Holiday Wrap Up

Photo taken with my new iPhone! yay!

Today was the official last day of our holiday vacation. Boooo.

So that we never forget how great the Christmas of 2011 was, here's a little wrap up.....

Santa was so good to us this year- I think everyone was happy with their haul.

Ian especially loved his 'big' gift, an iPod touch. He kept saying, "I can't believe I'm old enough to have an iPod!! And, "This is the best Christmas EVER!" Made this mama's heart happy!
As I am posting this, I can't help but notice that somehow Nicole and I escaped Christmas morning photos...

We had a lovely turkey dinner which was (unexpectedly) prepared by Erik. I had been put on call at the hospital, but a few hours later I got called in. Were we ever sad!

I felt so bad leaving Erik with a turkey dinner to prepare. But we ended up having our own 'Christmas Miracle' after all! I was able to come home two hours earlier than my shift was supposed to end, just in time to eat dinner with Erik, the kids and my parents!

We spent the holidays surrounded by those we love, by many piles of wrapping paper and boxes and with literally nothing scheduled on our calendars.

Lazy mornings, a little shopping, a movie or two, dinner dates, time to read books, card games to play, and lots of time to figure out those new gifts was pretty much about all that we accomplished for 10 straight days. Ahhh.

And now the decorations are put away, the house is sparkling clean, and we all feel refreshed and ready to face the new year!

2012 will bring big changes to our family. Some I am looking forward to and some not so much. It will be an exciting year though, that's for sure.

So welcome 2012, because ready or not, here we go!

Merry Christmas!

My friend Christy inspired me to do a post on what Christmas looks like at my house.

Christy and I have had lots of conversations on why it is that we blog. Blogging is a very time consuming thing and there has to be a good reason for doing it, right?

We came to the conclusion that we blog because it is how we are choosing to record the daily happenings of our family life. My hope is that some day this will be a way that my children and their children can remember and learn where they come from.

So when she posted the Christmas pictures of her house- I thought it was such a fun way to record what it looks like in our house too!

My pictures leave a little something to be desired, but you get the idea.

Here's how we display all the Christmas cards that come our way....what's up this year people? Keep them coming!
The mirror in the entry way....I love this!
the stockings were hung.....
Oh Christmas tree....
This sleigh was Erik's dad's when he was just a little guy....
a little of this....
and a little of that.
So there you have it. A little peek into our house at Christmas time. I hope this idea inspires you to give us a peek in to your house too! Thanks Christy!

Sail Away

You know how you have a million things to do the day before you leave on a trip?

Today my list of to-do's is long, because tomorrow Erik and I fly way on a trip for our 20th anniversary. It's a little early to be celebrating, but I will be neck deep in nursing school on the actual day so we are running away now while I still can breathe.

Back to the million things I SHOULD be doing. I should be packing, putting fresh sheets out for the sitter, organizing meals, finishing up that last load of laundry, but instead I find myself baking a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (oh and blogging).

It's so exciting to think that tomorrow I will be on an airplane flying somewhere warm and wonderful- but today, my heart is here with my kids and all that I will be leaving behind.

December is not the ideal time to run away. So much is going on. A lot had to be arranged for this to happen. And even with all of that, we are still missing out on much. Nicole has several events at school that we would have loved to support her in- a program to raise money for Sub for Santa, a dance that we were supposed to be chaperones at. She is also taking the ACT and I won't be here to make sure she has a good breakfast and to give her that last encouraging hug before she heads out the door. And that's just Nicole. I could go on and on with everything else.

So today, I am taking time to bake fresh cookies for my little loves. I want them to know that even though I am so thrilled to be running away with their daddy, that a part of me will be missing them the whole time I'm gone. Maybe these cookies will remind them of how much I love them. And that everything I do is for them and our family.

So for now, my to-do list will be set aside. And when they walk in from school today to the smell of pumpkin spice, hopefully that will give them something warm and wonderful to think about when I can't be here to tuck them in at night.

My Happy Place

You know when you are about to have some horrible procedure done....like a root canal or an exam on your nether regions (ladies you know what I mean)? The kind of procedure where you just close your eyes and hope and pray it is over soon? The kind that you try to visualize your happy place so that with the help of your mind, you can escape your current reality?

I'd like to introduce you to mine.

This is my happy place. It's a little off road campsite in Daniel's Canyon.
My family, the Adamson's, have camped at this spot for many years. My great-grandfather was a sheep herder and this is one of the spots where he would bring his sheep. Every year, over Labor Day weekend, we have a family reunion here.

I have so many happy memories spending my last days of summer with my cousins, riding motorcycles, putting on 'shows' around the campfire at night and discovering all the family names carved on the trees.
There is a breathtaking mixture of aspen and pine trees.

One of my favorite sounds is the sound of a gentle breeze passing through the aspen trees. There is nothing more relaxing to me than that sound.
My favorite hike is this one, were one minute you are among the aspen trees and the next minute you are in the cool and dark forest of pine trees.

I took a few pictures along my hike this year that hold special memories for me.

Our kids had a great time this year making memories of their own.


It's one of those places that holds so much hidden beauty.
But when you are there, time just somehow slows down so that you can notice it all.
So if I'm ever in a coma or just have a far off look on my face....now you know where I'll be. :)

What do you get....

When you take a gorgeous place like this.....
and you throw in a bunch of friends.....
with a lot of time on their hands....
and some of those friends are just plain crazy?
This is what you get. Enjoy!



Post edit-
I just noticed the video posted on my blog may be cut in half (like you only see half of the screen). If so, you can also view it here.

The Man Cave

Welcome to the Man Cave.

Isaac's birthday party this year was All Things Men.

There was a variety of 'manly' contests to entertain his guests....rootbeer chugging, best burp, push ups, pull ups, who could eat the most anchovies and sardines, just to name a few.

My favorite contest was who could make the best facial hair. The boys were given black paper, scissors and tape. I wish I could show the picture- it is SO funny! But I haven't asked the parent's permission....you'll just have to trust me. It was so great. There were side burns, unibrows, beards and mustaches of all shapes and sizes. Oh my!

And what were the prizes?.....Only the most manly things would do for these little men.
I can't believe my little man is 12! But he is. It says so right on his Chocolate Bunt cake. :)
A special thanks to Erik, the manliest of men, for running the show and for taking the pictures. I was at work and would have missed it all if he hadn't snapped all these great photos. Thanks hunny!

Hugs and Kisses

The annual dinner for my loves....
flowers from Erik....
and from Isaac....

Here's hoping that your house looked like Cupid threw up all over it too.

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

Disneyland

And now what you have all been waiting for. I give you.....The Vacation.

Our vacation began by flying into Long Beach Airport.

It's such a cute little airport. (Emphasis on little.)

It has a lot of charm though. And the lines are really short!

Across the street from the airport, our rental car awaited us. When the kids and I saw it, our jaws dropped. What the? Are you serious? We are going to be driving around California in this all week? I think Erik was quite pleased. It was a cop car after all.

Just so we would never forget 'Bessie', or 'Clara', or 'Daisey' as it was lovingly called it over the next few days (Erik liked to say that he was driving Ms. Daisey), we took this picture.

If you can't tell, Ian is pretending to be handcuffed in the back. Don't you love it?

Ya, we drove in style, I tell you what.
I also have to include this picture that Erik took of me reading my Kindle. (This one's for you, Christy!) I brought it with me to Disneyland so that I would have something to do- other than people watching, which I totally adore- while the kids were on rides.
We met a lot of characters while in the park. Here are just a few....


But the biggest, and best characters we saw were the ones we traveled with. My sister, Terra, and her cute family. (Somehow the daddy's escaped this photo.) Oh and we also saw a few famous people....Stevie Wonder, Marie Osmond, and Sam (Jenette McCurdy) from iCarly.
This is a picture of the BEST meal Disneyland has to offer. Hands down.

The clam chowder bowl. Soooo good!
As we were leaving the park the last day, we took the famous 'Entrance Picture'.

Disneyland was awesome! The weather could not have been better....the lines were not too long....the company was fun to be with. But it had to come to an end- as all good things do.
The day we left, we stopped at Long Beach.

Taking off your shoes and putting your feet in the warm sand does a lot to lift your spirits- let me tell you!
There you have it. Disneyland 2011.

Magical for sure!