Coolest Stuff we did in 2010

"Looking back" posts sure do remind me of just how many good times we've had in 12 short months and how very blessed I am to be a part of such an adventurous and fun-loving family. Here's the Mommy-chosen highlights of 2010

Sam and Ben totally rockin' the ski slopes.

Celebrating Sasha's first Gotcha Day

Ski days with the hubby (we can never get enough days on the slopes together!)

Jamie's slightly tardy 30th birthday party - our 60's Cocktail Party

Steve gets his level 2 PSIA certification and Sundance Instructor of the Year

Steve tries out snowkiting

The bestest friends in the whole wide world kidnap me for a surprise birthday trip to Portland wine country!

We install a temporary backyard trampoline (tres chic)

The boys get sweet camping gear

We conquer Goblin Valley

And we also subdue Arches National Park

We announce our intentions to adopt again - our paper pregnancy!

Silversmithing class at Sundance

Entering the house via second story windows while our floors were being refinished

Redoing the guest bedroom

Ben tries out a buzz cut

A Karaganda reunion in Disney World!

Olde time photos in Orlando

An Iron Man water battle for Ben's 7th birthday

Tons of awesome local hikes

Sam's baptism!

Ben at a summer arials camp in Park City

Sasha's marathon potty training adventure finally complete

More hikin' and campin'

Ben finds a game that keeps up with his copious stores of energy

Yep, more campin' and hikin'

Ben graduates from mere bike riding to Mommy-terrifying tricks

Family portraits!  (this would not be in any other family member's list of top 2010 events)

Our China dossier is complete!

Growing our own monarch butterflies

Hiking, biking, and camping in Zion

Sam and Daddy summit Angel's Landing in Zion

Sasha starts (and loves) preschool

Our first pictures of WanYing!  We review WanYing's paperwork and officially petition to adopt her.

Ben dreams up the most embarrassing Morningstar costume ever

Sam totally rocks his new skis and starts carvin' like a mad fool

China officially invites us to adopt WanYing

Disney World with the whole family

Sasha gets bibbity-bobbity-beautiful and spends a week in princess heaven

Christmas on the slopes

Wow... 2010 was quite a year!  Can't wait for 2011's adventures.

Poor, Poor Buddy

Buddy (that's my dad's "grandfather" name) certainly gets plenty of "affection" when he comes out for a visit. Between the kid massages and leg weights, it's a wonder he always leaves Utah in one piece. I'm still not quite sure how three kids, all overcome with the hilarity of their antics, manage to stay fixed on Buddy's two legs, but somehow they do!

The new game this trip was giving Buddy "deep tissue" massages.  It started with (what else?) toilet paper draped over the sore area and ended with leaping and pouncing.  It all looks so relaxing... good thing Buddy is in good shape and is such a great sport!

The "tissue" part of the deep tissue massage

Ben has a unique style when it comes to the massage part...

...but no grandfathers were (permanently) harmed in the making of this blog post.

Lego + Space Shuttle = Two Days Worth of Building

by Sam

I got a Lego Space Shuttle for Christmas.  I liked opening it.  I was so surprised when there was a Bible inside and a note that said other gifts would give me scriptures that had clues in them.  It was fun finding it!

One of the scriptures were, "He who enters his house must first wash his clothing" - washing machine!  It was tough finding the pieces.

[Editor's note:  in case that was unclear, we tortured Sam with a treasure hunt where the clues were scripture references that led to portions of his Lego Space Shuttle kit, such as Genesis 44:12 leading to Ben's backpack.  I thought it was creative... Sam thought it was needlessly painful.  In my defense, he's the one who asked for a "hard" treasure hunt this year.]

Hence the fact that it's Lego and a Space Shuttle and two days worth of building, you can guess I had a lot of fun with this. The space shuttle has got a shuttle arm, landing gear, a pilot seat, booster rockets, and an external fuel tank, plus a launch pad. I think it's pretty cool, I like it.

It had 1,204 individual Lego pieces. With that kind of stuff, you can imagine what I could make if I took it apart and built it with my imagination. But I want to keep this together for a couple of years, it was tough.

It was for 16+ ages. I did it on my own.

That's all folks!

How I Spent My Christmas

This year we decided to try something different - we opened gifts on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day we hit the slopes!

Grammy, Buddy, and Sam pose above the clouds

Mommy kicks up a heel

Sam is totally rockin' it on his new skis!

And after skiing we came home to Christmas pot roast.  The kids were really into it.

Sam just loved the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Dried Corn

At least Sasha ate enthusiastically!

Perhaps it is possible to watch A Christmas Story too many times...

But she did a heck of a job showing us how the little piggies eat!

And after dinner, our traditional reenactment of the real Christmas Story.  Once again, Sasha is foiled in her attempts to crawl into the stable with Baby Jesus.

Sasha embraces her role as the triumphant messenger angel

And the shepherds are so terrified that they are simply a blur to the camera.

 Only one Mary Head and two Donkey Legs were harmed in the (re)making of this holiest of nights.