Month: December 2012

A Day of Simple Things

Leave a comment
Today was an easy day. We didn’t plan or do too much other then spend time with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Jillian. All of the girls in the family went out and did a bit of shopping. I was hoping to find some of the same bargains that I did last Christmas when we were up but alas… nothing.
Abby and Ellie were content with shopping, playing with their new tablets and playing in the snow again with Grandpa Jerry. It was a day that went by too fast but we enjoyed it so much. We didn’t do anything in particular, but that’s just what we needed!
Enjoying her “reader book” in the window seat of the hotel.
Sitting at Grandma and Grandpa’s kitchen table, doing a bit of coloring. She was playing coy with Grandpa.
Abby the snow bunny
Two little snow bunnies and an almost full moon. 🙂
Trying to make snowballs with snow that was so perfectly cold, it slipped through their hands like sugar.
Taking a walk with Grandpa in the snow.
Giving the sled a try.

A Belated Christmas and Snow!

1 Comment
After a few days of travel and being stuck in the car, it was time to relax and enjoy our time in Montana. When we woke up the next morning it was time to celebrate a belated Christmas with Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Denise, and Auntie Jillian. The girls had such a fun time opening presents, eating our traditional German Pancakes and laughing a lot with each other. 
Cutest Little Elf in the North Pole!
A special t shirt from Auntie Jillian.
The biggest hit out of everything… A Minnie Mouse hair styling kit.
Unwrapping presents can be serious business.
A little bit of attitude goes a long way.
Don’t worry those aren’t real scissors. I wouldn’t be this calm if they were.
Someone really loved her Christmas present from the Wharton Crew.

After all was said and done and the mess of the day was cleaned up, the girls played with their toys and watched movies with “Auntie JJ”. It was a nice quiet afternoon of relaxation. By early evening the girls were itching to get out into the snow to play. Once they were bundled up and ready we sent them out with Grandpa.

This was Ellie’s first time actually playing in the snow. Last year when we came to visit she was too little and completely uninterested in all of that cold white stuff. She had a good time playing even though it was so cold out that the snow was more like dust. Snow balls and snowmen were impossible to make but Abby and Ellie still managed to throw plenty of it around. 
Finally getting their hands into the snow.
Trying to make snowballs.
Cheesy smiles and a refusal to put her hood on.
Ellie’s Snow Angel
Abby’s Snow Angel

The last bit of fun for the evening were snow angels. Luckily the snow was perfect for this! Abby and Ellie came in cold and wet but with huge smiles on their faces. Nothing like playtime in the snow to make a kid happy. A perfect first day in Montana!

Montana Here We Come!

Leave a comment
Travel Day #1 
The day after Christmas we packed our bags, packed up the car and hit the road. Our destination, Montana of course! This time around we decided to make two stops on the way up to keep the days short and give us from burning out quickly. This meant that our first day would only mean travel from home to Cedar City, Utah. Knowing that this was only about 7 hours with stops we took the morning to finish packing and make sure that we attempted to get a decent amount of sleep.
When all was said and done, we hit the road around 1 pm ready for an adventure. Boy did we get an adventure. After a quick stop in Victorville, we hopped onto I-15 ready to drive at 70+ miles per hour and continue on to Cedar City. About ten miles outside of Barstow traffic came to a grinding halt. It was slow going from there to Baker and then we hit traffic again from the top of the hill down to state line. The trip from home to Primm, Nevada (state line) took us nearly nine hours. For those of you who have never taken this trip, it should only take about four hours to get from our house. We were not happy campers.
Luckily the traffic from Primm to Cedar City was light and we made it to our destination without any other issues. We pulled into the hotel in Cedar City around 12:45am mountain time and quickly headed to bed. The trip, with the time difference, took just under eleven hours. We were hoping this wasn’t a sign of the trip to come.
Packed into the car and ready for an adventure.

All smiles with a new “reader book” to keep her busy in the car.

Both Ellie and the sun became a nuisance to Abby, so she solved the problem by creating a little fort with her blanket and the back of my seat.
Travel Day #2
The following morning we woke up a little late but we were rested and ready to start a new day. Our biggest hope was that we left the travel issues from the previous day behind us. With a more positive attitude we grabbed some breakfast, hit the road, and started the journey to Pocatello, Idaho. For the most part the day was beautiful. We had sunshine a good portion of the morning. In the afternoon the clouds started to roll in and a bit of snow fell, but for the most part the roads were clear and dry. Music to my ears. We made excellent time even with stops in the Salt Lake area for food and a few extra items. I wish I had more to tell for this travel day, but honestly I am glad that I don’t. It means our trip to Pocatello was easy and uneventful.
The snow started to fall during our stop in Filmore. So pretty.

“Mommy please let me out of the car!!”

“Please mommy, when will we get there!”

Travel Day #3

Today its Bozeman or Bust! Thank goodness for early arrivals because it allows for a good nights sleep and sleep we did. When we woke up it was off to breakfast and then we packed up the car. Before leaving Pocatello, we stopped in to visit Grandma Pat. We had a fun time and I could tell she really enjoyed our visit. We sat and talked and Grandma Pat opened a few presents from the family. We also flipped through photo albums and looked at old pictures. Boy did we find some good ones! To protect the innocent, I promise I wont post them here. You’re welcome Grandpa Pat!

As always visits like this are too short and I know Grandma Pat was sad to see us leave, but we had to push on. We would finally arrive in Bozeman today and we wanted to have enough time in the evening to visit with  the family. We had another wonderful travel day with some snow but clear roads. Our stop in Dubois, Idaho proved to be a fun one. The temperature outside was cold but perfect. So much so that when it began to snow the flakes that were falling were perfectly shaped. The perfect snowflake if you will. I had a nice moment sitting outside of the car, watching the snow fall.

Ellie gets a snuggle and a smile with Grandma Pat

Snuggles and smiles with Grandma Pat and Abby

Shaun and Grandma Pat

The snow was falling and it was cold, so cold that the snowflakes falling from the sky were perfectly shaped.

The sun came out but there was a bit of blowing snow over Monida Pass. Finally made it to Montana!

We continued on and made great time. After traveling over Monida Pass, which had the most snow we had seen this whole trip, we crossed over into Montana. We were all very excited. Grandma and Grandpas house was now about an hour and a half away!

In a flash we were in Bozeman.  After checking into our hotel we headed over to Grandma and Grandpas house for some much needed visiting time and of course, some dinner. It sure feels great to finally be in Bozeman. I know we cant wait to have some fun!

Merry Christmas! Christmas Day 2012

Leave a comment
Merry Christmas everyone! Abby and Ellie took their job of falling asleep very serious last night. They slept hard and when they woke up this morning both of them discovered that Santa had come to visit and he left a lot of fun things for them.  I think Abby and Ellie were pretty surprised with what they saw when they came down the stairs this morning.

In true Abby fashion the presents were noticed first but then she quickly discovered that Santa had enjoyed a snack of milk and cookies. He even left a messy little trail of crumbs from the plate to the door. For those who don’t know, we do not have a fireplace in our house so we hang a magical key on our door for Santa so that he can find his way in. When he came to visit, he used the key to enter the house but must have forgotten about it because he left it sitting on the cookie plate. It also looked as though the reindeer had enjoyed a few tasty treats as well.

Soon after this discovery Abby and Ellie were back to presents and could barely wait to open them. They were very lucky girls this year. On top of the giant stuffed animals they received a few new outfits, movies, a few games and some new toys. Ellie discovered that Santa brought her a princess castle of her very own and Abby had a new Cinderella doll complete with carriage that changes back and forth to a pumpkin. From mommy and daddy, the girls were each given a tablet made just for kids. Now we can have our Kindles back!

After presents, we had some breakfast and cleaned up the mess of paper and boxes. In the afternoon, Grandma Zoe joined the fun. After a full morning of presents, you would have thought that maybe the girls were burnt out but they certainly proved us wrong. The girls ripped through more presents with the same excitement they had in the morning. Abby and Ellie received quite a few new outfits that were adorable but like most children moved on the minute they saw what they were. They also received new bedding which has been personalized for each of them and some adorable toys by Melissa and Doug (a fire truck set and a school bus set). Abby and Ellie also had fun with stockings full of fun treats and toys. Grandma Zoe certainly gave them lots to enjoy.

After presents with Grandma we enjoyed a lovely dinner from the Pizza Cookery, one of our favorites. By that point I had to move on from Christmas and get back into packing mode. Packing mode, you say? Yes, tomorrow we leave for Montana and there was plenty left to pack. I hated to move on so quickly from what was a wonderful day but in order to leave at a decent time tomorrow I needed to move forward.
So with that I must say goodnight and continue on with my packing. Merry Christmas one and all! I hope you had a wonderful day filled with family, friends and plenty of special memories. All the best from the Wharton Family!

Christmas Eve 2012

1 Comment

Christmas Eve certainly snuck up on us this year. One minute it’s Thanksgiving and the next thing you know, it’s Christmas already! Christmas Eve was fun this year. Our morning was pretty simple, with pancakes for breakfast and Christmas cartoons to enjoy as we gobbled them up. After eating I pulled out the mixer, my recipes and every decorating item I own to prep for cookie making. We had to make sure that Santa had a yummy treat when he came to visit the house!

Once the dough was chilled, the cookies were cut and baked and they had time to cool, cooking decorating commenced. Abby and Ellie had many colors of frosting to choose from as well as different types of sprinkles, confetti and more. They used anything and everything that they could get their little hands on. Once every single cookie had been used as a painter’s canvas, we cleaned up and headed over to Grandpa and Nana’s house to visit and have a lovely Christmas Eve dinner. 

Dinner was wonderful. As always Nana cooked some yummy food which included ham, green bean casserole, cauliflower and cheese and her yummy potatoes. I tried not to eat like a pig but it was hard. Ellie dug in and cleared most of her plate, which isn’t her typical way of handling dinner time. I don’t think either Shaun or I were complaining. After dinner we watched some TV and a few of the holiday classics. Then it was on to presents!  Abby and Ellie received Barbies galore as well as games and some fun stocking stuffers too. Grandpa even gave each of them a huge tub of cotton candy!

Pretty soon it was time to go home, set out the cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer and head to bed so that Santa could come and visit. Abby left a note for Santa too, asking him a few questions. It was very cute. I think that she was hoping that if she left a nice note that Santa would stop by and leave lots of goodies! As you can see below, “Santa” was pretty nice this year. I think she will be very happy with what she sees tomorrow morning. Until then, an early Merry Christmas!

Decorating the Tree

Leave a comment

Due to my surgery and recovery, decorating the house and the tree for Christmas came a bit late this year. I had done some of the house beforehand but quickly ran out of time. So, we completed some of these things a bit late. The last thing on our list to do was the tree. Because we intend to travel up to Montana to see my family after Christmas, we were once again stuck to using our artificial tree. I completely understand why we use our artificial tree when we travel after the holiday, but I can’t say I am a fan. I grew up enjoying a beautiful, fresh tree that fills the house with the lovely scent of pine so not having one can be a tough pill to swallow. I know there are things in life that are far worse than not having a real tree but I had to complain for just a moment. But I digress…

This was the first time that Abby and Ellie really had the chance to join in and do some decorating on their own (under the supervision of Shaun and myself of course). Both of the girls caught on pretty fast and were decorating pros in no time. I am very proud to report that not a single ornament was broken this year during the decorating process. Although based on the curiosity I saw this evening, there might be a few broken ones in our very near future. Oh well, that’s why the special ones are out of reach. Despite all of the chaos at times we had a blast and enjoyed some family time together.

Abby’s Preschool Christmas Party

Leave a comment

Just a few days ago Shaun, Ellie and I went to Abby’s preschool for a small party to celebrate Christmas and the last day of school before the break.  We all had the chance to enjoy some treats, take a peek at all of the work Abby has done in school this year and talk with the teachers and parents. It was a short party, only lasted through the remaining half hour of class but we had a lot of fun. As a special treat and surprise, the kids did a small performance for us. They sang six different holiday songs that Miss Betsie and Miss Sheryl have been working on for the last month or so. It was so cute to see Abby perform. Her first ever school performance (aside from dance)! Thank goodness I remembered to bring my camera to the party so that I could capture the whole show! Such a fun day for all of us and it was nice to see all of the progress that Abby has made.

Play Time and a Nutcracker

Leave a comment
Today we headed out to Simi to play for a while at Rockin Kids. The weather has been windy and chilly so the girls have been stuck inside for a bit. After playtime Abby and Ellie wanted to see the big Christmas Tree and giant Nutcracker. Ellie was pretty unsure of him at first but warmed up long enough to get a picture of the two of them. So cute. Christmas is getting close and you can feel the excitement!

Surgery Update

Leave a comment

So my appointment for Tuesday was canceled! My doctor was sick and could not be in for his appointments. Luckily he was able to reschedule for today and I couldn’t have been happier. Those tubes were ready to come out and when they did what  a difference! I can actually breathe through my nose! I have to rinse my sinuses three times a day (that is an interesting experience) but I can actually breathe! I can say without a doubt that this surgery was worth every painful moment as well as every penny. So great!

Waiting to Inhale… Through My Nose.

Leave a comment
For as long as I can remember I have suffered from horrible allergy and sinus problems. And when I say suffer, I mean it. After a while I just dealt with it and did what I could to manage the issues. Finally Shaun made me an appointment with an ENT that came recommended to him and the rest is history.
It was discovered that I had a badly deviated septum on my left side, blocking 95% of my sinus passage and polyps on the right blocking nearly 80% of my sinus passage. The only course of action at this point was surgery. So after a CT scan, some blood work and some fighting with our insurance over the absurd, I was scheduled for surgery. On December 5th I went in for outpatient surgery to have the septum repaired, the polyps removed and my sinuses roto rootered. Surgery went very well and even discovered a large cyst in the sinus behind my eye which was removed and biopsied. Its not cancerous, thank goodness but it probably explained the sharp pain in my eye when my sinuses were very full, which was often.
I am recovering well and the swelling is pretty minimal. I had to wear a funny little nose sling filled with gauze as my nose would bleed consistently but that has stopped and I am free of it. There are drainage tubes inside my nose, which creates most of the swelling that you can see. Those should be removed this week on Tuesday! Even though I am not supposed to breathe through my nose, I can feel a difference already. Cant wait to get the tubes out and see what happens!