Welcome Baby Bryson!

Upon returning from Tahoe I immediately got to work preparing for Tiffanie’s baby shower which I was co-hosting with Jen at my house. I usually hate hosting. I always worry about if everyone is having a good time, and I hate it when people don’t show up, and I stress about if my house is clean enough and if the food is good.

This time was different. Maybe it’s because I feel like I have formed such relaxed friendships with so many of these women, but I had a great time having everyone over today and visiting as we oh-ed and ah-ed over Tiffanie’s adorable baby boy. I have grown to be so happy in our ward. It’s funny; I remember Mark and I trying to move out of the ward two years ago because we just did not feel welcomed or like we fit in. Since having Reese I have developed so many friendships within our ward, I can’t even imagine wanting to move now.

Thanks for coming over ladies! Congratulations Tiffanie!

Tahoe

As Mark mentioned, this last week found us buried in the snowy mountains of Tahoe. SmugMug had its first ever company retreat and we were totally excited to enjoy the vacation time.

Hold it! That’s not completely honest. Mark and I were excited to see friends and spend time with family. However, traveling with a small child is not a vacation; it’s a trip, an exhausting trip. Enjoyable: yes. Memorable: absolutely. Relaxing: no way! Anyways, just needed to make that clear. Please proceed.

The things I most looked forward to were:

1. Snowboarding. I had not been snowboarding in 6 years and I wondered if my body was still capable of doing it. Wendee and I almost faltered. The thought of bundling up and falling down the mountain for hours did not sound very appealing. But we bolstered our courage and bought the insanely expensive lift passes.

It rocked. I was surprised at how fast I picked it up again and my muscles remembered how it was done. I had so much fun and even got going pretty fast (although those runs usually ended in pretty nasty falls:)) I wish we had more epic photos of our adventure. Since we went on the day that most of the other employees were not skiing or boarding, we missed out the getting great photos taken. At least Seth managed to snap a few when we met him on the slopes:

2. Spending time with my good friend Wendee and her baby Vienne. I have known Wendee since we were 13 and I am so lucky to have her now as a co-worker in SmugMug. We get to see each other semi-often, but I totally loved that we were staying at the same cabin and our babies got to play together so much during this trip. We also got to put them to bed in the evenings and head over to the party cabin for some epic times playing Rock Band and hanging out with the SmugMug team. We had a blast.

3. Getting to know my co-workers (and Mark’s co-workers) better. We communicate so often through e-mail and company chat that you don’t often get to put a name and a personality to a face. I had so much fun meeting everyone and their families and seeing their fun side. We have some of the most amazingly fun and intelligent people working for this company, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it.

Needless to say we came home exhausted. Between the late nights, early mornings when Reese woke us up at 6:30, Reese getting pretty poor naps due to the noise created by 8 other kids and 11 adults staying in the same cabin as us, and playing in the snow, we were pretty tired and cranky when we finally returned home.

I have to say, I think that between the Tahoe trip and our trip to Utah for Christmas, Reese has improved in leaps and bounds when it comes to her anxiety about strangers. She no longer freaks out when other people she doesn’t know talk to her. She will even occasionally let other people hold her and play with her. She doesn’t usually freak out when I leave the room and she is much more willing to let Daddy take care of her. I am so glad that I was able to go on both these trips with the mentality that even if she didn’t get all her naps or even if everything didn’t go right, it’s not the end of the world. I am glad that I am becoming a more relaxed mom and I am willing to let the good times roll.

I can’t wait for the next company retreat!

Video by my father-in-law.

Snowed in

SmugMug had a company retreat this week at Tahoe, so we’re up here enjoying ourselves. I thought I would post a few photos before Meghan blogs about the whole thing.

How to make your sicky babe feel a bit better.

Step 1- Take them on a walk with mischievous puppy and adoring daddy.

Step 2- Buy them Tart frozen yogurt with fresh blueberries and mango. Then give them a spoonful every time they beg “moe?” whilst adamantly gesturing for more using sign language.

Step 3- Walk them to the park and push them on the swings to entice shrieks of delight despite a snotty nose and congested coughs.

Step 4- Procure a ball from another park-goer and use with gusto.

Step 5- Spend a few precious moments digging in the sand to complete treatment.

Apply steps 1-5 and repeat if needed.

How I loathe going to the dentist…

As I recently blurted out to a friend: “I would rather have a pelvic exam any day of the week than go to the dentist!”

I hate, hate, HATE going to the dentist. This may explain why my last dentist appt was 2 years ago, and the one before that was 3 years overdue. There is something I detest about the smell, and the teeth-scraping, and the gritty taste in your mouth after they polish your teeth, and the sound of the drill and the polisher. It all makes me cringe. Since becoming an adult I have been pretty irresponsible with my doctor and dentist visits. When you are the one making the appointments it gets much harder to actually MAKE the appointment if you know what I mean.

Anyways, the appearance of my teeth has bothered me for awhile. My front right top tooth is a bit gray due to an accident when I was 13 (five words- trampoline, emergency room, 13 stitches). It has always bothered me when I see myself smiling in photos, but I knew that the only solution was cosmetic dentistry, something we definitely do not have the money for at this point in life. Then, last week I saw a woman on tv with such a beautiful set of gorgeous white teeth (alright, alright, I admit it, I was watching “The Bachelor”, I’m pathetic). The woman is a dental hygienist, so of course her teeth are beautiful, but I found myself totally wishing my teeth looked like that.

I am also pretty sure I pulled out one of my fillings while flossing the other night, so all signs were pointing to a dental visit being inevitable.

So, I grit my less-than-sparkling-white teeth and called for an appointment. Everything in me told me not to do it. I even considered calling right back after hanging up and canceling my appointment. But I went as planned today. And while the tooth scraping was not nearly as bad as I remembered, and the smell was tolerable this time (I was pregnant last time so no wonder the smell bothered me…), I found a whole new reason to loath the dentist.

$3200.

That is how much they estimate it will cost to do all the work that needs to be done on my mouth. All the work that NEEDS to be done. This does not include anything cosmetic to fix my unlucky gray tooth. Apparently I need two crowns and two of my fillings fixed. I have no new cavities, my teeth are relatively healthy, my old fillings are just falling apart apparently. Great. Wonderful. Why in the world does that cost so much?

I could think of so many other things I would rather do with $3200.

Oh Mr Dentist…and you wonder why I don’t come to visit you more often.

Rock Band, Christmas Pajamas, and Paranoia

While Meghan prepares a long entry on our Christmas vacation, I present the entire trip to you in less than 4 minutes. Just turn up your speakers and click the photo!

The Girls

I am in the process of writing about our amazing trip to Utah for Christmas but I couldn’t resist a quick shout-out to my girls with whom I spend a crazy/fun evening with while on my trip. I have know these girls since I was 13. We all became friends while on a performing arts company called Starmakers. We danced, sang, and generally entertained people (well, we tried:)) Anyways, these are the best girlfriends I have ever had and strangely enough, as we grown older, instead of our friendships with each other becoming awkward and forced, we become more comfortable and truthful with each other. Granted; some of us only catch up every 6 months when I come to town and we all get together, but there is an honesty and a depth to our friendships with each other now that I don’t know ever existed when we were teenagers. I genuinely enjoy their company, their stories, and their fun personalities.

While in town this time Wendee and I came up with the brilliant idea of us all getting together and watching old Starmaker home movies. We ate pizza, drank root beer, and watched ourselves 13 years younger perform our hearts out. It was fun to watch and it wasn’t long before we were rolling on the floor laughing. I even devised a fun “Starmaker Quiz” asking us about our triumphs and regrets (and crushes of course) during our 4 years as Starmakers. We had a blast and it was a night I will never forget. Thanks again girls for proving to me that no matter where I go in life, your friendships will never compare with any others I make. I love the way we can always pick up where we left off.

Rachelle; I love how full of life you are. While I feel like a dead mommy, you are always full of laughter and stories. You make me happy just being around you. You are such a beautiful person and life would not be as fabulous without you.

Cheryl; You are as beautiful as ever. I have so much admiration for you choosing your own path and living your life on your terms these days. You deserve so much happiness and love in your life. I hope that you have found someone worthy of you.

Randi; I am always in awe these days by the person you have become. You are so full of wisdom and responsibility. You are so much stronger now than I have ever seen you and I am so glad that you seem to have found a way to be comfortable in your own skin. I have always know what a beautiful person you are, I’m glad that you finally seem to be catching on.

And Wendee; There are no words to describe the ways in which I love you. I thank my lucky stars all the time that we get to remain close through work, common interests, and our similar paths. You are an amazing friend and I feel lucky to be a part of your life. You inspire me. You make me smile. You are so incredibley talented and intelligent. I still wish I could have a shred of your humor, wit, and charisma. For now I will settal for being near you and having amazing adventures with you in the future:).

You girls mean the world to me! Until next time!!!!