Game #1: UM vs EMU

Happy birthday, Happy anniversary, Merry Christmas to me! This year I decided to cash in all of my presents and buy a pack of Michigan football tickets! It's our last fall in michigan and the first time in 7 years that we've got a shot at beating those "nuts" from down south. Our first game was last saturday.

We were in row 3 - I am NOT zooming at all. awesome.

We were in the CrAzY section with the cow bell guy
And this guy who led us in the MICHIGAN cheer
It was a beautiful day for football! I was a little annoyed when I found out that even with Ruby in a bjorn carrier I still needed a ticket to bring her in...seriously!? I did my homework online and knew that I couldn't bring our camera with the detachable lens or a purse - so I borrowed a small point and shoot camera - case and all it fit in the palm of my hand. They told me at the gate that I couldn't bring in the 4 inch x 3 inch case, but that if I took the camera out and put the case in my pocket that would be ok. WHAT?! Do my liquids and gels need to be 3 oz or less in a quart sized ziplock bag? Should I take off my jacket and belt and place my cell phone and keys in a special bowl? Oh my gosh I felt like these guys were TSA instead of stadium guards...sheesh. Next weekend look for dad, Tim,and me when we play Minnesota! Don't look for Ruby or my camera case :) WOW.

Holy Crap.

I'm thinking someday Ruby will be looking through the books that we make of our blog and feel MORTIFIED by how much we publicly discussed her bowel movements! But she had one yesterday that was definitely blog worthy :)

She was sitting in the bumbo on the table when I heard it - and I knew right away that it was no ordinary poo so I immediately grabbed her out of the bumbo. While I was surveying the damage she started leaking :) I panicked! How do I get her to the changing table without leaving a trail?! I grabbed a washcloth, held it under her, and made a run for it!

I was wishing that Preston was home partially because he always seems to miss the big blowouts, but mostly because it's near impossible to keep her hands out of the poo when it's EVERYWHERE. And as she likes to stick everything in her mouth these days I was especially paranoid. In trying to get the onesie off without her getting her hands in it I officially got poo everywhere - shoulders, arms, back of the head, etc...

I finally get her cleaned off enough to take her to the shower, I stand her up and...you guessed it. She starts peeing. I just stood there, holding her, letting the washcloth soak it up, LAUGHING my head off. It was awesome.

I know what some of you are thinking - "really Annette, do you always have to include PICTURES of the mess? Gross." My reply - yes, absolutely! Who wants to read a post without pictures?! What I'm wondering is if this is normal. I've tried just about every diaper - target, walgreens, meijer, pampers, huggies...I've tried keeping her in smaller ones, using the right size, getting them larger - but it seems like EVERY poo is a blowout! I know you staunch cloth diaper people preach that you rarely have blowouts and I'm about ready to convert. At least with a cloth diaper I wouldn't have to clean my kitchen table in addition to her clothes :) I'm also thinking I maybe should buy stock in oxiclean as it has become my new best friend!

We recently put together this exersaucer and at first I think Ruby was a little leery about it, but after a few minutes she warmed up to it. These must really be a workout for babies because that girl is TIRED when she gets out.

At first I thought, what a wuss (I know, I'm such a kind mother)! But then I realized that when you normally just lay around all day, standing up might be pretty darn exhausting. Not to mention she has to hold up that noggin.

Two weeks ago college football officially started! For me it's a day that ranks up there with Christmas, my wedding day, the birth of my child... Yes, I love it that much. What a glorious time of year! We got little Rubes all decked out with her Michigan onesie and BYU headband. I can already tell she's gonna be a major football fan!

****And to anyone who caught the end of the michigan game last week....CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Without a doubt THE most exciting finish to a football game I've ever seen!

White Water Adventure

Well we finally got out to enjoy the Colorado great outdoors.  Tad came out to visit for almost a week.  We did some work on his teeth and hung out while we waited for the awesome weekend ahead.  Lori met up with us at Glenwood Springs for the White Water Adventure full day extravaganza.   Supposedly when we showed up they looked at us as experienced rafters, so they gave us a small boat.  Smaller the boat the bigger the rapid.  We started off on some pretty sweet rapids, one after another.  Then we hit some mild river and Tad took the opportunity to bust a flipp-a-rooski off the boat.  The rapids were intense, but nobody popped out. 

At various spots along the river there are natural hot springs that flow into it.  Some of the areas have rocks that have been built up to create a natural hot spring "tub."  We had the chance to relax in one which was a nice contrast to the super cold river, but made us all wreak of sulfur.  At the end we had the chance to jump out and float down river to the pickup zone.  Connie was the first one in.  Our guide was super cool and we all gave a high five with our paddles at the end. 

After rafting we took a lunch break where they had some pork bbq sandwiches that were delish.  For the second half of the day we decided to hit up the kayaks.  We each had our own and had a blast attacking the rapids head on.

As the day went on we got more and more adventurous.  Lori at one time decided to hit a rapid sitting ontop of the kayak.  I looked back to

see her kayak straight up and down as she popped over a rapid.  Later on Tad thought it'd be cool to kayak standing up and took a dip as well.

All in all an awesome trip.  We definitely conquered that river!

Identity Confusion?

The car arrives in Grand Rapids sporting a BYU flag but the parents are wearing 2 different t-shirts for the days' games.

With dad she was a BYU fan and with Mom she was all about Michigan.

The look says it all.... who am I?????? HELP!!!! But there was a noticable change in BYU's game when Annette put the BYU onesie on her to match the BYU bow (after Michigan won because a storm cancelled the game). It was about the end of the 3rd quarter... magic! Ruby finally had a matching outfit, and BYU won their game at the last second.

Our sister is crazy...

...crazy AWESOME!