Happy New Year! 2012

I had intended to pick up some New Year's party hats and horns when we were in Gunnison earlier this week. But I forgot. You know you live in a small town when...

...it's too far to drive back to pick up party hats.

So we made our own. Again. We like making party hats and horns!

Needless to say, the little guy didn't make it to midnight. And his parents probably won't either.

But mom and dad toasted in the New Year via Times Square and Kathy & Anderson on CNN (for the second year in a row). They make my blood pressure rise - they are so annoying. But it's the best live coverage. Everything else is delayed by 1 hour. Soooo...

Happy 2012!!!

See ya' next year!  :)

Merry Christmas!

What a fun Christmas! We all slept in after a fun-filled Christmas Eve. Mom made blueberry pancakes and fresh-squeezed OJ and Dad made eggs & elk sausage for breakfast. Then we opened presents.

We stopped over to say Merry Christmas to Jay and Kate. Gulliver always has so much fun at their house.

Came home so Gulliver could take a little nap before heading over to Caleb, Bridget, and Hadley's house. Enjoyed delicious Christmas dinner and the youngsters had a great time playing together.

When we got home, Gulliver played some more with his new car toy and then we opened a few more presents.  Put him to bed about an hour later than usual and I'm guessing we'll all get to sleep in late again tomorrow.

Here's to many more Christmas-es as delightful as today!

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve! We built gingerbread houses this morning out of graham crackers. It took Gulliver a few minutes to figure out that the bright, colorful things actually tasted good. But once he figured it out, there was no stopping him from eating the M&M's!

This evening we headed up the the mountain to watch the torchlight parade. We also checked out the winners from the Ginger Bread House contest held earlier this week.

When we got home, we opened the first presents with Grandpa and Grandma on the web cam. We are so excited for Gulliver's new Strider bike!

And once Gulliver was nestled all snug in his bed... Dad got to work on one of tomorrow's presents.

Merry Christmas to all… and to all a good night!

Picture With Santa

Like mother like son...

I think I was 5 before I sat on Santa's lap and smiled!  :)

But just to be clear, Gulliver is quite excited about Christmas now that the presents are under the tree!

Dec 18, 2011

We're eager for some snow, but it's nice having a mild winter, too. Mark and I are both trying to get out and ski so we're ready when the snow decides to arrive!  Christmas is a week away, but I keep forgetting that since it feels more like November. And with Christmas shopping done, cards in the mail, and no visitors coming this year for the holidays, things feel pretty quiet.

Gulliver is quite active these days. He loves to run around and his little legs are getting faster all the time. A lot of people ask me if he's in "school" yet. Nope, not yet. For now, he spends his time with mom and dad. We enjoy getting out to our various activities, playing with other kids, and just hanging out at home. Gulliver and I went swimming last week after a long hiatus and we both really enjoyed that.

We've heard several new words over the past week or so... on, off, out, car... but our favorite is "nome" which actually means "moon." Gulliver says things with such authority and enthusiasm. I love his attempts and harder words like "cracker" and "snowman". He's putting a lot of effort into talking and it's so fun to watch this learning process.

Gulliver got a new cousin this week! Griffin Lavoy was born on 12/12. He arrived 4 weeks early, but both momma and baby are doing fine and they went home right on time. We can't wait to meet this precious little guy in person!

 Life is good here in the Butte. All are happy and healthy. Happy holidays!

Werewolves of London

The ride home from Amarillo got a little long near the end. We were all getting a tad slap happy as we pulled into Gunnison around 5:30 on Saturday. Gulliver had put on his sunglasses earlier in the day, but apparently did not realize it was now pitch dark outside. The song "Werewolves of London" came on the radio. Mark and I started singing it, and by the end Gulliver joined in with us. I caught some on video and it just cracks me up! Take a look….

Deck the Halls

We ventured out to the stores on Black Friday while we were in Amarillo. One of our purchases was a Christmas Tree! Tonight we trimmed a tree in our house for the very first time. Gulliver is quite interested in it... he touches the branches and twists the ornaments and scoots the tree ever so gently. He "ho ho ho's" for Santa Claus. I think we're going to have a very fun Christmas this year. Bring it on!

Thanksgiving in Amarillo

Gulliver really enjoyed eating the elk pate Mark made to bring to Amarillo. We spread it on saltines and he gobbled it up.

 Gulliver and I made turkey cookies. This was our first adventure together in the kitchen. He stirred the mix for about 30 seconds and then was on to other things. He put 2 candy corns on and then just wanted to eat the cookies. He definitely enjoyed licking the spoon covered with icing! Typical kid. ha

The drive from Crested Butte to Amarillo usually takes about 8 hours, with minimal stops. We made the trip in about 8 1/2 hours both ways. Gulliver did great in the car. He spent a lot of time just looking out the window. His taxi never left his hand. He also entertained himself with lots of babble. I put his red fleece hat on him when we left the house in the morning. Apparently it was quite cozy, because he did not take it off until we arrived in Amarillo... 9 hours later. Oh my. Don't know what was up, but he did not want to take that hat off. Pretty funny.

We enjoyed mild temperatures on Thanksgiving and got to run around in the yard at Aunt Gail & Uncle Brent's house before everyone arrived. The golf cart, of course, was a huge hit.

Aunt Gail brought out the Santa Train and it provided much entertainment. Gulliver suckered anyone he could into playing it with him...

And of course, there was plenty of football to watch...

I didn't take any pictures of the Thanksgiving festivities, but we enjoyed seeing the Moores, the Archers, Aunt Marilyn & Uncle Leon, and Dwayne & Roberta.

We went to the zoo on Friday and got to see lots of animals... monkeys, tigers, lions, bears, snakes, wallabies, and a bunch of other cool stuff...

And Uncle Brent spoiled us with some tasty smoked ribs & chicken on Friday night. Mmmm mmm good! Was great to spend the holiday with family. Gulliver definitely had a good time!