We are still alive! I realize it's been a long time since I've blogged but here I am.

Here are ten things that we've been up to, in no apparant order...

1) We've been sick

This is Elly at the Dr. yesterday. Her ear drum ruptured on Saturday and now she has an inner and outer ear infection in one ear and an outer in the other. ~poor girly~

This is what your kids look like after you've spent the day sick in bed.

Eric has a sinus infection. I have strep and was put on two medications and then finally hydrocodone and lidacaine, I was so sick! Emma had strep, an ear infection, and croup, she was put on an antibiotic and breathing treatments. Elly had an ear infection, and then later we found out she really had an ear infection. We have had many sick days at our house and we better be on the mend!

2) Emma has now lost 4 teeth. Two in the same day!


3) My little Picasso has been hard at work, here is her BFF Maitea.

Here is her new favorite movie, I love the cat.

She did this on President's Day. That's her when she's president.

4) Went to Ashton and looked at these beauties. So pretty!

5) Bathed these five turkeys, so cute!

6)Had SNOW much fun at Grandma and Papa's house. My kids love the snow and since we don't get any, they spend lots of time outdoors when we are in Ashton.

Queen of the hill. We had fun on the fourwheeler as well and "mom of the year" didn't get any photos.

7) Went skiing! I had a great time and was super proud of myself. It had been ten+ years. I only fell once and I laughed it off. (Mindie, I know you'll be proud of me for this one)
Me and my favorite 6yr old nephew

The Lowes, minus two.

GO ZACHY LOWE. Emma was mad that she didn't get to go but I really don't think she's ready. I'm gonna go to a ski swap and we'll try next year.

8) My great Aunt Elenore passed away. She was a great woman and will be missed by many, she was like another Grandma to me. Elenore once pulled a tooth of my mom's so at her funeral it was only fit for Bradie to pull one of Emma's teeth.

9) LOVE the olympics! Go team USA

10) Started making some improvements in my master bedroom, pictures to come.

That's a little bit of what we've been up to.

Hope you are all well.

random shots from the Steele house

Elly loving her giant puppy, Nic. Notice the panties she is wearing over her jammies, she thinks she is a pretty big girl now and almost every night after she gets her jams on, she goes into Emma's room and borrows a pair. Silly girl!
A true Idahoan Princess, long janes under the dress.

At Hop 2 It for Tyler's birthday party.

A close up of my so different children.

Emma made this "snowman" if you will, while in Ashton.

She later told me that it looked more like a "snowfrog"

She did a great job no matter what it is. She was proud of herself for her creativity and that's what really matters.

Zach took her on a date over break to see the Princess and the Frog and they both loved it, Chris was bribed into taking them but said he really enjoyed it as well.

BFF bracelets and "gingerbread house and our gingerbread house"

Here we have Emma, modeling her BFF bracelet. I had these made for her and her three BFFs. Thanks Janet.

Funny name for the title? Once Emma's gingerbread house was complete, she wanted me to take pictures, of course! Later that night we were running to the store and Emma informed me that our house looked like a gingerbread hosue. Since Our house is brown stucco, it really does resemble a gingerbread house. I wouldn't suggest eating though.
This is "our" gingerbread house
the front...

closer

closer

the back. gotta love the hearts on the roof. it's a girl house.

Our candycane tree, it was hard to get a good picture of it.
I had better plans for the candycanes but this year it didn't work...maybe next year. They are kinda cute in the tree though.

My finials that I love! (I should wrap the cords onto the hooks)

a spiral tree forest

Our roof, done by yours truely.

from the road.

29

In 364 ShOrT days, my twenties will be a thing of the past. My friend and co-worker, Dionne, has been bugging me for weeks to find out my birthday, I finally told her so she then began to bug me about my age. I don't really care about my age, I'm happy and healthy and that's what matters right? Regardless, I answered with 42, she said "okay" and never asked again. Yesterday at lunch there was a big chocolate cake on the staff table that read "Happy 42nd Birthday Mrs. Steele" Now for the kicker, one of her male student had seen the cake earlier in the day and said to her "damn she looks good for 42" LOVE THAT! He came into my room later and told me Happy Birthday and asked if I was really 42, I said no, how old do ya think I am? He guessed 25.

We had a great dinner at Cafe Rio last night with some friends and then we all went to the South Hills to see the lights. It was cold, below zero, but worth it to see the excitment in my daughters' eyes, the smiles on their faces, and the "pitty" that kept coming from Elly's little mouth. The hot cocoa that we had afterwards was better than any cake ever could've been!

Thanks to all of you who wished me a happy day :-)

Viva Las Vegas and Christmas decor

My grandparents took most of the Maraotz clan to Vegas to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary and Thanksgiving. I am very thankful for having such a great family! We had a good trip, a bit hectic at times but overall good!

Getting ready for take off! (i don't know why her cheeks are so rosy!)

The plane ride there was fine but the trip home was rough, they were both so tired and therfore a little naughty. Eric and I were glad to land in Idaho Falls, all though sad we couldn't stay.
This picture is out of order but it cetainly is cute!

The view from the pool

Swimming fun for the whole family.

The Marsden gals

Me and my gals

Emma's jump from the cliff as she called it, really just a rock, but cliff sounds so much better and makes her sound brave!

Bowling babes! We bowled a total of four games while on vacation. Eric beat me once and I beat him once, it was only by one point but that's all it takes.

The ball barely made it but she had fun!

By the end of the trip, Emma was using the finger holes instead of just rolling the ball.

She had to wear dresses all but one day while on vaca. And not just plain dresses, they had to be sparkly to match her "groovy red slippers"

cute cousins who are great posers!

More cute cousins at the boling alley.

now the little cousings at the bowling alley.

FUN on Fremont Street. This is where Emma saw the dancing girls and was very curious about them dancing on tables and wondering if they were wearing swimsuits. YES they were!

Emma and Grandma before the Lion King at the Mandalay Bay. The highlight of the trip for her was the show, she now roars and calls herself Nala. Yesterday at Preschool she drew a lion, an elephant and a giraffe and I have to say she is quite the artist.

AND NOW ONTO CHRISTMAS DECOR at our house!

Some of my favorites...

I love this wreath and decided this year to put it on an easel instead of on the wall.

I love snowmen so when I saw this at Mom's, I had to have it.

This is a big ball that hangs about eight feet down from the ceiling fan in our family room, we call it the kissing ball so whenever someone is under it, they get kissed.

cut lil guy in the kitchen window

The traditional Christmas wreath...that really needs a bow. It's a good thing my mom doesn't look at my blog :-) I love COSTCO for many reasons but this time of year, it's cuz of their great-smelling good'ol traditional Christmas wreaths.

The best for last..............my NEW 9ft tree! I LOVE it so much. Finally a tree in my house that looks good. When ya have 17 ft ceilings a regular tree just doesn't do the trick. I really need to get out the ladder and put some decorations at the top of the tree!

~HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL~