Best Day Ever!?!

I think it might be safe to say that all of Brad's dreams came true yesterday. We headed off to Brundage ski resort outside of McCall to rent some tiny boots, skis and a helmet. I waited in the car while they went in to rent the equipment, and when I saw him carrying her with her shinny red boots, jiggling helmet and 3 foot skis I couldn't stop my laughing. We took her to the Bear Chair lift and immediately she told me, "I ready, Mama!" I pointed out to her all of the big kids on their skis while we waited for Brad and she was pumped up! We clipped her into the skis and Brad and Kate headed off for the chair lift. I watched and waited with camera in hand to catch it all. Finally I saw the two of them come from around a bend, Brad holding Kate, stopping, putting her down on the ground between his skis and heading down the hill. I knew he was excited to share this moment with her, but I had no idea how much she would love it! She had a great time, and when it was all over (3 runs) she didn't want to give up the rented gear. Luckily, a packed snack of popcorn gave her some incentive to say goodbye to the red boots and the big helmet. An excellent first!
After an afternoon of rest and relaxation back at the cabin we headed back into town and decided to check out the skating rink. It just happened to be Open Skate and we decided to rent 3 pairs and another jiggly helmet and hit the ice! Skiing and ice skating in one day! Oh my! Brad indicated that it was my turn to be the instructor - as of the 3 of us I am the most steady on skates. Funny thing is that at 23 weeks pregnant I don't feel that steady these days, but it was fantastic. We quickly found the easiest and most constructive method was for me to skate backwards holding on to Kate's hands. I learned to skate at 2 yrs old while pushing a chair around the ice. The rink provided stacks of buckets to push, but Kate told me, "No bucket, Mama's hands" so that's what we did. She kept saying, "Look at me! Look at me!" I think we all had a great time enjoying another first.
I was very proud with how happily she embraced these two new, adventurous, potentially scary activities! Makes me marvel at the fun things ahead - ski passes, our own skates, maybe even some ski goggles and a figure skating skirt. Oh my! The places we'll go...

Progress Makes Perfect

It takes time to make perfection out of cast-offs. And, the Martha Stewart empire wasn't created in a day, right? But, if I keep this up, the next thing you know I'll have my own station on satellite radio. If only I could actually sew. Anywho, between wrapping up at the Special Olympics, normal life with a 2 year old and clearing out the crap that has piled up over our 5 years here, we're getting closer to a big girl room. It seems so strange that "baby girl" isn't baby girl anymore. She is very excited about the big girl room concept - the big girl room and bed, big girl panties, big girl bikes, etc. And thank goodness another baby girl is on her way, otherwise I might just be a little weepy about all of this big girl stuff.

Check it out - the "scarf story" from the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. This video was first shown at Opening Ceremonies (and made me cry!).

Big Girl This... Big Girl That...

Since our unproductive big girl bedroom furniture shopping (see previous post) I committed myself to finding a delightfully cute, hodge podge big girl room on craigslist.com. FYI, in the event that you haven't fervently sought out an object of your desire on craislist.com, IT IS HARD WORK! It is simply a dog-eat-dog world out there. You need to be available to search the website 24 hours a day, you need the stars to align and have the seller actually call/email you back, and need to be able to hop in your car at a moment's notice to go take a look at the item at the seller's convenience. Needless to say, I have none of those qualities.

This said, last week I secured a horribly ugly bed, a nice mattress and box spring, and a chest of drawers within a matter of about 35 hours. With the help of Home Depot, JoAnn's Fabrics and my Aunt Pat I was able to turn some pure crap into some pure delights for a big girl room worth bragging about.

Okay, so we're not quite there, but so close! The next item(s) on the agenda is taking away the remaining "office" bits of the room, in order that I can actually fit all of this new stuff in there. Good bye boxes of crap carried from Chicago 5 years ago! Good bye super slow clunker computer! And an especially enthusiastic good bye to a crumbling computer desk!! And can I please welcome the Weissenberger's to a new wireless world? I mean, please, it is 2009.

Enjoy (Brenna requested some "in progress" photos)...

Big Girl Beds!

We spent the day Saturday shopping for a big girl bed. Kate didn't really know what was on the agenda, until we walked into the brightly lit, pastel dream land of a local furniture store. She immediately said, "princess bed!" in the most airy and dreamy of voices and climbed into a swirling, silver wonder of a bed that looked like Cinderella's carriage. Needless to say, Kate LOVED it. We then found this bed, which Kate took an immediate liking to - since there were "kitty cats" involved. She helped herself...

A Sweet Baby Girl

My emotions over another girl are many, but mainly, I am delighted to give Kate a sister. Now that we know who she is, or rather, that it is a she, I feel like I can start to plan and prepare and discuss the new arrival with Kate. She still doesn't understand what is going to happen here, but now we can talk about the baby sister and how to be a great example of a how a big girl behaves. Let's hope that works...

Figure Skating

I finally went out to see an event. When Kate woke up this morning I was ready to go, and we headed down to Qwest Arena to see what we could see. I had heard rumors that Joe Biden would be there today for a medal ceremony and that we should get there early. Unfortunately, upon our arrival we learned that a) we should have gotten there a lot earlier than we did (the lines where insane!) and that Biden hadn't left the ground in Washington DC yet. That didn't really matter to me - I was there to check out the skaters. It was great. We saw all different skill levels and a lot of excitement and smiles. I ran into a Volunteer with whom I worked on Saturday, and we sat together and enjoyed the event. Just prior to Kate's cut off point Scott Hamilton made an appearance and announced good and bad news. The bad news was that Biden STILL hadn't left Washington DC. The good news... Michelle Kwan were there! This was very exciting for me, as I'm a big fan. Both Michelle and Scott are supporters of the Special Olympic movement and it was great to see them there. As the medaling stands were being erected, Kate started to melt, so we headed home for a long winter's nap. What a great event!

Tomorrow are the Closing Ceremonies, which I won't be attending. I suspect that although I'll stop in the office tomorrow, my 2009 Special Olympics World Games experience has come to a close. I wish I had been able to see and do more, and I wish I had been able to interact with the athlete's more. I suppose that no matter how much I had done I would have been left wanting more. It was a fantastic experience that I'll remember for the rest of my days!

More - The Games

The Games are in full force and it seems that Boise is pumping with the energy of the athlete's excitement. I've spent the last 6 days in the middle of the chaos; however, every time I speak to another staff member I realize they are more stressed/sleep deprived/chaotic than me. I was asked to help out with Food and Beverage. Never having been a part of an event before, I didn't really know what that meant.
Friday I visited the Floor Hockey events (they were "divisioning", or playing to determine skill level and who they would play against in competition) and then I worked in their dining hall (tent). What that meant for me was clearing tables as fast as possible in order that athlete's with full plates could find a place to sit. Athlete's were very excited and were singing and dancing in the isles. It was fantastic! When that rush had passed I was pulled into a Floor Hockey Coaches meeting. I learned my lesson quickly - stop offering to help! I was assigned to taking meeting minutes, which was horribly boring, although it did give me the opportunity to learn about floor hockey - something about which I knew nothing.
Saturday I was asked to work at a dining hall (HUGE tent) outside of Opening Ceremonies where I assisted in serving lunch and dinner to hundred's of athletes. This was very hectic, somewhat disorganized, but incredibly fun. I ducked out of there just in time to see the ceremonies and then quickly ducked back in to help serve dinner, and finally to clean up. I was exhausted at the end of the day, but rewarded by the smiling faces, hugs and cool pins I received from athletes.
Sunday I drove to Sun Valley (SV) to, again, help out with Food and Beverage. There is one dining hall in SV which is feeding all of the athlete's breakfast and dinner (boxed lunches are served at the venues). When I arrived there was a lot of confusion over various issues - specifically when the dairy truck would be arriving, final headcounts for meals, etc. Luckily I had a list of phone numbers and a cell phone, which made me incredibly useful to the caterers (Full Moon Catering, Sun Valley, Idaho). We were instant friends. I wish I had an event for which I could hire them, as they were fantastic people and absolute pros. I spent a total of 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts there, which required me to get up at 5am both mornings, but it was another awesome experience. Monday afternoon I was able to break away and check out the snowboarding venue on Dollar Mountain in SV. It was a blue bird day and there were school kids everywhere out on a field trip to cheer on the athlete's. It was great!
Today I am back to my "real" job - HR for this Organizing Committee. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and these Games are celebrated with Closing Ceremonies in two days. With the closing of the Games comes the departure of some of the staff, and the wrap, up involving reports and closing down the building. I don't know how much longer I'll have a job, but for the short-term I have to make sure every one's departure is handled appropriately.
Tomorrow I hope to take Kate to some figure skating events, and maybe some speed skating. I don't feel like I've been able to enjoy these events as a bystander and I think that would be a great way to wrap up the week.
This has been an incredible experience - all due to the joy and excitement of the athlete's and the group of people who have planned this tremendous event in a short amount of time and on a shoestring budget.
For those of you out of the area, check out some of the coverage of the Games at www.ktvb.com!!

2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Opening Ceremonies

Special Olympics Day of Fun

Pictures to follow, but I felt I had to share after such a day. I had the pleasure of helping to feed hundred's of Special Olympians in a huge tent just outside the Idaho Center, Nampa, ID. It was crazy at times, as well as confusing, fun, but mainly rewarding. I didn't realize how exhausted I would be at the end of two days serving food, wiping down tables, pretending to know when more food would arrive or when the buses would arrive and where. People confused me with someone who would know the answers to important questions because I wear a "staff" uniform. What they don't know is that all I did was hire the people who made the decisions about the important details. Regardless, it was a ton of fun, and the smiles of the athlete's will stay with me for ages to come. And the best part? Opening Ceremonies! My friend and neighbor, Jen P joined me, as well as Aunt Pat and a friend of hers. There were celebrities, politicians, Olympic athletes, and hundred's of Special Olympians. I can't wait to share my photos.

And then there was Brad's day with Kate. From the sounds of it, it was a day that Brad won't forget for a long time to come as well. He took Kate to see her first movie, with popcorn and everything.

After her nap they went for dinner and Kate received a fortune in her cookie stating, "Your charm has intrigued a secret admirer." I think the admirer is her Dad.

A Very Special Day!

Julie P (triplet mom) put it best in her blog, so I've provided a link here. Plus, her camera is fantastic! www.prairie3.blogspot.com

I will add that it is very exciting for me to see the hard work of my co-workers come to life with the arrival to Boise of the Torch and Athlete's from around the world. Over the course of the next 5+ days I get to help at various venues doing whatever they need two hands to do. I am very excited to be a part of the execution of the plans these people have been putting into place over the course of the last 2 years. It is bound to be an incredibly rewarding experience!

Check out our website at www.2009worldgames.org!

Boob Tube

Move over Disney Channel, there is a new tube in town. The cabin we've rented for the winter is located near a fantastic tubing hill and we've lucked out - the minimum age requirement happens to be 2. I see this as one of the first steps toward Brad and Kate zooming around on roller coasters. A baby step; however, Brad quickly realized that it isn't much of a baby step, as these hills are very fast. After the first run he decided to ride on his stomach in order to slow them down a little bit. Rules state that everyone has to be in their own tube and Kate apparently loves it. Unfortunately, much like roller coasters... no pregnant people allowed.

Sha Shwoosh Sha Shwoosh Sha Shwoosh

I had the pleasure of hearing the baby's heartbeat today. This is always a good thing. I also scheduled the ultrasound (late February) to catch a glimpse of this tiny person. Kate looks at my belly and says, "Hi baby!" and gives it a kiss. I hope she has the same enthusiasm in July.
Yesterday I had a great deal of emotion regarding the swearing in of our new president. It occurs to me that change is upon us, that yesterday made incredible history in this country, and that my babies will know Obama as their first president. Regardless of how you feel about him, it all strikes me as a very important part of their lives and it gives me even more hope for their happy futures.
That said, my future involves a long winter's nap...

A New Year, A New Look

Obviously I'm trying a little something new with the blog, and when God grants me more time in the day and fewer things to take care of in life I will try even more fun things. I thought maybe pink would be fun for a while... at least until I find out the sex of this new trouble-maker on the way.

There are no pictures from this week, but only a brief update. Brad went out of town to play with rockband .22 so I went to town on the house. This weekend I managed to tear apart a couple of closets, make large piles to donate to Goodwill, carry heavy furniture around (this is a specialty of mine when I'm pregnant), decide on big-girl bedding, and make decisions about who will go where when the baby gets here. Pretty soon Kate will have to make the move to a big girl bed, and I want to be strategic about placement and furniture decisions so that when the transition happens it is a done deal and Kate won't have to endure much change. She's definitely ready for a bed. Twice a week she's been going to McPhee's and nap time happens in a bed. Apparently Kate gave her grief on the first day, and since then it has been a smooth process. I'm very thankful to McPhee that she broke Kate in for me. As a matter of fact, McPhee does a lot of heavy lifting for me - all of which I'm grateful for.

The house is still in disarray and likely will be when UB walks in the door late tonight. But hey - Rome wasn't built in a day. Not to mention the couple of naps I had to fit in this weekend along with everything else. Oh, and then there was Kate, who when I'm busy with something loves to tug and pull for my attention. Go figure.

Happy New Year!

I think it is safe to say that I've been a blogging slacker as of late. Truth be told, I have an excellent excuse, but I'm not going to share it with you now. For now I'm just going to bring you up to speed on the travels and fun we've had since Kate's birthday. The weekend after her celebration we enjoyed a quiet weekend in McCall where we enjoyed a ton of fresh snow! It was very exciting for Kate, who was able to get in some fantastic snow time - quite frankly her first snow time.

On the way home from this weekend I was talking to Brad about how I haven't been feeling well at all lately. He suggested that Kate and I fly to Michigan to spend some time with Nanny and to allow myself to relax a little (and quite honestly, be taken care of). This sounded like a fantastic idea - especially since my generous Aunt Marilee had just offered her frequent flier miles for a Christmas trip to Michigan in order to surprise my mom. The next day I started looking at flights and that night decided to book a trip. THANK YOU, AUNT MARILEE!! It was all I could do to NOT tell my mom that we would be showing up on her doorstep a few nights later! I quickly started to prepare - which meant leaving the house and Annie The Dog for 2 weeks, a doctor's appointment for Kate, one for me, wrapping up work, a work holiday party, packing for 3 (Brad also booked a round trip to Chicago), Holiday cards distributed, Christmas gifts purchased (I skipped this step), etc etc etc. It was something. THEN, the night before we departed Brad booked us (him and me) a round trip from Michigan to Cabo San Lucas for 8 days. Needless to say, Brad left at 6am on Friday the 19th, Kate and I left at 1pm that same day. We both made it unscathed and I was able to surprise Nanny (with the help of Aunt Marilee and Grizz, Phatty and Mallory) on her doorstep at 11pm that night. Brad joined us the next day and on Monday he and I flew to Mexico for sun and relaxation. What a trip it was! Cabo was great and I have to say that the true beauty of it - besides the incredible weather - were the naps and the HBO movies. True relaxation! Ahhh. And so it didn't seem like Christmas on Christmas day in 80+ sunny weather; I knew Kate was in good hands and that Santa was visitng her on Christmas morning with lots of snow and family and fun.

Brad and I returned from Cabo sunned and relaxed. We questioned more than once why we choose to live in cold weather climates, but I think he'll remember once he gets to ski this coming weekend up at the cabin...
Just prior to our departure and just after our return I was able to join my Bylsma family in some Christmas celebrations. It was fantastic to see Kate running around with her cousins, getting to know them by name, and to hear her say, "I wuv you, Uncle Grizz!" without running away from him in fear.

Kate and I finally returned to Boise on Monday, 1/5, after getting delayed in Michigan without luggage for 2 extra days due to Minneaplis weather (oh well!!). It is good to be home and settled, but I have to admit, Grand Haven is home sweet home. I can't deny it.
Thank you to everyone who made the time to visit with us (especially Lauda, who drove all the way to spend a couple of days in GH!), to Nanny who gave up her life for 2 weeks to be with Kate, to those who helped Nanny out with watching Kate (especially Grace!! and thank you for the report card, Grace!), and a huge THANK YOU to Aunt Marilee, who made the entire trip possible in the first place. And thank you to my loving husband, who knew that a relaxing, sun-filled, pool-side pool was just what the doctor ordered. Thank you for a(nother) wonderful trip.
And for those of you who haven't figured it out, I'm 3 months pregnant and due in July. I haven't been blogging because a) I don't feel well enough to want to share our lives with you and b) haven't been doing much at all due to the fact that I feel so terrible! It has been a rough first trimester, but I am hoping that I will start to feel better soon. I must admit, having toast with Nanny's homemade jam at my beck and call durring our visit to Michigan made me feel TONS better. Thanks Nanny!! I'm sure it killed you that I wanted to eat toast in your bed, but it was wonderful!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl

I think it's official - I have to stop calling her Baby Girl, but alas, it has stuck for 2 years now. On her birthday we hosted our weekly playgroup AND the kids from our block. It was a great little party and Kate had a blast. Her true happiness began when she found out that under the pretty paper and ribbons were toys and books and surprises! Check out this face while opening gifts...

Hello!

We've rented a mountain cabin for the winter with our friends, the Bausch's. We're trying to make the most of this 6 month investment and have already made multiple trips there to enjoy the quiet of the woods, streams and mountains. The other day my mom asked me, "What do you guys do when you're there?" It took me a second, only to realize the answer was, "Nothing." And doesn't that sound wonderful?!? Here's a glimpse of the "nothingness."

Guess what I wished for when I blew out my candles!

Halloween 2008

Okay okay! Enough with our fans asking for the Halloween photos! I'm a busy girl, people!

Kate isn't quite sure what this Halloween business is all about. It was exciting and fun, but she was confused by her friends that didn't look quite the same and by all of the dad's answering the doors (men = scary!). Her costume, although SUPER CUTE, was hot and kept pecking her in the face. She wanted to eat the candy, but you'll see why that wasn't an option outside of her highchair in a photo below. Once the bigger kids started trick or treating she loved the continuous door bell ringing; however, once Brad scared the kids on the front step and they screamed in her face she pretty much panicked. An interesting night to be sure, and yet another event where I sum it up by saying, "she'll get it next year."

Pumpkin Weekend 2008

We had fantastic weather this weekend - and gladly took advantage of it. Friday afternoon we enjoyed our weekly playdate, which turned into good-timin on the back porch, ending with 4 of us huddled for warmth around charcoal on the grill while 2 little ones slept upstairs.

Saturday we had big plans to ride the Pumpkin Liner Train out of Horseshoe Bend; however, didn't realize that a lot of other folks had the same plan and that tickets would be sold out. Instead we headed to a pumpkin patch - the same one featured in pumpkin picking pictures approximately 1 year ago on this blog. This year we were able to take advantage of the super fun kid activities - which was delightful (for us to watch and for Kate to do). It was great fun seeing her do the big kid stuff. She had her first pony ride, first cow train ride (?), first public bouncy house thing, and lots of fun food! Oh, and we picked out some pumpkins, too.

Today we headed up to Horseshoe Bend early and took an 1 1/2 hr train ride to a pumpkin "patch" (a place where picked pumpkins are placed for families to come and make a selection). When we pulled up to the station Kate said, "choo choo!" She seemed to really enjoy the ride, and although it was nap time, she fared quite well (Brad gave her a B- for behavior, but I'd say it was a solid B).

This afternoon we've relaxed, watched a Packers victory! What a weekend!

Fall in McCall

Happy Birthday to The UB! We had a fabulous weekend in McCall with our dear friends at a great cabin in the woods. The weather was just as you would want it, and of course a trip to McCall means a trip to the lake. Here Kate is, discovering sand and the glory of letting it wiggle through your fingers, as well as learning the hard lesson that you can't go running into the water all year round. As you can see here, it was a very hard, sad, lesson.

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet UB.