It's Bath Time

Mark REALLY likes bath time. Watch the video. Enough said.

Holidays in a Nutshell

Nope. I didn't keep up on blogging over the holidays. Here's a rundown of what we did during the past two months:

For Thanksgiving we went out to see my family in Colorado. Mark and I flew out early so Bryce could finish studying for an exam the day before Thanksgiving. He flew out Wednesday night to be with us for the rest of the weekend.


While we were there, Mark discovered bubbles. He got some more for Christmas and loves them.

On our way to pick up Joy from the airport, we stopped and had dinner with Michelle and her three kids. Wish we could have stayed longer--but it was still fun to see her. We also got to see the Barretts briefly on Thanksgiving morning and the Hills the day after. They're a mix of BYU and hometown friends.

Susan came up from Albuquerque the day after Thanksgiving to see us. Mark wasn't so sure about his new cousin, Kate. He looks like a giant compared to her (she's only 2.5 months in this picture and Mark is 9).

The first weekend of December we got a small snowstorm. Mark truthfully wasn't so sure about it, but we caught a quick smile. Hopefully next year he'll be more into it.

Two weeks later (Dec 18-19) a Nor'easter hit. This was Bryce's car after the snow finally ended. We got around 20" of snow and I loved it. Thankfully the roads were cleared by Monday so we could head down to North Carolina for Christmas.

The day after we got to N.C., we left Mark overnight (first time!) and went to Great Wolf Lodge with Ashley and Greg. Technically, it's a family vacation spot, but we had a blast spending two days in the indoor waterpark for our anniversary. We were happy to share a room/slip the cost with Ashley and Greg too. And I've successfully converted another person to the joys of On the Border queso. It's a good thing that restaurant isn't convenient to where we live or I'd be there every week.

The day after we got back was Christmas Eve, which we spent with Kim and her kids. Here's Mark checking out Maddie. Another cousin to play with in a year or so. Colin (Kim's two year-old), on the other hand, was not so thrilled with Mark's ability to crawl. Let's say he 'panicked' when Mark went for his toys. We're optimistic that once Mark gets a little older, they'll get along better.

Christmas Day we headed down the street from Grandma and Grandpa's house to Mark and Ladonna's so we could watch their kids open presents with our Mark. Of course, Mark loved the wrapping paper.


These rings might just top the list of favorite toys, although he really likes them all. The first thing he does in the morning is find this ring set and pull them all off. Then on and off for the rest of the day he carts around the green ring and screams/cries when we take it away. He is so attached that he even walks with his little car using one hand to hold on/steer and the other remains clutching the green ring. It's pretty amusing.

Mark loved his gifts until our niece, Lonna, unwrapped her Hannah Montana gift. As you can see, he went to great lengths to try to get to it.

Aunt Ashley was kind enough to give haircuts so Mark no longer has what Bryce referred to as his 'pseudo-mullet'. He's growing up so fast and looks more and more like a little boy each day.

Mark and Ladonna host New Year's Eve party every year and they were kind enough to save us from the over 50 party at Bryce's parents' house. One of the games they had lined up involved a community scavenger hunt. We had 30 minutes to take pictures of us with a variety of things in the surrounding neighborhood. It was a little crazy, especially with a cop following us for a bit and my shoe getting run over by a tire when I jumped out of the car too early, but we tied for first (and then lost because we didn't know the names of Michael Jackson's children). Yes, we are licking a mailbox.

We loved having the chance to relax and spend time with family and friends over the holidays. As always, we would have loved to stay and postpone reality a little longer.

Free Samples and Other Cool Stuff

As many of you know, I belong to a web-based word-of-mouthing marketing company- BzzAgent. Right now I'm involved in two promotions, Aveeno Nourish+ Hair Collection for their new line of shampoo and conditioners, and Glade Sense and Spray air fresheners. I just got an email saying Aveeno is offering free samples and a coupon by going to their website, so if you'd like to try it, here's your chance. I've been using the shampoo and conditioner for about a month now and like it.

We also have the new Glade Sense and Spray air freshener device that I'm sure you've seen advertised on TV. I'm not loving it for apartments (it goes off too often), but it would be nice in a home where traffic is lighter in some rooms.

Finally, my most exciting find. Groupon.com goes around to local businesses and gets a deal with them to offer some service or purchase for 50-90% off what they normally charge. The catch is a certain number of people (it varies by promotion) have to purchase it for the deal to be valid. I get emails for Baltimore and of those I've checked, all have reached their quota. So far they are up and running in 35 major cities and expanding to others. There may not be one close to you yet, but if you are near one, it's worth getting the emails at least and seeing what you find. I haven't purchased any yet, but my favorite so far was 20 fitness classes at a local gym for $17 (normally $200). It's definitely worth a look.