Alana Kay Murray

The first portion of this birth story is mostly back story leading up to the actual birth...skip the first three paragraphs if you don't care.  And, as always in birth stories, there are a lot of details, and possibly TMI.  

This pregnancy had been rather uneventful.  We had decided to keep the gender a surprise, but other than that, everything had been basically textbook.  We were hopeful that this baby might make their appearance early, like their brother had, but that didn't happen...then we were hopeful that the baby might come on her due date (father's day)...which also didn't happen.  Starting the Saturday before Father's day, I had regular bouts of false labor, which are the worst!  Not because they hurt particularly badly, or anything else, but because Nate and I would get hopeful that we were having a baby...and then everything would stop, and we'd feel disappointed, despite our best efforts not to get excited about it.  Two rounds of false labor had me convinced enough that I even said, "I think this might be it."  Clearly, this cursed us, and the contractions would stop just a little bit later.

So, Thursday, the 19th rolls around, and I had my last prenatal appointment.  I was dilated to 2 cm at this point.  Because I was past my due date, they decided I needed a non-stress test.  I had both Katie and Grayson at the appointment with me, and we'd already had to wait longer than normal, so everyone's patience was running a bit thin.  Throw in about 45 minutes on the monitors (with a couple of people getting concerned because the baby wasn't moving around enough and throwing words like, "send you to the hospital" and "uh oh" around), and the non-stress test was, in fact, anything but.  Eventually, after buzzing my stomach with some kind device, the baby started moving around enough to get a good pattern of heart rate increase and decrease, and we were sent on our way.

That night, I started having some contractions.  I finally packed a hospital bag for me, and timed them for about an hour and a half, and they were coming consistently, This was one of the times I said, "I think this might be it, we should go to sleep just in case."  So we go to bed, and I keep having some contractions, but they're very far apart at this point.  Friday morning, I asked Nate if he'd be ok staying home from work, just in case, and because I was feeling really sick--super nauseous, achy, etc--so he did.  We just mostly sat around on Friday waiting for contractions to get closer together, but, by the afternoon, they weren't even coming in a consistent pattern anymore, and I was starting to be convinced that I would be pregnant forever (clearly, not possible...but that's just what it feels like at the end.).

Saturday morning rolls around, and I'm having contractions that are consistently 10 minutes apart, and actually a bit painful.  Looking back on the rest of the time leading up to that morning, I'm convinced that it's probably not the real thing...again.  We try to go about our Saturday like it's any normal day.  We took the kids to Mariano's for groceries and gelatto, and hit a couple of other stores too, and then head home.  I keep hoping that my contractions will get closer together, but they don't.  They do, however, start getting more painful, and, after breaking down and crying to Nate after the kids were in bed about how sorry I am that we still haven't had the baby, and he's probably going to have to go to work on Monday, I decided to call the doctor, and see if he had any suggestions.  The doctor on call wasn't my doctor, but he looked at my chart and suggested that I come on in and they could see what was going on, and that he was pretty sure that once I hit active labor, I'd be having a baby pretty quickly.  I decided to go in with the expectation that we'd be getting sent home, and called my friend to come and sit in our house so the kids could sleep.  She came over around 9:30 (thank you Dayanara!!) and we headed out to the Hospital.

It's probably not actually the case, but it seemed like as soon as the doctor said that we could come in and see what was happening, my contractions started getting closer together.  I had quite a few on the drive to the hospital, and I had to stop in between contractions every few steps once we got to the hospital.  I even got wheeled up to Labor and Delivery in a wheelchair, and asked Nate if he felt like enough of a stereotype yet.  We were checked in at 9:53, and they started monitoring, checked me (I was at 4cm), and so we got to stay.  

In the bed being monitored...and having contractions.

Are you really taking a picture right now?

I had to stay in the bed for kind of a long time while they established a good trace on the baby's heart rate.  This wasn't my favorite thing, but everyone at the hospital was so nice and helpful, that it didn't really matter.  After we'd been there for about 45 minutes or so, I was able to get up and stand next to the bed.  My contractions were coming really intensely at this point, and I tried sitting on the yoga ball (awful this time!  Great with Grayson, but I really, REALLY hated it this time around), and ended up mostly just leaning over the bed with Nate applying counter-pressure to my hips the whole time.  During one contraction, I totally managed to pee all over the floor.  The nurse who came in thought that my water might have broken...but it hadn't, I had just lost control...which would happen 2 more times, unfortunately.  Bless those labor and delivery nurses who see you at your worst and don't make you feel like a gross freak.

Also, is it over yet?

Quite soon, I felt incredibly nauseous, and asked for something to throw up in.  I threw up, and my water broke, and I instantly felt like I really needed to push.  This time around, the nurses flew into action immediately.  The doctor was called into the room (he had apparently come to the hospital shortly after I had called him, and decided to sleep on the couch.  He was THAT certain that I would be having the baby quickly), and they started a file for the new baby.  This happened around 11:50 or so, I climbed up on the bed, on my hands and knees, pushed a few times, and at 11:57, our baby was born!  I was able to do it without an epidural again, which is nice.  Having the most painful part of the labor go SO fast both times is definitely the factor that allows that to happen.

Nate immediately said, "It's a girl!"  And the delivering doctor said, "It's a boy!"  I don't know if he was kidding, or what, but it was definitely a girl.  Our little Alana Kay.

She was so alert right off the bat, and spent a good portion of the hour or so we had together before they took her to be weighed or anything just looking around.  Nate had made sure to request that I got to hold her right away (they'd taken Grayson away for a bit before they'd let me hold him) and they did. 

While the doctor was helping to deliver the placenta etc.  He looked at me, and at the time on the clock, and he said, "So...did you really NOT think you were in labor?"  From the time I'd checked into the hospital until she'd been born, it had only been 2 hours and 7 minutes.  She squeaked in on the first day of summer by 3 minutes.

She was a big baby too!  9 pounds, 3 oz.  Bigger than Katie (who was also born 6 days late), by almost exactly a pound.  The nurse afterwards told me it was probably a good thing that I had delivered on my hands and knees, because that's one of the best positions for the most open pelvis.  Thankfully, I also had no tearing or anything else, so my recovery has been great.

We didn't tell Katie the baby's gender ahead of time, because I wanted to see her reaction when she found out she was getting a sister.  She'd been telling us for a couple of months that the baby was definitely a girl, and that she was getting a sister, and we'd been trying to prep her for the possibility that it might not actually be a girl.  No need though--she was right.

Grayson was mostly uninterested in Alana, but he did love all the various buttons, and beverages with straws he had access to.  Once again, having a baby suddenly aged the children we had by a factor of 100.  Grayson seems so much bigger now!

They're always so tiny in the car seat!

We got to go home on Monday morning, which was nice.  And, thanks to our friends Dayanara and Tim and Kristen Hughes, Nate and I got to spend a good amount of time together in the hospital, which made it much less lonely than it could have been.  The hospital even did a special celebration dinner for us on Sunday night. Seriously, the hospital was fantastic, the nurses were wonderful, and the whole experience was just really nice.  I felt like they tried really hard to make sure that our wants were completely respected.

On the way home from the hospital, BOTH Alana and Grayson fell asleep in the car.  Here's hoping we can manage to schedule a few more naps this way.

March Happenings

I keep feeling like this winter will never end (just like everyone else in this area of the country), and so March passed by kind of quickly in a relative blur of sameness.  We did manage to get outside a few times.

Chicago River dyed Green

We finally went to the Vault (we've now had Do-Rite, Firecakes, Glazed and Infused, and the Vault).  The doughnuts were really, REALLY good, but I don't know that I think they're the best in Chicago.  I guess, for me, there's sort of a bliss point for your basic buttermilk cake doughnut.  This place definitely hits that, but so do the other places.

Basically, if pizza isn't your thing, and a Chicago Dog doesn't carry any kind of interest for you, just go on a doughnut tour while you're here.  We've got a LOT of amazing options.

The yeast doughnuts were SO huge!

After we went to the Vault, we headed off to a Chicago Park to check out a Maple Syrup festival.  I had no idea that they could tap trees and make Maple Syrup right in the middle of Chicago, but they can.  It was pretty cold outside, but it was still nice to get outside and into a little bit of nature.

Upper Left:  syrup tasting and boiling sap over an open flame, Upper Right:  Me and Grayson, checking out the tree taps, Lower Left:  Katie inspecting the sap (apparently, it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup!), Lower Right:  Grayson walking in the woods, and Katie and Grayson chillin' (literally) in the stroller.

We got a few days where it was warm enough to head to the local park, go on a couple of bike rides, and be outside for longer than 30 seconds without hating the experience.  Today was kind of cold again though, so we played inside.

I took food coloring and white vinegar and put a few different colors in a muffin tin.  Then, in the pie plate, I spread out a layer of baking soda.  Katie and Grayson both got a medicine dispenser, and then squirted the colored vinegar on the baking soda.  Grayson couldn't fill the dispenser on his own, but I bet he could have done it if it were one of the dropper-types.  Katie had no problems at all, and really loved her "Foaming Rainbow Lakes."

Grayson also tasted all the parts involved...but that problem quickly solved itself.  Neither Vinegar nor Baking soda is terribly tasty alone.

Katie loved the foaming, and then playing in the baking soda afterwards.  She wanted to save her "colored sand."  We didn't.

 Overall, this was a great activity.  Both kids could do it, and they enjoyed it, and it was really easy to clean up.  These days, that's the biggest win of an activity for me.

 Lastly, someone started walking around our house almost full-time!  Watching his little teetering wobbles down the hall and his nervous giggles as he tries to go faster is SO much fun.  It definitely helps to brighten up some of these still-dreary days.

Here's hoping for April Showers...and maybe a few leaves or flowers?

Pre-PA Weeks

The weeks leading up to us getting here were so wonderfully busy. It was great to get to see so many friends and family. A few things that happened:

1. Nate had a birthday, and we had a party for him. A Guitar Hero Championship was involved, and Karly beat out the entire bracket, without a single loss. Don't mess with that girl on Miss Murder.

2. We had an ultrasound, and we found out that we're having a little girl. I'd had a dream it was a little boy, and so had Nate. Originally, we were planning on being surprised...but then I went and got curious about a week before. However, since I had been expecting a little boy, finding out that it was a girl was quite surprising. I can only imagine how convinced I would have been that it was a boy by the time she was born. Regardless of expecting it to be a boy, there was no dissapointment. Nate's actually a little relieved. He's got 4

younger sisters, and no brothers. He's at least got some experiences with baby girls. We're really excited. Our due date is right on, so as long as all keeps going well, we'll have a daughter at the end of December. Yay!

3. In conjunction with baby stuff, I got a surprise baby shower Tuesday Night. We had the ultrasound at 4:00, and then around 7 we were going over to Uncle Doug and Aunt Lori's house to play games and hang out. When we got there, I kind of expected the whole family to come, and sort of have a "yay Nate for graduating good luck in PA!" type party. We got in, and everyone yelled "Suprise!" I just picked up the dog and started to walk over to where all the people were. Soon, however, I realized that some of the people in the group were not, in fact, family. There was Krista--a good friend from BYU...and a couple of others.

Then I went from not surprised to really confused, especially as I realized that there weren't any men there either. I was told to go and sit in the chair in the corner, and there were gifts on the hearth of the fireplace, and...huh? Then, Nate said, "Bye Nicole." I was still confused. Then I noticed the sign on the fireplace mantle that said, "Baby Shower." Finally, it dawned on me what was going on. I'm sure a lot of people there were disapointed that I didn't act more surprised, but I can't tell you how surprised I was. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever what was going on, which is why I sat there with a dumb look on my face for the first 10 minutes of the party. I really was so touched and surprised though. The things that we got from

everyone are adorable, and I'm really excited to get to dress up our little girl in them, or to snuggle her in them, or even to burp her with them. To everyone who was there--Thanks a million. You're really sweet.

4. Wednesday we went to see the Dark Knight at the Scera with friends and some family...who are also friends. It was good times.

5. Nate Commenced on Thursday Afternoon. He looked really handsome in his graduation gear--see?

Thursday Night we played some games and ate cookies with Kip and Diana and Kurth and Kathi and Co. It was really fun, and the cookies were quite tasty.

6. Friday Morning Nate Convocated. He was the first one to walk across the stage! The pictures below are half from Thursday afternoon, and half from Friday while Nate was walking. I don't know why, but I don't have pictures from friday after Nate walked--I'll have to get some from others. Ashley and Lance, and Grandma and Grandpa Elison, Savannah, and Grandpa Murray, and Mom and Dad Murray as well as Karly, Abby, Natalie, and Mariel were all there to watch Nate get his diploma holder. Mom and Dad Frost missed the ceremony because Mom Frost was still recovering from surgery the day before. Jared, Emily, and Jordan weren't there because they were in Missouri, and Ryan is on his mission. Thankfully, everyone who was in the state was able to come to the real celebration that night--dinner at Yamato's, which was good...even though our server seemed quite stressed over the number of people in our party. I guess 18 is a lot, but Nate's got a lot of people who love him! :)

Saturday morning is when we took off on our move. I'll have to post more about that later. We're so grateful to have such wonderful families that have been so supportive and caring. We look forward to our new adventure even though we miss you. We'll look forward even more to visiting you all soon-ish.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

It's off to work I go!

Tomorrow is my first official day of teaching Physics, and the next day, I teach Physics, Meteorology, and Astronomy. These weeks in Provo have been pretty full of moving in, getting settled, and getting ready for a school year. Also, Nate had a birthday in there, which was fun, and we've even taken some pictures of the process.

As soon as I manage to find our silly photo card transfer cable, you can see the journey outlined. Until then...you can't. You can, however, watch this funny song. Please enjoy.

That Poor Woman...And Happy Birthday!

In AP European History, our teacher was completely insane. He'd rant and rave about just about any topic. One of his favorite was Sophia, sister of Peter the Great. While her life story is fairly treacherous, I would say that the ultimate part of her legacy, insofar as I know it, is this painting:

Tell me that this isn't the saddest painting that you've ever seen. Generally speaking, in pictures, they try to make you look flattering...if this is flattering...I feel such sorrow for that poor woman. Clearly, this artist was a little too realist for her own good.

Good old Coach Thomas used to randomly stick this picture up on the overhead. Then he would just chuckle to himself while the class sat in horror waiting for him to get rid of the picture.

In much more attractive news, today is Jared's Birthday!! He's a whopping 16 years old, which means that every one of the Frost's is now old enough to date...or is married. Jared is awesome. He ballroom dances--and well. He has a great sense of humor, and, somewhere he managed to pick up enough coordination to do a rip stick. He definitely didn't learn that from me. Congratulations Jared--you're awesome. Also, don't let the girls chase you too much.

Various and Sundry Things

I was going through some pictures on our camera from this last weekend, and I found this picture of Nate, smiling a smile that I don't think I've ever seen caught on camera before. Looking at it made me realize that he looks like someone....

Oh yeah! His little cousin Gavin! Putting these two pictures side by side makes me wonder if Gavin will grow up to look like Nate. Honestly, I sure hope he's that lucky. :) I mean, he's already got some sweet dance moves. Give Gavin the looks too, and that kid's got it made.

Here's a picture I snapped yesterday. Indiana was just sitting on the couch next to Nate, and it struck me as picture-worthy. What else does a boy need but a dog and his laptop?

I found that I had a couple of bug bites on my leg last night. They're a little bit red and swollen, so Nate wanted to draw a circle around the swelling so that we could see if it spread anymore today (it didn't). Then Nate added the nose and mouth. This reminds me of when my dad used to give us Mr. Ziploc on our fingers. My dad's Mr. Ziploc was much less crazy looking though.

I saved this picture for last, because I didn't want you all to be so jealous that you stopped reading. Remember yesterday's mention of 20 pounds of red potatoes? Well, after cutting up about half the bag and filling two gallon freezer bags with french fry cut and hash brown cut potatoes, I ran out of both room and desire. So, what do do with the rest of the potatoes? Clearly, if they just sit in the bag they'll go bad, and the whole investment will be ruined (although, price wise, even getting half of the bag, 10 pounds, for $5.99 is better than 5 pounds for $3.99). Nate and I saw this tip on PBS once, and I decided that I should do it. The potatoes are now in a pair of pantyhose, which are tied off after each individual potato. To use the potatoes, you just cut a slit in the section where the potato you want is located, and then use the potato. if you cut a small enough slit, you can reuse the pantyhose potato holder again. This also works really well for Onions--Nate and I tried it with knee-highs a while back.

Please try and not be too sad that you don't have your own pantyhose potato holder--you can make it too, just get a pair of pantyhose, and some potatoes, and it'll keep them fresh for a long time, since there's plenty of air flow, as well as plenty of space between the potatoes. The ones in the top part, that are all touching, I'm planning on using first. I just didn't have enough pairs of pantyhose to make many potato holders.

Congratulations Mom!

My mom just told me that she's getting the Presidential Lifetime Service Award at the end of this month. I, personally, think that this is fantastic. My mom really does do a lot of things. For one thing, she went down to Mississippi and helped with the clean up after Katrina. She's always been there to help people, and is just a great example of generosity. I know that she won't be stopping anytime soon, but it's nice that someone recognizes all she does. Congratulations, Mom--you deserve it!

Happy Father's Day!

My dad is fantastic. I know that all of you probably have pretty great dad's too, but my dad is just plain awesome.

For as long as I can remember, he's always been there for me. My dad has been working to provide for our family since our family has existed. While I was in High School, my dad worked a paper route in the morning, and then would come home and run my sister and I to early morning seminary across town, and then he'd get ready for work and head off for an 8 hour day. He'd often come home and do the chores that many of us children had slacked off on--usually with lame excuses about being too busy with school, or being so tired after our long day.

My dad has an awesome sense of humor. Growing up, one of our favorite jokes went something like this:

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Utah.
Utah who?
U-talk too much!

Seriously, it almost never got old.

My dad is the one who introduced me to his "heathen" music. Boston, Chicago, Styx, ELO, Alabama, etc. Sure, it's Nate who really got me finally identifying who's who, but Dad's the one who played the tapes.

I remember some awesome Family Home Evenings with film strips and tape players. I remember Perky the motor boat, and how my dad would usually give in when the three girls wanted to go inner tubing more than we wanted to fish. I remember the classic dad teasing, that never really went too far. I remember Sunday Morning Coffee Cake, and weekday mush, with Peanut Butter Mush sometimes on Fridays. I remember one-eyed sailors and bread circles, and cringing when breakfast was cream of wheat and not oatmeal.

I remember my dad randomly bringing my mom a rose or a couple of roses home from work, just because.

I also remember father's blessings before every school year. I remember somewhat awkward moments before going on a date, but always words of caution and care. I remember my dad doing every calling he's ever gotten to the best of his abilities.

See? My dad really is awesome. And, even with all of us as children, he's got very little gray, and he's still got all his hair. I think it's his sense of humor that helps get him through it. I love you dad!

Ode to an Elder

Oh Brother, where art thou? You're here in Utah.

But soon you'll be heading to Oklahoma.
A place where the wind goes a'sweepin' down the plains.
And, somewhere, there are elephants a'walkin' the lanes.
You'll be speaking in Spanish and driving a car
and preaching the gospel both near and far
To Geezers and Youth, and some in between
To nice ones and apathetic ones, and some who are mean.
But of course you can do it, and you know it well
Only just be careful not to let your head swell
Congrats little brother, who's bigger than me
I know you're going to be a good Missionary.

Family History Fashion Show

On Sunday night, we did the most fun thing. We went through Grandma Elison's hope chest with her, and tried on a bunch of her, and her mom's clothing. In the process, we got to hear the stories of each of the pieces of clothing. I don't know who doesn't like to play dress up, or history, but the combination of the two was positively fantastic.

This dress was Grandma Elisons, and apart from wearing it to a wedding reception, she wore it when she played in the ballroom scene in "The Sound of Music." Richard Losee was playing Captain Von Trapp, and apparently, he was so handsome, that Grandma had a hard time remembering her line. The headband came from Grandma's mom, and apparently she wore it when she went out for a night on the town.

This was one of the dresses that we found out that Great Grandma Neely made. Like, with a sewing machine, and talent. The shawl is from Hawaii, I think. She didn't make that though. Also, there's been no alteration done to any of the dresses...Grandma Elison and Grandma Neely really were just that thin, as is Natalie.

Here's Natalie and Nate, Nate sporting Grandpa Elison's MP hat, and suit coat, Natalie adding a fabulous hat that came from a recent production of the Music Man.

Here are Mar and McKensie, sporting some fabulously handmade clothing again. Notice how the outfits actually fit both of these young ladies. The sewing on the dress that Mariel is wearing was so fun. The dress had like, a Spanish style ruffling along the bottom.

And here's Luke...wearing...a dress. After trying to convince him to wear Grandma Elison's old dance outfit, which was purple, the size of a bathing suit, and covered in lace and fabric lollipops, he picked this instead...and he's darling in it.

Not that we're endorsing cross dressing.

Lily is wearing a dress that Great Grandma Neely made for Grandma Elison for her first piano recital. There are some really cute cherries on it, and it's adorable.

Here's Uncle Kurt wearing his old letterman's jacket. It still fits...though not quite as loosely as it once did.

Karly is wearing probably the one piece of clothing that nobody knew anything about...we just found it in the closet. That my friends, is a t-shirt with American Gothic printed on it. Could you ask for anything cooler?

Here, Mar and McKensie wear dresses created again by Great Grandma Neely, with fabric that she brought back from a trip to Hawaii.

Here, Gwen is wearing a dress that Great Grandma made for Grandma, when she was in college. Apparently, Grandma Elison was going dancing at Salt Air, and she wore this dress to do it. Gwen is 10, and while the dress is a little long for her, it fits her in the waist perfectly.

Here's Grandpa Elison wearing his dad's old hat.

And here's Gavin wearing the same one, with an additional accessory.

Here, Emma sports a shirt that Great Grandma Neely made for Grandma Elison for a picture that was going to be taken. The shirt is really cute, and totally current with today's style.

This is the dress that started it all. I wish we had more pictures of it, because it really looks fantastic on Abby. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa were part of a dancing group who would get together a few times a year for a very fancy date. Great Grandma would make these clothes to match the theme of the evening. Abby is Tiny, and so was Grandma Neely. She also had really great taste, and amazing sewing talent.

I think the best part about the whole evening was the fun that it was. It really got every one of the grandchildren there interested in where the things came from, and why they were so old, and why we had them etc. If you're looking at figuring out a way to get smaller children interested in Family History--this is a really great way to do it.

Good Golly Miss Molly

We spent Memorial Day weekend with family, and it was fabulous. Indy did such a good job with all of the people and,in spite of a few accidents, our whole family was really understanding and kind.

We also brought a few fantastic things back with us. First, there's a washer, from Nate's family's neighbors across the street. Then, there's a dryer from Nate's family. I know that they got a new dryer, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was mostly just so that we could have the old one.

Last night, after we got back here, we were hooking things up, and loading them into the laundry room, I looked at Nate and said, "Whoa, this is our first washer and dryer! We own these! Shouldn't this be like...a significant moment or something?"

Seriously, it's fabulous. I can't wait to do a load of laundry in our own house, and to not wait until we're out of underwear to do a load.

To top off the generosity of procuring us a washer and dryer, Nate's family let us trade cars with them so that we could bring them up to Tremonton this week, without having to wait or anything. This also allowed us to bring up the 6' siesta sac that we got off of Craigslist for $45. This thing is amazing. I'm so glad we bought one...especially for so cheap, because I am, in fact, pretty cheap.

On Sunday night, Indy got to meet Carlos and Stephanie too--which was great. I think he liked the calmer environment...at least after meeting all the cousins and trying to sleep in the middle of the Family History Fashion Show (a blog post for another time, because it deserves it's own). He really loved playing catch, and also playing "Frisbee." Thanks guys.

How on earth have we been so blessed? We stayed with G&G Elison, and they fed us, and gave us THE most comfortable bed (honestly, it was wonderful), and, thanks to Grandpa, we got to see Prince Caspian for free on Saturday Morning. Monday was spent at two BBQ's--one with the Murrays and one with the Frosts. We had hamburgers, chips, salads, Ribs, Chicken. We even got to play Wii Fit.

We really have the best families ever. They love us so much, and do whatever they can to help us out. They were also willing to take the time to spend with us while we were in town. Hopefully, we can sometime return the favor. You are all so wonderful, and we absolutely love you. I hope that you can be blessed just as much as you bless us. Thank you!

Big Winner!

My dad just won a contest from Survivor! Woo hoo!

Also great, it was right around his birthday. Happy Birthday to you!

Something Was Missing...

Nate and I decided that we'd clean our rings last night, and so we put them in the jewelery cleaner that came with my engagement ring with the warranty last night before going to bed.


Then I forgot to put my rings back on this morning...oops. My hand felt naked all day.

I even said to my co-teaching partner, "Man...I bet Nate'll forget his ring too."

I came home today, and Nate gives me a look of disappointment, while staring at my left hand. We both broke down laughing, while Nate confessed that he forgot his ring too. We both then talked about how weird it was, and we were laughing. Then Nate said...

"I kept my hand in my pocket for most of the day."

And that's why I love him.

Sledding!

Saturday was a nice snowy day, and so Nate and I decided to use the inner tubes that we bought back in summer to go sledding with some siblings. We gathered them all, filled up the tubes for a mere 50 cents, and headed to rock canyon for some serious sledding.

Ninja Nate at the base of the Mountains. He doesn't particularly like this picture, but I think he's cute.

There were Trains....

I got this amazing coat for Christmas, and it's great, and so warm. I love that.

I love this picture of Mar.

Another Train.

Aww...Siblings.

There was this other funny little boy there who was wearing a little red jumpsuit. He had one of those circular kinds of sleds, and he just kept jumping in that thing and curling up into a little bean shape inside it and then holding on for dear life as he headed down the hill. It was hilarious. He looked like he was terrified each time he did it, but then he kept on coming up the hill and jumping back into that sled to do it again. Seems kind of like me and roller coasters. Those pictures they take never come out looking like I'm having fun, but I love them just the same.

One more week of break--any suggestions on what to do with it?