Make a Smilebox greeting

Birthday Weekend in Jackson

We got to go to Jackson for the weekend, to celebrate my birthday and Luke had some clients to meet. We took off on Saturday with the knowledge that it would probably be snowing for our drive. It took us 8 hours instead of six! The pass on the way to Jackson was crazy and the roads thru the reservation weren't plowed one bit! We did get to see about 8 or so moose in a field on our journey! They were all hunkered down while the snow was falling. What a great sight! It seems they have lost their antlers already- I read somewhere that they loose them once their hormone levels drop after mating season. We finally got in to the Wyoming Inn which was very nice and in a great location. Not too far from the downtown area, but really close to our dinner destinations. We decided to unpack and settle in once we checked in. That's when we noticed that Emmett seemed really warm. He had a bit of a fever on top of the sniffles. A quick dose of Motrin to bring down the fever and away we went to dinner. Luke drove us up to Teton Village which is at the base of the ski resort and we had dinner at the Mangy Moose. It was still snowing and so beautiful at the base of the mountain. We decided to call it an early night with E being sick and such a long day of driving. We woke up the next morning to a great continental breakfast and runny noses for all! Still snowing outside, we couldn't really do to much with all of us getting sick, so we drove over to the elk refuge outside of Jackson. Absolutely amazing. Thousands of elk, as far as the eye can see. You can take sleigh rides out to them and watch them graze, but it was really cold and snowing so we opted for the warmth of our car. Then, we walked around the downtown area for a bit and took some pictures with the famous elk antler arch. We ate some lunch and went back to hotel for E's naptime. Turned out to be naptime for he and daddy. I got a few minutes of shut eye and watched some cooking shows in the peace and quiet myself. Then we went out to dinner for my birthday. I have been dreaming of the green beans at this restaurant, the Gunbarrel. We had dinner there when we were in Jackson last year. The steak is fabulous, mashed potatoes are unbelievable, and the beans- were not as good as I remember. I remember that they were so good that I described them to be cooked in crack! Maybe being pregnant has changed my taste buds some, but Luke seemed to think that they were just as good. Anyway, I had a glass of wine with dinner that made up for them. And now I feel like I can eat elsewhere in town and try some of the other amazing places I've read about. We walked home(in the snow!) and had all intentions of putting Emmett to bed and playing cards by the fire in the lobby with the monitor on. Emmett cried and cried and cried...so we gave up and went to bed, Emmett between us on the king size bed. He slept like a dream. Luke went to work on Monday morning, meeting and greeting a few new clients, while Emmett and I held down the fort at the hotel(while we watched the snow falling outside). Luke finished early so we could get out of town before we got snowed in. The ride home was actually not so bad. It quit snowing about 30 minutes outside of town and the roads cleared up after we got thru the pass. Great night to sleep in our own beds and dream of the weekend we had away.

Well, we are all still sick and had a meager celebration last night. I made a Jiffy cake and earlier had picked up dinner at Albertsons. Nice and simple. I couldn't have asked for a better night. Thanks to all of you that sent birthday wishes and gifts. I loved them all.

Photos: Moose in field, Luke and E at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village, Luke and E under the antler arch, Emmett and Luke with the buffalo Downtown Jackson, Elk refuge(all of the little brown dots are elk!).

Ready for a trip

We are getting ready to head out to Jackson for the weekend. Luke has a few clients to meet on Monday, so we thought we'd make a weekend out of it. It has been snowing softly all day, without much accumulation. Hopefully the roads will be good for our journey. I'll have pics when we return. Enjoy your weekends!
A BIG thanks to Grammy and Poppy for picking up Emmett's b-day present! What a hassle that turned out to be!

New baby congrats!

Jackie and Karl welcomed their new little one on Tuesday, January 20th at 9am. Madison Paige. They have started a family webpage with lots of birthday photos. I have added them to my friends list, so check them out!

Last, but not least....

....our little nugget(nuggette if it's a girl!)! This was our 12 week ultrasound in 3D. Pretty amazing what they can do these days. The due date is July 29th, but due to small town issues, we will be having a C-section on July 22nd. You have to take a close look to recognize that you can see the arms waving by it's head. He/She was moving quite a bit for the picture but they came out really neat anyway.

Welcome Ryan!

My friends the Quiggs welcomed their second child, Ryan Alexander, into their family on January 12th! Congrats on another beautiful baby!

Life gets in the way!

I have been so out of touch with my blog this past week! Life has been busy and what a great week! We were in Denver last week, Luke for a work thing and I for Emily's baby shower. It was a great weekend to spend with family and friends. We stayed at the Canales' and the little ones played so well together. Emmett talked about Jack for days after we left! The Anderson/Sands Clan got together on Friday night at Maggiano's for a wonderful dinner. It was really great to get to see everyone while we were in town. Donna has a bunch of really great pictures on her blog of dinner. I forgot my camera, and would have been too busy anyway. Emmett and Jack were pretty tired and there was so much to see at the huge restaurant! Earlier in the day, Julie and I took the boys to Monkey Business, an indoor playground filled with slides, bounce houses, and so much more. It was one big, fun day of Chaos! Emily's baby shower was held at Molly's on Saturday. She received lots of wonderful things for Gracie. She also looks great for being a month and some away from delivery! It was really great getting to catch up with the girls(Kate, Jenny, Sam, Julie and of course Emily!) but the highlight was getting to see all of the kiddos. I haven't seen some of the kids in years. They have all grown up so quickly. Emmett included!
We got home on Sunday night after a very easy drive home. Emmett's new fav movie is Cars. It was played twice on the drive and is still asked for on a daily basis! If the DVD player was not broken, it would probably be memorized by now!
After getting back in the swing of things, we got to watch as Luke was accepted in to the Rotary Club on Thursday. Should be a great opportunity for community involvement and networking. Congrats, honey! We are very proud of the work Luke has done here in this small town.
Emmett and I had a lunch playdate with the girls at Pizza on the Run on Friday. This place does not have very good food in my opinion, but is kinda like the Chuck E Cheese of Cody. They have all sorts of games and play equipment for the kids to let loose on and us parents get to sit back and enjoy the terrible pizza. Sounds just like Chuck E Cheese, right?!
We had a pretty easy going weekend. I feel like I am coming down with a small cold(eating lots of grapefruit and oranges!). Luke went with some friends down to Laramie Friday night and got home Saturday afternoon, still a bit fuzzy from the night before. Then we proceeded to do nothing but odds and ends around the house. Sunday was football and food, and here we are back to Monday....Life gets busy.

Order of pictures: Falling alseep while eating McD's chicken nuggets and fries, Super Jack and Emmett playing computer nerds, Emmett on slide at Monkey Business, checking out the cars with Grandpa Mark, reading the paper with Grandma Deb,

Emily opening gifts at her shower, Molly and her son JD, Kate's daughter Ryleigh, Chrissy and Emmett at Emily's shower, and Julie and Jack at the shower.

A picture paints a thousand words...

Gorgeous snow!

We had the strangest weather yesterday. It was 45 degrees and raining. When we went to bed last night you couldn't see the lights of town it was snowing so hard. We woke up to about 4 inches of snow and absolutley no wind! We decided to head out sledding. Emmett's snow pants came in the mail a few days ago- just in time! It was a ton of fun! A little too cold for me but the boys had a great time while I took pictures. Their first sledding attempt was a bit snowy! Once there was a path it was a bit easier. We might try to head out here at the house and pull Emmett around the yard. He really loved being pulled on the sled.

First attempt(above) Last attempt(below)

Happy New Year!

Well, another year passes us by. We had a wonderful steak dinner last night and enjoyed the time spent together as a family. Emmett went to bed and we continued watching lots of tv marathons. I think we nodded off around 11:30pm. We continue to live vicariously thru those who actually see the stroke of midnight! Luke was able to polish off the bottle of Champagne before falling asleep!

It is a beautiful day here in Cody for the first day of the year. The snow is gently falling and is very beautiful. Luke finished packing away the tree and hauling Christmas boxes to the storage room. The house looks back to normal. Now, we are about to enjoy a pot of green chili by the fire while watching football. Is there a better start to the new year?

I thought the picture was appropriate. He looks very intoxicated. Must be the markers.....

Happy New Year everyone!