Family Gathering in Utah

I thought about blogging about our trip to UT, but Alex did such an awesome job with her post, I'm simply going to direct you to her blog to read it and then add a few more pics of my own below.

http://decembertwentieth.blogspot.com/2010/09/ginos-family-pictures.html

The only reason all these girls are looking is because they were being naughty and we caught them!

Sadie and her Ranch Dressing!!

My cousin, John had an interview for medical school in Denver the day after we came back, so he drove back with us.  Sadie thinks he's the coolest because he gave her Cheez-Its!

All the girls at Tyler's soccer game.

Just Stuff Goin' On

Here'a a sampling of what we've been up to since I last blogged:

Painting fingernails and "toesies" nails

Creating artwork (funny how I always seem to get the random glued/taped/stapled pieces of paper and Brian gets one that says I Love You on it.  Hmmmm...)

 

Playing games on the computer (Morgan really enjoys the prophet and temple matching games on lds.org)

Talking on the Bananaphone (Sadie now talks on her "phone" all throughout the grocery store.  She just laughs and thinks it's so funny!)

 

Having slumber parties!

Dear Santa...

A few weeks ago, when the leaves started to change color outside, Morgan said, "Mommy.  It's almost going to be winter.  It's almost time to snow.  I better write my list for Santa!"  Don't know where that last thought came from, because I'm not exactly a fan of the whole Santa fib.  So, I know I don't talk it up at our house.  And I definitely DON'T encourage writing wish lists!

Nonetheless, being a good sport, I kindly spelled the words for Morgan as she wrote her letter to "Santa".  (Oh, and I may have suggested quite a few of the things on her list, because they're already under my bed, waiting to be wrapped.)

*Notice she left very little "white space".  For the sake of fitting in all of her requests, it's a little confusing to read.  I've provided a transcription below.

* A few books

*Hi-Ho Cherry-O

*Clothes

*Dolly

*Magazine (we had just come from the mailbox and an American Girl catalog came)

*Chutes and Ladders

*Pajamas

*New Winter Clothes

*2 new blankets 4 me and Sadie (she insisted on using the number "4" instead of writing "for")

Merry Early Christmas!

The Rah Rah Song

At our house, the BYU fight song is affectionately known as the "Rah Rah Song." And, by the age of 2, you are expected (i.e. required) to know at least the "rah rah" part.

Note: this was taken after the first game of the season.

And, although it was a very sad, embarrassing game, Brian and I enjoyed spending time together at the Air Force game.

"This Computer...

...is so AWESOME!!!"

Morgan definitely thinks so, because that's what she said when we were playing games on lds.org the other day!

Yes, we've joined the cult. And, so far, we're loving it! Now, if I could only convince iPhoto that Morgan and Sadie's faces are, in reality, 2 very distinct people! (It keeps confusing them)

Goodbye, old computer. You served us well.

And, lastly, a quick story from the day the computer arrived.

We were anxiously looking out the window all afternoon/evening, waiting for FedEx. When the UPS truck passed our house, Morgan said, "Mom, he doesn't have our computer. The brown mailman just drove away." So, I explained to her that it wasn't UPS, it would be FedEx. So, the wait continued. When it still hadn't come by the girls' bedtime at 7:00, Morgan became worried. In her bedtime prayer, she prayed, "Please bless the mailman to bring our boxes to our house safely." He showed up about 5 minutes later!

Some Days...

They're 100% girl.

Other days...not so much.

Sadie, our way too early bird, helps Brian pick out his tie every morning. Even if he's able to sneak out before she's out of bed, she still goes into our closet to select a tie for him to wear and sets it on our bed. Brian doesn't even wear ties to work!

So, a couple of Sundays ago, as we were getting ready for church, sweet Sadie threw an all-out 2 year old tantrum because Brian wouldn't let her wear a tie. (The whole, "girls don't wear ties, they wear dresses" thing just didn't fly with Sadie.)

So, he put a tie on each of the girls. He tried to just "wrap" it around their necks, but they wanted it to look "just like Daddy's." (Don't worry, the rule was they took them before they got into the car!)

Guess What We've Found...

In our backyard!!!

Last week, as I was weeding our yard, I had about 5-10 minutes left of weeding to do, but the girls were starting to get restless (we had been outside for over an hour and it was getting warm). Knowing they were trying to catch a butterfly when we first went outside, I tried to distract/entertain them for just a few more minutes and sent them on another butterfly hunt.

They didn't find a butterfly. They found something way better! Somewhere amidst the broccoli and zucchini, they spotted a bird. Sadie quickly climbed up into the garden to get closer (which, it actually didn't mind) as it made its way down the garden to under the tree where Morgan happened to be watching it from.

Morgan quickly named her new friend "Leia" (I've never seen Star Wars, so I have no idea where that one came from!).

Several minutes later, it was time to come inside. Morgan picked a leaf off the tree and set it on the dirt, "in case Leia gets hungry."

Fast forward to the next morning. Morgan wakes up and runs to our bedroom window, anxious to see her friend once again. Well, we didn't find Leia, but look what was resting in her spot!

The fox was only there for a couple of minutes, because when I went to show Sadie, it was gone!

But, it's been over a week now and everyday, Morgan goes out under the tree to meet Leia. She's been there at least one time each day. We'll be so sad when winter hits and Morgan's little friend moves to warmer weather! I've loved watching her (from a distance) fall in love with this little bird!

Chunk E Cheese's...Again

We actually haven't been since Sadie was just a few months old. I had forgotten how much Morgan loves this place! So as not to wear off the novelty, we will continue to visit very sporadically. Like, every 2 years sporadically! (And, Morgan still refers to it as "chunk e cheese's". I tried to correct her again last night, but to no avail.)

Nonetheless, we met up with some friends that moved to Indiana last year and were coming through Denver on a trip. We had lots of fun and sure do miss them!

Morgan's favorite game was the "Ticket Game." You pump the button to try and get balls in the dog's mouth and win tickets. Morgan rocked! She probably played 15 times and more often than not, got all the balls in before the time ran out, yielding bonus tickets! I couldn't even do that!

Morgan and Ivy picked up right where they left off a year and a half ago! It's like they never skipped a beat! Best friends--playing games, riding rides, laughing, and just having fun!

I couldn't believe how much Porter had changed! He's not a baby anymore! Natalie could barely keep up with him--this kid is always on the move!

Here's Sadie playing the dog game.

Here's our annual anniversary picture! 7 years together and we spent the night at Chuck E Cheese's. I love you, sweetie!

For the Past 7 Years...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Note to myself: I intentionally included this picture of us with my grandparents. They have been married for over 50 wonderful years and Brian and I hope to have as wonderful a friendship as they do! They are such examples to us!

Tiffany's Trip

I seem to be getting behind on blogging these days. Maybe it's our busy life. Maybe it's my apathy toward sharing what most (okay, all) of you probably consider insignificant information. Yeah, yeah, it's just another picture of the kids.

Actually, here's the real reason. Our DINOSAUR computer takes FOREVER to download pictures, so I am too impatient to wait for them. Thus, I only subject myself to the painful process when absolutely necessary. And, the memory card is full (again), so here goes.

TWO Weekends Ago, one of my best college friends came out to visit for a long weekend! WE packed tons of activities into her trip!!! Thanks so much for coming, Tiffany! (And thanks, Joey, for letting her come!)

July 30 is National Cheesecake Day, so we had dinner downtown on our way to the Rockies' game. (FYI--Cheesecake is 1/2 off that day, too!)

Brian's office had reserved a suite for a client at the game and had some extra tickets. We just couldn't sit in the box, so we had to find some empty seats. Here we are at the game (I'm pretty sure this picture was pre-8th inning)

And, I don't even know who this pitcher is, but I thought I took a pretty cool picture, so I thought I'd share.

Saturday morning, we started out with a tour at Hammond's Candies. Note: the weekday tours are much better. Less crowded and more to see in the factory.

We took a hike around Lily Lake up in Rocky Mountain National Park. In the 4 years we've been here, I had never been and it's only about an hour drive away! We'll be visiting more often, that's for sure!

Here we are, toward the end of our hike. Morgan and Sadie walked a good portion of the way!

We also went to Estes Park. It was a little bit warm, so we thought we'd try the family fun center. Here's Morgan, Tiffany and Brian on the bumper cars. Sadie was so bummed she couldn't go! (You have to be 4 to ride.)

We all got to go on the bumper boats, though. Morgan insisted on riding with her new best friend, Tiffany. Tiffany said the whole time Morgan kept saying, "Go get Mommy! Go get Daddy! Let's get 'em!" (And thanks, Tiffany, for putting up with Morgan's "shadow" all weekend!)

Here's Mackenzie and Sadie on the bumper boats. Despite Morgan's commands, we ended up staying dry. I guess Tiffany's just too cautious!

We had such a great time with Tiffany! We're really glad you came out! Maybe next year you can all come!?!?