Valentine Photo Shoot

For Valentines day this year I gave Rusty a couples photo shoot with our favorite photographer, Megan.  We haven’t done pics just for us since our wedding day. I don’t think Rusty was too thrilled when I first told him about it, but we both couldn’t be more pleased with the results.  We had so much fun posing for the camera, flirting and being together.  It was a crazy windy day, which added to the fun. 

And Megan got this great shot of our cute little family

Kid Dates

I think I've blogged about this before, but one of our favorite family traditions is "kid dates."  Each month one child gets an alone date, and the other two get a shared date.  We do lots of fun things, and the kids enjoy that special one on one time with Mom and Dad.  This month, Rusty took Halle skiing at Eldora.  She did great, and skied her first blue run.  Awesome. I'm in a hurry and can't get the pics to go where I want them.  Oh well.  :)

Josh, Blake and I went and got frozen yogurt and played racquetball at the Rec Center.  Or Racket Tennis, as Blake calls it.

Last month Rusty took Josh to see the Buffs in action.  They had such a fun time.  Josh thought it was one of the coolest kid dates they'd ever done.

Broncos in the Superbowl!

It was a pretty disappointing day to be a Broncos fan.  A huge Superbowl loss against the Seattle Seahawks.  48-8.  Yikes.  But, that didn't stop us from rooting for the home team anyway!  We had a fun time at the Gray's house, all United in Orange.

My heart Melts

I hope she’ll always let her daddy be her Valentine. 
The Activity Day Leaders put on the sweetest Daddy Daughter Valentine Dance.  I think all those girls felt like special Princesses, and I know the Daddy’s were head over heels in love with their beautiful daughters.  Rusty gave Halle a beautiful corsage that matched her dress, and then whisked her away for a magical evening of dancing.  They did everything from the YMCA to swing.  Thank to Amy Braiser for lending her amazing photography skills.  These pictures will be treasured for years to come.  Halle, always remember that your Daddy was your first date.  All those other boys you will date have some high expectations to live up to!

  

Surprise trip to Phoenix

 

Two out of three kids in tears is exactly the response you imagine when you tell your kids about a surprise trip to Phoenix in January, right? 

We had expected whoops, laughing, and sheer excitement when we told the kids that our bags were packed and we were headed for sunshine early the next morning.  Instead, Josh burst into tears, sad that he was going to miss his first basketball game of the season.  (We did expect him to be upset)  THEN, Blake said, “Looking at Josh makes me want to cry!”  And he burst into tears himself.  Halle thought her brothers were crazy. 

Luckily everyone recovered, and we were on our way to the airport at 5:30am the next morning.  We arrived in Phoenix, shed our Colorado winter gear, and got ready for some Arizona sun.  First stop—the pool.  Josh was determined that we were going to stay at the pool for 5 hours.  The water temp quickly changed his mind.  It was freezing.  We had to coax the kids into the pool.  But once they finally took the plunge, everyone had a great time swimming, going down the giant water slide, and playing basketball on the court right next to the pool. 

After the sun went down we reluctantly headed back to our hotel room. The resort we stayed at was so much fun.  Here are some of the highlights:

Trail running in the mornings with Rusty, and also hiking with the kids:

 

Roof top pool:

Blake sleeping

  

Shooting hoops

Enjoying our huge, yummy breakfast buffet every morning

Hitting some balls at the driving range

Tennis.  We are almost at the point where we can actually play real tennis.  Happy day!

After a few days of just relaxing and having fun around the resort we were ready for an adventure.  Sedona here we come!  Sedona was incredibly beautiful, and one day was certainly not enough time to see all its wonders.  But we did our fair share. 

First stop: Montezuma’s Castle.  These cliff dwellings were fascinating!

Next stop: Palatki.  Halle really wanted to see the pictographs, and they didn’t disappoint.  It’s pretty amazing they are still around after all these years. 

Next up, our “real” hike of the day—Cathedral Rock.  Josh found this pointy stick that reminded him of something a ninja would use.  So, the whole way up he and Blake had fun pretending they were ninjas.  Halle was their Sensei.

Halle story: One day we wanted to get some mexican food.  We were trying to decide where to go and the boys saw a Chipotle.  They wanted to go there.  Halle said, “Come on guys—we can get Chipotle ANYWHERE.  Let’s try somewhere new!”  I have never been such a proud mama.  Raising my own little foodie who appreciates local culture.

The next day was leaving day.  Our flight wasn’t until 7:30 in the evening so we had all day to play.  We soaked up our final rays at the pool, and then headed to see if we could get in to the Gilbert AZ Temple open house.  We didn’t have tickets, and were unsure what the line would be like, but we are so so glad we went.  It was absolutely stunning. When we first pulled off the freeway and saw it standing there, it literally took my breath away.  We were told it was the 4th largest temple in the world. I’m so glad we got to experience it as a family.  Josh and Halle both had really great questions and it was fun to teach them more about what goes on in temples. 

 

Blake was not a fan of the booties.  Although he was a fan of the word, “bootie.”

It was a quick, fun adventure and so nice to get away from the cold, if only for a few days.  The kids have decided Phoenix should become a yearly tradition.  I couldn’

2014

Happy 2014!  Feeling LUCKY to be the mom of these beautiful kids!

The other fun we had

Making Gingerbread men with the Danise Family.  SO good to see them.

Being pulled on a sled behind the tractor

Fun trip to Discover Gateway Children’s Museum

Zoo lights!

Josh’s words—We had an “Epic” sledding day

My very favorite thing we did this trip was go to separate dinners with both my parents and Alan and Sharon.  For Christmas we gave them a night out with us.  We always feel like there isn’t time to talk and connect while we are in Utah, and so it was so fun to just have some time to talk, ask questions, and enjoy being together.  On the night we took my parents out we made a totally impromptu visit to the BYU Exhibit, “Sacred Gifts.”  It was absolutely stunning! What a fantastic way to celebrate Christmas—viewing and contemplating images from the life of Christ.  Loved it.  Wish I had some pics! 
We also went to the annual Miller Family party.  Rusty and I cleaned up at Left, Center, Right :)
My next favorite thing was spending time with these lovely ladies.  The time flew by way too quickly.  These are some amazing people, and I am honored to call them my friends.  (Of over 15 years!!)

Holly Jolly Christmas

We had such a great time in Utah this Christmas.  People often ask us when we are going to give it up and just have Christmas at home with our own little family.  My answer, “NEVER!”  It’s too much fun being able to spend time with our G&G’s, aunts, uncles, and cousins. (This statement might be depressing to Sharon and Susan who have to work so darn hard while we are there).
The festivities started at the Banks house with the Annual family Christmas Party.  Good food, great company.  This year instead of the traditional Nativity, we did The Friendly Beasts.  All the kids dressed up like animals and adored the Baby Jesus.  It was so cute, and I’m really sad I don’t have a better pic.  Those kids are so wiggly!  The kids loved their presents from Grandma and Grandpa.  They also enjoyed giving and getting gifts from their cousins. 

Next up—skiing on Christmas Eve.  This was Blake and Cohen’s first year.  They were adorable.  Blake was not at all interested in learning, but he was very interested in speeding down the hill.  Josh had a rough start—it was hard to carry his skis up to the tow rope.  I wasn’t sure if he was going to pull out of his onrey mood, but once both of us had a reset we had a great day.  Halle, Bridger, Cory and Rusty went on the “real” lift this year.  Halle did so great!  She picked it up so quickly and had a blast with Bridger.  Rusty’s ski boot (15 yrs old) exploded on his first run down the mountain. I have never seen anything like it.  He had to ski down using only one foot.  What a pro! 

We spent the evening at the Cornell’s enjoying more good food, and more good fun.  The kids got their traditional Christmas Eve pajamas, and this year also got a Beanie Boo stuffy.  They were all instantly in love, and declared members of our extensive stuffy family on the spot. 
The boys were especially enamored with Uncle Landon this year, and could be often found snuggled up by his side.  It was really sweet. 
Christmas morning brought the usual mêlée of excitement and gifts galore.  Silly Santa brought the kids iHomes (speakers and alarm clocks for their ipad/pod) but he brought the wrong one!  Good thing there was plenty of other fun surprises to keep them busy until Mom could order new ones!
 

The elves once again did a great job hiding their stockings. 

This is what happens when your mystery mini figure is a GIRL robot.  You lay down on the floor and cry your eyes out. 
Then it was off to Cory and Lindsey’s to see what the other cousins got from Santa
That evening we held the first annual Cornell Reindeer Games.  So fun.  We played a whole bunch of “Minute to Win It” Type games.  My favorite was the balloon stuffed panty hose made to look like antlers. 
  
Pretty perfect Christmas if you ask me!