Sunday, November 25, 2007

Holiday Whirlwind

Another holiday come and gone. I can't believe how quickly the days are passing. My parents and Chrissy came into town on Tuesday afternoon, after taking the scenic tour of Wyoming. They accidentally took a wrong turn and drove slightly out of their way. Not unusual, as we took many scenic tours as kids on family vacations. They eventually arrived and Emmett wasn't sure at first. It takes a few minutes these days for him to figure "new" people out. It was really great to see everyone, but my brother wasn't able to make the trip this time. We really missed him this past week(see you at Christmas!). Wednesday morning, Chrissy, Dad and I went to the rec center for some Pre-Thanksgiving calorie burning. Grammy got to have some one on one time with Emmett. Mom made her famous pumpkin and apple pies, while Chrissy and I drank Glog and watched. Thanksgiving was a feast, as we decided that one turkey was not enough and cooked a turkey breast as well. We have enough turkey left over to feed an army. I tend to go over board on side dishes. I think we ate green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing and three types of homemade rolls. Not to mention the ham, corn, and potatoes that we had the night before! We literally ate all week and Luke and I will be eating left overs for days to come. Emmett got his first taste of the holidays with a few mouthfuls of mashed potatoes. He seemed to enjoy them more than his turkey dinner in a jar. Who could blame him?

Who knew that we would ever wind up in Montana for Black Friday shopping? Chrissy, Mom and I hopped in the car at 6 am on Friday morning and drove to Billings for some after Thanksgiving shopping. I think we managed to make it back home by 5:30pm. I started to get a little worried when the temp was -5 on our way to Billings, but it warmed up to around 34 and didn't seem to affect our shopping abilities. Luke, Emmett and Dad stayed behind to hold down the fort.
I decided to set up our small Christmas tree since we won't be home for Christmas this year. It was in attempt to get a great photo of Emmett for our Christmas cards. I haven't scanned the 50 or so picture attempts yet to see if we succeeded. I guess you'll find out in the next few weeks in your mailboxes!



Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Christensen/Anderson Family weekend

This past weekend, our friends the Christensens drove up to see us for the weekend. We had a wonderful time. The girls, Lily and Anna were great to have around to play with Emmett. They were so good with him. They watched movies, read stories, and investigated the case of the mysterious footprint(turned out to be a deer). On Saturday, we headed into town to enjoy the beautiful weather and all of the holiday open houses at the shops. Anna and Lily enjoyed tons of apple cider and cookies, while Ryan and Sarah couldn't get enough of the hot sauce and dips. Once again, we've made Sierra Trading Post enthusiasts out of our guests. Ryan and Lily both got nice winter boots to take home with them. The adults enjoyed wonderful meals, wine and card games that went on for hours. Who knew that Uno could be so vicious?! It was sad to see them leave on Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing them again in December!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Welcome Christensen's!

The Christensen family is going to make the drive up to see us this weekend. We are looking forward to spending time with Sarah and Ryan & Lily and Anna. I know Emmett is very excited to see the girls and show off his new abilities-chasing/crawling/standing. He won't be able to keep up with them, but I'm sure he'll make a valiant effort. We plan on having a nice dinner on Saturday to kick off the Holiday season(maybe some wine,who knows?). It also looks as if they will be missing the storm that moves in next week. That is the good news for them. Bad news for my family that are coming for Thanksgiving. It is supposed to snow and be in the 30's all next week. Goodbye Fall, Welcome winter!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Friendly Neighbors

I thought this was pretty cute. Our neighbors to the west of us have 3 young girls. They live with their uncle Monte. There was a knock at the door the other night, much to our surprise(living in the middle of nowhere, not knowing anyone). It was two of the neighbor girls wanting to mow our front yard. Now, we don't have any grass yet, nothing but weeds. So we told them to have at it. I guess they like to tool around on Monte's new tractor. On Sunday it was snowy and pretty cold, but that did not stop them. They had a blast. Monte mowed a circle for them to stay in and then let them loose. The girls took breaks to warm up but got the job done. Reminds me of back home in Illinois, we had an old tractor in the corncrib. My sister Chrissy and I used to play on and pretend to drive that thing for hours. The good ole days.

Monday, November 12, 2007

All good things must come to an end...

Grandma Debbie was here visiting this past weekend. It was a wonderful visit. She arrived in the Cody airport at 8pm on Wednesday. I guess Deb had the pleasure of a fairly small plane and a bit of Wyoming wind. All in all, she arrived safely. The next morning, she and Emmett reunited and boy was it exciting. Emmett shrieking and laughing, or was that Grandma!? They had so much fun. Deb and I meet Luke for lunch at the historic Irma Hotel and then we went around the town running a few errands.

On Friday, we drove Deb up to Red Lodge, Montana to see the beautiful scenery and the great shops there. I was a little surprised that the town was still in the process of setting up for Christmas. Doesn't anyone tell the smaller towns that you start setting up for Christmas before Halloween?! It looks like I will have to make another trip to see the great town of Red Lodge in it's Holiday splendor. I introduced Debbie to Sierra Trading Post when we got back to Cody that afternoon. Sierra is an awesome outdoor clothing/gear outlet here in Cody(they also have stores in Cheyenne and Reno, NV). I think we have another fan amongst us!

Deb also had the pleasure of meeting our friends, the Reedy's, at their son Caleb's 1st birthday party on Saturday morning. Who doesn't love a good party?! Caleb was wiped out before it even started. Emmett seemed to like the toys Caleb was getting, more like mom and dad now have Christmas ideas. Afterwards, it was a nice day so we took a walking tour of the downtown area and then stopped in at our fav Mexican restaurant for a late bite and a marg. We no longer have the pleasure of eating what we order at restaurants. Emmett is into the constant entertainment phase and it never allows everyone to eat at the same time. We have learned the pass-the-baby and shovel-your-food game that I'm sure all parents enjoy.

After hours, while Emmett was in dreamland, we taught Deb how to play a card game called SkipBo. Next time Luke or I try to teach a game, we must remember the cardinal rule- no wine first. It is too hard to teach/learn a new game when you've had a glass or three. We really enjoyed having Deb this past weekend and I think Emmett was worn out by all of Grandma's spoiling. We look forward to seeing the rest of our families in December.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Laundry Day

Catching up with laundry is so easy when you have good help.

Here comes Grandma Debbie!

Not too much going on around here. Luke and Emmett were/are sick since last Thursday. I have been doing my best to not get sick but I always feel like I am on the verge. Luke is feeling much better these days and poor little Emmett still has his runny nose and cough. Just in time for Grandma Debbie's visit! We are all very excited to see Deb, as I am sure she is to see Emmett. Now, I know she can't wait to see Luke and I, but let's be realistic. She bought a plane ticket to see Emmett bump his head into everything, scoot around in his car, jump in the jumperoo and laugh out loud at his daddy. No offense taken Grandma! I, too, enjoy these things on a daily basis. We can't wait to have you! (and we know you miss us too!)

His new trick is to move around in his walker, which we call his "car". He has always been in reverse, but yesterday morning he figured out forward. Life has once again changed at the Anderson home. We have installed a wall mounted gate to keep him from "driving" down the stairs. This morning I caught him with a few leaves of one of my plants in his hand. That plant has since been moved now that he realizes he can maneuver himself anywhere his little heart desires. To be honest, I am not sure what will come next on his agenda of growing up. Every day is an adventure...maybe teeth?!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Laughing hysterically!

I have never heard Emmett laugh so hard! Luke and Emmett are in the guest room: Luke playing Madden on his X-box, Emmett playing in his walker-thingy. Luke starts "booo-ing" his opposing team, the Chargers, and Emmett erupts! Has anyone seen the "laughter adds 8 years to your life" commercials with the little kid who laughs at his dad playing golf on Wii, or the one where they tear paper and giggle? I swear we've added at least 8 years in the last week alone. I had to share this with everyone.

Halloween, here and gone

It is hard to believe Halloween is already over. This year is flying by! Our Halloween turned out to be pretty uneventful. We woke up to a light dusting of snow from the day before, not unlike any other year with cold weather, rain or snow. After work, Luke, Emmett and I went to the downtown area of Cody where the shops were handing out candy for Trick-or-Treaters. Mike, Tammy and Caleb at CB's(the bar) were handing out candy as well, so we went to hang out with them to celebrate Halloween and to see the kids in costume. Caleb is in the lion costume. Emmett was in his Halloween PJ's. He spit up all over his pumpkin outfit. PJs were good enough but I think the Halloween binky added a nice touch. It was nice to visit with friends and have a quick beer. Then we headed home and had dinner, a little tv and went to bed.


Please send me pictures of you and/or your little ones in their costumes so I can share them in my blog!