Good Mail

For the past 2 weeks I have been meaning to write about 'good mail' (can you tell I am about 2 weeks behind on life right now?)  The concept of "good mail" comes from a friend from my California days -  the idea is to send something to a friend using good old fashioned snail mail.  It can be anything - a small package, a hand written note, a post card, etc. - basically anything that is more exciting to open than a bill or junk mail.  I love the concept and have been trying to get on board with this for a while now.  I think I finally have the motivation to do it thanks to a lot of good mail that came my way recently...

The first was a sweet note from someone that I work with in the YW Program. Then a package came for Lauryn and Brinn from Nana and Papa in California.  They were so excited to open it, and even more excited when they pulled out pink sequined hats with big red hearts on them.  They were so cute!  Then I opened the mail box to find an envelope with a big fat tube of Lip Smackers (an inside joke) from a friend who lives on the other side of the country.  It was a total surprise and it made my day!  Then on Valentines Day, another surprise from the instigator of 'good mail' herself: a fun padded envelope filled with the necessities for pedicures -pink nail polish, foot soak, candy, and not to mention little fun things for my girls too.   It was so cute - and the fact that it came on Valentines Day was fun!  Then, yes there is more, a sweet Valentine card from a great sister in law that we don't get to see as often as we would like.  I was totally spoiled by good mail!  And I liked it.  A LOT!

Here is a big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who sent good mail!  I love you all!  Thank you for making me smile!

Good mail ROCKS!  And, I testify that it is much more fun to open than a bill.  Good mail makes one happy!

So, I am sending out a little good mail of my own very soon (it is only two weeks late.. imagine that!) :D

Brinn Turns 4!

It is hard for me to believe, but Brinn is 4! (Her birthday was January 21st - I am way behind on this!)  She had been both excited about her birthday and dreading this day for months.  She was excited because, well, it is her birthday.  She was dreading it because her sister told her that once she turned four, she had to give up her blanket.  The first words out of her mouth that morning were "I don't want you to take my blankie.  I love it!"  As you can see from this picture, she would not let that blanket out of her sight all morning.  Quick story about her blanket.... when we got rid of Lauryn's blanket, we let her 'trade' it for something she wanted.  Lauryn got a Dora doll, and in return she gave us her blanket.  Worked like a charm.  We tried to sell this idea to Brinn,  but she was not buying it. There was nothing she wanted badly enough.  After some thinking she finally said, "Fine.  I want to trade my blanket for another pink blanket."  Smart girl!  Haha!

Once she was assured that we were not going to take her blanket from her, she went right in to opening presents...
She got an ePet, Littlest Pet Shop stuff, and Polly Pockets.  The ePet was her favorite.  She named her "Huskie Dog" only to find out later that it is a bunny, not a dog!  Brinn now calls her "Huskie Dog Bunny".  She got to go to lunch with Grandma (to McDonalds) and then she tried to convince Grandma to take her to the mall.  When Grandma said she didn't have enough time to do that she sighed, hung her head down, and said, "Fine then.  I guess just take me home." She is so full of drama!

All day long she kept asking me, "In real life am I four?  I really am?"  It was almost like she expected to feel different - too cute!  She finally decided that she wasn't officially four until she blew the out the candles on her cake.
Later in the evening, she had all the cousins over for dinner and a double party. (Brinn shares the same birthday as her cousin Maddi).  They had homemade macaroni and cheese (Brinn's choice) and tortellini (Maddi's choice).  And, of course, there was a cake with candles.  She was so excited to 'officially' turn 4 once those candles were blown out!  It was great fun!  And when all was said and done - she kept her blanket (I just couldn't take it away on her birthday!)
We love having you in our family, Brinn - you keep us laughing all the time.  You are so full of life and energy - we just love your big personality.  We love how when you are really happy about something you give everyone big tight hugs and lots of hard kisses.  We love how you love to help with whatever we ask you to do, we love how you are always singing and how when you really like a song you start to dance where ever you are. We love how you are always concerned about other people and what they need. We love YOU Brinn and hope you had a wonderful birthday!

(Oh, and after looking at these pictures, I promise, I do comb her hair! :D)

Skiing!

Two weeks ago (yes, you read that right - 2 weeks! I have been horrible at this lately) we took the girls skiing for the first time.  It was a beautiful day - we were having a major inversion in the valley and so the sun was actually shining and it was 15 degrees warmer up in the mountains. It was the perfect day for skiing, especially skiing for the first time!  They were spoiled by the weather.  In fact, once we got up to Alta, we realized that Brinn had left her coat at home.  But she didn't even need it!  It was that warm.  It would have been wonderful by my standards if there only hadn't of been all that darn snow! :D 

Here they are on the car ride up the mountain.  They were so excited, but a little uncertain of what they had just agreed to do.  Every few minutes they would look out the windows at the mountains and ask "Are we going to have to ski down a hill that steep?!"

Their little skis were so cute!  The binding took up most of the skis.  They thought they were so cool until they had to put them on their feet.  Then the realization of what they were about to do hit them...
But they both did great!  And, more importantly, they both liked it!  Lauryn caught on pretty quickly - turning is still an issue, but she can snow plow like a pro!  Brinn couldn't pick up the snow plow, but she loved pointing her skis straight down the hill and just falling when she wanted to stop!  That girl is all speed (no surprise there).  Cameron and I never made it down a real run, but that was just fine with us.  We had a great time with the girls and are looking forward to the time when we can all ski together as a family!

Sounds Like FUN!

My friend Mamarazzi is hosting another "Favorite Things Swap"! The whole idea is to send out a small package($20 -$30) of your favorite things, and in return get a package of someone else's favs. And since I LOVE surprises.... I will be playing! If you are interested in joining the swap goodness, click the button for more info!