Preparations for Christmas at the Olsen household

Following our family tradition of cutting our own tree-Lodgepole Pine, to be exact-we went out after work (consequently in the dark), tromped thru the snow (not much this year), and found the perfect tree. Yes, some may call it a "Charlie Brown" tree, but we have become extremely fond of these "anorexic" trees!

Elodie took on the task of hanging the ornaments at the top of the tree. She climbed right up that 10' ladder like it was a walk in the park! (Todd was close behind just in case she encountered a loose rung or something... Yes, she did climb up on her own. We did nothing to initiate.)

What are we going to do???

life is good, but many times painful

We all may like our jobs (may being the operative word!) But, sometimes we really don't want to leave our families for the day, or even for a couple minutes.

The things we tend to want in life always seem to be a bit out of reach. But, with a little ingenuity and drive (not to mention help!), we can reach them.

You can also just go run to Mom and Dad when all else fails...

Through it all, we must always remember that God gave us a sense of humor and wants us to make PLENTY of time for laughter and play.

Lastly, enjoy your rest and sleep in. It is much easier on your "Constitution."

Happy 1st birthday Elodie!

The first year of her little tiny life has gone by WAY too fast. As a new parent, when listening to other parents talking about how fast it all goes by, it is difficult to grasp the concept of "fast."

Suffering thru months of very little sleep, listening to painful cries as tiny teeth push there way out, being frustrated along with your child as they get stronger and want to be mobile, changing stinky diapers, and catching food before it makes it's way into the waiting "brother's" mouth: all of these and more tempt you to want the current stage to move on to the next.

All of a sudden, as I watched her take her very first step, I realized that this is one of the last biggest "firsts" that she will have. (yes, I know there will be plenty more, but not like this one) Todd and I did not want it to happen, believe it or not...we wanted to tell her to wait a bit and stay our tiny (as of now, she has no problem with that at 17.7 pounds and 28" tall!) little girl.

Elodie is all that we can handle and more...full throttle at all times-unless she is sleeping or strapped into her car seat or highchair. Being outside is a necessary part of EVERY day, no matter the weather (or you will pay!).

We have learned to continue our lives in the same way as we were pre-Elodie...we will just have to be patient and cherish the few times we are able to ski or ride bikes together. But in the end, it is all worthwhile.

Thank you God, for our perfect little "Sprite!"

Elodie's 1st gift. Is anyone surprised???

Elodie had so much fun playing with her friends and running circles around the house all night.

What a very happy night...

the neighborhood kids all came (and ate all the cake!)

Rachel-Thanks for the idea of making Elodie her own cake...She really "dug" it! (hahaha) The sugar kept her up and happy until 10pm! (Even then, I had to grab her and whisk her off to bed.)

family time!

Is it scary to have a resourceful child?

"pot-heads" (hahaha)

Perfect examples of Daddy's and their daughters!

visiting Aimee and Shane

Isnt Aimee sooo cute? We are very excited for Aim and Shane. We just wish they would find out what they are having. (But, you guys are still ok if you dont...hahaha. We will just keep everything in case you have a little girl!)

Aimee and Shane volunteered to watch Elodie while Todd and I got a bike ride in...what a blessing! Elodie had a ton of fun and even slept a little, too! (dont worry, Aimee-she doesnt sleep that much when we are away from home because she is worried she might miss something!)

Monkeying around

We are always finding Elodie climbing in, on, around, and under everything in the house.

I sat on the couch and laughed hysterically when she did this...

Our friend that watches Elodie had given us this piano for her. I guess we are getting good use out of it (in the most creative way possible).

visit to Wisconsin

Gramma Mamma and Elodie spent some time together-when we managed to get Elodie to sit still for a few moments!

Elodie and Gabby (cousin 6 weeks younger) are sure going to be a handful when they start scheming with each other...

Who is the older one? hahaha!

Auntie Lori holding Elodie down (actually, Elodie really enjoyed the swinging, Lori).

Elodie loved watching the monkeys. ( That is probably where she got her moves for the next blog posting.)

We went to the zoo during our visit-I cant wait for Elodie to remember these kinds of things. I tried to get all kinds of "firsts" in during this visit. A camel ride was more for me! hahaha

Grampa, Gramma Mama, and Gramma Mimi with the girls. I think we had finally gotten Elodie to nap at this point. Whew...

Back in business!

Thank you all for being so patient! I hope no one has written off my blog as finished...I have no idea what happened-I couldnt even log in. I have a bit of catching up to do, so here goes.

About 5 weeks ago Todd's sister Katie moved into her dorm room for the start of her college career. We went down to see Sue, Barry, and Katie for an enjoyable weekend.

Elodie climbed all the way up the stairs in the condo! Of course, Todd was standing behind her egging her on and I was at the top waiting. Talk about some strength and determination.

Good luck Katie!

Help me! Something is wrong with my blog and I can't do anything to it!!!

Elodie's friends 1st birthday and playing by the pump track

Elodie's friend Asher had his 1st birthday on Monday...what fun they had playing and eating cake!

OK-yes, we have pants for Elodie, but she likes to play without them! Elodie just loves to play with Freddie-he doesnt mind if she gets rough and pulls on him...he just thinks that she is petting him!

This is one of the banked turns on our pump track (for bikes). Elodie climbed up to the top all by herself!

Playing with dirt and trying to sneak rocks for a snack!

She sure loves her Daddy!

Elodie learning to walk!

our trip to Idaho

Elodie tasting our newly won medals! Can you see how dirty she is? Common thing on weekends...

Our family recovering from the trip...Elodie decided to clean house upon arriving home!

Saying good bye to our great campsite at the race.

Hanging out at the second home-dirty, but with impeccable posture!

First of many podiums that Elodie will be joining us on.

This is Pommerelle Ski Area where the race was held. Great "mom and pop" ski area that is probably the smallest ski area I have ever been in my entire life! (yes, that includes Wisconsin) But, they get about 300-600" of snow a year! I wish our ski areas got that much!

Eating meals in the truck are tricky...those peas roll all over the place which makes it very difficult to reach sometimes.

First slide ride...(boy was the slide HOT...I am really forcing the smile as I was extremely uncomfortable...hahaha)

ok ok ok...I admit that I am always late...

Elodie is a most amazing little girl! In the last month, (actually, this all happened within about a week's time) she started crawling, pulling up on everything, cruising a bit, "talking" and even got 2 teeth while gramma mama, grampa phil, and gramma mimi were here. They got to see an Elodie that even we did not know exsisted!!! ugh!

We have been camping at Keystone and SolVista (2 ski areas that we ride bikes at in the summer) every weekend, bike riding a lot, playing in the sandbox and swimming in our little pool (which we take with us every weekend, too!)

Here are some photos of Olsen Adventures!

We are now getting into everything. This time, she got distracted on the "crawl" to the tub and tried a bit of soot!

Playtime after our bath.

Playing peek a boo with grampa's cowboy hat was a lot of fun!

Just doing our thing in the camper...very convenient for carrying on life as we NOW know it! hahaha

Todd and Elodie love to play in the sandbox that he built for her.