Oh, What do you do in the Wintertime?

It has been a little bit of a challenge to find activities this winter to do as a family. It seems like the kids need to run off energy - but we don't always have good ideas. However, here are a few things we have tried.

On the left, Carson and Audrey are hanging out in the dome theatre in Clarke Planetarium. This was a good trip because everyone enjoyed the free exhibits and it was a good change of pace. The show we saw was not free - but, we have never done a show in the dome, and Audrey was so impressed!! Kate was not, she was freaked out and it took a lot of persuasion to keep her in the room with us.

The weather has actually been fairly mild, and so here we are taking a walk on the trail that runs parallel to our street and house. We always call it the spooky woods because of all the trees there, but it is a lot less spooky now that they built a running trail there last summer. It was wonderful to see the kids run and run and enjoy being outside.

We took a trip to BYU to their Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum. It had been a little while - so everyone was pretty excited to see the animals there. Chad and I had a good chuckle over the placement of the grizzly bear. They moved him into the Yellowstone National Park exhibit, and he faces the back wall, so even though you have to walk around him, you don't know what it is until you turn and face him in those close quarters. The kids had already commented that they wondered where he had gone to . . . and when we spotted him we pointed him out. They all looked up, and up, and up and up till they saw his face. Then Kate let out a shriek of terror and all of the kids ran out of the room. The rest of the visit Chad spent daring the kids to go back and visit him. I guess it didn't matter that he was dead, stuffed and behind glass - he was still pretty frightening to them.


Well, one of our most recent attempts at "getting out" together was a family kick-ball game at the church gym. We had fun playing together - parents versus kids, and as long as the kids were winning, there were no tears. We did have fun - and it might be worth a rematch before the end of the winter.

Our next adventure will be the birth of our little son this week! He isn't due until next week, but I will be induced on Saturday, February 27th if he doesn't find his way out before then. We will keep you posted - we are very excited!

Welcoming 2010

We had our own family celebration to welcome the New Year, complete with confetti poppers, horns and handmade hats. The kids loved it, and it was fun to all play games together leading up to our celebration. The kids are all getting quite good at Uno. Even Kate knows how to play and frequently beats everyone else out! It is wonderful to start a new decade with our family. Chad and I welcomed in the start of 2000 as newlyweds on our honeymoon. Now look at us 10 years later with a growing family. I can't even image how old everyone will be in 2020! We will be a house of teenagers. I get ahead of myself. It is good to remember how special today is and enjoy what we have today.

On New Years' Day, we met up with Brad and Melissa's family and shot rockets and went sledding. The kids all had a blast, I enjoyed watching - a little too pregnant to enjoy the crazy journey down the hill. It was a great day.

Our next adventure was bowling together. The kids all did better than me, and Kate had the highest score. It is helpful that the gutter guards were up and she had the bowling contraption that little kids can just roll their ball down. What a fun family activity.

Our other activities this month included watching all three Jurassic Park movies (Kate would go play in her room, but the older two were spell-bound), and helping Audrey recover from a combo bacterial pneumonia/walking pneumonia. It took 8 straight days of high fever and a continuous dry hacking cough, 3 antibiotics and 3 doctor visits to finally get her healing. We are glad to see her healthy again.

While I have been very tired and sore from being pregnant, I feel tons better this week. Overall, it seems harder on my body this time around. I have had to learn to say "No" and let things go that I normally accomplish. Kate and I even had a nap together after trying to go to the Aquarium together and finding I was too tired to enjoy being there with her. It was pretty sweet to both curl up in my bed and fall asleep together. I am feeling more energy this week and Carson and I made the trip to the Aquarium on Monday together. It was much more enjoyable and here he is in front of the tetra tank.

Chad and the older two kids have had some great skiing this month, and both kids are passing me up. By the time I hit the slopes again, they will be teaching me! It is a pleasure to see them learn and grow. It is some of my greatest joys.

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!