Catching Up...

Much time has passed since my last update so here's a rundown:

1.) Some friends and I took the kids to the zoo before we had to go back to school. Let me just say, that I love our Zoo Membership!! AND- I cannot wait until Summer Break! The Christmas break just wasn't long enough.

2.) I took (and passed with an A!) a Winter-mini term. I'm more than halfway done with my Master's degree. This excites me more than words can express.

3.) Caden has been playing incessantly with his Batman Geotrax set and Imaginext Batman cave. He and E are all about superheroes (and The Muppets) right now. (Ethan's kicks are Superman while Caden's are Batman- thanks be to ye olde Converse!)

4.) Both boys got their report cards last week; Brian and I could not be prouder of our boys. Caden is excelling in pre-k. He can count to 150 by rote memorization, count to 18 in Spanish, and gets along very well with his peers. Ethan, has all A's, and intrigues his teacher with his hunger for knowledge and science inquiry (her exact words to me).

5.) We celebrated Brian's 36th Birthday this weekend starting with a round of golf at Top Golf on Friday. If you've never been to Top Golf, you are missin out, yo! We had such a great time and will be going back frequently.

I'm grateful for the days, weeks, months, years that life just seems to "go with the flow" instead of being drama-filled. Thank you, God, for this life. Forgive me for not appreciating it enough.

Things That Are My New Year's Resolutions, Maybe Not This Year, But Someday

1. Learn Vietnamese so I can surprise the nail techs when I get a mani/pedi

2. Dance a solo in a recital to something Michael Jackson-y

3. Protest SOMETHING

4. Work on my golf swing and get so good at it people get scared to play against me

5. Sing in public- preferably Bette Davis Eyes

6. Become a regular at Pete's Dueling Pianos

7. Complete 35 random acts of kindness

8. Negotiate the price on our next house by myself- I already negotiated the price/deal on my current ride on my own (Brian was sitting next to me and let me handle all the details) and I felt empowered and I do believe I scared the salesman. I'm gonna use this power for good...and a little evil.

9. Vacation in another country for more than a week. (Planning this now for my post-graduation party)

10. Sew and sew a lot

11. Take a cake decorating class from a real-live professional. Not the Michael's/Wilton people either.

12. Take art classes with my boys

I have more. This seems like a bucket list, but it's not. It's not because I want to do these things soon before my boys get any older and too busy for me. And, I want to do these things while I'm still young enough to be coherent while completing them. Holla.

Those Pesky Stars!

This is his "I'm super excited to be here" face...Just kidding. It's his, "Can't wait til my nachos and cotton candy get here!!" face.

Ok, funny story behind Ethan's impression here. During the game, they always play a recorded PSA by the players to the crowd to watch for pucks and sticks that might fly into the crowd. Well, one of the Stars has quite a few missing teeth. He said, "Watch out or you'll end up looking like me." Ethan yells out, "But what if I already DO look like you?! See!!!!!" -And then he smiled proudly to show off his gappy mouth.


Caden, "Look mama! I can take a picture of me playing like I can pinch this lady's head!"

Yes, he took this picture himself.


A family member gifted us with primo tix to the Stars game (Stars vs. Fliers) the other day. Platinum parking, seating, and lots of cool things. I think we were completely spoiled by how awesome Platinum seating truly is. Ethan and Brian were glued to their seats while I took the opportunity to teach Cade how to trash talk the other team. (Clear off the mantle because I'm putting my Mother of the Year trophy right front and center!)
Did you know in Platinum you can text your food/drink orders and they'll bring it to you? Heck yeahs! Sadly, the Stars lost. Lost real bad, yo.
It was super fun, nonetheless.

Shrek the Halls-Ice! at the Gaylord

It was interesting. We went today, and although it was pretty pricey, we enjoyed it a lot. The Gaylord was completely packed and I overheard the concierge tell another guest that this weekend is always their busiest. Whoops. We met our friends, the Bradens, and got to experience it with them which made it even more fun.
So, I didn't know what to expect other than what a few of my friends/co-workers have shared with me about their experience. Here's the deal: you have to bring gloves, your scarf, a warm hat, and wear close-toed shoes. They provide you with a parka (my germaphobic self had to just go with it, but inside---I was reeling as I wondered what person had the parka on before me. Whatever...just go with it, right?!)
It started with an introduction about where the Ice! exhibit ideas and artists come from and how much ice is used etc. etc. Basically, they try to answer the questions they think you have. You do have to wait in line after line to get in and it was kinda slow moving throughout which was fine by me because it gave us time to snap pictures. I had a pretty positive experience with everyone else we met. In fact, this super sweet woman offered to take our pictures so we could all be in them together. As someone who is always positioned behind the camera, I was grateful to her. (and yes, I returned the favor when she needed her family's pictures taken)
Towards the end of the exhibit, there are slides made of ice. The boys took turns going up and down. The most beautiful part was the huge nativity made of ice. Caden oohed and ahhed over it. He is obsessed with nativity scenes and baby Jesus. It was all stunning really. The Chinese artists who flew in from 7,000+ miles to carve all of these sculptures out have been given a true gift from God. It was amazing. Not gonna lie, it wasn't just cold. It was freakin' freezing! (12-17 degrees, actually)
I think we've found our new yearly tradition. Pretty, pretty cool stuff going on in that place. The hotel was beautiful, BUT, we've stayed in nicer places. I think it was a little hard not to compare to those places. The boys loved every minute of it and I'm glad we kept it a surprise.
What you should know:
*wear warm clothing (scarves, hat, gloves)
*close-toed shoes are a must
*you CAN bring a DSLR in- I didn't (just brought the point and shoot because I wasn't sure how my camera would handle the harsh temps)
*parking is validated so don't freak out at the $17 price tag when you park
*go any other weekend EXCEPT the weekend before Christmas and definitely don't go the day of Breakfast with Santa
*the earlier you go, the better
*don't freak out at the lines- they really do move pretty quickly







































Hot chocolate to warm up!


We found these cookies in the coffee shop in the hotel. It's Gingy!!





















Sitting on Shrek's toilet. Yes, it's a real thing. Gross.