Matthews Family in CDA: January 2010

Ok.. .guess I'll follow through at least ONCE on my resolution. We last left you in 2008. Elaina was about to have a baby and I was going to run a half marathon. Only one of those two things happened (hint: it's not the half marathon). Here is a quick recap of the past year........

First and foremost... had us a little baby. Olivia Laine on Dec 7, 2008.

Then it snowed a LOT. 60 inches in the month of December. I even had to run the snowblower in the back yard so Charlie could get around. I drove about 6 MPH on the way home from the hospital. (BTW, this year.. nothing.... no snow! It's January and 49 degrees. I could probably mow today).

For some reason we thought it would be wise to drive to SLC with our 2 week old for Christmas. That trip was rough. No sleep.. and baby had the sniffles which we as new parents were gravely concerned about. But our family got to meet Olivia for the first time:

In the spring we met Jason and Trey in Orlando to visit Paul (Elaina's dad). The weather was great in springtime. We swam with the dog , saw some gators, and watched the space shuttle launch... cross that one off my bucket list!

Then we came home and did Bloomsday. This is is a 7.5 mile run/walk in Spokane. Over 50,000 people participate and it's a lot of fun...except for the running and walking part. I came in 14,812th place and still waiting for my medal to come in the mail.

This year Elaina and I picked up a few new hobbies. Elaina started running, biking and swimming in triathlons. I started BMX racing against some other old guys in town. Elaina is doing awesome and placing well in her age group... .I have been in the emergency room twice.

Here are a few shots from 2007 I never got around to. We saw Jerry Seinfeld do standup. I highly recommend his show if you ever get a chance. Also hit up a Mariners baseball game in Seattle and went to San Diego.

In June we watched the start of the Ironman triathlon with Jase and the kids. There were thousands of people down there and we pretty much missed it. We laugh each year when we complain about parking and walking 8 block away and trudging our way to watch these people race 150 miles. I think this may have been a little too early in the morning for Trey.

Olivia saw her first 4th of July parade.

Elaina and her brother Jason ran the Bair Gutsman. The Gutsman is a half marathon starting at the base of the mountain in Farmington. You hike ALL the way to the top radio towers and then jog another 5 or 6 miles down a dirt road to the finish line. [i]Unfortunately[/u] I HAD to watch the baby so I couldn't participate. I did have to drive up to the finish line though... it was really hard.

Paul (Elaina's dad) and Mel came to visit late in the summer. They were on a three month RV trip from Florida. Had lots of fun seeing them and and playing in the lake.

Paul, Jason, Trey, Bart, and I rode the Hiawatha Trail on our mountain bikes. It's a 14 mile easy ride through 10 tunnels and over 9 bridges. The first bridge is about 1 1/2 miles long. It's dark and cold. I stayed behind the group to take some photos for another group. As I started to catch up to the group I noticed my light was pretty much useless and I was riding in pitch black. I somehow managed to fall into the water on the side of the tunnel about 300 yards in .... not surprisingly.

As you can see by Olivia's facial expressions, the county fair was a thrill. Apparently sheep and tractors aren't a girls idea of a good time.

In September I floated down the Madison river with Jase and Just. Justin and I were determined to get Jase into at least one fish. Now the picture below may look like a small fish. But.... on the second day .... after hours of fishing .... you wouldn't believe the hollering and high fives when Jase finally landed this one.

We took advantage of the last nice day of summer to take a Cruise around lake Coeur D' Alene. Just a great chillin day to relax on the water.

Then we headed to Washington where Elaina placed well in a Triathlon. We stayed the night in downtown Seattle and took Olivia to the aquarium. I think she was more interested in the glass aquariums than the animals inside.

Liv had a great time at the pumpkin patch in October. This trip followed a morning crash at the BMX races. I thought I was fine until sitting in the car for an hour. By the time we got to the pumpkin patch I could barely walk. I had a few broken ribs and had to walk in a creepy Frankenstein kind of stride. I think Elaina was walking fast on purpose so I couldn't keep up with her. I'm pretty sure I also scared a bunch of kids too.

Elaina threw a little Halloween party for Liv and her cousins. Our wooden bear on the porch even dressed up as Darth Vader. Everyone wonders why Olivia is dressed as a bear and Charlie looks like the Grand Wizzard. She is actually a monkey and he is a banana.

Elaina and Sandy (her mom) ran in another Triathlon in St. George. Elaina did well and Sandy was first place in her age group! Not bad for her first one. St George was the beginning of a three week road trip that ended in Northern Utah for Thanksgiving. We pretty much ruined Olivia's sleep schedule and she was up 4 or 5 times per night. By the time Christmas came around we had finally recovered from exhaustion and Olivia was back on track for sleeping..... so.... we stayed in CDA for Christmas. Couldn't risk another trip like that again.

Olivia's birthday 1st birthday was celebrated with several of her closest friends. Elaina had this great idea for a monkey cake... stressed about it for 2 weeks... and then made it happen. They turned out so great I felt bad digging into them!