Christmas Day Delights 2010

Our Christmas Day was as usual, wonderful and exciting. We started with our wake up @ 4:45 by the little ones. Luke begged them for a few more hours to no avail. It was messy, chaotic, sleep deprived fun. We played games, visited with family, watched movies, had lots of yummy things to fill our bellies, and crashed helplessly into bed about 10 PM. Here's a few highlights of the boys loot...


Zacs new big barrel bat, strange that was the only wish of our & year old, I think we're in trouble



Jake looking about with Lexi trying to figure out why Mom would allow such a mess...

Lexi and our stay-over friend Demitra getting their Christmas morning loves...

Wade's favorite gift, a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign Luke made, apparently we have thin walls...

Jake's new baseball glove...time to get ready for a new season!

Luke's bright and obnoxious snowboarding jacket, It's 1980 all over again...

Me getting new slippers and a squeeze from Jake...

Jake's new shoes...

Zac's remote control car...

Luke and more clothes... it will be a re-occuring them throughout the day.

Nerf gun wartime

Sushi night at Mom's

Brand new Kitchen to play in!

Zac's new Jazz Jersey & Boston hat

Jake's new lifesize poster of himself, needless to say, he loved it.

yes, more clothes..



Everyone went to bed happy and fulfilled. It was a great day filled with family and fun, just the way we like it! Now let's put away the Christmas decorations and get cleaning!!!

A Grandma Lynn Christmas Extravaganza!!!

Last night was our Annual Christmas Party at Grandma Lynns. The kids were very ready, and very anxious, and were not disappointed. Grandma had lots of activities planned for them to keep them busy, and lots of food to keep the adults busy.

The 'little ones' making snowmen place settings...

Zac's version complete with a giant Z...

Playing games waiting for the big guy to arrive...

still waiting patiently....

Ahhh, yes finally he arrives. I love the excitement and wonder that Zac feels right here. You can read it all over his face...

Luke is a very good sport, even though he is crushing Santa...

Jake is a bit unsure, but is nice about it for his Grandma's sake (and to get a present)...

And I couldn't help but add this little pic. We had a great snowstorm the day after dropping about a foot of snow on us. Zac has wanted to make a snowman for a month and finally got to accomplish his goal with the help of his big brother Luke. Our Snowman looks a bit sad, maybe because he knows Lexi is going to relieve herself on him any moment. Tee Hee Hee.

And now for my Christmas wish, I hope that dear Santa brings me a new camera so I can finally get some decent photo's of my handsome boys. Wish...Wish...Wish...Wish...Wish...

Jakey G & his Surgery (#4)

Jake had his 4th ear surgery on December 8th. It was a bit more brutal this time. We are hoping that this newest of eardrums will stay in tact and be good to him. It is killing him to not be able to practice and play baseball with his team. I am determined to keep him somewhat sedentary for a month or so!

He is back to his normal self now but this is what it was like before surgery...
(boy doesn't go anywhere without his baseball hat. The Anesthesiologist chatted with him awhile, saw that his team color was red, and make sure that all his IV sites were wrapped in red coban)

This is him right when he got back from surgery. He was pretty miserable but much calmer this time. They must have added some magic juice (Ativan) to his IV...

This is a closeup of his Frankenstein stitches the day after surgery. They look really good right? Well, to me they do. Normally Jake is a showoff, but he was not fond of me making him show everyone his rad stitches.

All in all it went pretty well. He is on his way to recovery, and hopefully high altitude flying in a few weeks! His longterm wellness goal is to be ready to play hard core baseball in March in AZ.

Lovers in Chicago

If you are busy do not continue, If you have time read on.....
This will be a doosey. I think I just loaded 25 pics. Too many good ones to choose.
Wade and I made the long haul to watch the Utah Utes vs. Notre Dame Irish game last weekend. It would be an understatement to say that the game was anything less than an utterly abysmal disappointment, but the trip was anything but. We had SUCH a great time!!! Wade has always been a beach vacationer, but I may have opened his eyes to a whole new world of travel this time.

We stayed at a darling little Boutique Hotel called the Indigo in the Gold Coast area. It was right in the hub of all the action. A walk away from most everything, but still super safe. It was situated right in the middle of a road lined by brownstones. My favorite! Also only a few city blocks from the water front.

Our lobby...take notice of the painted ceiling and beachlike motif which continued throughout.

The BIGGEST Adirondack chair ever!!!

Our cute little room. Loved the hardwood floors, giant bed, cozy little reading area, and seashell wallpaper. It even had a pint sized Keurig Coffee Maker...just like home.

This was my favorite of the white brick neighbors...could you just die at the cuteness?

Walking towards the stadium @ Notre Dame. This is a beautiful campus. So full of history and tradition. This pond is situated right on the cusp of the dorms, administration buildings, and stadium. What a beautiful time to visit also. The fall is just so footballish.

This is the 'Golden Dome' building which houses mostly administrative offices but also a few classrooms. It is 4 stories high and the interior of the dome is painted Michelangelo style. Absolutely breathtaking. We happened to stumble in just as people were piling up to watch the traditional trumpet playing of the school fight song. Check the end of this post for a video of that.

They are c.r.a.z.y for their football team. I kept looking around for Rudy Rutiger...

The interior of the stadium. They have so many fans that they had the Utes fans, band, and cheer and dance teams all shoved into this corner. We were out in full force though! I frequently heard the Irish fans saying "I can't believe how many Ute fans are here!" I have to give them credit for being the nicest people ever. Every single person you made eye contact with said "Welcome to Notre Dame!"....(Far cry from Utah's traditional greeting 'You suck, get the he** out of here!')

It literally rained, not just a sprinkle, but dumped rain on us for the entire first 3 quarters. We were very fortunate to be dressed warm and had our Utah poncho's! The only cheer heard from the Utah section was when Wynn came out for a few downs, and when the sun appeared!

Here we are, all lined up in our plastic glory...funny eh!


After witnessing such a horrible display of football we awoke the next day hoping to see some real plays being made on the field. Go Bears!!! They did not disappoint. The Vikings and Brett Favre went DOWN. In retrospect we may have witnessed in person the last football game Favre will every play. That's pretty cool.

Wade's lifelong dream fulfilled, he finally got to go to Soldier Field.

Once again it was freaking cold, but the sun was out, and the sky was blue, so we were not about to complain!

Da Bears Field...

My cute hubby having the time of his life. Bless his heart he kept turning and asking me if I was OKand If I wanted to leave yet. I was not about to rob him of a single minute of his dream so we stayed for the entire game.

More beautiful architecture (it will be peppered throughout this post as not to overwhelm you all at once) This is the Chicago Public Library.

We took a rainy nighttime stroll to dinner that night. So romantic!

The next day Wade was the ultimate in good sports and spent the entire day sightseeing and shopping with me. We probably walked 10 miles that day. This is the view from the 96th floor of the Jefferson Building. My ears popped 4 times going up that elevator...creepy. It actually made me a bit nauseous just being up there long enough to have a drink. I don't know how people work everyday in buildings that high.

Stained Glass windows at a beautiful downtown Catholic Church.

The 96th floor again...Wade is just happy to finally be in something besides Nordstrom Rack. It was a girls dream!

Later that day we visited the 'Millenium Park' which is the home of the Cloud Gate Sculpture or 'The Bean' as dubbed by Chicago-ites. To me it is simply photo op after photo op. We had a blast playing and posing and being goofy children around the Bean.

Wade as a double starfish...

The Chicago Skyline as reflected off the Bean...

That is one heavy Bean...

The Full Bean...you have really shiny flatulence for the remainder of the day...he he.


This is the Pritzker Pavillion which I imagine is the home of endless music and dance performances when the weather is good. For us it was just a beautiful structure with a mass of lawn in its shadow.

After the park we took a romantic evening stroll along the waterside. We were able to see the Navy Pier (which would be great fun for kids but we had better things to see) and a lot of abandoned boat docks. Very nice walk with my boyfriend.

That is Navy Pier in the background...

The Belltower on another beautiful Chicago building...

While walking about we kept seeing people walking around with these 'Garretts Popcorn' bags. Being the nosy folks we are and not wanting to miss a thing we did what any curious person would do...we Googled it. Apparently it's one of those things that Oprah is always blabbing about. We found the nearest location (which happened to be a block away) and partook. Can I just say...damn good popcorn! Oprah got that one right. Who would have thunk that a carmel-cheese combo corn would be so delicious. He walked right in to the Coach Handbag store with that thing and shared it with the hungry sales girls!

The next day we were going to do an architectural tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes, but couldn't find a cab all morning...apparently some big convention had just rolled into town and it was a big Muslim holiday also that day. No cabbies to be had. We decided to just explore some of the brownstones and low and behold... I found my home! Don't I look great in it? Taking monetary donations now. With each $10,000 donation you get to come spend a week with me! Any takers?!?

Chicago is a wonderful city and I am so proud to be able to cross it off my list. I am so lucky to have a Husband that likes to travel with me. He is the best companion a girl could ever want! Thanks Baby!!!