tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27988427573347627512024-02-22T12:45:58.465-07:00Linstid TailsMalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-22698043110269034052011-07-31T22:42:00.000-06:002011-07-31T22:42:18.586-06:00Megyn One MonthThis is a relatively quick post...we have quite a few summertime fun photos to organize, but we'll get the business taken care of first. <br />
Megyn had her official 1-month checkup this past week.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mls3aWpXfdPosHr53HKJjnBV2E-N9W51ystsnf3HW9-ov8bMhQQGH6w4Kct5SdC4H7lRXp3tN7Sk42IJjVfZGFiHDC7No38hjULgqot_Wo-Ab6hfkpoO8fUoX9WNcfVuBlgHe2Ehu-U/s1600/One+Month.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6mls3aWpXfdPosHr53HKJjnBV2E-N9W51ystsnf3HW9-ov8bMhQQGH6w4Kct5SdC4H7lRXp3tN7Sk42IJjVfZGFiHDC7No38hjULgqot_Wo-Ab6hfkpoO8fUoX9WNcfVuBlgHe2Ehu-U/s320/One+Month.jpg" t$="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Here is our girl dressed up for the occasion - <br />
her outfit is complete thanks Anika's hand-me-down socks. <br />
(Sorry, girls - these socks are just too cute *not* to share!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Megyn's official stats: Weight: 10 pounds, 15 ounces<br />
Length: 22.5 inches<br />
<br />
She's been sleeping very well, too - between 5 and 6 hour stints for the first part of the night and then about 2 - 3 hours for the second half. Not that I've been taking advantage of this little gift - she's sleeping next to me as I type this...sigh...<br />
<br />
Megyn has also been a champ with her "tummy time" and is lifting her head up to check things out. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IgmTbY47N4m7YaOjNX6ys4gwH3fs2iRuETBFaY9elXjcnSgosp3Fo_Ledg8IB9sl0xyk1OqWxPeIWsi7iF0cIB-aQWf7z0M_UiluLwXkZxXAjyxCqFNZ6XIhIkLESEHOuY2VOjX0ZtM/s1600/Head+Up+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0IgmTbY47N4m7YaOjNX6ys4gwH3fs2iRuETBFaY9elXjcnSgosp3Fo_Ledg8IB9sl0xyk1OqWxPeIWsi7iF0cIB-aQWf7z0M_UiluLwXkZxXAjyxCqFNZ6XIhIkLESEHOuY2VOjX0ZtM/s320/Head+Up+2.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helllooooooo!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TrxuRpxCwUm7ZMQUm07BRFDRqC7LHRqvZJA2Ew1h0sl4lqZvjioxwYTekeRUPAp4lBPqq76B6ghjZ0g5qNezyG31-VIE-FmGl_5FtgzO282U7gO01BZOwldVHqhjKswRd1mdXz7Kw6I/s1600/Head+Up+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TrxuRpxCwUm7ZMQUm07BRFDRqC7LHRqvZJA2Ew1h0sl4lqZvjioxwYTekeRUPAp4lBPqq76B6ghjZ0g5qNezyG31-VIE-FmGl_5FtgzO282U7gO01BZOwldVHqhjKswRd1mdXz7Kw6I/s320/Head+Up+1.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take the picture, mom - this thing is heavy - 98th percentile!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Never far away, Sgt. Bismarck takes any opportunity to inch his way onto something soft, cuddly and totally NOT for him:<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPAEb3ROsmwWJcpAfOOBcF2ndfDsg_I4BsjtTxzkA_f4juTbg5GDPrL1pFceXKl3aTKI10J7hy-U9ghyphenhyphen4sF0-7Fdqan4geQg8kHrkChT1haH2WzQobcjAHNwIdrPN5ycd9GoF9iJckWE/s1600/Megyn+and+Biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPAEb3ROsmwWJcpAfOOBcF2ndfDsg_I4BsjtTxzkA_f4juTbg5GDPrL1pFceXKl3aTKI10J7hy-U9ghyphenhyphen4sF0-7Fdqan4geQg8kHrkChT1haH2WzQobcjAHNwIdrPN5ycd9GoF9iJckWE/s320/Megyn+and+Biz.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Maybe they won't notice my neck and ear..."</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqzCB0qPv6BfuSzI4tYBxbOYbMQYrO-INHBeBA7PqEidTyo78s9tN5uEEH3DPibUlsuiJWr3K28uy6XvkH8bSGWQTu0cP1fccLWOx6D7KYQ6eO0zcinQNt3mbZOmSYWgC5q7c5ye1Nj8/s1600/Tummy+Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqzCB0qPv6BfuSzI4tYBxbOYbMQYrO-INHBeBA7PqEidTyo78s9tN5uEEH3DPibUlsuiJWr3K28uy6XvkH8bSGWQTu0cP1fccLWOx6D7KYQ6eO0zcinQNt3mbZOmSYWgC5q7c5ye1Nj8/s320/Tummy+Time.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another tummy picture...her eyes are so bright!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Okay - I tried to make this post short and sweet - and I am now off to bed...I know to take advantage of her sweet gift of snoozing!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFUUNXtjj6wSFQojSkeoWPpFHnZ4srraLwS47pfOA_gbAk7udVU_9l2vMVa2JL_5b4eA7Q00W34XloOwJLpQtOOHf6PbW1EJ0uAgYu5bP5mcxBqonwTcpTL0jdawuHlpsUuIWAp9oWbM/s1600/Passsed+Out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkFUUNXtjj6wSFQojSkeoWPpFHnZ4srraLwS47pfOA_gbAk7udVU_9l2vMVa2JL_5b4eA7Q00W34XloOwJLpQtOOHf6PbW1EJ0uAgYu5bP5mcxBqonwTcpTL0jdawuHlpsUuIWAp9oWbM/s320/Passsed+Out.jpg" t$="true" width="303" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good night!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-64449659743595063522011-07-20T09:30:00.002-06:002011-07-20T10:45:20.713-06:00Somewhere Under a Rainbow...Rainbows are pretty amazing things - people have marveled over them throughout history - from Noah to the Lucky Charms Leprechaun, on down to our little Miss Anika, who loves to look for "bows". I remember being so excited to see them as a kid - totally convinced that I would find a pot of gold (or at least a jackpot of Lucky Charms marshmallows!) until I was informed of their optical tricks and one could never really find the "end" of a rainbow. Even though that adventure in gold hunting was dashed, the little tiny hope of finding my gold somehow, somewhere, has always been there - the thought of maybe, just maybe, one day I'd be stumbling along and something magical would happen.<br />
<br />
Well, on Sunday, June 19th, 2011, (Father's Day!), a little bundle of gold came into our family under a rainbow in Montrose. (I didn't see it, but evidently you could see the rainbow from the delivery room window - and our doctor said she drove up to the hospital and was amazed at the "huge" rainbow that was over the hospital. I think that makes the commute to work pretty cool!)<br />
<br />
Megyn Anne Linstid was born at 8:15 pm and weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces, and was 20 inches long at Montrose Memorial Hospital (here is her <a href="http://www.montrosehospital.com/web_nursery/index.php?func=show&id=849">"web nursery"</a> announcement). <br />
<br />
In the event you want the gory details (from an extremely non-gory girl), just know that pre-labor lasted for a week and a half, we went to the hospital under false pretenses the week before, and when Megyn decided to really get the party started, we rocked it so quickly the epidural didn't have time to catch up with us! <br />
<br />
So, without any further ado (did you actually read this far?) - we know you really just want to see photos, anyway...here ya go! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjby0fOdCZnYKoNngCBd7anRVhr4nmLyCXySYQFI7uYt-IovKliP4triPWmMiggoH7KNwfLdoSo6C3i8zLfv3e-C7ONdJRwcAgkRqEjb9Dg6L9-WgWF9O_Gt9HUYUybn-j4tr8B4NlJ-k/s1600/Megyn+finisher+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjby0fOdCZnYKoNngCBd7anRVhr4nmLyCXySYQFI7uYt-IovKliP4triPWmMiggoH7KNwfLdoSo6C3i8zLfv3e-C7ONdJRwcAgkRqEjb9Dg6L9-WgWF9O_Gt9HUYUybn-j4tr8B4NlJ-k/s320/Megyn+finisher+picture.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Official Finisher Photo!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2E1SWxFzCZgG_47T1HFOIdyqJstUw-lw5Jr4Lgguml9AYl4_RNdx16uJOR7ItgVmIJtu3qlXuAh7Z8J0IKnNoPP4JQ6isjIh3bccs_McFAkQ4vQtYoVfzn4QbT1XUeMLGOCJ2HQW8eY/s1600/Snuggling+on+Mommy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI2E1SWxFzCZgG_47T1HFOIdyqJstUw-lw5Jr4Lgguml9AYl4_RNdx16uJOR7ItgVmIJtu3qlXuAh7Z8J0IKnNoPP4JQ6isjIh3bccs_McFAkQ4vQtYoVfzn4QbT1XUeMLGOCJ2HQW8eY/s320/Snuggling+on+Mommy.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First photo of Mommy and Megyn...what a team!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph5YNi-6zDE35IQa5QjWBOJIOC8A3bU9Hq2RDzeCg3M3MdMSBQieOpawFbRA0e2KcGEf2v0dw7U9BXkEn6w8MV4I96zIxYAh9ZzAcs2mwL1A38ZS9bDxo94Cre7DjNg4Wda23s2bKWds/s1600/Daddy+and+Daughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph5YNi-6zDE35IQa5QjWBOJIOC8A3bU9Hq2RDzeCg3M3MdMSBQieOpawFbRA0e2KcGEf2v0dw7U9BXkEn6w8MV4I96zIxYAh9ZzAcs2mwL1A38ZS9bDxo94Cre7DjNg4Wda23s2bKWds/s320/Daddy+and+Daughter.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a Father's Day gift!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91qHKt6OLtqfQZob7zwuep8us6O75-F3x5_fXPnytBfQc6dmYDB-rAijFYXuoumqvOw3E6W8L0o2XQbCQMcJQTYlEcW00qilYyDDWka9wZRJgZ9Tj2jzlgEnkcJ-rD32s_2C39F-GfCw/s1600/Ben%2527s+girls+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi91qHKt6OLtqfQZob7zwuep8us6O75-F3x5_fXPnytBfQc6dmYDB-rAijFYXuoumqvOw3E6W8L0o2XQbCQMcJQTYlEcW00qilYyDDWka9wZRJgZ9Tj2jzlgEnkcJ-rD32s_2C39F-GfCw/s320/Ben%2527s+girls+2.jpg" t$="true" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Sister Anika meeting Little Sister Megyn for the first time...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKo8f_kNnijwMrCQiguwqpoVQAaQTtXkAHQW3kiBxt9RUMKJ85lh3X4TIGkxvhAPDQjQX3sNYIwMtR7tVbDXq6RtF8vWaGH3AC1Duvxatbnih0ALf3oQ3uYdGzgUdgfeXedZtQD66OmUY/s1600/Ben%2527s+girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKo8f_kNnijwMrCQiguwqpoVQAaQTtXkAHQW3kiBxt9RUMKJ85lh3X4TIGkxvhAPDQjQX3sNYIwMtR7tVbDXq6RtF8vWaGH3AC1Duvxatbnih0ALf3oQ3uYdGzgUdgfeXedZtQD66OmUY/s320/Ben%2527s+girls.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben's Beauties!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckpyTiByGMx0lXbUlowZEVmuKRllCW8SfTq37Gec3AS46no-zPEmr2CerUOtk02GUKqkZPAZAUT6tgdDh5G3QziA7IV4AMpTlCYY9-AwXP1Y_U0_q3GMEH48_T7hJS_eeWgMBNYKLxdo/s1600/One+eye+open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckpyTiByGMx0lXbUlowZEVmuKRllCW8SfTq37Gec3AS46no-zPEmr2CerUOtk02GUKqkZPAZAUT6tgdDh5G3QziA7IV4AMpTlCYY9-AwXP1Y_U0_q3GMEH48_T7hJS_eeWgMBNYKLxdo/s320/One+eye+open.jpg" t$="true" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that face - is that a wink?<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then, there was the trip home (yes, we only stayed 1 night at the hospital - everything was going great and I figured if we weren't going to sleep anyway, I'd rather not sleep in my own bed than at the hospital).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtsW5RNbO4ek4qe9gTxqz-Hwt3lS-1haqyFqdHbXRpFnAPXVPV0uxAibacKjjLJFpQXkLj-ctwRCLDfuDSFh5H16TFqZUvhvZZ7lU4e9cHMnOVh2yqXjVRSW271ZF2Lyc86yATf1OUUY/s1600/Pacifier+hold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtsW5RNbO4ek4qe9gTxqz-Hwt3lS-1haqyFqdHbXRpFnAPXVPV0uxAibacKjjLJFpQXkLj-ctwRCLDfuDSFh5H16TFqZUvhvZZ7lU4e9cHMnOVh2yqXjVRSW271ZF2Lyc86yATf1OUUY/s320/Pacifier+hold.jpg" t$="true" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out what I can do!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vlLv_7LPRKZgaZci78-LIBCtQCET7ON1DD4l23jVswsAna6RxbVUvjTgGryQ1FRzq2ojyF141UdSo2JkSXC_6mSrRB9Cg_FuIWw5UQMiQUk80rHvvjqjtnATWG-_xs6tfQ_dOOmXZEA/s1600/Biz+inspection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vlLv_7LPRKZgaZci78-LIBCtQCET7ON1DD4l23jVswsAna6RxbVUvjTgGryQ1FRzq2ojyF141UdSo2JkSXC_6mSrRB9Cg_FuIWw5UQMiQUk80rHvvjqjtnATWG-_xs6tfQ_dOOmXZEA/s320/Biz+inspection.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sgt. Bismarck inspecting his newest charge.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6qzTKRxD-wpZ3brPwdwyXZAbtS1vGYVXfwyUnCSCOOol4xncYRGVukYYJ8TZzbqPgMvqLmEx4RPfzDsy8w995k91hI_bXRuKjWcKj7R2Dg4L9QT7Hj6GY5gyt5AM7zEMplc4Pm9w7iU/s1600/Sharing+efalump.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6qzTKRxD-wpZ3brPwdwyXZAbtS1vGYVXfwyUnCSCOOol4xncYRGVukYYJ8TZzbqPgMvqLmEx4RPfzDsy8w995k91hI_bXRuKjWcKj7R2Dg4L9QT7Hj6GY5gyt5AM7zEMplc4Pm9w7iU/s320/Sharing+efalump.jpg" t$="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika showing one of her most prized loves to her baby sister - Ephalump!<br />
(Also known as "Booof" - the official elephant noise)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLSofLrKafM0IhubwNMYYoeTgHABHSLvvYF-sXgmnB1QcKz1ualPOzPIOyoo1lO__PqAPLVyAPF62l_sZApF1AM1spGjqLutgifdNJjP1hYxuRyfhiX76RdtxqR4t_X05hru6ysSl5UQ/s1600/Big+sis+helping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLSofLrKafM0IhubwNMYYoeTgHABHSLvvYF-sXgmnB1QcKz1ualPOzPIOyoo1lO__PqAPLVyAPF62l_sZApF1AM1spGjqLutgifdNJjP1hYxuRyfhiX76RdtxqR4t_X05hru6ysSl5UQ/s320/Big+sis+helping.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika helping out.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpnB1XAdIxdm7xMLt0nKXPcg2FSL1pOFVbBhfrrEwY_CD3TQu-d942CSZ-0Vdc7uX0ODdksLHf-Lz0_eyt_eM3wH4UWmuka_fR3BYH8A8R1ceEWsGVY2pNZzMiRQ0_SCh4Bw_o56G1PU/s1600/Big+sis+getting+in+on+the+action.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpnB1XAdIxdm7xMLt0nKXPcg2FSL1pOFVbBhfrrEwY_CD3TQu-d942CSZ-0Vdc7uX0ODdksLHf-Lz0_eyt_eM3wH4UWmuka_fR3BYH8A8R1ceEWsGVY2pNZzMiRQ0_SCh4Bw_o56G1PU/s320/Big+sis+getting+in+on+the+action.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rough job being a big sis...time to relax in the baby seat!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqms2TgRK6m_W0TC9hxLgRxtO8e54QiXWEkEtdngioftIT4VMcC39F4twv7hb9u7P0sZlWPrw6b4WeWGhtJk_Ak8KR0xRBs9kUhVJbDsxSxeJn1HE8PmlEIzjwG8aMNyOtk24i0ukm7ts/s1600/Anika+holding+Megyn+1st+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqms2TgRK6m_W0TC9hxLgRxtO8e54QiXWEkEtdngioftIT4VMcC39F4twv7hb9u7P0sZlWPrw6b4WeWGhtJk_Ak8KR0xRBs9kUhVJbDsxSxeJn1HE8PmlEIzjwG8aMNyOtk24i0ukm7ts/s320/Anika+holding+Megyn+1st+time.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika holding Megyn for the 1st time</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu2vQMpDGzGR99-gK1VlmZzUM0YolfdK0ymQw0hR6kja4aUVHI04Qqbtwac9c2jGVRwY0yfzOjTrW2I-lfeWBrpnncsesuk01HCt8O5Y5IZcgZYsfMg3TGMFPXjvlyixIcG1uoAjNpgk/s1600/Anika+holding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLu2vQMpDGzGR99-gK1VlmZzUM0YolfdK0ymQw0hR6kja4aUVHI04Qqbtwac9c2jGVRwY0yfzOjTrW2I-lfeWBrpnncsesuk01HCt8O5Y5IZcgZYsfMg3TGMFPXjvlyixIcG1uoAjNpgk/s320/Anika+holding.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm...this plug is a good idea!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDJ48CR_RsKSUZCVR1ROC_ZSpXKFGW9CL8RGtLeGy1PUV7J11WGxJUhKQSPQKL5lnF2qwwO-gIbyNx5Q1v0KvXWMnY96xBIdvXnKpftvBSDYo7wBbB5SDkkabb_WApMxZW7-0GeyJIEs/s1600/proud+papa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDJ48CR_RsKSUZCVR1ROC_ZSpXKFGW9CL8RGtLeGy1PUV7J11WGxJUhKQSPQKL5lnF2qwwO-gIbyNx5Q1v0KvXWMnY96xBIdvXnKpftvBSDYo7wBbB5SDkkabb_WApMxZW7-0GeyJIEs/s320/proud+papa.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Proud papa! (In the new Lazy Boy - the original Father's Day gift)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5ojVu3sdNUsxODc6L2clkUpZXKar9wLNIGnEtpNbVtrl-FPWWRvy-jtik8O64xJELCavYSNLlVX0Z0rh3U-nOFGqCYmgDoMTD_sIQIjyPUuWpCWU9Szco5a4O3pzVV1d9evGZ3LQa6Q/s1600/Father%2527s+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR5ojVu3sdNUsxODc6L2clkUpZXKar9wLNIGnEtpNbVtrl-FPWWRvy-jtik8O64xJELCavYSNLlVX0Z0rh3U-nOFGqCYmgDoMTD_sIQIjyPUuWpCWU9Szco5a4O3pzVV1d9evGZ3LQa6Q/s320/Father%2527s+day.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember my Mother's Day picture? This is the Father's Day edition! <br />
Little did we know that in just about 7 more hours, there would be another bundle for Ben to hold!<br />
(Okay, so *I* had an inkling...)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Its been a full month and we are all settling in - both grandmothers have visited and Uncle Billy and Cousin Briana have made the trip over to visit. Megyn and Anika even have a new cousin on Ben's side of the family - born just 2 days before Megyn! There was a baby boom of nieces and nephews for me between high school and college, and it seems like we're experiencing another one now - I have a feeling that there will be boxes of clothing flying around the country soon enough. One day we'll be visiting and see PJ's on some kid that will bring back memories :-) <br />
<br />
I don't have Megyn's current stats, but she's growing like crazy - 9 lbs, 8 oz. 2 weeks after she was born. Right now, we think she's in the 10+ pound range - she seems to be taking on more Wimsatt baby traits than Anika did...arriving fashionably late, a bit on the "above average" size, and with a bang!<br />
<br />
Back to the rainbow - the other evening we had quite a show - Anika got so excited and pointed outside...we grabbed the camera...<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJgLtPyQghxXu2hvNz7IADriTuS636AJdCMVgKdCvJOU9xGDZKM1ou_9NP20dzjBPVI5FVV43-EjhW-GNSEKPsq8wMinrJWEJZCJPSIiJOBa4JnsgIco2KsykKSymgbRtqhyCx380Nrg/s1600/Pointing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJgLtPyQghxXu2hvNz7IADriTuS636AJdCMVgKdCvJOU9xGDZKM1ou_9NP20dzjBPVI5FVV43-EjhW-GNSEKPsq8wMinrJWEJZCJPSIiJOBa4JnsgIco2KsykKSymgbRtqhyCx380Nrg/s320/Pointing.jpg" t$="true" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bow! Bow! Bow!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
And Ben took this shot of his Golden Girls. There may not be marshmallows, but we are <em>lucky</em> to be so <em>charmed</em> ;-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSdS5sMSXafKUvMt00rz0yfnVebxLYaEamG2md0nPqso8-brZtAh-6EfFyUvgvd18QUOmYbxYdxapE3Kwx_KqrpN8w3yM9e72Rb_9XX6F1M5-D71YKhYeqhZTnC5XBgr_DwAbHdyWl8A/s1600/Golden+Girls+ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYSdS5sMSXafKUvMt00rz0yfnVebxLYaEamG2md0nPqso8-brZtAh-6EfFyUvgvd18QUOmYbxYdxapE3Kwx_KqrpN8w3yM9e72Rb_9XX6F1M5-D71YKhYeqhZTnC5XBgr_DwAbHdyWl8A/s320/Golden+Girls+ed.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who needs a pot to put the gold in?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
On another note:<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1s7TvzpTN0ImLojYNhxnmFqvDforBQD0NiVhA_wRAuqX-rtPz9MFg71byjAYeLCAziL0GyTSTKk7QhL69tVD5_pBKiP_da31NpYWagVXIGEYOcIONnSGWB1RfyrIuGzI5IwyZq-MqtJQ/s1600/Don%2527t+Mind+if+I+do.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1s7TvzpTN0ImLojYNhxnmFqvDforBQD0NiVhA_wRAuqX-rtPz9MFg71byjAYeLCAziL0GyTSTKk7QhL69tVD5_pBKiP_da31NpYWagVXIGEYOcIONnSGWB1RfyrIuGzI5IwyZq-MqtJQ/s320/Don%2527t+Mind+if+I+do.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't mind if we do!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-69842442008081190912011-06-11T16:31:00.001-06:002011-06-11T17:37:34.779-06:00A Jill of All Trades: Custodian, Comedian, and ContractorI've been saving up some photos of Anika that seem pretty well "themed" - you'll be able to see some, ahem, age differences in a couple of them. However, since we have 8 gazillion digital photos of her, why not go back through some of them and track her progress? So, here we go!<br />
<br />
I remember "waaaay back when" helping my mom with the laundry. Handing her clothes pins, eventually taking the high part of the hill that our clothes line was on so I could hang some by myself, matching the dried socks up, and learning my numbers when sorting things out by size when everything was dry. So, I figured, why not start Anika out on this task? Putting laundry away has never been a strong point with me, but maybe if I try to teach my daughter, maybe I'll finally pick up and finish the laundry job!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ-ZkLl3dAeOATb9x3JWUjeKcKBK7_XHSMEbyX4L2PPFhi4RoVIkhpH_epKUxprHuC668AXOXLSRcdg7TVTc_P_LI19d4GQk5VfNcM6RmudTAMM4UZlh6sb_JUkdYDsFnHKjgf3g-HQ8/s1600/9+month+old+Anika+in+basket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ-ZkLl3dAeOATb9x3JWUjeKcKBK7_XHSMEbyX4L2PPFhi4RoVIkhpH_epKUxprHuC668AXOXLSRcdg7TVTc_P_LI19d4GQk5VfNcM6RmudTAMM4UZlh6sb_JUkdYDsFnHKjgf3g-HQ8/s320/9+month+old+Anika+in+basket.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9 months old and sitting pretty in the laundry room with me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qbpvaUBb8H-hPhhouTYbnfBxogRC4Yk2Oa_kYrYcvPiCsXVSfgJi2MZVxMGyFN1X4nC39yr6HyJl9CWeqXfcIA-fLuSBZSKLNpvXMHG7MEtzixJ-ztVsulBqiGpF_8VM4BmXlj4DDk4/s1600/Diapers+on+line+July+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2qbpvaUBb8H-hPhhouTYbnfBxogRC4Yk2Oa_kYrYcvPiCsXVSfgJi2MZVxMGyFN1X4nC39yr6HyJl9CWeqXfcIA-fLuSBZSKLNpvXMHG7MEtzixJ-ztVsulBqiGpF_8VM4BmXlj4DDk4/s320/Diapers+on+line+July+2010.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cloth diapers = plenty of laundry!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I figured having Anika push the laundry basket around the house would help out with her walking skills - it worked pretty well (except when she first started and took a couple of headers into the basket...I figured that would just toughen her up for Mountain Biking later in life, though). Most of the time when I got out the camera, Anika abandoned pushing the basket for attacking Mommy...which isn't a bad thing either!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPPF8bdT2WH2Yhax0BW4hxW0XySiSKK7WvD97TMVYyOaKcs6LgXhZEJomM_qZAnxVGV6SJRVzynpiGiY-6UQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Anika has also become comfortable with being in the kitchen. For example - she helped with the inventory of our fake-tupperware drawer.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXtmCXqgaUKgCksxO_SfpKWpnv_hFSqWUZXSrTQaRLRDZrt4qRgCKe795TUo_hM10Lnd9LhDUYRZjjzcBkm74vIRhgx9Ty5Bu83sxeLzLEDDefnvmKYsp7otpIGBcctyBxt-O7wB519M/s1600/Cleaning+out+the+drawer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivXtmCXqgaUKgCksxO_SfpKWpnv_hFSqWUZXSrTQaRLRDZrt4qRgCKe795TUo_hM10Lnd9LhDUYRZjjzcBkm74vIRhgx9Ty5Bu83sxeLzLEDDefnvmKYsp7otpIGBcctyBxt-O7wB519M/s320/Cleaning+out+the+drawer.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's this?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6T9uw1vTKiJxiy1bm5mGKwgoeg7MSDnwtcUWxNDUs2KhE3q3aIdZAygTtZKtlvNgYEYg1pgxnkrTvvw5tAihBWQtWW1ZTk_kdtENIE3itWRQe1bWZunb4qleLtyyBc8ELdeE0I6Z1Xgg/s1600/Almost+Done+with+drawer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6T9uw1vTKiJxiy1bm5mGKwgoeg7MSDnwtcUWxNDUs2KhE3q3aIdZAygTtZKtlvNgYEYg1pgxnkrTvvw5tAihBWQtWW1ZTk_kdtENIE3itWRQe1bWZunb4qleLtyyBc8ELdeE0I6Z1Xgg/s320/Almost+Done+with+drawer.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost done!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
She also likes to help out when I cook. This day I was making banana bread and Anika was making mixed cereal. But a good cook always cleans up, right? (Some days I'm not the best of cooks....)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BxgLqOS29t5mzgJcnpBdeV86DJLCTUg-Tn6PNgnEVcmk6MdjNGuM-I-szldUw0pEXxFaHDq-IpZAaDSIwhIsreIpOm_OX68hCjgogVi1Lm4NFShxnS3Os2ohIYn7vfCubZ0sDcGCDgE/s1600/cooking+away.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BxgLqOS29t5mzgJcnpBdeV86DJLCTUg-Tn6PNgnEVcmk6MdjNGuM-I-szldUw0pEXxFaHDq-IpZAaDSIwhIsreIpOm_OX68hCjgogVi1Lm4NFShxnS3Os2ohIYn7vfCubZ0sDcGCDgE/s320/cooking+away.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mmmm...tasty!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbM4I2I2D6Cu_V1l9gFqmbJCW1oOQ22JApmRMNDChKDTsWNNDymx_AoEg-zwu_0NRiXewgaNRnQAu7-8ANpL1i4ZJzIclqC3f5TSfeIx8PiotmZS81db1vwl_ijDrgG6yVlg3xjM8d2c/s1600/Excited+to+clean+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkbM4I2I2D6Cu_V1l9gFqmbJCW1oOQ22JApmRMNDChKDTsWNNDymx_AoEg-zwu_0NRiXewgaNRnQAu7-8ANpL1i4ZJzIclqC3f5TSfeIx8PiotmZS81db1vwl_ijDrgG6yVlg3xjM8d2c/s320/Excited+to+clean+up.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeeeeeese!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQDeWMgjCkV82CiyXFWFafXXJgvZyXOe9IJaC4hX6DVh1kGVBKDTerm0BuxNjlSfz0Dwnxk6HWaqz-awrK87z-mV5RF0qNrjFdt5t1w-6aSZYmyRVEiRea2FR-0gS6a7-N9a_q33z6ZM/s1600/working+the+dust+pan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQDeWMgjCkV82CiyXFWFafXXJgvZyXOe9IJaC4hX6DVh1kGVBKDTerm0BuxNjlSfz0Dwnxk6HWaqz-awrK87z-mV5RF0qNrjFdt5t1w-6aSZYmyRVEiRea2FR-0gS6a7-N9a_q33z6ZM/s320/working+the+dust+pan.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out those motor skills!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anika has also developed quite the sense of humor through the <strike>years</strike> [oops! she hasn't been around long enough for that!] <em>months</em>. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzp99d9hsq0drmoJM5i1R9Bz8CR8jq6wTgQMx3W-v_baF0huC2krbsBYnr_MwQh3S0mNuDpaqhXte2gaZb1rvimwvXB6-UxCDU56nMYG5LZnaqRkGTWXoOUFp7y7NMdFvEdmzYawikFo/s1600/7+month+old+ham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzp99d9hsq0drmoJM5i1R9Bz8CR8jq6wTgQMx3W-v_baF0huC2krbsBYnr_MwQh3S0mNuDpaqhXte2gaZb1rvimwvXB6-UxCDU56nMYG5LZnaqRkGTWXoOUFp7y7NMdFvEdmzYawikFo/s320/7+month+old+ham.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 7 month old ham in the tub.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZRT2YJm0qLZHjr8GyaniHJipnG04MmaUMi80ISkIvC2Qk5-6vu_XRrLZjBPm0dhF8KG6rRYrXmvEQL9i4D1M5SHi9qw1YXwpNll8Cnznt5XqHyv905V46Hydw_ypgJmFkNxw0yr2CcQ/s1600/9+month+old+helmet+head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZRT2YJm0qLZHjr8GyaniHJipnG04MmaUMi80ISkIvC2Qk5-6vu_XRrLZjBPm0dhF8KG6rRYrXmvEQL9i4D1M5SHi9qw1YXwpNll8Cnznt5XqHyv905V46Hydw_ypgJmFkNxw0yr2CcQ/s320/9+month+old+helmet+head.jpg" t8="true" width="174" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">9 months - <br />
"I've got my helmet on! Nothing can do me wrong!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_v_vXbGUeL7Uc5JwFBynS5JisOB5cYWr4FH33RyuidP5zvmnHo9OanGfMXIqLOdBGEKiwlbuEggaNWzvwFIngHq69Ed9ZIC93IP_EzgblxEfcUXrXJWVNaj7n-FR2B-EjYftJ0jme9sY/s1600/Bunny+Face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_v_vXbGUeL7Uc5JwFBynS5JisOB5cYWr4FH33RyuidP5zvmnHo9OanGfMXIqLOdBGEKiwlbuEggaNWzvwFIngHq69Ed9ZIC93IP_EzgblxEfcUXrXJWVNaj7n-FR2B-EjYftJ0jme9sY/s320/Bunny+Face.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bunny impersonation.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaHNKLQUY7Ie26NxTA2s1SHbEfARRkFV8gMKQsGeZuAyTBMsrTP1rliRF9MBU1ZyqQn_zfH7ysx3GwxwoTt9dFRFVn0N5O4aPf2Eyal4ZlTKFsOTh2K9BnyYNxIG3-s9kTtZr7HwepWs/s1600/swimming+goggles+on.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaHNKLQUY7Ie26NxTA2s1SHbEfARRkFV8gMKQsGeZuAyTBMsrTP1rliRF9MBU1ZyqQn_zfH7ysx3GwxwoTt9dFRFVn0N5O4aPf2Eyal4ZlTKFsOTh2K9BnyYNxIG3-s9kTtZr7HwepWs/s320/swimming+goggles+on.jpg" t8="true" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming goggles and silly Shrek face.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlsHoqYUviNOszTv1EgEmNAijX1Xxl_aaBlmSK002WiRQYtlCpXyJXVybOayPkiSfjgvdcShbYksUAVaTt-8X4BKCjEAmyhJWEUSP2rQluqIW0mvTodT7R3kOrJnDq2qryFnlw4GxGwg/s1600/sitting+on+mommys+belly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVlsHoqYUviNOszTv1EgEmNAijX1Xxl_aaBlmSK002WiRQYtlCpXyJXVybOayPkiSfjgvdcShbYksUAVaTt-8X4BKCjEAmyhJWEUSP2rQluqIW0mvTodT7R3kOrJnDq2qryFnlw4GxGwg/s320/sitting+on+mommys+belly.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting on her pregnant mother's belly (8 months along, by the way in this one)<br />
...Kiddo #2 is in for it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFjgYQ8SW5nZKS0kELYDjKnaUk7i1fEdvT1JMxljNBQVdjUb1A2deuDy2Iw_yFrEgYuzRva7TDC5w-90ZjCVcHInowayp5oaDnXAXqt9-DccReLLsxtYM2gffiKOTNvHnVmL0BpjK8mQ/s1600/Walking+in+daddys+boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFjgYQ8SW5nZKS0kELYDjKnaUk7i1fEdvT1JMxljNBQVdjUb1A2deuDy2Iw_yFrEgYuzRva7TDC5w-90ZjCVcHInowayp5oaDnXAXqt9-DccReLLsxtYM2gffiKOTNvHnVmL0BpjK8mQ/s320/Walking+in+daddys+boots.jpg" t8="true" width="203" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spending some time in her Father's shoes.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxma_9YFYBdDxOXdcdBkAcshyBcl5kDhZVCEFtCgqMozBV5HdR__L3E4T0nwGb9eVcRK89qQ7ij4q7wiFAQu9mqV0T3Ef_POPh90SGro9D7MHWdmf_r89mI9KIcyKbXzzpYmHQaVoL_A8/s1600/Shrek+Face+with+Boots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxma_9YFYBdDxOXdcdBkAcshyBcl5kDhZVCEFtCgqMozBV5HdR__L3E4T0nwGb9eVcRK89qQ7ij4q7wiFAQu9mqV0T3Ef_POPh90SGro9D7MHWdmf_r89mI9KIcyKbXzzpYmHQaVoL_A8/s320/Shrek+Face+with+Boots.jpg" t8="true" width="170" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another Shrek face with boots on.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLHBTrsE0p0BS116df00f80tqRZoe535kB_JhmBCbO4dG6cnko0M6yEkYSorLmc8l5ie9pR2WqReKBfdrsFdL9Mlw-7_mV-HRwy5J1FPCD9LtbEo1HWE8s5tLSHOO2q3yWUxkdtPCTEs/s1600/Driving+with+boots+on.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLHBTrsE0p0BS116df00f80tqRZoe535kB_JhmBCbO4dG6cnko0M6yEkYSorLmc8l5ie9pR2WqReKBfdrsFdL9Mlw-7_mV-HRwy5J1FPCD9LtbEo1HWE8s5tLSHOO2q3yWUxkdtPCTEs/s320/Driving+with+boots+on.jpg" t8="true" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She actually made forward progress with the boots on <br />
while driving the Dora car!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We've also been doing quite a bit of improvements on the house...okay, not a new concept for us as we've been consistently working on improving the Homestid. However, Anika has ventured into being a General Contractor as you can see on this next video. She's explaining to Ben how to finish out the flooring job.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxQqhb1co8MCaKxrW_rLdyPfSE7sZCSK0xEskXgtpo3k2DDmChg5YtNuUVrzJfchY_axDyXlZZeBxZZJRun9A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We're looking forward to Anika's advice on picking out the area rugs (we know that it has to be crawl-worthy in the family room) as well as landscaping the front yard. Some people put pressure on their kids to be prodigies related to the arts and smarts ... we're coaching ours to be a prodigy of home improvement projects. Tim Taylor would be proud (Home Improvment t.v. show reference, just in case you didn't get that one!).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In other news, kiddo #2 is still cooking away! We will let you know when the grand entrance occurs! </div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-53804834258579956262011-06-08T17:19:00.000-06:002011-06-08T17:19:43.929-06:00"When you're up, you're up and when you're down, you're down" - Noble Duke of YorkMay was quite the interesting month for us. <br />
<br />
It started out with a wonderful week of celebrations - Ben's birthday on May 5! We had a Mexican themed dinner - Ben's tradition :-) We had fajitas for dinner and home-made g-free sopapillas for dessert. I was nervous about the sopapilla process, but Ben was willing to share his expert insight and we ended up with some rather warm. tasty, poofy, honey-laden fried deliciousness that I wouldn't object to repeating in the future!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGohr1QS-_IDtTptMU9iC21kkDw-_vBdkRPkjCx08SPTyMZunE4WfigoBx0q6peGBu111Qf45FZQghlphZHDaJkfSPe3hgUT-RymTSymSo_3BRhn-8Aj1_sDGSa-b3sQ9OrelmVLW61k/s1600/Daddy+Daughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGohr1QS-_IDtTptMU9iC21kkDw-_vBdkRPkjCx08SPTyMZunE4WfigoBx0q6peGBu111Qf45FZQghlphZHDaJkfSPe3hgUT-RymTSymSo_3BRhn-8Aj1_sDGSa-b3sQ9OrelmVLW61k/s320/Daddy+Daughter.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laiiid back - Anika and Ben relaxing and watching some Shrek.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREDAt8YGi2LOdx8NGQIlZCsU6kXymYgag3ExozGUtygiQHGEfYKxN3QRbGS39hmgFGgdPkUcNl_ZMl6J5oIs6boGNRpQDJmLexzBrjiwHxUmbPl7s3djUsGSGkoAZqDYWj_9HoGdS7d4/s1600/Sopapillas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjREDAt8YGi2LOdx8NGQIlZCsU6kXymYgag3ExozGUtygiQHGEfYKxN3QRbGS39hmgFGgdPkUcNl_ZMl6J5oIs6boGNRpQDJmLexzBrjiwHxUmbPl7s3djUsGSGkoAZqDYWj_9HoGdS7d4/s320/Sopapillas.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Innagural sopapilla creation...in the fondue pot!!! <br />
(Betcha didn't think of this use, Dena!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsWqTf97eIupHzlICco17BWL-6vl0vl1JjxzG4YDkX9GrzOwNfp_NB9SZh9-7Zji2M8sLGb2E3APd-TNKrHYROeclCvyW0ecFQtODgHh7EGeXnsjOQ3RH4L0grmohMmOCnu4OQOu5YSc/s1600/The+procedure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsWqTf97eIupHzlICco17BWL-6vl0vl1JjxzG4YDkX9GrzOwNfp_NB9SZh9-7Zji2M8sLGb2E3APd-TNKrHYROeclCvyW0ecFQtODgHh7EGeXnsjOQ3RH4L0grmohMmOCnu4OQOu5YSc/s320/The+procedure.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Birthday Boy showing the world how to properly put honey in the fried deliciousness!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>A few days later, it was Mother's Day. We planned on hitting the Ouray Hot Springs, but ended up going over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton for lunch and then back home...Anika was passed out by the time we got back to the Hot Springs and Baby #2 had been actively squishing my lungs all the way back down the pass. But, it was a beautiful drive and I was wearing flip flops with multiple feet of snow around me at the top of the pass...I am on a mission to force spring to appear!!!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oIpda73ZB7PklATEx9vqWKc7L64zzDIh2prsOus1TeGba7Lz5uj6_vZMfZfuba7SDDFhZcp-8jVCBt8m2Te7vLokjrettAU36wgFtuBU5msoydgvyP4VkSGAh6BoJ03t38zwK3_u6aY/s1600/Red+Mountain+Pass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oIpda73ZB7PklATEx9vqWKc7L64zzDIh2prsOus1TeGba7Lz5uj6_vZMfZfuba7SDDFhZcp-8jVCBt8m2Te7vLokjrettAU36wgFtuBU5msoydgvyP4VkSGAh6BoJ03t38zwK3_u6aY/s320/Red+Mountain+Pass.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the top.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHDBAspy8xoNsQkYW3UTyHF0g9uNjpRvkios7fgew7N-0XkhOPLB8Jxmq3pxofdU77Cr8i0kf2PRdG8-Svj3dJ5-lk_cCznJwC08FLIMJ9Bfnv9r85T01voSqdEOKKvDsd-TMc7TMBLc/s1600/Mommy+Daughter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHDBAspy8xoNsQkYW3UTyHF0g9uNjpRvkios7fgew7N-0XkhOPLB8Jxmq3pxofdU77Cr8i0kf2PRdG8-Svj3dJ5-lk_cCznJwC08FLIMJ9Bfnv9r85T01voSqdEOKKvDsd-TMc7TMBLc/s320/Mommy+Daughter.jpg" t8="true" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika and I at the top of the pass.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbShoLQD0KGZosS9R-XrJgIHSyg0y-Vr5tYJqjKOZWHIInuB_db0YRnl4FviJMq8B5_rw0uh4N0SzPCyIbZkBVqX6XznBIJOV2Dk77u19xzJRJaQu1zuxbH8uz8fd7ybkZKHD2DvJL1M/s1600/County+Road+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYbShoLQD0KGZosS9R-XrJgIHSyg0y-Vr5tYJqjKOZWHIInuB_db0YRnl4FviJMq8B5_rw0uh4N0SzPCyIbZkBVqX6XznBIJOV2Dk77u19xzJRJaQu1zuxbH8uz8fd7ybkZKHD2DvJL1M/s320/County+Road+16.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div>The Subie is tough...but not THAT tough! <br />
Driving down County Road 16 is out for the day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When we got home, Anika was ready to PLAY! So, we let our little Rock Star have some kid time in the sun.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkTTVetpPGH5hiH4IuP-V1DgrZ44drNeHCgmRtdvpmS8YJWcpXi6ZD1VKtnp8tM7-qkBD5WI_2cUgja41dVtzmGrnDy20eevB4XlgCPugFyFak2ziTV2kObVxbvUu82ZuchtmVz7FFYI/s1600/Rock+Star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkTTVetpPGH5hiH4IuP-V1DgrZ44drNeHCgmRtdvpmS8YJWcpXi6ZD1VKtnp8tM7-qkBD5WI_2cUgja41dVtzmGrnDy20eevB4XlgCPugFyFak2ziTV2kObVxbvUu82ZuchtmVz7FFYI/s320/Rock+Star.jpg" t8="true" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silly face!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKklVg1PUMrYvivTdiqdgPX4n5Wogxg-bf-CKu5AmpWjj_0M37WcggGbNjxn0WS7W6IxWVtWRkRXmJckpZAF0rrgYmqXJCRoZCj0WEyDyzaoYs-M_hFvQhRw4W7St6DpdGDOKqiivv8X4/s1600/Sharing+with+Biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKklVg1PUMrYvivTdiqdgPX4n5Wogxg-bf-CKu5AmpWjj_0M37WcggGbNjxn0WS7W6IxWVtWRkRXmJckpZAF0rrgYmqXJCRoZCj0WEyDyzaoYs-M_hFvQhRw4W7St6DpdGDOKqiivv8X4/s320/Sharing+with+Biz.jpg" t8="true" width="275" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She has such manners...sharing her rocks with Biz!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then, it was Peli's birthday - 10 years old! Her gift: the "Winter that Never Eeeeennnnddddssss!" (insert echoing voice for that one). No one seemed to tell Old Man Winter to just Let. It. Go. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6R9iTaqP-3BFwL_vhTNbgckf7W2izYe88nyTBhbI9y2UWLnsGHyBg3pbqTQwHIs645JYmBdsG3v6tzyQ4YfYZmj-HV3xtA4cvpEGNIafjNw_N1Qqk5FiKZLKTas4L6JK20WG0oolobzw/s1600/Front+Deck+View.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6R9iTaqP-3BFwL_vhTNbgckf7W2izYe88nyTBhbI9y2UWLnsGHyBg3pbqTQwHIs645JYmBdsG3v6tzyQ4YfYZmj-HV3xtA4cvpEGNIafjNw_N1Qqk5FiKZLKTas4L6JK20WG0oolobzw/s320/Front+Deck+View.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that incredible springtime view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkVQ_vfxab6wNQPZ0BcClNJfV2O7DWw_yytUPjKWbDr-fAuf_HvZx3mTUgkARnC0lkj1SAHx4VLKf-AT2pc4ARF2g_23T02ZqxxnSkQKHQGg2FuRikKAShqo0fHow-GG_7N4WUum3xsI/s1600/Snow+Ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkVQ_vfxab6wNQPZ0BcClNJfV2O7DWw_yytUPjKWbDr-fAuf_HvZx3mTUgkARnC0lkj1SAHx4VLKf-AT2pc4ARF2g_23T02ZqxxnSkQKHQGg2FuRikKAShqo0fHow-GG_7N4WUum3xsI/s320/Snow+Ben.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben made a snowman and a snowboulder :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_w6qsFsjeEDyzOx0SWMhJ8IhiISiybFqsyNB-TLSUYrZJnxrL-l5N9ZffbjgMyYiLQ48-XFqthddOgjjDJkcpsjD94-dGLAWgcJKjFijP2RlCNNOOJPekG6FPRIZxFYYU4Xu_ViI8nP0/s1600/Humming+bird+feeder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_w6qsFsjeEDyzOx0SWMhJ8IhiISiybFqsyNB-TLSUYrZJnxrL-l5N9ZffbjgMyYiLQ48-XFqthddOgjjDJkcpsjD94-dGLAWgcJKjFijP2RlCNNOOJPekG6FPRIZxFYYU4Xu_ViI8nP0/s320/Humming+bird+feeder.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We *did* have hummingbirds flying around!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY3w28HXGYCIgxlKelR3JOkAeRxURl39eC2uanVuDeL_n-2mkglEP6i5UhAThJytiWAYF72dUUrNcsqu5o2ycb9ev19yraBpGyeEi3DDUAVuCBuhp_ClaYa57dEkhYmUFcMJD7NT9FvQ/s1600/Pups+enjoying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoY3w28HXGYCIgxlKelR3JOkAeRxURl39eC2uanVuDeL_n-2mkglEP6i5UhAThJytiWAYF72dUUrNcsqu5o2ycb9ev19yraBpGyeEi3DDUAVuCBuhp_ClaYa57dEkhYmUFcMJD7NT9FvQ/s320/Pups+enjoying.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peli and Biz enjoying the last winter blast (hopefully)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT352FBcpYVO8zQd-6CrhfhBYTWBXRC2Z21eXsM_ZZ4yPzzzJKc2H5Q1T3HvnKX-0Vr6owkTtfts5b6DeWexQOrEgqXnkHCuDcgUf3JsU3y90OmIreUKlI9nHL_X0O3Hio63YGllLScJc/s1600/Majestic+Winter+Peli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT352FBcpYVO8zQd-6CrhfhBYTWBXRC2Z21eXsM_ZZ4yPzzzJKc2H5Q1T3HvnKX-0Vr6owkTtfts5b6DeWexQOrEgqXnkHCuDcgUf3JsU3y90OmIreUKlI9nHL_X0O3Hio63YGllLScJc/s320/Majestic+Winter+Peli.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her Highness :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This is the part that goes with this post's title of "When you're down. you're down": Peli passed away early in the morning on Friday, May 20th from heart issues. We are slowly healing our own hearts and Anika goes to the windows and doors every once in a while and says "A-woo, a-woo" and looks for Peli, but we're all getting better. Peli had a great retirement out here and was certainly a "Good Girl", as Anika had just learned to tell her.<br />
<br />
(I'm currently working on a post called "The Tails Behind Linstidtails" that will go into more de<em>tail </em>on the Pelster among other things, but that's going to take a while...)<br />
<br />
Lest you think we didn't get more than one spring day without snow on the ground (we got at least 3 days), here is evidence to the contrary: <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBFEfL_cph_Y698Kau5xuWe5b5punoHqCswXYpHv3KUZuQpfI7QRQKp1XIVDTJdQaATYZy6FLCv48IW89KdtoX5H5d5kb5eeHOuyyCJoWkzKQIfGsqHWRDlL7L0QRoBm1ACxKv1xDaV0/s1600/Sitting+Pretty+waiting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBFEfL_cph_Y698Kau5xuWe5b5punoHqCswXYpHv3KUZuQpfI7QRQKp1XIVDTJdQaATYZy6FLCv48IW89KdtoX5H5d5kb5eeHOuyyCJoWkzKQIfGsqHWRDlL7L0QRoBm1ACxKv1xDaV0/s320/Sitting+Pretty+waiting.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting pretty waiting for Daddy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JQ7TR95GRuqC1l12EkNvLL_yxLCSmQw9DuNyWlw22_VyBfUNplhQe_KXuciMJCaE8Dg_3owhThLxOFYqdGM_8K3_89sQPGt8Yqssmzx2NtH-kWPwT1lWX9je6nVrXOJFV5ElF_l7ZXU/s1600/There+he+goes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JQ7TR95GRuqC1l12EkNvLL_yxLCSmQw9DuNyWlw22_VyBfUNplhQe_KXuciMJCaE8Dg_3owhThLxOFYqdGM_8K3_89sQPGt8Yqssmzx2NtH-kWPwT1lWX9je6nVrXOJFV5ElF_l7ZXU/s320/There+he+goes.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whoa - that's pretty cool!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g4Emd3YLRyXf1UgOmTfLtBfJ4LP6jLcNhd10-AMxe6NKWoEsDKC_mz_WGqB9Rp1FnzbcHvzYTVkIlZc0Xsqfm5rthOAtpZvtBpJMVQ6pweH-4agg362qUZXL7D4Rejt8ZrC87zRb4L8/s1600/Wait+for+me%2521%2521%2521%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5g4Emd3YLRyXf1UgOmTfLtBfJ4LP6jLcNhd10-AMxe6NKWoEsDKC_mz_WGqB9Rp1FnzbcHvzYTVkIlZc0Xsqfm5rthOAtpZvtBpJMVQ6pweH-4agg362qUZXL7D4Rejt8ZrC87zRb4L8/s320/Wait+for+me%2521%2521%2521%2521.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy? Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5RfoQCDXFeyL-StdjnbMNYVCwlGLXUbwRXH7tRxiv7b2DoRTbKNmohEoaQ7VBUGJZUQPcGaE2a88SO-wasHXWJKyyNSW2_E_aIgpradgdeYwp4SDsvAyfcWsV5YUCNBrw63TNo7Yupk/s1600/Hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN5RfoQCDXFeyL-StdjnbMNYVCwlGLXUbwRXH7tRxiv7b2DoRTbKNmohEoaQ7VBUGJZUQPcGaE2a88SO-wasHXWJKyyNSW2_E_aIgpradgdeYwp4SDsvAyfcWsV5YUCNBrw63TNo7Yupk/s320/Hero.jpg" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Daddy...My Hero</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Not to end the month on a boring note, Ben and I celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary on May 29th. We had a family celebration all day long! Brunch at the Camp Robber, then to the pool, back home to nap, and then a tasty dinner of beef kabobs and shrimp! Yummo!!! Anika loved going to the pool and asking Ben to "Splash!" - meaning, "Father, please remove those random children out of the way and show them how you are REALLY supposed to go off of the diving board...and then do it again and again. Also, I'd like to do the same thing. It's no problem that I am a teeny tiny toddler, I can do it. I. Want. To. Splash. Now."<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTYpu0PQOMhS9t-NTL1KxXKFckDCcB0KDIYZTVfEd8wNVBEj7jrqB0lqEnEN0C5bttlH3ybiqaxm4OTh6KLt-rluyHfFoOdxo0CBVVO1NniFESz3-kvBefMCh4eff26sV8vx4jRCFBpQ/s1600/Ready+for+the+pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVTYpu0PQOMhS9t-NTL1KxXKFckDCcB0KDIYZTVfEd8wNVBEj7jrqB0lqEnEN0C5bttlH3ybiqaxm4OTh6KLt-rluyHfFoOdxo0CBVVO1NniFESz3-kvBefMCh4eff26sV8vx4jRCFBpQ/s320/Ready+for+the+pool.jpg" t8="true" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fueled up with milk and ready to take on the swimming world!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
On the family side of things, we also made a decision to shift our vehicles around to accomodate 2 car seats, a Bismarck, Ben & I, and all of the equipment that we will be using for our adventures for the next many years. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZVMEGySMFO8uP8hJO40ZiCZ8VDy8v0wgE72IDA2AtbwYi5d6AJylpXHrBLnhQnh4HX4oMVgp6gj6AAdVvFMIBHm6iRFkDZzVDH21gAHuwHdJbUICqhPbdGyq3OkkTflDkx4Zz9JR3PI/s1600/100_5170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaZVMEGySMFO8uP8hJO40ZiCZ8VDy8v0wgE72IDA2AtbwYi5d6AJylpXHrBLnhQnh4HX4oMVgp6gj6AAdVvFMIBHm6iRFkDZzVDH21gAHuwHdJbUICqhPbdGyq3OkkTflDkx4Zz9JR3PI/s320/100_5170.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika was illustrating how she thought the Subaru was going to feel.<br />
Notice the snowsuit - she wanted that on the baby!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So, the Subaru and the Jeep got together and retired from their adventures with us. They gave us this Beast for our expanding family as a farewell gift:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdcxoXwGqqs16abvhhEv_G3rd3XrJJd1AirNRCsmlEM_dbyLi9ec4SCOnmIOdYt39fQnIZWBQH2WeQghQwIIRU_kvNym9W6jRTMrugP2b64jiqIgYACi3MeDEt1Efzad9iIObpw5lEB4/s1600/100_5175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdcxoXwGqqs16abvhhEv_G3rd3XrJJd1AirNRCsmlEM_dbyLi9ec4SCOnmIOdYt39fQnIZWBQH2WeQghQwIIRU_kvNym9W6jRTMrugP2b64jiqIgYACi3MeDEt1Efzad9iIObpw5lEB4/s320/100_5175.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 Suburban...it should work for us for quite some time!<br />
Beast on the outside...Beauty on the inside :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Thus, our May ended - and we are now in June. We are 6 days away from the due date for kiddo #2...good thing the new baby seat made it into the Beast yesterday!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvFHR_91GjQmggpwAmnCYTr7TGt0rFIlF96PvBpnz1qxHVLdLBtqyE58hs6F1EF1BdNqAl-ndc0OnQ73ifM-rOei652UtDITqcjW0K9cgwgXJuNwvpOa8HJsAJf960gVQAXGCIT2KotE/s1600/May+31+sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAvFHR_91GjQmggpwAmnCYTr7TGt0rFIlF96PvBpnz1qxHVLdLBtqyE58hs6F1EF1BdNqAl-ndc0OnQ73ifM-rOei652UtDITqcjW0K9cgwgXJuNwvpOa8HJsAJf960gVQAXGCIT2KotE/s320/May+31+sunset.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset May 31, 2011. <br />
Pretty much sums up the month for us.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-70546679354761235492011-04-26T09:51:00.001-06:002011-04-26T09:53:07.526-06:00April Snow Showers....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>...feel pointless until the May flowers pop up. At least for me...because if it's going to snow, at least let us <em>play</em> in it! But, that's what we have memories for, right? And here we are sharing our fun with you...<br />
<br />
For your viewing and reading pleasure, here is a summary of the Winter Adventures here at the Linstid Homestid!<br />
<br />
Ben worked very hard this past summer revising the cross-country ski course. He analyzed the slope angles, pitch depths, prevailing winds, vegetation, track of the sun throughout the season, migration patterns of elk - pretty much a varitable variety of variables, and came up with a plan. Then he executed the track revisions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOncLK88_6QHddBxfD3kmLid55forJGG3UaulCA3ie8ZBnuDCgWCe_ab_N7tOxPwygJkeXAzGniETN-Ny2E4jgh16YGmPn9itIN-GY1HdueEPo_G-Mt_o5XN1st_Znzp6edkwPSDPjgvc/s1600/Chainsaw+Weilding+Ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOncLK88_6QHddBxfD3kmLid55forJGG3UaulCA3ie8ZBnuDCgWCe_ab_N7tOxPwygJkeXAzGniETN-Ny2E4jgh16YGmPn9itIN-GY1HdueEPo_G-Mt_o5XN1st_Znzp6edkwPSDPjgvc/s320/Chainsaw+Weilding+Ben.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup - that guy attached to the chainsaw is my hubby!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMF73yx9cEX9SM7UA0QxN0I4u92_haFa98OqqHZ6VRpS3-SoXWEl-rMohUNTRH3KdIxqV_DzzocTc5xb66r-G_sWE0jAuvAvjLhSOIH0fsKQ8DdVTLeRBtbGHeRD2CTUFuTi5PBRneiQ/s1600/Larry+Mowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaMF73yx9cEX9SM7UA0QxN0I4u92_haFa98OqqHZ6VRpS3-SoXWEl-rMohUNTRH3KdIxqV_DzzocTc5xb66r-G_sWE0jAuvAvjLhSOIH0fsKQ8DdVTLeRBtbGHeRD2CTUFuTi5PBRneiQ/s320/Larry+Mowing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We've got great neighbors...ones that like to use their tractors and save us TONS of time.<br />
(When I say "us", I mean Ben)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Then we waited for the snow.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRn9kSuec4GNBjVT1uF1IXjLE8cBHqfbNe2t9EX8RFkAnC6qOuhuvpBYZKbTfNQYRFrHE1I88yaTj0-HAtFGiH7Qn0ZGYyMYEBDuotS9WHd7MJJJ0oVxVNfAB1px-fuobkSsi0Twwunho/s1600/Start+of+the+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRn9kSuec4GNBjVT1uF1IXjLE8cBHqfbNe2t9EX8RFkAnC6qOuhuvpBYZKbTfNQYRFrHE1I88yaTj0-HAtFGiH7Qn0ZGYyMYEBDuotS9WHd7MJJJ0oVxVNfAB1px-fuobkSsi0Twwunho/s320/Start+of+the+snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not yet....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytChay-LuBN8aEcw-2lfGDcUgvqioNhnpuIZh03cMtBDywL4VQvGSCLoB1LW325y52LmrgJZ63kfrF8Fmv1-I0FrpXczu9s6aodpGVcpALoe76cMDFinNW37BoFlZHfm3xb92PUEi9Mk/s1600/Need+more+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgytChay-LuBN8aEcw-2lfGDcUgvqioNhnpuIZh03cMtBDywL4VQvGSCLoB1LW325y52LmrgJZ63kfrF8Fmv1-I0FrpXczu9s6aodpGVcpALoe76cMDFinNW37BoFlZHfm3xb92PUEi9Mk/s320/Need+more+snow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still need some more snow....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe5BnfwTECt5aU-E-VoWQBkxx4_sRK8aFgC6zKWfKD-F3JnJj14aZ-Fo-fEgVwiuX3WZ9ytTUmKio6lYFqy_42PdnpdoFCvCABEW4m_UA7t_50Rr_zpYtYPm9JsdXhae5aKMzSugmhMc/s1600/Juuuust+right+for+the+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe5BnfwTECt5aU-E-VoWQBkxx4_sRK8aFgC6zKWfKD-F3JnJj14aZ-Fo-fEgVwiuX3WZ9ytTUmKio6lYFqy_42PdnpdoFCvCABEW4m_UA7t_50Rr_zpYtYPm9JsdXhae5aKMzSugmhMc/s320/Juuuust+right+for+the+snow.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooooohhhh yeah....just right!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LOa1-PceTNVilUEC0FM5Zhplnc33b43yj56EIULPkLeEL6ZRdwzO-lA-VfbjbEobzfWIy8nSMEX5Xd93qeTMeTcLqkAFd2Az2OOr_z_tVgv8yb0AK0BCkBFoLO2zKzMrg6v-F_IDKP4/s1600/Height+difference.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LOa1-PceTNVilUEC0FM5Zhplnc33b43yj56EIULPkLeEL6ZRdwzO-lA-VfbjbEobzfWIy8nSMEX5Xd93qeTMeTcLqkAFd2Az2OOr_z_tVgv8yb0AK0BCkBFoLO2zKzMrg6v-F_IDKP4/s320/Height+difference.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The groomer with his tools - height meter (Anika) and the snowmobile.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rMC3edKSgp4qm5mwf13WnbFrJrT9mvC-dbvDprqyuK2wvNX-qOBGUUkOxmFuKvlsltwPWyL4NN8haK9MZBa4ULNylC-YNLVPy6r83kkQxIlg6NjB87NM7SusZ5t1h7R6te8LZ29VqqM/s1600/Entrance+to+Driveway.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rMC3edKSgp4qm5mwf13WnbFrJrT9mvC-dbvDprqyuK2wvNX-qOBGUUkOxmFuKvlsltwPWyL4NN8haK9MZBa4ULNylC-YNLVPy6r83kkQxIlg6NjB87NM7SusZ5t1h7R6te8LZ29VqqM/s320/Entrance+to+Driveway.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Driveway after a fresh snow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyobqX3bMwdqqT2lkdav1RtBPHfGN60KBKXFS60K45Nrp2nLCvDE6j0dMX4gN5wCw7Yp2zW372o6HqPqc3UaCJZ9SmrmdDle2t80mNgzhVhSSZxtpBXXGfFQPiTTGp8067cvR3bFbruI8/s1600/Snow+House1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyobqX3bMwdqqT2lkdav1RtBPHfGN60KBKXFS60K45Nrp2nLCvDE6j0dMX4gN5wCw7Yp2zW372o6HqPqc3UaCJZ9SmrmdDle2t80mNgzhVhSSZxtpBXXGfFQPiTTGp8067cvR3bFbruI8/s320/Snow+House1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Homestid as it should be during the winter - <br />
snowy on a bright sunny bluebird sky day :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then we enjoyed the bounty of his work. A Harvest of sorts, one might say.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrpIfdAUwNWC4pvF8GfLdk3dTRRlJLhXWvQEPfVJccCJL5Xj-Mmx3nYssxKSPtYe3KVcrjbDfUGt74lxrt-9-lzq6V-PUwROGimZwK4nzfwCae4Gf2dzvqL77oHGL8Tj3gt5W533SusXE/s1600/San+Juans+from+the+Roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrpIfdAUwNWC4pvF8GfLdk3dTRRlJLhXWvQEPfVJccCJL5Xj-Mmx3nYssxKSPtYe3KVcrjbDfUGt74lxrt-9-lzq6V-PUwROGimZwK4nzfwCae4Gf2dzvqL77oHGL8Tj3gt5W533SusXE/s320/San+Juans+from+the+Roof.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just enjoying the roof top view!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3wBZLR7aamrD3-xziWKXtY5pQnKQhxaO4cl6K7BnKfTs-YQlakpJXgVIwdk1r0S0pCqWqU7z-dIJfVAgl66AablzM_uK0xP7W_InKIyGRvsc3q9fVJpkSdjlkvSRzJ3Pou9AUQew1hw/s1600/Back+Trails.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3wBZLR7aamrD3-xziWKXtY5pQnKQhxaO4cl6K7BnKfTs-YQlakpJXgVIwdk1r0S0pCqWqU7z-dIJfVAgl66AablzM_uK0xP7W_InKIyGRvsc3q9fVJpkSdjlkvSRzJ3Pou9AUQew1hw/s320/Back+Trails.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aerial view of the back trail</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BnL25W1Sit0kOS_uGaaAbUTvPNAZ95ZVxrhmBjbgBpWOCrZRLZ6PO0U0Qkx99L9ZNyozveyGaBN5nGRpdtAzc_QZmUQQIBTDlFULvao0LLtkeUvMtLnBqH3_OQky4uxeapi7wymo-Do/s1600/Decisions%252C+Decisions.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_BnL25W1Sit0kOS_uGaaAbUTvPNAZ95ZVxrhmBjbgBpWOCrZRLZ6PO0U0Qkx99L9ZNyozveyGaBN5nGRpdtAzc_QZmUQQIBTDlFULvao0LLtkeUvMtLnBqH3_OQky4uxeapi7wymo-Do/s320/Decisions%252C+Decisions.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decisions, decisions....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsLoZf1M5jlCEEeyJIWuwyejOkDg8HyKabcAmdEn8Jf4-hDwV-Tml8-8BTT-FHSctTcaESM1wgxkdxRPMZ1h3ijz3B6-JcxR4wp73HbbbdFdO0VevL7CVOe72vZ-v8v11LLRbtzMam7o/s1600/Trail+to+Nat%2527l+Forest.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsLoZf1M5jlCEEeyJIWuwyejOkDg8HyKabcAmdEn8Jf4-hDwV-Tml8-8BTT-FHSctTcaESM1wgxkdxRPMZ1h3ijz3B6-JcxR4wp73HbbbdFdO0VevL7CVOe72vZ-v8v11LLRbtzMam7o/s320/Trail+to+Nat%2527l+Forest.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hill to National Forest</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4RDEtWMRlLJluc8fsX9ruOnt86_wmH4wG8ybt1tY426mD_6WcwzPj0psOGJC4TGcufZznw4joRcwr1GnbHwlXqh7pu6eHDAhm-pZxxsoMtnivXUa7MUjly4JGepThIpTUjTgPAuDC1U/s1600/Tree+Tunnel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4RDEtWMRlLJluc8fsX9ruOnt86_wmH4wG8ybt1tY426mD_6WcwzPj0psOGJC4TGcufZznw4joRcwr1GnbHwlXqh7pu6eHDAhm-pZxxsoMtnivXUa7MUjly4JGepThIpTUjTgPAuDC1U/s320/Tree+Tunnel.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tree tunnel!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgsWNhOezUUG41lMma_4Qc06KoJlsaz_x0XYfQEkd0ObQphYpcsR_N6eWn_FC8ogn7gh3VK1_zAZHxkI7WVljIbbhEEp-Mpt4DMBIxnqRm6M4SPkhsPjT3pqK0lkKltlsTwxMJp9TMWo/s1600/Pelis+corner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAgsWNhOezUUG41lMma_4Qc06KoJlsaz_x0XYfQEkd0ObQphYpcsR_N6eWn_FC8ogn7gh3VK1_zAZHxkI7WVljIbbhEEp-Mpt4DMBIxnqRm6M4SPkhsPjT3pqK0lkKltlsTwxMJp9TMWo/s320/Pelis+corner.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peli's corner - behind the house with shade nearby in the event she gets too warm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ09KB0bulcquIQm0-BVxYmwSrDSyUtCSx7qG2ZWZLva76r50Im6jdVygeZQ4RkU3wsx1K1ePvHjhY78VOVz39hI2rM-oR8E7uGF50pucpk6xYE9Ev_FXWiYrYJ5mbLZMpQv-bgBUmjj0/s1600/Trail+View.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ09KB0bulcquIQm0-BVxYmwSrDSyUtCSx7qG2ZWZLva76r50Im6jdVygeZQ4RkU3wsx1K1ePvHjhY78VOVz39hI2rM-oR8E7uGF50pucpk6xYE9Ev_FXWiYrYJ5mbLZMpQv-bgBUmjj0/s320/Trail+View.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yet another beautiful view from the trail!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBj5P0P44As34LoHPAmkMxbXZq4oKZmmMoxtE9M8dOubumNnxTMg25zwbYPKzAR7gyxD5zfZapxkYrUglXiuaTHwnn5DqALKPJk6oao5yzDdKPE52xZ8h9ZFmBX5WwGcbhipIsAdlffTk/s1600/Proud+Ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBj5P0P44As34LoHPAmkMxbXZq4oKZmmMoxtE9M8dOubumNnxTMg25zwbYPKzAR7gyxD5zfZapxkYrUglXiuaTHwnn5DqALKPJk6oao5yzDdKPE52xZ8h9ZFmBX5WwGcbhipIsAdlffTk/s320/Proud+Ben.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The artiste enjoying his creation!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkLJpGYbOcF9DGMS5K17iG_6eR5oBNzVuqO7H2ngXJjwe3XBx9lVmRc0v1moLzpT88GPY6FaXC6sCp9OmFsAQCBt-EGsqxY5-l34XGXL1iMDMRbfLT-9GZ7gUv_R39Kt_cI24uAtvUqI/s1600/Tree+Tunnel+Ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhkLJpGYbOcF9DGMS5K17iG_6eR5oBNzVuqO7H2ngXJjwe3XBx9lVmRc0v1moLzpT88GPY6FaXC6sCp9OmFsAQCBt-EGsqxY5-l34XGXL1iMDMRbfLT-9GZ7gUv_R39Kt_cI24uAtvUqI/s320/Tree+Tunnel+Ben.jpg" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy man!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We did quite a bit of hiking - Ben generally had Anika in the backpack and I was a sled puller along the trails.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuV9C6KC-irNq0FyCJeVbyHGEE5-2NlJjgne5JvfGfz4pSzf3agNRgfjvAvSFhlIgz19pLSnvbtk77Q-L1kMe7OKgRuwyAyGnG6pmc0DUvuyZhqgwzqt013WoxARne1Zf-0ITOGe7V1g/s1600/Ben+and+A+hiking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuV9C6KC-irNq0FyCJeVbyHGEE5-2NlJjgne5JvfGfz4pSzf3agNRgfjvAvSFhlIgz19pLSnvbtk77Q-L1kMe7OKgRuwyAyGnG6pmc0DUvuyZhqgwzqt013WoxARne1Zf-0ITOGe7V1g/s320/Ben+and+A+hiking.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3xCu2HjlDHmdWPmsdBjmbQmC4IY1-5BoM17or5Zt9VPA_XjCoT0g3KRr5ey00tPh-RiCiXI8EybsdvuztVZ7JGAJZi0qDUsQbMTDF3UHySUVUYaWAtt8fv4Zu31W_0UbWWjDAvC0NQA/s1600/Hiking+back+to+the+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR3xCu2HjlDHmdWPmsdBjmbQmC4IY1-5BoM17or5Zt9VPA_XjCoT0g3KRr5ey00tPh-RiCiXI8EybsdvuztVZ7JGAJZi0qDUsQbMTDF3UHySUVUYaWAtt8fv4Zu31W_0UbWWjDAvC0NQA/s320/Hiking+back+to+the+house.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking back to the house with Biz in the lead.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdj-aSntXdVqd30n7xfkkgcMbzBMHfiMFreHUZhUUROqxvOLTbDvnMq8zvNHXW-YYgbXOSHc5UlpFp3eWvgJbv0d_OjN5kUKAJGDYzmE-v6rvAs_wFo_JZ5VnXPoVjGkQV4irQpThDzQ/s1600/Mal+and+A+going+for+a+hike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdj-aSntXdVqd30n7xfkkgcMbzBMHfiMFreHUZhUUROqxvOLTbDvnMq8zvNHXW-YYgbXOSHc5UlpFp3eWvgJbv0d_OjN5kUKAJGDYzmE-v6rvAs_wFo_JZ5VnXPoVjGkQV4irQpThDzQ/s320/Mal+and+A+going+for+a+hike.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the last times I wore non-maternity jeans!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We even had some Winter Fest fun! We invited some friends up on a couple of different weekends and had lunch, hot chocolate, sledding, hiking, skiing and even snow coloring! (Snow coloring = bottles of colored water sprayed on the snow. The yellow was a little odd...)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79iZNLAcWlm-m1q-qz3yu94T5bHHeEu5KJi1yzrButn-JWnry2x7OYk2Rb6c7haU6TMEbshEm9cCgrj7pfHKUDxfLT1FxzMz1WNBEydFPfYB9x2H8jui4oLYmCYnGSsOLmtW1ikBy8lw/s1600/Man+Sherpas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh79iZNLAcWlm-m1q-qz3yu94T5bHHeEu5KJi1yzrButn-JWnry2x7OYk2Rb6c7haU6TMEbshEm9cCgrj7pfHKUDxfLT1FxzMz1WNBEydFPfYB9x2H8jui4oLYmCYnGSsOLmtW1ikBy8lw/s320/Man+Sherpas.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Men carrying the kiddos...yeah, they got their workout in!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyQTUCOtTHFUjKvf3LapEpxfRVQWtXN5QUHF0JboBtXqc7r1rkPZD9wtMx3q_4uikXd2pPDHn9IWfqACBRLWe1bSHOWEL20fk1mX4TkPnJIQyK7Z3cX2_KVrIP0DYRZAoySHbjQZWHGM/s1600/Ben%252C+Brian%252C+Sean+on+%2527bile.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyQTUCOtTHFUjKvf3LapEpxfRVQWtXN5QUHF0JboBtXqc7r1rkPZD9wtMx3q_4uikXd2pPDHn9IWfqACBRLWe1bSHOWEL20fk1mX4TkPnJIQyK7Z3cX2_KVrIP0DYRZAoySHbjQZWHGM/s320/Ben%252C+Brian%252C+Sean+on+%2527bile.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta get some motorized fun in, too!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Our one-eyed, titanium kneed, 9 year old Peli girl even challenged Ben to various races all winter long. Neither of them are competitive in the least (just kidding!). Biz stayed back to protect Anika and me. He's willing to give up his adrenaline rush for us. He loves us. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxhxKmvTa-IuIXCVYd8YvUtksJbZn9UGv-d8OMluB005ky_0RhrX2sX5XQCydftcBQBu_XZe40yLN0lXPRMcQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<br />
My college roomie also came out to visit...and we put her to work.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWK7sIC4NO7383HZ7GmR4yq9MiYlr7EKBgpf7kvOONp3sSauSq7qNOvnA8DZuxZNdkNfc1EUJFne21uvh2x5-VG8kKBDusUsHog43q6N8PeaJSs99E6lwBpSv005eOoOvzbaRTLAfBSM8/s1600/Peli+making+her+point.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWK7sIC4NO7383HZ7GmR4yq9MiYlr7EKBgpf7kvOONp3sSauSq7qNOvnA8DZuxZNdkNfc1EUJFne21uvh2x5-VG8kKBDusUsHog43q6N8PeaJSs99E6lwBpSv005eOoOvzbaRTLAfBSM8/s320/Peli+making+her+point.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peli is advising Dena...</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfD1NcDATvpQtpov3OJyE-8YK75kK55GcsgHfYXu9YNDAQXRWkZ6MfWZn83TopN2LUHM5iE0Nzn3YwzrVrIoYielcVGy5-YxBgBSTJ3wYZO-Yb-UpV8YHyo3LV_lrXhYe4FMfEFHMa2A/s1600/Happy+Snow+Dogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfD1NcDATvpQtpov3OJyE-8YK75kK55GcsgHfYXu9YNDAQXRWkZ6MfWZn83TopN2LUHM5iE0Nzn3YwzrVrIoYielcVGy5-YxBgBSTJ3wYZO-Yb-UpV8YHyo3LV_lrXhYe4FMfEFHMa2A/s320/Happy+Snow+Dogs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Dogs! The kiddo is coming out to play, too!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YqMr4VK4EB50SxCZKy2pFv0N2GXbqkbtRHh3RmuLUVj-euTCiKJKydXWT8x-2WSsvP3EIyUZTO8PPM1HluXPkBUiBA6HFBEJ6dU6tHxAZK_81HHXPbNJr01vZyPMSh__vvq2_1Qy3w0/s1600/Keep+Going+Dena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1YqMr4VK4EB50SxCZKy2pFv0N2GXbqkbtRHh3RmuLUVj-euTCiKJKydXWT8x-2WSsvP3EIyUZTO8PPM1HluXPkBUiBA6HFBEJ6dU6tHxAZK_81HHXPbNJr01vZyPMSh__vvq2_1Qy3w0/s320/Keep+Going+Dena.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika is saying: "Keep it up Auntie Dena! Only 2 more miles to go!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5OMdMx_0WIndZMH41RWNB0yh_xj8EAfBVqPCNR_vxHULKKtBUzOUbIqy2oshZL_5GEUP90i6LBcpwAL9KLdHfeQJer0aQ3lq1ZzDlO9_zpdwPL40CS0Dy04kl2IcO4RFi6GvmavYVt0/s1600/Dead+Dena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5OMdMx_0WIndZMH41RWNB0yh_xj8EAfBVqPCNR_vxHULKKtBUzOUbIqy2oshZL_5GEUP90i6LBcpwAL9KLdHfeQJer0aQ3lq1ZzDlO9_zpdwPL40CS0Dy04kl2IcO4RFi6GvmavYVt0/s320/Dead+Dena.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biz is checking vitals...Anika is supervising.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAODi42m6Zu0q_wjdQLfENIxhgY7SH5-pyhFE1tpgh8NM1mK7geSQxEuCV8sPRiF3W2eFHiKwoC94giXpfLYxrHh95SHj-_Mj1uIML2EXXf6fgFaBIaOP408zhKWhOEs7yKqr53OgdKs/s1600/With+Auntie+Dena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsAODi42m6Zu0q_wjdQLfENIxhgY7SH5-pyhFE1tpgh8NM1mK7geSQxEuCV8sPRiF3W2eFHiKwoC94giXpfLYxrHh95SHj-_Mj1uIML2EXXf6fgFaBIaOP408zhKWhOEs7yKqr53OgdKs/s320/With+Auntie+Dena.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post recovery and pre-sledding!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
A side note about the filmer you are going to experience...ummm...I know you can hear me breathe...and at times, not breathe. I've had a bit of congestion this winter. For me, it's also known as pregnancy. I pretty much lost my voice for the better part of 3 months. It's much better now, but my pregnancy induced laryngitis still rears its head every other week or so. Believe me, repeating myself multiple times can get annoying...for everyone involved!<br />
<br />
This first video still cracks me up...directionally challenged sleds are great fun!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz1wV5yznQyE7DPapux_qFi1-5e7bS1MF6TlP3d7zgsCVQacNGDbR4DNuMcqLFJG2RQbCBJzppaXnTUCbtmFQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Wanna go again?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyZ7TmuL0uAIJSxSt1enPUJXNLCiu-ABJBDr0pF4tLItv_iPIJNYR0RRIB47iM-1gSOAs0j-j8uG1fs0Z4ufw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
In this one you can see for quite a ways.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwL_IBsHr0lWC7S9t1ZW8oGNkoe3LT-BV8PDwntAma5qrIZJ5uOTVrstSRFUAMathpSRzZzGwosHIsiJADu' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Anika was tired by this point, but still has her manners!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyVbTOnq84G8mKeV4oGXdaX6VSzV-6iYMeZgZg8E1ax8832LooRxHLQABW4lrlbyGx1FVcJXE9nbLUxIzK7Qw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">And lest you think that I didn't get out and do my share of pulling Miss A up the hill, let this photo be evidence:</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnxjgLY3UQ6vTeYrYU8j7W5kNyM_UBduzsVtR2tyxa8sCLqsZ76qzpOpkspabEVe8lj3XKUSxktR_Af6JQdrz__wfM4PTPHm8qXFVIIxoLFC8zgzRTjcuOltkv5RMJT9E7xiNbi60E14/s1600/Mal+pulling+Anika.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlnxjgLY3UQ6vTeYrYU8j7W5kNyM_UBduzsVtR2tyxa8sCLqsZ76qzpOpkspabEVe8lj3XKUSxktR_Af6JQdrz__wfM4PTPHm8qXFVIIxoLFC8zgzRTjcuOltkv5RMJT9E7xiNbi60E14/s320/Mal+pulling+Anika.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
In the interest of full disclosure - this is how we got to the sledding hill, though...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wUgy3ESMmVqHQ8JP4jUiDgjTh6-GZu68loCDTwtzngls2b4CnI9HqJ777Qi8Is6j-74hFy1UZtgW6fuwbFh9k5x-fxgdHoKsIL_um3uVvdM2vrjcHQbqDTfBccPwXvu2W1Cw68jWRYE/s1600/Mal+Anika+Biz+Bile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7wUgy3ESMmVqHQ8JP4jUiDgjTh6-GZu68loCDTwtzngls2b4CnI9HqJ777Qi8Is6j-74hFy1UZtgW6fuwbFh9k5x-fxgdHoKsIL_um3uVvdM2vrjcHQbqDTfBccPwXvu2W1Cw68jWRYE/s320/Mal+Anika+Biz+Bile.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Walking back through the memories has been fun and soothing...I can't believe I'm looking forward to next winter with the 2 kiddos - does anyone have a sled that the 2 of them will fit into? Ben was happy with his trail system - just a couple of tweaks are needed. Peli and Biz had so much fun playing with their doggy buds that visited. Our adventurous friends and family came out to visit and experience the fun of the Linstid Homestid for themselves...and are looking forward to coming back this summer! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Now onto planning for a bigger and more robust Winter Fest for next year!!!!</div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-39689114365853013772011-04-24T23:29:00.003-06:002011-04-25T21:30:18.587-06:00Little Bunny Foo Foo...Threw Snowballs at the Field MiceAnika decided to spread some Easter greetings this week, so we promptly got our Easter Thinking Caps on and went to work.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ95J1KIHFwo2Mx0dcmO3ApWOGutmxfErx828x208j98dmzGEi4mukM6g8BOfL33k95QlEkKZFEyNG0TGpsDiWTNY4eOgI0YtgKzlcjCzcmerwdhYfXzpj364WAQErpKnXw6H1hn74DeA/s1600/Easter+Bunny+2+Ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ95J1KIHFwo2Mx0dcmO3ApWOGutmxfErx828x208j98dmzGEi4mukM6g8BOfL33k95QlEkKZFEyNG0TGpsDiWTNY4eOgI0YtgKzlcjCzcmerwdhYfXzpj364WAQErpKnXw6H1hn74DeA/s320/Easter+Bunny+2+Ed.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting down and dirty with the finger paints!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbx8N5x_UeaP2O27dqCAjq5w7PWdN1jG4bTTUibywlE2u003DdUp4cwNHe3kIPgpOfjZVcab-y6JY57vtJrtAgpogJyoxG_cO162ua_LBWdLKKfFUpDp3QASrB0GbyyZpP-v-81hrMGk/s1600/Easter+Bunny+1+Edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZbx8N5x_UeaP2O27dqCAjq5w7PWdN1jG4bTTUibywlE2u003DdUp4cwNHe3kIPgpOfjZVcab-y6JY57vtJrtAgpogJyoxG_cO162ua_LBWdLKKfFUpDp3QASrB0GbyyZpP-v-81hrMGk/s320/Easter+Bunny+1+Edited.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She has a colorful diet...blue, red, green, yellow...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And one of the finished products:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqT1W2JK05BW1kY7VciGRfEySswGoT6kRI8_CbtV9gFppyyDyhOc940AozWyg66DZwrzszd5jbSiWTy-lbQD-3t_fojaaECCaMUdTn7BSzHGfItTYuEu_vfag2_u9n2rM0R9QIRJgytQ/s1600/Bunny+Card+Cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqT1W2JK05BW1kY7VciGRfEySswGoT6kRI8_CbtV9gFppyyDyhOc940AozWyg66DZwrzszd5jbSiWTy-lbQD-3t_fojaaECCaMUdTn7BSzHGfItTYuEu_vfag2_u9n2rM0R9QIRJgytQ/s320/Bunny+Card+Cropped.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm...looks like CSU inspired the dominant color choices :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Starting yesterday we were placed under a Winter Weather Advisory, which is scheduled to last until Monday morning. We took advantage of the early part of the storminess and trucked it to town (literally...we took the truck) and visited the town pool. Since their annual Easter Egg Hunt was going on we figured we'd get two birds with one stone while putting all of our eggs in one basket...or something cliche like that. Anika got a beach ball and entirely wore herself and Ben out by swimming around and asking Ben to go off of the diving board. I relished the virtual weightlessness and kiddo #2 relaxed for a bit, which was very nice! <br />
<br />
<br />
And then this morning came along:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwOexjGKHElVxTCqxmgGoVhVhTdjoc9DVxZCEE1_Rct6okt-ue1ejwSue_Tpdo2Jz8p1gXYKp0Okat3wdX4xpvj-wZn1RWotCukqw2STkgR5-YW_b7k5v8KLlH_TpXUScg_qDvE8hJxk/s1600/Easter+morning+weather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwOexjGKHElVxTCqxmgGoVhVhTdjoc9DVxZCEE1_Rct6okt-ue1ejwSue_Tpdo2Jz8p1gXYKp0Okat3wdX4xpvj-wZn1RWotCukqw2STkgR5-YW_b7k5v8KLlH_TpXUScg_qDvE8hJxk/s320/Easter+morning+weather.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's the fire ring out front...no roasted Peeps today!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> The rain had an epic battle of wills with snow off and on all day long:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRHX-dlOCgOgPLWiyvTyIPZjG5qMwnh7n9pfi1WAwB8WC3bSn7rLSH7GluSKukPz9_3A73ZiLhToKvhYCpeVZ7gegUpoAS5NTRlrPwqnIJu7VZ8gs1YRiCE-kfT_ZTOiCO4P_KdJ22xY/s1600/Easter+Afternoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRHX-dlOCgOgPLWiyvTyIPZjG5qMwnh7n9pfi1WAwB8WC3bSn7rLSH7GluSKukPz9_3A73ZiLhToKvhYCpeVZ7gegUpoAS5NTRlrPwqnIJu7VZ8gs1YRiCE-kfT_ZTOiCO4P_KdJ22xY/s320/Easter+Afternoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like we're cooking inside today!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Anika didn't have a problem with the weather...she slept in!!! But once she got up, there was no stopping this independently mobile fair haired cutie pie!<br />
<br />
<br />
First there was the discovery of what the Easter Bunny brought:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GyiJVrE21WQdwJovsH1LG1NkBbOIGwm84m32CB7gFZoIg0Ko7aoJGosyoMuXp_sliGf6MmMHCBerldSnNPr8CU9o6M9Gh2msy32YP-7xhhOOzjDKrKC7Hw-mw4pPw13HH9FPXZmezto/s1600/Easter+Bunny+Gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GyiJVrE21WQdwJovsH1LG1NkBbOIGwm84m32CB7gFZoIg0Ko7aoJGosyoMuXp_sliGf6MmMHCBerldSnNPr8CU9o6M9Gh2msy32YP-7xhhOOzjDKrKC7Hw-mw4pPw13HH9FPXZmezto/s320/Easter+Bunny+Gifts.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basket with goodies plus a felt scene of the E.B. himself!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-n54VsuXxBfQwBi2rWk9LWM-FgqmOjKyZNMffetFNJFPSBEE06BpIOSEyBFylwd7qBaRYVNS6bhfcIybK4PFiHGiMnbnVqpslriFtz1igsSLImqrtFQYPCc9fPK4GwNqoERzd5p1eKp4/s1600/Finding+the+basket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="306" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-n54VsuXxBfQwBi2rWk9LWM-FgqmOjKyZNMffetFNJFPSBEE06BpIOSEyBFylwd7qBaRYVNS6bhfcIybK4PFiHGiMnbnVqpslriFtz1igsSLImqrtFQYPCc9fPK4GwNqoERzd5p1eKp4/s320/Finding+the+basket.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bubbles in the basket were the initial winner of the attention!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>And then there was the Egg Hunt:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKmuViL3N74YxIUuxJE-ZA25GpY1i7hZY-Z9s1_wS_LkYeTFX9HO3ijvUgAqtDjN6oMzQMp3eMp-52NpV1nlCte5dElF6QPMYePr0BxGxx2I2Bs3E3mhOLeWL9wTMLWw07CM4b32P6S8/s1600/Egg+Hunt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpKmuViL3N74YxIUuxJE-ZA25GpY1i7hZY-Z9s1_wS_LkYeTFX9HO3ijvUgAqtDjN6oMzQMp3eMp-52NpV1nlCte5dElF6QPMYePr0BxGxx2I2Bs3E3mhOLeWL9wTMLWw07CM4b32P6S8/s320/Egg+Hunt+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that form! Perfect for grabbing eggs!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruJABmPDABqYFw4hWMRcL_E7Fwl2ZYB14A6ruITjvC94qwUOl-VrsPCGLNxkYfzCDuLeSDI4RmCg08SQ2YYZ5LZeapNMzIPoZ2bL921NcEYrRv1UjFgqH2Nj9ENKXfvokp5T2JMtMCoU/s1600/Look+at+my+egg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiruJABmPDABqYFw4hWMRcL_E7Fwl2ZYB14A6ruITjvC94qwUOl-VrsPCGLNxkYfzCDuLeSDI4RmCg08SQ2YYZ5LZeapNMzIPoZ2bL921NcEYrRv1UjFgqH2Nj9ENKXfvokp5T2JMtMCoU/s320/Look+at+my+egg.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, yeah - I've got some good stuff here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then there was more back to the basket time...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dywJLi-qKyCJtka9jVelP6-yCFaXZjPCY1O9ZCxDDJ_iqGPH4wLO7-oadGMB3vvgF355IySzSstEjGyMzn43Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Then it was time for breakfast (we were able to hold off on the peanut butter egg until lunch...)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyc46D4lCsm373f-baKn0J40ahAKdA9k6LZgxKNbRJpND3YbG6xp9Qlz_pixo01s0CYBjiXYRZKCFS4nZbsWrlFdMy7TBhLtIwqh2s4a39FSXacVCGHQahY603Yp6mHguJPLlwuQtdyA/s1600/Bunny+Pancake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnyc46D4lCsm373f-baKn0J40ahAKdA9k6LZgxKNbRJpND3YbG6xp9Qlz_pixo01s0CYBjiXYRZKCFS4nZbsWrlFdMy7TBhLtIwqh2s4a39FSXacVCGHQahY603Yp6mHguJPLlwuQtdyA/s320/Bunny+Pancake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy made bunny pancakes!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anika did eventually make it out of her pajamas and into her Easter Dress...and when I said I needed to take her picture, she hopped up on the step we have in the living room (we put it in here to get it out of the guest room which Ben is working hard on making into a little girl's room for Miss A. - it is now an official "fun-thing-to-climb-on-and-practice-balance...and-give-Mommy-14-heart-attacks-in-a-row-while-probably-giving-the-little-brother-or-sister-some-great-ideas-toy").<br />
<br />
Here's our Easter Ham (with Bunny and Ephalump...those two are never far away):<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiolZKi9cdzHyp1c_gDJ5R22L4IfIarRzE4qYdzzURZ9qaWgHuz7amUT-x4g__nSK-wEcF7c2139GyJru3z7LozP1gZ4dXsUsDe90hAoAd5BkABrpsdlQUQM56jskUu65HADaARjU3VK4I/s1600/Laughing+Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiolZKi9cdzHyp1c_gDJ5R22L4IfIarRzE4qYdzzURZ9qaWgHuz7amUT-x4g__nSK-wEcF7c2139GyJru3z7LozP1gZ4dXsUsDe90hAoAd5BkABrpsdlQUQM56jskUu65HADaARjU3VK4I/s320/Laughing+Girl.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laughing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNnc54sX_dWY-2f21QkcvRejWuMmjF4yx2Wly2HSPfn90uPGUX-t0yRN4kkqUK5BYF7HRzd5otKWwZUt3EAMR6VSMO2wsPzLGRK4gt45m2NW-p-aLvcY1R3CW1LpCOwyS9IpxsWdUm3I/s1600/Bubble+blower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoNnc54sX_dWY-2f21QkcvRejWuMmjF4yx2Wly2HSPfn90uPGUX-t0yRN4kkqUK5BYF7HRzd5otKWwZUt3EAMR6VSMO2wsPzLGRK4gt45m2NW-p-aLvcY1R3CW1LpCOwyS9IpxsWdUm3I/s320/Bubble+blower.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She thinks its hillarious to put the bubble wand in her mouth and gross me out...eeewww!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E4ilMaYdz_HidRUotZwlz2v4-HzqENpaIQbyVU782VCZIAAS5BeMqM_5zkzt8yvR4dqf_AS6UU7jFvpFEu2S_hRkgrFSJrpGMUmhCoHgXe3wxLl4cq2uQFGRfcZOQfq0wgpn-rFhXx0/s1600/Sweet+smile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5E4ilMaYdz_HidRUotZwlz2v4-HzqENpaIQbyVU782VCZIAAS5BeMqM_5zkzt8yvR4dqf_AS6UU7jFvpFEu2S_hRkgrFSJrpGMUmhCoHgXe3wxLl4cq2uQFGRfcZOQfq0wgpn-rFhXx0/s320/Sweet+smile.jpg" width="185" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweetie pie!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then we learned a lesson about dresses...which I will venture to say that the majority of uniformed little girls learn and is the main reason that the uniform skirts get short...and nuns just never really "got" the reasoning for. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4LlWi_JASNTy_ll_on8IJll3FIpFMfNjAos9MOX_L_12sn8wSiA5bV6WRce4AYnwmHVPhA2lePYzNN03-_kVKoPqHoob1HIyvz4DDlUOsFgZ3N-m5CqFIISbGwhEBjdK3gvLPgUDURc/s1600/Dresses+are+not+for+climbing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4LlWi_JASNTy_ll_on8IJll3FIpFMfNjAos9MOX_L_12sn8wSiA5bV6WRce4AYnwmHVPhA2lePYzNN03-_kVKoPqHoob1HIyvz4DDlUOsFgZ3N-m5CqFIISbGwhEBjdK3gvLPgUDURc/s320/Dresses+are+not+for+climbing.jpg" width="235" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dresses are NOT for climbing!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Right before we had dinner, we did a project that I brought home from my <a href="http://www.mops.org/">MOPS</a> group (the moms I meet with every month - I linked them to the word "MOPS" if you're interested - these ladies are wonderful!) to help bring the story of Jesus' Last Week "home" to our family.<br />
<br />
Its a "crafty devotional" and was fun! We had 12 empty plastic eggs and a (clean) used egg carton. In each egg, I placed a slip of paper with a Bible passage and a short phrase summarizing a different part of the Passion. Along with the paper, I included a symbol such as a little piece of cracker for the part talking about the Last Supper, a die for when the soldiers cast lots for Jeseus' clothes, and a small stone for the part when Jesus was laid in the cave and a stone rolled over the entrance. For the last egg, there wasn't anything included along with the paper because...Jesus has risen and he's out and about! <br />
<br />
Anika and Ben were so cute going through all of the eggs - I was actually trying to get dinner on our plates and Ben was keeping Anika occupied. I've been reading "The Last Week" by Borg and Crossan and I popped in with little extra bits every once in a while. Unfortunately, I didn't finish the book in time for this Easter, but there's always next year!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeD36CAAg4FnncKJvBGsPgeBSbvlmSCDOtKExz4JBYjT4WvPwFkphqzTARs9VfYPOSybRV8yssd58eNeVcjwBdsSj9UbkkUTHAnqYBbHXx9wt4V9RAkAtIs8VTM__Ax4lXaZf-Wk-VRU/s1600/Egg+Story+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeD36CAAg4FnncKJvBGsPgeBSbvlmSCDOtKExz4JBYjT4WvPwFkphqzTARs9VfYPOSybRV8yssd58eNeVcjwBdsSj9UbkkUTHAnqYBbHXx9wt4V9RAkAtIs8VTM__Ax4lXaZf-Wk-VRU/s320/Egg+Story+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Fw1uDI09D4fIfxRLvl6Eusd8XPejqxC8alZpYDhpgpj5dCPXWkb7q_vn25VBtmrnDP0EeP1X0wc7K27drKII-RrUc-bt8VK9ZjagOL2KP2rgt8KPIE0VELTXvi5KaXdFOlAcqAPFCx4/s1600/Egg+Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Fw1uDI09D4fIfxRLvl6Eusd8XPejqxC8alZpYDhpgpj5dCPXWkb7q_vn25VBtmrnDP0EeP1X0wc7K27drKII-RrUc-bt8VK9ZjagOL2KP2rgt8KPIE0VELTXvi5KaXdFOlAcqAPFCx4/s320/Egg+Story.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wow - she is really taking in what Ben is saying!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
On a side note...the sun finally popped out for a bit - pretty much when we were doing our Egg Devotional and lasted past dinner time! But...it's snowing again. I don't remember Sister Francita, Father Kidd, or anyone else talking about mud season in biblical times, but that must've been a mess, too!<br />
<br />
So that was our Easter in a <strike>nut</strike> eggshell :-) I <strike>hop</strike> hope you had a good one, too!<br />
<br />
P.S. Just in case he's checking in - Happy Birthday, Tom!Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-30658647889646022692011-04-21T16:55:00.000-06:002011-04-21T16:55:20.416-06:00Dancin' Shoes!Just to "keep you on your toes", here's a recent video of Anika with her favorite shoes. She doesn't wear them all of the time (typically from after nap time until bath time), but she loves them! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx0uEnaVrRotrbz5_JSYMIwZCJ1jC8pePtC615kcPAYhDmeidTcvdr5vgLFeW1B4j5Hze9boQdvB74UjjZNSg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
And in this one, she's showing off her howling skills while squeaking away (she's headed to the refridgerator where there are pictures of Peli and Bismarck)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy8tN6mcZf79Rwhea4pL-YfuVF34rGpS__KBaY0-JZWRQkJhHxHErvZazO-FcC_5Tp-CrK5jwnNdX2iYcA0Ng' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Let me see that smile again!!!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfoh7_B8b2qW9_IS556ftMHjICuPj2bh34yvfs62bas82L7V5-OTly5uvoeor6nxvuppGlRHmuFhLU4ynfeRBppyTJUlSHMqKCvtYoZz-iVRxhisDmTEj7ouxx4atpK0myeT0qA1iHNM/s1600/Blurry+Smile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfoh7_B8b2qW9_IS556ftMHjICuPj2bh34yvfs62bas82L7V5-OTly5uvoeor6nxvuppGlRHmuFhLU4ynfeRBppyTJUlSHMqKCvtYoZz-iVRxhisDmTEj7ouxx4atpK0myeT0qA1iHNM/s320/Blurry+Smile.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, its blurry, but the dimples still show!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIM61QMkSv-WQHEGorQpN7MvdmSTqdK7vo8XyrcCBYKUVEWxnMpxt-tDea13bPE5zeejcYcTPn4PycI4L18tn0QnycSb-6dR-8GJ-VyF6-W924Ys48aJRDgQdvFHSlsoMlabWsl3x__38/s1600/Funky+Smile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIM61QMkSv-WQHEGorQpN7MvdmSTqdK7vo8XyrcCBYKUVEWxnMpxt-tDea13bPE5zeejcYcTPn4PycI4L18tn0QnycSb-6dR-8GJ-VyF6-W924Ys48aJRDgQdvFHSlsoMlabWsl3x__38/s320/Funky+Smile.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The result of expecting a flash everytime you're asked to smile...scrunched faces.<br />
And yes, this is blurry too - I didn't have the flash on in an attempt to get a nice non-scrrunchy smile.<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm working on getting a post of some of our winter adventures...now that its springtime :-) Lots of fun in the snow was had this past winter! Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-13899966036390682192011-03-04T22:13:00.000-07:002011-03-04T22:13:50.944-07:00Christmas Day with Miss A!Christmas morning started early...for me, that is! I woke up early and started bugging Ben and telling him I was going to get my stocking and did he want his? Like most couples, we grew up with different holiday traditions - in my family, you could go get your stocking and go back to your room and dig through the loot Santa left for you. Many times a "gift" from Rudolf, a moo-ing cow thing that moo-ed every time you wiggled your stocking (that year it took me about 20 minutes to get up the nerve to remoooove the stocking from the hanger), or something of that nature. Ben's family had to wait for everyone to get up and *then* they got to do the stocking thing together. Alas, in an effort to not wake Anika and to get the coffee going, we waited. And waited. Finally, when Ben's mom was up, the 3 of us did our stockings together. Apparently Anika does not yet have the anticipation bug that I do and she kept on sleeping. And then....and then...and then....<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqtSOhDpLvxuiXY6U4wuOUXhwQ-2LzFcvIKBRcIqqdtbpECVUau2P7v6kHUMsSi4TQq3XK_9nwTsfthYUHiHNuQ7Q1f3cSF9e8nOsWsayxfQaTj8amKAhP-j4jU7I_Bq0V7s4ep1CMdI/s1600/Christmas+Morning+wake+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqtSOhDpLvxuiXY6U4wuOUXhwQ-2LzFcvIKBRcIqqdtbpECVUau2P7v6kHUMsSi4TQq3XK_9nwTsfthYUHiHNuQ7Q1f3cSF9e8nOsWsayxfQaTj8amKAhP-j4jU7I_Bq0V7s4ep1CMdI/s320/Christmas+Morning+wake+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She finally WOKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Don't you wish you woke up every day like this? The coffee industry would be rather upset due to their decrease in sales, I believe!<br />
<br />
Then we brought Anika into the family room to see what Santa left behind.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJaWA8NfxARMOvydyMQixauOJJ9SMWio1zvsHmVEdZchhyyL8EQwSFWFSMtRgvMLW4Z2rVeYi4HQtWom4yOwJwqJSU3l-eg5amG65tRxZi9KJx6Po89Yk_fc4PV_cZtW3gWtzFhEg2vE/s1600/1+Sled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJaWA8NfxARMOvydyMQixauOJJ9SMWio1zvsHmVEdZchhyyL8EQwSFWFSMtRgvMLW4Z2rVeYi4HQtWom4yOwJwqJSU3l-eg5amG65tRxZi9KJx6Po89Yk_fc4PV_cZtW3gWtzFhEg2vE/s320/1+Sled.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sled initiation!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9r83x7RpDHOdOmqsypKymQtuLzrLGRHxm8HpeHmSPAIfrAAGNmf1pLdhjh7oXlpsBntNuGZ0RdL1P5UQSmj6uAlfXhrHvL898k3cIYjwulrGny-hi23aJOIBtebevfb3CTF4fU_rXYY/s1600/2+Sled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9r83x7RpDHOdOmqsypKymQtuLzrLGRHxm8HpeHmSPAIfrAAGNmf1pLdhjh7oXlpsBntNuGZ0RdL1P5UQSmj6uAlfXhrHvL898k3cIYjwulrGny-hi23aJOIBtebevfb3CTF4fU_rXYY/s320/2+Sled.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a face!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFM-Y3qLddN6qAoFa6sf747JTzfQGreqPfDcC43G9zBOtOVt-9eAfdvBU8q_MKwm5o68XNXzgeoKahWMltCrbNh9fkpgKm05evYGZtWdTVhkkyhjW22qrxoA_4YzcK0Wssb_puz_QRU8/s1600/Car+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFM-Y3qLddN6qAoFa6sf747JTzfQGreqPfDcC43G9zBOtOVt-9eAfdvBU8q_MKwm5o68XNXzgeoKahWMltCrbNh9fkpgKm05evYGZtWdTVhkkyhjW22qrxoA_4YzcK0Wssb_puz_QRU8/s320/Car+1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's got WHEELS!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyMhGizo3GovRQh3IAHFnUh2xiMdfJL3mhgA_PT05vf1fSiREGSo6hvVyqh2A6vlspIHf1ZC1YzxFccp10sgA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-TQGbwpN8YnJFwhIgqm6qr-VmyYwCHzpwGM9VX9yb8kdqSmcsVFh17of0LFBxO5IrZgQVb3-Q1Z9CX4jMkGb8jqvU3j_MH7vzKr5vGbyemHBEgM6v3W4D9_0_kzAJ05X3_wCYt8PTBk/s1600/Digging+through+the+stocking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-TQGbwpN8YnJFwhIgqm6qr-VmyYwCHzpwGM9VX9yb8kdqSmcsVFh17of0LFBxO5IrZgQVb3-Q1Z9CX4jMkGb8jqvU3j_MH7vzKr5vGbyemHBEgM6v3W4D9_0_kzAJ05X3_wCYt8PTBk/s320/Digging+through+the+stocking.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digging through the stocking - that's our girl!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhf1qUEiQccIB90fZj9WYXiU483-DJ2O-SJW3rdmg3gMOBr0_6zjm6TMWP-1SVAT9g0aLciZt7bfTxJocYE5WhtkR7-hH-WjFabbJRCRlQmzXGbsw2ZyQ5M7VVgBascLG2VLfi6tCO1c/s1600/Little+Lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhf1qUEiQccIB90fZj9WYXiU483-DJ2O-SJW3rdmg3gMOBr0_6zjm6TMWP-1SVAT9g0aLciZt7bfTxJocYE5WhtkR7-hH-WjFabbJRCRlQmzXGbsw2ZyQ5M7VVgBascLG2VLfi6tCO1c/s320/Little+Lady.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A proper lady in Colorado *always* has lip balm <br />
at her finger tips! <br />
Princess lip balm is even better.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>From the gifts from Santa and Mrs. Claus, Anika moved onto gifts from the family...which pretty much brought her up to her nap time!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-HYLYiOGo_8-MonYOniNvw8mCy4RBd6-wFqO2uKmf1s9OnEjv6CYyo4plMBk6dGPqMxCX3ChZrxrvKCqojl6JZ4O4tv-gPH43-NpU0KAItX0_ImxAwNYNZnUlfCShYGnRQLKyEmJT3c/s1600/gift+hound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-HYLYiOGo_8-MonYOniNvw8mCy4RBd6-wFqO2uKmf1s9OnEjv6CYyo4plMBk6dGPqMxCX3ChZrxrvKCqojl6JZ4O4tv-gPH43-NpU0KAItX0_ImxAwNYNZnUlfCShYGnRQLKyEmJT3c/s320/gift+hound.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensory overloaded gift hound.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07-fNWb4wowFS5Jwph6znoHp5GmUNd5sHjvmjrQq_xFM6omP1NRZ3spANqHIfZzDrqpzNeo2nczeJmBv1dJ7P4LEm4OB78Qq1J7la46HQuUpty9Dlh6tcfK4q5ENLwoz95_z9IohUNG4/s1600/hugging+stella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07-fNWb4wowFS5Jwph6znoHp5GmUNd5sHjvmjrQq_xFM6omP1NRZ3spANqHIfZzDrqpzNeo2nczeJmBv1dJ7P4LEm4OB78Qq1J7la46HQuUpty9Dlh6tcfK4q5ENLwoz95_z9IohUNG4/s320/hugging+stella.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hugging Baby Stella!<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I didn't make the cinnamon rolls like I did last year, but Ben's mom fixed the Spudnut recipe and we fried up some gluten free doughnuts! (Spudnuts, really, as they have mashed potatoes in them) My review after having a fresh warm delicacy, "Holy Fair Food, This is AWESOME!".<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkmPkFRBjnGfHk-Ldv0zdkG5IrbLfIDGotJ9ltvIyXPnnFzKBipifK3pUDvJiU-3zLOUSD_RmsmEKARQ2pI6JrzJdi00BEVKRIybJQFci9p3L0kB2jeq0qoKXqVfiWLhcWXF1yOEelPI/s1600/Ben+and+MomL+spudnuts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkmPkFRBjnGfHk-Ldv0zdkG5IrbLfIDGotJ9ltvIyXPnnFzKBipifK3pUDvJiU-3zLOUSD_RmsmEKARQ2pI6JrzJdi00BEVKRIybJQFci9p3L0kB2jeq0qoKXqVfiWLhcWXF1yOEelPI/s320/Ben+and+MomL+spudnuts.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother and son bonding over food!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34NPpaGLe0h5Iarw24hJtgtxe0HLXcnvWxA1PgYeCDTztkncpzpckGqpSOpu3ULMrk5uT3vcZg4MB4u2bT2f4L5PKL8n5Mn670dRbvA6mycEYXH9RhVwqJqZgjmGqt_KPvfLnBvZmVMw/s1600/Finished+products.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34NPpaGLe0h5Iarw24hJtgtxe0HLXcnvWxA1PgYeCDTztkncpzpckGqpSOpu3ULMrk5uT3vcZg4MB4u2bT2f4L5PKL8n5Mn670dRbvA6mycEYXH9RhVwqJqZgjmGqt_KPvfLnBvZmVMw/s320/Finished+products.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The BOOTY!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Since I don't think she'll read this post (in time at least), I'll let you in on a secret - we still have some spudnuts left in our freezer. My college roomie is coming in this weekend and I'm thinking that we may have to defrost said g-free yumminess and make an overnight french toast/breakfast bread pudding creation....I'll let you know the results ;-)<br />
<br />
So, that concludes Ben, Mal, Anika's Most Excellent Christmas Post...well, this really does:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGujO2L6xAN_wKlYV1XWKqoC8KoPkIGaiUMovNgcJIAxBcjvNHAnx53FsnHSNePWLxDWoiqUmJwsp58MYmB6EsCZtIa62b1AtxjohJeCNioFWPbtjByjwxRwwkssAsyTRoGRLKBtVpDg/s1600/Happy+Peli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGGujO2L6xAN_wKlYV1XWKqoC8KoPkIGaiUMovNgcJIAxBcjvNHAnx53FsnHSNePWLxDWoiqUmJwsp58MYmB6EsCZtIa62b1AtxjohJeCNioFWPbtjByjwxRwwkssAsyTRoGRLKBtVpDg/s320/Happy+Peli.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All is right with the world - the squeaker has been retrieved!<br />
Way to go, Peli!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-38260323863156326442011-02-25T22:32:00.000-07:002011-02-25T22:32:57.242-07:00Holiday Memories 2010I had this post originally drafted in my head back in December - it initially was going to be a one photo post titled, "Seasonal Anxiety" or "Did you realize it was DECEMBER?". This was the photo: <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_BWy4vrQJg4r1KtGm9_81-qcpDSpOIegsRcjQxIRCFmBghHdoVkzGJwy8POzgIs4XZhwQsrUpa7jLWCecjvCd-SNvtPArrCUtIL3sn-pA9vC449-tUZpNJzRCLvLUJKcWvrBmGbP79Q/s1600/Seasonal+Anxiety_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2_BWy4vrQJg4r1KtGm9_81-qcpDSpOIegsRcjQxIRCFmBghHdoVkzGJwy8POzgIs4XZhwQsrUpa7jLWCecjvCd-SNvtPArrCUtIL3sn-pA9vC449-tUZpNJzRCLvLUJKcWvrBmGbP79Q/s320/Seasonal+Anxiety_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
But, I procrastinated and we ended up going to the Montrose Parade of Lights where I imagined beautiful photos and a happy smiley baby with Santa waving to her from his sleigh to add to the blog post. This is what we ended up with: <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIK9HGxd9AYzWKPw1u094zYjT2YB3UbBAtpsGfGYEkWH1Ag1RxxgCmxoh2pBBpbC7aC2dSwwbrIa6bZBgH2IisiN3Cb7iXIjOUMi3glUvEP82QAwLstTIuPGbfkWMIWo7s4eGg199cuk/s1600/crime+scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIK9HGxd9AYzWKPw1u094zYjT2YB3UbBAtpsGfGYEkWH1Ag1RxxgCmxoh2pBBpbC7aC2dSwwbrIa6bZBgH2IisiN3Cb7iXIjOUMi3glUvEP82QAwLstTIuPGbfkWMIWo7s4eGg199cuk/s320/crime+scene.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passive aggressive crowd control. Or, Santa is a felon, so stay out of his way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-YYzoeYYfxFDdkKjn-qeXTHQga6NkPvmXeaxAMBlhc3IvQ8Iq8pb9nQFbL-0ETiba2873Hd0Sa4DelLpVuWGplVFoZxHgp9gRHX0qDo1JXXRjUFIbX-7rqVZLjdYC8XmXFxSbYg-V1M/s1600/Parade+with+Daddy_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-YYzoeYYfxFDdkKjn-qeXTHQga6NkPvmXeaxAMBlhc3IvQ8Iq8pb9nQFbL-0ETiba2873Hd0Sa4DelLpVuWGplVFoZxHgp9gRHX0qDo1JXXRjUFIbX-7rqVZLjdYC8XmXFxSbYg-V1M/s320/Parade+with+Daddy_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were lots of horses and dogs in the parade and Anika loved it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nPGo9SLgPwsBpVHWtaaLo1jyNhWedRzZq4FKM5WC5dsYpaNaHhCM2MLgHLfum7Qp8cQzA23bnWUVTrH-08ONf3pXtyWwbpHODTACSFnDrQTCud_cRsTkmwKfFFLA3ru2JbjIMpZuUbU/s1600/clapping+at+the+parade_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nPGo9SLgPwsBpVHWtaaLo1jyNhWedRzZq4FKM5WC5dsYpaNaHhCM2MLgHLfum7Qp8cQzA23bnWUVTrH-08ONf3pXtyWwbpHODTACSFnDrQTCud_cRsTkmwKfFFLA3ru2JbjIMpZuUbU/s320/clapping+at+the+parade_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika clapping after the horses went by.<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> THEN I was going to do a post about decorating, but decided that I'd include that in a full post about pre-Christmas preparations.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0T4HNrFEPDUUihYo-941klF4Ros7_K0ShVJqbQoMrZXrY5dRYtW3HFBPocXt9dPaTiILKAOaJrd6rkqW7cyrfIhQ2m4Ht84_iRK1Ahs2HJ18Pe0GXgSK5WfgopYGA9jn_YmQvnCQmzDY/s1600/Snowman+inspection_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0T4HNrFEPDUUihYo-941klF4Ros7_K0ShVJqbQoMrZXrY5dRYtW3HFBPocXt9dPaTiILKAOaJrd6rkqW7cyrfIhQ2m4Ht84_iRK1Ahs2HJ18Pe0GXgSK5WfgopYGA9jn_YmQvnCQmzDY/s320/Snowman+inspection_edited-1.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the moody snoman nose (the snowman changes color).</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT6tQH9hdVJh_VDL3Rk2BD6Uof8JO7-xJRyFOJE2CCfKWlDk16FMb8ZyJRiacsZantH8xeYD4nqI_bSUEqy1nXHdqpRptgl19MnHqVzmEzOQjpnOGfjC-THbnQUOX3Cc6PxaJflAajww/s1600/Kissing+the+Gopher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggT6tQH9hdVJh_VDL3Rk2BD6Uof8JO7-xJRyFOJE2CCfKWlDk16FMb8ZyJRiacsZantH8xeYD4nqI_bSUEqy1nXHdqpRptgl19MnHqVzmEzOQjpnOGfjC-THbnQUOX3Cc6PxaJflAajww/s320/Kissing+the+Gopher.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika, the animal lover.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxnAPWEa3ddNGEU-_stkbut3JDoNF_MGjotRdSJ9mWF7smwWwnsWj4Oirsu3ZrRMbYcI7P4g4kyoZg13gqO' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br />
Yup, the Caddyshack Gopher got into the Christmas Spirit, too!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTzp5HKKuGV0M7oTIE4saaiqyg2QxuejNLN_2MsvNqd8cgddUtDHIuWC_eEq_3QyTPr0QHOZignaAF9YYkch2k8qgr1KkRd37GsjcauvTCqjdqCn7UdhZT80oznmAqhAJx8x5WtYsF0Q/s1600/Lights+1_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTzp5HKKuGV0M7oTIE4saaiqyg2QxuejNLN_2MsvNqd8cgddUtDHIuWC_eEq_3QyTPr0QHOZignaAF9YYkch2k8qgr1KkRd37GsjcauvTCqjdqCn7UdhZT80oznmAqhAJx8x5WtYsF0Q/s320/Lights+1_edited-1.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>One of my favorite photos of Miss A. <br />
Nevermind the fact that our 14 month old is playing with live wires. <br />
She's tough.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Not to mention the trip to <a href="http://www.murdochs.com/">Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply</a>, where Santa let some of his reindeer do some PR work for him. We didn't get to go up and see the reindeer face to snout, but we saw them walk through the store and Ben brought Anika up to their trailer.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuEBkhOK9oUWpNmPZYC-fJyUhPlCyvnaCWb44RUnP_szBIetvH9DZwX9xMX_7PbChr_OSEABEgMiDfYnJYX7uYZ3BVGw80z6KQLHEKgxoJEAmZnpDBRe2_eHLPRJY1dJZp1ke5Rj4D5o/s1600/100_4501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSuEBkhOK9oUWpNmPZYC-fJyUhPlCyvnaCWb44RUnP_szBIetvH9DZwX9xMX_7PbChr_OSEABEgMiDfYnJYX7uYZ3BVGw80z6KQLHEKgxoJEAmZnpDBRe2_eHLPRJY1dJZp1ke5Rj4D5o/s320/100_4501.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, Donder walked right through the store! (or is that Blitzen?)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggsSy2xuLVv1yPBxVemi3muv3oMNXjPq-Dea7Gz1zffliKePEcxa0NnPmyguQglV3cIDppw6o8l5MarOvCSzbMSHmEvw7MTowBOQPblODoFJomni9X3whfT7AF6hyphenhyphenLEGETFbmgSoSTGLk/s1600/100_4507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggsSy2xuLVv1yPBxVemi3muv3oMNXjPq-Dea7Gz1zffliKePEcxa0NnPmyguQglV3cIDppw6o8l5MarOvCSzbMSHmEvw7MTowBOQPblODoFJomni9X3whfT7AF6hyphenhyphenLEGETFbmgSoSTGLk/s320/100_4507.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that fuzzy nose!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">But this post didn't make it on because I was waiting to scan in our photo with Santa (Ben and I jumped in with Anika...I'm even holding her sippy cup), but for some reason I didn't get to that point yet. Oh, yeah - our tax stuff is sitting on top of the scanner. Wouldn't want to disturb that prematurely, now would we?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And then, it was Christmas Eve. There wasn't a "Wigglers Service" like there was <a href="http://linstidtails.blogspot.com/2010/01/christmas-eve-and-other-stories.html">last year</a>, so no 5 year olds doing improv and acting out the Nativity Scene...nor was there a hay fight in the manger, but we did go to a standard/traditional service and Anika got to hang with her peeps down in the nursery.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anika had on her holiday finery and we had fun showing her off :-)</div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tWUk4_HpY9uuEVzWHqvconKmYosUopER7LyXokr4ZoiLsO2djIx1mDBHVMGAqOAGw3tuIwTROVxWacSz7Kag_85TGPa_gPzZ_rW3GmWLaJ_i84VSV3NIWmYdwde5wON1R94hGPe-BgQ/s1600/Christmas+Eve+Daddy+and+Anika.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tWUk4_HpY9uuEVzWHqvconKmYosUopER7LyXokr4ZoiLsO2djIx1mDBHVMGAqOAGw3tuIwTROVxWacSz7Kag_85TGPa_gPzZ_rW3GmWLaJ_i84VSV3NIWmYdwde5wON1R94hGPe-BgQ/s320/Christmas+Eve+Daddy+and+Anika.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 2 Blue Eyed Loves</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7-ISra2lOS0D5SicLuOwx9QFGRExj5Z6FOKnyBkn0WEipoOUCSy8SrWvhPUkuczRSK0PmyRAdNb4JcI75RnCjFxAzbO16St_nP34FJ7Vb69-gs6GQA6Br3PchK6oPwe8fHvZJHODf5E/s1600/Christmas+Eve+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik7-ISra2lOS0D5SicLuOwx9QFGRExj5Z6FOKnyBkn0WEipoOUCSy8SrWvhPUkuczRSK0PmyRAdNb4JcI75RnCjFxAzbO16St_nP34FJ7Vb69-gs6GQA6Br3PchK6oPwe8fHvZJHODf5E/s320/Christmas+Eve+Family.jpg" width="197" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the tree at Montrose UMC - <br />
yes mom, I know, I should've had my shoulders back - <br />
"Be proud of your height"<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And then, it was Christmas Day...and that, my friends, is another post - perhaps if cookies make it to our house (gluten-free, of course!), the photos will make it up a little more quickly.<br />
<br />
Awww...what the heck - here's little tease: The offering to Santa (shot of bourbon compliments cookies well, I've heard), and what Santa left behind!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bAWHd6veeK1ctr0FS0k43a-2-ms9Bx5ZxrkIWX2yMFOgEBWfAjT7rWLq1mjhpMnLdvilFkw7vxnxKSZiQBxODpOSrihPiWR1vWHrw56fk_Y7DlwjqYSAXzZVktzdN20WyoNQL4HXME0/s1600/100_4512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1bAWHd6veeK1ctr0FS0k43a-2-ms9Bx5ZxrkIWX2yMFOgEBWfAjT7rWLq1mjhpMnLdvilFkw7vxnxKSZiQBxODpOSrihPiWR1vWHrw56fk_Y7DlwjqYSAXzZVktzdN20WyoNQL4HXME0/s320/100_4512.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa needs a warm-up every once in a while!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReqeiDVMVQM77oHnAcPISiTsDsA1tRM2D9dZVqqZMfSWVgWMy2otP_GmxQD5iQmo6cI7jiLUoUI00PgiI9GlIOUMwwhGa7BlEKxgcfJB112eecIzQfQWnaCkttS1vd6AlFW3IDSYlF1w/s1600/100_4511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjReqeiDVMVQM77oHnAcPISiTsDsA1tRM2D9dZVqqZMfSWVgWMy2otP_GmxQD5iQmo6cI7jiLUoUI00PgiI9GlIOUMwwhGa7BlEKxgcfJB112eecIzQfQWnaCkttS1vd6AlFW3IDSYlF1w/s320/100_4511.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ummm...Santa distributed the loot before devouring his treats -<br />
he didn't want to get sidetracked!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Okay, Merry February 25th to all and to all a Good Night!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-7174544085977740012011-02-25T06:37:00.001-07:002011-02-27T13:02:35.342-07:00Art comes in all forms.Yes, this is a slightly random posting, but the video is worth it!!!<br />
<br />
When one thinks of "art" (or at least when<em> I</em> think of "art"), still images come to mind. But, as we all know, "art" can come in many forms. Here are a couple pictures of Anika's forays into crayon, sticker, marker, and paint art:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0s4ile2mI9Y4yOzaQrv-ck_WDH-iwasbmzJYsdQ34z1Dc5p14oe9CXCEdgQIDiVAisST5pV31ohaNeon7IQonCsTBZw3ngP7VG4Ezp2b_ilXmOW91rxUrdjtPfF6dGbD7YvVrUBZAqFw/s1600/Sticker+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0s4ile2mI9Y4yOzaQrv-ck_WDH-iwasbmzJYsdQ34z1Dc5p14oe9CXCEdgQIDiVAisST5pV31ohaNeon7IQonCsTBZw3ngP7VG4Ezp2b_ilXmOW91rxUrdjtPfF6dGbD7YvVrUBZAqFw/s320/Sticker+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one goes....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLFFUNJv6NO9BxJ5pjzqVSe3GfdG2uU16DAJoVe-tzHiI4R33Xwh62nLnHRG-RSNp2uCKrwjoGfPHguC1F9-FdUe293SnEuoWEva83f4c5I0YdC7etV7O7FBZSUp7BSLgdAp6bZx7OvU/s1600/Sticker+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLFFUNJv6NO9BxJ5pjzqVSe3GfdG2uU16DAJoVe-tzHiI4R33Xwh62nLnHRG-RSNp2uCKrwjoGfPHguC1F9-FdUe293SnEuoWEva83f4c5I0YdC7etV7O7FBZSUp7BSLgdAp6bZx7OvU/s320/Sticker+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Daaaaaare!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5RrNvvCeCvWrM4FIU-01biLCN7eJHSxwsKF2hN0MBVEcxUXLohJm8gSrXuaYhyBA_xxdh-Ah6ZA8cgTnYEGgmZzqHesis5QEi361c_TFMfeA0SBnw8poxQsB9Gp021il14qr6mSfGZI/s1600/across+the+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5RrNvvCeCvWrM4FIU-01biLCN7eJHSxwsKF2hN0MBVEcxUXLohJm8gSrXuaYhyBA_xxdh-Ah6ZA8cgTnYEGgmZzqHesis5QEi361c_TFMfeA0SBnw8poxQsB9Gp021il14qr6mSfGZI/s320/across+the+table.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gotta keep the blood sugar up with a cracker!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAJv3QErEvbfqcPrzwA3hQMoTeC9VrGYan4_CqGXmzQ1439iMATmA7W3iwUaWrNHDP8ZuGJj-HFBpgMX3bX9rGHR6hpfdmRvr0dtfvG45KCf_4MHliXTWmg1C4JsHlgvrNypR_q4Dh9E/s1600/Finger+painting+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAJv3QErEvbfqcPrzwA3hQMoTeC9VrGYan4_CqGXmzQ1439iMATmA7W3iwUaWrNHDP8ZuGJj-HFBpgMX3bX9rGHR6hpfdmRvr0dtfvG45KCf_4MHliXTWmg1C4JsHlgvrNypR_q4Dh9E/s320/Finger+painting+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika was initially slightly apprehensive with the texture of the paint.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD20y5nYel7tCkj_EIJBLxn3tgBzbF-TvqdFnvnZrL_N8TeKLYJ3Ug46iml8IzmJS18dj6edMjTvp2pcH00vO3fBEU82eQGiMVjvwKXLZTQJJSbDVgVesdcDcu3VLa_oUZ25bBzvaNYGA/s1600/finger+painting+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD20y5nYel7tCkj_EIJBLxn3tgBzbF-TvqdFnvnZrL_N8TeKLYJ3Ug46iml8IzmJS18dj6edMjTvp2pcH00vO3fBEU82eQGiMVjvwKXLZTQJJSbDVgVesdcDcu3VLa_oUZ25bBzvaNYGA/s320/finger+painting+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She got over it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4h5Bd063MX1QbZ9o_Mo6lEUlOInWtmk4P2WbdHblwiQb3GWPhzwGz3tFMciRSPB3UZm_85JU0uLxR9HiVXmYCi0Sl3RnQANKYGm5_qLs_AEyxQ4Zk1Ml7B1ZzSANcNUJ2V3rlDBjtnQ/s1600/the+gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4h5Bd063MX1QbZ9o_Mo6lEUlOInWtmk4P2WbdHblwiQb3GWPhzwGz3tFMciRSPB3UZm_85JU0uLxR9HiVXmYCi0Sl3RnQANKYGm5_qLs_AEyxQ4Zk1Ml7B1ZzSANcNUJ2V3rlDBjtnQ/s320/the+gallery.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ta-da! (I couldn't help but notice a Bismarck body <br />
in the lower left of the photo - never far behind!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Art also includes performing. Here is Anika's performance art:, a quick video we took last night at dinner of Anika going through her animal noises :-)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyv-tytPpVwLvqPjuRyQqLxsysmfgUpPYposBk1tAM0zdiQxzumK4PEUfA1OpN3o6muKW2s1OVC8QcmymIyZw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Did you see that great elephant interpretations? She's got the trunk action DOWN!Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-63242792230740152772010-12-13T04:17:00.001-07:002010-12-13T04:22:57.332-07:00Thanksgiving on the Front RangeFor Thanksgiving, we packed ourselves up, dropped the fur-kids at their luxury accomodations, and us 2-legged Linstids ventured to the Front Range in the Super Subie. (Not "Super" as in "Super Charger" in the event you get that reference! Just Super because it makes the Subaru sound a bit more...edgy). We had to wait for the blizzard warnings to expire and Ben made sure the road was Subaru-able by plowing before we left. Yup, we've got snow!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U3a5V3LJ-KH07EBQjY-QsDCnWmbM0bP-uAhGiPN6SZB3v-IWfA2RDrWjpzXxyTBElxPHC2ySopCCa07lKg22iZ5q8YjKf7HaNp2iSUQgSbjq-743hzlR3TC5xqrUi18fZHIYQ5IP8vM/s1600/100_4339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U3a5V3LJ-KH07EBQjY-QsDCnWmbM0bP-uAhGiPN6SZB3v-IWfA2RDrWjpzXxyTBElxPHC2ySopCCa07lKg22iZ5q8YjKf7HaNp2iSUQgSbjq-743hzlR3TC5xqrUi18fZHIYQ5IP8vM/s320/100_4339.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo is titled: Wintering Ironman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We made it to the Good Ole' Fashioned Bradley Family Thanksgiving and had such a great time that I didn't take any photos. Alas, the turkey was yummy, the stuffing was bountiful, the corn-corn-and-more-corn was chowed, the cranberry sauce devoured, the sweet potatoes with MARSHMALLOWS was delightful, wine was flowing, and the pies were the icing on the cake ;-) Anika napped through the main part of dinner woke up to enjoying being the center of attention with her pumpkin bib on. Really - it was quite festive! One of the things that made dinner complete for me was Ben and Nick explaining an episode of Myth Busters that involved making earwax candles. (Side note: Billy brought up the same episode a few days later when we met the Wimsatts for breakfast.) Ahhh...cherished and revered family time!<br />
<br />
Friday involved shopping for Aunt Colleen and I (we went to a MALL! I haven't been to one in so long!), and football for Ben, Uncle Bill, and Anika. Anika really enjoys her football...she claps when the teams line up and whenever a play is made. This isn't a photo from Thanksgiving, but I think it illustrates Anika and Ben's bonding through football (I think they were watching a VT game...)<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6xg7EXuY-ZaAwGO23JfS8IJaaD1EzeU_5Dr31552UEcvtVSI8Jd6PvTBMpxpSiyv8i6yHMqlNQfBHIMVYxZQfvtth4DTg_H2hsbgBfC0_-98ZWPb44fIYcVNfExWGhQQWl0COQ30OO4/s1600/Football+Baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ6xg7EXuY-ZaAwGO23JfS8IJaaD1EzeU_5Dr31552UEcvtVSI8Jd6PvTBMpxpSiyv8i6yHMqlNQfBHIMVYxZQfvtth4DTg_H2hsbgBfC0_-98ZWPb44fIYcVNfExWGhQQWl0COQ30OO4/s320/Football+Baby.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice her grip on the remote and lack of attention to anything but the t.v.!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Saturday, we had an adventure of other sorts, however. We went to the <a href="http://www.butterflies.org/index.php">Butterfly Pavilion</a> in Westminster! I remember going there many years ago when Briana was Anika's age...the same trip I decided that I'd like to live in CO (the ski bug got me pretty good!). In any case, Nick came up and joined Anika, Ben, and I for a trip to see some bugs!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSqPLl1Hr-8KAySri5IIwnUpPEmlbHhKykksoYYt0TUULtOLji9g-z3jwtSLoZnXkCYKLnXleOnxmMmU86aVXzca-wSkMy9Ac6Uk1xJoxfIQZyFJS8q-cYxt2FlIF2g7T1knia67CUGE/s1600/Praying+Mantis+Family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixSqPLl1Hr-8KAySri5IIwnUpPEmlbHhKykksoYYt0TUULtOLji9g-z3jwtSLoZnXkCYKLnXleOnxmMmU86aVXzca-wSkMy9Ac6Uk1xJoxfIQZyFJS8q-cYxt2FlIF2g7T1knia67CUGE/s320/Praying+Mantis+Family.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika wanted to keep our new friend, but the Subie was already full :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>One of the stars of the Butterfly Pavilion is Rosie the Tarantula. I didn't hold Rosie back when Briana was teeny, and I stuck to my guns this time, too. Not that there's anything wrong with holding her...heck, Ben can hold her and I'll park our 13-month old daughter within a foot of the action!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCelirIlvVwOhkq2vDKVRNiG7UQ5-YF49DqcVeeXvInWJJBiUNiXy5c70ftujBztyH9L36TM9ogfXPZrQG7RLwA5vsHqws3PVmsdoJRLkLJtBGtrgm2dxNhqlZ_5XT8JGCp5RsUE1bNYo/s1600/Anika+and+Rosie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCelirIlvVwOhkq2vDKVRNiG7UQ5-YF49DqcVeeXvInWJJBiUNiXy5c70ftujBztyH9L36TM9ogfXPZrQG7RLwA5vsHqws3PVmsdoJRLkLJtBGtrgm2dxNhqlZ_5XT8JGCp5RsUE1bNYo/s320/Anika+and+Rosie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whoa Daddy...Rosie's got lots more legs than the pups!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Not that Anika has that long of an attention span...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZjwPCu6de5-7qs46VctMUh0X-1ksqFDUf43T_ZzkgL5BhYa-z_oBn4FnoN8wAM022zomCxeM6rlimqGrjAefRnMoSDITRpBDdf8RcwJ_boEKShLVG1ZcR6RWD-OBE9s6f8HqRbBqx0o/s1600/Anika+and+Rosie+and+Ben.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheZjwPCu6de5-7qs46VctMUh0X-1ksqFDUf43T_ZzkgL5BhYa-z_oBn4FnoN8wAM022zomCxeM6rlimqGrjAefRnMoSDITRpBDdf8RcwJ_boEKShLVG1ZcR6RWD-OBE9s6f8HqRbBqx0o/s320/Anika+and+Rosie+and+Ben.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charming smile from Ben...distracted Anika...and random rear shot of a woman. <br />
Sorry random woman!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After Rosie got a break, we checked out some of the exhibits - lots of insects along with starfish and horseshoe crabs!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrAEiVVqcnsqg6Dg8OMmUxnBnD9VO2BusSmH-xPKIZQWlTNCexADA9StQX4adbjnCvOYYrsq14BnThNVBjKTk50Fu1pDvhXLc_zziD4KWvUYpf2_X92KF3E17hBUEeE53tV4knh72DFg/s1600/Boys+and+Bugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrAEiVVqcnsqg6Dg8OMmUxnBnD9VO2BusSmH-xPKIZQWlTNCexADA9StQX4adbjnCvOYYrsq14BnThNVBjKTk50Fu1pDvhXLc_zziD4KWvUYpf2_X92KF3E17hBUEeE53tV4knh72DFg/s320/Boys+and+Bugs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick, Ben and Anika checking out some insects.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVQFsRYZbJVPfbqq32ZAuh7dX9T8SXjzE2grornKT0qjWfctisHPxIeCJnwbMfQVoobiwnYgjTALFgADCdxXQb3s-caqPrDUqK6rL3rXrA67mMuqmGSEvsjrWsyBDSTI5qa0bopPtwXo/s1600/Beetle+vs+Roach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEVQFsRYZbJVPfbqq32ZAuh7dX9T8SXjzE2grornKT0qjWfctisHPxIeCJnwbMfQVoobiwnYgjTALFgADCdxXQb3s-caqPrDUqK6rL3rXrA67mMuqmGSEvsjrWsyBDSTI5qa0bopPtwXo/s320/Beetle+vs+Roach.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beetle vs. Roach...which one do you think this is, Anika?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We did get to see lots of butterflies...and a tortoise, too. I was talking to one of the volunteers who is a former zoo-keeper and she said she's trying to get a sloth in the butterfly room. I mentioned the one at the Baltimore Aquarium...I'm so worldly :-) She then proceeded to tell me that sloths only come out of the trees once a month to poop. What is it with me and people describing icky stuff? I was in REAL ESTATE for goodness sakes...and for many reasons! Okay...rant over...here are some great photos of butterflies that Ben took :-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BMz_OqxhIZJu_dkLpezKTkqTUgUd_MfgNmWQnR0Z0s43dh64PU1M1rgLBPVLmYaM4y9L_ID7bA82cDSOFwJbutbbeHWTgjGHli35814qag0c5CL66ijFLjC2YcL5idNKqeC0h4ratpw/s1600/Camo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4BMz_OqxhIZJu_dkLpezKTkqTUgUd_MfgNmWQnR0Z0s43dh64PU1M1rgLBPVLmYaM4y9L_ID7bA82cDSOFwJbutbbeHWTgjGHli35814qag0c5CL66ijFLjC2YcL5idNKqeC0h4ratpw/s320/Camo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one is sort of hiding...with the food!<br />
Oh, yeah, and there's this cute baby in the picture, too ;-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwgttVOQMDD7dYngxxB4d4nD80jsLdlx3xe3zWK59r1aEzxMYuceBluCdyi5_ohCreKxgR9ykI-OuduL3dNteRdnYKxq_Je1a-9AqQDbVrFwSw43l1kfa0ZT_br-RKM8cHkrTvwgGsiw/s1600/blue+beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwgttVOQMDD7dYngxxB4d4nD80jsLdlx3xe3zWK59r1aEzxMYuceBluCdyi5_ohCreKxgR9ykI-OuduL3dNteRdnYKxq_Je1a-9AqQDbVrFwSw43l1kfa0ZT_br-RKM8cHkrTvwgGsiw/s320/blue+beauty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBQSPhdZx5ULAP1OmlELWDlj4RQke3CFbrb419A3NBLP2WKddEtIIThgRb3QKi9Gxk5z42DN8Rh7lUTc2q_HlqaRhqhUJ6TmuEFy5gw1rJHEIGzSdJzWRvWyP-nGJlhD2k5aTTxbvd40/s1600/Orangey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBQSPhdZx5ULAP1OmlELWDlj4RQke3CFbrb419A3NBLP2WKddEtIIThgRb3QKi9Gxk5z42DN8Rh7lUTc2q_HlqaRhqhUJ6TmuEFy5gw1rJHEIGzSdJzWRvWyP-nGJlhD2k5aTTxbvd40/s320/Orangey.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRh4xGE11yJrYVbJcOucCl8tfCwdnBssozHLis3LjtMedXp5N8oU0NizZseOaFq4Mohv4RL3RJV7wbehzxQF7r_-PiFPc5ydf_gYrPkZbBJuuF6tmNrr3sp3MOXIovjaY7VrzV2y9cts/s1600/spot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJRh4xGE11yJrYVbJcOucCl8tfCwdnBssozHLis3LjtMedXp5N8oU0NizZseOaFq4Mohv4RL3RJV7wbehzxQF7r_-PiFPc5ydf_gYrPkZbBJuuF6tmNrr3sp3MOXIovjaY7VrzV2y9cts/s320/spot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-Q1oEft19Inf7X70SMrmc5I_WYusatTNzi_XhvA_3KrJ2clN_KNZNXbxk29wIaPaZ0YUWVE1nui_kbTY2wWLdUNS2iDLtpAOR5gC9k2Bk4hjTYbsg4b1Jhx-fjFVYph1r7zhEDhSI5k/s1600/red+on+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-Q1oEft19Inf7X70SMrmc5I_WYusatTNzi_XhvA_3KrJ2clN_KNZNXbxk29wIaPaZ0YUWVE1nui_kbTY2wWLdUNS2iDLtpAOR5gC9k2Bk4hjTYbsg4b1Jhx-fjFVYph1r7zhEDhSI5k/s320/red+on+flowers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWj8jjWX2EhCOIuq1dUc30TO0ftNWDHRkYCe4kIL1tpCKOG81EUfIWHOA8HUJTgInXc_fvDHsUGavKCXiUs2RZvKTbN7xddWXb6m4pMNRPf5ZYIa1FXVYqaklQbZHH4J9nzk4IsxwMQJw/s1600/stripes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWj8jjWX2EhCOIuq1dUc30TO0ftNWDHRkYCe4kIL1tpCKOG81EUfIWHOA8HUJTgInXc_fvDHsUGavKCXiUs2RZvKTbN7xddWXb6m4pMNRPf5ZYIa1FXVYqaklQbZHH4J9nzk4IsxwMQJw/s320/stripes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUWj59mHrBck0F4xV_ipNNp_VFyeURlswhHKEBQG0ds8fmThJHfbjp07Y7QhZ4Hnz7UvxZSImF6vHyCyJD1w7ki8faHyS81tbGcC-S8-fwqRTe-5dqWryhU8jPas1dbQa7kRVjaLXKIE/s1600/Tortise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUWj59mHrBck0F4xV_ipNNp_VFyeURlswhHKEBQG0ds8fmThJHfbjp07Y7QhZ4Hnz7UvxZSImF6vHyCyJD1w7ki8faHyS81tbGcC-S8-fwqRTe-5dqWryhU8jPas1dbQa7kRVjaLXKIE/s320/Tortise.jpg" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika was trying to get walking tips from the tortise...but he was <em>slow</em> to give any ;-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>After the butterfly room, we went through a more detailed exhibit about tarantulas.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hxezGO1by-DrEbSZ1m9AIzX_gKIJfRz6CqoBIA6pHSP8bzuiS2wLCrUEXeuqor4l4g6_vagUK2o6Au9Bv2_IAJ9ii0bflE6CBMo3UJNI65rZ68f0a5s-SJZ6LSLjdbU4CY10FBT-xVE/s1600/Anika+Toupee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hxezGO1by-DrEbSZ1m9AIzX_gKIJfRz6CqoBIA6pHSP8bzuiS2wLCrUEXeuqor4l4g6_vagUK2o6Au9Bv2_IAJ9ii0bflE6CBMo3UJNI65rZ68f0a5s-SJZ6LSLjdbU4CY10FBT-xVE/s320/Anika+Toupee.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know I don't have much hair, but could you refrain from putting a stuffed taratula on my coif?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s_bignvcZR83fl6MB7h-1ZJsYbCT-GTwvzmVemZ9wZbjkdjpDRwVpKYKIssCcrXGuwvSzISpqWiknWSrA8Hhk2o7scHlrY1Jn1aoXb2BeI2YvJvggvC1i-0-KmiNwNV0hVaouu1wkEg/s1600/boys+being+bugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7s_bignvcZR83fl6MB7h-1ZJsYbCT-GTwvzmVemZ9wZbjkdjpDRwVpKYKIssCcrXGuwvSzISpqWiknWSrA8Hhk2o7scHlrY1Jn1aoXb2BeI2YvJvggvC1i-0-KmiNwNV0hVaouu1wkEg/s320/boys+being+bugs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick acting out on long seated discontent with his older brother by being a tarantula and Ben as the prey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1G8S8aSPdgD4UPEAlc4koyXad0WFCpXw9sdF0mBLmpLjkx7MPtGk5ZC9enu-PHqbTQbxWeyWVDEkoZn28gKgTRR9NkecvudZP_lBfDxydvlEWFQdy78uQuGZgcko-LsJ3xy4djiT4zY/s1600/Daddy+Tarantula.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1G8S8aSPdgD4UPEAlc4koyXad0WFCpXw9sdF0mBLmpLjkx7MPtGk5ZC9enu-PHqbTQbxWeyWVDEkoZn28gKgTRR9NkecvudZP_lBfDxydvlEWFQdy78uQuGZgcko-LsJ3xy4djiT4zY/s320/Daddy+Tarantula.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben taking over his rightful position as the predator :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Finally, as my mother taught me, every good tour ends with a gift shop run!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jR7Mg24vc0bYemIEMLHEaeZqq93jgpEUfkkkSrREjKUf9s2-XpNbRZiiZYjbKCppjrTUYDDPBOEQm0YJM0_cFZml8v3nGjr4DyBEHIDs53HxZYwuFejM_Z8YbaE2YywPeApISNNjKVc/s1600/Gift+Shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1jR7Mg24vc0bYemIEMLHEaeZqq93jgpEUfkkkSrREjKUf9s2-XpNbRZiiZYjbKCppjrTUYDDPBOEQm0YJM0_cFZml8v3nGjr4DyBEHIDs53HxZYwuFejM_Z8YbaE2YywPeApISNNjKVc/s320/Gift+Shop.jpg" width="233" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hmmm...these balls are nice, but what I really want is a BUTTERFLY!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It was a good day, and we were bug tired by the end :-)<br />
<br />
On Sunday, before we made the trek back, we met up with the Wimsatts at the <a href="http://www.bluecoweatery.com/BlueCowEatery/Breakfast_Menu_p.1.html">Blue Cow</a> in Morrison for some pre-drive eats. I didn't take pictures (camera was not in easy grabbing distance), but I will say that my breakfast sandwich was yummy!<br />
<br />
We had a wonderful trip and we glad to be home and start getting ready for the next big holiday - Christmas!Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-21961848953304799632010-11-19T17:01:00.000-07:002010-11-19T17:01:16.737-07:00Anika and BismarckI've mentioned the relationship between Anika and the dogs before - she's certainly interested in them, and Peli regards her as yet another human to tolerate...and maybe get some treats from (although she always has her eye on Anika!), and Bismarck seems to always be around Anika - she gets lots of attention, so therefore, if he's in the general vicinity, he will get attention too. And maybe treats :-)<br />
<br />
Here are some pictures over the last 2 months or so of the blossoming relationship:<br />
<br />
Anika has been wanting to stand and walk (holding our hands) so much lately, so after breakfast, we plop her down and she looks out the back door. One morning, she was super interested in whatever was outside...then the dogs got excited and that's when we decided to check things out, too. Lo and behold, Anika spotted 2 deer right outside! It looks like they were interested in Ben's weather station - there's an anemometer (whirly thing that tells the speed and wind direction) on top of the pole and it was spinning pretty well.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6DcgoB2vEm7jDNZxtQPY0extCwa2IX_Z89_DkpYGXboGG1ytqw5OmAo1Dn-EyH7u0tHPsFCDCmx1h8gbH8enUSQJGHkpRGqGbsNiVuB29hFm2EoAnm7odKrvarNGKtz33R7k7K_YR8k/s1600/ANika+deer+alert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix6DcgoB2vEm7jDNZxtQPY0extCwa2IX_Z89_DkpYGXboGG1ytqw5OmAo1Dn-EyH7u0tHPsFCDCmx1h8gbH8enUSQJGHkpRGqGbsNiVuB29hFm2EoAnm7odKrvarNGKtz33R7k7K_YR8k/s320/ANika+deer+alert.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alas, my furry friends! There are intruders in the back of the house!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2c1suVXKyxuw0nMD6ZYqqpLYOOZS5mG2BZ4aNQgul4emSxNS6-btzgQZ1tAK9UxE0011ykGO3EYeEKTv2jx1kQYBxb_XL-BHC6GT_UCGPKd7jyYuzd1XFYPb4EqBn1Sgnd_wDdGVF2UY/s1600/Deer+Alert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2c1suVXKyxuw0nMD6ZYqqpLYOOZS5mG2BZ4aNQgul4emSxNS6-btzgQZ1tAK9UxE0011ykGO3EYeEKTv2jx1kQYBxb_XL-BHC6GT_UCGPKd7jyYuzd1XFYPb4EqBn1Sgnd_wDdGVF2UY/s320/Deer+Alert.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Said intruders...one looking up at the whirly thingy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Bismarck tolerates alot. A LOT. For example, for years, Ben and I thought it has been very funny to put banana stickers on Bismarck's forehead...especially if the sayings on the stickers are humorous (those wacky advertisers!).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1yIlLamcPnfwaZzsr1YGMCFpVf_z2vLcLpd9jxDGInWP80m3ZxkJ4au4yJ4AcHPLhqU2XNNSizONsc_006QLZ2bu2KhMLdpqaLeHGtarwNwUy_l6K3wBnJWxu2KfZA01XMiSDpgElMo/s1600/Banana+Biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL1yIlLamcPnfwaZzsr1YGMCFpVf_z2vLcLpd9jxDGInWP80m3ZxkJ4au4yJ4AcHPLhqU2XNNSizONsc_006QLZ2bu2KhMLdpqaLeHGtarwNwUy_l6K3wBnJWxu2KfZA01XMiSDpgElMo/s320/Banana+Biz.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sticker says: "Place sticker on forehead. Smile." <br />
Biz isn't really smiling but...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTR8-vNDAJstA-JJKKrfN7odzTtLv4QWpepaLQEIdfdwzuNh2Zk3nE_Qelti4yAcqkHjn1Ee1WnMSg97d3HkBz1kSiqStQ0xezhNt9p02e-NxlGm1j4UUs7eBztG2pD6BxZV0IL26gt0/s1600/Checking+Biz+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqTR8-vNDAJstA-JJKKrfN7odzTtLv4QWpepaLQEIdfdwzuNh2Zk3nE_Qelti4yAcqkHjn1Ee1WnMSg97d3HkBz1kSiqStQ0xezhNt9p02e-NxlGm1j4UUs7eBztG2pD6BxZV0IL26gt0/s320/Checking+Biz+out.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ANIKA is smiling!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv9b1UYCz3hDCYrQqUoZEy7c2ITk486tiH2s4XgwAKaWB3eKfjFGexQTU7Pk0D6BcjP8OwMml4azpn5f_y2WT8Vx5VIpqJgtUs0WuekBXcqht6ed7YH4Ka-uXsqHMID7UP8fyG-r-OcU/s1600/Checking+Banana+Biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv9b1UYCz3hDCYrQqUoZEy7c2ITk486tiH2s4XgwAKaWB3eKfjFGexQTU7Pk0D6BcjP8OwMml4azpn5f_y2WT8Vx5VIpqJgtUs0WuekBXcqht6ed7YH4Ka-uXsqHMID7UP8fyG-r-OcU/s320/Checking+Banana+Biz.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She just thought it was too funny to see Biz with a sticker :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">To further illustrate Anika's amusement with Bismarck, this series of photos was shot around Halloween:</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFZKmOuty5VCuxKGnQGNox5bX4oZKCDRG2mUacU1L-JXne66_kKyshQlnUiWKDAPKIvakqrCiEteyA9uJlBu1I_aZJqgWiuMhRtQybz7Ww06yd_Rqk_j7zsB3RjPfJH8SLMncwYl4XvI/s1600/Dimple+headband.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQFZKmOuty5VCuxKGnQGNox5bX4oZKCDRG2mUacU1L-JXne66_kKyshQlnUiWKDAPKIvakqrCiEteyA9uJlBu1I_aZJqgWiuMhRtQybz7Ww06yd_Rqk_j7zsB3RjPfJH8SLMncwYl4XvI/s320/Dimple+headband.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awww....isn't she cute? Showing off her dimples with her cute top and headband on?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmgkKmXh1AyId149s9VYE_I_G-WJXL4vFETVIP1NHgmeN9HCKkU8CoGqg4hP9SyQF1AIUceNrWB8NfU4wY55CoF1V1hTAq5gM04s1bgL6XeNHdIf3lB5sD8QJPOTiE42Vl7AHkEekrAM/s1600/Funny+headband+face.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmgkKmXh1AyId149s9VYE_I_G-WJXL4vFETVIP1NHgmeN9HCKkU8CoGqg4hP9SyQF1AIUceNrWB8NfU4wY55CoF1V1hTAq5gM04s1bgL6XeNHdIf3lB5sD8QJPOTiE42Vl7AHkEekrAM/s320/Funny+headband+face.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nah...something isn't right, Mommy. Let's fix it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoJZx6rYoSPPGWQ5NUSTQNBmz9H9SrrZW1xiGBso50Dx442ZNbYh3EAnYlGZXjjaZdRdkcqm1tYnUBRS743sJXqOmZ81guv-XbGZYlJWdoUbBgWNY2Dk1NncquqK95OZYnIvxx20NHgo/s1600/Halloween+headband+Biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZoJZx6rYoSPPGWQ5NUSTQNBmz9H9SrrZW1xiGBso50Dx442ZNbYh3EAnYlGZXjjaZdRdkcqm1tYnUBRS743sJXqOmZ81guv-XbGZYlJWdoUbBgWNY2Dk1NncquqK95OZYnIvxx20NHgo/s320/Halloween+headband+Biz.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woo-hoo! Now THAT'S what we're talking about! <br />
(note: no comments about my dog's masculinity - it takes lots of testosterone to pull off ribbons! <br />
Plus, it made the baby happy)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anika even likes to hang out with Biz in Ben's office!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiieYYx6aRr09gzZwNm0PLDAAn9HI1oHwAojrI66bKcl7BCF479WL33TrDW8UyHlm9mGJCs8noUnUePpknoIEw257SeViSl0zo5dLgRXwLVxdIuD9AutEHgylwpcHnsZF_SUfB79-O_nsE/s1600/Mischevious+Anika+Biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiieYYx6aRr09gzZwNm0PLDAAn9HI1oHwAojrI66bKcl7BCF479WL33TrDW8UyHlm9mGJCs8noUnUePpknoIEw257SeViSl0zo5dLgRXwLVxdIuD9AutEHgylwpcHnsZF_SUfB79-O_nsE/s320/Mischevious+Anika+Biz.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that face! I wonder what will happen next?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCJpsGMS_yhGW4Y1NyshZaseFDbv1OwxuVOKndyjMZUNMHsTEXt3DniQ2Pn6RxtClrcy8EZFlvGH2GPgWGLTcHpQwBPX2TufjurDUk4dOC1PH-Ixo3o122xyNrxWSInafpL2xwVQl8T0/s1600/Toe+inspection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXCJpsGMS_yhGW4Y1NyshZaseFDbv1OwxuVOKndyjMZUNMHsTEXt3DniQ2Pn6RxtClrcy8EZFlvGH2GPgWGLTcHpQwBPX2TufjurDUk4dOC1PH-Ixo3o122xyNrxWSInafpL2xwVQl8T0/s320/Toe+inspection.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahh...yes! The toe/paw inspection!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFLPVs9nVLxeyqVpLlQ6i1jbzXRgyn6VUpBeBbxZjPSoSCRc_VpDq-XMS2xJ5nAilg7fwfNxFSYURGYZdKZt2Oi1iyb_Va4x4ExfMQKvZOAFiLgPrT_k7qXVDmIh9BKqKktlK2lbf_Ik/s1600/Hair+inspection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFLPVs9nVLxeyqVpLlQ6i1jbzXRgyn6VUpBeBbxZjPSoSCRc_VpDq-XMS2xJ5nAilg7fwfNxFSYURGYZdKZt2Oi1iyb_Va4x4ExfMQKvZOAFiLgPrT_k7qXVDmIh9BKqKktlK2lbf_Ik/s320/Hair+inspection.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Followed by: geez, don't you guys ever brush these dogs?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In an effort to encourage Anika to crawl/walk/become at least somewhat independently mobile, I do strategically place her near Biz at times...and since she's always reaching for his bear-bell, I take his collar off at times (yes, he has ring-around-the-collar...and is okay with it).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_j8AAie3vpfGoY_U5Rd0Z1upwzrnDRGWbrMQj_lVhxYGRGOHjEH5y05Hvzlp8dLHQ7ZB4n3R2mKv5-WdJdRHzI1ZMhQDgwG7QqRKnNkeX4ZnuOeB3YsLJ8mgcw0LwNJqNhtK1nE8-6EI/s1600/Collar+inspection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_j8AAie3vpfGoY_U5Rd0Z1upwzrnDRGWbrMQj_lVhxYGRGOHjEH5y05Hvzlp8dLHQ7ZB4n3R2mKv5-WdJdRHzI1ZMhQDgwG7QqRKnNkeX4ZnuOeB3YsLJ8mgcw0LwNJqNhtK1nE8-6EI/s320/Collar+inspection.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice Peli in the background on our bed...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anika and Biz will be friends for quite a while, I'm sure...here she is, reaching for him on a nice brisk fall day:</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-llfixmXiyyb-isQE42e15tVabmALAfK3pbSVfEJGVI-6hL7BDsw6OlFVpxDfHtddlP2NgcEh9ppRkHgt5UCPnnYaMnNA0y-ZjoXdV2BPlEnaMrPxxFFnJg-t5e0uPspRxPjv7mOZ70/s1600/Reaching+for+biz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL-llfixmXiyyb-isQE42e15tVabmALAfK3pbSVfEJGVI-6hL7BDsw6OlFVpxDfHtddlP2NgcEh9ppRkHgt5UCPnnYaMnNA0y-ZjoXdV2BPlEnaMrPxxFFnJg-t5e0uPspRxPjv7mOZ70/s320/Reaching+for+biz.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, so she wants to help Daddy out, too :-)<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-5004175616592613352010-11-18T21:59:00.000-07:002010-11-18T21:59:01.443-07:00Official One Year StatsAnika had her 1-year checkup last week and was a champ, per usual :-) She wowed the whole facility with her Lance Armstrong-esque lung capacity all the while charming everyone with her vibrant personality. I wonder where she gets that from?<br />
<br />
Here's the nitty gritty:<br />
Length: 28 inches<br />
Weight: 18 lbs 11 oz.<br />
<br />
So, she's still facing the rear of the car in the carseat, which is perfectly fine with her, since she talks to the dogs the whole time. I'm not sure how their relationship will change once she's strapped in facing the front of the car, but I'm sure we'll all get used to it.<br />
<br />
I've gotten lots of comments about her "being small" from a variety of people and my standard response is that "she's petite, and enjoying every moment of it." Funny, though, she's pretty much right on with clothing sizes. When she was between 3 and 6 months old, she wore...3-6 month old sizes. Now that she's between 12 and 18 months, she's wearing 12-18 month clothes - rather convenient, if you ask me. Her feet, however, are still rather petite...more on the 6 month sizing of things - and holy, cow, whomever designed kids shoe sizing must be the same person that came up with women's clothing sizes! I don't quite see the logic in it. But, I'm not about to revamp the system, so we're just rolling along with it :-)<br />
<br />
Here are a couple of shots on her quilt - she's a bit of a wiggle worm and is trying to become the world's first baby pilates champion by lifting her feet and head off of the ground while staying in the middle of things. It's quite a feat, you know. On a side note, a few months ago, I decided to make Anika my workout partner - whenever she raised her feet, I did the same. Whenever she rolled around, I did it too. Lets just say, our partnership lasted until naptime, and will never resume. She's too tough for me!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr4tpp6sSMBi0nY2rGhLwk5MC3p6-rFMrCzYy5L3yIZn5y4E1Ej3DkedZAy-KmCKJ8Lh-_cZrAMKOAPNaSpeo2iR-Cw4PTTF-oBSBWps0mOkvRc2_wWI6JtHzOh7XIrMs0oXw7OjNhEo/s1600/1+year+quilt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigr4tpp6sSMBi0nY2rGhLwk5MC3p6-rFMrCzYy5L3yIZn5y4E1Ej3DkedZAy-KmCKJ8Lh-_cZrAMKOAPNaSpeo2iR-Cw4PTTF-oBSBWps0mOkvRc2_wWI6JtHzOh7XIrMs0oXw7OjNhEo/s320/1+year+quilt+1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilates Queen</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXlDoHJeDfwvhR8is-A26-11h22oPsO0aSHHhSMuIVMDeKqbRCg7XhoFFNmVZYk9L9eEg2s0Fxhs9G9b06btxeEbXEW1FIJLz-0frPZTceRCh6bHoqT5iMHRzNxqa3oER7gpJ7o86rf8/s1600/1+year+quilt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXlDoHJeDfwvhR8is-A26-11h22oPsO0aSHHhSMuIVMDeKqbRCg7XhoFFNmVZYk9L9eEg2s0Fxhs9G9b06btxeEbXEW1FIJLz-0frPZTceRCh6bHoqT5iMHRzNxqa3oER7gpJ7o86rf8/s320/1+year+quilt+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lizzy Lou, the bunny, is holding her down!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenk4rEUMbDJM__KvBRwgP4goZp3-knqfEF8PlQgAeP4RftByOIt73sOPNfcIeKW0jEzncIjQTiT7RRlrmJ04sj_5-UkZAHHdE1SY1FZ9M0zKpZ9q51oSpTr5ymMoZTLTQeH8EXLTlSTA/s1600/1st+math+problem.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphenk4rEUMbDJM__KvBRwgP4goZp3-knqfEF8PlQgAeP4RftByOIt73sOPNfcIeKW0jEzncIjQTiT7RRlrmJ04sj_5-UkZAHHdE1SY1FZ9M0zKpZ9q51oSpTr5ymMoZTLTQeH8EXLTlSTA/s320/1st+math+problem.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika's 1st math problem<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So that's the down and dirty on Miss A. As for BB#2, we heard the heartbeat yesterday! The due date right now is mid-June, but subject to change, which is typical. Supposedly the kiddo is 1.5 inches long and is sprouting arms, legs, fingers, toes, and eyes - it blows my mind to think that Anika was in the same boat as this one not too long ago...she looks so...non-Area 51/Roswell! Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-36351826852158303522010-10-21T22:38:00.003-06:002010-10-21T23:10:36.316-06:00The First<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, my last excuse for not posting was that we had computer hardware "issues". As in the power button became detached from said computer. Well, this time my excuse is a bit more personal. Anika decided to routinely sleep through the night. Not the "11pm-5am" sleeping-through-the-night that the all-knowing parenting websites gleefully state to enjoy. Nope, Miss A graduated to 8pm to 8am status. I was thrilled...and decided to take advantage of it and sleep, too. </div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then, other things happened...the Food Network got me hooked on "Chopped", and "24 Hour Restaurant Battle" - how dare they? Then, Genevieve lent me the last of the "Twilight" series [Note: don't read that 3rd book while breast feeding - totally creepy]. Then, Nick and Liz got married - yippee! Another sister-in-law - we have completed the TRIFECTA! Then...Chris and Carol sent me the Sookie Stackhouse series of books, upon with the HBO show "Trueblood" is based. (I haven't seen the show, but enjoy these books *much* more than Twilight - something about vampires wanting to make their presence known in order to enjoy certain business and tax benefits appeals to me. But, I digress.) Not to mention, Ben had wrist surgery this summer (not that it slowed him down much): </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6c0P9MWmQjB6JA1Tv_Mgfo9VEQQwtZeIeW9o_tdcbGXYAO3X94t1EAZ9HZfSgHPQQaqoNH4WoN3NXjtVOTnj2yaxbtHIBUqEf1jAECQKQKNXwo_GzHlUu7Ld_efFwFrxcugS_JAOu7Q/s1600/100_3579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6c0P9MWmQjB6JA1Tv_Mgfo9VEQQwtZeIeW9o_tdcbGXYAO3X94t1EAZ9HZfSgHPQQaqoNH4WoN3NXjtVOTnj2yaxbtHIBUqEf1jAECQKQKNXwo_GzHlUu7Ld_efFwFrxcugS_JAOu7Q/s320/100_3579.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th of July hike - Wetterhorn Basin</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">In summary, LIFE has reared its head and I dropped a couple of things off of my to-do list. Alas, I am mortal, and thoroughly enjoy it - the lack of pressure is wonderful, you know. I will always fight the tendency to prove that I am the quintessential people pleaser, but eventually, the lure of sleep will win out and I will gleefully lie down in my bed and sigh knowing that I am happy. I have my wonderful husband, amazing daughter, and 2 furry companions - making me a very content, happy, blessed woman.</div><br />
Phew - my legs are tired and I am relinquishing my soapbox for the time being. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anika turned one year old on Wednesday, October 20th, 2010 at 7:27 am. What a celebration this kiddo had! Her Nanna flew out from South Carolina to western Colorado...she's is a pro at walking onto tarmacs to catch puddle jumpers, now :-) Billy, my brother, drove out from the Denver area, and we had ourselves a little party on Saturday evening- after visiting the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/blca/">Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park</a>. </div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oAKfjuJ0ViWysFSUB6lwV1xkxQ3hvEE6JEEAE1nLSjR5oPBXepw1AxCmwKhqya8OpVWLR_3wRt5ni_ImQeJ10lZ08HD2BNelgIdWMEL64sucgeKwvJIlm9Ckn8wNzffz78btVnHWYgc/s1600/mom+at+black+canyon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oAKfjuJ0ViWysFSUB6lwV1xkxQ3hvEE6JEEAE1nLSjR5oPBXepw1AxCmwKhqya8OpVWLR_3wRt5ni_ImQeJ10lZ08HD2BNelgIdWMEL64sucgeKwvJIlm9Ckn8wNzffz78btVnHWYgc/s320/mom+at+black+canyon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom checking out the sights...not quite a walk on the beach!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldWdgSpVQDBiQFDr8VZsiXbMsXeKBF8lIsb60xHmCwG1JmPuKDA9mZxP8HncC6hF6cIKP5X4Uwf80QuDFL-8LEtrFpyksS-Aga28ZAx-wKtDjiRCh7ftgxk29VIz3BdesygafG8veDd0/s1600/Anika+black+canyon_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgldWdgSpVQDBiQFDr8VZsiXbMsXeKBF8lIsb60xHmCwG1JmPuKDA9mZxP8HncC6hF6cIKP5X4Uwf80QuDFL-8LEtrFpyksS-Aga28ZAx-wKtDjiRCh7ftgxk29VIz3BdesygafG8veDd0/s320/Anika+black+canyon_edited-1.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Uncle Billy and Anika on a mini-hike</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06O_EhmNN5pk7ZYt5tzdMCauUwjko25PRXmSC9OjMxGsP1Dcpt5tck6hbf6OnqUP-9Aqbfzb59dkWxOI_J4Ie67O1ru9qwMeX9uhalqewUsYyHH2xNbTW6WH9etr9G53KMBNloYjbafs/s1600/Linstids+and+Mom_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06O_EhmNN5pk7ZYt5tzdMCauUwjko25PRXmSC9OjMxGsP1Dcpt5tck6hbf6OnqUP-9Aqbfzb59dkWxOI_J4Ie67O1ru9qwMeX9uhalqewUsYyHH2xNbTW6WH9etr9G53KMBNloYjbafs/s320/Linstids+and+Mom_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Ben, Me, Anika (GO HOKIES!), and Nanna</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Back at the Linstid Homestid, the USFS decided to celebrate Anika's birthday, too. They lit a heck of a candle behind our house:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqROE4V0i4xIMF4mWDQFQ5aLFrgCZOQCj3-wSVVc5SlzDQ5elJVNv_RLqy7Tth1_xDUauxsV6kId-LfXjqR80UJuIYdXcC0dKvuBKsas4LQRB7lRMyVzUuaHXlk0-5KWN9CjMgGTBr2nI/s1600/100_4117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqROE4V0i4xIMF4mWDQFQ5aLFrgCZOQCj3-wSVVc5SlzDQ5elJVNv_RLqy7Tth1_xDUauxsV6kId-LfXjqR80UJuIYdXcC0dKvuBKsas4LQRB7lRMyVzUuaHXlk0-5KWN9CjMgGTBr2nI/s320/100_4117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoA77CIXydaP9knDEmwI2k0grPYaEgjd7EFCYcQ1YsZm-BEDSUIsP6mCP6vDfbTdb-wu9bC0QUDesmv4tgyRfatVSioAtnU02c_w1sGpbM3Ka3eFrq8h_uzKbXvyCihREKOZA0aatn14/s1600/100_4119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoA77CIXydaP9knDEmwI2k0grPYaEgjd7EFCYcQ1YsZm-BEDSUIsP6mCP6vDfbTdb-wu9bC0QUDesmv4tgyRfatVSioAtnU02c_w1sGpbM3Ka3eFrq8h_uzKbXvyCihREKOZA0aatn14/s320/100_4119.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Okay, okay - it was a controlled burn to clear out some of the underbrush from the forest areas right by the house. But, perception can become reality, right? Soooo...a giant candle in honor of Anika's first birthday it was!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Saturday evening, it was par-tay time! We had mac & cheese for dinner and "decorate your own bug" cupcakes for dessert - we all got into the fun :-)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPHCXFZOy9r0V8IXvKTb3cRzWNewjH6tEeGWuorstd7upfoAGC279hf4Axn0rvJizXEbeMCk8n3oGM0HdnF6NynediEAgoI6ykXedGZLHD2w7cHOvwWiN_GSiX0qZtnQRF0a781Dxwh4/s1600/Anika+mac+and+cheese_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPHCXFZOy9r0V8IXvKTb3cRzWNewjH6tEeGWuorstd7upfoAGC279hf4Axn0rvJizXEbeMCk8n3oGM0HdnF6NynediEAgoI6ykXedGZLHD2w7cHOvwWiN_GSiX0qZtnQRF0a781Dxwh4/s320/Anika+mac+and+cheese_edited-1.jpg" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anika is certainly using her noodle!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-JuuDHyCcCk4Da4nSLfVie9fk-Pt4LY31KuDkJY7PIebea84x4Skn8tVyoWzlUydInk1A0e5ItqcnCj4gG5Bzabz6XwHniQW81XREK3TStm1FO9wDVHgOyrvA2HLin6nGRUMLsi285c/s1600/100_4158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2-JuuDHyCcCk4Da4nSLfVie9fk-Pt4LY31KuDkJY7PIebea84x4Skn8tVyoWzlUydInk1A0e5ItqcnCj4gG5Bzabz6XwHniQW81XREK3TStm1FO9wDVHgOyrvA2HLin6nGRUMLsi285c/s320/100_4158.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out Mom's vs. Billy's technique...wine in front of both, though!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkyfX1g0e0tZU8OrzaOhKxmHnLleNJ219-qG7T9dINn8ztd4tryWeyFDqBJUWYUF63I2f03Scov0EbZMEZHNef5_N9cpiVXdq2tPZHAnf3OOBloUDkX_BoHI82S3YVdC2e96pRI0WirU/s1600/Birthday+Bugs_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkyfX1g0e0tZU8OrzaOhKxmHnLleNJ219-qG7T9dINn8ztd4tryWeyFDqBJUWYUF63I2f03Scov0EbZMEZHNef5_N9cpiVXdq2tPZHAnf3OOBloUDkX_BoHI82S3YVdC2e96pRI0WirU/s320/Birthday+Bugs_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, so maybe Miss A. is a little tired...kiddo had a busy day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFK1OBeCjpuzpO8bHZBC7_IvkHTnsatsfYgvfeo_4hukzKPGn5vNw9t5iOU_5LDpDpeWiW8X5JoAw95ILPJLabj7h7O66g2DWRaGRG-oHRaoK5nzPv1bJD5KvmqazTMNitMdMhOSkWJY/s1600/Birthday+bug+cake_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFK1OBeCjpuzpO8bHZBC7_IvkHTnsatsfYgvfeo_4hukzKPGn5vNw9t5iOU_5LDpDpeWiW8X5JoAw95ILPJLabj7h7O66g2DWRaGRG-oHRaoK5nzPv1bJD5KvmqazTMNitMdMhOSkWJY/s320/Birthday+bug+cake_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not quite sure about this whole scenario..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-NBZKlbq_TSwdTioc0LxClnIfirHpqBhq3lQyFpZTG5punYjA0aPWwT4hzGKnaZohcW1TsfweEvsYCH0rV7WZZqMuapKhMUSbm9OIOHjoZ45Q8m19mqX3tGtZ_vPpNoN6udRY1hSRCg/s1600/bday+clap_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-NBZKlbq_TSwdTioc0LxClnIfirHpqBhq3lQyFpZTG5punYjA0aPWwT4hzGKnaZohcW1TsfweEvsYCH0rV7WZZqMuapKhMUSbm9OIOHjoZ45Q8m19mqX3tGtZ_vPpNoN6udRY1hSRCg/s320/bday+clap_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, yeah, that's our baby!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODI5IuEPUopBLEOHEzmIkWRgO5EwJ7_dj2h4EqUOzgIBhaaDG7yuhRX8wLjdp08RqPAZ2BwZWJ2Fb9iV4UvAIVl-Pq3qJGUutzc9weLxqZ8eWiYuLizIpWai4x2mQ_CZQRS7mRJKJ2cs/s1600/Inspecting+the+plate_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODI5IuEPUopBLEOHEzmIkWRgO5EwJ7_dj2h4EqUOzgIBhaaDG7yuhRX8wLjdp08RqPAZ2BwZWJ2Fb9iV4UvAIVl-Pq3qJGUutzc9weLxqZ8eWiYuLizIpWai4x2mQ_CZQRS7mRJKJ2cs/s320/Inspecting+the+plate_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Working to discover if gravity works on plates full of cake, too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5GFfJNYGt9CCk5Wp5FfBYo3snQ866jx69Z-60FKzFLxr2tlMysTAfM14dcJNQdto-OBRDIKWq-4HKPvu9rbbpYYl_aJtSbtWq9mve_i0dPlRfA4MicJGF_0KRrmuqFYEPrXnzJ_TCmA/s1600/Anika+cake+mouth_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih5GFfJNYGt9CCk5Wp5FfBYo3snQ866jx69Z-60FKzFLxr2tlMysTAfM14dcJNQdto-OBRDIKWq-4HKPvu9rbbpYYl_aJtSbtWq9mve_i0dPlRfA4MicJGF_0KRrmuqFYEPrXnzJ_TCmA/s320/Anika+cake+mouth_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Even more so...she dug the bug :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Then, onto the presents (note, only some of the loot this kiddo raked in is represented!)</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5T2Ce2JoyqqYchOvV6eb7QefsZm-0LMvEAsEsnwMu3SlS9RTtDGz4tHwgDbdw9x-HJBKtG4mrTlnvd95IMzbHHLBoGJlpdwWbsAnLlPbmm2AMylzK0n1RT6oeBjzfmchgwGSLAWDOAz8/s1600/Opening+the+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5T2Ce2JoyqqYchOvV6eb7QefsZm-0LMvEAsEsnwMu3SlS9RTtDGz4tHwgDbdw9x-HJBKtG4mrTlnvd95IMzbHHLBoGJlpdwWbsAnLlPbmm2AMylzK0n1RT6oeBjzfmchgwGSLAWDOAz8/s320/Opening+the+bag.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digging into the bag - I think this bag has made the family rounds :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmyZDpGj8u2E32lMZ5cOb9MEBFGt1lQzJIF2nsL5KlFH2blN12l6b3-u6RFgmSdnAx6_EJgEV1UQWGW1K_ilHvpdcQAK5ISiNU66a46t6Tb7suXKmAErTsrjOKB5yO3cOaag353fIUaw/s1600/Checking+out+the+card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzmyZDpGj8u2E32lMZ5cOb9MEBFGt1lQzJIF2nsL5KlFH2blN12l6b3-u6RFgmSdnAx6_EJgEV1UQWGW1K_ilHvpdcQAK5ISiNU66a46t6Tb7suXKmAErTsrjOKB5yO3cOaag353fIUaw/s320/Checking+out+the+card.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holding onto squeaky shoes while rocking to Hoops & Yoyo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT_U7IAAdrLcTMyOMJunuJ5spOwNpKN4d1-e6VOcLrMvUjcZVi5dXQ0YQgTOP5HSems4ZE7_k_fyTboIp_f8NTNzd3jfxiR6brUbhHUx2Auxnow_xN_-G4U1foXOlnGj8Mb7H-d_1HxU/s1600/clothes+hound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT_U7IAAdrLcTMyOMJunuJ5spOwNpKN4d1-e6VOcLrMvUjcZVi5dXQ0YQgTOP5HSems4ZE7_k_fyTboIp_f8NTNzd3jfxiR6brUbhHUx2Auxnow_xN_-G4U1foXOlnGj8Mb7H-d_1HxU/s320/clothes+hound.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clothes Hound!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TvLHRJJui16brku9msxiPbhMGJqP3ft8ScFm0QIfaVrnshn0hNpVp1RKwzMzqRVd_LynEPvWZtwjrvjttCYOQAq1y1aLZV3yzU6p5wwNhPTpfzctT2jf0nQUg84-KOSeIKo0elwiyXI/s1600/Teacup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TvLHRJJui16brku9msxiPbhMGJqP3ft8ScFm0QIfaVrnshn0hNpVp1RKwzMzqRVd_LynEPvWZtwjrvjttCYOQAq1y1aLZV3yzU6p5wwNhPTpfzctT2jf0nQUg84-KOSeIKo0elwiyXI/s320/Teacup.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little lady likes the teacup!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKjVXjL8Qh0I1eXntao1eRJKxS4iRYaudFLYYw3eTzjMTS5NDXiqKrJHfoSO5bQHNUz5C5U-1VRg7yubZrGldSS3I49d80u1ZoXx3l_aLLXFZoZfioUZ9440mHBNEmzFmtEqoPU0sArE/s1600/unplugged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKKjVXjL8Qh0I1eXntao1eRJKxS4iRYaudFLYYw3eTzjMTS5NDXiqKrJHfoSO5bQHNUz5C5U-1VRg7yubZrGldSS3I49d80u1ZoXx3l_aLLXFZoZfioUZ9440mHBNEmzFmtEqoPU0sArE/s320/unplugged.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup - perfect for an off-grid family :-)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Then the real day came....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74UgQQflHuJ7YwCXaMqSPUD1mLmOIwfgbJuHelZQKjz-o2cOhHedN9vu1433KsTIve8uNc_OVw63Jon1ZPrI9HxhfGWzjm_4oQfsMUg944HrceF2hvHXvOGeZUkvYIFEpt3uSL4ZX-A4/s1600/birthday+girl_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh74UgQQflHuJ7YwCXaMqSPUD1mLmOIwfgbJuHelZQKjz-o2cOhHedN9vu1433KsTIve8uNc_OVw63Jon1ZPrI9HxhfGWzjm_4oQfsMUg944HrceF2hvHXvOGeZUkvYIFEpt3uSL4ZX-A4/s320/birthday+girl_edited-1.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love getting this kiddo up in the morning - how many people would tolerate a hat being slammed on their heads within 5 minutes of their breakfast entering the room? And SMILE about it?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Shortly after breakfast, I escorted Anika and her Nanna to <a href="http://mountainviewwinery.com/">Mountain View Winery in Olathe</a> - Anika loved the dogs and cats and Nanna picked out the wine to compliment our dinner of lasagna and dessert of chocolate creme brulee!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYL0XNm7ko8TaUyWCpNWngR9tvv3egzVLEHqAci8CsGkQs67fcNY-JZ5gmvrxADU5HF2xdRU-i3psvK8r0wWzMJNCb5Kla_qkXc6MyRv14tLJV4p1nU_pE0UePzbEvcMYGsAWfLqp2AM/s1600/100_4225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYL0XNm7ko8TaUyWCpNWngR9tvv3egzVLEHqAci8CsGkQs67fcNY-JZ5gmvrxADU5HF2xdRU-i3psvK8r0wWzMJNCb5Kla_qkXc6MyRv14tLJV4p1nU_pE0UePzbEvcMYGsAWfLqp2AM/s320/100_4225.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy chucked some wood during naptime - this is for you, Billy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mHNTCrVcLWcrk00uvE-ud8HlopK1_c5WWgVLjKAorVvTelbgB7HLNtVJk6ZK5WkJ9NGW_cZfPRS7PVkO_fA7DAa4D9JDHPR78HVqwpAXeqwk4TfgIYd7TbPm4ZZ6MupumuXnKqIUNrE/s1600/puppet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mHNTCrVcLWcrk00uvE-ud8HlopK1_c5WWgVLjKAorVvTelbgB7HLNtVJk6ZK5WkJ9NGW_cZfPRS7PVkO_fA7DAa4D9JDHPR78HVqwpAXeqwk4TfgIYd7TbPm4ZZ6MupumuXnKqIUNrE/s320/puppet.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy blowing Anika's mind with a talking monkey.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uexlXW4d3Rztgrw0WymJEWdTv3GPIJHEIEPKqqBx0VmcURM_UU2sEVqgDywvhQDsa-PpFa8x9UczFksq_zJlo-rj4VupmspNxJtWLy9EQNYrEh2A2PtGNgW_kO64ylOplN8zPMKXlVU/s1600/blurry+baby+and+daddy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uexlXW4d3Rztgrw0WymJEWdTv3GPIJHEIEPKqqBx0VmcURM_UU2sEVqgDywvhQDsa-PpFa8x9UczFksq_zJlo-rj4VupmspNxJtWLy9EQNYrEh2A2PtGNgW_kO64ylOplN8zPMKXlVU/s320/blurry+baby+and+daddy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After the puzzle was conquered, then it was onto wrestling for the card!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, that was essentially Anika's 1st birthday celebration - its amazing to see how far she's come and how Ben, Anika, me, Peli, and Bismarck have developed into our little family.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Well, that's the story of the FIRST. And now, if you've gotten this far along in this most excellent post, you get rewarded with our news.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">This morning, before the rain came and winter started taunting us with 38 degree F weather, Anika and I dropped Mom/Nanna off at the airport (off to run on the tarmac again!). We met Ben for breakfast and ran a few errands. Among those errands was a stop at the doctor for me. 5 minutes later, I came back into the waiting room, where Ben had been chatting with one of our friends that happened to have an appoitment at said doctor (there are only 3 of these types of doctors in town, so chances are pretty good of running into friends). Well...that's when I told him to expect a SECOND. Anika will have a little brother or sister in late June/early July 2011!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Onto my resolution to keep the blog updated yet again - "updated" in a rather creative manner - perhaps some photos from our summer adventures will be sprinkled in with what is currently going on at the Homestid. Perhaps...not :-) </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-6541360701405666712010-05-17T22:58:00.000-06:002010-05-17T22:58:50.990-06:006 Month Stats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Eek! Where did the time go? I realized today that Anika will be 7 months old on Thursday...and then I remembered that I haven't done her 6 month post yet. I guess this little one has been keeping me busy! She's been on solids for a while now and is working on drinking water out of her sippy cup. It has a bite-valve and I actually think she likes chomping down on it when her teeth are acting up (or lack thereof...no actual teeth yet, but she certainly has symptoms of them coming in).</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So, without further ado: Anika turned 6 months old on April 20th, 2010 and had her check up on May 3rd...and for those who have been waiting with baited breath...heeeeeerrrre's Anika('s 6 month info)!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Weight: 15 lbs. 5 oz.</div>Height: 24.5 inches<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ25qYg0k2i3dQNGGiC47UN50BcMoatNHR2zFC7REW6VIO3h8S5V0rKNgqc1dCCGhQFYi61Wsmu0c9HgHYKH-09mXqyxC7CRxoImUm-3xvMHCapBY5ZXeH7zK3VLC-jQcIMm35EGRBZ4g/s1600/6+Month+Quilt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ25qYg0k2i3dQNGGiC47UN50BcMoatNHR2zFC7REW6VIO3h8S5V0rKNgqc1dCCGhQFYi61Wsmu0c9HgHYKH-09mXqyxC7CRxoImUm-3xvMHCapBY5ZXeH7zK3VLC-jQcIMm35EGRBZ4g/s320/6+Month+Quilt.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>"Official" 6 month quilt photo</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs96xR_hYgW57TleufzE8soDevCTvBkd1_q01Bf-GrniIjCigQ4GxFzqpe-8lZ5yOzBiCNZVbXta_gJvi6JfWMw7tlDC0nO_iQYHKcHmB2UUiVajQN7ie8J0l1SjheleAdLQxH_3MU8Yk/s1600/6+month+quilt+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs96xR_hYgW57TleufzE8soDevCTvBkd1_q01Bf-GrniIjCigQ4GxFzqpe-8lZ5yOzBiCNZVbXta_gJvi6JfWMw7tlDC0nO_iQYHKcHmB2UUiVajQN7ie8J0l1SjheleAdLQxH_3MU8Yk/s320/6+month+quilt+2.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>I know she looks thrilled...she's actually just resting after going nuts trying to catch the jackalopes attached to her feet...maybe she'll be able to launch her *surprise attack* next!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtixvAOkQvtbhTHPjwI9_RGtzV85hBtPu3uozzkLeu_C1n-Sn9X3xyx7VQKYUYQRLOFHGzNUEudLKyajyPr3580lJTaP7EVhOYRK6DcKofC4uAeiTxz4ndqHsUSPcauhP2RxVmuU4JjA/s1600/6+month+hike+stroller.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFtixvAOkQvtbhTHPjwI9_RGtzV85hBtPu3uozzkLeu_C1n-Sn9X3xyx7VQKYUYQRLOFHGzNUEudLKyajyPr3580lJTaP7EVhOYRK6DcKofC4uAeiTxz4ndqHsUSPcauhP2RxVmuU4JjA/s320/6+month+hike+stroller.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>We went out for a walk to see if Peli and Biz could catch those dang jackalopes!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here are some shots of Anika playing and doing her latest "tricks":</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6U29-Snd097o4gVPzPB4FNhm8whNjZxrV_Ye1VKSinA_Hw0hvZsdHOU0VUc8ti-cKprVXT-522mPBVd0xHAD60ftJWEWSiLY9cEouZDuhkhrvp3MynBG7bTELn64NtDeUJdwhXHwyZA/s1600/looking+up+to+the+frog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><em><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic6U29-Snd097o4gVPzPB4FNhm8whNjZxrV_Ye1VKSinA_Hw0hvZsdHOU0VUc8ti-cKprVXT-522mPBVd0xHAD60ftJWEWSiLY9cEouZDuhkhrvp3MynBG7bTELn64NtDeUJdwhXHwyZA/s320/looking+up+to+the+frog.JPG" wt="true" /></em></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Don't you just love the determination on Miss A's face? </em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em> She's gonna get that floating blue frog one of these days!!!</em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnENwVmJ0nAaHSF5t8Tsat2hvHUWXMXkqSMY2MBs6BYPyw5eQnPiBaBzrSWYvqM5wjTAJiaYsel2UvZKMd2BDTnCAHaM2OGX5-rLcR3udRwptrdyhMdO1qJqC5hDu3Gmv9dlY0nz_1SQ/s1600/chomping+on+the+sun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOnENwVmJ0nAaHSF5t8Tsat2hvHUWXMXkqSMY2MBs6BYPyw5eQnPiBaBzrSWYvqM5wjTAJiaYsel2UvZKMd2BDTnCAHaM2OGX5-rLcR3udRwptrdyhMdO1qJqC5hDu3Gmv9dlY0nz_1SQ/s320/chomping+on+the+sun.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>She doesn't have to hitch her wagon to a star...Anika just eats the sun!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b2QFlSyegZvBUVOlMvm3eZR79zuAFgl26ki-CpIRNq2oS_nQCVcKkyvVRi8Nt0aRt7SBKJDwS15HbbVyMxvqbkU8vtjfPilO9md2VnkQbaBFs1yqlmx7RVhIeJx_eMdXPB2xwJulSZk/s1600/playing+with+blocks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5b2QFlSyegZvBUVOlMvm3eZR79zuAFgl26ki-CpIRNq2oS_nQCVcKkyvVRi8Nt0aRt7SBKJDwS15HbbVyMxvqbkU8vtjfPilO9md2VnkQbaBFs1yqlmx7RVhIeJx_eMdXPB2xwJulSZk/s320/playing+with+blocks.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Playing with blocks in the Bumbo.</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZR245RypEWE7DU3LFY43V9HnSmGlRFpAPnsD674unGywcJ3bl_m3Z6RJknwaErAalmS_jeQR3ujIzD6rDeRpESUmWO-jD40zua2c2zRQ1J78sh3zw2qq-BKFBqkuMi1l0vTBMrVTKbw/s1600/100_3458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZR245RypEWE7DU3LFY43V9HnSmGlRFpAPnsD674unGywcJ3bl_m3Z6RJknwaErAalmS_jeQR3ujIzD6rDeRpESUmWO-jD40zua2c2zRQ1J78sh3zw2qq-BKFBqkuMi1l0vTBMrVTKbw/s320/100_3458.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Even sitting up!!! </em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Whoops...looks like it's really a game of "where's the baby?"</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>...otherwise known as baby tipping over while mommy tried to capture the special moment for posterity...</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjV4Czkb7Xr6s9yzgvp5ZD48qzD1qZfNzdidTvVWmJE-LfLI-N0xvQeeG6MG1IHwg5u5okq2BCyE1Fa8Y9EihRWFQ5tM-FyXG9Ya9sq4QhIA1624j6mOicY32PZJ1alNjLWsjAbkbGvY/s1600/6+month+playtime.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPjV4Czkb7Xr6s9yzgvp5ZD48qzD1qZfNzdidTvVWmJE-LfLI-N0xvQeeG6MG1IHwg5u5okq2BCyE1Fa8Y9EihRWFQ5tM-FyXG9Ya9sq4QhIA1624j6mOicY32PZJ1alNjLWsjAbkbGvY/s320/6+month+playtime.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Back to using the boppy pillow for the time being :-)</em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Now...to bed for me!!!</div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-61381245217008821172010-05-04T10:21:00.013-06:002010-05-05T22:40:28.864-06:00Food Glorious Food!<div align="left"><br />While Briana and Genevieve were visiting, Ben and I decided to "spice things up" and introduce Miss A. to the wonderful world of solid(ish) food. On March 29, 2010, Anika had her first taste of rice cereal. She has since graduated to oatmeal, bananas, peas, sweet potatoes, and today, applesauce! She takes great pleasure in racing the spoon to her mouth and gooshing her food between her fingers as well as giving herself facials everyday (oatmeal and rice are good for the skin, you know!).<br /></div><br /><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467997866320952194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lh9lRPp1S-t7aI4lTRzkHf2T-ObKeu7f1BrnebK87SqiT__0JT8_nWJ26NF9jgOVl28byJ2DJoIUs5oZ1_B-lQ758PSJ882Nvap7krfMJEuPGD7KfOj1Zca3falqy8uPSldOgTBJU9U/s320/First+cereal+reaction+3.JPG" /><em>First reactions to rice cereal...interesting...</em></p><br /><p align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467997868604861570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpooKW1OiPcHznSApjKr3Mv2qRONb17fop3hKcZ9waaBr1rShkfz2c2s_tVJ5B3MeP6ML2T3C6mp7a7h5bKm9ClgIO88XgKQxsnikHnVnRElIBfun_sJIbJ8hsVd0QuyEIxzVqS5UzAMk/s320/Playing+with+the+spoon.JPG" /><br />and then she just took her spoon!</em></p><br /><p align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467997882017980066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGBuvejrsjEAaeFN6Awz5peofEjo4xFzcX5yGW51uRewxqsNLJHgx350njWzAITRZ-qQN7yc3A6rMLJFIC_sUlK7BT6-kYonpaE7rqdpWQd_fMVbf5TZCSZZenDq9KlUIkfZg9rgmyktQ/s320/Tada!.JPG" /></em><br /><em>Flapping her wings in anticipation!</em></p><br /><p align="center">We kept up this new "eating thing" back in Littleton with the Wimsatts...<br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468002515085611282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8Mggi1jlMsPeXagBcBWlnJgtoqwCshkIUPtfdbp58ZrC0fvGS3YniZB4FBPRliv-1JhPjSNru-BfzPxJGtl9eNL_-Zl7GjGxxeeJYOBN1o87oGFfVmd0H8atAxqoq8AYURMr5cVGO9Q/s320/Running+from+the+spoon.JPG" /><br /><div align="center"><em>Running from the spoon - just too much going on!</em><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468000739630779490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGYERhzLqxJxf5yIcc_96rTo0qz2A40RlmWbUS9x5X7GvEwRq2nJHebRyH5rbrcnw86zEugbTnGUIU6QCc05lfEYnMQ2PlAz9S1bjbMJ1XlO9zlVfTFAYuiM8ZeOtMiNbYxlPsdoyD7Y/s320/Uncle+Billy+feeding+Anika.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><p align="center"><em>Uncle Billy feeding Anika.</em></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p align="center">I just can't seem to stop taking pictures of this kiddo! Here we are back at home:<br /></p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468000745461721282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt8ZQbMJ_KxQfs1-yru39Pplj5-O_RKPU30vclXtqxWfFc1p2gBLzoqfdvAqstCYqLkaYpPaUrNHlITJA3MrO-dnsQ7FItzQUN-vxmVtyRdo44tMM0J28hQNwj3srT-iseP5MhGwXnfwk/s320/More+peas+please.JPG" /><br /><em>More peas, please!</em></p><br /><p>Anika's FAVORITE thing of all is her "Baby Kong"...it's actually a Sassy Teething Feeder (you can find it on <a href="http://www.babiesrus.com/">http://www.babiesrus.com/</a> if you're interested). We put a piece of banana in and check out what happens:</p><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz0ph05IMUKFsnjJip_zXYk2YN0Awg1zFZcbbhn5g9d_B0mORUBtEvf29Gvx_KoFqnyUIsQbeiVpEGDtssorQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><p></p><br /><p>Anika isn't the hugest fan of getting cleaned up, but she does like playing with the washcloth:</p><p></p><br /><p></p><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzE1-MCBMsUG3uXP9uFDmyXeuZZKU1S_cdpmg5S-Bx7szCwv9jIssIJDN-_Ye_W33ODc4teGzfBFrswUkvCig' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p>Its just a matter of time before she starts asking for lasagna and popcorn! She does need those teeth to come in for the popcorn, though!</p><p> </p>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-60836412625579866672010-04-27T22:30:00.004-06:002010-04-28T08:19:25.810-06:00Little Bunny Foo Foo...Got Stuck in the Mud.In an effort to keep you coming back to check on the blog, here is another randomly timed posting...Spring Break!<br />
<br />
We had another invasion of the Front Range Wimsatts this spring - the mini-Wimsatts, that is! Briana and Genevieve came out to spend some of their spring break with <strike>us and</strike> Anika. We met the Wimsatt Parental Units (WPUs) in Glenwood Springs, snagged the girls, and headed back to the Homestid. They had a great time in the back of the truck (in the cab, not the bed!) with Anika. Anika taught them games such as "Put My Pacifier Back In My Mouth For Me or You'll Be Sorry", "Keep Singing 6 Little Duckies Over and Over or You'll Be Sorry", and "Don't Laugh at Me While I'm Sleeping or You'll Be Sorry". Ben and I grilled the girls on their social, school, and extracurricular activities until they were sick of us...it was a great trip!<br />
<br />
As we went up the road, we told the girls that this was when the adventure for the week began. The road was M-U-D. Ben and I made up a song for Anika..."There's a bump in the mud at the bottom of the road"...and there was a reason for it. We had brought the truck to get the girls rather than my yuppie Subaru Outback because...well...it was stuck in the mud on the road. We knew about mud from last year, but since we had gotten so much spring snow this year, the top of our road turned into a pit of dispair. We tried to liken the various types of mud to different types of chocolate, but that eventually wore itself out. Perhaps it got worn out when Ben had to extricate the 2nd Census worker out of the mud. Or when the internet guy got stuck...the 2nd one, that Ben just told to pull over and he'd come get him in the Jeep. In any case, we were certainly happy to have the girls join us on our adventure. Extra hands are always welcome at the Homestid!<br />
<br />
We put Geneveive to work early the first day, when Ben snagged her to go down and help rescue my beloved leather interior, heated seats, sunroofed, yuppie-mobile.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrHOeNPsdV8hrvSF_Ay7iV5ME2xBIluK2i3Sf_wdftCD1qc53mMUvCYGi-FqxOi18FhtPpUgsU61D22_BzWC0u59mi5b0ARAqt4CVxqKBK_U5DgoI9ZdvOVu3k4PtGI0mtB1Bthj6rNU/s1600/Muddy+Buddies+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilrHOeNPsdV8hrvSF_Ay7iV5ME2xBIluK2i3Sf_wdftCD1qc53mMUvCYGi-FqxOi18FhtPpUgsU61D22_BzWC0u59mi5b0ARAqt4CVxqKBK_U5DgoI9ZdvOVu3k4PtGI0mtB1Bthj6rNU/s320/Muddy+Buddies+4.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>They certainly got their hands dirty!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1XetqZik2_hokWMi-hapZcJDTI6wke0HCIjqtkPTszk0i9oShFFj6iyrcvCuVnyMylUC4_wKku6OZz_x10fECjw0CORlwnQEakRV43o4jozlsZ_6mlHag4Xp3JbRUEFjXcgFLKcx1IA/s1600/Muddy%20Buddies%202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ1XetqZik2_hokWMi-hapZcJDTI6wke0HCIjqtkPTszk0i9oShFFj6iyrcvCuVnyMylUC4_wKku6OZz_x10fECjw0CORlwnQEakRV43o4jozlsZ_6mlHag4Xp3JbRUEFjXcgFLKcx1IA/s320/Muddy%20Buddies%202.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Peli is making sure that's really Ben and Genevieve...and our Jeep!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Briana stayed at the house with me and played with Anika and helped me out around the house.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs40obSc_y7WiUi-aSpAC7240KlAQkoGJOYLGvXfBu0wJkwamLE0AtfJCvUqo7iDp1LVbCmvBLr4ujwDQ3HshBqNgwZjjP7vmalGe-_FGY1v_aOZ7_XrhSGFaZXnSsW0dIePCWS8sLFG4/s1600/Chewing+on+Briana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs40obSc_y7WiUi-aSpAC7240KlAQkoGJOYLGvXfBu0wJkwamLE0AtfJCvUqo7iDp1LVbCmvBLr4ujwDQ3HshBqNgwZjjP7vmalGe-_FGY1v_aOZ7_XrhSGFaZXnSsW0dIePCWS8sLFG4/s320/Chewing+on+Briana.JPG" tt="true" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Anika was thankful to have a new hand to chew on :-)</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">All of the cousins had a good time playing together:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJwU6oUj3SfWysImCwoPAyhNdadXd76H9Su2vJTY8_1gBkLbTEE9d7vRrjEroaXEn6wqlslOgIl3zlwcXhgFXqA_zjOT8keI03ncZxO_XYFMKXK2UQgawi2y7R7X6daGreZ2ElVrJzts/s1600/Playing+with+gigi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwJwU6oUj3SfWysImCwoPAyhNdadXd76H9Su2vJTY8_1gBkLbTEE9d7vRrjEroaXEn6wqlslOgIl3zlwcXhgFXqA_zjOT8keI03ncZxO_XYFMKXK2UQgawi2y7R7X6daGreZ2ElVrJzts/s320/Playing+with+gigi.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcYfINquDWPMpTL7q0TipMEO6ZZdwyAmz9aBVC2lhtEuBknIygyr_sLNUWzq0pwvzc0MVvU9RMmY5Xu2DfqVy70npojqAhytetZ6y0_TYkJrlOK4xXxJnVZJ1TfUvEIOFDLif5fl_33g/s1600/Playing%20with%20Briana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcYfINquDWPMpTL7q0TipMEO6ZZdwyAmz9aBVC2lhtEuBknIygyr_sLNUWzq0pwvzc0MVvU9RMmY5Xu2DfqVy70npojqAhytetZ6y0_TYkJrlOK4xXxJnVZJ1TfUvEIOFDLif5fl_33g/s320/Playing%20with%20Briana.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Briana and Genevieve also got out for a snowshoe one afternoon:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSgBPDm9S1vb-hvO5aH_CZQB6_bO6zT6Vm21CNsZebjAFXzcYYEwJbFV7B3R87KRmuSkgSeVkqsQRC52T88-3DBjAzmBKbk3v10qcVrgHT94saPTPyXlEhyYdISiqHJDL0hgzxQ1cw6E/s1600/100_0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSgBPDm9S1vb-hvO5aH_CZQB6_bO6zT6Vm21CNsZebjAFXzcYYEwJbFV7B3R87KRmuSkgSeVkqsQRC52T88-3DBjAzmBKbk3v10qcVrgHT94saPTPyXlEhyYdISiqHJDL0hgzxQ1cw6E/s320/100_0453.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad05P3sPqdPDvcFX1M6irh-IQebsJ7ccr-R7K2E6IeBoUKtvw3DhT7IcXavlajZ1DvpTWaWS1EFdKJUL-5kwR__djQ6LzQ3CvjVAlFJEuIyVyJqv4oMIoEmbo1oqN875jDpaW-QekVZg/s1600/100_0455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhad05P3sPqdPDvcFX1M6irh-IQebsJ7ccr-R7K2E6IeBoUKtvw3DhT7IcXavlajZ1DvpTWaWS1EFdKJUL-5kwR__djQ6LzQ3CvjVAlFJEuIyVyJqv4oMIoEmbo1oqN875jDpaW-QekVZg/s320/100_0455.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We also made a trip to Telluride...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-e6M5VO6uIPhkKnS2i7HVXoZ798WTpSJ-29UHIU33r9U-4lFirUwYTjhMt499YGXxsE2mS64IpcQvOmEPyFN7qHwICipM7tHL4jI61kmIJQjP7VSIIPVNkCo15JUAnub_b7hFQsnFLcY/s1600/100_0456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-e6M5VO6uIPhkKnS2i7HVXoZ798WTpSJ-29UHIU33r9U-4lFirUwYTjhMt499YGXxsE2mS64IpcQvOmEPyFN7qHwICipM7tHL4jI61kmIJQjP7VSIIPVNkCo15JUAnub_b7hFQsnFLcY/s320/100_0456.JPG" tt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>Anika has some growing to do before she hits the slopes!</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Ben and Genevieve took the ski hill by storm, while Anika, Briana, and I shopped till we dropped. Then, we all piled into the Subaru and drove back to Littleton to drop the girls off and to spend some time on the Front Range. Out of everyone piled in the Subie, we decided that Anika had 1) the most room, and 2) the most comfortable seat (although I'm thinking that she'd be even happier with her own seat warmer!).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">As for Little Bunny Foo Foo...</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYg0tqJOGOzToSXVQ_1X4NIEy582KLCk-oaihktSxrmtX5uTl7qI4yaTy6Sekh-TCufuym10TnuAhooyGrfpraOCUyETk-yprDpa_lDKca_opL8uJbjX9ZHbz_s74JAqL6b8vIy5Rm0U/s1600/jumpin+bunny.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYg0tqJOGOzToSXVQ_1X4NIEy582KLCk-oaihktSxrmtX5uTl7qI4yaTy6Sekh-TCufuym10TnuAhooyGrfpraOCUyETk-yprDpa_lDKca_opL8uJbjX9ZHbz_s74JAqL6b8vIy5Rm0U/s640/jumpin+bunny.JPG" tt="true" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><em>She's gonna get us back someday...somehow for this. But, man, what a cutie...I think this picture is totally worth the grief we'll get when Miss A grows up!!!</em></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-14733480779420358152010-04-27T13:45:00.001-06:002010-04-27T13:49:25.619-06:00A Winter WalkIts odd how I've caught myself thinking in "blog posts". I see something and think, "This would be great to put on the blog...I hope my mom / Ben's mom / my east-coast friends / etc. like it, too!". This post is an example of such a thought process.<br />
<br />
Our neighbor, Mel, came over one afternoon in February with his brother-in-law, Ralph. Ralph and his wife own property across the street from us...if you can call it a street :-) Ralph hadn't been to his property for quite a while (they live in CA) and came out to visit Mel and his wife, Judy. Always up for an adventure, Mel chained up his Jeep and packed Ralph in and they came over the snow covered road (we don't plow the part they came on) and pulled up to our house with the intent to hike over to Ralph's cabin. Anika and I weren't up for the hike, but we went out for our own little walk after the guys went out. It was such a beautiful afternoon - a perfect Malinda day: snow covering the ground and a bright blue-bird sky :-)<br />
<br />
Here are some photos from our walk:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhGbxvkSXXEXEab0h-ZmhXY9Tk3fODUJlmXSYCmlDLbvqQMj5dcqhPnb8Fyj0_nhwTzJEePe56nM5qtex8ZX5tZsSEPXs_96NGUwQleKTkuLN_ucTurs2h30IU4aTS_B8EQmw7pAEXTw/s1600/barn+icicles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLhGbxvkSXXEXEab0h-ZmhXY9Tk3fODUJlmXSYCmlDLbvqQMj5dcqhPnb8Fyj0_nhwTzJEePe56nM5qtex8ZX5tZsSEPXs_96NGUwQleKTkuLN_ucTurs2h30IU4aTS_B8EQmw7pAEXTw/s320/barn+icicles.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Icicles hanging from the corner of the barn</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6Uf-CYUH7PwfOl3IfxGHP0kGzE5BarG5kGLy6m1rZXMSNbNvP6Z-h6KLTJVm9hC1FIGB2nsdnu3YVPATvKf6La4pL-RTAfsm6sqRQQHNzWrA6ARWiahvt0U7aFGNA1rAaCNEYg5NFG4/s1600/tracks+through+the+front+yard.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6Uf-CYUH7PwfOl3IfxGHP0kGzE5BarG5kGLy6m1rZXMSNbNvP6Z-h6KLTJVm9hC1FIGB2nsdnu3YVPATvKf6La4pL-RTAfsm6sqRQQHNzWrA6ARWiahvt0U7aFGNA1rAaCNEYg5NFG4/s320/tracks+through+the+front+yard.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Foreground: the path the guys broke. Background: pretty!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToc4yaV0PUri_GIz8yBBB1PzCTew-zn1FL2sN3Jq2mwtkW_fWrrJyXvzbGsRj8HMR8-0IpPkA4X6U8JEe72fJjQcZClhnE9xNn7GABp-f2NXktstRMuO3r9eCYBGBWoBTdrGEA3i-W1I/s1600/tracks+up+close.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToc4yaV0PUri_GIz8yBBB1PzCTew-zn1FL2sN3Jq2mwtkW_fWrrJyXvzbGsRj8HMR8-0IpPkA4X6U8JEe72fJjQcZClhnE9xNn7GABp-f2NXktstRMuO3r9eCYBGBWoBTdrGEA3i-W1I/s320/tracks+up+close.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Artistically framed photo of the path. </em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The curved path is the when the dogs started to break their own trail. </em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>You can see it didn't last long - they like to make the humans break trail for them!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZHP_LuKeJFsCJwebQk1m63H79aMQSsd-Cv-g3etfroecRqYAuBLGtXpAKSmCycQlOYoYJiDnAfRYvRCMgc9A9Pk1EKv-DipaG0uSjYaSZlnpy-6_IGazU7A-RpTCuFKDeEVDg2qQYCg/s1600/bizzy+escort.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZHP_LuKeJFsCJwebQk1m63H79aMQSsd-Cv-g3etfroecRqYAuBLGtXpAKSmCycQlOYoYJiDnAfRYvRCMgc9A9Pk1EKv-DipaG0uSjYaSZlnpy-6_IGazU7A-RpTCuFKDeEVDg2qQYCg/s320/bizzy+escort.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Bismarck decided to come back and escort Anika and I.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>He's next to the tree closest to the driveway (yup that's the driveway!)</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Wiwx7gS59-8Mk-2q6yZPRHUHQ8qnI3ELZ1JWNDS18WLea4msIWjnMi8G4FjZdNYSATx2zKKmelBVxVD-JgpXCg1N3wtf71VW4mcd076-7hnJZcfuEJ3H3TkmN5WBXYMGNTA7JC-4dcc/s1600/sunset+through+the+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Wiwx7gS59-8Mk-2q6yZPRHUHQ8qnI3ELZ1JWNDS18WLea4msIWjnMi8G4FjZdNYSATx2zKKmelBVxVD-JgpXCg1N3wtf71VW4mcd076-7hnJZcfuEJ3H3TkmN5WBXYMGNTA7JC-4dcc/s320/sunset+through+the+tree.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Sun setting through the tree.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir-Kq7MIAa7xAr3AcgNoFwOYHVqWfMbKHleGoCv_on1UY52c-rhF8nQm8Xhneh0csqNTnI4WOxKI0D1tDMBOVaTdS5udoZgRIRjSEw1Qx8J8NKhq68HQ9FsenKQ9_wPEqDaGxRyd9zz0/s1600/sunset+with+plane.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir-Kq7MIAa7xAr3AcgNoFwOYHVqWfMbKHleGoCv_on1UY52c-rhF8nQm8Xhneh0csqNTnI4WOxKI0D1tDMBOVaTdS5udoZgRIRjSEw1Qx8J8NKhq68HQ9FsenKQ9_wPEqDaGxRyd9zz0/s320/sunset+with+plane.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Airplane in the upper right corner -</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em> pretty good timing of the pilot to add some interest to my photo!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugK_dww9WHtunKYjBJGv8bracmuDGKLISNVcH6r7vRdZmIQQYK2QiLy_U7uVWyR6fWxw5lK1I00Hvb3In_VmOZTGIjlcOdQLolbhBtmcKVPL8tuMB8TXLMC2fQZ9tzh9JjddvRj7o_jc/s1600/snow+across+the+valley.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiugK_dww9WHtunKYjBJGv8bracmuDGKLISNVcH6r7vRdZmIQQYK2QiLy_U7uVWyR6fWxw5lK1I00Hvb3In_VmOZTGIjlcOdQLolbhBtmcKVPL8tuMB8TXLMC2fQZ9tzh9JjddvRj7o_jc/s320/snow+across+the+valley.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Snow covered San Juans in the distance.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDGwGjNQT1v6hnovVSKIzy5Uf0mVN86ChnK6Q8aAqkEimDp1o_zCiWIunEOV3Y7MWloMcbAgaKGx81mCYWlPAo6W6CyBlS4Owmt5DvPF-_osaoZO9RCJ8dWeohMtTR59UCYpaU5DC5M0/s1600/snowy+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDGwGjNQT1v6hnovVSKIzy5Uf0mVN86ChnK6Q8aAqkEimDp1o_zCiWIunEOV3Y7MWloMcbAgaKGx81mCYWlPAo6W6CyBlS4Owmt5DvPF-_osaoZO9RCJ8dWeohMtTR59UCYpaU5DC5M0/s320/snowy+tree.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Mr. Bluebird Sky on My Shoulder!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCImqtL1Nl-dw3AVZi-SqLJNeq1fn-_nBbJ3P1Jz0c5Pt7wvJ74Ncc3t7h03subunu4e5k1ZxBnKVnIU-3kl91FipB87qJ_OEjlpa4WM9XZn1aLFjnJFrPiNH6XXq_64zAG9ygFtAUrw/s1600/tree+icicle+long.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSCImqtL1Nl-dw3AVZi-SqLJNeq1fn-_nBbJ3P1Jz0c5Pt7wvJ74Ncc3t7h03subunu4e5k1ZxBnKVnIU-3kl91FipB87qJ_OEjlpa4WM9XZn1aLFjnJFrPiNH6XXq_64zAG9ygFtAUrw/s320/tree+icicle+long.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>No need to buy the icicles and fake snow to decorate the trees for us! </em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Just walk down the driveway!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__5hcCyZq_RzrGLqRdnkApNvDJFaebticIX323-jrp7W7ZdCRu3TnPxdYwbe3i1EvyJp8ywk2HBp7EaKcYjeYHGtc95AncR9p2S1jUi0ZYp84s3u-gg555W1i1Ns9AaE5WgJhzc77g20/s1600/tree+icicle+up+close.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg__5hcCyZq_RzrGLqRdnkApNvDJFaebticIX323-jrp7W7ZdCRu3TnPxdYwbe3i1EvyJp8ywk2HBp7EaKcYjeYHGtc95AncR9p2S1jUi0ZYp84s3u-gg555W1i1Ns9AaE5WgJhzc77g20/s320/tree+icicle+up+close.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Just enjoying.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlwtDVfewFjy3I3fb_7zwHV_wRK1A-4TNIxLLDU7hnMkQ1rEWVKoqLbJng62g_Rauytz6_OVZl-14_cL2JIdbq_gP3Nq-pCmZNcJn46PsI9rXHNKV0C6RRU480L7A8ij3S1O5JY4SIPs/s1600/Tree+icles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlwtDVfewFjy3I3fb_7zwHV_wRK1A-4TNIxLLDU7hnMkQ1rEWVKoqLbJng62g_Rauytz6_OVZl-14_cL2JIdbq_gP3Nq-pCmZNcJn46PsI9rXHNKV0C6RRU480L7A8ij3S1O5JY4SIPs/s320/Tree+icles.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>More icicles, snow, and bluebird sky.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYr_xqcgrIGq3g2kLm_QiGKSFr5kHPphwqY474MjsYBxi8_tC1Hp9rfkb-5L8-L5biZXR3aKoTpnm9hyphenhyphenhjdnahcYPJrDDdkKUA4vWD5dXrJKTxhPqN0Hv8qjj5WV73C-sC-c9zAvBfab4/s1600/3+hikers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYr_xqcgrIGq3g2kLm_QiGKSFr5kHPphwqY474MjsYBxi8_tC1Hp9rfkb-5L8-L5biZXR3aKoTpnm9hyphenhyphenhjdnahcYPJrDDdkKUA4vWD5dXrJKTxhPqN0Hv8qjj5WV73C-sC-c9zAvBfab4/s320/3+hikers.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>The three trailblazers.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I wasn't going to put this last photo in, but alas, I'll get over it - Anika is cute, even when she's wrapped up and passed out against me. Its one of the greatest feelings in the world to have such a precious baby snuggled up and snoring away...and know that she's Ben's and my wonderful daughter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb37fohN1fYOr3ViwDE7ZuZo9KPuNfJd0sMxBsdiLYarC9Pj9IryUoXgBuDG0qvmyBHgSGskSOFsBYTZahSdL1V8Sj8rhRWBjerWNk4l-hNUytO5TLEOPSqbj5xAwNTQEJ21mdt0rX_L0/s1600/Mel,+me,+Ben,+anika.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb37fohN1fYOr3ViwDE7ZuZo9KPuNfJd0sMxBsdiLYarC9Pj9IryUoXgBuDG0qvmyBHgSGskSOFsBYTZahSdL1V8Sj8rhRWBjerWNk4l-hNUytO5TLEOPSqbj5xAwNTQEJ21mdt0rX_L0/s320/Mel,+me,+Ben,+anika.JPG" tt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Ben, Me, Anika, and Mel</em></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-90397640780515301122010-04-19T21:28:00.002-06:002010-04-20T06:56:19.329-06:00Anika and the PupsWhen we first brought Anika home, Ben and I were a little concerned about Peli and Bismarck and their reaction to having a little tiny baby introduced into the pack. We've had the pups sleep in our room for years to help with the "pack bonding" concept as well as knowing that they weren't getting into anything and to put them outside should their bladders take a turn for the worse (we can be realists at times, you know!).<br />
<br />
I've mentioned the dogs reactions to Anika previously, <a href="http://linstidtails.blogspot.com/2009/12/taking-town-by-storm.html">in this post </a>. Recently, though, Anika has become much more aware of them and they have started to try to figure out how to interact with her. The other day, I was sitting on the floor holding Anika in Ben's office when Bismarck came in to check on us. Anika looked up and reached out her hands to touch Bizzy...and giggled. Biz's tail wagged him and it smacked Anika in the head...and she squealed with delight! Which made Mr. Biz even more excited - we ended up playing a sort of game with Biz going in and out of Ben's office and giving random kisses while his tail went bonkers. It really was pretty hillarious. <br />
<br />
Below are a couple of photos of Bismarck and Anika's blossoming relationship (beyond the ones from Christmas):<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLwBVNISxdjBHJ8Lk7Txgbr-pMVD0A6d_4Zkaoz6GscigUrK6_1-RsgqJ0qZ1K_GWwzkMu3AieHWeVwIL2-36JKXRIhCtz3hd2ZiaCeXbUgSmHA28r-HiWfi8ysbnUZhiNrwNa-i4C3g/s1600/buddy+bizzy+guarding+clothes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTLwBVNISxdjBHJ8Lk7Txgbr-pMVD0A6d_4Zkaoz6GscigUrK6_1-RsgqJ0qZ1K_GWwzkMu3AieHWeVwIL2-36JKXRIhCtz3hd2ZiaCeXbUgSmHA28r-HiWfi8ysbnUZhiNrwNa-i4C3g/s320/buddy+bizzy+guarding+clothes.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Bismarck found a comfy spot to nap in the hallway - sunshine coming through the laundry room window...and Anika's clothes waiting to be washed.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpo5r3ccHuL_5dwV1UY8mkBwhDJVFgBcWJpLHZeBu77YvUrrtRDsEgQiR5y0RbRanxhCVEgrVkXbq1SpDTNSlCh-gF7FTfiz3Ra5tj20zryYfFrgnDuHiJEYeRaTvd295OxEzJJn796c/s1600/buddy+bizzy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpo5r3ccHuL_5dwV1UY8mkBwhDJVFgBcWJpLHZeBu77YvUrrtRDsEgQiR5y0RbRanxhCVEgrVkXbq1SpDTNSlCh-gF7FTfiz3Ra5tj20zryYfFrgnDuHiJEYeRaTvd295OxEzJJn796c/s320/buddy+bizzy.JPG" wt="true" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhmNKQc6dw63SgW5wxrLtGSCe0AMyVInFRtHJXMibaRWbIpnsbl-EqhF3QwEHVvvMUZ8l5kEMRjLTildxYcfYdGONyjQqGPhdEcU1Tpw-8HSfZGAgNOeqfWYugF8pUhdpcTegOBz2v0Y/s1600/looking+at+her+buddy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhmNKQc6dw63SgW5wxrLtGSCe0AMyVInFRtHJXMibaRWbIpnsbl-EqhF3QwEHVvvMUZ8l5kEMRjLTildxYcfYdGONyjQqGPhdEcU1Tpw-8HSfZGAgNOeqfWYugF8pUhdpcTegOBz2v0Y/s320/looking+at+her+buddy.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div>I couldn't get a good shot of Biz and Anika together, but as you can see, I was in the middle of giving Anika a good sensory overload session by piling the toys on the poor kid when all of the sudden she turned her head and stopped everything and just stared at Bismarck chewing on his bone. It was amazing how intent she was! I wonder if it is a coincidence that she started teething shortly after this photo was taken...did Bismarck inspire her to chew on everything?<br />
<br />
I don't have any good photos of Peli with Anika, but she is always close by - most of the time flaked out on our bed...or the futon in Ben's office...or a snowbank outside :-) However, she does enjoy coming up to Anika and I when we are playing on the floor and dropping one of her toys on the quilt (dogs ARE NOT allowed on the quilt! Especially if there is a baby any where near!). Peli typically drops the toy in the middle of Anika's and my story time, and gets in a play stance and then collapses her rumpus on the ground with a great flourish and harumphs at us to play with her. Anika immediately becomes infatuated, so Peli and I play tug and toss until Peli decides she has asserted her position in the household enough to Anika and saunters away. <br />
<br />
Here is Peli on alert at one of her favorite spots during the winter:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNYiircK4ArhJ7HO9_9MumEV8g3MrXazLVA1JdmwPmdZy8aDUCPBqUg0vNGq1e86UsoPy4kpGF-RaY2NJP4kUAV9Lbk5adng1p3EiQSKXUb06rxw4uO55zRjXCH38WCtCw4HG3cwYZOI/s1600/100_3177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMNYiircK4ArhJ7HO9_9MumEV8g3MrXazLVA1JdmwPmdZy8aDUCPBqUg0vNGq1e86UsoPy4kpGF-RaY2NJP4kUAV9Lbk5adng1p3EiQSKXUb06rxw4uO55zRjXCH38WCtCw4HG3cwYZOI/s320/100_3177.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>She's on a snowbank right by the barn. That's the plow in front of her - you can see this was taken during our snow drought. Which didn't last too long!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAALiLQSDhEla6rigvtwq_TBsD63tpS7bglq4GKSFLIDJb08AmqpbelzCaPWkzLkMGfIEhBqhrDXFJ0jZ0l6O5o2EMSyDQUj6Sta5ZUuLEM5Ce85KfGz_UT7BYtHGuAXrfKhBXgxQ7uJQ/s1600/100_3175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAALiLQSDhEla6rigvtwq_TBsD63tpS7bglq4GKSFLIDJb08AmqpbelzCaPWkzLkMGfIEhBqhrDXFJ0jZ0l6O5o2EMSyDQUj6Sta5ZUuLEM5Ce85KfGz_UT7BYtHGuAXrfKhBXgxQ7uJQ/s320/100_3175.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Here's a closer shot of Queen Peli</em></div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-29303243617315873602010-04-19T20:47:00.001-06:002010-04-19T21:01:27.393-06:00Months 4 & 5...even though its Month 6Even though we were sans a home computer for a while, we still took pictures to chronical the monthly progress of Miss Anika. <br />
<br />
We brought her in for her 4-month well baby check-up and she was a champ. We're pretty well known at the Pediatrician's place for a couple of reasons - one is that we're using cloth diapers and it doesn't seem that many babies are sporting them here in Montrose. Another is that Anika has impressed the staff with her large lung capacity and strong will when nude and being picked up by strangers...can't say that I blame the kiddo! And there is always the fact that we have just a super cutie for a daughter that wears cute outfits and hats :-) She was a Jack-O-Lantern for her 1 week check-up, and has worn her strawberry hat the last few times. Anyway, enough text, on to some pictures!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcFyp-HhGMmk4YhVc32IceHfjTYXQMfVrgcw2A1GaCf4jpP5_t9NCHKSYee4iqqO7_L2GqX8rw3R4z2Kdz6QGXsG_5DWi1hnEFqZ9ZhEvhsZwhTQS3f-CC7ljyLOVTqgeaNmbF_SrP-o/s1600/4+month+quilt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcFyp-HhGMmk4YhVc32IceHfjTYXQMfVrgcw2A1GaCf4jpP5_t9NCHKSYee4iqqO7_L2GqX8rw3R4z2Kdz6QGXsG_5DWi1hnEFqZ9ZhEvhsZwhTQS3f-CC7ljyLOVTqgeaNmbF_SrP-o/s320/4+month+quilt.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Above is the monthly quilt photo.</em> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Her 4 month stats:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Height: 23.75 inches</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Weight: 13 lbs., 7 ounces</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We played around quite a bit and this day was the first time Anika held her ball on her own...and she licked it - pretty funny!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zTPxWBcdRW5HCSr9U5vDHe1Rfp_YzPBxZn5gTXZKp0lCdNidoQz0Iouv4bwFiuQxa0xk_N5eVhlXHsw-28PE0XXbXKItY44tQfLSEorbEvekbAEnM1h2GEfKFyfbYOpKP_Ayt3jIC9o/s1600/Playing+with+the+ball+4+months.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zTPxWBcdRW5HCSr9U5vDHe1Rfp_YzPBxZn5gTXZKp0lCdNidoQz0Iouv4bwFiuQxa0xk_N5eVhlXHsw-28PE0XXbXKItY44tQfLSEorbEvekbAEnM1h2GEfKFyfbYOpKP_Ayt3jIC9o/s320/Playing+with+the+ball+4+months.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRq_HqTzaWlyZ4QB8mNJMBG0EpUUYg5D2vkEeeJ07SmgihGWgZDosE6gQZmZiCKhX7gAhBvfwOnEPkZQjrkRDoqxFtBdSksJc_4EO4m3TLEb1qLqiCpu_7DfdHgfdKRjdKaL7tyNNZwI/s1600/Playing+with+the+ball+action.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRq_HqTzaWlyZ4QB8mNJMBG0EpUUYg5D2vkEeeJ07SmgihGWgZDosE6gQZmZiCKhX7gAhBvfwOnEPkZQjrkRDoqxFtBdSksJc_4EO4m3TLEb1qLqiCpu_7DfdHgfdKRjdKaL7tyNNZwI/s320/Playing+with+the+ball+action.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>We didn't get her official stats for 5 months, but we do have pictures!</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOxbi9DMmdCVb1vuwWQZ_qkn3EkO9YbunMpgjYVsY8dSvBhNWLes1LMlTgBLujoM3H24KgB5zNUn-gKmac63NHmZvKywnhYU9-3v45Be38eD-r1TeWET2RXovOQN9xvz6H6xIjEVZpGE/s1600/5+month+quilt.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMOxbi9DMmdCVb1vuwWQZ_qkn3EkO9YbunMpgjYVsY8dSvBhNWLes1LMlTgBLujoM3H24KgB5zNUn-gKmac63NHmZvKywnhYU9-3v45Be38eD-r1TeWET2RXovOQN9xvz6H6xIjEVZpGE/s320/5+month+quilt.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>5 month quilt photo</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0lT1yQU0L9S_4Rj0OllXi2QFJllVk7PoOwwYBz7NeJl6edorlMttKSA6hvDS-Wen8jJDpFLesElul-gG4ZtC7cR47Km7Mf4TEuEW8zjanK82nxIurLD1YrIT6TqP-DAaxy2q32BPfCk/s1600/5+month+cutie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0lT1yQU0L9S_4Rj0OllXi2QFJllVk7PoOwwYBz7NeJl6edorlMttKSA6hvDS-Wen8jJDpFLesElul-gG4ZtC7cR47Km7Mf4TEuEW8zjanK82nxIurLD1YrIT6TqP-DAaxy2q32BPfCk/s320/5+month+cutie.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>Happy girl getting up from her nap</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGaRwVRJeGk9b4uHB0hffOr6yXaARjZ0T1ZsWBVXJ_v5gXjYAtGVNikKqCdtqIRLjlFyJNT_eQRsLF3cbVG71r98qAqQ-LyxILIZGdXsPivk4ao66Epjr5cO0V7yex2btucQTcTj6t0c/s1600/5+month+fingers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGaRwVRJeGk9b4uHB0hffOr6yXaARjZ0T1ZsWBVXJ_v5gXjYAtGVNikKqCdtqIRLjlFyJNT_eQRsLF3cbVG71r98qAqQ-LyxILIZGdXsPivk4ao66Epjr5cO0V7yex2btucQTcTj6t0c/s320/5+month+fingers.JPG" wt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>And...fingers in the mouth!!!</em></div><br />
The 6 month post won't be until after May 3rd, which is when Anika's next appointment is...but I'll take her quilt photo sooner than that!Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-12171302454921905122010-04-15T21:27:00.008-06:002010-04-15T22:13:35.411-06:00Back in the Saddle Again!Well, the computer is back from its debilitating loss of the power button. It was a devasting blow, but with perserverence and alot of knitting, I got through it. Sorry its been so long since the last bloviation of how absolutely awesome Anika is and the latest Western Slope Linstid Adventures.<br /><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">We've gone through month's 4 and 5, next Tuesday is Anika's 1/2 birthday - 6 months old on April 20th! </div><div align="left"><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460576986045163442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_jUYv59o1C_mAxx4LQcj-3bX1JjLHA3oUIC7cdCTz5Kk_jwr4xmytajI24ngwY_7pjQt79_qFrk1wg6GlIdyhksUU4IjOAlWAyO0J140iLRHqFC3C7g0iY5ylRrgi5QMkkoLinaWxMw/s320/100_3080.JPG" /><br /><p align="center"><em>Anika can't believe how fast the time has gone, either!</em><br /></p>The snow is gone from around the Homestid (except for a few shaded areas the Peli and Biz run to and roll around in), the mud is pretty much dried up, and spring is starting to peek out its shy and bashful head around here. We opened some windows today and heard a cow elk this evening while we were relaxing on the deck. Not much later, we heard a mighty hunter driving their ATV and pausing at the end of our driveway to use the turkey caller. (Personally, I've had good results with "Heere, turkey turkey turkey!", but the real hunters laugh at me. Maybe its because I don't have a gun when I call the turkeys....or they know I'm a Hokie and they feel safe around their own...who knows?) Yup, its turkey season around these parts - not just spring!<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460578881887162706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdczxpK-_hBn2Zec9HoB2QqAAO3yBqCbewaY-ukrJ0lGIxcop5_qJ_BmLVjFUS7V-px50krJjoTKnnEHD3bEx1-Bw8-2Hx5FeBTDYShelzeUAkQNZxuR2muyuWXXt1R5M9Ih2ut49URBo/s320/winter+view.JPG" /> <p align="center"> <em>Yup - all that is now gone!!! </em></p>Here are some shots from last spring that we are looking forward to seeing again soon:<br /><p><br /></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460580372674947938" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD_LdVz-RtD0e3TzPGEOHeaet13-89XqLzdOb3B2XTUQXHvY1X-pjMmaj3wvzSA3aVPE95YHTdCFq1KfDq9GPYIpBS_eZhY7IBuGRFtYoP06ODdPGfD_YQPfTyOIv1dffRyXBrnl5Pmco/s320/100_0107.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460580349888951042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgByddTPFrL2MmoBYRlKoHrcvAdRc0iytkabtW7l2Ikf7MRIUTUacNTDkJUEYdHtOvDzLWaAjjeFt-E_k4ddAMn5UKFnNrUTMlheuOSFvBtdUqszJzIGKmvLRTs9iaBThNO0v29EL20cfs/s320/100_0103.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460580340715846482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiO6YHWHLFJ9fbhRgZDtXZHnRFBJOhyphenhyphenbsXYtNHdC2mmbhPlSYIoM5djgAJ3wvLeFX2ZwmmG6zuI6P2e7uOlUFqgGvzga0ODj3HWjnlZdEJo-2QVQPG8IyypQEokteQVhaKZjgYZsIfG9g/s320/100_0102.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460580362060598434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2e2uszvackDpe7XEqX66ONQTv7fZq-0BsZVT-2KBM_qWnCdMZeSyE1vq8aUY32dEvmAkzid7K-WDENwDyqh7gvZtKpJhyyopMuZpu-LatYg_hjV5DFIv3qpztvcx_YR513Q-ZWbM6YKc/s320/100_0105.JPG" /></p><p>We just wanted to do a quick post to get warmed back up to the blogging world...yeah, spring!!!<br /><br /></p>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-70516696185685102502010-02-03T15:01:00.004-07:002010-02-03T15:29:22.452-07:00Sequence of SleepingSo it seems as if the majority of my attention is taken up by how much Anika is sleeping - is she going to keep sleeping through the night? How many naps will she take? How long will the naps be? What time should I schedule my hair appointment so that she's up before I leave and can feed her? When should I take a walk with her so that it tires her out, but she doesn't necessarily pass out (because I'd rather her be in her crib for that...)? One of these days hopefully I'll settle down and just go with the flow rather than guessing what will happen next...I suppose that's a struggle for many - quit trying to figure things out and accept where you are and what is at hand.<br /><br />Enough deep thoughts...enjoy the following sequence of photos I took the other day when Miss A and I took a walk. Recently I've been having her face out of the Moby most of the time and I generally have no idea what she's looking at or if she's asleep. When we do go for walks, I take the camera with me and take pictures of her along the way so I can see if her eyes are open or not. Here ya go:<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6u2eIhNS9kxjC3Xj0uxFMPAWuNReKtkVXTviYLbKQeFaz_2_MkrQrMGOej8PxzISyLGzGjzrTMKmuMeKrsf_81EekWqXOQIobGYDZXYzQB5uJDOjLbKA_a1RsqbZCXQ-bOXl8ngiDugc/s1600-h/Walk+1.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6u2eIhNS9kxjC3Xj0uxFMPAWuNReKtkVXTviYLbKQeFaz_2_MkrQrMGOej8PxzISyLGzGjzrTMKmuMeKrsf_81EekWqXOQIobGYDZXYzQB5uJDOjLbKA_a1RsqbZCXQ-bOXl8ngiDugc/s320/Walk+1.JPG" width="320" height="240" kt="true" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_BEXWwaDzs_MMlo8-ViF2VYvQNBI_qA0lOp8veMGah2FvZM5SKg-EFuqcN80GJGO0fJ3hYF4A8tFgYHBGivuWeSg4o6_UB0g1kq8i4ZDOhXOvZqWoT_2K6cxcNM5UDrh1MdNTwNQNc4/s1600-h/Walk+2.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_BEXWwaDzs_MMlo8-ViF2VYvQNBI_qA0lOp8veMGah2FvZM5SKg-EFuqcN80GJGO0fJ3hYF4A8tFgYHBGivuWeSg4o6_UB0g1kq8i4ZDOhXOvZqWoT_2K6cxcNM5UDrh1MdNTwNQNc4/s320/Walk+2.JPG" width="320" height="240" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPQthkbwCIX50E2K7z6Q5bV3GpZC5zupankjByixm-ibNQrmQBN7HCz19rKgExUO1ts1OlWG_34bndfYxFk_l9QWqtF02QdajqCTVjhouFL16I6a5LcnLdQIjygrVCfa6SMHDBqkVMnc/s1600-h/Walk+3.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvPQthkbwCIX50E2K7z6Q5bV3GpZC5zupankjByixm-ibNQrmQBN7HCz19rKgExUO1ts1OlWG_34bndfYxFk_l9QWqtF02QdajqCTVjhouFL16I6a5LcnLdQIjygrVCfa6SMHDBqkVMnc/s320/Walk+3.JPG" width="240" height="320" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5zuaw-o2Cm8Yk6pAEgJyJFGnDSbyzozAervRS3jGuuzCfB2-L0AoWn_hi_cwNk_seVShJXyERYAOf_90evSQ4YEwGTMX3QHwzqSgvWSXpmG5wdgYxtXHhvO0wqjX5CxNa_B6aETQdJA/s1600-h/Walk+4.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5zuaw-o2Cm8Yk6pAEgJyJFGnDSbyzozAervRS3jGuuzCfB2-L0AoWn_hi_cwNk_seVShJXyERYAOf_90evSQ4YEwGTMX3QHwzqSgvWSXpmG5wdgYxtXHhvO0wqjX5CxNa_B6aETQdJA/s320/Walk+4.JPG" width="320" height="240" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">What a cutie! I took her out and turned her around after this last shot...and she snoozed all the way back home. </div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">It was a beautiful day and while we were out walking when we saw this guy:</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK9pc8z-Yk_95SltG8bSpQ0p9FqDFXKpg1I1GSk8iKzolvl7f9h6rZyGCRQZHCsC9P_gqEk6PwBOuZGo60lF_xfoKXbHcFOTOABcIMf0q9v8NZNjFYVPifNneqMf0CA9NQVeNSvlSRk/s1600-h/Ben+coming+down+the+trail.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK9pc8z-Yk_95SltG8bSpQ0p9FqDFXKpg1I1GSk8iKzolvl7f9h6rZyGCRQZHCsC9P_gqEk6PwBOuZGo60lF_xfoKXbHcFOTOABcIMf0q9v8NZNjFYVPifNneqMf0CA9NQVeNSvlSRk/s400/Ben+coming+down+the+trail.JPG" width="300" height="400" kt="true" /></a><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnpLQus9o8GYnkKcXxYsoTcKiXqaNSAH6_oFgDyoEC84G4Bzp2KYdlu2UFQ5JhnNy_nouUDEua2z3za-HeqT2bC4SGeQZkrb1yuAiMvMg-ncMJ4VON7vfvm-eFixmHhkkuDJy6i-aE5g/s1600-h/Ben+coming+down+the+trail+2.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnpLQus9o8GYnkKcXxYsoTcKiXqaNSAH6_oFgDyoEC84G4Bzp2KYdlu2UFQ5JhnNy_nouUDEua2z3za-HeqT2bC4SGeQZkrb1yuAiMvMg-ncMJ4VON7vfvm-eFixmHhkkuDJy6i-aE5g/s400/Ben+coming+down+the+trail+2.JPG" width="300" height="400" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">Yup - Ben skiing along on the beautifully groomed XC ski trail in the National Forest! (okay we knew he was out there!)</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">And how did the trail come to be, you ask? Well - here are some videos of that little process - I couldn't decide which one to post, so I did them both. The first one shows the view off of the front deck (although its a little overcast today) and the second one has a better view of the implements...<br /><br /></div><p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator" align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwlmnf_-Ay7miQxXuj1E2tuQbnyelf7PX0DV_85GirYXxWKKYG2h3uf-HH5S_Vl5zIAICfVPv1Clw8J_DkpIg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></p><p style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator" align="center">The above video is titled "Groom with a View" :-)</p><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwGBRe-vvIGWkFzBDCHkF700qhLJDQRbY3Q_nyTCAKM2GuSz4bY5tJQs7K9DhRiqwPJY5jsQXwQBWbS4v_kkQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">I don't have a cutsie title for this one...maybe Ben will come up with one and I'll edit this post later!</div><br /><br /><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-P_KRei9VYxBAnPD7m8zuqlP0cNZF29LlAIu_n7t8zUj6zBL1EeGAAj1TLhFAV7qNJxYa6b009bL0Lgq9a6hL4xmSlCTDXliPnTArjAKXI7mxLbO0bVUnJ_ihqpUHJmLh4VpMSb8u90/s1600-h/'bile+with+grooming+equip+1.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS-P_KRei9VYxBAnPD7m8zuqlP0cNZF29LlAIu_n7t8zUj6zBL1EeGAAj1TLhFAV7qNJxYa6b009bL0Lgq9a6hL4xmSlCTDXliPnTArjAKXI7mxLbO0bVUnJ_ihqpUHJmLh4VpMSb8u90/s320/'bile+with+grooming+equip+1.JPG" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">Ben is on the snowmobile with the grooming equipment hooked up to it coming down the road.</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><br /> </div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bD9U0v3vyDBmRx7CdlMVtp7E9o87KPrW88Q8mUTC8vzz8F5EAB4GSK1raW_66bg8bbmFURVuPQnwJyvmAwQAwrxgh-N_QBdMgkCquT9HXG5254v-MDj6YcN5M9qPM0vjcmT5i_631fE/s1600-h/'bile+with+Ben.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bD9U0v3vyDBmRx7CdlMVtp7E9o87KPrW88Q8mUTC8vzz8F5EAB4GSK1raW_66bg8bbmFURVuPQnwJyvmAwQAwrxgh-N_QBdMgkCquT9HXG5254v-MDj6YcN5M9qPM0vjcmT5i_631fE/s320/'bile+with+Ben.JPG" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">The satisfied artiste of XC trails!</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><a style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqFvnZGU3EDwE3YassJ2lhyphenhyphen9vnYOeGDlgCq7tVrB9peaxLhsKzexZJIkB0J7UYA_cm2EKlttcsGRhm6FPkHIq1VAamC4hM5hw8v8ZFEqplKMCFIPtkDww4GxuBs50grvdJvAOJgxCJ40/s1600-h/'bile+with+Mal+and+Anika.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiqFvnZGU3EDwE3YassJ2lhyphenhyphen9vnYOeGDlgCq7tVrB9peaxLhsKzexZJIkB0J7UYA_cm2EKlttcsGRhm6FPkHIq1VAamC4hM5hw8v8ZFEqplKMCFIPtkDww4GxuBs50grvdJvAOJgxCJ40/s320/'bile+with+Mal+and+Anika.JPG" kt="true" /></a></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">2-Headed Winter Vanna :-)</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: center; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"><br /></div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator">Now I am off to take my own nap - Anika is down and Ben is outside with the dogs enjoying the fruits of his labor!</div><div style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; CLEAR: both; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" class="separator"></div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-21882930889170665702010-02-02T09:34:00.000-07:002010-02-02T09:34:49.327-07:00Movement in the NightI promise that we put Anika to bed normally...really, we do! When Ben and I left her room last night she was lying in the middle of her crib, with her hat on, tightly swaddled with the "super swaddle" technique, the blanket tucked over her feet, lying lenghwise. <br />
<br />
At 6:30 this morning I awoke to the Anika Paging System (APS) and this is what I saw when I went into her room:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydNs2hnufgWCeIF2VjK8MCpvZHtsUaiD_bsjyYiLjW-83OptTRDffA1KaMAotjuiqODp4DFcbGaGNYij8O4JPUWYzV5q3ksz_xmR0pm6lMNlANCMqes8AsltmqTw0laUMg7_mbNhVKf0/s1600-h/100_3007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgydNs2hnufgWCeIF2VjK8MCpvZHtsUaiD_bsjyYiLjW-83OptTRDffA1KaMAotjuiqODp4DFcbGaGNYij8O4JPUWYzV5q3ksz_xmR0pm6lMNlANCMqes8AsltmqTw0laUMg7_mbNhVKf0/s320/100_3007.JPG" /></a></div><br />
She looked slightly confused and I was baffled...I guess its time for the sleep sack!<br />
<br />
By the way, I was starting to kind-of worry that the APS was broken since Miss A. has been sleeping from about 9:30 pm until sometime between 7am and 9am...I found out this morning that it wasn't broken. Most likely a growth spurt! Not that 9:30 pm to 6:30 am is anything to be upset about!Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-30252626787671213402010-01-29T08:49:00.000-07:002010-01-29T08:49:21.262-07:00Adventure Wear by Anika<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We received a Baby Bjorn from some friends Ben and Anika have been breaking it in. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyZ6xlUPaOJSmcIA8QDGkjCxgKcGowvRIwxKc3tymxybzmJhcU-I5emrY1Rtl_9o3kXiLWJWRtQ6_fjhOv-R6BrWLrFYxK4cYkCxzC2MrOQ6YXeshNzUP46G4sI7bkdVxBUMeMXALHsQ/s1600-h/Ben+and+Anika+Hiking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyZ6xlUPaOJSmcIA8QDGkjCxgKcGowvRIwxKc3tymxybzmJhcU-I5emrY1Rtl_9o3kXiLWJWRtQ6_fjhOv-R6BrWLrFYxK4cYkCxzC2MrOQ6YXeshNzUP46G4sI7bkdVxBUMeMXALHsQ/s320/Ben+and+Anika+Hiking.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anika falls asleep pretty quickly in her carriers - we know its not a reflection on the excitement level of our adventures!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjf7xE3rv35WxPQN6OMAZWPbr8127nj06lZ46Im3VRRVSb9TfPJRy8c38bEiG5L90rejzep8ameI_jcZ8k8WoBoCR7bfoisFGNRBLKkqsMnH9UHuqLLxF-kYp1g7Z1G4T6PpGjnWfe0c/s1600-h/Snowshoe+Snoozer+waking+up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjf7xE3rv35WxPQN6OMAZWPbr8127nj06lZ46Im3VRRVSb9TfPJRy8c38bEiG5L90rejzep8ameI_jcZ8k8WoBoCR7bfoisFGNRBLKkqsMnH9UHuqLLxF-kYp1g7Z1G4T6PpGjnWfe0c/s320/Snowshoe+Snoozer+waking+up.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I primarily use the moby wrap - its a hugely long piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself. Its pretty comfortable, albeit a bit cumbersome at times. I had to watch a ton of YouTube videos to bolster my confidence with tying it before I got the courage to put Anika in it. Now I wear it often enough that the dogs think that everytime I put it on we're going for a "stroll" (code word for "walk", which they know...not sure why they never figured out "stroll"). When its chilly out (or snowing), I wear my trusty Wells Fargo fleece (gift from my old co-workers in Denver) - its big enough to cover the both of us and long enough to catch Anika's feet. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here we are the other day:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuAsbHI6zbZD83-CDDnPcfeoIm3aIuslVsT9D4KNDD_HkPTIq3BGOKREh2Xm6ZaivXQ_oRKGjm3ioZgO7mF9smldQN3VrT6s_7EZ2UZPokhCgSUU9LCbteLr-jyii1q8PDcvPaN4TzPLU/s320/Getting+ready+for+our+Stroll.JPG" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here are a couple of other moby wrap shots - I was also wearing it in the Girl Time post: </div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweZOiCk9NfA2a6VulSR816ZkI8h40x4ksY0cFpsUrgL0WO4yu7MMHFCHwj8USw8oMIJXVRk06YXJqiCQNsR3GrijfsxM9CG7ci6jJq69aq6iydgwdnwyTiVhm506nsi7Em2h_RP_oEJU/s1600-h/First+attempt+at+the+Moby+with+Anika.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweZOiCk9NfA2a6VulSR816ZkI8h40x4ksY0cFpsUrgL0WO4yu7MMHFCHwj8USw8oMIJXVRk06YXJqiCQNsR3GrijfsxM9CG7ci6jJq69aq6iydgwdnwyTiVhm506nsi7Em2h_RP_oEJU/s200/First+attempt+at+the+Moby+with+Anika.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb1n9Z48EZPC3wF3YfQhi7_IEVQZCicc3k29kp-AzstjYa-B5o1eSNTFcnOeC98AvEe9UfTanpYcTyIov_vJ4JInEnqslbWyVCHuQ5UJvVJWw5xt1XdFfVmcQCruvJZ0NS1eFGZVvouQ/s1600-h/Moby+Bear+Head.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb1n9Z48EZPC3wF3YfQhi7_IEVQZCicc3k29kp-AzstjYa-B5o1eSNTFcnOeC98AvEe9UfTanpYcTyIov_vJ4JInEnqslbWyVCHuQ5UJvVJWw5xt1XdFfVmcQCruvJZ0NS1eFGZVvouQ/s200/Moby+Bear+Head.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And here's one of the many YouTube videos: <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CamfWi0cEU8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CamfWi0cEU8&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Anika also has a snowman bunting - I think its super cute! She fell asleep in it...I guess that's an approval!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqYSaPlwGkCG3AS5mPSOlyT_E3Z-4zuWbuY_IxZLF22yS4gaFvbVUGH0IjBurtDE0HZIRj7XnOs687w3CXf8cbCkR3bc2FhmPhJe6b_hM5hl1tp6JY1rTc8l2XiTalFn3_K10ehwOAtU/s1600-h/Snowbaby.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqYSaPlwGkCG3AS5mPSOlyT_E3Z-4zuWbuY_IxZLF22yS4gaFvbVUGH0IjBurtDE0HZIRj7XnOs687w3CXf8cbCkR3bc2FhmPhJe6b_hM5hl1tp6JY1rTc8l2XiTalFn3_K10ehwOAtU/s320/Snowbaby.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6tj2l30s6WruMacrk0mfWS3xUcNf6aPGe_21mUBzpQWs4g9nX2owdTBZsD3oq-vXWknzLmiA5VQxjY6AH_H4b4UiBiK5HwQDEwUo1NiE8cK2RRMeVswKE0XV-h8WwPDdzHYyWuw0c7o/s1600-h/Snowbaby+Eyes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6tj2l30s6WruMacrk0mfWS3xUcNf6aPGe_21mUBzpQWs4g9nX2owdTBZsD3oq-vXWknzLmiA5VQxjY6AH_H4b4UiBiK5HwQDEwUo1NiE8cK2RRMeVswKE0XV-h8WwPDdzHYyWuw0c7o/s320/Snowbaby+Eyes.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Sleepy baby eyes - so sweet!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2798842757334762751.post-1027492045211040572010-01-25T20:09:00.014-07:002010-01-25T20:56:07.491-07:00Skijor CamLong ago when Peli was just a young pup, Malinda and I were scanning the globe for ways to tire that dog out and take the edge off for the evenings. Well, one of our friends suggested the sport of skijoring - dog(s) pulling you on skis. Peli was a natural, that whole husky thing. Biz is a little more timid, but when pull comes to shove (hahaha), he goes just as hard and they run very well together. Peli, Biz and I even made brief appearances on ABC World News Tonight a few years ago as the Olympic Committee was considering skijoring for an exhibition sport in the Vancouver olympics coming up this year.<P ALIGN=center><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-57bbf8b1c5c6bb27 class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="57bbf8b1c5c6bb27"></OBJECT></P>Now, since we have a snowmobile and grooming equipment for cross country skiing trails, I am able to tire the dogs out without driving multiple hours in I70 traffic, in fact, all I have to do is go outside! Enjoy the following video entitled,"Dog Butts, They ARE All They're Cracked Up To Be."<P ALIGN=center><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-de894c4733d7a78f class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="de894c4733d7a78f"></OBJECT></P>And of course, can't do a blog post without a picture of Miss A.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgw3dOoh_GRkrjeceX6LqLAb6NxOaXZ15HMmQCXoM_BzPl5aOh0ozQZgoMqQa18lj6P9JWpSPmAJxOBYpSZyQ_0bQhcEYRceE1ysTOinw8hbilLKZYUICvlF2mWPKWXXGZdhMnxq5SOgs/s1600-h/Hip+Anika.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgw3dOoh_GRkrjeceX6LqLAb6NxOaXZ15HMmQCXoM_BzPl5aOh0ozQZgoMqQa18lj6P9JWpSPmAJxOBYpSZyQ_0bQhcEYRceE1ysTOinw8hbilLKZYUICvlF2mWPKWXXGZdhMnxq5SOgs/s320/Hip+Anika.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430888544575828066" /></a>Malhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10753335077403871346noreply@blogger.com0