Happy Birthday Miner!

Not many people can be known by just one name...Madonna, Sting, Ghandi, Elvis, Santa, Cher...but there is just something about them that stands out, something that when you say that name, everyone just knows what and who you are talking about...and that is how it is for Miner. There is just something about him that needs no explanation!

I am so grateful to be your wife and your friend. You are a very special person. You are so smart and funny. You are so good to people and I think it is so great that you want the world to be a better place. You are so fun, you make me push the limits of my bravery sometimes, but it is always fun, and always an experience to remember! You are always an accomplisher...by that I mean, that when you set your mind to something you will find a way to get it done, no matter what your goals may be. If it is remodeling a bathroom, running a 6-minute-mile-5k, meeting a deadline, or planning a vacation. I know if you want something, it is as good as done. I can count on you and that means a whole lot to me. You continuously challenge yourself and me and I need that sometimes. You are a good friend. People really like you, you are a good talker (ha ha). You make friends easily and you retain your friends for a lifetime. I think it is because you are honest and you speak your mind, and people respond to that. They know you aren't fake and that draws people to you. You are a good dad. Your girls love you so much, they love you for all the things I just mentioned, and they love you, because you play games with them, and drag them around on the sleigh, and haul them around in backpacks, and you make them laugh, and you watch cartoons, and read books. You are so great, and I hope this year is great for you. I love you, Your Loving Wife.

Happy Easter!

Leaving Carrots for the Easter Bunny

Easter Egg Hunters!!

The Big Haul!

We had Easter at the Cabin this year. Of course my camera battery went dead so I only got a few pictures of the kids on Easter morning, but we had so much fun. Preston, Barbara, Jacob, and Stephanie were there with us, too. It was nice to share our Easter traditions with our cousins and to have them with us to color eggs and play cards! I have to say I am quite the Progressive Rummy player. I can thank good card playing genes for that! And I also have to give a shout out to Aunt Barb, she brought "tie-die" easter eggs to color and that was the greatest thing ever. Although, I think the best part for my kids was "tie-die" colored hands! Lillie didn't want to use the spoon to color her eggs...it was much more effective to use her hands! Thanks for the egg coloring Aunt Barb it was awesome! Sierra and Stephanie had tea parties all night, and Sierra even pointed out to me that it was Stephanies "best idea ever" to get the water and use actual real water for the tea party! Sierra was so cute! We left carrots out for the Easter Bunny and then we went outside and yelled for the Easter Bunny to come. "WE LEFT CARROTS!! EASTER BUNNY YOU CAN COME NOW, WE HAVE CARROTS!!" Sure enought the Easter Bunny came and nibbled all our carrots and left a mess. Sierra ran downstairs in the morning to see if he ate our carrots, and upon seeing the mess of nibbled carrots she declared, "I guess, he REALLY IS REAL!!" I don't know what was better seeing how excited the kids were, or watching Miner and Uncle Preston nibble those carrots the night before!! Hilarious!!

Good thing I didn't recycle the old Razr...

Well, I had a little accident on Saturday. I was wearing a sweatshirt and had my cell phone in the front pocket. Everything was just a normal day, it was a little snowy outside and then...flush, good-bye cell phone. Yup, that's right, I flushed it down the toilet. It fell out of my pocket at just the perfect moment for the water to flush it down the drain. It didn't even clog the pipes. It was just gone! It's a good thing I still have my trusty ol' Razr from about 5 years ago. I was supposed to mail it in to be recycled, but accually it was a good thing I never got around to that, because I have had to use my old Razr three different times. First, I had to use it when my newer old cell phone was dropped and the cheap-o plastic back shattered. Then Rose used it when her cell phone got stolen, and now I am using it again. Thank goodness it is made of pure metal, I think the Razr must have been the greatest cell phone ever made, just for the pure fact that it is indestructable!! Let's just hope it's no match for the toilet!

As a side note: Technology has made it such that you never have to commit a phone number to memory anymore, so if you want me to call you, you should probably email me your number, because any numbers I had, they got flushed, too. Thanks.

Free at last...

Dear Tube of Toothpaste,

Today I liberate myself from attempting to squeeze the last bit of paste out of you. I am so tired of doing this in some vain attempt at frugality. I am so over feeling guilty that I have not used up every last effort to force one last brush from you, tube. And this goes for you bottle of mostly gone lotion. I will no longer untwist your cap and attempt to dump the remains from the bottom of the container. I will no longer be cleaning up your messes. When I reach the final squirt of lotion, I WILL throw you out. I can no longer waste my time in meaningless efforts such as these. I am fed up with your lack of ability to suck the final remaining drops of lotion through your pump. Therefore, I stand in protest. And finally, to you hole ridden, elastic starved underwear. I am ridding myself of your inconvenience also. You are of no use to me. I will no longer pull you out and put you on and waste time unraveling elastic that has wound around the other laundry after I wash you. I feel extremely good about this decision. It has been a long time coming. Congratulations to me, and good-bye.

Is your bed cold at night?

Me: Sierra, get your room clean. What is this blanket doing on your bed?

Sierra: Well, Mom, when I get in my bed at night it is always cold, so I put that blanket on it to warm it up.

Ski Day!

President's Day we went skiing at Beaver. It was such an awesome day. Sierra had both her grandpa's up there with her and Tyler came, too. It was so fun. The kids skied so good! I am so proud of both her and Tyler. Sierra is a little olympian in the making, she just gets up and goes. It is so fun to watch her ski. She has so much fun. Miner accidentally took her on a black diamond run and when they got to the bottom the lifty said, "Hey, weren't you guys just skiing over by the rope tow???" Sierra just loved it, though, she giggled the whole way down. When Miner realized where they were he tried to get her to go back over to where the cat track was, but Sierra said, "Nah, I would rather go down this way." It's a good thing it was a powder day!! I love the beav, because it is almost always a powder day there. I have many good memories of ski school there!! I even thought about taking a run down through the terrain park!! (HA HA, Rose you know what I am talking about!) I think those last couple of runs I took with Roger were pretty good too. I think I wore him out!! We had to cruise so I could get back to the lodge before my Dad and Tyler started wondering where we went!! All in all, I think everyone was happy.

Speaking in Sentences??

Well, Lillie is really getting going with her sentences lately. She is trying so hard to just talk like everyone else. She practices her words over and over. She loves putting words together, but has a limited vocabulary. It is so funny to listen to her, because she will be practicing in her bedroom and having little conversations with herself. It sounds like this:

Mom Dad Nanny Papa juice potty. Baby eyes nose teeth? (laughs)
Nanny papa pepperboy. Lips lips lips. Baby Juice? Milk? Poop?

Then she will run in to Miner's office and tell him:

Dad. Boy. Down. Treat!! (Translation: Dad, Pepper needs to go downstairs to be let outside. Then you need to give him a treat.)

She is very interested in what Pepper is doing all the time. She walks around the house saying, "Boy, Are you?" Then when she finds him she gives him a hug and laughs and goes about her day.

She is so cute and just loves to have me read her books in the rocking chair. She askes me, "Mom, rock?" It is so cute because she rocks back and forth when she says it.

She is my little sweetie and I just love hearing her giggling all the time and talking to herself. She just thinks she is so big.