brrrrr

28 degrees....I don't know how much longer I can stand the cold!

Pinewood Derby Champ

This week, for Adventure Guides (the daddy/daughter activity that Ian and Reg do), Reagan (and Ian) won the Pinewood Derby for their group. Reagan was so excited. Jenna and I went along and were able to cheer them on. It was a lot of fun. And I am pretty sure that Reagan will have a hard time waiting for the Derby next year.

Christmas and New Years

This year, Liz came out for Christmas. The girls had so much fun playing with her. (I had pneumonia.)

On Christmas Eve, the girls decorated a gingerbread house.

And they got to play in some snow. Yes, it actually snowed on Christmas Eve.
It does happen here a few times a year...even in Texas.

Our tree, Christmas morning.

I always love Reagan's reaction to the tree...OK, the presents not the tree.

Jen showing off one of her gifts before ripping off the paper.

Auntie Anita and my parents came for New Years.
I know she looks a little tipsy with her tiara that way but she was seriously just loaded up on Diet Coke.

It was the first year in a while that Ian and I decided to stay home for New Years. It was so nice to just be at home with family.

Shopping With the Stars

This is in front of a parking space at Kohl's! Who would have thunk it??
(Is our Kohl's the only crazy one?)

IT'S MILEY!!!

A while back, Reg and I went to the Miley Cyrus concert with some good friends.

Us Mommies were obviously pumped.

The opening act was Metro Station (the lead singer is Miley Cyrus' brother).

And this is what Reagan thought of their music.

Then when this lady came out, Reagan was like this:

I had so much fun going on a Mommy/Daughter date with my big girl!

Thankful

2009 has been a year of education in thankfulness. So many things have happened to our little family, our extended family, and even friends, that have caused us to look at all that we have and be thankful.

I am thankful for waking up every morning with the gift of life.

I am thankful to be blessed with a home that is warm when it is cold, and cool when it is hot.

I am thankful that we have smoke detectors and that our windows can open.

I am thankful that despite the fact that my husband is constantly working (even on weekends), we have been blessed with him having a job.

I am thankful that we have food to eat and clothes to wear.

I am thankful that, even though we have spent a crazy amount of money on medical bills in the past 2 years, we are blessed with health.

I am thankful for doctors who help heal us and comfort us when there is pain.

I am thankful that I have 2 beautiful little girls.

I am thankful for a husband that loves and respects me.

I am thankful for family that is constantly "there" for us. And is always willing to do anything to show their love.

I am thankful for friends that are thoughtful, sympathetic, and bring laughter into our lives.

I am thankful for my God, that is my strength through trials small and large.

I am thankful that I have so many things to be thankful for that I can't list them all.

My List of Excuses

As a rule, I generally try to get most of my Christmas shopping done before the end of November. Last year, it was a breeze. But this year, I have found my goal a bit more difficult to achieve. I think that a big part of it is the fact that my girls are getting older so it is harder to sneak around. Jenna is in preschool on 2 days a week for 3 hours. Exercising takes up at least an hour to an hour and a half of that "free time". Plus we are always 15 minutes late to preschool. Oh, and I am usually on time to pick her up (a miracle, I know). And of course, there are always random bills and errands to take care of. And Reagan is looking in my closet these days to see what has been recently placed in a hard to reach shelf. She is such a little detective. She listens to every conversation. She sneaks around and will even pretend to be sleeping, just so she can hear what is being shared in the "adult" conversation. It has definitely gotten harder to get the shopping done this year. I do realize that I am making excuses for myself. But in my defense, they are pretty good excuses. And some of the toys are already sold out everywhere. I know that you know what I am talking about. A few years back, when Reagan was a baby, this guy:

was all the rage. Do you remember the news stories about people fighting over this toy? And it being sold out everywhere? I do. And boy was I glad that Tickle Me Elmo was not on my daughter's list of must have's for Christmas. But this year, Elmo is not the hot toy, but rather these:

These hamsters are sold out everywhere! And don't get me started on the accessories--the object of my desire.

There are a few other big items on most kids' wish lists this year...but if I post them, a certain little spy will get some more evidence to hold against Mommy, Daddy, ....and Santa. So that is the end of my rant. I hope that ya'll's shopping goes a bit smoother than mine this year.

The Wedding (This is the Last Bunch...I promise)

Groom (Klas, my amazing new Brother in Law) and the groomsmen

Ian walking Cami down the isle.

Traditional music was played at the wedding and reception.

Happy Couple

The music was amazing! My humble bro-in-law is a well known musician. And as a result, the wedding and reception were filled with the best musicians from Sweden.

Klas' mom and her partner danced several traditional dances.

Some Americans.

The next morning, we (all the Americans) headed out to Klas' family summer cottage (everyone in Sweden has a summer cottage---got to take advantage of the "warm" days).

We ate, talked, walked, played games, and just enjoyed nature.

I heart Sweden!

Stockholm

Sweden was GORGEOUS!!!

We had never dreamed of ever going on a trip to Sweden but boy am I glad that we were able to. The people were so kind and humble. Everyone was willing to help us out (even on the subway). And everyone was so sincere. The Swedes are truly a different creature.

When we got off the train, Cami was there to meet us. We were so excited to see her (I mean she and Klas were the reason we were there). We were so lucky to spend some alone time with her before the wedding. She impressed us with her fluency of the language (even though everyone there spoke perfect English). And she was able to give us a mini tour before we started meeting up with more family. The first place she took us (besides our hotel) was the building where the Nobel Prize breakfast takes place. As we all know, Alfred Nobel was a Swede so it only makes sense.



This is the view from our hotel. I had to throw this one in because it was amazing to look out our window and see this beautiful city.


Later on, we met up with the rest of the family and headed on down to Cami and Klas' place.

Ian and I went on a walk with Cami and Klas to enjoy the forest that backed up to their apartment. It was perfect. Cool, quiet, green, and then of course a lake. Sweden is covered/surrounded by water. It was so nice to experience this after spending time on a plane.



One treat was going on a steamboat to hear Klas play some old jazz standards. I loved it! I mean I was in Heaven! ( I grew up watching old black and white movies and knew all the music as a result.) Even the older people were letting me get in front because they saw how much I was enjoying it. In retrospect, I should have let them move infront but they all live in Sweden and can go anytime...right?!


We did a lot of sightseeing. And an amazing amount of walking. I can't tell you how many miles a day we walked. It was awesome! I felt so healthy. Anyway, I am getting off subject... We toured museums, went shopping, took a boat tour and bus tour, toured a government building (I am married to Ian so that one was to be expected), and enjoyed good food (I am all about the food and chocolates).

Here is Ian with his sisters, Cami and Brooke. I told Ian to please stop being silly when I was taking pictures but he kept on doing it so I decided to just put the pictures up. So maybe next time he won't be so silly.

Here he is with his mom....being silly. So I told him to be serious. And this is what I got:

Not a great improvement. But it had to do.

We went to the Scandinavian Museum. And in the section that was marriage traditions, they had this great flower covered heart/arch. So we did what any natural couple would do...act cheesey.
This is the Vasa. It was a ship that sank a very long time ago (in the 1600's). The Vasa Museum was very interesting. I highly recommend it to anyone who is heading that way.

I had to throw this one in. Just to tease Ian.

This is the castle in Stockholm. They say that if the Swedish flag is being flown, the Royal family is there. If you look closely, it is up.

Ian and I had an amazing time. There are no words to express how beautiful this country was, or even how humble and kind it's people were. I am officially a huge fan of Sweden. And I am telling everyone, if you have an opportunity to go, GO!

More Pictures to come...

Trip: Part 1, Paris

Ahh, Paris... What can I say. Ian and I had an amazing 3 days in this beautiful city before heading off to Stockholm. We knew that we would have time to visit one other country besides Sweden but didn't know which to choose. Paris was kind of a left over city (when we were choosing). Ian wanted Spain, but for more than 3 days. And I wanted Italy, for more than 3 days. So naturally, we chose Paris because who knew when we would ever go. Once we got there, we were so glad that we had gone. The people were so nice (despite what we had heard) and between English, Spanish, and Ian's slight knowledge of French, we were able to communicate pretty well.


One of my favorite parts of the trip was all of the amazing food. I was a complete pig the whole time. The breads were amazing. I could have survived completely on bread. That or creme brulee. I won't even start on that one. But seriously, the food was amazing!



The architecture was gorgeous. We seemed to take hundreds of pictures of buildings because they were all so beautiful. It was definitely like stepping back in time. And we just couldn't get enough of it.

(Another pretty scene)

Of course, we saw all of the tourist sites.

Notre Dame

Arc de Triomphe

The Louvre

The Louvre definitely put every single museum, that I have ever been to, to shame. It was so amazing. I felt like I could have spent all 3 days in just that one museum.

A picture of me calling the girls.
Thanks to my parents, Ian and I were able to do this 12 day trip without the kiddos.

Paris was beautiful. Everything about it was beautiful. We loved our time there. But I do have to say that my most favorite part of the trip was being with:

It was definitely like a second honeymoon.
Thanks hun. It was perfect.