Room Service

We just got back from a great weekend in Calgary filled with fun memories.
Justin was asked to attend a conference there and was treated to a hotel room and room service.
It was awesome.  We didn't get there until around 9 so we has already eaten but who can pass up some free room service?  We ordered some cheesecake and some fruit, and were treated with some delicious chocolate cookies.

 Twelve dollar cheesecake.  We expected it to be a little bit larger, but it was enough to quench our sweet tooth!

The prince and princess and our room service tray.  Justin and I have never had room service or stayed in a fancy hotel.  So this was a treat for us too.  We stayed up late with the kids and just enjoyed the night.  I think we all had a great time.  Just outside our window was the Calgary Tower.  We were right across the street from it.  Noni had a little bit of a scare looking out the window (we were on the top floor) at the Calgary Tower.  He would not let Justin let go of his hand.  He was so cute.  It was just and unexpected and fun night.  Justin kept saying to Ruby  'Remember this night' and she kept replying 'I can't'.  I hope she does. She has the best memory of anyone I know- so I am confident she will be fine...

And Eldon was there- whether he enjoyed himself or not is still unknown...

Gallets

When Ruby was young she used to call glasses goggies and noni called them gallets.  Now they both call them glasses.  (They are getting too big)
There are a lot of perks that come from Justin being an optometrist, like for example, we are finally MAKING money.  (It has been a long time)
One of my favorite perks is being able to go and try on glasses.
There is nothing better than a little kid with a pair of glasses on.  They are just way too cute!
Ruby loves it too.  She has her set favorites- the glow in the dark ones but I like to make her branch out.  There are some incredibly cute ones there!
Here are some of my favorites from the last time we were there.

 Is this not the cutest picture you have ever seen?  He reminds me of the old man from UP.  I just love his mouth and the way he is standing!

 Ruby loves purple.  As she should- these glasses look so awesome on her!

 Eldy isn't really a fan- but that cute cry face is awesome.

What a cute little head.

Mustaches

I was asked to do a booth at a relief society activity. It was to be geared towards having fun with kids.

It wasn't until I started to plan it out that I realized 2 things.

Number 1:  I used to have fun with my kids all the time.  We used to do really fun things, and life was good.

Number 2: I have been slacking a bit since I got pregnant- a year ago.  I was just so sick, having fun was the last thing on my list.  Life is still good but we really need to get the fun back into it.  

So here I go to 'Carpe Diem'

I love mustaches, I just love them.  Not real ones mind you.  I don't want Justin to actually GROW one.  Please no.  But I do love fake mustaches.  I really do.

My kids tolerate them.  (They love them deep down I am sure.)

I printed out the props- (I found the free printable here)

And we got to work having fun.

 Noni didn't have as much fun as the rest of us.  I guess he wasn't in the mood.  He kept crinkling all the props and after this photo was taken he promptly ripped those glasses in half...  I just turned them into a monacle...  when noni gives you lemons make lemonade- right?

 Ruby was such a good sport!  And isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen?

 Eldon is awesome.  Look at that little guy- he is SO AWESOME!  He didn't even cry or complain.  He as quickly learned to endure...

This was so fun.  and you get some awesome photos from it for memories later.  We will do this again soon. I just need to find some more mustaches....

Bulk Barn vs the Babies

It all stemmed from my desire for sanity.  The desire to get out and smell the fresh air and to make my delicious granola.  So I took all the kids on a walk to bulk barn and to say it was the worst decision I ever made is definitely an understatement.  I will never do it again.  Never.  Eldy knew right away it was a bad idea and he made sure I knew.  

He cried the whole time unless he was held.  So I had to carry a crying baby  16 pound baby (yes he is 16 pds now) in one arm while pushing the stroller in the other and keeping an eye on my 3 year old who was very curious about the bulk utopian paradise...

At one point he even stuck his whole arm in the sesame seeds.  I did my best to scoop out what he had touched- like that is even possible.  At another point he reached into a bin and grabbed an m&m and started to put it in his mouth.  I quickly told him he couldn't eat it because we hadn't paid for it- so he started to put it back in the bin.  So I quickly told him he couldn't do that either and eventually relented and told him to just eat it.  Talk about mixed signals....  At least he was kind enough to share half with Ruby.  Ruby as always was an awesome help.

  Luckily she can hold the bag while i scooped, it was a little hard to do it all while I was holding Eldon.  Don't worry, she was rewarded with any candy of her choice.  She choose some weird banana candy that turned out to be incredibly delicious.  Noni got Swedish fish.  We survived, barely.  So bulk barn and the fresh outdoor air are complete opposites in my mind.  Sanity versus insanity.  The point- we will be walking as much as we can and we will avoid the bulk barn like the plague (at last when I am by myself).  I really like the bulk barn under normal circumstances, I will just have to go with back up next time...

(Can I just say I think my kids are awesome?)

Sanity

What I like most about winters here are the chinooks.  They make winters bearable.  We have been enjoying an extended chinook (or dare I say the end of winter is nigh?) lately and it has truly helped with our sanity.  We enjoy the crazy amounts of mud and large puddles.  It is awesome.  Ruby and Noni love it, and I love it.  It just feels good to be out in the fresh air again.  Eldy is getting used to it, he sleeps through it mostly.  When we are outside I can feel the sanity return to my veins.  And I forgot how much I love mud and puddles.  I am looking forward to blue skies and warm weather but for now we will take the slight chill and the mud.

Penny-less Tuesday

Some days are Splashing in the Mud and the Muck days

Some days are drinking your Chocolate milk through your straw glasses days

and some days are losing the penny days.

Today is one of those days.

Goodbyes must be said to such sayings as:
'find a penny pick it up all day long you'll have good luck'
'that costs a pretty penny'
'penny for your thoughts'
and 'a penny saved is a penny earned'  (though I did hear that some banks are paying a penny and a half for a penny- so we'll hang on to this one for a while)

Goodbyes must be said to the 'leave a penny take a penny jars.'
It is a sad day for our children who will never be able to go to the corner store and buy penny candies.  I'm going to keep a few pennies just so my kids know what they looked like....

So to my good friend the penny I say farewell.

It is a sad day for us all.  I am sure.

Empowered

I still miss Ohio.
I try not to think about it much.  It makes me sad.
Not because life here is horrible, because it is great.  (and lets face it I could not have survived the last 7 months without my mom and dad's help)  We are blessed with family and friends and opportunities we may otherwise not have had, but I still sometimes miss Ohio.
We really grew there.  We really grew together as a family and learned to rely on one another and how to survive on our own.
We learned the true meaning of a ward family and grew to love the members of our congregation.
We learned how to be poor and still be happy, really happy.
We learned the true meaning of being lonely and sad.  But on the flip side we learned how to make friends, really good friends, and then what it meant to feel fulfilled and truly happy.
We learned how to sacrifice.
We learned how to be a cohesive unit, a strong family.
And Ruby learned to climb trees.

I remember the day she learned to climb a tree.  I coached her along a bit but ultimately made her do it herself- and get down herself.  And she did.  I could feel the excitement within her.  That feeling of empowerment.  That she could do anything and was on top of the world.  It is an experience I want her to have everyday.  I want her to feel empowered every day-  like she can conquer the world and do any righteous thing that she desires.  It was within the same week that I ran my first 5 miles.  I had been running 3 miles consistently and really wanted to push myself- so I did.  I felt that same sense of empowerment- I really could do anything.  I was in  charge of my physical body, not the other way around.  I could train and run and do whatever I wanted.  I could push myself and achieve my goals.
I guess that is why I am missing Ohio- I associate those feelings with our time there.  We all learned a great deal about ourselves.  Ruby comments on how she misses our trees.  I do too.
But I also know that we will find more trees to climb here, more things to conquer and overcome, other ways to feel empowered.
Life is pretty consistent that way.
But I will forever miss Ohio, the friends that we made there, the fun times that we had there, and the trees in our backyard.

Good Deeds

Today brought me drama.  Car and snow drama.

One thing after another drama.

The kind of drama that has you asking two questions- 'Really?'  and 'What's Next?'

It began with a crazy snowfall.  Like 2 feet of snow.

Then Justin was taking Ruby to school and got stuck outside the house.  Mom and I didn't notice and luckily some guy came by and pushed Justin out and Ruby got to school and Justin got to work.

Then the time came for me to get the Rubes from school so I decided that I would take Noni since it was his birthday and I never take him and he really wanted to come.  

So I rushed and got him ready- which can be quite the feat especially when it is so cold outside.

We went outside and the first thing Noni does is walk into the huge snow bank.

He fell in all the way up to his chest.  It looked fun but he wasn't wearing snow pants and was covered in snow.

I grabbed him as quickly as I could and wiped him off then put him in his car seat.  He immediately started crying because the cold snow was touching his skin so I went to start the van to get it warmed up for him.

The van won't start.

Try again, nothing.

Just clicks.

Of course.

So I haul poor Noni back into the house, break the bad news to him- call Justin and go back outside.

By this time I am going to be late to get Ruby so luckily Justin's 230 appt didn't show up so he was able to run and get Ruby.

In the mean time I hopped in mom and dad's car so I could meet Justin at his work and get Ruby.

I was a little bit worried about getting stuck but thought I would go for it anyway.

Well- what do you know.

I get stuck.  Things were looking good.  I thought for sure I would be fine.  Sadly, I was not.

So I call Justin.  Of course.

He says he will keep Ruby at work until I can get there or until the end of day- whichever comes first.  At this point I'm thinking end of day.  The hard part is I am stuck in the middle of the road at an angle- leaving minimal space for anyone wanting to get around me.

So I kept trying to get out.  I shoveled, I rocked, I looked, I waited and tried again, I prayed.  

Still I did not get out.  

So I sat and waited a bit.  Tried again.

Still nothing.  In the mean time I thought my screen filter was on because my screen seemed dark so I pressed the screen filter button and it turns out that it wasn't on and I turned it on.  Now I cannot see my phone screen- which seems rather minimal but when I am trying to communicate via text with justin and I can't see my screen it is rather maximal.  I can't even see my screen to turn my screen filter off.  It was sad.

Finally a glimmer of hope.  A truck had driven by twice while I was trying to get out and I thought for sure that it would stop and someone would help me.  Turns out- no.  

But another good Samaritan did show up.  He couldn't get me out himself- he tried, I will give him that.  Luckily someone else saw our distress and came to the rescue.

I finally got unstuck and then the awkward moment came.  

You know the moment- these two guys have helped you get out- something you are grateful for and really should stop and thank them for but if you stop then you will most likely get stuck again and look like an idiot so you do the awkward wave out the window with a thank you yell to follow.  Sadly it doesn't truly show your gratitude to its full extent but what am I to do?  I just hope they felt my gratitude.

I went and got Ruby from Justin's work, we tried on a few glasses and headed home to finish Noni's cake and get the pizza dough ready.  

We had survived and Ruby got picked up in time and I learned a valuable lesson- Always stop and push people out of the snow, it will be appreciated even if they just wave and yell out the window to say thank you.

It was also this kids birthday- and this kid is awesome!  He fills my day with joy and mischief.  I really love him.  I see that sweet face and I just feel glad to have him around.  I can't believe that he is 3.  We had a little family party with him.  I will fill you in later.  But it included butt-staches.... of course.  You've never heard of a butt-stache?  Well stay tuned my friends, stay tuned...

Rainbow ButtStache.

January brings to us a new year and a special little guys birthday.

Justin Myers Snell turned 3.
THREE!  Can anyone believe it?
This little guy is so incredibly adorable he can just about get away with anything, and he tries.
I can just see that mind of his working and I love it.
He brings so much joy and excitement into our family.
I cannot believe what a big boy he has become.
He is always reminding us that he is not a baby anymore.
He is strong and loves to wrestle.  If ever he falls or gets hurt it is a rare occurance to see him cry.
I am really having a hard time putting into words how much I love him and how awesome he is.
He is AWESOME and I LOVE him.
He is super chatty and has his own special way of pronouncing certain words-  which I think is awesome.  Luckily we have Ruby the interpreter in our family.
Noni loves planes and the outdoors and snow and running and wrestling and Ruby and now his baby brother  whose name he frequently forgets.
He has mastered the art of unders and prefers to wear only them the whole day.  Anytime I put clothes on him he asks 'where are we going?'
He is sweet and lovely and wonderful.
We are so glad to have him in our family.
This year for his birthday I decided to make him a mustache cake.  We were going to have some family over but everyone got sick so it was just us this year.  I found an awesome cake on pinterest that I wanted to make- it looked easy and all i required was a circular cake pan.
Well we don't have one.
So I thought I would just do a rectangular cake pan and cut my own mustache shape out of it.
That is how the 'Buttstache' was born.  (Lovingly named by Ruby)

It was a monstrosity of a cake, in fact I am ashamed to admit that I even made that...  Perhaps the ugliest thing I have ever seen and rightfully named I am sure.

Despite its outward appearance it was delicious- therefore teaching a valuable lesson- never judge a cake by its appearance....

Eldon wanted in on the action too.

Doesn't he have a sweet little face?

Eldy

Eldon James was born on December 28th at 848 am.  He weighed 10 pds 15 ozs and is incredibly cute.  Ruby and Myers love him too.  They aren't huge fans of the crying but they still really love him.  Ruby complains that she can't stop looking at him because he is so cute.  Noni has asked for him to go back in my belly a few times but he really shows great brotherly love to him.  Maybe a little rough but love none the less.  Myers will only call him baby and Ruby will only call him Eldy, in fact she corrects me every time I call him Eldon.  I find myself calling him noni more than anything.  He is changing every day,  he turns one week tomorrow.  I can't believe it.  We feel so blessed to have him in our family!