russ's new office!

yesterday the kids and i went to visit russ at his new office. russ's new boss and his sons LOVE to hunt...i mean, they LOVE it. all over the office are taxidermy animal heads of animals that they killed...the only other place i have seen so many taxidermy animals is at bass pro shops! we saw a giraffe, gazelle, water buffalo, wart hog, zebra skin, deer, elk and a lot of animals i don't know the name of! mia and george were both running around saying, "mom, come look at this!" russ has a very nice office that looks out over a train track, which the kids thought was cool. the train comes by 3 times a day, but we didn't get to see it. after we had the office tour we went to capriotti's for lunch. it was fun hanging out with daddy for an hour!

my friend, missy

when i worked at the university of phoenix as an academic counselor, i had a financial counselor that i was paired up with to make it easier for the students. this is how i first came to know melissa. melissa was very easy to work with; she was always friendly and helpful, and as time went on we became friends. she found out she was expecting her first child a month before i found out i was expecting mia. it was so fun to have someone i could share my pregnancy with. there were many days where i did very little work because i was at her desk chatting about anything but work! since i quit my job right after mia was born it meant that i didn't get to see melissa very often. over the years we have only seen each other a handful of times, but i still consider her a good friend. right around christmas i found out that she and her family were moving mid-january. i didn't want to pass up an opportunity to see her before they left, so george and i went over to visit and to say good-bye. it was SO nice to catch up and to see how her family has grown. she now has 3 beautiful children. i will miss them, but i wish them the best of luck in their new adventure!

georgie started preschool!

yesterday george started preschool at the same place mia went to preschool. he was so excited to go when he woke up. he picked out his coolest outfit (jeans and a lightning mcqueen shirt with a matching jacket). we pulled up, and he was confident and cool. the garage door went up signaling it was time to go in, and the waterworks began. then the screaming began..."i don't want to go to preschool!" repeated over and over. after assuring him i'd be there to pick him up and giving him a kiss, i peeled him off my body and handed him to miss janie. i then stood in the garage with my ear to the door to hear george GAGGING! i thought he was going to puke! after about 20 seconds, the crying stopped. i peeked in, and janie was holding him on her lap and reassuring him (one of the many reasons i love this woman...she is so warm and loving). when i went to pick george up, he was nothing but smiles! he was SO proud of the leopard he made, and i must admit, he did a great job! i am so proud of my little man and am excited for all he's going to get to experience in preschool.

new year's in utah

we are starting a new tradition of going to visit russ's family for new year's each year for 2 reasons...1) the kids LOVE to play in the snow 2) russ LOVES to watch football with his dad. don't get me wrong, i enjoy the trip too, but i don't love the snow, nor do i love football. i do, however, love being with family.

russ and george getting read to rip down the hill on their sweet new sled!

i can't believe how much mia loves the snow. she was out there for hours every day and would come in completely soaked!

mia, eliza & george...the cutest cousins i've ever seen. i love how our kids are in all the mismatched snow gear borrowed from the neighbors and eliza is a completely matching snow bunny!

new year's eve was spent at melinda's place. thank goodness for photoshop because we couldn't get all three kids looking at the camera at the same time for anything!

melinda bought a cute cardboard house for the kids to decorate. it was the perfect activity as it kept them occupied for a looooong time.

happy new year's from aunt linnie and mia!

TRUE STORY: a drunk driver ran into russ's parents block wall new year's eve!!! he did donuts in the neighbors backyard (there was all sorts of damage), then he drove up and hit the wall (this picture is only a portion of the damage), then he drove around the corner and ended up leaving his car on someone's front lawn! he was driving with a suspended license already and by the time the cop got through with him he had a minimum of 6 counts against him! he got buuuuusted!

i sat on the porch and took pictures of these 3 building a snowman. russ called me a wuss several times...like i said, i don't like the cold.

on new year's day, mia disappeared for about 45 minutes. she was upstairs creating her own 'happy new year' sign. i love this kid.

russ's mom and brother have january birthdays, so the whole fam went out for a delicious dinner.

the birthday peeps

grandma showing off her new robe and mia showing off her old one

you can tell mia and george don't love grandma and papa one bit!