I love you St. George

We headed to St. George over the weekend and it was blissful.

The weather was lovely.

Both Mike and I said, "It feels like SPRING" over and over again.

Although the weather in the SLC hasn't been terrible, it was still nice to go someplace a little bit warmer, relax and not wear a coat and scarf everywhere we went.

We started the weekend off with a half marathon. I had never done this one before. It was a well organized, fairly flat, race. I had in my mind that I wasn't going to worry about my time for this race, I was just going to run it for fun. I too often become obsessed with my time and it was nice to just run for the enjoyment of running. I didn't pay attention to how slow I was going, I just took it easy and it felt great.

The rest of the day was spent playing with Charlotte outside. We've not played outside for a long time. Charlotte loved being able to roam free without a jacket on. We loved walking with her, throwing her in the air, and holding her hand.

And now it's Monday and it's time to get back into reality.

The weekend was over too quickly

We'll be going back again soon for sure.

Do you ever just run races for fun and not worry about your time?

When the last time you went outside without a jacket/coat?

Have you been a mini vacation lately?

Looking forward to spring as much as we are?

Please share!

My WORD

January has arrived. Time for resolutions, dreams and aspirations for the upcoming year. As you know I chose a word to focus on each year in hopes that it will help shape and mold me into the person I want to become.

2008: ADAPT

2009: NEW

2010: APPRECIATE

I'm so proud of myself; it's mid January and I've already chosen my word, I chose it in December, and I've starting working on it! This is a miracle for me my friends.

SO without further ado my word for 2011 is.....

D I S C I P L I N E

This couldn't be a more perfect word for me this year. Now that my life is slightly less structured than it ever has been I need to be much more DISCIPLINED to get things done and accomplished in my life. You know how when you are super busy although it can be stressful you seem to get everything done? When I'm really busy I'm good at prioritizing, organizing and using my time efficiently. But most days I'm not super busy and even though my day isn't as full I still struggle to get things done. So it's time to be more DISCIPLINED!

So for 2011 I hope to be more disciplined by:

*Limiting my time on the INTERNET. Such a time sucker for me.

*Not eating EVERYTHING I see. I'm not cutting out sweets or anything crazy like that but I definitely need to eat healthier and be more disciplined with eating my fruits and veggies.

*I need to be more disciplined with my work-out schedule so I can meet the goals I hope to accomplish in 2011.

*Stick to my budget and be more disciplined in my money management. I'm taking a grocery guru class come February to help me with this!

You get the idea.

Some other things I need to be more disciplined on but they are more private and personal.

I'm totally stoked about my word. Every time I think about what I should get done, feel lazy or want to eat another sweet treat, the word DISCIPLINE pops into my head. It's kicking my butt, but that's a good thing.

I am setting a few goals for 2011. Nothing big or too unrealistic. I like keeping it real, stretching myself but keeping it attainable. I'm really excited about 2011. I just know it's going to be a great year. Mike's career path will be more finalized, where we will be living in the future will be more finalized, we've got two amazing family trips this summer, and Charlotte is more and more fun everyday. Cheers to 2011!

What's your word?

Do you make resolutions?

Happy to have 2010 over with?

Feeling good about 2011?

What are you looking forward to?

Please share!

What to do?

* Mike's been gone a lot of evenings lately so I'm on a blogging kick. Bear with me.

WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING

about the mullet Charlotte is sporting these days.

Piggies it is.

I love the pig tails.

It makes my baby not look like such a baby anymore. Sigh.

How about those blue/grey eyes huh? I love them too.

She's trouble as you can see in

her expressions in the pictures above

but we love her and wouldn't take her any other way.

A "C" party

A special someone was born on...

Which meant we had to celebrate her turning...

So what did we do?

We invited all of her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents over for a "C" party. We ate Chili with cheese and sour Cream, chips, carrots, cucumbers, celery and some Cake for dessert. Charlotte loved all the attention. She was completely spoiled by everyone. This girl is one lucky girl to be living close to so many who love her.

Guests had to take a quiz on Charlotte's first year of life to see how well they knew her. Charlotte's aunt Katherine came in on top with 8 out of 10 correct, the grandparents came in a close second with 7 out of 10. Want to know one of the questions that really stumped people? What is Charlotte's middle name? (I was shocked people couldn't remember!) Winners were award Candy of course.

With her birthday just 4 days after Christmas (I will always feel bad that her birthday is so close to Christmas! Sorry C) she had had plenty of practice ripping the paper apart on Christmas presents a few days earlier she was pretty good at opening gifts the night of her birthday.

Look at the focus and concentration on her face in the picture above.

She is a girl who knows what she wants.

Loving the attention, loving the paper, loving the books that were wrapped up.

We had a C shaped cake for the babus. One chocolate, one yellow. Being the good eater Charlotte is we knew she would dive into her C piece of cake. And she did.

Thank you to all the family who came to celebrate our Charlotte with us!

And THANK YOU for helping us celebrate by leaving your sweet comments in the post below. She is one loved baby.

I said it once, and I'll say it again and again, I can't believe she is ONE already.

What's your most memorable birthday party?

Have you ever used freezer paper as a stencil? * It's what I used to paint on the 1 and Charlotte's birthday on her onesie.

Love throwing a party or dread it?

Do you know Charlotte's middle name?

Please share!

Christmas 2010

We had a lovely Christmas this year. Mike was on a fairly easy rotation and was able to spend most of the Christmas weekend with us. We loved experiencing Christmas with Charlotte. There is definietly something special about sharing Christmas with kids, no matter how young.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Mike's parents home. We had a delicious feast, short talent show and white elephant gift exchange between adults. I love my in laws so much. It was great to spend Christmas Eve together, although it didn't quite feel complete without Mike's sister Jamie and her family who were in Las Vegas for Christmas.

Here are some pics from the evening.

Not the most clear picture. But one of the few picture we got of Charlotte actually looking at the camera with me. She's such a busy body these days, getting her to sit still and smile isn't quite realistic.

Charlotte and her cousin Ellee. They are a year apart and already starting to be little buddies. They look like they are going to be trouble for sure.

Charlotte and her Grandma Carol.

How darling is this picture? I love it. Captures two of my favorite girls perfectly.

Mike and I got so hooked up this Christmas with White Elephants. Check out this treasure:

Mike modeling one of the amazing gifts we got.

Maybe if you're lucky it will pop back up at one of next years' Christmas parties.

Thank you Aunt Peg for the beautiful leopard hat/scarf.

It's ok if you're jealous.

Christmas Day was wonderful as well. We took our time in the morning opening presents and enjoyed watching Charlotte try to tear the paper apart.

Christmas morning in our pajama glory.

Charlotte did get excited about a few of her toys.

She loves her ball that lights up.

Look at that sweet smile and her long lashes.

After Charlotte's nap we headed over to my parents house to have brunch and open presents. The food was fabulous, I love Christmas quiche, probably too much.

The presents were thoughtful and generous.

And the company was so fun.

And even though the Lythgoes (my oldest sister Mandy and her family who live in CT) haven't come out to Utah for Christmas in years, we STILL missed them and enjoyed being able to SKYPE with them.

My two babies. Aren't they darling? Lookin good in their red.

Charlotte and her uncle Lance. She loves him.

Charlotte is really beginning to love being with her cousins (on both sides of the family).

Three little trouble makers.

Trying to get a picture of the grandkids. This was one of the best shots we got.

We headed home for Charlotte's second nap and Mike and I enjoyed a little Mario Kart and naps ourselves. We headed over to visit Mike's parents after Charlotte's nap and loved having Steve and Carol to ourselves for a bit. The night ended with my parents and Emily coming over for games. We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas.

Can you believe Christmas has already come and gone?

Are you suffering from the January blues?

Have you picked your word this year? I have, can't wait to share it! Another post, another day.

What was your best memory from Christmas this year?

Please share!