Mandy & Tiffany's Amazing Day!

These pics are a little old, but I've been wanting to share them for awhile, so here goes. There's really nothing like a fresh spring powder dump. Tiffany & I managed to both get a kitchen pass one morning & made a run for it. The snow was 2 days old, so we didn't think there would be much powder left to enjoy- we were so glad to be wrong. Blair came also, & I was worried I would feel like a third wheel, but Blair made sure it was all about the ladies day!! He followed us around taking our pictures. It was so awesome! We know we still look like girls in these pictures, but at the time we felt like superstars. We kept saying "Oh, I looked good in that one, didn't I???" Also, I should mention that this was (I think??) my first time making tracks down No Name. After we hiked to the top, it was pretty foggy & I was freaking out, but once we dropped in the sun came out & the snow was amazing!!! Tiffany has been through hell & back in the last year & I'm so glad she got to have this day. The Gardners are amazing people & we are so lucky to have them as neighbors!



P.S.- Just a quick shout-out to Blair's new hobby: If anyone out there wants him to follow you around for a day skiing, Mt. Biking, Snowmobiling, whatever- he takes amazing pictures and the fees are reasonable. And really, who doesn't love a good ego shot of themselves now and again????

Mexico-a-go-go

Once upon a time there was a happy couple. They enjoyed their lives & did lots of fun things together. Then they had four kids. While they still enjoyed their lives, they one day realized it had been TEN years since they went on a real, romantic vacation- just the two of them. (no kids) Since their ten year wedding anniversary was right around the corner, they decided to go for it.
The moral of the story: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!
Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of our big, "romantic" getaway.
I'll start with the bad:
1. We arrived at our hotel to find out that since it was the busiest weekend of the year, they were short on rooms and they had taken the liberty of pairing us in a "junior suite" with Seth's brother. (Romantic, huh?) That went over for exactly one night before Seth stormed back to the front desk, demanding that they find us our own room. They did- but sorting out the fiasco wasted about one day of our trip.
2. Day two- we got our own room. Yeah! However, Seth decided to come down with a monster case of the flu. He spent one night, one day, and another night shivering under his covers, begging for more blankets. (It was roughly eighty degrees). So, I spent that day hanging with my in-laws by the pool.
3. During said pool-time, I fell asleep with my sunglasses on & got the most ridiculous sunburn on my face.
4. Seth emerged from his coma feeling terrible. He spent the next three days terribly congested & sweating like a crazy person.
5. Seth's brother came down with the same flu the day before we were leaving.
6. We payed an insane amount of money for a tour of Chichen-Itza that turned out to be a "sell-me-some-souveniers" tour, led by two majorly annoying tour guides. The bus ride to get there took nearly FOUR hours. I was so carsick when we arrived I could barely stand walking around the place.
7. While walking around, however, I came down with an emergency case of the "Mexico Sickness". We were in the middle of nowhere & there wasn't a bathroom in sight. Let me just leave it at that.
8. We arrived back home to find out that all four of our kids had come down with the same flu Seth had while we were away. They were terribly ill & had also caused their Grammy & cousin to get sick.
9. We missed the BIGGEST snowstorm of the year, which dumped a reported FOUR feet of snow on Snowbasin (Seth's mothership). That was the most depressing news we could possibly come home to (other than four kids with raging fevers, I suppose).

Allright- enough of the pity party. Here are a few GOOD things about our trip. My goal is to come up with more good things than bad.
1. Our hotel was BEAUTIFUL. Neither of us had ever been to the carribean side of Mexico & I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.
2. The weather was perfect. I could live there year-round. 80 degrees, sunny & a perfect amount of humidity for my dry, Utah-winter skin.
3. Because of the room mixup fiasco, the hotel gave us all free massages, a $100 credit to the gift shop & upgraded wristbands that included free meals at a lot of really nice restaurants.
4. We went cave snorkeling- very fun!
5. I am glad I saw Chichen-Itza, although I probably will never go back. There are a lot of other cool ruins that are much closer to the hotels.
6. I ate lots of really good food- and it didn't cost a penny. I love all-inclusive hotels!!!! We also ate at a great little place in Playa-del-Carmen that had amazing authentic Mayan food.
7. The beach and the water in southern Mexico are amazing. I would actually love to take the kids there someday.
8. My horrible sun-burn never peeled :)
9. I did eventually find a bathroom out there in the middle of Chichen-Itza, but sufficeth to say, I will never be welcome to use that restroom again.
10. I have a few great photos to look back on. Someday, it will all be a big laugh!

I did it!

Ski Days

Oh Snow......where have you gone????? It's been three long, sad weeks I've been off my skis. (This is Mandy BTW- we all know Seth would never spend such an unholy amount of time away from his.....)
Here at the Wallace house we've been suffering from injuries, sick kids, and a plague of snowless days- so there really hasn't been any decent skiing for weeks. sigh.... But here are a few good memories from back in those days before the season went bust.
Seth got me this new coat for Christmas. It's so warm. I'm talking Everest warm. Perfect for freezing little me.

Lesli- the lucky little minx, got some new fatties for Christmas. If only our feet were even close to the same size.......
While our family was in town for Christmas, we took all the kids up for a day. They were a blast. Jeremy & Chris's kids had never been on skis before & they all did amazing.



Well- all is not lost. As I type it is FINALLY snowing again! After a weekend of the most depressing Mountain RAIN you could imagine. Let's pray its enough for some Monday morning powder shots. Here's to all who can join me on the Mountain tomorrow!

Out with the old......In with the new!

Happy New Year!!!!! Oh crap, I am so behind! Well, to say the least, it was a busy holiday season & I'm just barely getting caught up. We only put our tree away a little over a week ago, so now you know how bad it is! Anyway- here are a few peeks at our Christmas. We had lots of family in town & tons of fresh snow, so I'd say it was about as great as Christmas gets! We hope you all had a great season & are slightly more "with it" than myself.



Seth's brother left his Wii at our house for a few days. This is what it looked like 24 hours a day for those 4 days. Thank goodness that thing is gone. The kids loved it, but I don't think anyone changed out of their pajamas for like a week!

These are some pictures from Christmas Village in Ogden. Its a family tradition for us. We went with some of our neighbors & had a great time. It is the only "Seth-approved" light show in town. He has moral issues against other "imposters"- namely, the lights in Layton which he complains have nothing to do with Christmas at all. For those who haven't seen them, they have lots of zoo animals, dinosaurs, things like that. I get what he's saying, but I don't see what the big deal is. The kids love them & that's what matters, right?

I love Christmas Pajamas! So sweet!

Noodle got a new ski helmet for Christmas & he wore it around the house for several hours. He has always had a thing for helmets. He looked so cute.



The new slide belongs to Smurf, although all the kids enjoy it equally. It took him awhile to be able to go down without bonking his head.

The Year In Review (a.k.a.-The Brag Letter)

Greetings to Family & Friends! We're trying something new this year. We've always been morally opposed to the "brag letters" we get from people at Christmastime. I mean, I love hearing about what family & friends have been up to, but its the "Oh, our daughter is such a little princess!" and "Little Tommy just loves playing with trucks & getting dirty!"- that really drives me nuts. So, just a little news flash to all who write these puppies- ALL two-year old girls are princesses, and pretty much ALL little boys love trucks & dirt! This is not unique information! Also- I don't care how smart your kids are or how much they excel at soccer or the piano. Sorry about the rant.
Anywho- long story short- we got a fantastic letter from Seth's cousin Clint Wallace last year that completely restored our faith in the brag lettter, so we're giving it a try- with our own little spin! If you want to know what's new with the Wallaces, you'll have to check our blog. Since your here, you obviously took us up on it, so thanks ( & congrats) in advance.
Here's an overview of 2008 in the life of Seth, Mandy & kids!
We're starting the year off with skiing photos. (After all, we are the skiing Wallaces!)

Noodle just learning- he was just 2 years old & dying to wear his big brothers helmet.

Here we are on a family trip to Goblin Valley in April (the kids had Spring Break). We went with a bunch of friends from our ward & had a great time!


This was an awesome slot canyon hike we took the kids on called Little Wild Horse. This is our neighbor Scott carrying Noodle.

In May, Mandy ran a 1/2 Marathon! The first & sadly probably the last. My back just won't let me run! I loved every minute of it though & am so glad I did it. My best girl Brooke held my hand every step of the way!
My sista's ran, too. They are awesome & by the way, Lisa runs like the wind, that little turd. I guess that's what six kids in 4 years will do to you!
Also in May, Seth & I took a backpacking trip to Escalante for our anniversary. We didn't have any money to go someplace cool, but we wanted to get away, so we decided to try backpacking. We had so much fun, and seriously- backpacking is an unusually rewarding & surprisingly romantic getaway. I recommend to all couples & the whole trip only cost us $150. By the way- this was the day after my 1/2 Marathon and if I do say so myself, I hiked like a champion!


Smurfy's First Birthday! My baby is getting so big! Time for another- or not. Seth swears I'm not getting any more of his boys. (the swimmers, that is.)
This summer, we had two sets of house guests. Seth's step-mom & her kids came to stay for a week or so, followed by his brother Jeremy's family for a few weeks in August. We had a great time, and while being a hostess can be difficult, I have to admit, I love having a full house!


These are photos from the Harward family's annual Bear Lake trip in August. A great time as usual with all the usual Harward family madness. 17 adults and 19 children in one house. YIPEEE!!!

My mom playing catch on the beach with Noodle. Priceless.....



Kenni's first day of school. Isn't she sassy? (as my mother would say!)
Sparky's first day of Kindergarten. Oh, my little boy is growing up! (BTW, Kindergarten starts a week after the rest of school- in case you were wondering why Kenni is wearing a different outfit).
We snuck a quick trip to Lake Powell in September with Seth's mom & Uncle & his family. How could summer be complete without LP?????
Lesli & Jodi on the tube. Truly one of the highlights of my year. If only I knew how to get video off my camera & onto the computer, you could see the real thing. It was hysterical.


Seth rode in the Logan to Jackson bike race again this year. For those of you who speak rode bike, that's LOTOJA. He did such a great job & rode all 207 miles without complaint. His mom was a fantastic pit crew as usual.

One really fun surprise was Seth's Dad, who came all the way from Japan to see his son race. He showed up just as Seth got to the top of the King of the Mountain climb. It was so fun for him to see Bob cheering on the side of the road. What a great surprise! I think Bob also got the biking bug from watching this event. He swears he's going to do it next year. That would be so much fun. Well Bob, now you're stuck. You have to do it now!!!
Seth's fantastic Biking Buddies. A.K.A.- The Mountain Green crew.




Well, since we started the year with skiing, I figured we should end it with skiing as well. We just got our first real dump of the year, which means......time to get up on that mountain!!! We hope you have a fantastic holiday season & we'll see you on the slopes!!!!!
Love,
The Skiing Wallaces!
(p.s.- the video clip is lame, I know. It was the only thing I could find on my computer that was ski-related.......)