Merry Christmas 2009~

Since I lacked the time and motivation this year to send out a Christmas Card, I decided I could do just as well with a little blog post/ year in review. So if you really wanted a Card from us, just read along, and it will be almost as good as the real thing!

The last half of 2009 was great for us. In July Tim finished his 2 {and thus for worst} year of Medical school. We got to move back to our beloved ID and even got to spend 12 weeks in Pocatello. He is now in his 3 year where he gets to do hands on work with Drs. He just finished his internal med rotation. He had to do 30 hour call every 4th day. It was no fun for anyone, and I got used to sleeping with my little bottle of runners mace {cant be too safe}. I don't know who is happier to see the end of that rotation, me or Tim!

Brock turned 2 and is busy as ever. His favorite things are trains and cars. The train set I bought is the best money I have ever spent. Brock plays with that thing all day every day. He is also POTTY TRAINED now, and I couldn't be happier. It was a rough couple of days but he now has the hang of it and is doing fantastic. His Elmo undies are is favorite and he wants to wear them everyday. He is a busy and loving child who loves to snuggle me. I am so glad I have him in my life.

As for me... same old same old. I started a very part time job, 12 hours a week. It has been really nice to get out and make enough money to cover all our utilities. And it is nice to talk to other adults about things besides how many times Brock went potty or medicine. I have to admit, I usually don't look forward to the holiday season. It is a constant hustle and bustle, with scary roads, and people tend to go a little crazy. Sure I like buying a surprise or two for Tim, but he doesn't get that excited either. But this year is different. Brock is SO excited about Christmas. If some one stops by, he proudly shows off our poor little tree {lights are half dead}. We can't go out with out him exclaiming "It's Christmas!" He knows he has presents and he knows Santa is coming, although he'd rather he didn't. Even though he is only 2 I can tell that he can feel the special spirit that is around during this time of year. I almost feel like a kid again. Tim and I can't wait until Christmas Day, for Brock to rush out and see what Santa has left him. It really is a different feeling when you are seeing Christmas through a child's eyes!

I hope 2009 leaves you all happy and healthy! And heres to a great 2010!

With Love, The Ulrich Family.

And if any of you skipped all the rambling, here are a few photos of what we have been up to lately!

Sledding, Brock had an absolute ball.

Brock is a train fanatic. So we decided it would be fun to take him on the North Pole Express. There is a train company here called Thunder Mountain Express out of Horse Shoe Bend. We went to the North Pole where we got to meet Santa and have milk and cookies. Brock was in heaven for the whole 3 hours. Here he is showing off his ticket~
Waiting for the Train to start. And then an attempted self portrait.
This is what we got to watch on our ride. We saw a deer, bald eagle, llama, ducks, cranes and a weird duck that looked like a penguin. Not kidding.

Brock and Tim {in matching BSU hats made by yours truly} sitting a safe distance from Santa. Brock wouldn't go near him. It was a great experience and Brock LOVED it. I recommend this to anyone who lives in or near Boise, and kids 2 and under are FREE!

Thanksgiving and such

For Thanksgiving my Parents rented this fun cabin in Island Park. There was tons of snow and we had a blast. Sadly Tim couldn't make it because of school. Anyway here is what we did~

The Cabin

Brock Swimming with my dad and the girls at the Rec center there. He loves his cousins and they take such good care of him!

Going for a walk. See all that snow? And doesn't Brock look cute in 3T snowpants that are too short?

Me and Shelby at Johnny Saks Cabin and Warm Springs. This place has the hugest fish ever!

Dad and Alex at Warm Springs.

Tubing on a very flat hill next to the cabin. Dani had a blast though!

Eating dinner. Brock wouldn't sit at the kiddie table, so I got to instead.

YUMMO! I love sweet potatoes... or Yams. I guess they are different?

We had fun but missed Tim! We have had some fun with him though. Recently we went and saw some crazy, ridiculous lights around Boise. This one guy starts putting lights up after Halloween, with the help of 2 hired men. Then he pay $1500 for electricity in Dec!!!! It is pretty amazing though. Every Square inch of this guys house is covered.

Brock loved finding all the Disney characters in the lights.


And this guy, the next door neighbor gets and honorable mention for his display~
If you live in Boise you should take the time to check this out! So cool! Just don't forget your hot cocoa!

This is What we DO!

As per the request of my mom, here are some pictures of what we have been doing. It's not a lot. i can tell you that much!

Brock is at an age where he finally enjoys other movies besides cars. It has been really nice to put on something new and have him snuggle down and watch it with us!

The other day we took Brock to the Boise train dept. He loved looking at the big train engine, walking on the track and even riding up the big bell tower!




We must have tuckered him out. He passed out on the way home!

Trick or Treat

Brock had a pretty good time trick or treating. We didn't go very far as his little legs got tired. I think I was more bummed about that then anybody else. I was looking forward to a good chocolate stash. Oh well! Here are a few pictures from our night!

This is during the day. We went trick or treating at the out let mall by our house. Brock wouldn't let me put his costume on, so he wore his BSU sweat shirt and went as a super fan.

Yup, we are lame. Brock is reusing his costume from last year. It hardly fits. But, he doesn't care and neither do we. Next year he might care!
I thought he looked so cute knocking on doors. He was too shy to say trick or treat, but would say thank you as soon as the door closed while running to the next house!

Also, our good friends, the Harris family, had a super fun Halloween party. There was a pumpkin carving contest~
Brock played with his little friend Jake. They play so well together, and I love this picture.
And on a different note, Brock has decided to stop napping. At first I was completely against this. We went for about 2 weeks where I would wake him up early, then ware him out, and finally put him down where he would just play for 2 hours. Sigh. I was NOT ready to give up my 3 hours of peace. However, I think I have figured out a solution that fits us both. I decided to let Brock sleep in on day, just to see. He slept in till 10:30!! It was heaven. Then he was pretty happy all day and went right to bed at 8. About an hour and half earlier then before. SCORE!!!! I thoroughly embrace this new system. I can get so much done in the early morning while he is still sleeping. So I still have my nap time, just 2 hours in the morning and an extra hour at night.

And for those of you wondering, the potty ship tanked and burned. He knows how to go in the potty and all that, but he refuses, kicking and screaming, to wear big boy undies. SO I bought another box of diapers, and when those are done, we'll try again. Sad.

Brock's Adventures

Brock is having a wonderful time with Fall. Here is what he has been up to lately~

Raking and playing in the leaves! We have tons in our new house!

Painting pumpkins. I figured it was safer then carving, Much, much more messy though!

Making new friends at the zoo.


Playing with Daddy,
And, hanging with Memaw and Papa. Brock was so excited to have them come visit. I don't think he let Alaina out of his sights for more than 3 seconds! We decided to go feed the ducks. It was so fun, but be careful! The geese literally flocked over. There had to be like 100! It was fun!



So that is what Brock has been doing lately. Tomorrow we are embarking on the journey of Potty Training. I'm sure it will be an adventure. We bought some undies today and Brock insisted on wearing a pair and then putting a pair on his bear, Beast. He didn't understand that undies go UNDER your clothes, however and was positively heart broken when I made him put his pants on. Anyway, wish us luck!

Catch Up!

Yes, we are still alive! We have a had a busy month. We moved to Boise 2 weeks ago and are settling in just fine. We are enjoying Boise so far. I like that it is a bigger city, but not too bad, I don't feel completely congested all the time like I did in Seattle. Tim is so far liking his Internal Med rotation, even though he has to be on 36 hour call every three days. But, he had Columbus Day off, so we had some fun. We took Brock to a pumpkin patch/corn maze in Meridian called Linden Farms. It was a ton of fun. Here is a little bit of what we did~

Brock and Tim went through the straw maze. Brock got lost a few times.

Rode the hay ride. Brock LOVED this. He is into tractors.
We found a great little pumpkin. I asked Brock if he liked and and he just grabbed it and gave it a big kiss! So I guess he liked it! It was funny.
Just sitting in a pumpkin patch.
Giving the pumpkin a little bit of love!
Brock found a pumpkin just his size. He was so proud of it!
Sitting on his pumpkin and guarding the other ones we picked.
We got a Daddy, a Mommy, and a Baby.
They had a little train ride there that Brock rode on. He was in heaven. He LOVED it.
And here is what the maze looked like. We sure love our BSU here. We didn't make it into the maze, but we want to go back because Brock had so much fun!
All you Boise Peeps should definitely check this place out. It is great and pretty cheap. For 3 pumpkins, dinner and the train ride it only cost $15. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.