Winter Weather

It has been incredibly cold here in Columbus which I was not prepared for.  I thought that I was headed for warmer climates.  Granted we do not have the three feet of snow that Rexburg has, we are definitely experiencing harsher weather than I was braced for.  The cold is sooo cold here.  I am sure that sounds cliche but I seriously have never felt a colder 30 degrees.  It just cuts right through you.  The snow has really been minimal but people here do not know how to handle it. Everything literally shuts down.  Schools, businesses, day cares, dr. offices, you name it.  Even Scott had a day of college canceled after an ice storm hit.  I couldn't believe it. 

We did however take advantage of the snow while we had it.  My dear, ambitious friend Sarah and her little boy Adam got us Idaho girls up and moving in the winter weather.  We have a little mole hill just outside our house that is perfect for leisure sledding.  We also have the bike path that when covered in snow provides a nice cross country ski track.  We took advantage of both.  

After we had been out for a while Scott asked how it was and I thought for a minute and replied, "it was really fun."  I have always enjoyed the snow but found the hassle of getting all bundled up took some of the joy away, but it really felt good that day to just spend some time playing in the snow.  I don't know if Kayt having so much fun made it all worth it, the company I was in, or the beautiful sunshine and glistening snow but it was really the first time in awhile I just enjoyed it.

Here are a few picks of our fun winter escapades. Poor Ella, reminded me of Randy on A Christmas Story, "I can't put my arms down"  just kept running through my head.  Good thing she can't talk I guess!

       

Basketball!

For the first time, I, Scott, will venture into the blogging world.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  

This past Tuesday Kayt and I went to an OSU Men's Basketball game vs. Purdue while Kristen and Ella entertained the Relief Society.  We had a blast.  Other than freezing on our walk from the parking garage to the stadium, it was an exciting night.  You can see Kayt's frozen smile next to the huge Greg Oden.  She was still warming up while we waited for the game to start, poor girl.

We were in the student section, where we got a few looks at first.  But after Kayt went right along with the OH-IO! cheers, everyone was thrilled to have a mini-fan.  I was a pretty proud papa.  Also, because there was a gorgeous little girl doing all the little cheers we were on the jumbotron a lot.  It's strange how everyone looks for their "moment" when the camera is on them.  You immediately have this urge to act out of character (think crazy fans screaming and dancing on the jumbotron) or say something stupid (think local news).  I think I composed myself pretty well.

Anyway, in the student section you only sit down during TV timeouts, so I held Kayt the entire game.  All fans got a rally towel to wave, so Kayt was going crazy.  By halftime she had burned a lot of energy, and I had too trying to hold on to her little wiggle-butt, so we got a bratwurst. Someone has to teach her that fatty meat is OK, as long as it's delicious.

Now here I have to interject something about the game itself.  Ohio State has a young athletic team that is fun to watch but their lack of experience shows sometimes.  Purdue, on the other hand, was ranked #12 in the country and is probably fundamentally superior to OSU.  The game was tight going into the last few minutes and all of a sudden the crowd kicked into another gear. It seemed that everyone finally realized that this could go down to the wire.  OSU started attacking the basket, making foul shots, and playing spirited defense.  The game ended up going into overtime with Ohio State eventually winning!

Kayt liked the basketball well enough, but she LOVES Brutus Buckeye, the official mascot of The Ohio State University.  I think he's basically a living cartoon to her.  While everyone else was screaming for the players or at the ref, Kayt was screaming, "BWUUUTUUUS!"  Although we were close to the court, we never got his attention.  After the game we were going to try and find him but he exited pretty quickly.  Still, Kayt was determined.  One of her favorite books lately is The Little Engine That Could.  She kept telling me, "I know we can find Bwutus Daddy.  I know we can."  Well, we couldn't so Kayt got a new white OSU beanie after the game.  This was mostly a guilt purchase for having frozen her on the walk to the arena, and for failing to find Brutus.  I justified it by reasoning that it surely had gotten much colder and I didn't want to tempt fate twice by freezing her on the way back to the car too.  She can't get sick, right? Right.  Kristen has now instituted a "No more beanie rule."  We have a few.

All in all, it was a wonderful night.  We watched some good basketball, had some good food, saw Brutus in person, didn't get sick, and didn't embarrass ourselves on the jumbotron.

A Fun Week

I just wanted to get some pictures up from this last week. Again, it was crazy but oh so fun. I love digital pictures. They let you relive the moment so much faster than having to develop film. I still have rolls of film I haven't developed and I don't even know what is on them. Thank goodness for technology.

Kayt had her first friend birthday party this week. It was for Leah Nelson, Kayt's best friend. It was love at first mention of Cinderella for those two. The party was a tea party and they were to come dressed up. So Kayt got all decked out. She was so excited and had such a great time.

Next, we finally chopped off Ella's tuft of hair. She looks so grown up now. Her hair is just long enough to get it into two little spike ponytails. It is absolutely adorable.

So long Cindy-Lou Who

Last, we all had a good time unwinding the other night while getting the girls ready for bed and I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity. I went into the bathroom and there was Ella, stuck halfway under the tub peeking her little round face out from behind the shower curtain. Kayt wanted to see what I was up to and you have the second picture.

Ella is finally interested in something besides sitting. She gets a kick out of standing in her crib. I figure it's a safe, padded place. She can't get herself up alone so it only happens when I want it to. She loves it though, especially when Kayt gets up there and plays with her.

We are so blessed. Kayt and Ella love each other so much. They just look at each other and start laughing. Ella has started fake laughing when Kayt does and that eventually turns into real gut wrenching laughter. It is so fun to listen to. I will be out of the room and they will just start busting up. Our girls are special that is for sure.

A Little Help for the Crazy Woman

So, I have had a crazy week. I am not sure why exactly I struggled so much but it was one of those weeks where if my head was not attached, it would have been left behind. I know that is cliche, but for real,  that is how it was.

The pinnacle of my dumbness occured Friday morning. I had gotten the girls up and ready and was feeling good about things. I called my friend and volunteered to take her daughter to preschool about 20 minutes away. I even got the girls there on time after only one wrong turn (I have been to this place 3 times already!!!). So Ella and I headed to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.

I was on my way out, with plenty of time to hit Kroger grocery to buy some cheese and I can't find my keys. No big deal I can never find my keys...dig some more. No way...dig, dig. No way did I lock them in the car...dig,dig. Are they in the ignition...no I took them out. Clean the dirt off the windows and  low and behold, there are the wonderful keys sitting next to Ella's car seat!!!!!
No big deal, I will call Scott, see if he can call our friend, and he'll bring the spare keys. A little inconvenient but doable. I get about halfway through my phone call and my phone beeps. I have about thirty seconds until the thing dies!!! I frantically start scribbling phone numbers of people I will need to call (the preschool etc.) So here I am, locked out and phone-less!!!!

I asked the service counter if they had a payphone (they are becoming more and more rare) and they did. I just happened to grab our change bag that morning on a whim and so I used it call Scott to explain why our conversation was cut short and to see how the spare key hunt was coming. He'd called a friend who was borrowing his neighbors car to come and get Scott to come and get me. I told Scott I would call him back in 20 minutes. By this time about 45 minutes had passed. When I called Scott back he had torn through the house three times and could not find the keys anywhere. Blayne, saint friend, had to have the neighbors car back in 10 minutes and had to go. So again, Kristen is stranded. I instinctively called my dad, the car fix-all man, who suggested I get a key cut but then pointed out I had no way of going to pick up the key!! After about 1.5 hours I had finally decided I was going to have to call a locksmith and called Scott to see if he would look a number up for me. To my wonderful surprise he had found the valet key to our car and was going to take the 45 minute bus ride to come and rescue me. I told him I could call my dear friend Sara to see if she could take him. I was looking for the paper I had written her number on and, low and behold, guess what I came up with......The SPARE SET OF KEYS!!!!! I am not kidding. I have no idea why I did not see them the first 5 times I checked my purse but there they were now in all their black and chrome splendor. I was giddy with excitement.

So 2 hours and the price of a phone card later, I had learned a most valuable lesson... You are not in the 'Burg anymore Kris. You don't have one million people to bail you out of your stupidity. You actually have to think through things once and awhile and ONLY LOCK THE CAR WITH THE FOB, then you know you have the keys!!!!!

I am glad the week is over, is all I have to say!

P.S.
Scott was so fantastic. Even after he had wasted his whole morning trying to rescue me when I had the spare keys the whole time he didn't even roll his eyes. I guess he's just used to it now. And... he is wonderful!

Home For the Holidays

Well, well here we are back in Columbus after a fantastic three weeks at home in Idaho. I think that Idaho will always be home for us no matter where we are. There is just something different about Idahoans that you just can't find other places. It was funny to see how the things that bothered me about the 'burg (i.e. people you know everywhere you go) were the things that I realized I had missed, the friendly familiarity of the place. Good old Rexburg. It was so fun to be there.
After a long travel day, Scott's dad picked us up from the airport in Salt Lake. We made it home just in time for a huge storm to come in. It was so perfect, right before our eyes it turned into a winter wonderland. The snow was beautiful! Kayt could hardly wait to put her snow gear on and go play.
While home we got to watch Sarah and Cassi play basketball. It was so much fun cheering them on. They both played fantastic. Kayt liked it too. She grew up in the gyms as I would haul her around to all of Sarah and Cassi's games to occupy our time while Scott was busy. Hopefully all the watching will make her want to do it some day. We'll see.
The 14th was Scott's 26th birthday. It was great to be able to spend it with everyone. We had a nice dinner and I even made a real German Chocolate cake. Scott got very spoiled with new gadgets and clothes. Jeff an Cassi gave him the coolest picture collage of Kayt. It will be forever cherished.
We spent the first little bit doing Christmas with my fam before they all went to in laws houses. We went to the Mountain River Ranch for a fun sleigh ride, good food and fun entertainment. My mom especially had a good time when "by magic", the owner of the ranch pulled her bra out of her shirt(not really)!!!! It was hilarious. Of all the people, besides my grandma's, I don't think anyone in the place could have been more embarrassed. It was great! Kayt especially loved the huge horses and singing songs on the sleigh ride. It was freezing cold (2 degrees) but a great time.
The next night we opened presents and did our own Erickson family talent show. It is crazy to think that our family is at that point now. Kayt sang a few songs and Jake and I played a Christmas duet. Jared read a poem while Cassi played and song and Will played a carol while Baron led the group in singing. My dad rounded the show off with "The Innkeepers Song" from the Forgotten Carols. It was beautiful. I love hearing my dad sing. He has such a beautiful voice. I envy it. 

It was a highlight also to go see Kent and Sue's live nativity. I love watching that. I always feel such a strong spirit as I watch and listen. It makes the birth of our Saviour much more real. Kayt dressed like Mary and got to stand in the manger with her baby at the end. Kayt spent all of Christmas pretending she was Mary with her baby Jesus doll. Every chance she got, she would tell people who she was and that she was Jesus's mom. It was pretty sweet. All in all it was a great Christmas with my Fam.
We spent Christmas with Scott's family up in Island Park. It only took 24 hours to get us completely snowed in (4 feet). It was so light and fluffy though you could swim in it. It was so fun. We did all kinds of jumping and launching people into the snow. It was a magical feeling standing outside when it was dark and completely silent. 

We did Nazareth night which is a tradition we all love. It allows us to remember what Christmas is really about. Kayt and Alaina and Ella dressed up for the occasion. They were so excited. Scott's mom has so many fun costumes.
On Christmas Eve we set out goodies for Santa and a thank you note...and were pleasantly surprised when the goodies were gone and note from Santa was waiting for us!! The girls had a fun Christmas and were way too spoiled. Scott and I had our share of spoiling as well. It was such a fun time.
That about sums it up, we spent the remainder of our time visiting friends, hitting family parties, and just hanging out. It was a great vacation. It was sad to come home to Ohio, but it was time. I don't think any of us could have handled another late night or event-filled day.

Washington D.C.

Well, the decision has been made. Scott has accepted a position at Ernst and Young, the public accounting firm, in Washington D.C. It was a difficult decision since Portland, Oregon would have put us a lot closer to family. But after fasting and prayer and some words of encouragement we took the plunge. We know it is the right decision for our family right now.

It is a little crazy. When I left D.C. the first time I really felt like I was closing a chapter in my life and leaving a part of me behind a little bit. I definitely never thought I would be going back there, even though it is my favorite place ever. I am excited to go and experience it all over again with my little family. It is also comforting to already have a little bit of an idea of what we are going into.

We'll be heading there next fall. So it is a way off, but feel free to start planning your vacations to come and visit. Hint Hint!!! I promise I'll be a great tour guide.

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent our first big holiday away from family this year. THANKSGIVING! It was much better than I could have imagined. Our friends Brock and McKenzie and little Crue came from Bloomington for a couple of days to be with us. It was so much fun having them here. It really made us feel like we weren't alone. We also had some friends here in Columbus, the Nelson's, come over for dinner as well.

Scott and I cooked our first Thanksgiving turkey complete with stuffing. It turned out so much better than I expected. I had to call my Grandma Erickson a few times to know exactly what to buy, but it all worked out. We had quite a feast!! Scott even looked up how to carve a turkey and did a fantastic job.

McKenzie and I ventured out around 7:30 am to go shopping (we are so hardcore) just to say we went on the day after Thanksgiving. It wasn't crazy at all. We either missed the madness or it just doen't happen here. Either way we both scored a couple good deals and felt like we were being true to our traditions!

It was a great time. Thanks to Stoddard's for making the trip!