Friday Nights

I think Brian now officially is involved with every type of cycling there is. The latest venture has been BMX racing on Friday nights. It is so completely different from the long endurance races he does. There's only one lap per heat and its an all out sprint. Last week their little crew had enough to make up their own class. It was very amusing! I have to snicker a little because as all 6 of them walked by a group of 10-12 year olds sitting on the bleachers the kids said, "Hey look, there goes the old man class." Haha. There are actually groups older then them but it was kind of funny. Who would have thought 25-31 was 'old?'

This is the series they've been doing, Rad Canyon BMX. It's usually out in South Jordan inside a horse arena.

And there they are ready to go. Brian, K-day, Blaney, Spencer and a few other friends.

Little miss Liza was so mad that she couldn't go ride the bikes. There are classes that I swear the kids can't be more then 3 or 4 years old. Watching them try to go up and over jumps four times there size on those little bikes is so cute.

Finley and her buddies watching intently.

Brian has been wanting to win one of those really cool four foot tall trophies from one of these races but I guess this will have to do for now. The girls think its pretty dang cool.

New Year's

Over New Year's weekend we ventured up to Bondurant where there is actually snow and it looks like winter. It was a nice weekend of just hanging out in the barn, eating food, letting the kids play outside, the big kids went skiing, and stomping the driveway with snowshoes so that we could get out. Yes you read that last part right, between the howling winds, snow and no plow we did it the old fashion way - snowshoes and shovels. I wish I had gotten pictures, it was quite a sight plus you have to understand that it is not just a 20 foot long drive way.

Brian went skiing at Teton Village Resort for the first time ever. Despite the chilling winds and delayed opening of lifts he loved it! Its amazing that they got a foot of snow while we were there and Utah hasn't gotten anything. They even saw a legendary skier in the tram line, if you ever seen the documentary of Swift Silent and Deep you'd understand. What's better after a long day of skiing then curling up next to a fire?

This is what it looked like most of the time there. I love having a roaring fire and just enjoying being with family.

I didn't get many pictures but this is how the girls spent half their time. Bundled up and walking through the snow.

I'm pretty sure that Finley would have played outside all day everyday if I would have let her.

This was a first, they slept in the same bed in their own room. The first and last night's were a little rough but I think it prepared them for the next phase around our house, sharing a room. That post to come later.

Over all it was a great weekend and as always one of our favorite places to go!

Ski Days

Oh man am I behind on blogging. Between holidays, and work it's been a busy few weeks. Finley has started official ski lessons this year and loves it! Honestly its not fair that she skis, has snacks, skis, has lunch, skis some more and then has ice cream at the end of the day while all the while I'm working. It's actually quite convenient that she has lessons at my work. The week before Christmas she and Brian had a daddy daughter ski day. After a few laps on Chickadee she was ready for a run down Chips and Who Dunnit. Despite the rain at the top of the run she was a tough cookie and made it all the way down with another run on Chickadee before they came and picked me up from work.

Yes, she had a personalized day pass. That's how we roll.

Geared up and ready to go.

We had some lunch before they hit the slopes.

Love the grins.

At the end of the day standing in front of the mountain she skied.

First day of actual lessons. Yes, we get their skis and take them to the drop off zone of Mountain Ski School. I go to a counter where they have a million of these signs hanging, sign a sheet and give her a kiss and off she goes. Learning independence!

I was able to catch a few pic's of her when I came to pick her up. They each have their own cubbies. I love watching the bobble heads walking around in their gear. She was tough and carried her own skis, backpack, helmet and walked in ski boots.

I wish I got to end my days eating ice cream.

I'm so proud of her and want her to love skiing and being outside. I can't believe how big she is getting. Time has gone so fast and to think she is almost 5 is crazy!

I love to see the Temple

Finley and I have been wanting to see the lights at Temple Square for a while now and so we decided Tuesday night we'd brave the cold and go. Of course we had to have some yummy dinner before hand so we splurged and went to Olive Garden. The girls were great through dinner and just wanted to see the lights. So we bundled up and loaded in the stroller and off we went. I was slightly jealous that the girls were bundled head to toe and under big blankets in the stroller. Eliza's eyes were so big and she just looked around saying 'Wow! Pretty!" Finley decided she wanted to walk holding hands with her dad so she could see the lights up close. We'd thought that by maybe going on a Tuesday night we'd avoid some of the huge crowds. Well as luck would have it, we chose the night that half the valley took their young men and young women groups, and that there were high school choir concerts going on. Haha what can you do? We walked around for about half an hour and watched / listened to the nativity scene then the girls decided they were cold. To state it correctly, Finley said "Mom, I can't feel my thumbs or toes. This is really pretty but can we go get warm?" Yep numb fingers are a good sign it's time to go. Don't worry they did have their warm boots, gloves, hats, winter coats and blankets. It was a wonderful night out with the girls and more then anything I love watching them experience new things. By the time we left, Eliza had learned the words Temple, Angel, Trees, Jesus, and Pretty Lights.

How could this floating nativity scene on the reflecting pond with the sweet glow of the temple behind it not make you feel the true meaning of Christmas?

Excitement in the air

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. The warm fuzzy feeling that comes from giving to others, the reminder of why we celebrate each time you look at the nativity set on the table, listening to Christmas music and decorating, yummy smells of the weekly cookies baking, daily anticipation of the the kids looking for Roxy the Elf, and driving around looking at lights listening to the kids "Oh pretty mom! How cute! OOOOHH AAAAHHH!" How could you not love Christmas?

So what's the greatest gift?

Family.

(notice anything unique to the picture?)

I'm excited to say that we will become a family of 5. Little Tolbert #3 will be arriving June 20! The girls couldn't be more excited. Eliza loves to rub my tummy and say "Baby, baby!". Finley thinks that anything we buy we need three so that the baby has one too. Between having two kids, work, a traveling husband, and the holiday's there's not much time to think about being sick. It's amazing that I've already hit my 12 week mark! We saw the heartbeat and we were reassured that everything look good at our first appointment. Stay tuned, I think in January we will find out what we are having.

Family Photos

Yes I waited until November to do family pictures thinking oh how cool it would be to have snow in the pictures. Well, it was cold and we lucked out that the day we were doing them the storm held off. The kids were good sports and my dear friend Stephanie Bletzacker took our photos. She did an amazing job and I'm so excited to have some updated family pictures. To get Eliza to stop looking at the river, the cars, the barn, the trees and look for two seconds at the camera was a bit tricky, but we got some good photos.

In between every picture we were wrapping the down coats around us to stay warm. Next year I'll schedule a little earlier in the year so no down coats are needed.

This would be the shot right before Eliza fell flat on her face and soaked the white leggings.

Brian teases that we were getting engagement pictures again, but I'm so glad to have a picture of us two (it rarely happens).

The last Luczak photo we had Finley was Eliza's age so it was time for a new one.

Trick or Treat

We had two cute little witches in our house this year. It was so nice to have weather that allowed us to go out and about. Fin wanted to go to every house in sight, and Eliza had the death grip on me at each door until the bowl of candy was brought out. Eliza even figured out how to say 'Tick or Teat'. It was so funny. She still will wonder around saying, 'Tick or Teat, Tick or Teat'. Love my girls!