WOW

 It's been so long since I have posted. I knew it had been a while but 22 days is a long time for me not to post. I have thought about blogging a few times but life has been busy.

So I will attempt to highlight the month of February in one post:)

Andrew visiting is always a highlight. His temperament has really mellowed out and he is such a sweetie. Loves to give smiles. Will giggle for his parents. Is content when others hold him. So fun!

My door was heart attacked.....but it was for Dan and Caleb. I wanted to Facebook about it but they seemed a little embarrassed so for once I resisted the urge to get some laughs.

 My birthday happened at some point. It was a LAME day. I just had work and coaching. I was gone from 6:45 am to 8:15pm. Then I had a basketball game to play in at 9:15. I was going to cancel but at that point the day had been so uneventful I just decided to play. It was fine and I am not a huge birthday person but I would have liked to have taken the day off. At least my basketball team won so I was in good spirits.

Valentines day was really exciting.....NOT! I just thought it would be fun to throw that in. The most exciting thing on Valentines day for me was that basketball had ended the day before and so I was commitment free. Oh wait that is the day we left for California. I took two personal days and headed home to see the family. Sam and Amanda joined me for the drive so it was a party. Ben and Katie agreed to meet us in Oroville so I was pumped. I loved seeing all my favorite people.

 We left Thursday after work and drove straight through. Sam was a champion driver and Andrew did really well also.

Andrew and Braxton smiling. I have a very similar picture at Thanksgiving of them both screaming their heads off. They are both adorable.

 The weather in California made the trip worth it. It was 70 degrees and sunny everyday we were there. It was so nice to be outside and enjoy the sunshine. I was in heaven.

 Who knew a $1 kite would be such a hit? There were three of them and they provided a lot of entertainment.

 My parents house is small and we overloaded the place and so we spent a lot of time at the park. No one complained since the weather was AMAZING!

 Little boys love the bath I love their smiling faces. Braxton's parents and sister call him Bubba, it is so cute.

 Moki loved being able to run around. She loved having people with her all day as well. She really is a good dog. Super friendly, easy going. Olivia loved her, which made me happy. They played pretty well together. Moki started to learn to swim this trip as well. I took her in the river twice. She has not mastered it but she made lots of progress. It was so fun to watch her. She was sooooo dirty when we got back to Utah. I bathed her at 11pm when we got home. The bath water was black. So black you could not see through it. It was nasty but totally worth it.

Monday February 18th was Katie's birthday. We went to breakfast before the Utah people headed home. It was fun to just visit and chill at the restaurant. My grandma and Aunt Virginia made the trip to Oroville to visit as well. It was so fun to see them and I am grateful they were willing to travel to see us.

 We had so many people sleeping at my parents. It was crazy. 14 total sleeping there and then 5 others that came to dinner on Sunday and visited on other days. Remember my parents house is small but seriously I would not have traded spending time with my family. Love those people. My cousin Katie, Aunt Loralie, and two of Katie's nieces came for the weekend as well. They were a super fun addition. Olivia especially loved the teenage gals she kept asking for her girls.

We played so hard everyday I was exhausted. I fell asleep early every night while people were playing games. Moki fell asleep by 7 every night and was out. Vacation is a great time to catch up on sleep.

I think one of my favorite days was Tuesday when I got home. I took the day off of work and just read and did laundry. It was so nice to relax and rest. It really helped rejuvenate me. I have been so worn out from basketball.

Wednesday morning I flew to Arizona for a two day conference with 8 other teachers. We had to meet at the school at 4am. I was so tired the first day. One teacher was like it is awkward when the fat guy can stay awake and you can't. After that comment I purchased some caffeine so I could make it through the day. Overall it was a good conference but I was ready to be home. I prefer teaching to sitting all day.

Today Amber, Moki, and I headed up the canyon for some trail running. We didn't bring our snowshoes because last time the snow was so packed down from all the snowmobile-rs. We decided to give running with cleats a try. Well we chose the wrong day. It was snowing like crazy on the Alpine Loop today. It would have been perfect for snowshoes. We ran and had a great time but it was just funny. I was under dressed and not prepared for all the snow but it was still enjoyable.

 My dog loves the snow. She also loves not being on the leash. She does awesome when we hike and snowshoe. I love wearing her out. It was beautiful up there.

 In Moki news: Moki got her first spa treatment. She didn't like the blow dryer or getting her face shaved. What girl likes to have to get her face shaved? And she came home with bows. I am not lying when I say I did not recognize her. She was one giant poof ball and I seriously thought they gave me the wrong dog. I had to call her name to make sure. She looks so innocent and cute.

 Don't let that face fool you. One day I came home from work and she had gotten out of her room and this was what was waiting in the kitchen.

 So annoying but I could not really get mad. The poor dog is home for 9 hours by herself. It is still obnoxious though.

 Moki was spayed. I read about dogs in heat and realized there is no way I was going to go through that. Too messy for me. She did great. She was slow for a few days but bounced back super fast.

We ran our first 5k one night without walking. Her stamina is getting so much better.

We have hiked the Y twice. Moki loves it so I think that will be a favorite this spring and summer.

And the compliment of the night was a lady at the temple asked me if I was a BYU student. I told her I was not. I explained I was a teacher. She then said I looked so young. WOW, that was nice. I have been feeling so old. Tired, wrinkles, achy joints and muscles. It just made me smile. What a nice lady!

checking in

 Last weekend was stressful. I had girls camp training and the temple. That pretty much accounted for my entire day. Which is fine except that I don't really have other days in the week to do things because of work and coaching. It seemed like I had no weekend, which I am not ok with.

Friday I did get to head up to Nancy's and hang out. We had pizza. Played games. Visited. Held Andrew. I left in time to get to my midnight soccer game. I am way too old for midnight soccer games.

 I was so exhausted on Saturday and grumpy that I had to wake up to an alarm. But the camp meeting was good and the temple was awesome as usual. Sunday by 8pm I was worn out.

Just thinking about this week and all I needed to do was just wearing me out. But in the end this week was actually really good.

It snowed like crazy but at least it warmed up! Sam and Amanda blessed Andrew on Tuesday night. Andrew did awesome, he is so precious. Sam gave a beautiful blessing. I was just so grateful for the priesthood and that my brothers hold the priesthood and can bless the lives of others. And seriously is this not the cutest picture ever?

 Such a cute little guy.

 I got to bed early a few times this week. Got to snowshoe. Played basketball and soccer. Coached some basketball games. My team is playing awesome right now. I have known they were good all year and that they had so much potential but they just were not playing up to it. This week they played amazing. I just kept thinking this is what I was envisioning when the season started. Now it is happening. I have definitely had better seasons but I don't think I have ever coached a more talented group. They are good and when they show up to play they are awesome. That has been really fun and I think it gave me a little extra boost this week.

January . . . . . BLAH!

 January is my least favorite month. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. It is FREEZING in Utah. There aren't any super holidays to look forward to. It is the tail end of basketball and I am tired and my team is tired. It always seems so long!

The good things are my nephew and my dog. It makes me happy when I get cute little pictures of Andrew texted to me.

I do need to get my Andrew time in. Now he interacts so much more and he sometimes even lets me hold him.

 Did you know I had the cutest dog ever?

 Did I mention that every year in January there is also an inversion? This is days on end with bad air quality. Similar to smog for all you city folk. I despise the inversions. One Saturday Amber and I snowshoed the alpine loop. It was above the inversion. 4 miles uphill, 8 miles round trip, I was just in my t-shirt. Luv'n the blue sky and the warm sun!

 My dog loves the snow! She loves running and she loves me. Moki is pretty much AWESOME, except for her rare moments when she has a memory lapse of the house rules.

More Andrew time.

 Aaron came to visit. It was a really short visit but it was fun to do dinner on Saturday and hang out on Sunday. We were able to catch up and visit. He was very good to Moki and Andrew. Both seemed to like him ok.

 I have been practicing the panorama setting on my phone. I love that I have it but I have not mastered it. These are from snowshoeing. It really was beautiful.

And these are from a Sunday dinner and game night at Nancy's. Notice how talented Dan is, he made his face all blurry:)

Dan and I sporting our Christmas sweaters!

This post is out of order and random but finding time to blog just hasn't been happening so I am just leaving it. This was a good post for me because I realized I have seen the people the matter the most and pursued some hobbies this month despite how gloomy it may feel at times.

I will say having my dog has helped me get outside more then I normally do in January. She loves to run and we walk or run every single day. I will also say that I have eaten more junk than ever. Seriously I need to stop. January just end!

Happy New Year

 The New Year started and I was not quite ready. I threw up and was sick leading up to it, felt sick the day of, and have not quite recovered since. BLAH! Let me tell you teaching and coaching and feeling sick don't go well together. I set one New Years resolution and have already totally slacked off because I have been sick and tired. Which is an excuse but it is kind of valid.

Because I was sick I almost didn't do anything on New Years but then at the last minute decided what the heck. I am sure glad I went to Loralie's. It was a family get together, low key, but perfect for me. Got to see Andrew from a distance I didn't want to breathe on the poor kid.

I even made it to midnight which was shocking (while losing to Loralie at Ticket to Ride which was also shocking.)

 Since then I just have not had any energy. I teach, coach, walk/run my dog , and lay in the love sac. This week I finally played some sports and didn't feel too off but I still have a crazy cough.

Remember how I got a dog. I love her. She is super cute and cuddly and crazy. Definitely a puppy. We have figured out a routine that works well. She hasn't had an accident in my house this year (knock on wood). Loves to run, play fetch, and she loves the snow. I have run more this year than ever before in my life. We do 3-5 miles a day. Right now they are walk/run miles because she gets distracted and tired, I obviously never get tired:)

Tonight we did 5 miles in 5 inches of fresh snow while it was snowing. It was awesome. She loved it and I loved it. The snow just sticks to her crazy fur. So funny!

You can't just pull them off because they form around individual hairs.

I am hoping to get some rest this weekend and feel even better next week!

Goodbye 2012

 We have taken advantage of the Pizza Pie Cafe coupons a couple of times. I love that place. I don't love how much I eat but I love how it tastes.

Little Andrew sleeping on my shoulder. It didn't last long but he is so precious. This was two weeks ago. We saw him last night and he has changed so much. Loves to smile and interact. So fun!

 Christmas was great. We drove on the wrong days (snow and super icy roads), but other than that it was super fun. Moki did awesome in the car which was a relief. She chilled on someone's lap for the most part. Oh and as you can see in the picture below comforted the driver when needed.

Home is just always so great. It is a little crazy when we are all in my parents house but it is fun.

 All my Dad wanted for Christmas were some Lego's. All his dreams came true!

 My Mom after opening presents on Christmas day. Now it's time to go cook the meal.

 We has tri-tip, loaded mashed potatoes, salad, and a jello salad for Christmas dinner. It was delicious. The boys provided the drinks.

 Good food and good company. It was nice because we were not cooking all day long. I hate that. We also used paper utensils which I am a big fan of.

After dinner we went to watch Les Miserables.

 I loved it. It was so good. We went with the Hemstalks, well Mikila and Nancy, but there were lots of Oroville Mormons in attendance. Everyone seemed to enjoy the show.

The Hemstalks came over and we shared our Christmas desserts. It was really fun to visit and catch up.
 
I didn't take any pictures at the Brown family Christmas party but it was so fun. That is the get together with all the Brown aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have used the church building the last two years and it has been awesome. We play music, visit, eat, play games, and have a book white elephant. It is nice to be able to see everyone and catch up.

It is always nice to be in Oroville at the same time as others. A highlight this year was being home for the Stutznegger Wassail party. I have not been to that in years and it was so fun to visit and catch up with people I have not seen in a long time (and Angelee came:). All the Cherry boys were at church. I can't remember the last time I had seen Brian, so that was fun. Carrie Hughes and Emily Taylor as well.

Mikila and I visited Katie on Christmas Eve. It was fun to chat and catch up. Just like the good ole days back in college.

After our visit with Katie we stopped and saw Erica. Well we had to wake her up because it was so late. But she was nice enough to come visit and I am so glad she did because it was my only chance to see her.

Being back in Provo has not been bad. I have had basketball practice, played in a soccer game, snowshoed with Moki (2X), taken naps, did laundry, and cleaned. Tomorrow I will take down Christmas. I am kind of sad about that. I love all the decorations I have and they are up for such a short time.

Moki LOVES the snow. That is great.

It is also a good way to wear her out. if we put in 3 miles she sleeps the rest of the day. It is awesome and hilarious. We will see how she does when I go back to school. She will have a lot of alone time, which will be sad. Hopefully I can still keep her active and busy.

I spent yesterday super sick. I was really tired Saturday but I had done a lot so I didn't think much about it. Sunday morning I kept debating if I was going to actually go to church. I felt off but not terrible. I was supposed to teach a class so I went. Then I came right home and felt worse and worse as the night went. After throwing up twice and taking a really hot shower I finally felt a little better. Headed to bed at 8 but still felt sick enough that I could not sleep. I think around 10 I fell asleep and slept great until my alarm went off at 6:30 for basketball. I have felt fine today. I have a cold but the flu like symptoms are gone. YUCK!!!! I hate being sick. 2012 has been a good year. I only have a couple of hours to come up with some New Years resolutions.