Winter X Games

The X Games are just plain cool!  Wouldn't you agree?  Watching guys and gals flip head over heals three times while twisting mid-air, all while being 20 feet in the air?  Ya, cool.  They hold the winter X Games down in Aspen, and seeing as how we live in Colorado now, and that this is the last year the X Games as we know them will be in Aspen, Jeremy decided he just had to go down and check out the action.  He went down on Thursday and had an absolute blast. 

He watched the snowboarding street style,

the snowmobile freestyle,

and a little bit of superpipe practice. 

He said it was so cool seeing the athletes just walk around loving the atmosphere.  He also said that there was so much free stuff.  He almost won a pair of 509 goggles out of a claw machine three times!  It was so close he can't believe he didn't actually get one.  When it was time for him to come home, it had started to snow, and was starting to stick to the roads.  About four hours into his 3 1/2 hour drive home, he was only about 1/3 of the way and the roads were in horrible condition.  They closed 1-70 at the tunnel and he ended up spending the night in a hotel parking lot.  Luckily Cambrie had insisted he take the dolphin for a friend as it made a great pillow.  We were really glad to see him come home safely the next day. 

I also wanted to experience the X Games, and Jeremy wanted to see Shaun White, so we loaded the family into the car and went down again on Saturday.  We knew it was going to be rough trying to keep both girls in their snow gear, but we didn't realize how tough it would actually be.  Cambrie started crying as soon as she realized we wanted her to wear her snow boots instead of her galoshes, and McKenzie wanted nothing to do with her snow suit.  As we were dragging our crying children onto the bus we looked around and realized we were definitely in the minority and were the only ones with kids.  Some girls thought our girls were adorable and couldn't get enough of them, but mostly it was, "Why would you suffer through bringing your kids here?"  Ya, we wondered the same thing.  We got them some food hoping that would help, and it did a little bit. 

Then it was time for the men's ski superpipe final.  We were lucky enough for find room up on the side of the pipe right behind some other kids who weren't very tall so they didn't block our view. 

It took awhile for the event to get started, and in that time Cambrie and McKenzie had just about had it.  We eventually laid out our extra coats on the ground and told them both to just go to sleep.  Cambrie actually did.  McKenzie took a little more persuasion and finally fell asleep in the backpack.  Finally! 

Now Jeremy and I could just enjoy the show. 

It was super cool because most of the competitors would make one of their hits on the wall right by us.  The gold medalist, David Wise, always hit by us, so we were able to get some really cool shots of him above our heads.  These shots are not zoomed in at all.  It was sweet! 

A family pic of us and the superpipe.

After the superpipe we walked around for a bit trying to get more free stuff.  We stood in line for the goggle claw game again, but the line wasn't controlled and we kept getting pushed back.  We finally had enough of it, so had our girls, so we decided to take a break down in Aspen.  They had free buses running and for McKenzie that was the highlight of her day.  She loved the buses.  Down in Aspen they were doing a major athlete meet and greet, and we got to see Kelly Clark, Gretchen Bleiler, and others superstars.  We were hoping Shaun White would be there but he wasn't.  We didn't get to see him compete that night in freestyle because he had tweaked his ankle earlier this week.  We were kind of disappointed about that.  At the meet and greet, Jeremy took in a token he'd received for wearing the GoPro bib, in hopes of winning a GoPro camera.  Unfortunately he just won a hat...he was pretty bummed.  But the girls were happy because they got McDonald's for dinner.  Finally we had happy girls.  We had a few minutes to kill before the ski big air competition started so we wandered around Aspen for a bit. 

The girls found a giant snow cat someone had carved and climbed up on that. 

They also found a small playground and a hammock to swing in. 

It was tough convincing them to come with up back to the X Games.  We just had the one last event, big air.  The girls were  doing great but the event started thirty minutes late, and by then the girls were done.  Look at Cambrie's loving expression :) 

We were able to bribe them with M&M's for awhile, but not forever. 

Jeremy had to pull Kenzie out of the crowd because she was just crying too much, she was just so tired.  Cambrie hung out in the backpack while I finished enjoying the show then it was time to go home. 

The girls only made it a few minutes in the car before they were out.  Fun is exhausting huh?  But watching the air, the style, the falls...ah, it was so worth it.   

Sweet girls

I don't always write down all of the cute things my daughters do, and I need to be better at it.  Some of the next posts may be really short, but that's because they're just moments that make me smile.

We've spent the last few days feeling sick around our house.  The girls were hit with it first, then it was my turn.  It was really just a cold with a goofy cough, but it was enough to make all of us tired and lethargic.  Once the afternoon hits, I just don't have the energy to keep going so I've laid down for a nap on the couch.  Cambrie and McKenzie brought down blankets for me, pillows, and a few of their favorite stuffed animals for me to cuddle with.  The first day before I fell asleep, the girls decided that they wanted to dance for me.  So Cambrie got down the iPod and speakers, the girls went and put on skirts and dancing shoes, and they danced for me.  It was the cutest thing ever.  They were like little ballerinas dancing to lullabies. 

The next day while I was sleeping on the couch, McKenzie happened to be sleeping too so Cambrie entertained herself while we were resting.  But every few minutes during my nap I felt a small little kiss on my cheek and a small hand rubbing my shoulder, even occasionally adjusting my blanket for me.  Sometimes I can't believe how amazingly sweet my daughters are. 

Today Cambrie and I were shopping for new glasses for our kitchen.  We've been using Mason jars for years since we broke all of the cups we received for our wedding.   Part of me is kind of sad that this small part of poor student life is being shelved in the basement now, but part of me likes using a real cup.  As I was putting them into our cart at the store today Cambrie said, "Mommy, now you don't have to use jars anymore!  Doesn't that make you happy?!" 

As we were leaving for that shopping trip this afternoon, we decided that Kenzie would just stay home with Jeremy to simplify life.  But she didn't really like that idea.  She stood in front of the garage door blocking our way and crying, "Come wi you!  Come wi you!"  It broke my little heart but I was so proud that she spoke a new sentence that I've never heard before.  She is getting so much better.  Her best new sentence though is, "One more cookie?"

Last week I decided it was finally time to clean the house again after Christmas.  It was a big job and I had a lot to do.  Cambrie desperately wanted to help so I gave her the job of vacuuming all of the bathroom floors.  She was so proud to be helping.  She finished the floors so quickly that she also helped me dust and made all the beds in the house.  When Jeremy got home from work she took him on a grand tour of everything that she had cleaned.

McKenzie is very resourceful.  If she wants a snack and we're not around, she will find a way to get one.  I've had some Hershey's Kisses on the counter leftover from a party last week, and she knows they are there.  She'll pull over the barstool, climb up onto the counter, then crawl under the barstool while she unwraps the Kiss and eats it secretly. 

Cambrie has been saying the family prayer before bed.  McKenzie knows that she is supposed to fold her arms and be reverent.  But lately she has started whispering in our ears while Cambrie is praying.  We think she's trying to repeat what Cambrie is saying.  It makes me giggle.

When I get Kenzie ready for the day we get her dressed first then she goes straight to the bathroom counter where she sits while I brush her hair.  She insists that I put a bow in most days then gets down with a huge smile on her face when she's all prettied-up.  On the flip side, when it's time for a nap in the afternoon she rips out her bows and elastics before she sleeps so that when she wakes up she looks like a hooligan for the rest of the evening.

Kenzie calls her jacket, "jackie" and I think it is the cutest thing.  I can't help but call it a jackie myself because I don't want her to say it right yet.

McKenzie is also in love with her snow boots and red squeaky shoes.  She calls for her "eeky shoes" and will wear them all day stomping around the house to make them squeak.  She even occasionally naps with them on.

Christmas pics

So for whatever reason, we got our girls' Christmas pics taken late this year, like the week before Christmas late.  With the Christmas rush, the lab just finished with them and we finally have them...half-way through January!  Yea!  While they're late, I'm just glad that they are super adorable.  And I guess since they're in red and pink I can use them for Valentine's decorations right?   Here they are:

Fun with Nerf Gun

Who says Nerf Guns are just for the guys?  Cambrie got creative with Jeremy's Christmas present and made alien eyes. 

Then the other night we had a Nerf war with Sarrah and Emma, complete with my pan lids and safety goggles.  These girls had a blast!

Little smiles

Post-bath picture that just makes me smile.

New Little 2-year-old

Our little Miss McKenzie is two-years-old!  That is just a little more than slightly crazy to me..ah..but sweet.  Her birthday celebration began that morning when she saw a birthday balloon just for her. 

 Then she requested pumpkin pancakes.  This girl LOVES pancakes and LOVES syrup.  So I whipped up some heart-shaped pancakes, a balloon, and even a lumpy face that looked somewhat like a clown.  It doesn't matter what it looked like though, she was happy with it. 

For lunch we tried something new and used a trick that my roommate Hailey taught us, octopus and people hot dogs.  Cambrie thought they were incredibly silly and enjoyed eating her octopus a leg at a time, while McKenzie just played with her food. 

Later that night we did cake and presents.  McKenzie is really into snowmen lately and so Jeremy made her a snowman cake.  We thought it was kind of fun that the snowman was able to hold the candles.  After a joyful round of Happy Birthday she blew out the candles like a pro and got the first piece of the night. 

Our friends, Sarrah and Emma were over for the evening and got to join us in our festivities.  Cute girls huh? 

And since we forgot to get a "before" picture of the cake, this one post-serving will have to do. 

Then it was on to the presents.  I had to go to YW that night, so unfortunately the party was a little rushed.  Between McKenzie ripping through the paper without stopping and Cambrie providing an endless supply of presents, we got through them all in record time. 

McKenzie got some building blocks that Jeremy likes playing with just as much as the girls. 

She got some new blankets for her doll bed from Grandma, bath crayons, a new coloring book, clothes from Nana, a booster seat so she can finally reach her food without standing on the chairs all the time (look how happy she is!),

...and a new pair of roller skates.  When Cambrie and I were wrapping them she asked why she didn't get any skates.  I told her that you had to be a brave skater before you could get skates.  She started to protest then said, "Oh ya.  McKenzie's a braver skater than I am."  She moves on the carpet well but slips all over the place on the wood.  It was very entertaining to watch. 

And since she flew through the presents faster than we could keep up with the trash, a picture in the middle of the wrapping paper seemed perfectly suiting. 

Happy birthday sweetheart!

New Year's Shin-digs

Happy New Year's!  Our New Year's Eve celebration was going to be pretty toned down this year.  Both of our girls have been sick all week so we knew that any party we had would just be the four of us.  I had planned on doing cheese fondue for dinner thinking that the girls would love it.  Well, neither one of them have been eating much of anything lately, and even the temptation of cheesy goodness wasn't enough to get them to eat.

  So Jeremy and I ate it all (Ha! Ha! Ha!) 

But after dinner we received a call from our neighbors wanting to know if we wanted to head on over and play games after the kids were in bed.  (Now, before I continue, I just hope that I don't get in trouble for this next sentence.  So if you're the type to get me trouble, you can stop reading here.)  We said of course!  We put the girls to bed, turned on the baby monitor, locked the doors, and walked next door to hang out with our neighbors.  We played Ticket to Ride, xBox Kinect, ate some yummy food, and counted down to 2012.  Our night turned out not to be a flop after all.  In fact we had a really good time.  Thanks Paul and Dana for the party!