Where Did the Last 5 Years Go!?

Luke turned 5, yup- F I V E  on January 25th! I can't believe he's going to be going into kindergarten in the fall?!? I remember when he was born and I would always get told "enjoy it, it goes by too fast!"  Though there are a few days that contradict that statement- for the most part its soon true! I don't know where my little chubby 9lb'er went. Luke is my little man, he's crazy OBSESSED with cars- can tell you what brand of car is sitting in a parking lot, he's LOVES being a big brother and playing with his sister, enjoys learning mechanically how things work, always wants to help, is a social butterfly, loves going to preschool everyday, is the class clown, and ALWAYS makes others smile. I love my Luke, Im so grateful and lucky to be called his mom!
 When I asked Luke what kind of party he wanted- he replied "camping party." I was super excited, its hard to to have parties in Laramie at the end of January- so something I could do with stuff we already had PLUS do indoors- I'm in!
Luke loved every bit of his camping party- we had the tent set up, did fun crafts, and of course a yummy log stump cake. Luke had a blast with all of his friends. Thanks to all of those who made him the happiest 5 year old!


                                  

Happy 2016!

Does anyone else this its crazy that is 2016? We were ringing the New Year in Dubois. Its a tradition in our family to have Chinese food for New Years Eve dinner. Well, a Chinese resturant in Dubois,Wyoming is non existent. We HAD to keep with tradition so thanks to the Pioneer Woman ( if you haven't tried her food-YOU NEED TO!) my mom and I were able to cook our Chinese feast. We had a great spread: Homemade Cream Cheese WonTons, Orange Chicken, Lo Main and much, much more! It was soon yummy!! I felt I was at a Chinese restuarant  instead of being in the middle of Wyoming.

New Years day is a magical day for us-its one of the handful days we don't have to work-woo hoo! We took the opportunity to PLAY! My dad gassed up the sled and we suited up to go up to Togwotee Pass (between Jackson Hole and Dubois) and enjoyed all the fresh snow. Nana and Papa Don had kid duty and met us at the lodge up there for lunch. It was a lot of fun- so much that we went a couple more days before we had to return to the "real world" of Laramie. 

   

Christmas 2015

Christmas in Dubois was a blast! It was wonderful being with family! We started the trip off by starting one of our favorite traditions....making tamales. Those who've never participated in the tamale making process...it is just that...A LOOONG PROCESS, but the results are beyond delicious! I really enjoy the times that I get to do it with my mom, can't wait till Eliza is old enough to help...have 3 generations of women cooking.
It was wonderful to have my Papa Don there. This was our first Christmas without our sweet Yaya, I know it was especially rough on Papa Don so Im glad he was surrounded by family to support him. I loved watching him with our kids.
Papa Don lives in Southern California, so sadly we dont get to see him as much as I would like. I grew up always spending time with him and my Yaya- we would spend a lot of our summers and  most holidays with them. I have special relationship with my Papa Don and knew I always wanted my kids to share the same joy I did growing up. So to see the kids play with him and enjoy him for the two weeks we were together was the best Christmas present ever!
Our kiddos got waaaay to spoiled. They of course LOVED every minute of it. Its so fun that Luke is now old enough where the magic of Santa and Christmas is starting to make sense for him. He was so excited that Santa brought him exactly what he wanted- a Treasure Truck. Eliza, was just shy of 18 months so she's still a little young for it, but still loved all her gifts.