Family honeymoon
19 Feb 2012 1 Comment
The family honeymoon was sugary sweet and lots of fun. I’m so bummed to see it come to an end. We head home – and I go back to work – tomorrow (boo!).
But, like I said, we had tons of fun.
Of course you can’t have a Big Sky getaway without some shredding. Errol and the kids were treated to some fresh powder on the hill and had a great day skiing. We also watched a search-and-rescue dog demonstration, which may have been the highlight of the trip for Valon. He’s has some unusual interests, including SAR dogs.
We also got out snowshoeing…
… in our stylin’ “bandit” hats.
And, after breaking for some delicious tomato soup, we went back out for some sledding…
… with the dogs, who try to bite you as your cruising along.
After sledding, hot chocolate is a must.
And each day we snacked on chocolate-covered strawberries. (It’s a honeymoon, after all.)
Now we’re winding down with a warm fire and “Indiana Jones.” Then, tomorrow, back to life we go.
All in all, a perfect family honeymoon.
“I love you like the stars above; I’ll love you til I die…”
19 Feb 2012 3 Comments
It sounded strange the first time I said it, yesterday, while walking around the shops at Big Sky.
“My husband and kids are skiing,” I told the shop lady when she asked what I was up to.
My husband.
It’s official. We tied the knot on Thursday and, now, finally, it’s forever. Happy family!
Becoming Stacy Rice was simple, precious and perfectly romantic. We didn’t want a big thing, and we especially didn’t want people making a fuss over us; we just wanted to be married. So we had a small, private ceremony with only our immediate families.
I still went ahead and got a lovely dress and Errol was dashing in his suit. The kids dressed up, too, and so did our “wedding party.” My sister and Errol’s brother were the maid of honor and best man. My niece was a beautiful bridesmaid and my nephews were groomsmen.
Like I said, the ceremony was simple. It took all of 22 minutes for us to walk down the aisle (except for Isis, who skipped down the aisle); listen to beautiful readings selected and read by our fathers; say our vows; exchange rings; light a candle while Isis sang a medley of “Daisy a Day” and “Love Story;” take Communion; receive blessings by Father Lou; and, finally, be pronounced “Errol and Stacy, husband and wife.”
We plan to celebrate our marriage with our extended family members and friends at a later time; we’re thinking a summer celebration would be lots of fun.
After the wedding we enjoyed a fabulous dinner and evening at the Grand Union hotel, and now we’re at our favorite home away from home in Big Sky, enjoying a family honeymoon.
I’ll always be Stacy Byrne – always and forever. I love everything about being Stacy Byrne. But I love being Stacy Rice, too. I’ve wanted to marry Errol for such a long time; he and I and Val and Isis were meant to be together. I really do love him like the stars above and I’ll love him til I die.
Happily ever after, here we come…
Puppy love is in the air
14 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago, Val announced on the way to school that he has a crush on a girl in his class. He told Errol and Isis that they “can’t tell Mama.”
I played it cool and didn’t press him for any info. If he didn’t want me to know, I didn’t need to know. Interestingly, I had just read a magazine story about how parents need to behave when their kids announce they have a crush. If you tease them about it, they won’t tell you the next time they have a crush. Instead you’re supposed to ask them what they like about the special someone – make it positive. Makes sense. I really want my kids to trust me and feel they can tell me about things without me judging or weighing in too much.
I’m happy to say that at dinner the other night Val told me about the crush. And, as planned, I played it cool. I asked what he liked about her and he said he liked her laugh. (He’s so sweet.) And last night, when I was taking the kids to gymnastics, he talked about her some more, said she didn’t like being tall because her clothes are “ridiculous” (or something like that). I love it.
Ah, puppy love. And today is Valentine’s Day. There’s a whole lotta love in the air this week…
All for a good cause
03 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
I did it for the Sasquatch Music Festival. The long weekend of amazing music is just one of my favorite things, and we’re thinking about taking in one day of it with the kiddos this year (we think they’re ready). So that’s why I joined Twitter yesterday.
The Sasquatch launch party was last night, and some guy was claiming he would tweet the bands as they were announced.
I’d heard that you can sign up for Twitter just to listen, which is what I did. I don’t know what I’d tweet or who would care to listen.
So last night, after the kids went to bed, Errol and I watched some “Portlandia,” which is pretty funny and also pretty bizarre, if you’re into that. While we watched, I kept checking my phone for tweets from the guy I had signed up to follow. Well, he more than let me down. The last tweet I got was “I’ll be tweeting the lineup soon from the show… follow along” around 8 p.m. Interestingly, “soon” still hadn’t come when I checked my phone this morning.
There’s a slight chance it was a case of operator error. I’m not very skilled with my phone and its many capabilities, so maybe I missed something. Who knows?
Now back to the good cause. The Sasquatch line-up, which I looked up on my computer this morning after my phone let me down, is pretty sweet. Metric, the Shins, Dum Dum Girls, Feist, St. Vincent, Girl Talk… there are a lot of fun and amazing bands coming this year. The headliners are Jack White, Beck and Bon Iver, though, as in year’s past, the non-headliners are more of a draw for us.
Hopefully, in Stacy’s perfect world, they’ll put most of our favorite bands all on the same day so we can spend a day with the kids enjoying killer-good music, breathtaking views of the Columbia River, sunshine and all-things Sasquatch. Fingers crossed!
Welcome, February
01 Feb 2012 2 Comments
Currently at work I’m knee-deep in newsletter, though it’s a pretty good place to be. I just love to sit and write in my cozy-warm office, with the soft sounds of Montana Public Radio playing in the background.
I have to admit that I’m doing terribly at my five-star plan and also in my effort to get some sort of exercise, even if it’s just a short walk after dinner, each day. But I’ve been feeling more energized lately so last week I hit the home elliptical and went to the gym a couple of times. And I’ve walked the stairs (seven floors) at work a few times in the past two weeks. So at least I’m trying. I think that’s all you really need to do – keep trying.
With kids’ basketball, gymnastics and Scouts plus lots of other fun stuff going on, it’s hard to make time to get some exercise. But it’s so important for so many reasons… especially when you’ve picked up the bad habit of snacking on cereal while you sit in your cozy-warm office, writing and listening to MPR.
Lots of lovely things coming up in this month of candy conversation hearts and Valentine’s. It could very well end up being my very favorite month. Very possible.
Napping on the job
18 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
I think about (or rather long for) naps a lot lately – I’ve just been feeling kind of tired out. Unfortunately, I’m a great big failure at napping. I try but usually end up lying there with my eyes closed while my brain runs rampant for however long. I think it’s a mom thing.
Anyway, I was intrigued by a recent news story on subject of grabbing a little shut-eye during the work day. According to the story, Google, the Huffington Post and the New York Times have devoted office space to napping on the job. How cool would that be?
Maybe more employers would consider devoting office space to naptime if they read this quote – my favorite line in the story:
“A lot of people still don’t understand that napping at work can increase your productivity and creativity, maybe even make you smile at your co-workers more.”
Next time your co-worker has the grumpies, keep in mind that he or she probably just needs a cat nap.
Why kids are so lovable
15 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
Last night, we had a little family movie fun with “Ramona and Beezus.” It was fabulous – lots of laughs and just a sweet story… so sweet that Isis and I were bawling during a few parts.
I’m surprised that Isis – at the wee age of 6 – gets so emotional when watching movies; I wonder if I did at that age. I have to admit, it’s kind of nice having someone to cry with during the sad parts on movies.
So as I was crying with my daughter (she was cuddled up with me) while trying to hide it from the boys, I was thinking about how super fabulous kids are. They’re all so unique and special and wonderful, and they just make life better. I was overflowing with love for my children as I watched this movie.
After the movie was over, Val came over to Isis, with a notepad in his hand. The two had been playing “school” all afternoon with their pets (what they/we call their stuffed animals, all of whom have names and are part of the family). One of the many reasons why I was all sappy during the movie is because it was a little about relationships between siblings. I recall my relationship with my sister when we were little – sometimes we fought but, for the most part, we got along. And I think Val and Isis have a lovely relationship. They get along pretty well, even though they fight occasionally and need to spend time apart from each other now and again. But they’ve been playing this club/school thing for weeks now, and I just love it.
So yeah, bawling about relationships. And also bawling about just the wonderful things they do and the precious things they say.
Which brings me back to Valon and the pressing question he had for Isis at the end of the movie.
“Isis, which of your pets would like to go for a report card this year?” he asked.
Gosh, I love ‘em
Why wait for spring?
09 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
Last week, I devoted a little time one morning to cleaning out my office. Not “cleaning out my office” like I was canned; that hasn’t happened (so far). I just decided to go through my file cabinets, drawers, piles and some folders and get rid of the things I don’t use or need.
I figure it’s got to be the same way with cleaning out your closet or de-cluttering your house – if you haven’t worn it/used it in years, you probably can get along without it. I know with work there may be some exceptions, but when I was “spring cleaning” last week I found a ton of stuff that I can definitely get along without.
And my office just feels lighter now, which results in an easier, more productive day. It just makes it nicer being here, which can be hard sometimes… especially bright and early on a Monday.
10 things I learned in 2011
04 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
In no particular order:
10. Pomegranates are not the evil fruit I thought they were when I was a child. They are a lovely and delicious treat that I’ve been missing out on for all these years.
9. It’s so nice to see the world around me. For years I’ve been squinting and only occasionally wearing my glasses. This past year I started wearing contacts and, well, it’s awesome.
8. Puppies come with all sorts of work and trouble, but it’s hard not to love ‘em.
7. Most things are replaceable – something I learned from having a puppy.
6. Having a puppy also taught me that some things, specifically Isis’ blankie and stuffed puppy Bailey, are irreplaceable. I pray Shembo never ever gets them.
5. I heart Big Sky. It’s a perfect place to get away to anytime of the year.
4. I’m probably not going to win the lottery.
3. If you and your sweetheart both forget to buy tickets to the Sasquatch Music Festival, you’re probably going to be outta luck once Memorial Day weekend rolls around (unless you want to pay the big bucks).
2. It’s very hard to keep up your blog when your computer tries to give up the fight. It’s kind of come back to life so, hopefully, it hangs in there.
1. Your job may change, so you have to keep your knees bent. Maybe it’ll turn out to be a good thing – you never know.
There are a few more things, but I’m going to save those for another day.
Happy New Year, friends!
How does that song go?
23 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
“All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth, my two front teeth…”
She is about the cutest thing I’ve very seen. Not sure if she’ll get the two front teeth she’s asking for, but it should be a pretty good time.
Merry Christmas, everyone. Have lots of fun with your families and kiddos.
(I sure love Christmas!)
