Yes, it's true...in all my 30 years, I have never changed a tire...until last Friday!
For months now I have blamed every snotty-nose, grumpy-mood, and constant drooling on the idea that Hailey must be teething...and well, that's all it is, an idea! Hailey still has 0 teeth! I guess this is weird to me because Addison got his first two at 5 months, and Laynie had almost all of hers by 7 months, Hailey will be 10 months next week and is still sporting her shiny gums! But she is the cutest tooth-less wonder you have ever met- and silly!
I've been contemplating what I could write in the category of 'firsts' for Laynie. She can be my best helper and the sweetest sister, it just depends on what kind of mood she's in! Yesterday she and Addison were doing a puzzle and out of the blue she said " I love you Addy." Melt your heart moment! Some of her other funny quotes lately are when she's mad: "I'm so MEAN at you!" (I think that's- "because you're being so mean, I'm mad at you" all wrapped up in one) and my favorite of late "I'm just so wiggly, oh, I have to use the potty!" We love this girl!
Kelly took these pics on the beach in Seattle- the lighting was so cool!...Kelly is really getting good at this whole photography thing!
Addison had his 100th day of school last week! They counted A LOT of different piles of things up to 100, they wrote out all of their numbers up to 100, and they made a fruit-loop necklace with 100 fruit-loops! He loves school. His 'first' is that he received his first report card last week. Seriously? We give report cards to kindergartners? The wording makes me laugh too- You get a '4' if you are above grade level, a '3' if you are at grade level, a '2' is you are "approaching grade level", and a '1' if you are "beginning to approach grade level." Aren't they positive at Addy's school? NO hint of any negative words whatsoever! But really, we all know what a '1' would mean don't we? 
Last week Kelly and I went with 8 of our favorite people (most of his family) on the cruise that has been in the works for over 3 years!! Really, we started planning Christmas '05 for our "feelin' fine in 2009" cruise...and FINALLY it happened! It was the first time cruising for all of us, and despite a little rough waters making for queasy stomachs...we had a FABULOUS time!
Our ship sailed from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas- SO Beautiful!!! The first picture in the post was taken in front of the famous arch in the Sea of Cortez, and here Kelly and Birch are going to try snorkeling! The beaches were gorgeous and the water was amazing...I felt like we could be in a movie! especially considering how handsome Kelly is, I mean he has MOVIE STAR written all over him!!
Blayre and I also tried snorkeling...even as I post this picture I am still wondering why in the world I'm putting a swim suit shot on the internet....
Kelly and Birch also did a little cliff diving...I took these shots with the long lens (like my camera lingo?) from FAR away! so you can imagine my delight that you can even tell what's happening here! not to mention that Kelly was so proud of me (mostly that I captured an awesome shot of HIM)
I only wish we could see their expressions in this picture...I think even these two brave boys were a little nervous!! Like the matching shorts? I found those swimsuits on sale for $1.25!!! So I bought one for each of Kelly's brothers and he had them embroidered to say "Feeling fine in 2009" with a cruise ship...don't worry, the girls got T-shirts with the same logo.
Okay, here come the mushy 'engagement photos,' as Julia called them! But just to our credit, the beach is named 'Lover's Beach' so we HAD to be lovie...right?
This one is in front of a cave on the beach- so piraty!! I just know there must be treasure in there somewhere!!
So every night we had the same waiters...a married couple from Indonesia. They were adorable!! Kelly and I both felt that the food was super good for the first couple days, and then everything started to kind of taste the same. But dinner was still fun- we always had a dinner topic, really deep subject matter i.e. "If your spouse was an animal, what would they be?" We laughed a lot and REALLY enjoyed the company!
The next stop was Ensenada...the weather wasn't quite as warm here, so the boys thought it'd be fun to rent ATVs. I think it was a dream come true for Kelly and his brothers. They built jumps and rode in the dunes and on the beach for (what seemed like) hours!
Kelly flying off a jump!
Birch used his awesome Spanish to find us a great authentic (and cheap!) restaurant. We had men come sing to us and LOTS of yummy food!
I was so fun to get away for a few days! THANK YOU mom for watching the kids! I was surprised how much I missed them! I had to make myself think about other things so I wouldn't miss them too much! But it was SO nice to be with Kelly and get to focus a little on us. I always tell my married couples in therapy "There is NOTHING more important you can do than work on your marriage!" A little get-away is a great way to give marriage some time and attention!! (how's that for a little preachin' from the counselor?) 
I haven't blogged in a while mostly because nothing out of the ordinary has happened-- but I thought I'd write a little bit about what's been on my mind lately...and maybe get some advice. 
I'm not sure what's with the goofy faces...but we sure made some great cookies. Which brings me to #2, I swore off treats on January first thinking it would help me look skinny for out cruise coming up...so yes, I think about treats a lot...I still haven't eaten ANY (except for one tiny peppermint patty on an especially rough day) and I can't wait until our cruise so I can forget all about this goal!!
That is why this picture represents torture!! and there it sits on the counter all day long! (yes, I know that it's my fault...) So, back to the cruise-- we leave in 2 weeks!! and I can't wait! Thanks again Mom for watching the kids!! And now I need some advice from experienced cruisers...this is our first one, so any tidbit will help (what to bring, what to do, what NOT to do, etc.)
#3) Hailey is THE BEST baby ever. I can't get enough!! She has slept from 7:30pm to 7am this whole week!! Thank you Hailey- I LOVE YOU!
#4) Projects- I have SO many projects on my mind all the time...mostly I like to finish our basement in my mind, or get new counter tops for the kitchen in my mind...but here is a small project that actually came to fruition-- a changing table that our neighbors were getting rid of, now matchy-matchy with the rest of the girls' room (probably the only room I don't remodel in my mind).
One of my 2 new-years resolutions was to be a nicer mom...more patient, extra loving, blah, blah, blah. So I should have known that by resolving to do better at something, I would be tested!...maybe I just didn't realize that test would be so difficult!!! (I'm totally whining right now; something that I tell the kids never to do...) Anyway! Last Sunday it snowed AGAIN, so instead of going back to school Monday...it was CANCELED! Tuesday was a school day and I tried to figure out what to do with a whole day of no fights to break up, timeouts to give, etc. (okay, not a WHOLE DAY, but close) Wednesday I drove to school to drop Addison off and saw ZERO cars in the parking lot...please try to imagine my dismay- NO SCHOOL. Wednesday night while feeding Hailey I turned on the the TV and noticed the 'schools canceled' bar running across the bottom of the station...more dismay as Spokane Public School District was canceled for THURSDAY! Friday THANKFULLY was again a school day and I love school days. Don't get me wrong I LOVE my kids...but like any two people, they do best with a little separation from each other.
Merry Christmas from the whole Pickett clan! We spent the Christmas holiday in Driggs, ID!...okay, maybe Driggs doesn't' warrant an exclamation mark-- it is really tiny and REALLY snowy; But, we had a great time and my mom and dad are talking about moving there! (but let's be honest, they have been "talking about moving" for like 10 years. So, here we are Christmas Eve in our brand new jammies!
This is the picture my dad captured of the Tetons in the ten minutes that it actually wasn't snowing! Good thing he was in the right place at the right time! SO BEAUTIFUL dad!
Christmas Eve must include a program of course, and here is our reverent Joseph!
Mary and Joseph and 'blanket Jesus'
After the nativity, we had a talent show-- Addison break danced AND snapped! Laynie danced (sort of), Kelly tried to break the world record of how many different instruments he could play Jingle Bells on in 60 seconds...he ALMOST did it too!
Christmas morning was unfortunately not as exciting as others have been...Addison was throwing up, and Kelly and I had been up most of the night with him! But, that said we still had a wonderful morning...here is Hailey with one of her 3 presents...she told me she loved it :)
And this is me and my sisters playing the Wii Fit that I got for Christmas! Although it is exactly what I wanted, I'm a little mad at it when it tells me things like, "Is that Annie? I haven't seen you for 5 days, you really should exercise every day!"... thanks for the reminder!
It started snowing Wednesday morning and didn't stop until Thursday night! We had almost 30 inches when all was said and done...no school and lots of snow= heaven for Addison!
Our house in winter wonderland...at least it's Christmasy!
Here are some artsy shots that Kelly took...he did make a little path to the mailbox so Mr. "come rain, snow, sleet, or hail" can still deliver the mail!- Yeah, he didn't come on Thursday, but he DID make it today!
The light post in our front yard....
Our van...? I think that's what's under the mound of snow!
