Truckee on Easter Weekend

We were lucky to spend this Easter at an awesome cabin in Truckee this year. Tahoe is a favorite place of mine and Troys and we hadn't been there with the kids yet. We got in some great first time sledding runs. I started small when it was my watch with the kids and then Troy has to take it up a notch and build some Olympic style bob sled course.


Sledding happens to be Gavin and Colby's new favorite thing to do. Colby calls it, "Wedding".
He will learn with time there is a big difference.

Mazzy did her part on the trip mostly sleeping eating and doing her dirty jobs. She was good as gold and we have decided to keep her for sure.



The kids had a lot of fun making snow balls with the resident snow ball making tools.

Gavin would throw them like a baseball/bomb and hit the trees.

Colby just enjoyed dropping them on the cement and watching them splat and then asking mommy to help him make more.

We made a trip to Boomtown to check out the Cabellas. The boys loved the indoor shooting range and were pretty upset when the store closed and we had to leave around 9:00pm.



There is a cool dam in Tahoe city where the Truckee river begins. It is a gathering place for Brown Trout, Rainbow and Salmon. Troy and I first visited together when we were dating. I had no idea that flyfishing was to become one of his future priorities. He informed me on this trip that it is number 3 on his list of most important things in his life. The first two in case anyone was wondering are God and family. But fishing is number 3. It could be worse I guess:) Anyway the kids had a great time watching and buying fish food pellets for the fish at the dam. Gavin follows in his fathers footsteps and has talked about fishing at least once a day since he was 3.



Troy and I made the trek to the top of the hill behind the cabin seperately because the kids would not have made it this year. The view was incredible and just made us each grateful to be alive and have the experiences that we are having.

On Easter Morning we met Ladd and his family at the Chapel in Kings Beach for Sacrament. Warner was so cute, he told me after Sacrament meeting that he didn't have a girl in his family and would it be o.k. if he took Mazzy home. It kinda took me off guard at first he was so sincere. All I could say was, "No because I really like her too." We miss the Ladd and Jenny family!

For Any Mazzy Lovers!

I am a Mazzy Lover and I bet there are a few others out there. One of my new favorite things to do is dress Mazzy the way I think a Mazzy should dress. Right now she has no say in the matter and I am taking full advantage of it. Today Mazzy and I met Troy for lunch after dropping the boys off at preschool and he informed me that, "She looks like a fruit loop". Obviously not everyone appreciates my sense of baby style. Too bad! Until she has her own opinion on the matter I am very happy to express mine. For anyone who just might appreciate it here are a few fun Mazzys to love.

The Dying of the Eggs!

Since Gavin was 2 we have tried to dye Easter Eggs each Easter. This was one of our more successful years. Colby and Gavin both really love hard boiled eggs so the eggs rarely make it dyed for 24 hours. I think Colby pounded 6 or 7 eggs in one day and then asked for an egg salad sandwhich this morning. I am really going to have to watch his cholesterol!













Mazzy was an innocent bystander with Grandma at her beck and call. Haley Hall had her first go of dying the one egg that the boys 'so generously' left for her this year. It was right after a nap for her so she was still a little sleepy. She is super cute no matter what state she's in.

Irish Eyes A Smiling!

HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!

Monterey in March

Unfortunately Glenn and Merrily could not come down to Monterey this last week due to tax season. Fortunately they invited Troy and I to come up and invite friends and family.



Thursday my Aunt Ann and Grandma Gert flew in from Utah and stayed till Sunday. It was Mazzy and Ann's first meeting and they became instant friends.



Grandma Gert was amazing! She made it to the Aquarium, the beach, shopping in Carmel, and Bubba Gumps! Not bad for 93 years old.

On Sunday I invited a few friends and my sister Barbie to come down with their kids for as long as they could. We had a great time going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, hanging out at the beach, the parks, eating out, watching movies and enjoying beautiful sunny weather. It would have been a little more relaxing with a few babysitters but I'll file that one in the bank for next time.


It was so fun to spend time with Barbie. She and her family moved to Suisun, California which isn't very far away but I don't get to spend much one on one time with her.

Super Super Super Hot!

For those of you who have more than one child, you know that bringing a new baby home is tricky. It is a time of family adjustment, redefining roles and often a feeling of demotion among the 'ranks' or siblings. Troy and I were particularily worried about Colby and how he would adjust to having a baby as a permanent fixture around the house.

The hospital and first week did not look good. He would not look at Mazzy for the first week. When he finally asked to hold her we practically threw her at him and let him hold her for the three second intervals that he thought an adequate display of affection. Despite his continual assurances like, "Mommy, I really love your baby.", it was a trying couple of months of bedwetting, stuffing foreign objects into Mazzy's mouth to stop the crying, and tantrums.

All in all it was better than what I had expected. I was prepared for crib tipping (my own personal favorite activity when my sister was born),and physical acts of aggression (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we steer clear of those).

One thing that Colby has become quite attached to are his sippy cups of Hot Milk. This kid drinks about 5-7 sippy cups of milk a day. Each of these cups must be heated in the microwave for 25-55 seconds depending on his 'supers'. If he asks for a sippy cup of 'hot' milk that means 25-30 seconds. 'Super Hot' is 35-40 seconds. 'Super Super Hot' is about 40-45 seconds and we recently hit our max at 'Super Super Super Hot Milk which is 50-55 seconds long in the microwave. Of course we have to heat the milk in a glass glass so that he doesn't get unnecessary chemicals breaking down in his cheap plastic sippy cups. A lot of glasses are going into the dishwasher every day. It seems like a harmless trade off for losing his baby throne that he controlled for the first 37 months of his life. The chores are still relatively small to keep the troops in check.