Our visit with the Fendler cousins

Well the Frank Fendler gang skis...They ski from dawn til dusk. Tommy and Danny can ski through anything. They had a blast playing together and it was sad to seethem leave. Ada loved every minute and Max finally hugged Frank by the end of the trip. We are excited to see them this summer.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Update on the kids milestones

So Max is officially a toddler. 22mo and still nursing! Ahhh! But he is so cute I just can't say no. His favorite words are "look", Book, shoe, "there it is", mamamamam forever. He loves helicopters and airplanes. One night while he was sleeping he awoke, sat straight up and said, look" then laid down and went back to sleep. He is particular about his shoes and his coat. He is breaking out of his shell and likes to play at Christy's house. He doesn't have very many friends hisown age. He is usually forced to play with the girls. Charlie and Soren are his friends too. He is not a great eater. Can't seem to get many veggies down him, but he will eat fruit. He is a rather plesant personality, except when he hits and kicks. He is a bit possesive of me and hits Ada often when she is trying to get my attention. He can ride his plasma car and almost peddle hi bike. He loves the pool and goes down the small froggy slide by himself at the Cottonwood pool. Definitely not afraid of water in his eyes. He will start a preschool program in fall and swim lessons! Yeah...
Ada is 41/2 and is quite mature at times. She really loves craft and projects at this age. Tonight she wrote her own story about a horse. She is graduating from twinkle variations on the violin and still fights me about practicing. She is now working on Song of the Wind. She is jut slowly thinking about llearning to read. She can id all her letters and numbers up to 10. She has great friends and is very social. Her eating habits have slipped and now she protests lots of veggies also. I think she likes to control us at dinner. Dessert is soon to dissappear. She loves her dance pre-school and will start kindergarden in fall. Sshe is kind and compassionate to animals and misses Darby dog everyday when she becomes tired. She is learning to navigate the computer and loves her ski lessons. She is going down the water slide by herself at Fairmont and still love sthe water and swimming. She really could care less about TV shows at this age and Max likes Sid the Science Kid, trains and trucks. That is all for now.

Ski Practice

 
 
 
 

Darby Dog Died Nov 23 2008- miss him....

More Snow in SLC, Darby and Aspen friends already

 
 
 
 

playing in the snow

 
 
We had an Oct. snow storm last weekend. The kids enjoyed it soo much! Max is an avid sledder and Ada has always loved sledding. We pushed them down the hill by our house. Ada is signed up for ski lessons this winter and hopefully MAx will be inspired for next year. She is enjoying Fine Arts Preschool and really trying to learn her letters and teaching herself to read. Tom is bust with worka nd trying to figure out what he could do to make millions and I am still at Huntsman Cancer Hospital. We are loving the break from the heat and excited for winter fun. Aspen is fitting in nicely and we just love hiking with her.

 
 
 
 
Aspen, the husky in the picture has joined our family. She is 11 yrs. old and very sweet. We are happy to take care of her through her golden years. Max is in teh process of sleep training which is going very well. He is in his crib after sleeping with us for 18 months. He doesn't exactly love it yet, but he's getting better every night. He doesn't wake up until 5 am ish and then easily goes back to sleep until 7am. YEAH! Crying it out does work I guess. Well see how it ends up after the weekend. The weather feels more like fall and we are getting out alot more. We bought a trailer bike for Ada to ride behind me and Dad pulls Max in the trailer. It has been fun to bike on the weekends.

Let's Talk about Max

Well- he is sooo stubborn, like his daddy. He is totally in love with his mothers boob- (notice it is not plural.) Currently it is about 1 hour and he is still crying in his crib trying to learn to sleep on his own. I have not taught him that great skill in 17 mo and now he has been crying so long, he has probably forgotten why he is crying. Bad mom.... He is usually pretty frantic throughout the day. He enjoys playing with water in the sink when I do dishes. He likes playing with balls. He says "Ball" and "shoe" a million times a day. He is also addicted to shoes. They have to be on. Not only his, but everyone in the house must have their shoes on.

I am starting this post over 10 days later. He is now asleep in his bed after no crying. He just roles over and goes to sleep. A HUGE improvement from 10 days ago. He still does not nap well during the day, but if his sister wasn't such a social butterfly he would have the time to stay in one place. He loves his music class and the music in the car is really helpful when driving. He is enthralled by the dogs, and can't get enough dog food to eat- I think it could be his favorite food. He likes beans and rice, meat and fruit. Veggies are REALLY hard to get Maxwell to eat. Ada loved spinach at this age, but Max-NOOO wayy JOSE! nothing green. I thinkhe will love. Popscicles are a hit and I think I will start mixing something green into them for his daily serving. He is 18 months now and very cute. I am trying to teach him how to kiss me instead of tear at my face and eyes, which he likes to do frequently. Also very interested in books now- particularly three with just pictures in them and single words. That's enough for now- Love you Maxwell!

 

The girls love the carosel also. This is a new feature at the zoo this year. Quite a hit with the little kids!

Zoo

 
Maxwell loves the carosel!

Camping- how it has changed!

What camping used to be: fun, relaxing, good food and drinks, great campfire smells, exercise and fatigue after a long day climbing, sitting around with a nice buzz talking to friends, maybe a cigarette by the camp fire, sleeping in under the stars snuggled warm in the bag next to the lover at the time, a winter hat in the morning boiling water for some french press coffee, an extravagant camping breakfast, another day of climbing or hiking or simply enjoying the out of doors.

What camping is now: stressful, dirty, keeping an eye on the kid at all moments so you don't end up in burn trauma unit, constant dirt patrol and creek patrol so the kids don't drown, giardia watch, no exercise or climbing b/c the kids will fall off a cliff while you belay, constant snacks for kids, no crazy creek lounging by the fire, feeding more snacks and protecting sippy cups from going down the creek, preparing meals that just get thrown in the dirt, no enjoyment of alcohol or cigarettes because of lack of a minute to find a bottle opener or much less smoke in front of the kids, pee patrol, scooping kid crap off the ground b/c they are too young to bury it themselves, changing poopy diapers in the back of the car, a dog that has rolled in cow pies and mud and is sleeping in the new car, no sleep because you are protecting the kids from becoming cold in below freezing temps, freezing temps and no lover to cuddle with, waking up at first light, suffering through breakfast only to get in the car, get the hell home, clean the gear, the dog , the car and pass out in bed thankful that the mattress is soft and the kids are asleep finally. I won't do it for a long time!

Camping Slide Show

 
I guess Ada thought she was at a model shoot- she kept saying, "one more", just one more. She was posing like some model on a rock. I asked her why she was acting like that and she said she "just wanted to look like a mermaid." We had fun this day and actually Tom and Ada did a little climbing nearby the lake. We had to rush home so i could get to work. MAx had a good nap in the backpack.

cecret lake hike, little cottonwood canyon

 

A Little Lake Wobegon

 
Karyn and I spent the evening with Garrison Keillor of Prairie Home Companion last eve. The show was awesome. The music, jokes and sound effects were just what I needed. I enjoyed a bit too much wine and laid awake in bed trying not to puke, but I recovered fine. Tom was supposed to join me but his plane was cancelled out of LA and did not make it home. Karyn wass able to get a sitter at the last minute. We brought a big smoked whitefish,olives, crackers, suishi and zucchini muffins. We also brought chocolate, but what we did not know was that it was 91 % cocaco- soooo bitter. we now know there is a rating system to fine chocolate. Also included is Fritz and Hannah, our friends who got us tickets. Fritz works at Red Butte where the concert was held. Excellent evening all around.

The girls, and one guy....

 

I again rode the crest trail this weekend with my friends Sasha, Gigi and Daniel. It was a great temp and a blast. Sasha is new to the sport but she had balls! No problem for her. She will learn to be a great biker with a bit of practice.

Mom & Ada

 

Mom and Ada at Lagoon- As i mentioned before we had a wonderful time. EXCEPT- I have been sick ever since. I have contracted a flu/stomach bug since that day that will not quit! I guess since it had been two weeks I will seek a DR. advice. Bad food at Lagoon- pack your own lunch!

About Me

Two names you go by:
1. Jamie
2. Mama
Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. Earings
2. swimsuit cover-up
Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. Financial Freedom
2. chocolate chip cookies
Two People Who Will Fill This Out:
1. Christy
2. Gretchen?
Two Things You Did Last Night:
1. worked
2. Searched for old friends on facebook
Two Things You Ate Yesterday:
1. Chicken
2. Rice
Two People You Last Talked To:
1. Husband
2. Karyn
Two Things You're Doing Tomorrow:
1. violin lesson
2.watching Karyn's kids for her b'day
Your Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving
Favorite Vacations:
1. Camping in the desert
2. Someplace with a beach in winter
Favorite Beverages:
1. kombuccha
2. coca cola (occasionally)

Mountain Biking

 

This is at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon on the Wasatch Crest trail. I love this trail. It has a steep up to get to the top and then it heads down to desolation lake or to Millcreek canyon. The flowers and butterflies were everywhere. I rode this day with Quino, who is a roadie. Once he got used to the shifting he really enjoyed biking in the mountains and might be buying a mountain bike! Today is Sat. and Tom is still in Hawaii. We are heading up to Silver Lake near Brighton for a picnic.