Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in Alabama. We got to see a lot of family and friends, although we didn't get to see everyone. Lily was all about presents this year. She would open one and say "Ooooh" and the hold her hands out for the next one. She also had a great time with her grandparents, even though she was a touch grouchy the whole time. I finally realized she had 4 teeth coming in along with being totally off schedule and out of time zone. Oh well. She bonded with Grandaddy Mike who taught her the "fist bump" and walked her up and down the streets of their neighborhood looking for dogs. Our airplane travels this time left little to be desired. We got delayed on the way out and had to spend the night in Denver. Then, on the way home our airplane to Wyoming from Denver was "downgraded to a smaller plane". This literally meant that it seated 19 people total. We could see the piolets flying the plane because there was no separation between them and us. Zack could see through the windsheild! No flight attendant-just a recording telling us how to buckle the seat belts. Needless to say there was no bathroom or peanuts on board. Quite an experience I must say. Hope everyone had as wonderful a time with family and friends as we did. Love you all! 
 
 
 

This girl loves chocolate...

Just a quick last post before we're on our way to AL. For those of you who haven't heard this story, I baked a homemade chocolate pie last week for our bible study. It took a while and I was pretty proud so before we left I wrapped it up and put it on the table so I wouldn't forget it. I went to get my coat and two seconds later I came back to find the pie like this. Lily had a giant handful of it and was eating away. It was all over her-she was halfway cleaned up when I took this pic. I couldn't get mad because I said "Well, was it good?" and all she said was "Mmmmm". Oh well. Also, there is a pic of a recent news cast here which we thought was hilarious. The newscasts here look more like a high school production. Guess theres not that much going on around here. This particular one was about the recent frigid weather. We feel the same way as Dan Wimp here. Can't wait to get there to thaw out a little bit. See you soon! 
 
 

Zack's Carbon Footprint

Oh, the weather outside is.... Anyway, poor Zack has to get up early each morning and brave the cold. His little truck is warm-blooded and dosen't know what we're doing to it. As you can see, it takes quite a while for the thing to go in this weather. By the way, it was -17 this morning and didn't even break 0 all day. Anywho, since we are stuck inside(in our warm little house) this is what Lily and I do for fun. She is quite the domestic diva. Her two favorite things are the vacuum and the broom. And she does it with such style. Hope this carries over to the teenage years. 
 
 
 

Light Up Lander!

This weekend we went to "Light up Lander" which is where they light up the trees downtown and have games and things for kids. It goes without mention that it was freezing cold. Lily wasn't quite sure of the whole thing. It didn't help that it took us 30 minutes to get her into this snowsuit and boots and then she couldn't walk and just stood there crying. However, it kept her nice and toasty-thanks Googa and Grandaddy! She liked the lights and the other kids but did not want her face painted this time so we opted for a stamp instead. And then came Santa, I wasn't sure how she'd react but I didn't expect this! Oh well, holiday memories. Someday, I hope she laughs at this and is not seriously scarred. After that fiasco we all went to dinner to warm up a bit. We are getting into the spirit and counting down the days to our trip home. See you guys soon! 
 
 
 

Brrrr!

Wow. Thats all I can say. This week has taken a dramatic turn to NEGATIVE temps! Zack thinks that we experienced this last winter but I do not remember it being this cold. Maybe I was hulled up in the house with a newborn then and just didn't actually feel it. It is true that the air here is drier and it may not feel quite as cold as it would in AL, but negative temps are cold any way you slice it. The weather man (who looks 15 by the way) keeps looking on the bright side and saying "I think we'll see highs in the teens today!" Woo hoo. Who would've thought I'd be thankful for that. This presents a whole new problem with a very active 16 month old who is very independant and wants to walk everywhere for herself. The snow is as deep as her in some spots! Not to mention trying to strap her in a carseat with 15 layers on. Someday I will look back at this and laugh. On the other hand, this weather sure puts you in the Christmas spirit and it is absolutely beautiful out. This sure is an adventure, I tell you, and we are creating memories everyday! 
 
 

Erik-This Ones For You!

Ok-so I have not been very good about keeping you up with the Joneses lately. Thanks to a sweet request from our good friend Erik (who actually reads this), I am posting two new ones today. We had Zack's mom (Googa) here visiting last week and were able to make a trip up to Jackson Hole. It was beautiful but we hit a snow storm on the way. There is also a picture of the classic "rush hour in Wyoming". A car passed us on a major highway waving a flag and we had no idea why and then we see that there is a herd of cows coming right at us on the highway! We had to pull over and wait for them to pass and were held up in "traffic" for the first time in a long while. Pretty funny. Lily was in the back saying Moooo. The weather here so far this winter has been very mild. It has not snowed since the very beginning of October. Yesterday, Lily was getting restless so I decided to take her for a walk to the grocery store (woohoo!). It was COLD. I guess the winter is starting to hit now. She waved at all her regulars at the store and when we got home I said "Aren't we thankful for a warm house?" and she shook her head no. Still need to work on the meaning of that...Oh well. Speaking of being thankful, I am so very blessed to have you as family and friends! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and know that we love you and miss you. We'll be back soon! 
 
 
 

Lily loves hats

What can I say? This child has had something on her head since she was born. If you have ever visited us you have seen first hand that her hat collection is quite extensive. Now, she doesn't feel complete without one. She will find anything and everything to put on her head all day long. Here are a few looks recently. The last one is bunny ears from Easter! She is growing and changing so much. She knows quite a few animal sounds, she follows directions pretty well and loves to open and close doors for you. She feels very important. She has also developed quite a temper. We are still trying to figure out how to deal with this. Suggestions are welcome! I thought that didn't happen until the infamous twos? 
 
 
 

Happy Halloween

Lily had a great Halloween! We went trick-or-treating downtown with Sawyer and had a blast. She was trying to eat every piece of candy she could find. She was the cutest little puppy ever. Good times. 
 
 
 

Baking cookies

Today, Lily and I baked some cookies for daddy (ok-mostly for me). She had a blast standing in her chair and "helping". She was pretending to read the recipe and thought the mixer was the funniest thing she ever saw! Although, she was most interested in eating the chocolate kisses. Thats my girl.

Hunting Pumpkins

Well, it is my favorite time of the year. Pumpkin time! I have always had a love for pumpkins and I'm trying to instill this in Lily. We visited the pumpkin patch with her best bud, Sawyer. We had a blast although I forgot how heavy pumpkins can be. We couldn't decide which to pick so we got five of them!! Now all we have to do is carve them. Did I mention we have a new little pumpkin on the way??? 
 
 
 

Snow, snow, snow!

Okay...October 4th and the first snow of the season. This time Lily is way more interested. Her favorite thing is to lick it! She could hardly walk in it...so funny to watch. She thoroughly enjoyed herself, and so did we watching her! I will try to add a video later... 
 
 
 

Lily Lately

Sorry, we've been on a little hiatus... Here are some recent pics of Miss Lily. She has been keeping us busy lately. She is finally walking everywhere and can reach anything! Sometimes I think she has GO-GO-GADGET arms! And she wants to do everything herself these days. The other day, she reached the wipes box, pulled them ALL out and when I came around the corner she immediately started washing herself off like she meant to do that and was helping me out! Thanks Lil! Anyway, these pics are of her eating a milkshake (which she stole from me), eating yogurt her way, and helping me sweep the floor (her new favorite chore), and the last one is of her and sweet Mr. Howard. We help him and his wife, Vivian, on Wednesday nights with dinner and settling in. They are the parents of one of Zack's co-workers. They are from Georgia so we are kindred spirits. They lived 91 years in Georgia before moving here last year so their son could take care of them. And needless to say, they have really taken to Lily...I think she feels the same about them!