birthday getaway

two weekends ago we had a little rendevous in cali with our dear friends for my bestie's birthday

We spent a day at six flags

laughed until our abs felt like they would burst

ate until we just couldn't stand it anymore

and enjoying husband's extensive knowledge {what. you didnt know i was married to a genuis? and the future president of the United States?}

we're just lucky he wastes his valuable time with fools like us

Im pretty sure this was the most intelligent conversation husband had all weekend.

David isn't intimidated by his brains. {I think it's love}

now we are back in cali with the parents and my bro ready to cruise thru mexico

ADIOS!

Merry Christmas

From this little Reindeer

{who couldn't pull santa's sleigh if his life depended on it}

But I still think he gives Rudolph a run for his money!

And a family that snuggies together.....

...well, pretty much deserve each other!

It was meant to be

Merry Christmas!

with love-

The Alders

peekaboo

i've been trapped in front of my computer surviving off of cottage cheese and low fat wheat thins editing a whole mess of photos, so i thought i'd come up for air and post something.

but since i cant go and spoil all the fun before Christmas cards go out, this post will be pretty bare folks.

sister had baby Ivy last week.

and since she already survived my camera all up in her face, then i think she's pretty much ready for anything!

i cant wait to teach you all sorts of things! (i'm the favorite aunt by the way, if you haven't figured that out yet)

First lesson, Ivy:

Never turn down a Girl's Night Out! They are fantastic!

Thanks Priscilla & Danika for the laughter that made my abs hurt, awkward photo collages, finding look-a-like husbands, opening up my world to the Scrunchbump, unbearable breath & uncomfortable conversations, stretching, and Denny's at an unreasonable hour in the morning. You guys are rockstars!

turkey trot

Note to self:

gimping thru an entire 10k run does NOT warrant a free pass to shove greasy, buttery, deep fried food into my face all day long

i pathetically crawled thru the finish line in 1 hour and 14 minutes, experiencing blinding pain and had successfully swollen my knee to just the right size.

at least Chris ran better for the both of us! way to go sis!

oh well, at least i tried. its the thought that counts, right?

except all i was thinking during my "run" was how much i hate my busted knee and how i'd much rather be parked on a sofa somewhere eating deep fried turkey and cinnamon butter. dont judge me

and that mexican looking gentleman in the middle would be my brother-in-law. and yes, his shorts are really THAT short.

guilty

husband and i came home today to find this......

i guess Dodger wanted to see what a real Dodger Dog tasted like!

well... 4 buns minus the meat

what a fatty

purple pig

who knew those 2 little words was all it took to bring out those dimples?

i must of said it a bazillion times.

and i have been dreaming of them ever since.

darn you purple pigs!

but it was so worth it.

i'm pretty sure this is the result of a half snarl, half smile. let's refer to it as a smarl.

one year older and wiser too?

birthdays are kind of a big deal in our house. so of course we don't take it lightly.

we kicked off the birthday extravaganzas eating sushi with sisters and mom

chris reeeeeeeally likes her sushi ;)

then on my birthday: lunch at The Farm with husband and puppy {our little tradition}. and afterwards some shopping at H&M {thanks hubs for waiting so patiently while i shopped, and for trying not to stare at all the guys in obnoxiously tight skinny jeans and make-up}

then sushi {again} for dinner with our besties and a movie to follow

David playing desperate & husband playing hard to get. typical.

another dinner date in phoenix the next night. with a very enjoyable ride on the light rail.

{if you call enjoyable being alone with husband on the rail when woman and screaming child enter and actually sit RIGHT next to me.

thighs touching me the entire way.

then screaming child in stroller thought it was funny to spray spit on my boots. all the while mom decided if she put on her ipod and looked the other direction, non of it was actually happening}

amazing experience.

and then dinner again with the Alder's on Sunday.

I'm noticing there's a pattern here. a lot of celebrating. and even more eating. my kind of birthday!!!!

Thanks husband for all the birthday fun and surprises!

like mother like daughter

Happy Halloween!

Love,

Mom

a case of the mondays

apparently by monday evening, life had gotten too hectic for us alders so we decided to skip out and go play in the snow for a mid week vacay

this is what happens when we cant take the "stress" at the "office". {notice the parenthesis. we do NOT in fact have "offices" nor really "stressful" jobs. its pretty awesome}

we stocked the fridge with everything we needed to make chili cheese quesadillas {or "cheesadillas" since the real name was far too long to say while on vacation}. we were set.

somehow in our cheese induced comas we found our way to wal-mart to linger in their isles and take in the sea of spandex and mullets. sheer lack of style mixed with self-confidence is astounding.

Thanks for all the eye-candy, Pinetop! Stay classy!

that was one dirty weekend

not only was our hotel "conveniently" located next to a gentleman's club, but chris, therena, and i and some friends got to roll around in some smelly, nasty mud on saturday!

for this 6.5 mile run,

the first 3 miles were uphill,

there were 2 mud pits with walls we had to scale,

(a lake we were supposed to swim thru but was completely dry this year-hallelujah!!!)

plus tunnels and a mud pit at the end we had to crawl thru,

all the while getting sprayed with hoses

and i finished it all in 1 hour and 18 min.

{not bad considering i jog 6.5 miles in about an hour}

yes, that sports bra WAS white

and apparently i'm not a "pretty runner".

gross

this weekend also consisted of food:

me constantly wanting it,

mom hoarding it,

and everyone eating it inappropriately {like having cold stone for dinner}

{notice the difference in size, and also the guilt all over mom's face}

a few other highlights

*Chris finally got her swedish fish. i on the other hand chose not to give up anything in preparation for this race, and rather decided i would continue to eat whatever i felt like. good decision on my behalf.

*our hotel had some mysterious smell. no cable. and a very interesting wake-up call recording.

*mom had THE BEST MEAL OF HER LIFE at Claim Jumpers {that would be the one she hoarded}

*i will forever be trying to find mom's "twin"

*there was a lot of facebooking happening and i was very uncomfortable with it all

*mom diagnosing me. turns out i don't breath properly

*chris picked up a very delightful infection in her knee which kept her up all night

*mom wondering if the gentleman's club was a bar

*we were still muddy after we showered. twice.

*and Marcie brought forth my favorite nickname of all, "Moose". now i just have to find that perfect person to call this genious name.

all in all, i laughed pretty darn hard this weekend!!

oh, and one of these 4,000 people gave me the flu. thanks.

thanks mom and marcie for being our cheerleaders!

please don't be upset. i traded in my unitard for some shorts just days before the race. disappointing, i know.

9 days and counting

and we will be muddy, sweaty, hot messes at the mud run

and i'm as ready as i can be. last saturday i ran

6.75 miles

straight

i have never in my life done that before

& when all was said and done, i was more shocked than i was tired.

but i couldn't of done it without my sista chris

she is a superstar!

and if you are wondering what this chick would possibly wear in a mud run, well you are in for a treat

well close. mine is black

i know what you're thinking, a-mazing right?

That's one happy guy

with a fridge full of dodger dogs, i'm pretty sure he's in heaven {all thanks to awesome friends matt & christie- you guys rock!}

i mean really, no other food inspires a two thumbs up from this guy

and he may or may not have had a dodger dog every night for dinner since.

Thanks again matt & christie! you've allowed me to throw my nutrition out the window and indulge in a dog at least once a week.

my abs are sore from all the laughing

and i'm still trying to figure out how old this man-child actually is

{and also how the remote control wheel comes into play towards the end}

ta-daaaa!!!!

i finished the skirt!

the pattern nearly killed me, it looks like crap, but i finished it all by myself! and i promised to wear it out in public tomorrow to show my sisters. so please, if you happen to see me sporting this homemade disaster, stand really really far away

{that way it will look halfway decent}

and today in class i pulled out my new pattern for another skirt only to find out i bought a size 22.

mom got a good kick out of that one