Courtney and Mommy

Mt. Baker Sledding

December 31, 2009
We drove up to Mt. Baker on New Years Eve Day for some sledding. Courtney is in the midst of potty training and ended up pooping her pants not once but two times while we were up there. Not the best place to do something like that...ugh what a mess and a coldy! After it was all cleaned up we headed over to the sledding area and had a super great time! The area is a little steep so the kids had a hard time climbing back up the hill.

Courtney perfered making snow angels

and Sydney wished Max was around so she could throw snow balls at him!

We had a coldy picnic sitting in the back of Lex's F150 before we headed down the mountain (after one more clean up of Courtney)

skating

Dec 30, 2009
We went skating at the Bellingham Sportsplex for a few hours. Open skate was from 1:30-4:45 and I seriously didnt think we would skate as long as we did. Sam has been wanting to go skating since the day we arrived. The kids loved it. Thankfully we go the walkers for the kids or it would have only been a quick skate because our back would have been out! Alexa and Bernt showed up and skated with us which was a great help.

this is how we started out before we got the walkers...

Courtneys balance was incredible!


She went pretty fast w the the walker!

Alexa and Samantha!

Alexa and Sydney...

The walkers were hilarious but boy were they helpful! What a great invention!!

CHICAGO

Jon and I got to spend 3 cold wintery days in Chicago for "our" birthdays! Jon spent 46 days away from me this year in Hilton Hotels so he is now a Diamond Member which means UPGRADES! We had an amazing suite over looking The Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Soldier field! It was awesome to get away without the kiddos and have some grown up time. I wasnt very smart (well I thought I was) and I pack only my black leather boots. Within 20 minutes of me being there I slipped and fell down the stairs at the train station. So we spent the next morning boot shopping!

Marshalyn Thurston and me. I hadnt seen MT since I left Washington State back in 1989. She was a sorority sister (yes I was a Sigma Kappa for a year) and we reconnected through facebook. It was great seeing her and a couple hours before we met up with her and her man, Donny, they got engaged! Woot!

the first of many portraits..the water tower in the back ground!

On Sunday we walked all over after I got new boots at the Water tower center. It was cold but it felt great to get out and shop and walk. Chicago is a great town to visit but I dont know why anybody would want to live there...it's cold and snowy and wet!

this statue had to be over 20 feet tall.

Yummy deep dish pizza...

good til the last bite!

We spent an hour or so walking along the Navy Pier. The kids would have absoluetly loved it. The whole upstairs was a winter wonderland with an ice skating rink, rides and lots of junk food. One of these years we'll take them there (perferably in the spring or early summer when the weather is not cold or muggy hot!)

the view from our room

The main reason we went was Jon got some incredible seats through work to the Monday Night Football game Bears vs. Vikings! Jon is a life long Vikings fan so it was an amazing night.

We got field passes. I was only down there for about 20 minutes before I couldnt stand the coldness...wish I would have stayed longer though because Jon got up close to Brett Favre and all the other teammates! But when the game finally started it was 22*...and the stands were packed! Crazy Bear fans!

The Skyline suite was amazing. Free drinks and tasty food...and when I mean food I mean a pasta bar, nacho bar, chicken wings, prime rib, pork wrapped in bacon, cheeses, hot dogs, dessert bar...you name they probably had it. Thanks LG for such a great time!

Jons friend Chris from Las Vegas.

Favre!

Just wish the game could have ended better for the Vikings an OT loss was a nail biter!

A walk though of the Skyline suite:

the dance off

Christmas Day dance off

Grandpa Santa

The highlight of the day was when Grandpa Fallis (Auntie Leah and Momma Sarah's Dad) walked in the house. My kids went nuts. Courtney ran up to him before he could get ion to the house and gave his leg a big ol hug. They thought he was Santa Claus and for the next 30 minutes wouldnt leave his side. they brought him cookies were so happy that Santa was there! Richard loved it!

Santa and the girls!

the turkey

This year we deep fried the turkey. It was all pretty exciting. Everybody went outside to watch Alexa drop the turkey into the boiling oil. It was pretty scary because they put to much oil in (they thought they measured correctly but didnt realize that oil expands once it is heated.) The spot to be was outside by the turkey! It tasted pretty good but I like a baked or rotisserie turkey better. The skin was crispy!