I Thought I Would Never...

1. Mix different cereal in the same bowl

2. Brush my teeth in the shower

3. Taste baby food

4. Witness Ryan take it upon himself to clean anything

But it turns out that:

1. I am a fan of Cheerios and Wheat Chex

2. The warm water does not gross me out as much as I thought it would

3. Well, this one was still bad. I admit I had to force myself to do this to overcome my disdain. Plus I needed to see if it was too hot for the kid. I still don't think I will ever become a true "lick the spoon clean" sort of mom.

4. My sweet husband cleaned and organized the garage all by himself Tuesday night! And he was actually willing to throw stuff away!

But just in case you're worried that hell has frozen over, or pigs are flying-Ryan still loves pepperoni pizza and you tube, and I still will never tolerate radio commercials. And we both can't stand anyone who holds up their number so you vote for them on American Idol.

V-day Guilt

In case you didn't know, we tend to do things a little bit differently around here. Today, there are no roses, chocolates, or red teddy bears at our house. But, we do have a lot of "conversation hearts" that cannot be eaten. These are just from the last 24 hours.

Ryan last night while hanging out with friends: "We need to go. I have to go to the store. I have Valentine's Day guilt."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't get anything for you either." "Oh, good. Let's just go home then."

(while going to the car) "It's freezing. I wish you wouldn't open the door for me and just start the car." "Too bad." He seriously has never missed opening the door for me.

"Everybody loves you." and "People like me like you." (He says this at least 3x a day. Aren't you all jealous?)

And my personal favorite:
(after watching a commercial with a little kid swimming in a pool)
"Do you call those things water wings or floaties?"
"Floaties"
"Oh, Good." (with a high five added)
"Why?"
"For some reason I can't stand people who call them water wings. I'm so glad it's going to work out between me and you."

And who wouldn't want to fall asleep to these words:

"I have a prayer in my heart for you."

Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry it won't be as good as ours.

And...I thought this would be a good day to fulfill this request. So here you go:

Happy Birthday Ryan!

I know this birthday won't be as good as last year's, but hopefully I can make it up to you. I could go on and on and tell the blogging world how much I love you-but you know that's not how we work, so I won't. But have a really great bday!

Mattress Sledding 101

1. Head up to Utah at the first sign of fresh snow

2. Gather pre-prepared mattress* from garage at rental house

*Mattress is copyrighted by FitzTru corp. No duplications allowed without the express written consent of the owners

3. Gather as many friends as you have

4. Go to Rock Canyon Park (other locations have not been pre-approved)

5. Smirk at the others in their red discs who look at you with awe and admiration

6. Load up mattress with as many participants as possible

7. Get a good push.

8. Glide effortlessly down the hill, fly into the air, and land painlessly and joyfully on your cloud- like sled.

9. Get the boys to pull it up again.

10. Repeat as necessary-or change it up by flying solo, backwards, and sideways

11. Use your sled for your recooperation also.

12. Reward yourself by attempting to eat a 2ft. sandwich and accomplish New Year's Resolution of getting your picture on a restaurant wall.

Sorry. I edited Amy's post because she's stealing all my Christmas Letter material. To those of you who already read the exciting conclusion, you will have to die (or keep really quiet for 11 months).

Did Ryan:

A) Easily finish the sandwich and get his picture on the wall
B) Vomit ungodly quantities of food 1 1/2 feet into it
C) Proclaim "I never wanted to eat this stupid sandwich anyway" halfway through
D) Finish the sandwich, and writhe in unspeakable agony for the next 12 hours

Stay tuned for the dramatic conclusion.... Christmas 2008.*

*Yes, I've stooped to advertising on my competitor's blog

It's Groundhog Day!

"Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Hear Ye! On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008 Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths. After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

To which all on Gobbler's Knob exclaim, "BOO!!!" We were glad to be warm in bed this Groundhog Day, but we will never forget the memories of the fabulous town of Punxsutawney, or the deadening cold we endured on Gobbler's Knob those 4 years ago. We are especially proud to have been welcomed into the Inner Circle by Bill, as the only people crazy enough to come from Las Vegas to witness such an event.

Thanks for a great holiday, Phil. We'll see you next year.