Sledding and Swimming in February

We have had a virus on our computer for the past couple of days and I haven't been able to get my pictures uploaded and I have been unable to even log into my blog. So after five hours of uploading and uninstalling virus programs, finally finding one that works and then having it freeze on me to where I thought the computer was broken, I am finally back in business. We just got home from a trip visiting family in Wyoming and Utah. I have much to share and so I'm going to break it down a bit as not to overwhelm myself. We are still slowly trying to recover from the time change. We have had kind of a difficult time this go around. But the trip was a wonderful time. We always love visiting family and are so lucky to have such wonderful family to visit. The girls did great on the plane, though it has left us in a state of exhaustion that I am waiting to finally ease.

We were able to go swimming at the local pool with Jody, Jenna and Hankie. Julia and Hankie had the best time in the kiddie pool floating on giant fish.Cute little Audrey and Jenna also loved the pool. Jenna was splashing non-stop. Here they are examining their mouths to see if the pool water tastes just right.
Audrey just needs to check out Jenna's mouth as well...

After careful inspection, they are now ready to swim. Is anyone else alarmed that Audrey's head appears to be twice the size of Jenna's? Audrey is actually one month younger than Jenna.Here is Audrey getting ready to go to the pool. Can you tell that she's excited? I think she's mostly excited that I was able to get all of her hair into a ponytail. That would make anyone excited.

It wouldn't be a trip to Wyoming without a little sledding, snowmen and some of my mom's famous hot chocolate. Here is Dylan getting ready to take a tube run.Here's the crew posing with the snowman. They gave him a name, but I can't remember what it was. But he sure does have one awesome hat.

My adorable niece Brookie. I think this is the cutest picture.
The girls after a trip down the hill.
Stay tuned for Julia's dance recital and a visit with Grandma...I know you can hardly wait but after five hours of spyware detoxing I can't stare at this screen any longer.

The Cousins

We have been back visiting family and having a great time. Bryan is stuck back in the frigid Ohio and so I thought I would try and post some pictures so he could see what we are up to.
We first celebrated Hankie's third birthday. Julia has been having the time of her life with all of her cousins.

We then made a journey to McDonalds. I must say that here in this small Wyoming town is the fanciest McDonalds I have ever seen with the greatest play land. Audrey and Jenna unfortunately had to sit from the sidelines eating their mum mum wafers. I can't imagine the trouble these two will come up with in a couple of years.

What a dirty face! I swear she is almost always some shade of orange.

We leave the trouble to these two. Little Hankie is the most mellow little guy I have ever met. I hope some of that can wear off on my wild child. They are so cute and have had so much fun together. We have had a great visit with family.

Valentines

For Valentines this year Bryan and I finally went on a date by ourselves without any children. That alone is blog worthy and has been nine months of a long wait. We actually not only went out to dinner but also went to the temple. It was wonderful.

We also celebrated Valentines with a couple of cuties. Audrey is getting ready to crawl. She's still army scooting but I think that is coming to an end soon. I kind of wish I could make Julia go away in this picture but she always seems to be lingering. I think she is smelling Audrey's feet.

But look what my great friend Allie just did for me...
Oh to be a computer genius. I have no idea how she did this. So cool.

Julia is also into making the funny faces. I don't know what happened to the smile. Either it's smelly feet face or hands in the mouth face.

We got the girls some little things for Valentines. I got Julia some chocolate and Bryan got her this little kit with lotion and lip gloss. He did not check this purchase with me before he bought it. Julia's face is now always covered with bubblegum pink lip gloss. I don't think she realizes the lip gloss is limited to the lips. She feels it is also appropriate for cheeks and eyes. The kit also included some really smelly (not in a good way) lotion. Tonight after we got glitter gel and pink lip gloss in the carpet Bryan put the kit high up in the closet only to be used under parental supervision. Maybe she'll forget it exists.

I do want to tell my little family how much I love them. I have such a hard working and thoughtful husband and the sweetest little girls which made for one sweet Valentines.

Scoodoot

This week has been awesomely uneventful.
Audrey is eating Cheerios and bananas. I feel like I comment about her hair frequently but seriously...

This makes Audrey happier than anything else in the world. She just stands at the table and plays with Julia's ponies. Julia is actually a pretty decent sharer at this point. Audrey's face is a face of pure joy. Not only is she standing (#1 favorite thing to do) but she is playing with her very favorite person (Julia).

Luckily, with Bryan working all night and every night, there are some friends that husbands are on call as well. I've been able to have dinner with some of them this week to pass the time. Here is Julia with her friend B playing princesses. So much fun being a girl.

It's starting to warm up here and I hear it's supposed to be almost sixty degrees on Tuesday so hopefully we can get out of this house and do something.

Do You Have Food on the Brain?

Well I looked at my blog today realizing it has been a week since my last post. I also realized that nothing of note has happened this week other than being snowed in and Bryan starting another round of night float. So what has been happening is I have been watching the Food Network. I do not recommend this because it will just make you want to eat and cook things you would never think of cooking. Why am I watching this in January when you are supposed to be focused on losing weight? Well I am still working on the Biggest Loser video and I don't even want to think about what Jillian would say to me if she knew I was watching the Food Network behind her back. Anyways here are some new things I learned.

I must try this recipe
We are HUGE fans of sweet potatoes and actually eat them more than regular potatoes. I have heard good things about sweet potato fries and in an avocado dip... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I did try this recipe and it was absolutely sinfully delicious. Bacon wrapped chicken. It had me at bacon and I secretly wish that Paula Dean was my grandma.

I want to go to every single restaurant featured on Dives, Drive Ins and Diners. That Guy (really his name is Guy) has the best job in the world.

I learned about Hummus on Unwrapped. I had no idea what it was. It is actually chick peas or garbanzo beans all creamed up with seasonings(I'm sure everyone already knew that). Bryan and I bought some after watching this (once again the Food Network is a mistake). We got pita chips and soft pitas to see what we liked best. The pita chips are pretty good but a warmed soft pita on a pan with hummus slathered on the top is to die for. I now have an easy lunch to throw in the rotation (I guess I can squeeze it in between peanut butter and honey sandwiches and macaroni and cheese). It isn't terribly high in calories and is very filling. I would highly recommend it.

Well, I think this week I will try and do something fun or take pictures of something so that I can give you all the illusion that I have a life. Until then, I will just keep watching and keep eating and know that Jillian is judging me as I do the workout video.