or whatever, but, you guessed it, that's when I head out for my solo long runs. I love it.

Depending on the weekend, this can be about 6 miles, or sometimes 8-10 miles. Sage can't make it that far (I know, lame excuse for a lab!), so either I bring her home about half way through, or I just go out completely solo. Taking advantage of being strollerless, I usually pick a route that includes the field by our house, or the area behind the golfcourse.
Last Saturday however, I got the ultimate strollerless experience, running a 10 mile race over some beautiful, mountainous trails at Happy Jack! Katie convinced me to do it, and I'm happy she did! It was a gorgeous Wyoming fall day, sunny and slightly brisk and windy.

* Some gorgeous fall running, ~ mile 3 (picture courtesy of Katie)

Since the course has a decent climb between miles 4 and 5, and I'm not used to running hills that much, I figured I'd pace myself for the first couple of miles, wanting this race to be an enjoyable experience.

* elevation map


* course map

I got to chat with Katie and Jason those first couple of miles, until nature called Jason to take a wee bit of a break, and Katie decided to stay back and stick with her man (cudos!).


(picture courtesy of Katie)

At mile 4 there was a little aid station with refreshments, and then the uphill fun began. Though it punished the buns a bit, it wasn't too bad :)


Beautiful views from the top (picture courtesy of Katie).

A little after mile 6 there was another aid station where I grabbed me a fruit bar to munch on, and realized that this run was going great, completely enjoyable and easy, and that I should probably increase pace a bit. After passing my old PhD advisor on another uphill section around mile 7 I was just having way too much fun, and decided to take off the breaks and open up those engines some more :) The last 3ish miles were pretty much all downhill, and I later described this to Ben (he declared me crazy) as the best roller coaster ride ever: running downhill over some beautiful rocky trails, underneath gorgous fall aspen trees....woheee! There weren't any other runners around me, so I was just having a blast! Yes, there are indeed people out running with a huge grin on their face, even when no-one is watching. :)
When I crossed the finishline in 1:43:50, I wished there was more of the course left.

I like me some runnin' ... always have, always will :)

Vedauwoo fall

We've made a few trips to Vedauwoo over the last couple of weeks, and have a few pictures to share!

Last week Saturday, when our husbands were out hunting, Jo and I went to Vedauwoo with the kids. We took a little walk, then had a picnic lunch, and played on the rocks with the kids. Great day.

Fall colors

Our little rock climber

Exploring

With my girl

Then earlier this week, we went to Vedauwoo with the Ennist in the evening to take their family pictures (which I'm sure you ll see on their blog soon!). Sean also took some pictures of us:

The fam.

Andi loved (giggled the whole way!) "running" down the hill on momma's hand.

Times with daddy of course are the best!

And then, two of the cutest pictures:

Weston and Andi

Friends :)

18 months

Andi's 18 months old! :)

Like I said in the previous post, we're enjoying this "boom" in language development toddlers this age seem to be having, and it seems she s learning new words weekly, or mimicing ours. I love how she tilts her head when she asks me (in her own language) a question, and have to say it is quite convenient sometimes that she can obey more of the simple commands ... yay for her starting to put her own toys back!! Another big step: first solo down the slide at the park! Feet first, on her belly, smiling all the way down.

She still has *quite* the intense personality sometimes though, which can result in quite the temper tantrums. No, I don't like to say this, but it makes her look possessed sometimes :)

She's got 3 molars now, and 6 going on 7 teeth. She's also still not always a fan of having to eat her balanced meals and would rather eat crackers, bread and cereal all day long. But, she loves to eat raisins, and we recently also discovered her love for black beans. A true surprise to me since I hated them as a kid. I even ended up having to peel them out of a burrito I was eating (and licking of the cheese sauce, because "no mom, I don't want the cheese sauce") because she saw them in there and wanted some. I felt like a bird regurgitating food for her baby :) I guess it's good to have found another protein source for her, because I guess she's quite petite! Makes me wonder if she'll take after the women on her dad's side of the family, and turn out shorter and curvier than her mom! (Ha, maybe she will be happy to know that she actually has a chance of developing boobs when she grows up, unlike the ladies on her mom's side of the family :) ) Anyway, that is besides the point ... at this mornings checkup:

Height: 30 1/2 inches (15th percentile, dropped from 27th)

Weight: 21 lbs 9 oz (12th percentile, dropped from 25th)
Head: 47 cm (steady at ~64th percentile)

And of course a few pictures:

18 month shot with Slungel

I've got teeth on the top and bottom!

Our cutie :)

Trying on her mamma's shoes for size :)

Playdate with friend Weston

She also her her first overnight away from mom, so that mom and dad could go on a date. It was a grand success if you ask me, sure to be repeated! Her grandpa took these pictures as she was helping grandma in the garden:

Picking and sorting green beans.

With grandma in her garden.

Andi is also starting to copy me doing things around the house. She's a pro at talking on the cell phone (Hi!), and will have whole conversations. She likes to help feed Sage, and, since last week she "helps" me vacuum! I take an extension piece off of my vacuum for her to pretend with, and it is too fun!