Boogie Baby!

We got a new toy for Ellie this week thanks to our wonderful friends Kim and Dylan. A bouncy chair, Ellen loves it! We have been enjoying nonstop entertainment and giggles. There is something about how those little legs move and grove with pure joy.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnG8dvNn9sY[/youtube]

An Excellent Weekend

Grandma and Grandpa McKenney came up for a visit on Friday. Gary and my Dad had a good time breaking in the snowmobile. Gary dug it out in the front yard a few times and my Dad tested the speed out on the road. Mom and I had a good time catching up and playing with Ellie. It was good to see the folks. They came with special treats from Germany from their recent trip to see my sister. And they also are bailing us out this winter by letting us borrow Dad’s high powered snow blower. Whew, life will be much easier now that we can clear our driveway ourselves. Thanks Mom and Dad!

A New Toy

This week started out with me saying,” Gar, lets stop by World Market today and check out the sofas on sale.” (I have one in particular I like check it out.) By Thursday we found ourselves the new owners of a snowmobile. Wait! What just happened here? Oh ya, I said something like when in Rome do as the Romans do. That’s right somehow the conversation about a new sofa lead to a conversation about a snowmobile. We’ve been fighting the whole snowmobile scene up here in Timberlakes since we moved in, they are stinky, loud, and sometimes down right annoying (especially when you hear that crazy mosquito like noise at 2 am). Alas, it is a fight we cannot win so we are joining the slednecks instead. What’s that saying? if you can’t beat them join them. Gary says it’s like living on a beach with a perfect set of waves and not having a surfboard. We can keep justifying this decision until we are blue in the face. I’ll get my sofa someday, sigh…

Yes, those are my pajamas. Pink is hot!

Chip and Adah think we are ridiculous.

Alta at Last

We packed up the supplies and spent the weekend in Alta. Ellie got the first taste of how our weekends are going to be spent for the next few months. I think she enjoyed it. She adjusted to the lodge life pretty well even was able to take a nap amongst all the click and clangs of ski boots clambering across the floor and energetic voices of happy skiers. It was good, there was still plenty of soft snow to carve up. Saturday was a little troubling when we pulled into the Goldminer’s Daughter parking lot only to find there was no parking spot what so ever, but we persevered and Gary found a place to stash the Toyota. The crowd cleared out after lunch anyway. Gary and I skied in shifts scheduled around when Ellie would be hungry. It worked out well. We skied with our good friends Johnny B and Jesse. On Sunday we got the pleasure of skiing with Watson and the company of his lovely girl Lisa in the lodge. I definitely did not have my legs. I could only do about two runs and then my body would be crying out. So it was good we had shifts so I could have time to recover. I’m looking forward to the day Gary and I can ski together again I did miss having my partner there skiing with me, but Johnny, Jesse, and Watson took good care of me. Yep, me and the boys or me solo typical of my Alta always never enough chicks around what’s up with that (Ahem, Jodi, JJ, Julie, any of you ladies out there listening). Only in Alta could I sit for a seven minute ride and appreciate the beauty of untracked snow covering the “Backside” with two dudes or have a heart to heart about life with a dear friend on the Collins lift. It is definitely a commitment to drive about an hour over the Wasatch for Alta. Some of you may ask why not stay on the backside of the Wasatch and ski Park City or the Canyons? I can’t really explain our ridiculous devotion to Alta. It’s more than just the awesome ski terrain and snow accumulation. It’s where we met, where it all began, where we found ourselves, sowed some wild oats, where our friends are, and where we were married. There is so much emotion for me in that Little Cottonwood Canyon it’s a small piece of “heaven on earth”. I don’t go there just to ski I go there for therapy as well. It comes in the form of visiting with friends, listening to the silence in a snow storm, challenging my self through exercise and movement, or hearing the mountains ring. Hopefully we can pass this on to Ellie and she will understand and get it like we do.

We’re Home

We made it home Monday evening after an extremely long day driving through Colorado and Utah. I can’t say the trek back home was any easier on us. It was smooth sailing until we met up with the “Monster Storm” in Colorado. I-70 was closed so we took a detour onto highway 40 through Steamboat Springs and Vernal. It was beautiful country but the stress of the snowy conditions on the road trumped all that and the fact that we just wanted to get home. Ellen did well she didn’t seem to fuss as much, perhaps she understood more the woes of road trips and that sometimes you just have to deal no matter how bad your back aches from sitting so long. She is such a good baby. I learned that she loves it when you blow on her feet I got many frowns to turn into smiles with that trick. I also went to town on my little knitting project there will soon be a scarf to show off. Chip and Adah once again got the luxury of riding up front in the warm cab for the last 150 miles. Once the sun goes down the bed of the truck turned into an ice box we didn’t want to torture the dogs too much so we all crammed into the cab. Chip did look at me with grateful eyes. Adah was over it 50 miles before she even got in the cab and she panted a nice rhythm for us all the way home. Gary was a trooper as well, he focused on getting us there safe and sound. He drove like a champ the entire time only to have come home and face a waist high pile of snow in the driveway ugh, but he persevered and dug out just enough room for the truck at the end of the drive until we could get a plow in the next day. Good thing he’s got a strong back. I miss the Marcoccia’s terribly. I think I cried all the way to Pennsylvania when we left. It is good to be back in our little world though I missed our little cabin. Gary and I are both chomping at the bit to go ski. Oh the snow! There is sooo much Yahoo!

Here is a little clip of Ellie from Junction City, KS, telling us how she feels about sitting in a car for 12 hours…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMw9X53a06U[/youtube]

A Special Day for a Special Girl

Today is our niece Bailey’s 9th Birthday! Bailey is a very special girl she has a very kind heart and radiates love. She is a very talented girl who loves to be creative and fun. She is also very smart and likes to read, I hear she even has written some of her own stories. Bailey is also a very beautiful girl and has a smile that lights up the whole room. To learn more about Bailey and what a great kid she is go here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY

WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU

DANETTE, GARY, and ELLIE

Marcoccia’s on Ice

This isn’t Ice Capades by any means but I thought it might entertain you all a bit. I definitely had a wobble in my skates, but it sure was fun.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wxV9et7N1c[/youtube]

Celebrating a New Year

We had a good time last night ringing in the New Year. I decided to bring in the new year with some change yep, I let Linda and Sarah go to town on a new hair do. We saved my braid and I’m planning on sending it off to Locks of Love. Ellie brought in the new year by showing us she can rollover without any assistance. Gary was playing with her on the bed and she rolled for him three times and then one more time for mommy. Needless to say we were very excited for her.

So long to 2007 it was an excellent year with the birth of Ellie, visits from family, reunions with friends, and many accomplishments. We are looking forward to what ’08 is going to bring. I’m sure Ellie will enlighten us many times over through out the year. My goals for this year are to loose the rest of the baby weight, visit the Frandsen’s, and unleash some creativity. There are many other things I would like to work on but I don’t want to make the list too long and overwhelming. Ellie’s goals are to take her first steps and say her first word. We have full confidence she will get it done. Gary has to think more about his…