Wow, What a Hill!

A group of us packed up all the kids and headed out to Hummel Park on a snowy/sunny Saturday. We had such a blast going sledding. It's one of my favorite 'extreme sports'. I haven't been since I was a teenager. I like to think that I'm pretty daring. Shockingly, I'm more of a baby than I thought. (i.e. There was a jump that was pretty decent. I decided to do it, but as I sled down the hill I started freaking out. I did the jump, but vigorously tried to slow my speed in the process...Not so tough as I thought!)



I love this pic. We're missing Crisco b/c we left him at home with Amira, our bbsitter. It worked out great, though, cuz Lincoln needed some Mommy and Daddy time to himself.

This was Link's first sledding experience. And it didn't go so well. He got banged up a couple of times going down, so he wasn't a big fan. He liked eating the snow and playing with his best bud, Vincent, a lot better. :0)

Can you tell who this is?
We got Vincent, Ally, and Link...all ready to go!

Their respective mommies

You might need to enlarge this one to see Jon getting some air on this one. This is the jump I was talking about. What a great shot--perfect timing!

The Superbowl

Geaux Saints!
Go Colts!
Wait...what? This is so confusing!



Technically, I'm cheating by rooting for both teams (hence the blue shirt for the Colts and black pants for the Saints). But you see, it sounds perfect to me because either way, I'm happy with whoever wins.

A big thanks to the Ramseys and the Allens for coming and watching the Superbowl with us. It was really nice getting together. And Kevin, you did a great job keeping your cool despite the outcome of the game.

The Battle of the Brothers
Umm, yeah. So, we dressed Christian up for church in this Saints outfit that my mom got for Link a couple of years ago. Suffice it to say, he did not have many friends at church that day. It was pretty funny. You know me, I can't help but stir the pot just a little...

My mom is from New Orleans. Which means my loyalty lies with my family. However, while living in Indy for the past 3 years, we have fallen in love with our local Colts. Jon, on the other hand, was not so loyal to the family. He was rooting for the Colts all the way, and antagonzing my uncles in the process! (Which our wallet felt the pain of when Jon made a 'friendly wager' with my uncle Mike that if the Saints won, he would buy him a jersey, and vice versa. Wait a sec-- Is that even allowed in Mormon land?) Anyway, everyone already knows the outcome. Suffice it to say, if the Colts had to lose to someone, we couldn't be happier that it was to Na'lens.
Who dat dat?!

Just Do Your Thang, Honey!

Me and the girls, Liz and Claire. I just love these ladies.

Shake it like a salt shaker. Shake it like a salt shaker.

The DJ did such a great job. The music was way fun to dance to. My rule of thumb: you know the music is bumpin if you know all the words and can sing along! It was so fun meeting up with my girls there. I say my girls only because their men ditched out and they went as each others' dates. It worked out perfectly, though, because that freed them up to dance all night with me. I do have to say that I was impressed with Liz and Val's dance moves. They had some swagger. And a special shot goes out to my best friend, who is the best hubby in the world. He danced with me the whole time and we had such a blast together. Jon, no one compares to you.

Here's a funny story: I made some special requests to the DJ's. They asked my name, but mistaked it for Dora. So, when they played this dental song by Owl City that I had requested, they introduced it by saying this song was dedicated to their friend, Dora the Explora! Lol. Say what? So hilarious. My name has been confused many times, but that was a first.

Hey lady!

(I found this dress at Dress Barn. It was my first time there, and holy cow, I had no idea that place was so great! It's like the perfect dress shop for Mormons. I was amazed by how many dresses worked with garments. So, I couldn't help myself... I went back and bought some more for church and the upcoming weddings we have this summer. What a find! I definitely recommend it.)

Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

Jon and I went on our annual Valentine's date to the Valentine's dance that the dental school hosts.
We always have such a blast. I look forward to this dance all year long. See, I love to dance. But being Mormon and having certain standards of decency, I refuse to go to a club to go dancing. The atmosphere is just too nasty. This decision really limits my options of being able to go dancing, though. So, in essence, this dance is the only option I have left. For that reason, I go all out, not holding anything back in these dance moves of mine. It's party time, ladies and gents! Let's do this...



The handsome couple

This is pretty much our only dance move that we can do together. (We really should think about taking lessons from our friend, Drew.) But we love it, nonetheless. It's our favorite!

No, wait. This is our favorite ;0)

After three hours of dancing, we didn't look too shabby.

The Joy of Music

Lincoln just feel in love with his grandpa Robby. He couldn't get enough of him. My poor dad sure got tuckered out.

Crisco: I'm not sure if I like this goofy lookin' guy...

Crisco: Well, okay, if my big brother thinks he's so great. I guess I'll join in on the fun!

I was so impressed with how great my dad sounded. He's come a long way. He has been working on his music career for a several years now, and it is really starting to take off. I just can't believe how talented he is. He's always sung to me as a child. Some of my fondest memories are of him singing to me with his guitar in the morning as I was waking up. Very sweet. But I had no idea how gifted he is at writing music. He played his songs for us and both Jon and I were blown away.

We had such a ball. The second my dad picked up his guitar and started singing, Lincoln hit the dance floor and never stopped. Of course, my heart went pitter-patter. I absolutely love dancing. So, to see my little baby dancing so adorably just melts my heart. (He sure is doing that a lot lately. I am really loving this 3-yr-old stage of life. It's so much fun, and just plain adorable. Ahh, I can't get enough.) It isn't enough to say that this Christmas was the best Christmas I have ever had. It truly was a miracle in so many ways. It brings tears to my eyes as I think of how blessed I was this holiday. It was so wonderful.

How High Can You Go?

I think I've met my match!

For my 18th birthday--Wow! That's almost a decade ago!!!, we played Jenga and nobody could beat these steady hands of mine. So, Jon and I finally splurged and bought some new games. For one of our date nights, we busted out the Jenga game. I thought for sure I'd smoke Jon. Little did I remember that he's a Willison! Needless to say, this Chaffee and that Willison were pretty equally dueled. We were astounded by how high we were able to build our Tower of Babel (that should be the name, huh?) and by how long the game lasted. Since it was getting into the wee hours of the night, we only played two games--Jon one, Dorsey one. Looks like we need a rematch. I'll be sure to get back to you with who the winner is. Anybody care to place some bets? Don't be scerd.

Who Wants to Play a Game?!

Wow! Am I behind...




Lincoln was the most adorable, yet brave, fire fighter. His costume was so easy because his jacket is really his raincoat that I already had, and his boats are really his rainboats that I already had. Crisco was a hotdog. What a hilarious get-up. It looked perfect on him. Jon and I weren't anything special. Maybe one year we'll get our act together, too, and do the same theme for the whole family, like the Morgans. It is way too cute when everyone matches.

Even though our costumes were less than creative, I did manage to make a game for our trick-or-treaters. And boy was it a hit. I made some ghosts out of old shirts and made a poster to do a ghost toss through the jack-o-lantern's mouth. Once the kids got a ghost through its mouth, then they won a candy. It took a lot of tries for some of the kids, but they sure loved playing the game. I think we're going to make this our tradition for passing out candy. I just love traditions, don't you?

Music to Our Ears

I love the look Christian gets when he sees his brother. His eyes light up and the biggest grin spreads all over his face. Lincoln has been such a great older brother this whole time. I am so proud of him. What a sweetie.

Funny Story:
Jon and I just love it when we'll be driving in the car and suddenly the boys will start cracking up in the back. It is so adorable. Crisco has developed this really goofy laugh, that can be attributed to his daddy and his brother, that sounds like a loud cough. Lincoln will imitate him and they'll just keep on going back and forth forever. Even though it's not music to the ears, it is mucic to our ears. We love the laughter, any kind of it. It always brings a smile and a couple of giggles to me and Jon. I'm so glad my boys love each other. It makes me beyond happy.

Give Me Some of That Red Robin Goodness!

Happy __th Birthday, Nonni!!!

We are so grateful you live by us. And Mom, thank you for being such a wonderful grandma to my boys. They adore you, as they should. I'm so glad you're here.

What a Cutie!

Notice his tongue? This was the phase where he would always stick out his tongue when he smiled. Too cute.

Has anyone else noticed how similar babies and kittens/puppies are? They like to play with the same toys, want to be held constantly, and put everything in there mouth!

"Hey, Dad, how do I look?!"

What a goofy little expression. What a great pose captured on camera!


Okay, so I wanted to make a note of the nicknames that Christian has acquired thus far...
(if you couldn't tell, Jon and I LOVE nicknames. I won't even start with the bigillion that we have for each other! Okay, maybe just two-- When we were first married, we would affectionately call each other snot and booger! Isn't that awful!! Lol.)

Christian Robert
aka:

Crisco
(our short version for Christian. No Chris here!)

Caterpillar
(he used to look like a caterpillar when he moved around)

Bugga
(to match Lincoln's 'Bubba')

A Dedication to My Little Girl