Our weekend Getaway

We spent last weekend up at my grandparent's cabin at Bear Lake. It was beautiful! Russ and I went cross country skiing on Saturday - at least in the morning. It killed my poor pregnant body. However it was SO fun - it always nice to be in the mountains with and spending time with your husband! We had a low key time the rest of the weekend just playing with Abbie and relaxing. On Sunday when we were coming home we ran into a couple of snow storms but nothing too serious - until we got to Park City.

In Park City the traffic completely stopped. It turns out that a semi had jack-knifed on the road completely blocking traffic. We were stuck in a truck for two hours with a 20 month old child - making the entire drive five hours. We don't have (and didn't think we needed) a portable DVD player or other entertainment as Abbie is usually fine in the car for the 3 hour drive. Needless to say by the time we got home I was far from feeling rested and relaxed from our wonderful weekend. I went to bed last night at 9:20.

Its a.......

We are having another girl!!! WOW!! We are so excited and a little surprised as that means five granddaughters for my side of the family with zero grandsons. Both Russ and I where kind of expecting a boy but I must say we are thrilled with the news. Everything is going well and looks good which we are very grateful for.


In other random news Abbie locked me out of the house on Monday. I brought her inside then went out to get groceries. She turned the lock with me outside and her inside!!! After a moment of panic I ran to get our key from the neighbors - but they weren't home. Then I went to another neighbors to call Russ so he could come home (it was either that or break a window.) Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before he would have been heading home anyway. I went to the backyard and watched Abbie through the sliding glass door. She was fine. I was able to coax her to pull out the stick but she wasn't tall enough to push up the lock!!

Hiking in the Snow

Thanks once again to Jen we got a wonderful Christmas present of an annual pass up Millcreek Canyon. We decided we wanted to start taking advantage of it as soon as possible so we went up this weekend to go snowshoeing. Unfortunately, my snowshoes were broken and the ones we intended to borrow - well didn't work out. So we just decided to hike it. Thankfully there was a trail that was pretty well packed down so we didn't loose too much traction hiking normally.

It was SO fun to get out and be in the mountains again. We hiked a lot in the summer and enjoyed ourselves immensely and this was so reminiscent of the summer that we hope to keep it up as long as I can. There is just something so freeing and refreshing being outside.

Abbie of course had a blast talking about the water in the stream and the snow on the trees. She was also comfortable enough to fall fast asleep on our way back down.

Russ and I

I got tagged by my friend Kelsey and by my sister in law Jen so I'm going to kill two birds with one,well anyway .

This is info about Russ and I

What is his name? Russell Paul Gray

How long have you been together?: Married for three and a half years.

How long did you date?: One and a half with two short break-ups in the middle. (One was me, one was him, but he’ll never admit it

How old is he? 31 – but you’d never know it

Who eats more?: Often me – sadly. I was told he had quite the eating reputation but I’ve never seen it

Who is taller: He is by about an inch or two.

Who said "I love you" first? I did.

Who can sing better? Russ – no doubt!

Who is smarter? It depends on the subject.

Who does the laundry? Me.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side? I do..

Who mows the lawn? The HOA company

Who cooks dinner? I do it and I love it.

Who drives? He does

Who is more stubborn? Not me, not me, not me!!!

Who kissed who first? He kissed me and surprised me beyond belief!

Who asked who out first? He did

Who proposed? He did

Who has more friends? Russ probably has had more but I stay in touch with mine way better than he does.

Who is more sensitive? I am for sure!

Who has more siblings? I do.

Who wears the pants? He does... okay... not really ;)

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My Quirks...


1. If I wake up in the night it takes a minimum of an hour for me to fall back asleep unless it is the fourth or fifth night in a row then I’m exhausted.

2. I hate being late to anything even social functions where it doesn’t matter. I’m getting better, but not much.

3. I can't think of any other things right now... I think I’m pretty normal but I’m sure in the comment section Russ will add a bunch!!

What was I doing Ten years ago?

I was in the middle of my first year at Utah State with roommates that I still considered some of my closest friends. I think….(but I’m not sure) that I had started the short time of dating Ryan Rothman at this point – the first guy I ever kissed (sad it took me ‘til collage). Beyond that I don’t really know.

Things on my “To Do” List:

I used to be much better about having an actual list, but now I do it mentally until I get too overwhelmed. Thankfully, because of a busy week before now, not much is on the list. I need to review my lecture for tomorrow night and find a new restaurant to go for Valentines Dy (it is my year to plan) as the one I had originally planned is closed due to a fire.

Bad Habits:

Hmmmmmmm…Russ could tell you better than I. I interrupt (mostly Russ) if I’m excited about what I’m thinking. I don’t usually realized I’m doing it as I do know it is rude. I also am not a terribly patient person – although I’m working on that. Also I hate folding laundry so it usually ends up piled and wrinkly for days.

Places I’ve lived:

Arizona (where I was born),Salt Lake and Logan Utah, Jerusalem for two months, Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, London, England for six weeks!

can’t remember what else there was…

Timeout

So time out is an interesting experience in our home. It doesn't happen too often - mostly when someone (not to name names) drops food on the floor deliberately or doesn't help with cleaning up her toys. Time out is standing in the corner. Amazingly Abbie knows exactly when she is supposed to go and usually walks over there just fine. This is where it gets interesting. She doesn't fight, yell or scream - most of the time. However sometimes she will sing, peak around the corner or just babble to herself. She seems like she actually enjoys the experience (which appears to limit the disciplinary value.)

However when it is over she runs cheerfully away from the corner, and if it is ever threatened she gets very upset and usually obeys...Go figure

What will Abbie be when she grows up?

Obviously most parents and grandparents love to speculate on the future occupation of their offspring. I think all parents see greatness in their children and are convinced that whatever they do they will lead the world in their chosen field. We of course are no exception to this trend. So Russ, in an attempt to figure out ahead of time in which field of study Abbie will excel, has started tracking her interests. This is what we've discovered so far.

( And truly if Abbie is anything like my siblings and I, if we as parents dare to suggest any of these fields of study, she will patently refuse to consider them for the rest of her life.)

Our New Chef!

Well thanks to a wonderful aunt (thanks Jen!) Abbie got an adorable cooking set for Christmas. She has loved getting it out and playing with the pans and spoons but this picture is the first time she decided to actually "cook". Thanks to a very leaky sippy cup we have, she had water - all the ingredients she needed - to begin. She measured the water into the spoon and then poured it into the pan (and on the table and floor). At first I wanted to get her to clean up right away so the table wouldn't get ruined. But she was having so much fun and was so dang cute we waited then put a towel under the cooking area so she could continue.

Must read book!

Okay so I just read a fantastic book that I would highly recommend to, well just about anyone. It is called, "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How my Mom Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less." by Terry Ryan. It is a memoir (don't let that turn you off if you prefer fiction, it reads like fiction.)

It is told from the author's eyes during the 1950s where she is the sixth of the ten children. Their father is an alcoholic who drinks away most of his paycheck. To help pay for food, clothes, and household items and repairs, their mother enters jingle contests. She is spunky optimistic and talented and starts to win - alot. She provides for most of the families needs for over ten years through her tireless efforts at writing jingles while she does the ironing.

I was SO impressed by the class of this women and how she dealt with such a difficult situation. She couldn't leave (not in the 1950s with ten kids and no drivers license), and doesn't complain she just makes an enjoyable challenge out of a very hard life. The book is far from cheesey or glossy over the challenges but very uplifting and hopeful.

If anyone has read it or reads it later, let me know what you think!

Russ's Gallery Stroll

As a part of the Salt Lake City Gallery Stroll. Russ will be showing some of his paintings of his most recent travels. As you can imagine we are VERY excited for Russ and this chance to display some of his work. If you are going to be in the Salt Lake City area on Friday January 18th we would love you to stop in to view his work on display. We are hoping to get a lot of support from friends and family and would love to see you there.

Russ's work will be on display,

Friday, January 18th
at the Modern8 Gallery
561 West 200 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101
7:00 - 9:00

We would love to see you there!!

Double Stroller Shopping

So with number two coming along I'm looking at getting a double stroller of some kind and realized right off I don't know what to look for. So, since most of you are moms with several children I thought I would mooch off of your years of wisdom. What double strollers do you have? Wish you had? What things have you loved or hated? Did you even use a double stroller? Anything that you wish you had known when you were in my position now would be very helpful. I want the best stroller possible that will last awhile with out blowing the budget.

I have looked around and found two that I like. The first is the Baby Trend Sit and Stand Plus Double stroller. It costs about $150 and is a double stroller that converts to a single plus sit and stand for older toddlers. The reviews look pretty good and I like the idea of a sit and stand in about a year....

The second is the Jeep Wrangler All Weather Twin Sport Umbrella Stroller. For me the biggest selling points of this stroller are the small size and affordable cost ($80). I alsi like the idea of the kids next to each other (so they can hit more? I don't know)...

Any suggestions you have would be awesome!

News, News News

Well...as most of you know we have some news...We are pregnant!!! We are due July 16th and are very excited. We've been pretty quiet until now, mostly only family has known, but we are past 12 weeks so we felt like it was okay to tell.

Overall I've felt...crappy. But thanks to over-priced pharmaceutical aids I am able to function pretty well most days. I even made it a whole day yesterday with out the medicine and without throwing- up. Today I wasn't so lucky, but you can't win them all!!

We don't know the gender yet, but will be finding out in about two months so keep checking in with us!

Russ & Abbie

So I along with the rest of the planet think that Abbie and Russ look a lot a like. Not that there are any doubters out there but I thought I would post this adorable picture of Russ when he was little (I don't know how old he is exactly) and of Abbie. I know it is a Halloween picture but it is the only one where she is pulling close to the same expression.....like father like daughter!