Brayden the Jazz Dancer!

Last Saturday Brayden got to dance for the pre-Jazz game entertainment. When she first started going to her dance studio a year ago they were getting ready to dance at a Jazz game and she just missed being able to do it, so she's been waiting a whole year to finally get to do this! Unfortunately our whole family came down with the worst flu I think we have ever had the week of the game, so we were really nervous that Brayden wasn't going to get to dance. Luckily when Saturday came around Brayden was well enough, and even though the rest of us weren't 100%, we went just for her, and it was so worth it! She loved it and was so happy she got to finally dance at a Jazz game!

All of the dancers had to meet here in front of the studio where they do the "Jazz Live" pregame and post game shows. Mike was excited to see that!Brayden in her costume so excited to dance!Ashton was given this balloon sword when we first got there. It kept him and us happy for the first little while of being there, until he started trying to poke people with it!While we were waiting for Brayden to perform we got to sit really close and watch the Jazz players warm up, and we saw Thurl Bailey walking around talking to people and signing autographs. He walked right by us and smiled at us - Mike thought it was pretty neat!Brayden going out onto the court!They got Brayden on the jumbotron - she's on the far left.They danced to some songs from Grease - the older girls played the guy parts and the little girls played the girl parts. I got a lot of video, but somehow lost most of it when trying to transfer it to my computer - I'm so sad! This is all I have now. Hopefully I can get a copy from Brayden's teacher or something.

The girls got to get their pictures taken with some of the Jazz Dancers. Brayden says she wants to be a Jazz Dancer when she gets older!Watching the game!Thank goodness Grandpa was there! Ashton was good as long as he was with him!

All the way from Denver...

This weekend my cousins came here from Denver to visit us. We never got to see each other a lot growing up, so now we are finally taking it into our own hands to get together! We had a lot of fun! My cousins wanted to see the Great Salt Lake, which we had never been to, but we thought living here we had to at least be able to tell people we'd been there. We found a marina that was actually really pretty, and it didn't stink as bad as people say, at least not where we were at. Then later we took them downtown to walk around a little, and then we went to Fat Cats for dinner at The Pizza Factory and bowling. Sunday while Mike and I were at church everyone went to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival where they saw Ashton Kutcher, Patton Oswalt (from King of Queens), and Ron Jeremy (porn star - I wouldn't have known who he was if they hadn't told me, I promise!). They also saw a major PETA protest going on outside of some fur shops. When they got back we all had fun hanging out, playing games, and watching a movie. We are so glad they were able to make the trip out here! It was so much fun!

The Great Salt Lake!All of us! Me, Ashton, Brayden, Mike, Ryan, Cameron, Sam, Ally, and JakeThe marina!Mike and BraydenThe guys working there said this isn't even close to as pretty as it gets because it was really hazy when we were there. I thought it was beautiful anyway, but we'll for sure have to check it out when it's more clear!Mike and AshtonMike smoking the smoke stack!My beautiful cousin, Ally!Our little family!Ally and her boyfriend, Jake - such a cute couple!I thought the guys looked like a boy band video or album cover in their black jackets with their reflection in the water! Kinda funny!At Fat Cats, this is how Ashton was the whole time! Yeah, we're not taking him there again!My brother Cameron, and cousins Ryan and Sam.Ally and JakeHere is Mike helping Ashton bowl. The kids used a ball ramp, and we also had bumper pads up. The sad thing was, our team still did worse than the team who didn't cheat!

Making Snickerdoodles with Daddy!

When I was out shopping the other day Mike made snickerdoodles with the kids. He had Brayden rolling the dough into balls, and Ashton's job was to shake the balls in a pan to cover them with the cinnamon and sugar. He got this video of them doing it. You gotta love Ashton in his little apron! (Mike was taking pictures while videotaping, so that's what the "clicks" are in the video.)

The Winter Blues!!!

Every year it hits me. It would start when summer is over when it starts getting colder, but there is so much to look forward to between October and December with all of the holidays that I stay very occupied during that time. It's right after New Year's Day when it hits me, HARD! I go from having a ton to look forward to, to everything being over at once, and then reality sets in that we still have a long, cold winter ahead. I really don't know why it affects me so bad, but I anticipate and dread feeling this way every single winter. It causes me to lose motivation and sometimes I feel like I can't even do the simplist things. I know so many people who love having all of the different seasons and actually enjoy the snow, but I don't. I wanted to try to do some fun things out in the snow this year to make myself like it, but I just can't seem to bring myself to do it - I'm already always so cold even inside the house! I would be happy if there was only one season, summer! Last year when I was feeling this way I came up with some things that helped me that I just remembered about. I wanted to write them on here as a reminder to me to help me again this winter, and to maybe help others who get the winter blues like I do!

Eat Healthy
Eating right is so important to feeling good emotionally and physically. During the holidays it's so easy to get caught up with all of the treats that come with the season. I definitely don't deprive myself, but I try to find a balance. I love eating fruit in the winter time. Fruits like pineapples and mangos I love because they remind me of summer.

Exercise
I like to think of a long winter as a great time to get in shape for summer. I get motivated listening to music that reminds me of summer to push me even harder. Not only will it make me feel good that I'm doing something good for my body, but exercise creates endorphines that will help take the blues away!

Keep Busy
Having different projects I want to do, or planning fun things with family and friends gives me things to look forward to so I don't have time to feel down.

Keep Up Appearance
I always feel like if I don't feel like I look good, then I don't feel good. It makes me feel so much better, even if I stay in my pajamas all day, to at least have makeup on and my hair done, even if it's in a ponytail. I know everyone is different when it comes to that, but that helps me.

Spring/Summer Fashion
Fairly early on in the winter is when stores start to get their spring apparel. Even if it is too cold to wear most of it by itself, I have fun shopping early for some of my spring wardrobe, and if I want to wear it in the winter I wear it in layers. I think that just knowing you are wearing a spring outfit even if put with a sweater and boots can give you the feeling that warm weather is just around the corner!

Decorate
They say that when you decorate or make any changes to your home it can have such a positive impact on your mood and how you feel. I love bright colors, and having those in my home helps with how I feel. Also, recently my parents gave me all of their plants to babysit for them because they are in the process of moving, and just having those added to our decor has made such a huge difference. Our house feels warmer and has a little bit of a tropical feel!

A Clean House
It's so hard to stay motivated to keep things clean when the kids are constantly dragging toys from room to room or getting into things, but when I do have the house picked up and organized, I feel so much more relaxed.

If Possible, Plan a Getaway!
We are trying to plan a possible trip to go someplace warm in the next month or two. Not only will the planning keep me busy, but just knowing I can have a break from the cold will help a ton!

My parents are coming...to stay!!!

Because of the busy holidays the last couple of months, I haven't written anything about some exciting news we found out fairly recently. My parents, who have lived in the Seattle area for 27 years or so, are moving here to Utah! I'm so excited because it has been so long since I lived anywhere near them. It's been so hard having them so far away from us and only getting to see them a couple of times a year. My dad has worked for Boeing in Washington for about 22 years or so, and was just offered a job at the Boeing location in Salt Lake. They have been wanting to move here for so long and always thought the only way that would make it worth it was if there was some way my dad could keep his same job and move it here, and that's pretty much what happened, so it couldn't have worked out more perfectly! My Dad will be moving in with us in about 2 weeks and will live here for about a month or two while my mom works on getting their house sold in Washington. Then, they will work on finding a house somewhere fairly close to us, which we are so excited about!

New Year's Eve!

We had the Krainich and Dabo families over for New Year's Eve and had a blast! The kids were even able to stay up with us, which was fun to have them get to enjoy it too! The kids were all up until around 2 am! We hoped it would make it so ours would sleep in with us in the morning, but no such luck, they were up at their usual time bright and early! But we all just stayed in our room for the first half of the day on New Year's Day and watched TV together as a family - it was a nice relaxing way to start off the new year!Olivia cracked me up - her eyes crossed whenever she blew on her blower!Our cute boys! I can't believe they were all able to stay up so late! They're little party animals!
Fireworks!We wish everyone the best in this new year!!!

Fun week after Christmas!

Here are some of the fun things we did the week of Christmas with Mike's brother Nate and his family who was here visitng.

Snow!
Everyone had a blast playing in the huge amount of snow we had in our backyard! I should say everyone except for me, I'm not brave enough! I took these pictures from inside my warm, comfortable house! The Museum of Ancient Life!
We took everyone to the dinosaur museum. We thought their boys would love it, and they did!A Santa Claus dinosaur!My beautiful, preggo sis-in-law, Monica!Mike trying out what my new camera can do!Mike had fun playing with my new camera while I used my old one!Monica, Ethan, Blake, and Nate!