Welcome to the world, Moriah!

Christmas tree!

So up in Steamboat you can get a permit to cut down your own Christmas tree in the national forest for $10. What a fun family thing to do right?? So last year we all went up and I had all these visions of hot chocolate and hiking in and finding the perfect tree and dancing around it singing Christmas carols with the squirrels and bunnies looking on...

What really happened is Luke fell asleep on the way there and had a complete and utter meltdown in the snow and cold once we unwillingly woke him up...the snow was up to the kids' waists and there was no easy way for them to slog through it...it was incredibly cold...so I sat with a sobbing Luke while Sis played in the snow (she had a great time) and Jeff marched off and cut down and dragged out a tree by himself and he really could have used some help. Yeah...the world doesn't always look like an Instagram post, right?

So this year, Jeff was pretty adamant that it made sense for just he and I to go. So we had a little daytime date on Sunday...lunch at the Clark Store (they have the best hamburgers in the world) and then up to get our tree...there's so little snow this year it was easy to hike in and I could help and it was nice to have that special time with Jeff.

And once we were home the kids helped all afternoon with the decorating...Christmas carols and a gingerbread candle burning and we had such fun. So wins all around this year.

Thanks Jeff for making my Christmas tree dreams come true! :)

XO

Early to bed + early to rise...

1. Woke up early and wrote and read and took a shower and dressed before the kids were even up...
2. Getting kids (and me) to bed earlier is helping to give me some time in the evenings and making the mornings better as well...
3. Snow flurries this morning...and snow in the forecast for Sunday, yay!
4. Talked with the guys at Powder Tools about my snowboards today...love my old board but not my newer one and now I know why...and also have a plan for making my new one better and riding both this year in different conditions...
5. Polar Express with pizza and hot chocolate on blankets and pillows at the kids' school tonight...never seen that movie...can't wait...

Set building, snow-bots, and a get well gift

1. Sis was home again today, just minorly sick and we had such a nice time making huge snowflakes and putting together a meal and these pics were snapped while she was "putting together a set for 'The Sheep Show.'" Love the light and shadows here...a happy accident...
2. Sis: "I made some snow-bots! They are robots that live in the snow."
3. Luke coming home from school with some heart leafs carefully pixelated onto some small white pieces of paper--"get well" gifts for Sis...
4. Chili and Cosmos for me and the kids once we pick up the wreck they've made of the house...Daddy's doing a work dinner...we'll miss him...
5. Grateful to have had a light work week so I can focus on getting me and the kids back to 100%. Things will be ramping up again starting Monday...

Happy Thursday!

XO

Goodbye November!

What a great month we had! Here are some of the highlights:

• Big island of Hawaii with Grammy and Papa (and the kids' first plane flights!) (thanks sooooo much Mom and Dad...what an AMAZING gift...we will treasure those memories forever...)
• Thanksgiving with Uncle Ben and Auntie Jaimie and cousins and extended family (thanks Ben and Jaimie!)
• Jeff's birthday, with the kids making the movie "Esophagus," and new wheels for the Jeep
• Warm and dry
• Hikes
• Curries and turkey enchiladas and unstructured dinners
• "Cosmos" and "Stranger Things" and "Glitter Force" and "Hot Wheels Race Off" and "Justice League"
• "Emma" and "Of Mess and Moxie" and "52 Folktales From Around the World"
• Jen Hatmaker podcasts
• Playdates with Penelope and the Schramm boys
• Yatzee and puzzles, legos and the dollhouse, Equestria Girls
• Missing school because of travel and colds
• Slow work month for me (so nice to have time to catch up on other things!), crazy for Jeff with the hotel remodel 
• Beautiful sunsets
• Margaritas and stars on the porch
• Date nights on Saturdays

Ahhh...life is good...

XOXO

Sparkle shoes, curry + stress-free holidays...

1. Sis's outfit to pick up Luke at school yesterday...PJs and sparkle shoes, love it...
2. We've had a cold making the rounds at our house...but the good parts of that are some extra kid time (at a time when work is slow, so it's worked out perfectly) and time for me to really rest and Luke especially has been so sweet...Monday I didn't even want to get out of bed and he brought me water and snacks etc...so sweet...and we're almost all better...think both kids will be back in school by tomorrow...
3. All I want to eat right now is curry...yum...and super spicy it's great for colds, as well...
4. Feeling pretty organized/stress-free/straight-up excited about the holidays...not trying to do everything which keeps things much saner...
5. New children coming into the lives of women I love...love seeing these blessings all around me...

Happy Wednesday!

XOXO

Thanksgiving weekend 2017

1. So grateful we got to spend Thanksgiving with my family...and the drive over was so beautiful with all the low clouds...and the meal was amazing...and the kids were beyond excited to see their cousins...
2. Hike yesterday, the woods smelling all fall-ish...
3. Zo and I making paper snowflakes together and her hanging them all over the house...
4. ...also her helping me with folding laundry and wrapping...she is getting to be a genuine help...
5. Turkey enchiladas...
6. Luke being super snuggly...
7. Cosmos and Stranger Things...

Happy Sunday!

XO

"Spy," snuggles + scheduling

1. Gorgeous pinks in the sky tonight...
2. New curry recipe for dinner...yum...
3. Kids playing "Spy" while I type, trying to sneak up on me...about half the time I let them...lots of laughter...
4. Both kids are super snuggly today...loving having them home...
5. Trying to tweak my scheduling so I get everything done in a day...right now blocks of time on the calendar are my thing...
6. Been doing HIIT workouts (high-intensity interval training) at home at some point during the day for the past few days...feeling really good...I'm on a workout kick right now for some reason...

Happy Tuesday!

XO

Esophagus: The Movie, Happy Birthday Jeff! + a margarita on the porch

1. Kids and I have been hard at work on a movie called "Esophagus: The Bad Version" for their daddy's birthday. They wrote the story, made the sets, acted, chose the music, etc. It turned out great and what fun we had! I hope we do it again!
2. My husband's birthday and we had a nice mellow evening with him. He's working so hard. Got a sneak peek at his hotel and the remodel is looking sooooooo fantastic...
3. Luke is sick again (just a little cold), poor guy...glad we have the week off school so he's not missing any...
4. Reading Emma and loving it...
5. Porch time with my husband + a margarita (my drink of choice these days, I know it's not very winter-y, but...you know...lime juice and vitamin C)...cold, cloudy, that peaceful just about to snow vibe...

XO

An artist at work, glitter in the air + a box of sentimental things

1. Zo drawing herself and a dolphin--a scene from Hawaii--to send to Grammy and Papa today...so cute...loving her artwork these days...
2. Little bits of sparkling ice in the air walking the dog this morning...like someone threw handfuls of glitter...so beautiful...wonder if it's related to snowmaking?
3. Watching Cosmos with my husband and the kids right now...love introducing the kids to science...
4. New red-and-white napkins and silver tree napkin rings and holiday candles and Yahtzee at Ace Hardware today...fun stuff...
5. Luke's taking a bath at the moment and Zo is going through her box of treasures...pictures she's drawn and mail she's gotten, birthday cards and pages she and I have colored together, etc...love that she's sentimental about that stuff...