"I'm not 2 anymore, I'm 3"

Little Lexi is 3!!!!!!

Alexis had her first official Birthday party on Saturday and just ate it up! We loved listening to her tell everyone, "Guess what, guess what, I'm having a party" I wondered if she really understood what this meant and if she didn't she sure caught on fast. She loved wearing her party dress and insisted on one that had enough twirl. She eagerly welcomed her friends and dropped her jaw when she saw each present. We love our little lexi and really wanted her day to be special...I think was!!!

I was probably pleased with her cakes the most as according to Kylee I've never made a cool cake before and apparently needed to step it up. Alexis is obsessed with the princesses lately and I was determined to make 3 little princesses for her "little princess tea party" with a few friends. With Skylar's help we succeeded and Lexi was able to recognize them enough to name each one!

We pulled off a few games but mostly enjoyed watching the kids play and stuff their faces with cake. Lexi couldn't handle pass the present after the first round, as others according to her were opening her presents. We had music for 1 round and then quickly let each kid open a layer. We definitely learned to be flexible for a party with 2 and 3 year olds. Ky was put to work helping with games and trying to keep their tea cups filled with water. I loved it when I heard, "uhhhh, I can finally eat my piece of cake" She was a great help and is eagerly awaiting her birthday as she finally watched little sister open some stuff she would like as normally this table is turned.

On Lexi's actual Birthday we went to a new place called "Bounce n Play" with her good friend Chloe. These two are darling together and Alexis had an absolute blast once we avoided all the big slides for awhile. Apparently the tummy flipping feeling that we all seek is not Lexi's thing. "Mom, It hurt my tummy" Once we found a "little one" she with pure delight said, "this one not hurt my tummy" and proceeded to go down over and over.

They had a great time painting, laughing and jumping. It was a morning filled with, "Let's do that again" or "look at this mom" and "watch this!" Apparently I need her birthday more often as she had a perfect grin on her face all day and was delightful to take pictures of during all her b-day celebrations. You know you've succeeded when later you hear Lexi say, "That was fun or member dat"

We had hostess cupcakes with good friends that evening since I refused to make 2 cakes and Sky was out of town but she didn't seem to mind. She loved all the singing from neighbors and family and truly did feel special. So often I feel like Ky can easily steel the light but we had plenty of great special Lexi moments and are always reminded what a miracle she truly is! She adds so much to our family. It is such a joy watching her smile and seeing her happy.

I also forgot to document that Lexi had 2 huge growing up moments in February as she graduated to her big girl bed and potty trained! I thought all of this was going great until now. Apparently she thinks she no longer needs a nap and also enjoys getting out of her bed at least 5x a night making the entire going to sleep process taking up to 2 hours at times. In addition she refuses to go POOP on the potty and asks for a diaper every time...it is driving me nuts!!! Oh Lexi, it is a good thing you are so cute!!!!! Any suggestions on either one of these matters please send them my way.

*BIRTHDAY VIDEO TO FOLLOW SOON AS LEXI WILL WANT TO WATCH IT OVER AND OVER.

V-DAY

I love celebrating this holiday even more now that I've got 2 little girls to get into it with me. We had a blast making these awesome edible crayons to pass out to Ky's class and give to neighbors. My friend Mandy has an amazing blog with some great recipes to try with kids and I've been dying to give these a try. If you get a chance check out her blog, "Gourmet Mom on the Go", the link to it is in my list of favorite blogs.

The girls had a blast giving Daddy plenty of kisses with these lips.

I'm hoping he will be their only Valentine for a long time. We were having some conversation and Sky said, "Ky who is your favorite boy?" Her reply was, "you DAD" May it stay this way for a very very long time!!!!!! Our Valentine came through...Ky wondered if Dad would bring roses to his girls again and he didn't let her down! He also shocked them with red spray painted messages in the snow and a trail of little treasures they had to dig out. We lived it up as we had extra time to prepare with our snow days which many of you can relate to.

On that note I heart Target clearance sales and have bought quite a shlew of V-day items for next year! I love having a Target only 5 min. away but our credit card may not. Happy belated Valentine's Day to all!

Will school actually return?

Looks like tomorrow school will actually resume. After 9 days of school being cancelled out of the last 10, I finally didn't receive a phone call from Josh Davis Director of Transportation...my night didn't feel complete without one. I've dusted off my alarm clock and am prepared to deal with Lexi's tears in the morning once she realizes Ky has gone back to school.

I'm thankful for routine and despite all the fun we have been having there have been plenty of hair pulling moments. Not just me wanting to pull my own but the girls going at it! Ky has always been my one seeking constant entertainment which I just can't provide anymore. However, we do a pretty dang good job and I must give one more shot out to the neighborhood for coming up with some creative ideas keeping us all entertained...mothers included.

MOVIE NIGHT at Miss Lexie and Todd's which you can see was a huge hit. For all you wondering, our Lexi had at least 3 bowls of popcorn and still lives up to her reputation of the snack queen which everyone around here has learned as well!!!! :)

Miss Lisa came through with a fabulous Summer in February bash and everyone was delighted to pull out some summer clothes. She even had the heat turned up to encourage the shedding of layers. We all know how much little Lexi loves her swimsuit so there was no convincing needed for her to put it on but a little disappointment when she realized she wasn't going to really put it to use.
Lastly, a darling Valentine's Party at Miss Lexi's since we thought the girls were going to miss out completely on the celebration at school. Kylee thought turning our popcorn pink was the coolest thing ever and from now on when I make it we are to do a different color each time. Lexi on the other hand couldn't keep her hands out of it....

Crafts, snacks, games, scavenger hunts...just our kind of thing! The girls enjoyed performing their princess dance which has been practiced several times over the last 2 weeks (I'm very glad I stumbled across this treasure at the end of a DVD)

*It definitely looks like I need to step up to the plate. Conveniently, I in passing mentioned I would do something on President's Day but hey we actually pulled off a make-up day of school and I'm off the hook. Now don't forget all that snow building outside!!!!! :)

I can't leave out the Dudes which have provided hours of entertainment. I am often amazed at the random things that do the trick at times. These "DUDES" as the girls call them have been a huge hit. We've acquired quite the collection and have taken several trips with our quarters in hand to Harris Teeter for a "DUDE COLLECTION" run. There are even a few lost somewhere in the house that Ky desperately hopes will turn up soon.

THE FINISH LINE....we took the offer!

The LONG journey actually is going to come to an end....can it be! Many of you may have heard by now but I thought I would officially announce that Skylar has accepted his first official job as a Pathologist in the Virgina Beach Area. Yes that is right, we will live within about 30min of the BEACH! Hopefully this will bring many of you to us for a visit. We are just ecstatic that after 13 years of school and training Skylar will have what we can call a real job! We are thrilled that he has made it to the end. His hard work and dedication have paid off and I hope he knows how proud we are of him.

In my world all moves bring excitement with plenty of worries and scares. I'm sure you can all imagine that I'm panicing over picking the right city to move to..neighborhood...schools....will we make great friends...and on and on. Luckily it is only a 3 hour drive from where we are right now so Sky and I will be down several times researching the area. We have gone once so far before accepting the job to make sure it all felt right. We hope to go again soon with the plan of narrowing down which city we should live in. We actually might not have as mad of a daughter as I thought we would when we move again as she is pretty delighted to know that she will be within reach of the BEACH!

*One thing we were shocked to see in a few peoples yards were these darling little palm trees. This got Sky and I both very excited as you can imagine. We will be giddy little kids as we purchase our first palm tree...you better believe we are determined to have one now. I can't believe I will be figuring out how to keep our own palm tree alive.

6 Days and Counting....

Kylee will be home AGAIN tomorrow for another snow day! Something that has become common, as it will be her 6th day of cancelled school in the last 2 weeks. Last week she was home for 4 of the 5 days due to 3 different snow storms but just the week before was home one day due to rain...yes that's right RAIN. We were found doing things like this on her RAIN DAY...

Dancing and singing in all sorts of attires at Kylee's friend Lara's house. Later in the day we rode bikes with our neighbors in 50 degree sunny weather, in the school parking lot none the less. Kylee cheered her good friend Lydia on as she learned how to ride a 2-wheeler!

Then just a few days later we were home again but doing something totally different...this.... and still ARE!

In the 1st of 3 storms Skylar built the sweetest snow cave that we had the entire neighborhood playing in over the next couple of days. It eventually had 2 openings and a slide going in from the top. The plow left a perfect mound right across the street that he just couldn't let go to waste. Watching Ky and her friends imaginative play around the snow cave over the next few days was just priceless.

From this 10 in. storm and then another 4 in. a few days later Ky was home most of the week. We are so thankful for such awesome neighbors and a street full of kids to play with. I would have gone crazy without them but instead we spent hours upon hours outside and I often had trouble even getting them to come in for lunch.

Alexis was found constantly laying in it, patting it down and trying her hardest to keep up with Kylee which she has gotten pretty good at. She was right there climbing up every mound she could and only going down the sled on her sisters lap. She freaked out the 1 day Ky actually did go to school and was even found streaking the neighborhood as she insisted on waiting for the bus with Ky and I was unaware that she had taken her nightgown off as she followed her out. (an entire different story)

Kylee has spent more hours than I can count in our neighbors back yard sledding, exploring and doing "snow bellies" (heading down the hill on their stomachs). They have made some crazy belly trains and she is constantly found with her mouth open from pure excitement or laughter! I don't know what she is going to do when she actually has 5 days of school in 1 week again. It will now be over a month when we add in Martin Luther King day and the upcoming President's Day. So our one day back was Thursday but we were then home again on Friday and still will be tomorrow due to how long it takes VA to fully clean up from the latest giant storm which hit this weekend. I think we got about 18in. this time. I can't believe I was afraid we had missed our only good storm as we left right after it hit for Christmas. Our snow clothes have gotten quite the mileage this season and we've got getting dressed and undressed in the gear down to a science!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's snow acitivity was a snow castle for the girls. Sky and I are getting known for being the builders on the street. They each had their own seats and enjoyed sitting in their thrones while sucking on icicles.

BEING A KID IS JUST AWESOME!

*All in all: 3 new storms in 9 days- together dropping around 30 inches!

*Conclusion from all this: MY GIRLS LOVE THE SNOW!

In addition to all these great outdoor snow moments I'm also thankful for the following during this crazy snowy time.....

*the cocomotion

*still having our electricity

*so much family time

*Papa John's buy 1 get 1

*convenient play dates for the girls

*a nice break from nursery for 2 weeks now

*watching home videos

*watching Sky enjoy his JEEP to the max

*the beautiful scenery

*staying in comfy clothes over and over

Christmas in UTAH

Our first stop had to be at Rumbi's and like always every bite was savored. It truly is one place Sky and I could never get sick of. We are happy to say that we made it there 3x all different locations during our trip. Next it was off to TEMPLE SQUARE to see the lights and show the girls the temple!We didn't get to spend as much time as we wanted to in Salt Lake but in the 24 hrs we had we also crammed in 1 night with Nicole and Dave, visiting with extended family after Sky's cousins wedding, lunch with the Francis family and some good time with Great Grandpa where the girls got to be the receiver of one of Sky's childhood traditions the "candy horses" from Great Grandpa Gleave. Then it was off to Logan trying to beat another little snow storm. Once in Logan the girls were off with Nana to cake care of the cats and Bovi. Lexi got so into it and was often heard saying, "Come on Bovi" as she would walk him around the house on his leash or was found laying on top of him just like Ky did back in the day. Every time we came home from an activity the first phrase out of Lexi's mouth was normally "where's Bovi?" as she darted around the house finding him..."There he is" and soon after, "come on Nana, I see the cats!" Ky was right there with her but found more entertainment living in Uncle Ry Ry's & Daddy's childhood memories. The 3 of them got quite a kick out of breaking out the old "Thing Maker", playing with old dinosaurs and even Spinjas as they had several tournaments together.

The girls were also very excited to meet their first cousin on the Alsop side and Kylee was dying to hold little Mason. We made a trip over to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Tommy's the first day to see that beautiful boy and Ky impressed everyone with her great baby holding skills. We were so glad that we got to be there for his blessing as well. The girls eagerly awaited Christmas morning and had a great time making cookies for Santa with Nana.

Christmas was a blast as there is nothing better than seeing the facial expressions kids have as they open up what is the coolest thing on earth over and over!!!!! Santa, Nana, Papa Ted, G-ma & G-pa and Mom & Dad definitely came through during the holiday season and the girls as always were spoiled rotten. A definite highlight was the fart machine that we gave to uncle Ry Ry. We all couldn't stop laughing and the bottom right picture is Lexi chiming right in!

We had a great time at Papa Ted's on X-mas Eve and Christmas Afternoon. The girls were very entertained by all their perfect gifts. other events included: Ky's first Ice Skating experience, visiting with Gutke's, Temple, eating out, playing games with the family and a great round of sledding.

Bowling like always but Lexi's first time really getting into it.

We ended the trip with a few days up at Aunt Laura's and Uncle Taylor's where we tried to enjoy our first snowmobiling experience despite the foggy conditions and getting stuck one too many times. Kylee was quite the trooper getting all bundled up and Sky and I are ready for another try but not anytime in the near future.

We loved warming up in the pool which is always a highlight!

This trip, we had a fascinating tour of the potato plant and stood on top the biggest mound of potatoes we will ever see. We continue to be amazed at the entertainment Aunt Laura and Uncle Taylor provide for us in RUPERT, Idaho. Don't worry we will always keep coming back.

The girls kept us entertained in the evening with their dance parties and pink silky scarfs Laura made them that ended up being the perfect headbands. I love watching Peyton stare at my crazy girls.

Lexi had a great time when Peyton got in the pack n play with her and began pulling her Binky out of her mouth. I'm sure Peyton was thinking, "Why does she have one of these...aren't they for babies." Yes, that is right my 2 1/2 yr. old just recently decided to become obsessed with her Binky or as she calls it a pinkie when she goes to sleep. I know...I need to break this habit fast!!!!

Our last night we got to bring in the New Year with old college friends at Amber and Dan's house who put us up for the night. We are always amazed at no matter how much time passes you can easily pick up where you left off. We learned some great new games that we can't wait to share.

All in all it was an amazing trip and we are thankful we got to spend the holiday with family and friends. We made it home to still have our own mini Christmas at home before heading back to school. The girls spent the day playing littlest pet shop and school with their gifts from g-ma & g-pa. They hung out in their new robes and enjoyed the shake 'n' go speedway from Santa as well.

It rarely snows in Charlottesville!

Hang in there with my catching up over the next couple of days...
So after 24hrs. of non-stop snow we ended up with about 27in. Kinda crazy that during our 1 year in Charlottesville we were here to witness their 4th largest storm in history. We tried our hardest to enjoy it but struggled knowing it was definitely going to mess up our travel plans to UT. Here, I was nervous that we may struggle with weather problems in Salt Lake traveling this time of year. Never in my wildest dreams did I think all the trouble would come from our end. Our great neighbors helped ease our minds as we all headed out to play in this winter wonderland. We couldn't bbelieve what we were looking at! Sky tried his hardest to keep up with cleaning off and digging out the car and the girls were up to their waists in snow. They lasted for awhile and we had a good time attempting at some sledding despite Lexi's face plant on her trip down with Ky scaring her sledding experience for a little while.

Sky of course attempted the Unthinkable!

After a fun day of snow we faced the unknown future of our travel plans and countless phone calls to the airlines. Our flight was finally officially canceled out of DC and at this point they said they couldn't get us out until x-mas Eve. This just wasn't gonna cut it! After working with several supervisors we got rebooked out of GREENSBORO,NC. We did head out Sunday morning in the JEEP to see if we could make it. After about 20miles of passing countless stuck cars and swerving around numerous fallen tree branches we hit the police barricade and knew we had to turn around. Explaining all this to a devastated 5yr. old who now hates snow and desperately just wanted to be in Utah was so hard. Our good neighbors greeted our arrival back home and let us crash at their place. It was so nice for the girls to have friends to play with keeping their minds off of the situation and keeping me from overly stressing which is something we all know I am great at. We had a great warm lunch, let the sun beam for a few hours and then headed back out on an alternate route finally making it to Greensboro after 5 hrs. (a drive that normally takes 3) swam in the hotel pool, unwound, caught a flight Monday morning, arrived in SLC that afternoon..............and when all was said and done only missed about a day of the trip!

Our awesome trip to come next....

Festivities verses mad rush, packing & SNOW!

The season began with a gingerbread house that came home from one of Grandma's famous treasure hunts at the end of our Thanksgiving stay in NJ. The girls had a blast with the decorating once challenged mom and dad with both sets of hands and a hair dryer attempted to get the house to stay together without a side caving in. I'm sad to say that this was even one of those pre-made kits...apparently this needs to become a tradition. We finally succeeded and our cute gingerbread house has a great sunroof across the top. Every day since its assembly more and more candy goes missing :)

Kylee was a dedicated worker and very proud of her accomplishments. Alexis, on the other hand, couldn't even finish her decorating before devouring her character. We were shocked we had enough candy to finish the house!

Last week we had our ward Christmas party where Kylee and her PARENTS were shocked with excitement as Kylee came out dressed as an angel. She was dying to get picked and fortunately did. You could see our grins from a mile away apparently as we proud parents watched her sing.

Alexis watched with her longing eyes and dreamed for the day she will be apart.

We had a great time and I'm so thankful for a ward family where ever you go and love spending time with my little family!

We hope you all have a great holiday season! Our plans are to head out west for the break when we make it. We currently are getting hit with a huge snow storm and Charlottesville freaks out with any kind of snow! We are at 6in. so far and expected to maybe get up to 2 feet. Skylar is stuck in the madness and has been in the car for 4 hours trying to get home from work which normally takes 30min and Kylee is finally peacefully sleeping after coming home early from school due to throwing up on the gym floor right before the school Christmas sing. I promise, I am still smiling as I write all of this....love Christmas and know it will all work out. I sat with my girls on the sofa tonight reading Christmas books, with our little Christmas tree and snowglobes and starring out the window at a beautiful snow storm. Those moments you forget about the countless trips to the stores trying to figure out christmas gifts and still currently feeling like you have failed...what is the perfect thing to get people. Or that you haven't touched the packing and what nightmare will we run into at the airport. Maybe from all of this we won't be waking up at 4AM to catch a flight out of DC sunday morning. Oh, and Sky just called informing me again how much he loves his 4 wheel Jeep as he just passed a wreck on a side road trying to find a shortcut and may actually be home in about 20 min.

ENJOY THE SEASON!!!!!!! I can't wait for some sledding tomorrow!