SNOWBOARDING!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we finally got to go snowboarding this season. Justin and I took Valen to Kissing Bridge resort on Monday. At first, we decided that we should just stick to the bunny hill. But once we saw the bunny hill, Valen told us that she would be fine on the "mountain." So, off we went!


I would have to say this is my best picture ever!

Valen is one of the most natural snowboarders I have ever taught. She kept pointing her board down the mountain and taking off. She fell a lot, but got right back up and kept going. I was amazed at how easy it was to teach her and how well she did. I thought it was going to be a lot harder, but she did amazing.

After each run, Justin and I tried to talk Valen into going into the lodge and resting, but she kept insisting on just one more run. We finally had to stop because our tickets expired.

Even though she is sore and got a few bumps and bruises, she is already asking me when we can go again.

I will have to say that I really wasn't expecting much, as far as the resort itself goes. I am used to Utah powder, and I was afraid of what we wouldn't be experiencing. But, it snowed almost every day for two weeks, and that made the snow pretty good. I would have to say, I am impressed with New York snow, this time around. The "mountain" was small, but the resort wasn't busy, the snow was good, and the fries were delicious!

A Day in the Life of Riley

Riley actually woke up earlier than usual this morning and since I had to clean the floors this morning I let her watch Pokemon—“Watch Pikachu Mom.”
Then Justin, Riley and I ran errands. We went to the film department office to ask a question. One of the ladies that works there offered Riley some bite size Oreo cookies. Riley thought she offered her the whole container and eagerly grabbed it, and would not let go. We tried to explain to Riley that the lady was sharing the cookies and only meant for her to have two, but Riley had a death grip on the container. After several attempts, we had to get intense. I held Riley while Justin pried her fingers from the container. She was crying like crazy and had spit mingled with Oreo goo dribbling down her chin. I felt bad for her, but it was so funny I couldn’t help but laugh.
We had to go to Wegman’s for some groceries. Riley was still upset about the cookies and therefore crying while we walked into the store. But as soon as she saw the car carts, all was forgotten. She yelled out an excited, “Woohoo!” and climbed in. On our way to the registers we found a stand of Pez dispensers and found four that I do not have and so grabbed them. I thought it would be fun for Riley to hold them. She thought it was great and proceeded to open one of the packages, “Mom, Pez!” We had to give the cashier what was left of the package and explain.
This afternoon Riley and I were playing when she decided to do the train puzzle—a book with a story about a man that drives a train, each page has a puzzle with a picture from the story. Her idea of “doing” the puzzle meant that she took ALL of the pieces out from every puzzle and then looked at me and said, “Do it Mom.” Thankfully the puzzle pieces are color coded so that you can tell which pieces go to which puzzle. She helped me separate the pieces out according to color, and told me which color was which. And as soon as I would get done putting a puzzle together and show it to her, she would tear them all out again. So after putting them all together for the third time, I took the book and hid it.
Each time we change Riley’s diaper, we give her the opportunity to sit on the toilet. Lately I have been offering her the chance the wear the Little Mermaid panties that we bought several months ago. Usually she has no interest in them, but tonight she asked to put them on. So, I put them on her and then explained that she couldn’t go potty in the panties and had to tell me when she needed to go potty. I asked every few minutes for quite a while if she needed to go potty. Each time she told me no. When it was time for dinner, she stood up and where she had been sitting on the floor was wet. I took her into the bathroom and told her that she needed to sit on the toilet because that is where we go potty. She screamed and cried and told me she didn’t want to wear panties anymore, she wanted to wear a diaper instead. Apparently all of that work staying dry took its toll.

Movie Review

During the school break Justin wanted help doing "research," so we watched several movies. I thought it might be fun to critique them:

~Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull--let's just say that I will be sticking to the classic Indiana Jones movies, of which I am a big fan.

~Once--we had some friends reccomend this one, and it was really good. It's a modern day musical without all of the big dance numbers--which I do enjoy every now and then--but the music is well written and the story was enjoyable. I will say that the movie ended the way it was supposed to.

~Bella--if you like Juno, this may not be for you. But if you are like me and thought Juno was entertaining, but unlike real life, then you would like this addoption story better.

~The Happening--I would have to say that this is not M. Night's best movie. I have enjoyed watching his other movies, but this one was a little over the top for me. When we watched the bonus features and he mentioned that he was out to make the best "B" movie of all time, it cemented my feelings of dislike. You don't purposfully create a "B" movie or cult classic, they are named that way after they have come out and failed with the public.

~I am Legend--I'm not one for zombie or vampire or undead type movies, but I really liked this one. I thought that Will Smith held the movie well. If I had to choose between watching this and The Happening again, I would choose this one every time.

~It Happened One Night--I'm not a huge Clark Gabel fan, but this was a good movie. The acting was good, even though real drunk people don't act like that, and I NEVER look that good when I first wake up in the morning. It's a good one if you like classics or Frank Capra films.

Lizards Hugging

To preface this: we have had "the talk" with Valen, out of necessity. We had quite the in depth conversation, lasting about two hours or so, so you can imagine that she knows quite a bit. Sorry if this is offensive to anyone, but I see the innocence of youth--now on to what I really wanted to post.


As we were driving in the car Valen was looking through her animal book she got for Christmas. She came across a page with two lizards. “Look, Mom, that’s cute, they're hugging. That’s how they get sex, by hugging."