Hitting the slopes...

Last weekend was our long planned trip to Tahoe with several friends...8 adults and 2 kiddos to be exact! We all took Friday off and sent the boys up early to ski all day and get the craziness out of their system!

Us girls left around 10 in hopes that Riley and Maddie would sleep on the trip...hahahaha!

They were ready to see snow and had fun dancing most of the way!

Wouldn't you know these two stinkers fell asleep 20 minutes before we arrived!
We decided to take the girls to Soda Springs which is a super family friendly place with an area just for little ones 6 months and up!

Here's me and my snow loving girl!

The kids area at Soda Springs was AWESOME! It's hard to find areas targeted to Riley and Maddie's age and I wish every ski resort had an area like this!

They had this awesome tube carousel that pulled them around and they could go faster and go over bumps by moving to the outside tubes.

Riley had a blast and just laid back in her shades for the ride...here's a cute video of us all cheering her on!


They also had a separate area with a tubing hill and a magic carpet to ride back up to the top...her first trip down she toppled into a man totally standing in the way and that was a bit of a shock for her but she got up and was ready to go again!

They also had this ginormous hill for Riley to climb up and slide down...I don't know how those kids made it to the top...even we couldn't because it was so slippery!

I taught Riley how to roll down the hill and she loved it...she would just keep rolling and rolling!

What a fun place!

After Soda Springs we headed towards our cabin to meet up with the boys!

We had a cute quaint and tiny cabin for our whole gang and unfortunately the heat wasn't working when we arrived...boo!

They gave us another cabin so we took advantage of the extra space and slept with the kids in the other cabin while the kid-less folks built a fire and kept warm in the heat-less cabin!

It was quite a horrible night getting Riley and Maddie to sleep...OMG...however we all got enough sleep to be ready to ski the next day!

Since the boys had filled the previous day with skiing us girls hit the slopes first thing!

Katie, Amanda, Me, and Ashley

Here we are riding up the lift!

After our morning of skiing the boys met us with the kiddos and we played in the snow...check out this huge snowball!

We all grabbed lunch and then Jason and I switched off playing with Riley and skiing for the afternoon! She never napped but did great!

Amanda and I were the LAST ones down the mountain that day!

We went and grabbed some Mexican food and headed to the cabin. I have to admit I was dreading what I thought would be another catastrophe trying to get the girls to sleep but Saturday night was MUCH better...thank goodness!

Sunday we packed up all our stuff and headed to NorthStar at Tahoe to ski for the day!

We hadn't been here before but they have a great childcare program and it looked like a great place so we wanted to check it out!

Riley played with new friends all day in this awesome center and did a lot of playing in the snow as well while Jason and I hit the slopes all day!

First the girls grabbed some much needed Starbucks and then we were ready to go!

We LOVED this place...there were so many runs that we never skiied the same ones twice and it was so nice and wide open...it was just great! They also had a great village at the base with all kinds of shops, restaurants, and an ice skating rink!

Me and the hubs before we caught a lift!

Ashley and I decided to grab a bite at the top of the mountain so we could maximize our time on the slopes...check out our huge turkey leg which we split...good decision!

After lunch we met up with the boys and skied the backside of the mountain where I am proud to report I skied down a black diamond and didn't have any trouble...there were no moguls but it was quite steep...it was so fun though!

We all rode the lift back up and then skied down the whole mountain and called it a day!

This was the first trip where I ended up being sore the next day...I guess that made it a good trip of skiing!

We picked Riley up from playing and headed home...luckily we didn't really hit much traffic on the way home either which was fantastic!

We had a great weekend!

Love...

Gotta love Valentine's Day crafting and baking!

I saw this fun idea on another blog to cover Oreo cakesters with fondant and sugar crystals and I had to try it. I had never worked with fondant before and it was actually quite easy. Here was my first creation!

I have to be honest...while it was cute...I didn't find it tasty. I, a person who ADORES sweets, actually found them to be too sweet, believe it or not.

So the time came to improvise and I had some chocolate morsels and decided to dip the cakesters in chocolate instead!
And here's the finished product...I think they turned out super cute!

I had them out for all my Bible study peeps and Riley gave several to her little friends for Valentine's Day as well!

Riley had a special project to work on for her Daddy!

Amanda and I took the girls to the paint studio last week and found these adorable LOVE frames for them to paint!

Quite the artist...

Now we're talking...

The finished product...can't wait to fill the frame with one of the pics Wendy just took for us!

Jason loved his frame and he completely spoiled both of his girls!

I received a massage, manicure, pedicure, and lunch...Amanda got the same gift so we can have a spa day and lunch together!

Riley got a Barbie MP3 player with headphones that she has been head over heels for since she opened it...and it doesn't even have batteries in it yet! I suppose once the newness wears off we'll put batteries in and it will be like a completely new toy! She also got some Skittles and SweetTart Hearts too!

Not to mention all the goodies her grandparents sent...we were all spoiled!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!

Lovin' the Zoo

Last weekend while Jason was "working" in San Diego, Riley and I decided to head to the Sacramento Zoo with the Habbestads for a day of fun!

It was free day at the zoo and I fondly remember going to the Little Rock Zoo when it was free and being astonished at the crowd that it drew being free and all. Luckily the weather this past Saturday was "iffy" so the crowds weren't too bad although I have decided when anything is free it's a great opportunity to people watch!

We lucked out and missed the rain and had a great time...the zoo was better than any of us expected and despite not having naps both girls did well...as long as John kept the wagon moving!

Riley had a great time seeing all the cool animals!
Aren't they cuties?
Riley did finally get super tired and attempted to lay down on Maddie's lap and go to sleep...Maddie thought it was a game so Riley didn't get a nap but they had fun anyway!

Amanda and I...ready to hit up Chick Fil A after our day at the zoo!

(Notice how I'm bringing back the popped collar)

The girls had fun playing at Chick Fil A...they had a great little play place for them and they couldn't get into any trouble!

They both konked out in the car but were ready to go bonkers when we got back to the Habbestad's house!

They danced...and Riley insists on wearing bibs when she's with Maddie...peer pressure I suppose!

They jumped on the couch...

and jumped some more!

Then they got in Maddie's crib and chatted!

We had a great day...these girls sure know how to have fun!

Party Time!

Last weekend we had LOTS of partying to do!

Jason had gotten the itch to grill out and despite all the rain the week had brought we felt we might get just enough of a break to make it work so we just casually threw out an invitation to our friends, including all of my Bible study gals, to see who might be able to come over...and it turned out the pretty much everyone was able to come! We were thrilled and had to get ready for 25+ people to come and eat...woohoo!

Saturday morning all of us girls started out the morning showering Nicki with baby gifts for her soon to arrive baby boy Will!

We had a great breakfast spread, mimosas, and GREAT company!

Here's Nicki with all her gifts!
And here's the whole gang chatting, eating, and passing around babies...it's what we do best!

After the morning festivities were over it was time to get ready for our big cookout and we couldn't have asked for better weather... Jason was eating up his chance to put on shorts and grill outside!

Riley had a blast playing outside while we were getting ready!

Here's me and my little girl...notice her cute hairbands are being worn on her wrists as bracelets..this is her new trick and I have to watch her to make sure she doesn't have a hairband that's too tight on her little arm...she loves to accessorize!

I just love this pic...Dad and Daughter time!

Here's the grill man...he smoked three tri-tips and cooked 3 beer can chickens...we had a feast for sure!

Here's a few pics of the party...everyone brought sides and such and we had all kinds of good food!


And the kids...there were lots and they all played so well and had a blast!

Here's Riley and Zach playing ball together!
And the little ones...Katelyn, Oliver, and Levi...a baby dog pile if you will!

Kailey and Ashley came all dolled up in their fancy dresses and they were so cute with Riley!

Maddie had fun too, especially when Riley snuck her brownies and skittles! What are friends for, right?

Riley...my little mama! She saw Hannah and Becky sitting on the couch burping their babies so she decided she should burp her baby too!

To end the night we roasted some marshmallows and made s'mores...yummy!

It was a great night and we had a blast! It was so great to get all of our hubbies together because it's a rare chance that they are all home at the same time!

Just in case you needed prove that the kiddos had fun...here's an after pic of the playroom...haha!

Sunday we skipped church to recover from the late night before and to get ready for our family pictures in San Francisco!

I have known Wendy since August or so and she had photographed several of my friends. I wanted to get a family photo shoot in before Jason's deployment and really wanted to have them taken in the city with the Golden Gate Bridge...what a better way to remember our time in California?

So we headed out after Riley had lunch and she napped on the drive...just as we planned!

We went to Chrissy Field right on the water and traveled throughout the Presidio taking pictures. It was a beautiful day even though it got a bit chilly towards the end...and best of all we had so much fun! Wendy was GREAT with Riley and just let her be and worked around her!

She was pretty good but the "tricks" we used to get her smiling tended to backfire...ex: a small bottle of bubbles that would normally entertain a child ended up in some of our pictures because Riley wanted to hold the bubbles and Riley wanted to blow the bubbles...independence?

She loved Wendy and especially loved "playing" with her camera!

After a few hours of picture taking we wrapped things up and headed to Burma Superstar...a great Thai restaurant!

You can see a full slideshow of our photo shoot here...I was brought to tears watching this!

Wendy did such a great job and we will forever treasure these pictures!

If you want to check out all the photos she took the gallery is here!

What a fun filled weekend!

Tap Tap Tap Tap...

Last Thursday Riley started her first Dance Class...it's called "My Baby and Me" and involves at least one parent! They will work on both tap and ballet and it's offered through our local community center!

I was so excited when I saw this class and just had to get Riley in it...it's only about 5 weeks long and works out perfectly so Jason can attend most of the classes with her!

She was thrilled with seeing her cute little self in the mirror and thrilled with her own agenda! She had quite a hard time paying attention to the teacher, but we were warned that this was normal!

Poor girl heard the music and thought it was time for her to put on a show..she did well with the moves when we could get her to cooperate!
She was quite the social butterfly and had the best time meeting new friends and wanting to play with them and check out all of their dance attire!

A little ballerina in the making!

Riley had a few meltdowns during the first class...Jason and I just stared at each other and wondered who took over her our child! Jason was so great and just took her out of the room until she could gather herself and was ready to come back in!

We have been working on the moves she learned since last class and she seems to be getting things down!

Here's a cute video of her first class...you can see her desire to run around whenever she pleased...she's just so stinkin' cute!


On a bigger note, last Monday marked the start of potty training for Riley!

She teased us by having ZERO accidents on day one even with a two hour nap! She has had one other day with no accidents but other than that she's had quite a few accidents.

I have wanted to throw in the hat on more than one occasion but have been encouraged by other moms to stick it out and work with her...she's young but she knows what to do...just a matter of getting it down and being able to control herself even in distracting situations!

I'm considering staying home bound this weekend and letting Riley run around naked to get this down so we'll see if I can stick to it!

I have smelled more pee and done more laundry this past week than I care to remember!

In addition to potty training, Riley took a spill on the playground last week and got quite the boo boo!


She was tough and by the time they called me to let me know about the accident she was already back playing with the other kiddos...so I thought it was minor!


However, when I went to pick her up it was quite a bit more of a boo boo than I anticipated...she obviously caught her fall with her head so not only did she have a huge goose egg but she also scratched it up pretty good!
The cutest boo boo you've ever seen, right?

The timing of this boo boo was impeccable...we were having family photos taken the next weekend! I just knew it would happen like that!

However, our wonderful photographer, has already put up a super sneak peak and her photoshop skills completely took care of Riley's boo boo...check out the pic she posted on her blog here!

We can't wait to see the rest of the pics and hopefully this week will come with less potty accidents!