Camping with Annabelle and the Pups

It hadn't even been a week from getting back from Telluride that Shanam wanted to go back to the mountains :) So, we planned our little camping trip for Ruidoso and counted down the days until we left :) We decided to just go for one night, since we weren't sure how Annabelle would do, so we left Saturday morning bright and early and got there around 1. We all needed to get out and move around, so for our first adventure we hit the trails! I picked a few connecting trails that would take us into the mountains, then out along the crest and back down to our campsite where our car was. About a 1200 ft elevation gain and about 5 miles. Not too bad :) The hike started out great, nice and easy ascent, great views, and we even took both dogs off the leash to see how they would do.

Annabelle loved riding with her daddy :)

She fell asleep during the first leg of the trip.

The pups loved playing in the little snow they found :) They actually did really well staying with us and came running back whenever Shanam called for them. From everything we read, we were not expecting them to behave so well offleash, so we were very happy and proud of them, to say the least!!! There was a time, though, when we got to the top and stopped for little while, when I had to feed and change Annabelle, that they got a little too distracted and Shanam had to try and go find them. I continued on up the trail only to turn the corner to a whole mountain of snow blocking the trail. Annabelle and I tried to get across, but it was just too deep so we called Shanam to tell him we'd be coming back down the same trail we went up. This was after hiking four miles up, having one mile left, but now having to hike back four miles, instead :( Not too great, especially since Annabelle was pretty much done hiking and Shanam still couldn't find the dogs. It was starting to get dark, so we hurried as fast as we could. Shanam met us a little way down the mountain with still no dogs and very discouraged. Huskies will run for miles without realizing how far they had gone our where they were, so we were expecting the worst. As we continued down, who should come racing up the trail!? Why, Sophie and Sasha, of course! I think they were just as excited to see us as we were to see them! From then on, they stayed very close to us, all the way to the car! By the time we got there, it was very dark and cold and I was absolutely exhausted! We drove to town to eat dinner then came back to set up camp. Annabelle and I stayed warm in the car while Shanam put up the tent and got all our sleeping bags ready. What a gentleman :) We were happy to climb in and get some rest!

Annabelle did great!!!! She slept all through the night, only waking up to eat a few times. She just stayed right in my bag with me, curled up by my side :) I, however, had a harder time sleeping, but that's ok. I still felt great in the morning, waking up to the fresh morning air.

Shanam made a campfire to help keep us warm in the freezing weather. It felt lovely!

I think Annabelle likes camping :) Can you tell? :) While she and I stayed at the site in the morning, Shanam took the pups with him mountain biking. They did great, until a deer crossed right in front of them, and the chase was on!! Shanam waited for them in a clearing, but when they didn't come to his calls, he headed back down to the car. And guess who was there waiting for him?! That's right, our crazy dogs :) He was once again more than relieved! Right when we got back home we ordered some training, shock collars for them. Hopefully that will break them out of their hunting trance and we can take them into the mountains again with no worries! We were blessed nothing went wrong and we all got back in one piece together!

Telluride & Durango, CO!!

Who says traveling with a baby isn't easy :) Sure our plans had to be adapted slightly, but we were still able to make it up to Colorado and thoroughly enjoy our time there! After seeingTelluride during the summer, we knew we had to come back during the winter. And once again, we met Shanam's family there :) While he, his dad and sister went cross country skiing with the pups, Laura, his mom, Annabelle and I checked out the town. We went shopping, visited the town museum where Ellen recognized some friends in a slide show they had from the 70's, rode the gondola into Mountain Village, and ate lunch at a lovely Italian pizzeria.

Isn't the town's backdrop gorgeous!! I want a cute pink house in Telluride!

We all met up for dinner that night at a great Asian restaurant that I highly recommend!

GranEllen and Annabelle loved seeing eachother again :)

Then it was time for Annabelle's first snowshoeing adventure! She rode with GranEllen in our Ergo baby carrier and fell asleep within the first 10 minutes :) And Laura and I got to experience being pulled up the mountain by Sophie & Sasha!! It was so gorgeous being up there!

This is what each night looked like! We were a little exhausted :)

On the way home we stopped in Durango for some root beer. Whenever we go through, we always try and stop because their root beer is delicious!! Go to Carver's Brewery on Main Street. They sweeten their root beer with local honey instead of sugar or corn syrup. It's definitely worth the stop, and their food is excellent, too! This time we met one of Laura's friends at the pub. She's a teacher there and a river rafting guide during the summer. It was great to meet her, and hopefully during the summer we'll be able to go back and go rafting with her!

Annabelle did such a great job during the whole trip! We think she enjoys traveling and seeing new places just as much as we do!

Valentine's Day 2011

Since last Valentine's Day was so great, we wanted to keep the tradition and prepare a gourmet dinner together instead of going out. After trying to figure out what we wanted to make we thought it would be fun to stick with the same three main ingredients (stuffed mushrooms, scallops, and asparagus) but make different recipes with them. So this is what we made:

(click on each recipe title to be taken to the recipe)

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

This was an ok recipe but we would make some some changes to it

Had to get the same shot of Shanam searing the scallops :)

We made Crustless Goat Cheese Asparagus Quiche but that recipe came from a magazine

Seared Scallops with Leeks and Lemon-Chili Butter

Soooooooooo delicious! Such a great combination of flavors!

Bananas Foster

Amazing!! This is what Shanam wanted to try and make, flaming rum and everything, and it turned out so good!

We love sharing our love for good food on Valentine's Day!

Man's Best Friend

This is what happens when Shanam gets home from work. :) After saying hello to his girls (Annabelle and me), he'll open the back door to say hello to his "other" girls. They barge through the door, frantic to see him, and almost tackle him to the floor! He'll get down and wrestle with them for a good 10 minutes before they let him get up and do something else.

I can understand why they love him so much. It's because he loves them so much. He spent 3 weekends (one very snowy, 18 degree weekend) constructing this doghouse, or penthouse as I like to call it, for them. It's 3ft x4ft, insulated, air-conditioned, and has a removable roof, doggy door, and huge pillows.

I can guarantee you, no other huskies in Texas get this kind of treatment! Now they're all ready to beat the heat during the summer. It was quite the project and Shanam did a very impressive job!

Almost every night he brushes them, and if you can't tell, Sophie loves it :) Sasha gets jealous when it's not her turn and will either try to play with Sophie to distract her or play with Shanam's toes :)

This is what happens when Shanam leaves. Are you feeling the love, yet?

Our New Years Letter!

Hello Friends & Family!

Happy New Year! It’s me, Annabelle! I’m the newest addition to the McGaughy family! I am so happy to finally be here! I know I haven’t met most of you yet, but I hope to meet you soon. J I was born October 28^th at 6:09 am. My mom says I did such a great job during the birth because it only took me 3 hours to make my appearance! If you want to read more about that crazy story, check out the blog my mom is making for me! But, shhh, don’t tell her I told you! I’m not supposed to know about it yet. It’s a surprise for when I’m older! J The address is mapetiteannabelle.blogspot.com. You’ll see tons of pictures and updates on how I’m growing and how cute I’m getting. Hehe! So far, I’ve been having a great time with my family! This world is so amazing! There is so much to see and do and I just can’t wait until I’m big enough to do it all!

I must say, though, I have been able to do a lot so far! Sure, I was inside my mommy’s tummy through it all, but it still counts, right? J This past year was very eventful for my family. We were able to go on many fun trips and do really fun things. Here is a list of all the places we visited:

Baltimore, Maryland

Utah - 3 times

Jackson Hole

Grand Teton National Park

Austin, Texas

Santa Fe, New Mexico

White Sands, New Mexico

Cloudcroft, New Mexico

Ruidoso, New Mexico

Florida - 2 times

Telluride, Colorado

Alpine & Fort Davis, Texas

Why do we get to go on so many fun trips? Well, not only do we love to travel and explore new places…but have you seen where we live? Daddy works as a general manager for an oil company out here in Andrews, and while we are grateful he has such a great job, sometimes it feels like West Texas is its own far away country. If you lived here, you would make time to travel, too! J While on our many adventures, I’ve been able to go hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, camping, golfing, swimming, dancing, and I even rode a ride at Walt Disney World! Mom said it would be okay if we went on Tower of Terror since it is one of her favorite rides and I was weightless already, you know, floating around in her belly. J Feel free to read all the details of our past trips and upcoming ones on our adventure blog, bethanyandshanam.blogspot.com.

Our family is extremely excited for the new year! Want to know what we have planned? One of the most exciting adventures, is we are planning to climb to the top of 30 state highpoints while Daddy is 30. This requires a road trip to the east coast where we will reach 22 state highpoints in 10 days! Our two Siberian huskies, Sophie and Sasha, will come and climb with us, too! Anyone want to loan us an RV? J Dad also plans on getting his pilot’s license this year. He’s finally going to be able to finish what he started 3 years ago! Then he’ll be able to fly us to our favorite places to camp, Ruidoso and Cloudcroft, NM. We’ll be able to spend more time in the mountains and less time driving!

Mommy, well, she has a lot she wants to do this year! She really wants to be able to knit hats and sweaters and socks for me, but first, she’s got to learn how to knit. J So, that’s on her list of things to learn. Before I was born, she really got into fitness and running, so she’s excited to get back into shape and plans on running a half marathon before the end of the year! Go, mom! Also on her list, is to grow a big garden this summer and eat lots of fresh vegetables. I’m excited for that, too, because she says she’ll make me baby food from our garden! Yummy! She plans on keeping her personal blog updated with healthy recipes, crafts, decoration ideas, gardening tips, and fun stories, so make sure to watch for updates at bapaslittlebee.blogspot.com.

This is going to be a very busy year for me, as well! I’ve got to learn how to roll over, sit up, crawl, chew, walk, and talk! That’s a lot! So, wish me health and patience as I learn how to use this little body of mine! J From our family to yours, we hope there is happiness and harmony in your home and plenty of love and laughter to share with those around you!

Christmas Vacation!!

Our adventure began on Tuesday, December 28 at 1700 hours. We had a 16 hour, 950 mile road trip ahead of us with a 2 month old baby and two 4 month old puppies. What laid ahead...we didn't know...but we hit the open road with a prayer in our hearts and a sincere hope that it wouldn't get too crazy :) Utah or bust!

Gratefully, the pups were awesome and Annabelle was an angel! We would have made it to American Fork in good time, but we had a slight hiccup...okay, major belch...at the top of Price Canyon, in the middle of a snow storm, no less. Our radiator hose blew and our engine overheated...not cool! But luckily we weren't too far from home! After 4 hours of being stranded in the cold, Shanam's mom came to the rescue and picked us up, AAA towed our car to a shop in Provo, and we were once again warmed by a functioning heater. Amazingly, Annabelle and the puppies slept through it all, without one single peep! Now that is a Christmas miracle!

First thing the next day, Shanam introduced the pups to the snow and took them snowshoeing with his family. Sophie and Sasha were in heaven! As soon as they hit the powder they wanted to run, run, run! It's amazing to watch their instincts kick in! And boy did they look gorgeous in the snow! They were definitely in their element...it's just like watching Shanam when he hits the slopes :) (Don't forget to click on the photo so you can see it bigger! I love the photo of Shanam and his two girls in the top right corner :)

Christmas with family was absolutely wonderful!!!!!!! They all loved meeting Annabelle and we had such a great time visiting, laughing, eating, and playing! This was Christmas dinner with Shanam's fam...yummy lobster once again! I love that holiday tradition :)

And here we are with my fam! Being home for the holidays is what it's all about!

Annabelle was blessed on the day after Christmas (isn't her dress gorgeous! It's Belgian!) and all 3 great grandmas and grandmas were there, so of course we had to take a picture! Never know when that will happen again! So, from the left on the couch is my dad's mom, GG Penny, then Shanam's mom's mom, GreatGamma, and my mom's mom, Nana. What a great and wonderful group of women I get to claim as family!

We also met up with Bre and Sydne's family. Emily was our fourth roommate from our Devonshire college days who had a baby this year but she couldn't make it. We missed her :( It was so fun to get all our babies together and of course to be with the girls again :)

One thing we had to do while in Utah was see the Temple Square Christmas lights, of course! The place was packed with people but definitely worth every shoulder bump :) The place was gorgeous! Annabelle stayed nice and cozy wrapped to my body underneath my coat jacket. She loved looking at the lights for all of two minutes then fell fast asleep :) An awesome dinner at our favorite Salt Lake City pizza place, Settabellos, came next! Some of the other vacation events included skiing, playing laser tag, enjoying sushi, feasting on an amazing dinner at La Caille (a perfect Christmas gift from my brother), and lots of family bonding time. We couldn't have asked for a better 12 days of Christmas :)

Doesn't it just look so beautiful...cold, but beautiful! :) None of us wanted to leave :( But alas, we're in Texas for a reason and we love all the great friends we've made there, so we had to go back. After a perfect road trip home, we're already looking ahead to our next adventure!

The Big 3-0!!

Here's the birthday boy enjoying his warm homemade apple-raspberry pie and cinnamon gelato!

For Thanksgiving dinner, it's our family tradition to have lobster instead of turkey. Doesn't that plate look divine?!

Well, it was!

The timing worked out great because his parents were already here visiting Annabelle, so they were able to celebrate Thanksgiving and Shanam's birthday, too!

For his gift, they bought Shanam a much needed, incredible new slant board to help straighten his back. The puppies love attacking him while he uses it :)

And as for my present, I've arranged a way for us to hike 30 state highpoints while he's 30. This poster will help us track and document when we do them. Stay tuned for more info about the highpoints! That's one of our new adventures coming up this year :)

But I'm pretty sure this little lady was his favorite gift this year :)