Time To Celebrate

After finding out about our GIRL (thank you so much for all of the congratulations!), Ben and I headed up to Estes Park for a getaway.

Audra and Claire got to stay the night at Grandma and Grandpas- HUGE thank-yous to them for being willing to watch them overnight! As we were packing up to go, Audra got a huge pile of clothes to pack, turned to Claire and excitedly said, "We're moving in with Grandma!" Sometimes they really know how to make us feel loved.

Some friends of friends offered to let us use their cabin. It is so incredibly generous of them- this couple is the most thoughtful couple I know, and being willing to let virtual strangers use their cabin is just one very small example of all of the kindnesses they have shown us and many, many, others. We were thrilled that they let us use their cabin so we could have a night of sleep without kids waking us up. We actually got to sleep in! It was wonderful.

Anyway, we started our trip by driving into Estes Park. We went to the Stanley Hotel and went on their "ghost tour." I went on this several years ago with my former roommate Katie and her then boyfriend Ben and I am absolutely, 100% convinced this place is haunted (what do you think KT?). I was SOOOO excited to take Ben so that he would finally agree with me. Unfortunately, they have redone how they do the tours and it was more "history" than ghost stories (unless you go on the 2 hour official Ghost Story tour which they only do late at night), so Ben left completely unconvinced. We'll have to do the 2 hour tour sometime, I guess. Here are some pics of the tour:

Here is a Stanley Steamer, built in 1909:

 Here is spooky room 217- the one Stephen King stayed in when he was inspired to write "The Shining." It is said to be haunted by a former maid to that room who now unpacks peoples bags, opens doors, and shows great service to the guests (how could these stories not convince Ben that the hotel is indeed haunted???):

 This is the inside of another haunted room. In this room, somebody turns the bathroom light off and on while people shower:

 This is an underground tunnel, and employees have to enter through this tunnel. (I should explain. The tunnel we are in front of goes to nowhere and is not used for anything, but the larger tunnel that this tunnel is inside is how the employees walk through to get to and from work. Does that make sense?) How creepy is that- even without a good haunting? But, sometimes, the lights go out in the tunnel for no apparent reason. Scary!

Then we went to dinner at the only restaurant in town that was open, and we were the only guests the entire time. Estes Park is definitely in shut down mode in the winter time, which we actually liked. We don't like big crowds, so it was perfect.

After dinner we headed to the cabin. Here is a picture of it the next morning:

 

We had to park at the bottom of the driveway because it was all ice, and from here you can't really see the cabin, but you can see how beautiful the area is. 

Then this morning we went to breakfast at Dave's Diner. Here's a picture:

If you look closely, you can see the diner on the right and the Medical Marijuana Pot Dispensary on the left. We weren't sure we wanted to go to a restaurant right next to a Pot Dispensary, but we were on an adventure, so we figured "what the heck?" Everything turned out just fine.

It was nice to be away without kids and just spending some time with Ben. It was also nice to realize once again how much I LOVE just being with Ben. After 7 years, there is still nobody I would rather spend time with. I sure do love that man!

Guess What We're Having...

Here's some clues to help you figure out whether we are having a boy or girl:

1. This will be the cheapest baby on the planet

2. Names that Audra has picked out for the baby are:

a. Audriana

b. Clara

c. Tina

d. Hoopla

I Love That This Goes On!!!

Every year I get a little giddy when I hear that Community Outreach Day continues on at BYU! I love that something I started just grows and grows! One person (with a TON of help and support from the best roommates and friends and sisters EVER!) can make a difference. Here's the article from The Daily Universe about yesterday's festivities:

A day united in service

Campus events on Martin Luther King Jr. provide opportunities to serve 

A free day from school Monday provided students and community members with the opportunity to give service and honor the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr.

Casey Peterson, director of the Center for Service and Learning, said the event was well-attended with more than 1,000 volunteers participating in more than 30 service projects on campus and throughout the community. He said he hopes that this day will be only the beginning of a year dedicated to service.

“I hope that this day is a springboard for more service throughout the year,” Peterson said. “It’s not just one day that we come together in unity to serve, but a habit and a contribution that we make on a daily basis in our lives.”

Peterson said the event was planned and directed by student program directors who began a year in advance to prepare. BYU joined with Utah Valley University and United Way of Utah County to organize and host the event.

The “Community Outreach Day” began with a devotional address from Provo Mayor John Curtis who said he believes that if Martin Luther King Jr. were here today, he would tell him to continue to do all that he can to make sure that every human being is treated with dignity.

“Dr. King is gone but his challenge to take care of others still lives on,” Curtis said. “He [Martin Luther King Jr.] is quoted as saying, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is this, what are you doing for others?’”

Curtis said that Provo has the largest volunteer rate in the entire United States, with a rate that is four and a half times more than the national average.

Volunteers at the event were involved with service projects that included blood drives, quilt-making and off-campus activities throughout Provo and Orem. Students were excited for the opportunity to participate and serve.

“I wanted to do something service-oriented today in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Raquel Flores, a junior from Ecuador majoring in Latin American studies. “It seems like an appropriate thing to do today.”

Flores and two of her friends said they had signed up to do trash pick-up and clean-up around the community, and that they were happy to be able to help.

Volunteers were well provided for as they took the time to serve. Donuts, juice and transportation were sent to projects that were not on campus. Chuck Krebs, a senior from Kentucky majoring in public relations, was one of the student program directors involved with planning the event.

“BYU provides the donuts, UVU provides the juice, then we all come together to serve,” Krebs said.

A candlelight processional hosted by BYU’s Multicultural Student Services entitled “Walk of Life: A Celebration of the Life and Mission of Martin Luther King Jr.” concluded the day and will serve as a reminder to keep the light of service alive throughout the year.

 Here's How It All Got Started (this is me again, not the article!)

I took a break between my freshman and sophomore year to join a service program called AmeriCorps. For one year I got to wake up every morning with my only goal to do service. It was an incredible experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I lived mostly in South Carolina, but often traveled with my team of 10 fantastic individuals to various places throughout the southern states to work on various projects. For Martin Luther King Day, we landed at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

The school had this unbelievable program. A thousand people came out and we were then divided up into groups and loaded onto buses and sent to one of dozens of service projects throughout the city. My group painted a shelter for abused children, if I remember correctly.

I hadn't realized that MLK Day was also a national day of service. I learned a lot that day- and I decided when I went back to BYU I wanted to try and implement something along those lines at BYU.

BYU already had a program called the "Walk of Life"- a candlelight vigil held every MLK evening in honor of Dr. King, and it is a beautiful program they still do. But, they didn't have a service element.

I took my idea to BYUSA- the student organization. They loved the idea, but warned me not to get my hopes up because they only got 50-100 people to come to service events. I took that to mean that instead of planning on 1,000 people, I better only plan on 500. 

Then, off to work I went. I got committees for advertising, snacks, transportation, and finding the projects. We found about 15 projects (I think). Some were going to stay on BYU campus, and some we would drive to.

Countless hours were spent by myself and also by everyone on my committees. My roommates stepped up, and I even had to rely on my sisters for more help than they probably wanted.

Finally, the big day arrived. To the shock of BYUSA (but not to me!) we had 400 people come! It took us longer than expected to get everybody registered and assigned a project. The crowd started to get a little restless and they started chanting "Service! Service!"

It was awesome.

Finally, we started with a program where we showed the "I Have a Dream" speech and we had a speaker talk about service (I can't remember who the speaker was). Then, we sent everybody off to do their projects. My roommate and I drove around to the various projects making sure everything was running smoothly and to take lots of pictures.

Everything went perfectly- all of the hard work paid off. 

To this day, I still consider it one of my best achievements. I am really, really proud of Community Outreach Day. The program won the "Best Program of the Year" Award from BYUSA. I was able to attend a special dinner where the program was honored. I wish I could have kept the plaque, but BYUSA got to keep it.

The next year we put in just as much work and it was even more successful.

Then it was time for me to turn the reigns over to somebody else.

I am thrilled that TWELVE YEARS later it is getting bigger and better.

Dr. King once said, "Anybody can be great because everybody can serve."

That was our theme for Community Outreach Day when it first began. Hopefully, through this small activity once a year, the students of BYU can honor Dr. King and his legacy. I hope it continues on for many, many years to come!

The Seven Year Itch

Today Ben and I celebrate seven years of marriage. Ben bought me these wonderful flowers (which the girls helped him picked out). It is only about the third time he has bought me flowers, and I always love it when he does. What did I do for him today?

Nothing.

But, I am planning a little weekend getaway to celebrate, so hopefully that will make up for it. He did win some major points today, however.

I really don't have any great insights this year, other than to simply say how grateful I am to be married to such a wonderful man. Seven years seems like such a short time, and yet it seems that we have been together forever. What on earth did I do before he came into my life?

I'm happy to report that every year just gets better and better. Good thing, since I expect for us to live for a really long time and to have many happy and fantastic years together!

Serendipity

Through an unusual set of circumstances, I ended up with a large amount of time with just Claire today. We had the entire morning to ourselves. I knew we couldn't stay inside at our house all that time because we would both go stir crazy, so I asked her what she wanted to do and she said "Bouncy Houses." So off to Pump It Up we went.

As we were there, I was really overcome with gratitude for the opportunity I have to be a stay-at-home mom. How lucky that while so many people are at work or at daycare or wherever, I get to have a spontaneous, wonderful morning with my daughter. We had such a great time. I LOVE that our schedule right now pretty much consists of whatever we want to do. Park? OK. Swimming? Sure. Bouncy houses? Why not. Really, truly ever since the first year of Audra's life (which was so incredibly difficult and I was SOOOO glad when it was over), it has been the best time of my life.

I'm really glad that Ben wants me to raise our kiddos and be able to enjoy these moments with my girls. I'm selfish- I want the giggles, the hugs, the fun all to myself. For a very brief moment I could see why so many people choose to homeschool. NO, don't worry- I have NO desire to homeschool, but I can see why people do.

I don't have any pictures of our date to the bouncy houses, but I do have this gem- taken this afternoon:

They played dress-up while I attempted to recuperate from my way-too-late celebrations of the Broncos game last night (I should add naps to the list of things I get to do). But if you saw the game, you know it deserved some celebrations. They woke me up by laughing hysterically and saying, "hey, mommy, look at my hair!"

One more quick thing I just have to record. The other day Audra was singing this while going to the bathroom:

"All day long,
I love my mom!"

Now, how can I not LOVE that????

Ice Castles: A Review

Today we went up to the Silverthorne Ice Castles. You can find the important info about it HERE.

We had the best time! It was a little bit of a drive, but it was great. Admittedly, when we first got there  I thought, "we drove all the way here for this?" The outside was a bit of a disappointment. BUT, when we went inside it really was unbelievable.

Apparently this is a traveling exhibit. Last year it was in Park City, and this year it is here. I would highly recommend it, but I would have done a couple of things differently. It really is quite a drive- about 3 hours total. Once there, it takes between 45 minutes to an hour to see. Of course, you can stay as long as you want, but that's how long we stayed. Claire got cold or we may have stayed longer. At night, they light the ice castles up which would have been beautiful to see.  If we did the trip over, I wish we had left later- perhaps around 3 or 3:30 PM, drove to Silverthorne and had dinner there, and then gone to see the ice castles and see them in the dark. I also wish we knew other things to do there (shopping at the outlets was not an option for me- YUCK with small kids) and we would have stayed until dark to see them at night.

This really was an experience to remember. I am glad we went up. It is open until April, so I HIGHLY recommend going.

Plus, it was a GREAT place for photos, as you will now see:

 Look at this smile on Claire's face- it was priceless:

 This is in one of the "tunnels" they had- it was my favorite part. 

  Here is Ben helping Claire put her gloves back on:

 Audra kept saying she wanted to see a king, queen, and a princess. So here's the king and queen, and two princesses:

On the way home the girls were laughing in the back of the car and I just thought to myself, "We have a good life. It is messy and chaotic and loud, but it is good."

Portfolio's

The girls got lots of coloring pages for Christmas this year, which is wonderful. They LOVE coloring. But, this is now what my fridge looks like:

 I actually really love when the fridge looks like this. It screams, "this is a house that is filled with love and children" when I see it. Claire gets SO excited and SO proud of her drawings. She wants tons of praise, and she gets it.

The problem is, the fridge gets overcrowded with pictures and no room is left for the new pictures, and it gets difficult to open the door because drawings just fall off. So it was time to do some more pictures of their pictures and add to their on-line "portfolios."

Here are Claire's drawings:

And here's Audra's work. The first one is a watercolor she painted. She much prefers painting to coloring, but I don't let her do it that often because it takes more work on my part. Yeah, I'm nice like that.

I'm really glad I can take pictures and make a portfolio like this! I want to always have their cute drawings, but without all of the bulk of keeping all of their drawings- this is perfect!

My 2012 Predictions

The moment you've been waiting for...my 12 predictions for 2012:

1. Audra will be in kindergarten and will LOVE it.

2. Claire will minimize her tantrums- only one a week instead of about 5 a day like it is now.

3. No visits to the ER. Hey, it worked last year- I'll try for another miracle this year.

4. Healthy pregnancy with a perfectly healthy baby born in late May. Though we are scheduling a C-section, I am willing to bet I will go into labor before the C-section date and we will end up with an emergency c-section just like with Claire.

5. We will have a baby girl. (we will know the answer to this pretty soon!). She will be VERY happy and an EASY baby- we deserve an easy baby the third time around.

6. No big trips, because, well- we'll have a baby.

7. We will all be completely sick of political ads.

8. I think the economy will pretty much stay the same. People keep talking doom and gloom (including myself), but the status quo keeps going, so I think it will continue to. Of course, it would be really nice if  more jobs were created and the unemployment rate went down, but I think things will pretty much be the same.

9. I will can lots and lots of fruit this summer (I was just given over a hundred jars, a steam fruit canner, and several other supplies that I need to put to good use!)

10. I will be released from my current calling (assignment) at church and be put in the primary (kids classes) as one of two primary choristers. This is more of a hope- I got to lead music for senior primary before, and it is by far my favorite calling! (Though, Brittney, you are pretty awesome right now so they might not be willing to only let you do just junior or just senior primary. I can hope, though!)

11. Ben will continue to be awesome at his work.

12. Life will continue to be good. Nothing extreme, just nice and simple.