Christmas Miracles!

The last twenty four hours have been sheer madness for us, with last minute preparations to get us packed and ready to spend the next two weeks in UT and ID. It all started last night.
We had a really early flight this morning and so we rented a car so that we wouldn't have to pay for long-term airport parking. Eric was busy all that day but then finally took off and arrived at the car rental place 5 minutes after it closed. Oops. But the guy was still closing up and let Eric in to pick up his vehicle. So nice.
Fast forward to this morning after we had dropped off the rental car and finally was able to get a shuttle to the airport. We had so many bags and stuff and one very unhappy almost-two-year-old. It was more than could be moved by two people at one time. A young man behind us put down his stuff and moved ours over to be put into the bus. Saving us a lot of time and a big headache. So nice.
Then we get to the airport to see enormous lines to check bags! Longest I've ever seen. Of course we hadn't planned for this and so we got to the front of the line 15 mins before the plane was supposed to depart. Great. The guy behind the check-in counter said that there was really no chance to catching our plane, but just in case, he let us leave all our luggage while he tagged and it weighed it so that we could get on our way. So nice.
We move to the security check line. It was not that long, but very slow. We get to the front of the line after our plane was supposed to have left. But we still head to our gate, just to find out what the damage would be. Miraculously, the plane was running late and we were able to make our flight! We were one of the last to get on, so we had to split up for seats, but then the girl next to me gave up her window seat so that Eric and Lil could come sit by me. So nice.
But the best part of all is that we had a safe and non-stop flight (if we had missed ours, the next flight would have had two stops!) and when we got here, all our luggage made it with us. So nice. If you know me, then you know I hate flying, add on all the extra stress and pregnancy and lack of sleep, and you've got one grumpy lady. Today could have gone very badly. But instead I am relaxing in UT while Lillie takes a long nap. So happy and so grateful.

We went about a month without having disneyland passes, but then all my begging finally paid off and Eric let us renew. Lillie has been crazy about mickey and his friends lately and so I knew that she would love it. It was a fun day, Lil's favorite part was the Its a Small World lights and ride, which was pretty spectacular. I just enjoyed being outside, which doesn't happen hardly ever. I love Christmastime and Disneyland didn't disappoint!

Our Guilty Pleasure

Is there anyone out there who is still watching Survivor like we are? This is my favorite season yet! Russell is so hilarious, we cannot get enough of him. I look forward to Thursday 8:00 all week long. I hope he can stick it out til the end, but I'm sure he'll at least be the fan favorite. Love it!

Lillie and Santa

So she wasn't smiling, but at least she wasn't crying. Santa is not a big deal to her yet but she loved getting the stuffed puppy that she got afterward.

I promise those pants are normally more than long enough for her.

TMI? Maybe

So tonight I was laying on the couch, no surprise there, with my barf bowl next to me (which I learned from my first pregnancy where I had to throw away 3 rugs), when Lillie came up to me and kept repeating something. I finally figured out that she was saying "coughing" and she grabbed my bowl and pretended to throw up into it. Tongue out, barfing noises, and coughing at the end. Wow, I guess she's seen that happen a few too many times. I know I have. I just hope it doesn't have any long lasting traumatic effects on her. Because it has on me!

Trip to the Park

This afternoon Eric convinced me that a trip outside would do all of us some good and so we went to the park. Because I had been really terrible about taking pictures the last 6 months or so, we decided to bring along our camera. Photographing an almost two year old is pretty much impossible. Lillie was so excited to be out of the house that she couldn't hold still. We had many, many blurry photos but here are the few that at least were in focus. She is so sweet and funny and smart. I am amazed every day.

Rival Week

Traveler and Tommy Trojan
Smiley Hadley

Emily, Kyle and Hadley

I love this one because of the blurry victory "v" in the foreground

Brad and Shanell

This month's date night was a trip to the USC v. UCLA football game. It is always an exciting time when you're playing your rival, but the game was pretty boring...while we were there. After we left, sometime early in the 4th quarter, 3 touchdowns were scored and the Bruins rushed the field. Ha ha. I'm actually excited that we weren't there after the game because there would have been a lot of yelling and fighting among the fans. It was actually kind of chilly that night so that, coupled with a tired babysitter, led to our early exit from the game. Hadley, our neighbor's baby, was such a trooper. She lasted as long as I did at the game. Fun times!