Seeking... motivation

Another thing that I loved about 2011 was that I was able to lose around 15 pounds!  I was doing great keeping track of my daily calories and working out at least 3 times (more often 4) a week.  However, when we went to Utah in November I totally fell off the wagon and have been struggling to get back on ever since.

I don't know what I'm looking for or why I'm posting this really... I'm just curious if anyone out there in blogland is dealing with similar feelings and seeking support or motivation as well.  Maybe we can figure out something we can do in all our different parts of the world to encourage us all to get our healthy lifestyles back on track.  It would have to be simple since I'm doing all I can to get my house ready to sell... which, by the way, is about the most stressful thing EVER!!!

Let me know what you think.

2011's Top 11

Since its still January, I figure I can still get away with doing a Best of 2011 blog post... I guess its my blog so I can get away with whatever I want!  I was thinking of our best moments of the year and thought it deserved a moment of looking back... so, I give you... 

The Balti Palace's Top 11 Moments of 2011!

In chronological order.  Click on the link if you want to refresh your memory on our memories.

#1: The February Freeze

 It was perfect being iced in with my 6 favorite people in the world.

 Just check out this sweet baby boy.  Time sure does fly!

Oh, I can't forgot the project that happened during the storm... demoing the bathroom!  I realized that I never posted after pics... not to fear, I will soon (because I'm sure the world has stopped for some of you).

#2: Our Trip to Nauvoo!

Oh, this was such an amazing trip! We had so much fun with family!!!  Ali just posted on her blog about baby Ruby's first birthday (CRAZY!) We sure miss living near family, but definitely appreciate the special times we get to spend together when we do.  And in such a fabulous place is just awesome!

#3: Bryant's Baptism!

What a pleasure it is to be Bryant's mom.  Its just a treat!  This was just a special day for our family.  So wonderful to see him make a righteous choice to get on the path back to our Heavenly Father.  And it was so perfect to share it with our families that were able to come and be with us.

#4: Celebrating 10 Years of Bliss with Ethan

What a lucky girl I am to have such a (enter any number of superfluous adoring words here) man as my husband. Looking forward to the next rest of forever with this guy.

#5: Ringing in the ripe old age of 30

Ten thousand, nine hundred and fifty seven days old.  Whew! Glad I made it.  And my sweet, sweet husband showered me with love, gifts, and a surprise party to boot!  I am so blessed.

#6: Birthday Party of the Decade!

Since we were in Utah and we were celebrating two birthdays, Levi's and Bolton's magic birthday.  We  decided we needed to make it the best party ever.  Luckily, all our families joined us so it could be.

#7: Rock On Super Date

I can't think of a time I've been so giggly, embarrassed, silly, proud, happy, fun all in one.  My siblings totally rock.  What a blast!  I just realized that there was never a full blog post about this date in all its glory.  I must share the details... but for now enjoy this awesome shot of the group.

#8: Laser Vision

Ethan got one step closer to actually becoming Super Man when he channelled his laser vision super power.  He's been seeing more and more clearly every day since.  This is quite possibly the most lasting and impactful (totally a word) event of 2011.

#9: Swimming... and more Swimming

The kids and I swam in our pool as much as possible this summer. It was so exciting to see how they each became more comfortable and confident in the water (I got a lot better too!).  We'll miss it this summer, since our Realtor advised us to not put it up.

#10: Boston

How can I possibly choose just one photo to commemorate our amazing trip? Do you remember how many pictures I posted about it?!  Let me remind you with these, these,  and these.  And let's not forget these.  What a remarkably fun time we had!  It was so great to be a couple and to be in such a lovely, historic place.  A few highlights of the trip... touring Beacon Hill together, The Constitution, and Cannoli!

This trip is also where we learned that Ethan was selected to do the VA residency!  Our next adventure that we will embark upon this summer!

#11: Thanksgiving and a Wedding

We sure are blessed to be able to see our families as often as we do.  November's trip was a real treat for a double whammy of Thanksgiving and a Wedding!  A definite highlight of the year!  We love our families!

Well, I'd say we had a flippin' awesome kind of year.  Thanks for indulging me and my fun post. It was a lot of fun to go back and see all these great memories we've made in 2011!  Here's to making the Top 12 of 2012 even better! 

Shirley Temple

I recently bought some sponge curlers and 9 am church this year brought the perfect opportunity to try them out.  We had to put one in Sunny Day's hair too (her Newborn Pony from her cousin).  I thought she would pull at them and I thought sleeping would be a battle... I remember hating sleeping on those things! But she did GREAT! 

 When the kids all got up Levi could resist no more and had to start taking them out of her hair... such a stinker.  ;)  I didn't get a great "after" picture, but this one show how beautiful she is.  And, on a different note, it illustrates how she feels about Ranch dressing...

Ethan said, "She looks like our own Shirley Temple."  She has a cute little voice to go with it.  I really need to post a video of her talking, she has the funniest little accent.  We sure love our gorgeous girl!

Happy New Year!

Oh, I love the start of a new year.  I love setting goals and making plans for the upcoming months and year.  I feel like 2012 is going to be a great one.  We have some fun adventures on the horizon and I am excited!

We rang in the new year playing Hide and Seek in the dark with the kids until bedtime.  Then Ethan and I folded laundry while watching Psych until about 5 minutes to the big hour.  Then we kissed and said goodnight, we're real party animals. :)

I've been playing catch up on the blog and have posted a BUNCH of our fun from December.  New posts go all the way down this page and then one more "Older Posts" page.  There are some real gems in these pictures, so you don't want to miss them (at least if you're our grandma)!

What do you do to stop the Post Christmas Blues?

I can't be the only one who feels the let down after the big day, can I?  So to fill the time since Christmas we've been keeping busy.  Ethan is blessed to have the week off, so we're making the most of our time as a family.

First we went to look at TVs to look for a better deal in town... didn't find anything, but our new TV got shipped pretty quickly.  The kids were enamored with the 3D TV at Sears.

Ethan put some of his new tools to good use, finishing the back patio railing.  It is looking so good. I'll post pictures of it soon.

We decided if we were in Utah we'd be getting together with family and playing games, so why not have a game party with our Texas family?  We invited a bunch of people to come the church to play games.  We set up the wii.

We watched movies.  We ate pizza.  And the grown ups even got to play some games.  It was a lot of fun!  We're blessed to be surrounded by good people.

We told the kids we'd take them to Texas Roadhouse during the break from school.  So on the 30th we headed out to lunch.  We got there around 1:30 and realized they were closed until 3!!! So we went to the park and played, talked with the prairie dogs, and enjoyed the sunshine.

Then at 3 we headed back to Texas Roadhouse.  The kids all earned free kids' meals from their good grades so we were able to do it pretty cheaply.  Our waiter was the best we've had in ages, the food was exceptionally good, and to top it all off when we stood up to leave, a gentleman wanted to shake Ethan's hand because "those are 5 of the best behaved children I've ever seen" when Ethan asked incredulously, "really?!" a woman across the aisle piped in, "I agree!"  Boy I tell you what, nothing does my mothering heart more good than comments like that.  Way to go kids!

By the way, the kids' meals were huge!  They all had leftovers, enough to serve as another meal, so it was an even better deal than we originally thought!

A Very Merry Christmas

Like every other Christmas, I was the first one awake just waiting with baited breath to hear stirring from the children.  At the very first sounds of awakening I jumped out of bed as eager as they to see what treasures awaited...

We found stockings downstairs, loaded with candy, fruit, and little gifts.

Then they all came upstairs and we opened gifts all morning.  Well, except for Bolton.  He was just grumpy.  He didn't want anything to do with anything we wanted him to do.  Everyone else really enjoyed themselves.  We all loved all our gifts, aside from the boys complaining about getting socks. :) Then we even had a few minutes to play before getting ready for church.

We went to church and had a lovely time.  A beautiful program was planned and we all enjoyed it.  We even got to participate.  Ethan played his guitar while we sang "More Than Just A Boy." After church we came home and really broke into the good stuff.  Don't mind Bryant's jammies, he puts them on right after church every Sunday.  We had lots of fun playing with the big lego set from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Woody.

I had to snap a picture of this penguin that Levi made and wrapped up for my Christmas gift.  Ethan got something too, but I don't remember what it was and didn't get a picture.

Bryant had fun putting together his new Lego Harry Potter game... we didn't get to play it until a few days later, but it was fun once we figured out what we were supposed to do.

Jonas was really sad that his brother wasn't sharing.  Bryant kept saying, "8 and up, Jonas."  Poor Jonas.

After they had played with Legos and Beyblades and Pillowpets to their hearts' content we opened up the family gifts.  We got some fun new games, board and wii.  The boys were eager to put them to use as soon as possible.

Ethan told me a few days before Christmas that he didn't want spaghetti for Christmas dinner again.  So I did my best to make a special feast for our little family.  We had ham, stuffing, twice baked sweet potatoes, and rolls.  It was super yummy and I'm glad he requested something special.

 

We had a very merry Christmas and were happy to celebrate it simply and happily together.

Christmas Eve

In the top 5 of my favorite days of the year is definitely Christmas Eve.  I miss being with our extended family, but we made the most of it in Texas.  We woke up to snow!!!  It was like magic!

That afternoon we headed out on the town to sing Christmas carols and delivers Christmas treats and books to friends.  It was a fabulous way to spend the day.

That evening the kids got bathed and then opened up their Christmas jammies.  I made them for everyone but Bolton this year.  I was so happy with how they turned out!

What a good daddy gently combing the little princess's hair.  (Love how this nightgown turned out!)

 The older boys all got matching/coordinating PJs.  I need to sew for my kids more often, they really love it when I do.  Although, Jo's head is bigger than is comfortable for his shirt to fit.  But everyone else fit perfectly!

We also had a special family gift to open...

The kids played with the new nativity while Ethan read the scriptural account and then we sang some songs.

We tried to get a good shot of all the kids together... these are some of what we came up with.  Only 4 kids, with funny faces.

 Upping the funny faces, but joined by the baby... too bad he thought sitting on top of Eliza was the best place for him.

Uh-oh, he's on the move again.  But all 5 can be seen, at least in part; Eliza's feet, Bolton on the go, Jonas with his classic Jonas face, Bryant acting crazy, and Levi's right hand.

And this was the best one.  Someday we'll have pictures where you can see everyone's face... until then we'll enjoy the spice of life that is taking pictures of the kids.

The candles made an appearance again, but no one made a meal of them.

Jonas wanted to play "Spot the Difference." I love the way they're holding hands.  They are such sweet boys.

Bryant even got in on the difference action.  He took his glasses off to make it harder. :)

Oh, I love this sweet baby.

When we stay in TX for the holiday, we always have way too much to open on Christmas morning.  Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents... everyone is just so generous.  This year I made a whole bunch of fabric gift bags and wrapped them up in curling ribbon.  It was so great to not have to wrap everything, and not have to waste so much paper.

I had to take a picture of this... we bought a new TV for Christmas.  Ethan worked on getting it all set up and just when he was ready to put it up on the new TV stand and plug it in I saw that it was cracked.  Not just a tiny crack, either.  But the entire screen was badly broken.  So, we packaged it back up and put the old TV up.  Luckily, Amazon is great and we were able to get a refund with no problem.  However, we did sell the old one before the replacement came, so we were without a TV for a day or two.  It was quite tragic for the little boys who wanted to play their new wii games.  No worries, we have a lovely new flat screen in its place now.