Cold Running

January 12th~

Even though running with the Sloths means I rarely get to sleep in on Saturday mornings, it is worth it.  I love my running group.  However, after this winter, I have decided we cave in to a little too much peer pressure and are not always the brightest when it comes to the run!  The week before this run it was a whooping 7 degrees outside.  The first thing I did when I woke up was checked my email to see if anyone had decided to cancel the run due to weather.  There was no such luck.  However, it turned out I was not the only one that morning to question our sanity.  We all were, but no one had the guts to suggest skipping the run and heading straight to the best part of our Saturdays, breakfast!  So we all headed out, and while it was cold, it was bearable. 
Then came the next Saturday.  Only Jill, Keziah, and I were able to make the run and we decided to meet at Bardenay in Eagle.  We hit another record low of 4 degrees.  This, however, was not the bad part.  What was terrible about this run was the 3 inches of snow covering the greenbelt.  Needless to say it was very slow going, but a gorgeous run.  I really wish I had my camera with me to take pictures of all the snow along the river.  The only good thing about the snow was it kept my mind off the cold.  Keziah stopped at 2 miles and I was certain that she was going to have us turn around (I never would have started!) but she suggested another 2 miles out to make it an 8 mile run.  I could not believe she still wanted to go farther, even if it was shorter distance than the original plan!
We survived and earned ourselves a much deserved breakfast with HOT coffee.  Before we warmed up, though, we had to take pictures with our phones to show just how crazy we are!

                                                                                Jill

                                                        This pictures explains it all!

Montana

January 18th-23rd~

Molly and I had been hoping to get back to Montana sometime this winter, and when we found out my cousin was getting married on the 19th, figured it was the perfect time to go.  Unfortunately, Chris was unable to get time off of work, so Molly and I decided to fly there.  Molly did great on the plane ride there and back.  We were lucky and got seated next to people who liked kids, because Molly did enjoy handing her books over to the strangers, and everything she could pull out of the front seat pocket in front of her!

Saturday, before the wedding, Molly and I headed into Billings to meet up with my college roommate and meet her little man, who was born right around the time Chris and I found out we were pregnant.  Randon was quite a good little sharer and kept bringing all of his toys to Molly for her to play with.  While the kids were playing, Brooke and I were able to catch up.  It had been way too long since we last talked, but it seemed like no time had passed between us. 

After Brooke's it was home for a quick nap and then wedding time!  The wedding was a blast and Molly finally decided to show Nana and Papa a few of her walking skills on the dance floor!  She was actually so enthralled with all the other kids dancing, she just walked right across the dance floor without thinking twice about it...which amazed even me.

Sunday we had to take Chester, Papa's mini pony, out for a spin.  Molly usually loves it when we sit her on Drake to "ride" so I thought she would love the pony, but she was not too sure what to think about him.

  

Then it was time to check out the girls' playhouse and swing set....

 

 

This is the wagon Papa and Lloyd are building for the bigger horses to pull...

 

 

 We also had Molly's cousin, Kaleigh over for playdate before we left....

 

 Molly loved spending time at Nana and Papa's, especially since everything was just her size!

Overall the trip was a blast.  My parents got a lot of time with Molly and I was able to just sit back, relax, read my book, and work on Molly's 1 year album.

Playdate with Kingston

January 6th~

Molly had Kingston over for a long overdue play date.  Anna and I discovered the difficulty of planning a get together when both kids have opposite nap schedules but we made it work.  The kids still really don't interact too much, but Anna and I had a good time catching up. 

New Year, New Job

January 7th~
Chris finally got the promotion at work that he has been waiting for since he finished his masters!  There has actually been quite a bit of movement in Fish and Game lately, but Chris was going up against already permanent employees, so when December began and nothing had still turned in our favor, we started to plan for his layoff again. Then right before Christmas, head quarters called and said they wanted to offer Chris a job that would start January 6th!  Neither of us could believe it finally happened!  Chris is just such an amazing person and dedicated worker, I am so happy that he is finally where he wants to be with a permanent job!

Glass blowing

January 3rd~
This summer I bought Chris a living social deal for a 2 hour glass blowing class for 2.  Ever since our honeymoon, Chris has loved watching any demonstartion we come across and parusing the displays.  However, glass work is a little bit out of our price range.  Plus, Chris is a very artistic and hands on type of guy, so I knew he would love the class.  Though, with his birthday being in July, he wanted to wait until it was colder outside so we did not melt!
Zion, the guy who taught us, was down to earth and an over all great teacher.  After a quick demonstartion, Chris went first and made a glass bowl.  He tried a few times to get the top to wave out, but Zion told us sometimes if it is too symetrical the glass will not fan and it is normally harder to do a symmetrical piece than a flarid piece!  Leave it up to my hubby to do the difficult piece!

 

 

  

 

 

It was my turn next and I decided to make a vase.  The glass was a lot more forgiving then I had expected, and even with me not being artsy, I think I did a pretty good job!

It was such a great time and it was nice to have something for Chris and I to do together...though now I think I made have a monster, because Chris is already planning when he will get to go back and make something else!

 

And the finish products!!!

 

 

New Year's Eve and Cascade

December 29-31st~

We all headed up to Cascade the weekend after Christmas, and had a blast playing in the snow.  Before our family made it up, the nieces had already carved out the sledding slope and made a snow fort.

 

 

Saturday morning, Chris headed ice fishing with so so luck, while I stayed behind in the warm cabin.  However, when he got home, I got myself all bundled up for some sledding!

Once Molly woke from her nap, I got her setup in her fancy snowsuit and we pulled her around the yard.  She absolutely loved her sled and laughed the whole time.  She also tried to clap, a feet that proved difficult, since kept slipping sideways and could not quite get her hands together with her snowsuit being so puffy

 

 

I also took her down the bigger hill with me.  She did not cry, but none the less, I am pretty convinced she did not like it.

We also had to get in some games while at the cabin.  It is becoming quite fun to have the nieces to play with us.  I was so excited to show them how to play a junior game I owned that was made for 8 year olds.....just not these 8 year olds!  They had the game mastered within minutes!

 

 

And of course yummy baking....  This was Nana's Christmas present from us.  Molly also has a small apron, but she still has growing to do before she fits in it. 

 

And of course a big bonfire is a must!

 

I had to work on New Year's Eve, so we headed back home Sunday afternoon.  We then had a low key get together with Pat and Charity that night at our house.  It was great to get to catch up with them and surprisingly Chris and I both made it til midnight!!

2012 had been a great year for the Sullivans and I am very excited to see what 2013 has in store.  I really don't do resolutions but this year my goal is to enjoy every moment I have with my family and to try to stop stressing out about all the small things in life. 

Fun Times

December 14-24th~

While Nana and Papa where around this Christmas, Molly got in plenty of playtime.

I love all of Molly's facial expressions! (Auntie Lynnea also got her the Santa hat)

 

 

She is already into arts and crafts!

 

 While downstairs at Auntie Kristin's house we heard Molly just laughing and laughing.  Soon after Papa said we had to come see what fun the girls were having!