December and Family Fun

The kids have gone skiing 3 times in December - and they are getting pretty good. Audrey gives Chad a run for his money - and Carson is starting to find his skiing legs. This has been a fun activity for Chad and the kids.

Audrey had a ballet class demonstration in December. It was fun to see her showing off the ballet skills she has been learning. She is very confident and it was fun to watch.

Because it has been so cold in December, we have found ourselves playing inside a lot.

Here is train world that we made one morning. On other days, we have built Dinosaur World, CARS world, and Hot Wheels world. It has been fun to play along with the kids using their toys. It has also been my goal to focus more on them now that I have more "spare time".


Carson finished his learning to read book, and it suggested 100 additional reading books to try, so, he skipped to suggestion 100 and started reading the Tree House Series (several levels above him). The amazing thing is that he is enjoying it and is very persistent. We have a new reader!!!! His kindergarten teacher will be very surprised next time she hears him reading.

Our family went to Dimple Dell Rec Center for a Christmas Eve swim. It was very fun to play with the kids, and they are all getting to be swimmers, which is a different sort of swimming experience. It was a fun day.

Christmas morning, wow! What a neat thing with little kids. They get so excited about everything. We sure are in a wonderful time of life.

Christmas was wonderful, and I think we all truely felt the miracle of the birth of the Savior this year. We are so blessed.

November Brings Change

Well, this has been a crazy month for us. The biggest news is that I was released as Relief Society President after 2 years - which was a big relief and a sudden change. It has been interesting to go through that change - I am grateful I was able to serve, I am also sad that I will miss out on the blessings that came. Now, I need to make sure that my family is a bigger part of my life! I can already feel my newly available time being sucked up with un-essential things.

Fall has been fun - we have enjoyed football, Thanksgiving Dinner, the opening of an In and Out Burger a couple miles from our house, and seeing the kids progress in school and learn so much. It is strange that the fall is drawing to a close and the Christmas Season is upon us. Kate has become a three year old social butterfly, playing almost daily with her best friend, Emily. Carson and Audrey have surprised me with their progress in school, and Chad is in Heaven with the BYU win over Utah on Saturday.

These pics are from our leaf cleaning exploits one Saturday. We got them all blown, raked and gathered before the snow came down. The kids were in heaven playing in the leaves, and also very useful in compacting them into our garbage can.

This last Saturday morning Carson asked me to not go out to exercise. I asked him what I should do instead - and he said "play more with me". So, with that for a mission statement, I think I will play more with Carson (and Audrey and Kate)!

Chicago is Warmer Than I Remember!

Chad and I went to Chicago for his Graduate School 5 year Reunion this last weekend. We had a terrific trip. It was beautiful weather, especially for Chicago in November. We spent a couple days exploring and remembering our fun times there 5 years ago. Later we hooked up with fun friends and remembered good times. How fun.

On our first day, we walked along Michigan Ave and here I am by the river and Chad is next to the Wrigley Building. We spent several hours at the Art Institute - very neat to explore it without kids in tow.

That night we went to dinner and to the Blue Man Group. We hadn't gone as poor college kids, and it was very fun to spend a night on the town. We quickly snapped this pic of us at the show just before the usher told us to put the camera away.

One of our favorite things while we were there was reliving our time. We ran along the Shoreline trail - drove around our old Hyde Park neighborhood, and looking out at Lake Michigan. Here we are along the beach with part of the city behind us.

We got together two of Chad's fellow school friends and their wives (the Kanes and the Pauls) for dinner and also stayed with the Pauls for two of the nights. It was fun to be part of their life again. Chad ran with Brent on Saturday, and it was nice to see how big the kids are getting.

We visited our favorite of all time museums - the Museum of Science and Industry - and spent 5 hours there. It was just as we remembered - but better. They have added several new exhibits and updated and upgraded many parts. It was fun to explore this with Chad and no kiddos. But, we made a pact to bring our kids back. It is sooooo neat!

The Reunion had several events and we attended a "Back to Class" session where we learned about things beyond my limited world scope. The topic was on "Sovereign Wealth Funds". I felt lost for the first 10 minutes when I didn't recognize ANYTHING they were talking about. By the time the lecture was over, I felt my world had expanded and I new a lot more about wealthy sovereign countries like Dubai and China and how they typically invest their money in foreign markets like the US. Crazy what you can learn about daily at this sort of amazing University.

We also went to the class reunion dinner, and Chad reconnected with many, many of his friends from classes and projects. His Lead Squad was the most rewarding to catch up with, and they were all very nice and remembered our cute Audrey from when she was a little girl in Chicago.

Sunday was perhaps the best day of all. We attended the same church we had attended both years there. So many people have moved on in the last 5 years and are no longer living in Hyde Park. But, it was fun to connect with those that are. And, it was so exciting to see those we worked with in the gospel still strong and active - and in the ward leadership now! What a great trip. It was also fun to see the little sunbeams I taught all grown up and 9 years old now!!!!

It is fun to come home, but part of our hearts are still in Chicago!

Our Baby is A Boy

Our good news is that we are having a baby boy, he is due March 4th. We found out a few weeks ago, but I finally wanted to get it on our blog as well. Now our pattern is perfect - Girl, Boy, Girl, and new baby boy.

More Fun and Less Spooky Halloween

Every year, Halloween gets more and more fun, and Chad and I enjoy it because our kids love it so much! We had a 45 day count down and Audrey decorated her room in September.

This year we had Hannah Montana, a skeleton and Sleeping Beauty. It was so fun to help them dress up and do fun holiday things.

Grandma had her annual Pumpkin Party - one of the highlights of the year!!! We were missing our cute cousin Maren (though she attended by skype). The rest of us partied and partied. What a fun event - thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

On Halloween day, our whole family went to Cornbelly's and enjoyed their Halloween festival. Here are the kids standing in front of the creature. They loved exploring there and ran from event to event because they were so excited. It was a beautiful fall day - gorgeous sunny fall weather - and it was such a pleasure to be outdoors enjoying it.

Halloween night - the kids walked and walked around the neighborhood. We lasted a lot longer than we usually do, and it was so fun to see so many folks we know out as well. Because it was a nice night - even the parents had fun. We realized that we are lucky that Audrey still wants to go out with us. Very soon, she will be wanting to spend the night with friends more than parents.

Here are the kids exploring the booty. Even with so much candy, it is surprising how quickly it all gets eaten!

Well, only 351 days to go until next Halloween!

Isn't Fall Great - Squeezing in a Little More Sun

September seemed like an extension of summer, but October was true to it's season. There was a dramatic temperature change at the first of October, we definitely knew fall was here! With that change, we grabbed jackets and hit the parks as much as possible, trying to get our most of the time we had left.

Here is Kate's first preschool field trip. She felt SO GROWN UP! She had gone on a ton last year with Carson, but this was HER field trip. We went to a Fire Station, and here she is giving the fireman a "high five".

Kate has learned how to get on the swings and pump herself this summer. The other day I heard her outside singing to the tune of "It's a small world" - "I'm a big girl after all" and she pumped herself really high in the air. On this cool fall day, she and Cinderella Bear are bundled in pink and about to swing together. She really is growing up!

One of my favorite mornings as a mom was a few weeks ago while Kate was at preschool and it was just Carson and I at home (he has afternoon kindergarten). We packed our bikes and drove to the Jordan River Trail. He and I went on a bike ride together, exploring places that he hadn't been to before. When he wanted to stop for a break, we sat on a bench together and he just hugged and hugged me. I thought to myself - this is what being a mom is all about.

Audrey is learning to cook. She has been Easy Bak'n for her friends very often, but for the activity days talent show, she perfected the skills of mixing and baking her own cupcakes. It was very fun to teach her to measure, crack eggs, use a mixer and the oven - and then let her do it all her self a couple of times to get confidence. The kids actually got bored of eating the 75 pink cupcakes she produced in a weeks' time, but Audrey was quite pleased with learning her new skill.

We visited a small fall festival at Engh Gardens one sunny fall afternoon this month. The kids are always excited to do something together for Halloween - and this turned out great. Here they are on the pirate ship. They spent time in the straw maze and various fall displays. I also was glad to do a little perennial shopping - something I have wanted to do the last 3 years of living in our house. Hopefully the ones I picked out and planted this fall will add some color to our drab spring flower gardens in a few months.

Well, the school parties have begun and Kate had her preschool party with Mrs. Sue today. She loved being dressed up princess style and playing all of the fun Halloween games. I got to help out with the party and that was a treat.

Happy Halloween!

Some Sweet History is Made

September was Audrey's 8th Birthday, so we were very proud of her choice to be baptized. This was a very neat day for all of us. Chad performed the ordinance of baptism and confirmation, and Audrey was glowing all day! It was so sweet to feel her eagerness to be obedient to the commandments. On Sunday she was also beaming all day - and was willing to sit on the stand during Sacrament Meeting. She had lots of family come and witness her special ordinance and we had a crazy family party/BYU football game party afterward. Thanks everyone that shared the special day with us!!

Here is a pic of Audrey's Rocking Birthday party! She and her friends jammed out to Hannah Montana, and they all competed to be the "best singer" and "best dancer". There was so much excitement and creativity! We had fun decorating and buying fun props for the party. We had pizza and a Hannah cake and ice cream. Another party is in the books!

We were finally able to hike Timp Cave this month. We weren't very good at scoring tickets ahead of time, so we finally planned ahead and purchased them the week before we hiked it. Carson LOVED the cool cave rock formations. He loved thinking about how the formations and caves were formed. The girls loved the beautiful aspects of the cave. And, the hike wasn't as long as we remembered! We got there 25 minutes early, so we were able to explore a little earlier than we had planned.

Chad is hooked on Tri's! He did his second in September - and the weather was much better, and he finished 35th overall. It was fun to cheer him on again, and with the better weather - the kids enjoyed the experience a lot more. Good job Chad!

September was a big milestone month for both Carson and Kate. It was Carson's first day of Kindergarten - and thus his first day on the bus. He was did great - he wasn't even nervous. He is so grown up now!

Kate had her first day of preschool. This was VERY exciting for Kate because she was going to preschool with Emily! These two are adorable together - and Kate wasn't about to miss out on getting to go. She came close, she wasn't potty trained at the first of August, the cut-off, but she got it all figured out in record time so that she would be able to go! We are so proud of that cute little girl.