Blog Archive

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

January 2013

It seems that some of my best days of motherhood occur on the slopes with my kids.  Since my little ones had a teacher prep day this month, we journeyed to Snow Basin and enjoyed the crips mountain air and sunshine on our faces (cue the freckles).  Shera watched Amelie the first half of the day, then joined us with her boys and we all skied together.  What a great time!
A bit bright, but the boys in the chair ahead of us

Ella and I enjoying some good conversation on our rides up together.

So beautiful!


It was Amelie's first time on the hills, and she did FANTASTIC!  What a blast!  Hearing her squeals of delight as we moved down the bunny hill together was pure magic. 
Hands on your knees!

Girl Power!!
Ella was our little speed demon. She points those skis downhill and it's full bore ahead!  Let's be honest, the older 3 all give me a run for my money and ski at speeds that I'm frankly not comfortable with.  Ha ha.
 
Joshua
 
Each day as we travel in the car, I try to point out the beauty that surrounds us.  It warms my heart as they have all started to catch on to the idea, "Mom, look at the mountains!" or "Mom, look at that tree, it's beautiful!" Then they ask if they can take a picture of it with my phone.
 
Here are a few shots that Josh took this past month:
 
Sun Setting

We all love the trees as the sparkle in the morning with frozen dew.
 
Going through Provo Canyon, here is a shot of the lake with those brave ice-fisherman.
 
Daxton
 
Dax quote of the month:
Me, "Hey Dax, who did you sit on the bus with today?"
Dax: "I dont' know his name, but he was very kind."
 
Though Snow Basin was a delight, we had a less than pleasant experience skiing at Sundance a few weeks later.  I had never been to this resort before, and wasn't familiar with the lifts or runs.  Josh and Dax were about 5 chairs ahead of Ella and I, while Cam was taking Amelie down the rope-tow lift.  Turns out there were two different drop spots to get off the lift.  Josh got off on the first drop spot, but Dax stayed on and the chair continued to rise in the air.  About 20 feet up, Dax panics and jumps from the lift so he can be with his brother.  5 chairs later, I pass them both and see Dax crumpled on the ground sobbing with 2 men helping him out.  I didn't see them in time and therefore missed getting off where they were.  I had to ride all the way to the top, then quickly ski down with Ella and try to find my boys.  Talk about heart racing!!  I finally found them, and helped Dax to get to the bottom of the hill.  We took him to the hospital, and thankfully left with only a sprained thumb. 
That boy has guardian Angels watching over him! To jump from a lift 20 feet in the air and only have a sprained thumb and bloody nose.......pretty miraculous. 
 

 
 
Ella
 
Ella quote of the month:
Commenting on my outfit:
"Hey mom, I like those pants.  They're jazzy."
 
Ella was blessed with "Eggertz" hair. Those Eggertz' have straight, thick, beautiful hair! A few months back I had introduced the idea of "Locks of Love" to Ella.  Showed her the pictures, and told her who the donated hair goes to and who it helps.  I told her they needed 10", we even got out a ruler to show her how much of her hair they would need.  She was VERY reluctant to the idea and repeatedly reminded me that she was growing her hair out like Rapunzel's.  So I just let the idea alone, and moved on.
 
Fast forward two months.  One Monday morning while fixing Ella's hair she said,
 "Mom, I want to get a hair cut after school today."  I said,
"Okay, a trim? What do you want?"
and she replied,
"Let's do the 10."
 


Ella's a stud.  Didn't ever cry, or feel sad about it.  She loves her new hair cut and delights in the fact that she can shower all on her own now!
Ella eating some cheesy pizza at the Pizza Factory

Girl power on the lift before we discovered Dax had been hurt.

Ella dressing herself.  So independent!
 
 
Amelie
 
Quote of the month:
"Bye mom, see ya later.  I'm gonna go to get married in the temple."
 
Amelie continues to keep us all laughing.  She LOVES her older sister, and the two have become quite the best of friends.  Ella even uses her "sweet little girl" voice when she talks to Amelie,
"Amelie, do you want me to pick out your outfit today?" (in a high-pitched voice.)
And Amelie just eats it up!
 
After tub-time.

Devouring a breadstick.

Amelie wanted her hair cut too, so here she is smiling with her new hairdo, a cute little bob.

Ready for more skiing action!

Amelie has become quite the "pretender" lately.  Here she is "pretending" to be a puppy, eating strawberries on the floor from her "doggy dish."
 
Cameron
 
Cam has made a new friend who shares similar interests in back-country skiing (good job Cam!)  Casey has introduced him to an amazing spot only 5 minutes from here......a location that Cam has asked I keep secret.......just in case the 4 people who read this post spread the word. Ha ha.  They snowmobile into the canyon, skin up and then ski down in amazing powder.  They leave so early in the morning that the sub zero temperatures have left them both frostibtten on nose and cheeks.  Sounds fun, right?  Brrrrr!
One word:  MIDWAY

Climbing up the slope, anxious to ski down

 
 
Cindy
 
 Miracles happen and I joined the local gym in town.  It's been over two months of almost daily fit-stop classes including "Group Power" (weight lifting) "Mind and Body Yoga," Group Kick" (that causes you to leave wanting to beat the crap out of someone)  and "Sculpt and Sweat."  Although my butt doesn't seem to look any better in jeans, and I seem to have a ravenous appetite since joining, I am happy to report that I can now do several pushups and situps with ease (so I guess that's a plus, right?)  I challenged my little bro to an arm wrestle when I see him next.  Little Cam, prepare to be anihilated.
Did she seriously put a picture of her bicep in her blog?  Heck ya she did!! I want my posterity to know that their grandma was strong once.  Welcome to the gun show!
 
 

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Dreamy, Delightful, December

Christmas is hands down the greatest.  I LOVE it.  I love the time of year, love the lights that glow at night, love the smells, the sweets.  I love the joy and excitement my kids bring as the anticipate the arrival of the big day.  And above all, I love being reminded about that miraculous day of Jesus' birth.

One of my favorite things to bring the Christmas spirit is listening to holiday music.  My all time favorite Christmas album is Kenny and Dolly's Christmas.  It is awesome (I love Dolly.  Blond bouffant, press on nails and all.) Here are the lyrics to one of their classics:

I believe in Santa Claus
I believe in Santa Claus
I believe there's always hope
When all seems lost
And I believe in Santa Claus.

I believe in Santa Claus
I'll tell you why I do
I believe that dreams and plans
And wishes can come true.
I believe in miracles
I believe in magic too
I believe in Santa Claus
And I believe in you.

I believe in family
In country and in smiles
I believe in turning negatives
To positives in life.
I believe in looking farther up
The farther down we get
I believe when someone hurts us
We should forgive and forget.

And I believe in Santa Claus
I believe in Santa Claus
I believe that love
Should prevail at any cost.
And I believe in Santa Claus

I believe in saying what you mean
And meaning what you say
I believe a better attitude
Can make a better way.
I believe in viewing life
As a journey that we're on
And looking at our troubles
As another stepping stone.

And I believe that everything
Is what it's meant to be
I believe there is a God somewhere
Although he's hard to see.
I believe I am so therefore
I should do all that I can
To be a better piece
In the puzzle of God's plan.

And I believe in Santa Claus
I believe in Santa Claus
I believe there's always hope
When all seems lost.
I believe in Santa Claus.

Pretty great, right?  Now just imagine Kenny and Dolly rocking out to that!  Classic.



 

 
 

 
This year we again did the 12 days of Christmas, full of games, stories, treats and activities. They took us to family parties, and to the shops at Riverwoods in Provo where we met Santa.


 
Dax showing santa his letter to "Please get me a batman batcave toy."
Ella telling Santa she wants a "Pink Guitar."
Josh's encounter was so brief, there was no time for a picture (I guess 10 year olds aren't too fond of sitting on some old guys lap.)
Amelie refused to sit on his lap, but quickly snatched the sucker he held out for her.
A bit blury, but we look younger this way.....
The lights were beautiful at the Riverwoods!  It was FREEZING cold!
 
Their gingerbread village.
 
 
Leaving some milk and cookies for Santa
Christmas Morning!!
A happy bunch of Eggertz'
 
Josh
 
Joshua wanted an Ipod touch from Santa, but Santa said No Way.  Instead, he got Epic Mickey 2, a very fun game for the Wii. 
 
Josh is loving basketball and continues to practice twice a week with games on Saturdays and some Mondays.  He is improving with each game, and even had a great steal followed with a layup at last week's game.  Good job little buddy!
 

He loves his litle sister!
For school, Josh had to create a closed circuit using a 9Volt battery and christmas lights, and create a "home" to put the lights on.  This is what he came up with.
Someone ALWAYS ends up crying.  Bob and weave little Dax, bob and weave!!  It totally looks like Dax has a
6-pack.............unfortunately he is an Eggertz' and those are his ribs.
 
Daxton
 
 
Sledding with the cousins at Nana and Grandpa's Cabin
Snowmobiling with Dad
 
We finally got some snow after Christmas.  Cam fired up the snowmobile and pulled the kids along in the sled.  So much snowy fun!
Dax got just what he wanted from Santa, a Batcave complete with action figures.  It's pretty much a barbie dream house, just painted a little differently.  There are elevators, trap doors, and it is even equipped with the bat signal.  I'm not going to lie, I was pretty excited to play with this one!
 

Ella
 
Our little Ella Bella turned 6 this month.  At first she wanted a "China Party," as in an Asian themed party.  I'm not creative nor disciplined enough to come up with something on that end (plus is it P.C. to do that?), so we opted for her 2nd choice: a Dance party.
 
She invited her friends from the neighborhood: Kaylee, Hailey, Semry, Beck, Sam, and Max.  After pizza and cake, they each picked a costume and danced to their heart's content. 
Birthday Cake

Girls Dancing
 
Boys Dancing

Partay!!

Nana Trish gave Ella some baking items, one of which was a cool tool that helps you shape pancakes!  Ella opted for a princess pancake.
Ella the red-nosed (and red-haired) reindeer.

Ella's present from Santa: a pink guitar.  Here she is singing "jingle bells."
 
Amelie
 

Amelie with her new kitchen set!(Thank you Wendy for scoring that one for me!!)

Ella did this to her.  And though it looks like I should go to jail for this incident occuring in my household, she was giggling the whole time (and yes, she could breathe.  And, yes, I did tell Ella never again....)

This year Amelie wanted one thing from Santa: a rock.  Each time I asked her, she never waivered or changed her mind.  It was always, "a rock." So, Santa deliverd.  He got Amelie a big, smooth, white and silver-speckled rock.  Watch your toes people, she carries this one all over the house. 

Sound asleep after all the excitement. 
Sledding time!
 
 
Cameron
 
Cam also had a birthday this month.  Unfortunately he scheduled himself out of town for his special day, so we celebrated it after he got home with some delicious spaghetti and homemade apple pie for dessert.
 
Some presents from Nana:  a blanket and delicious Oreos.

Some pics of Cameron pulling the kids around on the hill behind our house.


......What to wish for........

Is it just me, or is he breathtaking with facial hair?  Ooh la la.

Candid shot at my parent's cabin.  Wish I knew what he was saying with that hand motion.....haha.
Cindy
I love being a mom.  As the temperatures drop outside to negative temperatures, I feel so blessed to have a home that keeps us warm and protected.  What a wonderful Christmas we had, full of laughter, hugs and love.  How better to spend a day then surrounded by your little family, playing in pjs?!
Merry Christmas!
Hanging out at the cabin. 

Oh, so cute.  Snuggling brother-in-laws.

Shera and I look deep in thought for this one.






Our happy little family!  We love the snow!!