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Bookworms!

Right after the holidays we discovered the Magic Tree House series (I was reading Liz's blog and saw her kids got these books for Christmas and I had to try them out!). We are hooked! It's been so fun to read chapter books and have all three kids glued to the pages. We just started book #14, Day Of The Dragon King.

I've decided that my favorite thing to do with my children is read together. Fun for everyone!

Janitors

My little brother is an author!!!

This awesome tale is going to be released in August. My bro is publishing with Shadow Mountain and Brandon Dorman (brandondorman.com) is the illustrator.

I am so excited for Ty's success.

He's a cool little brother, a great friend, a fantastic Uncle and a brand new author. Congrats Ty!

Quinn hits the slopes

1st time skiing!

In January, when Quinn's kindergarten teacher asked him what he did over Christmas break Quinn answered, "Well, I didn't go skiing and I really wanted to!".

They tackled a 1/2 day at Beaver Mountain. Mike said it was just about right for this little guys first time. Quinn said he'd like to go again, a sign that he had a great day!

Let's wrap this up with a little Groundhog Day fun.

We drove to my sister's house to see her new baby (so sweet Sadie) and to make a tasty treat with the cousins. We filled cups with "dirt" to make Punxsutaney Phil's home and then plopped him on his mound. Most of the rodents we colored turned out pretty normal; brown fur, brown nose, brown paws. But this snazzy little guy was Mike's groundhog. It looks like he wanted to make an impression for his 125th annual weather forecast.

whoosh!

Weather is so cool.

Super windy today. And pretty warm (53 degrees as I type).

Sunshine, pinwheels, a breeze & dress-ups make for a great day.

Supposed to snow tomorrow. I'm OK with that.

Weather is awesome.

Christmas 2010

Remember Christmas?

Here Max is arranging the ornaments on the "real tree". The fun tree that Mike & I made downstairs was not a real tree in the kids eyes.

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Looooove my new slippers. Oh, and loooove my son. :-)

We saw the Utah Symphony Orchestra perform The Polar Express.

We cruised downtown on TRAX for a fun-filled trip to Temple Square with Mike's sister, Karie & hubby Keith and their family.

Here is my favorite colored tree on Temple Square.

We spent some quality time with all my family (my Dad is NOT this stern).

See what a good sport he is? I love this about you Dad!

A great Christmas. It's a gift to live near family.

Temple Grounds

Look at this place. It's glorious.

I took these pictures on a magnificent fall day in early November.

I wanted my kids to walk around the temple while the fountain was still going, the flowers still blooming and the leaves still on the trees.

Mae has been wanting to go to the temple for several weeks now. She's very interested every time I leave the house to attend a temple session. She always begs to come along, last time tears were involved.

She wanted to wear her white church dress to walk along the temple grounds. I was touched at how sweet and excited she was about the temple. It warmed my heart.

I really enjoyed this afternoon and I think my kids did too. I feel immensely blessed to live close (less-than-15 mins-away-close) to a temple. There is so much beauty and peace at this Holy House.

Texas Trip!

Mike & I flew to TX in October so he could take his pediatric board exams in Houston. We decided to make a trip out of it. A most excellent decision, if I do say so myself.

C & Hil picked us up from the airport and our adventure began (you must check Hil's blog to see more fun TX photos. Click C & Hil on my blog list).

Here we are, taking in the beautiful foliage and enjoying a warm Texas evening, walking around The Alamo.

Sweet, sweet bar-b-q. We savored many good meals while visiting C & Hil. The food in Texas is so different and oh-so delicious!

C gave us a tour of Texas State University where he's getting his PhD. Here I am, shaking Lyndon B. Johnson's hand. President Johnson went to school at Texas State and so does C!

In Austin, we had amazing tacos and hot-chocolate shakes at Torchy's Tacos and Holy Cacao food trucks. That was some good eatin'.

Mike & I rented this Smart Car to take us from C & Hil's home to San Antonio. We were doubtful that both of us and our luggage could squeeze into such a car, but we fit. It was the perfect rental car, one you would never buy, but would love to try out for a few hours.

We stayed one night with our dear friends, Anna & Dell, before flying out of San Antonio. What a treat to see them and their sweet children, Henry & Lizzy.

While Mike & I were away, this picture was emailed to us. The words of the email went, "Sorry to report this, but the last time I saw Mae she was with these two strange little men." I dare say the children had as much fun with family here in UT as we did in TX! :)

Thanks to C & Hil for showing us your awesome world. Thanks to my parents, Mike's parents and Jess & Dave for caring for our young 'uns. It was a trip to remember, for all of us.