Miami in February

One of my favorite types of get-a-ways with David is when we go somewhere tropical in the drab, cold months of January or February.  It's such a lift to the spirit to bask in the sunshine and just enjoy time together.  This year David had a CLE in Miami, a city we had never been to.  I was blown away by the beautiful water and fantastic town of Bal Harbor.  We even got to see the Heat play.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would definitely go back!

 Airboat ride thru the Everglades was amazing!

Our guide's favorite Alligator:  "allie"

 Cute baby alligators

Christmas 2012

We did all the traditional things this holiday season but it still felt very different.  We were missing Trey.  Trey loves family and tradition and he was missed tremendously through all the festivities.  The highlight of our Christmas was our 2 hour skype with Trey, all the way from Darwin Australia.  It was incredible to see his smiling face and hear his contagious laugh.  I did really well to not cry in front of him.  I was so proud!  We were very prepared and had a list of a million questions to throw at him and keep him talking.  I didn't think he had an accent at all, although some of the kids thought so.  He is so happy and that helps parents who miss him like crazy.  Knowing that he was well taken care of by wonderful members in Darwin helped too.  After we finished skyping I felt kind of down for a while.  Like this big build up and thing I had been looking forward to for so long was now over.  Now what?  Wait another 6 months.  Ok I can do that.  David and the kids thought everything was great and were even happier after talking with him.  I found a poem that sums up how I felt this Christmas season entitled "I gave the Savior my son for Christmas this year".  It is a small sacrifice, but harder than I anticipated.  I hope to do better next time.  So on that note.....pictures from Knoxville and Australia.... :)

The angels had on makeup this year :)

 Traditional pose in the hall way waiting to see what Santa brought

Thanksgiving 2012

Yes it's true I never blog anymore.  So, it's time for Thanksgiving in May.

The morning of Thanksgiving, having just come off my high of Ragnar, I decided to run in a 10k, in fact my first 10k ever.  Super fun way to start out the day of indulgent eating!  After that I met Julie and Lori at the gym for our traditional pre-feast elliptical work out.  I think I calculated that I burned around 1000 calories to start the day..... Pie, here I come.

After a quick shower it was off to Perkins with Elder Christiansen and Elder Bakker to meet up with Sexton's for a thanksgiving breakfast!  (having the elders with us made it easier on us with it being our first thanksgiving without Trey):

 After a few hours to digest, we headed over to mom and dad's for the annual basketball shoot-out, talent show and games and another big feast and PIE.  Happy Thanksgiving!