Colorado Weekend

Steve is currently working in Colorado Springs, CO.  I am currently missing him.  But, we did get to visit him this past weekend.  It was lots of fun hanging out and playing with Cadance.  It also snowed.  Cadance was incredibly amazed by the white stuff.  She got excited every time she looked out the window.

This was her first time in the snow.  She was say excited until she tripped.  I don't think she knew her hands could be that cold.

Garden on the Gods.  They have amazing rock formations jutting out of the earth.  Pretty cool.

Getting ready to go out in the snow.  We prepared her properly this time.

Not really sure what to do with the snow.  A lot of it was too deep for her to walk in so she kept falling over. It was kind of hilarious.

Thailand...check

And we're back.  Steve and I had a fabulous two weeks exploring Thailand.  Pictures can be found on facebook.  Cadance enjoyed two weeks parent free, and from what I understand had a wonderful time with her grandparents (can we say thank you enough!).   I decided not to publish any pictures here because it would be too hard to choose, so I'll just tell you about our trip.

First of all, anybody who thinks Thailand is this crazy exotic place to vacation should think again.  Don't be afraid to wonder into southeast Asia.  We found lots of things that brought us close to home, like Haagen-Daz, Dunkin Doughnuts, KFC, and Burger King.  Most people speak enough English to get by and the people for the most part are way friendly.  If you're scared of public transport, Thailand has domestic flights to all major tourist spots.  Plus, most hotels or guesthouses can schedule any type of tour or activity.

But, lots of things took me by surprise.  I was shocked at the enormity of their billboards and how most children carried around cell phones.  I was shocked by the trash in the ocean and the smog in the air.  I was surprised to find Oreos at the 7-11 and that chocolate is like twice as expensive.  I was also surprised to be interviewed, not once but three times, by school girls for a homework assignment about English tourists.  Admittedly, some things shouldn't have surprised me, like having dogs everywhere and not having toilet paper in public restrooms. And, having the hill tribe people ask if we had a cigarette.

We discovered some things about Thai people.  First, they love angry birds- like a lot.  They are slightly obsessed with taking pictures.  They also don't have indoor kitchens.  While driving around the countryside you can watch every Thai woman preparing dinner at her wok.  It's kind of cool.  We learned that it's perfectly acceptable to drive a scooter around with your child sitting on your lap.  Also, that Thai people are trained to nod their head and smile when they have no idea what you're talking about.

Some of the most fantastic things about Thailand include: being able to buy a quarter of a pineapple, ready to eat for about .50; renting a scooter for $3 a day; having waterfalls without warning signs or guard rails; the sunrise/sunset; street markets; meeting a Texan who's lived in Thailand for 30 years because he loves it that much; and waffle vendors.

Some of the highlights of the trip include: riding an elephant, and not just riding but having an elephant follow a command; snorkeling with about a million tiny jellyfish; learning how to make sticky black rice pudding, etc; walking along the beach and watching the sunset; finding our way out of Pai Canyon; a half hour foot massage that totally rocked; the many hot showers; and being able to spend lots of time with my one and only.  

But, vacations are not all perfect.  Some of our moments were: taking a cold shower in the train station; getting bad information about how to travel around the area...again; getting lost in Pai Canyon; hiking for almost an hour and never getting to the waterfall; the sunburn; and getting stung by those jellyfish.

I know this doesn't really explain the ins and outs of the trip, but take a took at the pictures; they do a better job.  Thailand really was fabulous, and if it wasn't for time restraints and having to leave Cadance behind we probably would have stayed for longer.

We Hope you Had a Merry Little Christmas

So obviously this is way behind and I've been thinking about doing this since the 25th, but whenever I sit down to the computer I always end up doing something else.

Steve, Cadance, and I enjoyed a fabulous Christmas at home.  We had a wonderful Christmas music program at church and spent the evening with some friends.  Cadance was really excited to open gifts, although mostly confused.  My favorite was when she opened the scrapbook I made of her first year.  She immediately looked at the entire thing and was very excited about it, to the point that she crawled on top of it to get a better view.  Here are some pictures

For dinner I made sirloin roast, etc. with creme brulee for dessert (thanks mom!)  Check out this torch action

Since then we've been having an excellent time together as a family.  Steve is on vacation from school until the end of January.  Cadance is growing up so fast.  I know everyone says that, but it's so true.  She can currently be found doing things like this

as well as pointing out her bellybutton and saying "ba" anytime she sees anything that looks remotely related to a ball.

Steve has his last interview Friday (Whoot!)  We'll be submitting our rank list soon and match in March.  OMG my husband is going to be a doctor this year.  How cool is that!?! We had a truly blessed 2011 and are so excited for the coming year.  Thank you to everyone in our lives, we're so blessed to know you!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, and Other Thoughts on the Season

A few weeks ago we purchased our Christmas tree.  I really like real trees and Steve usually gives in every year with my promise that one day we'll invest in a fake one.  We went to Home Depot and the first one we pulled up looked good so we bought it, strapped it to our car, and brought it home.  We were really worried that Cadance would be all over the tree, but mostly she's ignored it.  But, she loved the lights.

Until, of course, they were wrapped around her.

But, mostly she found them intriguing and loves looking at the tree when they're on.  We strategically placed ornaments on the tree based on Cadance's height.  The top definitely has more then the bottom, but we're aiming for zero broken ornaments!

In other new, Cadance was sick all last week.  She had a cold, ear infection, and she got a tooth.  So, teething without being able to breath through her nose meant lots of drool.  Constant.  So, she wore a bib all week.  In this picture she apparently got tired of it.  

   

In other thoughts:

1. Pine needles are horrible.  One more reason to have wood floors.
2. Whole wheat tortillas don't taste like tortillas.  Try as I might they really just taste like pressed wheat berries.
3.  Apple cider is 100% delicious.
4. I know it's good for them, but is reading a single book 5 times in one day really necessary?
5. I made pumpkin chocolate chip bread today and in my opinion it smells like Christmas.
6. Cadance started taking one nap a day this week which makes me feel like she's old.  Couldn't she have waited a few months?
7. Yesterday Pinterest didn't display the search for a couple hours and it totally stressed me out.  I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with that.
8. Cadance is twirling.  It's the cutest thing in the world and hilarious because she gets dizzy really quickly.  Here's video.

Happy Holidays!

Dress Up

I decided I needed to start taking advantage of the fact that I have a daughter.  So, we played dress up.  I put her in all pink and let her play with her hair bows.  She doesn't actually like having hair bows in her hair, but she loved looking through the box and looking in the mirror.  The pictures aren't that great, but it was fun. 

The Train

 Last Saturday or so we took Cadance on the mini train that runs along the Trinity River.  It was a beautiful fall morning and Cadance loved it.  She also loved being fed cherrios at regular intervals.

 

First Birthday Pics

We had pictures done for Cadance's 1st birthday.  Here are some of our favorites.