Party On!

What a day! Quinn turned 6 yesterday.

He was such a funny, cute kid about his birthday. He sure had opinions this year. His requests were: spaghetti for dinner (I threw tacos out there, hoping he'd go for that because it's easier for me to make than b-sketti, but he firmly told me he liked b-sketti the best. We went to Noodles & Co.), a birthday cake (he's getting one on Saturday for his party, so I tried to get away with chocolate covered strawberries for his birthday treat but he wasn't havin' it), that everyone hide and surprise him when he gets home from school (he acted so surprised and thrilled when Mike and the twins popped out from behind the door and under the couch, it was hilarious), twinkies for his school treat, and a rousing round or two of Heads Up 7-Up before we went to bed. Oh, and lots of presents. Quinn told me and Mike several times before his b-day that we had better get him some presents. Because he couldn't see them wrapped sitting on the fireplace, the poor kid must have thought his parents weren't going to pull through in the gift department! We all had a great time celebrating Quinn. I feel blessed to be his Ma (that's what he's called me from the beginning, Ma or Mama, it's precious). Happy Birthday Big Guy!

page by page

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.