Amazing Weekend!

Brian has been flying around Cache Valley this week for a government deer count. They had to return to Bountiful each night so we haven't seen much of him. If they timed the refueling right they could be in Logan around lunch time and we could have lunch with Brian and the gang. Friday was the last day of the deer count and they would head back to Bountiful again. Brian had to work Saturday heli-skiing up Ogden Canyon. He called me and told me to hurry and pack an overnight bag, meet him at the airport, and we could fly down to Bountiful and spend the night with him at the company apartment. Normally a drive from Logan to Bountiful takes an hour and a half. In a helicopter it took thirty minutes. While flying through Sardine Canyon we found a huge herd of elk and flew a circle around them. Kylie did really well until the last 10 minutes when she looked like she was going to throw up. I have to admit that it felt a little luxurious to be flying in a helicopter for a weekend getaway.

Loading our pillows into the cargo hold.

The Bell 206 Long Ranger. Seats 2 up front, and 4 in back.

Kylie is a little apprehensive...but also excited.

I've decided that I look goofiest when Kylie is taking a picture of me. Can't seem to make a normal face.

Cache Valley, Utah

The government guy estimated there was 300-400 head of elk in this herd.

On the other side of the mountain...the northern end of the Great Salt Lake.

We hugged the Wasatch Mountain Range pretty tight, looking for mountain goats.

The Great Salt Lake.

What a 19 year-old guy does while waiting to leave on a mission...

I am constantly amused and amazed by what guys come up with when they're bored. You will never find a girl, of any age, doing stuff like this. It's been so much fun having Brian's nephew LD staying with us while he prepares to leave for his mission to Spain--just a few weeks left! When he's gone I won't have anyone to roll my eyes with when Brian gets into his hyper, OCD, little-too-detail-oriented mode. Although I think Sallie the cat will rest a little easier...

Incriminating Evidence

Sallie the cat is up to it again. We have long been suspicious of her activities while we are out of the house, feeling pretty confident that she jumps up on the counter or table in search of a snack. One morning I left in a hurry, slapping the last of some awesome homemade jam (thanks Stephanie!) on some bread for an impromptu breakfast. I left the jar on the counter (along with a sink full of dishes) to be dealt with later. When I came back home, I found kitty jam paw prints all over the counter...across the sink...across the next counter...and over to the oven. Somebody had been busy.

Germastics

Kylie is so excited to be starting "germastics" (aka gymnastics). She has been looking forward to it all week. She is in the beginning tumbling class learning how to do hand stands, cartwheels, etc. We lucked out that her friend Libby McBride is in her class. Today was her first day and she had so much fun.

Awwww!

Brian was looking through his e-mail today and found these pictures we sent him 5 years ago. Can you believe Kylie use to be that little?! She was 1 year old! Tiny little bug!

Bedtime Wars

When Brian leaves for work he is often gone for days, sometimes weeks, at a time. Naturally, this is very hard on Kylie. Brian was home the entire month of December, so she got pretty use to him being around. Work has picked up again and he's been gone 2-3 days a week. To stop the tears I whispered to her that because Daddy would be gone, she could sleep in my bed, and it would be our little "secret". Generally I am against children sleeping in bed with their parents. However, this seems to be the only compensation that makes it bearable for Kylie when Brian is away. Unfortunately its not a great arrangement for me. This little bug has always been a snuggle-sleeper. When she was a baby she would pop wide awake if I tried to lay her down. As a toddler she would sleep with a flashlight under her pillow so that when she woke up in the middle of the night she could find her way into our room and stealthily climb into bed, nestling between us. From there we would wake up to find Kylie spread horizontally across the bed with her head in Brian's ribs and her feet in my ribs, the two of us nearly falling out of bed. Now, when she sleeps with me, I start out on the far edge of the mattress and fall blissfully asleep with lots of (required) space around me. Somehow, during the night, she wiggles herself across the mattress until she finds me. I, unlike her, am most definitely not a snuggle-sleeper. I have finally resorted to putting a pillow between us and barricading her to her side of the bed. Lately she's taken to commandeering my side of the bed AND my fluffy pillow! Last night I came to bed after having my "quiet time" and found her sprawled across the bed. Cute little bug. I promptly shoved her to her side and put up the pillow barricade.

USU Hockey

I had forgotten how much fun hockey games are! I think it's like a demolition derby where you get to let your "other" side come out. There's something about violence that thrills the human spirit...as long as no one gets REALLY hurt. Brian's cousin Dana use to play goalie for the USU Hockey team. He invited us to come cheer on his teammates as they spanked BYU on the ice. It was a fun game with USU making tons of shots and keeping BYU from making any. If you get a chance, you should also see a Grizzly game down in Salt Lake. The hits are harder and you're guaranteed to get some blood on the ice. And they serve beer, which makes everything more fun.

Kylie took this picture. The kid loves the digital camera!

New Year's Eve

What a fun night! We rang in the New Year with Brian's sister Tracie and her husband Ryan, and his cousin Dana and his wife Stephanie and their three kids: Josie, Jackie, and Logan. We had a Wii tournament playing bowling and tennis. Eventually we broke out the Redneck Jamboree game that I rented and raced lawn mowers and flung toilet seat lids. The guys (and Josie) hooked up an X-Box 360 and gamed upstairs while us girls chatted downstairs with an eye on the other kids. Our table was groaning with all the amazing food. The kids played non-stop from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Brian's parents came home after the Aggie game and they sat around telling stories of growing up in Whitney, Idaho. There was non-stop laughter!