Rose Bowl Champs

So this year Ryan and I made the decision not to get each other anything for Christmas and instead spend the money going on a trip--of course the kids totally scored because they got gifts and a trip. We absolutely made the right decision. Our beloved Buckeyes made it to the Rose Bowl and we have a good friend who was able to get us tickets to the game. We ended up getting 6 tickets so we took Grandpa Mike and Grandma Dorothy. We have done the LA thing a few times so we decided to base ourselves out of Santa Barbara. It was fabulous!!! The weather was perfect and a hotel right on the beach was wonderful for our 2 little beach babies. Garrett and Morgan love the beach so they were in heaven. Morgan kept pointing to the ocean from our hotel room saying, "A big fish." Of course the whole extravaganza was complimented by an outstanding Ohio State victory. What 4 and 2 year old do you know, get to go to the Rose Bowl?? Lucky little fetchers. Morgan looked too cute in her Ohio State cheerleader outfit. I started counting how many people asked me if they could take her picture. I think the number totaled about 15. She is in photo albums across America now. Garrett is a total ladies man. At the end of the game we were waiting for everyone to file out and Garrett scooted over to a few Ohio State co-eds and laid on the charm. They thought he was adorable. He would fit right into a frat house. It was kind of a crazy experience. Parking for the game was right on the golf course--I literally mean on the golf course. Imagine thousands of cars tailgating on the golf course. Crazy. A vendor came by that was painting faces so Morgan and I got matching "O's"--$10 a face, but isn't it all part of the experience? Later Morgan fell asleep on Ryan and most of her "O" rubbed off. All and all the kids were really good during they game--but how can you not be when you have lemonade ice, cotton candy, hot dogs, soda pop, m&m's, Airheads, peanuts etc? Anyone could be happy with that kind of calorie count. Here are a few of our pics from our New Year's trip. GO BUCKS!!!

Behind Schedule

I know that I am behind schedule for posting. Here are a few highlights from the past month.

We went to Utah/Idaho for Thanksgiving. We weren't planning on it, but we like to roll with the punches so we went. Had a great time. The actual Thanksgiving meal was had in Hyde Park. All my siblings and their kids were there so it was totally wild, chaotic, and crazy. Garrett and Morgan loved every minute. The best was the kids karaoke sing-a-long. My kids love music and they love to sing. It was fabulous. Garrett sang The Ohio State fight song about 500 times. I clapped every time.


We also went to Lava Hot Springs with Ryan's parents. Garrett and Morgan were in heaven! Swimming in November--fabulous! Sorry no picture of this event--we are a little more modest than that :) Grandpa Andersen took Garrett shopping as payment for Garrett "helping" Grandpa dig holes for his horse arena. Garrett came home from the trip looking like the Lone Ranger. Garrett was so proud of himself. He was so cute wearing all the gear. He even had work gloves just like Grandpa.


Cut down our very own Christmas tree--very Grizwald like. Took about 4 hours to get there. Kids enjoyed playing in the snow. Drank hot chocolate. HUGE tree. Car accident just outside of Las Vegas that shut down I15 on the way home making it an extra 2 hour drive on top of an already 12 hour day. The "small" tree behind my right shoulder is the tree we ended up taking home. We only had to trim it about 4 times to get it to fit in the house.


Snowed last weekend up at Red Rock--only about 10 minutes from our house. Not a lot of snow but hey, when you live in Vegas, you take what you can get. Sunday the kids looked so cute that I had to include pics of this as well. Cutest little kids ever. Morgan can now say her name. When you ask her what it is, she will say "U-U" instead of "Lulu"--she is so adorable that I have to squeeze her all the time.

Deal of the Day

Most of you know that I have a small hair accessory business. Well, this year has been really great for us and we have been lucky enough to get into 15 boutiques running from California to Florida. Starting today and ending Saturday, MaddieMorgan (my company) is offering 40% off all online orders. We have never done this large of a discount before, so stock up. Enter HOLIDAY09 in the discount code box to receive the savings--website is www.maddiemorgan.com. I love our accessories. Everything is interchangeable--meaning it can clip to a headband, baby beanie, crochet hat, or go directly into the hair. Each clip has a "no-slip" grip. Not a piece of velcro that is hard to pull out and gets tangled, but a real "no-slip" grip. This little honey allows the clip to stay in the hair all day--even in thin baby hair! Morgan and I share clips--I love to wear flowers too! Pass it along to anyone you think might like a discount. You can also go to www.giveawaytoday.blogspot.com to win free MaddieMorgan products--although, that is for today only.

My best model--Morgan. The first couple of pictures she is wearing a hot pink Ostrich puff. The next is a set of Turqious Darling flowers. The last is the Fresh Breeze Shimmer with Ivory Crochet Headband. Isn't she adorable!

Halloween Cont....

I know that Halloween was so last week but, better late than never. We had an eventful Halloween extravaganza. I let Garrett and Morgan pick out their own "little" pumpkins to paint. Garrett was much more Da Vinci than Morgan. He likes mixing his paint colors to see what comes out. Morgan is more task oriented--give her something to do and she just wants to get it accomplished and move on. We also went to the "pumpkin patch" by our house. It had a little petting zoo. Morgan loved. Garrett hated. The goats jumped up on us and Morgan kept calling them puppies. We went down the big slides, jumped in the bounce house, and rode the swings. Good times! Watch out Olympics 2026, Morgan is coming. She has no fear. She is a monkey. We also went to the ward trunk-or-treat then made a small loop trick-or-treating with a few friends. I know this might offend a few, but my kids are by far the cutest things you will ever see. Morgan in her fairy costume was too much for me to handle. Ryan and I had to keep kissing her. Garrett pretending to be a knight was so-o-o-o funny. If you are in the mood for a conversation, just come over. Garrett has the gift of gab. The kid can talk! Move over Oprah, Garrett is gearing up for your job. Anyway, so long October, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" is right around the corner.

Halloween's Coming!

Grandma Dorothy came this weekend and brought some good ole' Idaho-grown pumpkins with her. So of course we--and by we, I mean Ryan--had to carve a couple of Jack-o-lanterns. I think they turned out pretty good. Garrett found pictures of Jack-o-lanterns in book that he was reading. We had to carve ones to look the same. Morgan wasn't too interested but Garrett loved it. Although I am not sure why Garrett never likes to wear pants--see pic #3. After the pumpkins we popped popcorn and watched what could be the greatest Halloween movie ever made--"The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown." Garrett likes Linus and Morgan likes Snoopy. All through the movie she kept saying, "A puppy. A puppy." Morgan loves dogs. After the movie, it was dark enough outside to light the candles and watch the Jack-o-lanterns at night. As Garrett would say, "They look awesome." So far Halloween has been a good time.

Oregon Trip

So we are back. Well at least for a few days. We got back from Yachats, Oregon on Sunday. We had such a fabulous time. I wish we could have stayed longer. I know that some of you might not understand the purpose of a beach vacation where the beach isn't totally warm and the water isn't perfect, but after a long hot Vegas summer the Oregon coast is wonderful.

For a more complete view of the trip you can follow this link
http://smilebox.com/playBlog/4d5445794e4455344f54593d0d0a&blogview=true.

Here are the top 5 things I learned while playin' on the beach.

#5 Running is the purest form of exercise. It engages your legs, arms, stomach--just about everything. It gives the mind time to clear and ponder. Running on the beach is like the cherry on top. Trust me on this. Pick up your running shoes and give it a go. You'll love it too.

#4 Kids don't need sleep. I wouldn't believe this to be true, but I tested it and kids can use less sleep than adults. They love to wake up early and play hard. They actually enjoy waking mom and dad up and not waiting for the parents to come to them.

#3 A little dirt doesn't hurt anyone. I pride myself on the idea that my kids look cute and clean--not the snotty little buggers that seem to run all over the place and land their grubby little hands everywhere. However, after this vacation that is all out the window. Morgan and Garrett had sand everywhere. We just ended up letting Morgan run wild in her diaper. It was easier than using the stain stick at the end of every night.

#2 What do you think the best human invention is? The pyramids of Egypt? The Taj Mahal of India? No you are wrong. The Peanut M&M. There could not be a more tasty little treat. Chocolate goodness mixed with salty crunchy peanuts---yum, yum, yum. I think ate the entire 5 lb. bag myself. Sorry Lower family.

#1 Kids make a family complete. They get cranky, unreasonable, and rambunctious. They want what they want when they want it. They get dirty and don't pay attention to what they put in their mouths. And they give kisses and hugs and ask you to read stories and sing them songs and play with baby dolls and toy cars. They fall asleep on your lap and want mom and dad when they get hurt.

This trip has many moments that will forever be a treasured memory. I love the all different stages of a child's life, but I want time to freeze too. Does that make sense? I fear that I will wake up one day and Garrett and Morgan will be grown and they won't want mom when they get hurt or they won't want a story or a song or their baby doll. I feel time moving to quickly and I can't get in all the moments that I want them remember or all the things that I want to teach them. I know that right now I am being a little sappy, but I love those little kids. Does every parent feel this way?

If only....

Ryan's mom loves to send the kids packages in the mail. The kids love them and they are always full of cute things. Sometimes clothes, sometimes candy, sometimes toys, but every package includes a book. The latest book she sent us is called, "When Ruby Tried to Grow Candy" by Valorie Fisher. The book is super cute and I love the illustrations. Anyway, it is about a little girl who loves candy and her mother never lets her have any so her quirky neighbor teaches her how to grow candy. Garrett loved the story. Grandma Dorothy also sent some Swedish fish with the book so Garrett, Morgan, and I took our little shovels outside and decided that we would try to plant some Swedish fish and see if they would grow. You know what, after a few days of watering and checking our "garden" we went out one morning and Swedish fish were growing on our tree!! You've got to try it. Thanks Grandma! Who knows what we will try to grow next time? Money maybe?