Disneyland!

I can't even express how much we loved Disneyland.  Emmy is still talking about it.  Here are the highlights of our trip:

1. The princesses!

Aren't these the most beautiful princesses you've ever seen!  They were adorable dancing and twirling in front of the castle.  We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto.  As we were eating lunch, a trumpet would sound every 15 minutes and a guy dressed as a page boy would merrily introduce the arrival of a princess.

2. The Tower of Terror!  Our fearless four-year old, Emmy, went on the Tower of Terror, twice.  She loved it and was so excited to be just tall enough to ride.

3. Breakfast at the Story Tellers Cafe!  Such good food and fun; the best way to start a Disneyland day.  Rafiki loved my Mom.  He used his finger to draw a heart on his chest and pointed to her.  The kids loved it!

4. The rides!

5. The Hotel! 

6. Family bonding!  I hope these memories always stand as a reminder of how loved my kiddos are by their entire family.

Huntington Beach

We had the opportunity to visit Huntington Beach and Disneyland in February.  A generous and best-ever Christmas gift from my parents!  It was a titch cool but that didn't stop our eager kiddos (and responsible fathers, Gib and Chad) from swimming in the pool.

I captured an action shot of one of Logan's tricks.  What a fun kid!  He is always the life of the party because he has such a magnetic energy.  Love him so much :)

Our Huntington Beach Hilton hotel sponsored a pre-race/pre-Super Bowl party with lots of carbo-loading pasta for the runners.  The party decorations were the best part.

The next morning our runners raced in the Surf City Half Marathon.

It was a pleasure to have my first chance to see Dani run a race.  Way to go Aunt Dani!  It was fun to share in Trae's excitement as I held him on my shoulders to see his parents cross the finish line.  My Uncle Dave (not pictured) ran, too.  I'm not sure how I missed him in the photo, boo.  I love my family's commitment to running and good health.  It motivated me to begin running, again.  As a Mom and full-time chemist, it's been a challenge to find the time.  But, I've been creative with time management and have been running for the past six weeks.  I would like to say it's been fun, but it hurt like a mother in the beginning.  When it hurts I think of my family and remember when I used to enjoy running.  I will get there soon, hopefully!  

OK... back to Huntington Beach... we rented these great four-wheeled bicycles and paraded the whole family down the boardwalk.

Collecting seashells, building sandcastles and chasing waves on the beach was delightful.

Early the next morning we piled into a shuttle bus and went to Disneyland.  I will post Disneyland pics, shortly...

Christmas in PA

Before we left Utah, I told Gib how much I wanted a white Christmas.  Thankfully, the PA climate did not disappoint!  It snowed and snowed and snowed.  By the time we left PA to travel back to Utah, we had over 2.5 feet of fresh snow on the ground.

We had an amazing Christmas with Gib's family.  The girls were in heaven!  Spending time with family was the best part.  We miss them so much.  Everything feels so quiet without everyone around.

We did our traditional Christmas Eve pajamas.  No surprise, but a fun tradition, nonetheless.

Santa brought Emmy's and Gabby's gifts to Gib's Nan's house.  Nan said the excitement was like she was a kid on Christmas, all over again.

Dave and Cheryl planned a few games to play on Christmas evening.  All the kids had a competition to toss marshmallows into a bucket.  It was Gabby's turn first.  Cheryl gave her a marshmallow and told her to get it in the bucket.  So she grabbed it in her hand, walked to the bucket and dropped it in.  Smart girl, why stand back and throw it when you could just walk to the bucket?

Then the men had a competition that was hilarious.  Each guy was given a pair of pantyhose and they were given a few minutes to stuff balloons into the pantyhose to make reindeer antlers.  The women laughed so hard!

The final game was family trivia.  The questions were entertaining, for example, "What was Cheryl's favorite flavor of snow-cone when she was a child?"  And guess who got the right answer, ME!  It was a really fun and positive way to interact with everyone on Christmas.  There were prizes that were wrapped so we didn't know what they were when we chose them.  One of the popular prizes was a toilet plunger.

A couple of the guys got new guns for Christmas.  They cleaned their guns and anxiously awaited the snow storm to calm so they could go shoot.  On our way home from shooting, Justin's truck got stuck in the middle of no-where and the boys had to shovel it out.  It took hours of work to clear about a quarter of an acre of snow.  Greg said it is all part of the plan of my redneck conversion, like it's a right of passage or something :)  To complete my redneck conversion, I just need to wear my Snuggie to the Curwensville Snappy's and I would fit right in.  Our rental car got stuck in the snow several times so Gib and I are now pros at getting a car out of the snow.

On the weekend and on New Year's Eve, we played Catch Phrase.  I love playing Catch Phrase, it is one of my favorite games.  I love the combination of skill and luck.  We always play teams: men vs. women.  The first time we played the women won 3 games in a row.  We were the champions, but, the men begged for another chance.  Yup, you guessed it, they came back and creamed us.  They also killed us on New Year's Eve.  Gib says it is because the men are the "grand communicators".  I think he has heard my Dad say that a few times, GRRRR.  It drives me crazy that the men won on two different nights.  I am anxiously awaiting our rematch!  Emmy had a ton of sleepovers with her cousins.  She desperately misses them, now that we are home.

Nine year-old Grace organized a couple family talent shows.  Grace, Natalie, Emmy and Gabby danced and sang.

Aunt Kimberly told jokes and recited poems.  Aunt Mel showed us her talent applying Emmy's make-up.  Cheryl acted like a schizophrenic.  Dave had two talents.  The first was a monkey trainer and the second was standing on one leg (haha).  I made faces and Gib acted mute and dumb.  The highlight of the talent show was when Nick and Avery dressed as girls and danced to Beyonce's "Single Ladies".  Freaking hilarious!

Below is a picture that cracks me up, when Avery lost his tata's.

We also had fun proposing talents for those who didn't participate.  It was suggested that Justin's talent was watching movie trailers and eating.  It was suggested that my talent was buoyancy.  Ha ha, figure that out.

We went sightseeing and we got a few beautiful pics at Parker Dam.

We loved being there for Christmas and will never forget our experience.  We can't wait to go back to PA, when the weather is warmer :)  I was hoping for some relief when we returned to Utah but it was 7°F when our plane landed.  Boo.

Visit from Santa

Before we left for Pennsylvania, Santa made a special visit to our house.  He brought gifts from Grandma and Papa Brems.  And guess what?  We are going to Disneyland in February!  Gabby and Emmy don't get it, yet.  But, Gib and I are super excited and the girls will have so much fun!  Santa told Emmy that her Elf on the Shelf reports that she has been a trying so hard to be a good girl.  He knew specific things that Emmy has done, such as, picking up the bath toys and putting her shoes away when she gets home.  She has been talking about it for weeks.  What a special treat for us!

I am your Mother

I am still processing my feelings, but I know this for certain. "I am your Mother"... this is the perspective I like to remember. I do not prefer to think of it as a miscarriage. The term seems so harsh and impersonal. I loved our little one before  conception (during six months of trying to get pregnant), for the nine weeks he or she was growing inside me and even now, after the loss. I love our little one with the love of a Mother. That our little one is my child brings me comfort.

I try not to focus on that heartbreaking moment when my OB/GYN confirmed the absence of our  baby's heartbeat, or the tears streaming down my sweet husband's cheeks, or the emptiness  I  feel in my belly . I have to give life to these words to honor our little one.

It has taken days to write this post , during which, there have been so many ups and downs.   It still hurts, but today, the sun shined in  PA and I am surrounded by a loving family. It was a good day.

A BIG Smile

New football cleats.......... $17

Thermal Underwear.......... $25

Dunford donuts for the team...........  $13

The Cost of seeing the smile on Gib's face when playing football in the snow.......... Priceless!

The first snow storm was GREAT this year.  I don't remember getting snow like this all year last season?  I was home with the girls yesterday.  I was trying to be a party-pooper.  I thought we were too sick to play outside in the snow.  But who can tell that to an excited 4 year-old who has just seen the first snow storm this year?  Within a couple hours we were outside building snowmen.  Meet Bucka and Loda (I have no idea where Emmy came up with those names!).

I don't remember it being so much work to build a snowman when I was a kid.  Maybe because my dad did all the hard work... I will never forget the BIGGEST snowman ever built in our front yard.  We were so proud of it.  I love memories of our great Utah snow!