Sledding and Ice Cream

My kids were dying to go sledding all winter....but there was never enough snow. When Hallie and Peyton came from Texas, we were determined to find some. And we were successful. We found a hill by a church up in Provo with JUST enough snow. You can see from the lawn and leaves you see in the pictures that it was just barely possible. We still had a lot of fun. Kate cracked me up because she obviously had no memory of sledding, but she grabbed her sled, ran up the hill, and was half-way down before I finished getting everyone's gloves on. Love that girl. Grandma took us for ice cream after and we met up with the men getting off work. I know there are a lot of pictures, but we LOVE when the O'Briens and the Meiers come to town :)

We love you Grandma and Grandpa!

It has been about 5 years since Grandma died and 3 years since Grandpa did. I still miss them both so much and think of them almost every single day. The other day, I saw a little old man with his cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and belt-buckled sagging pants. I said, "There's my grandpa," and burst into tears. I learned so much from these amazing people through my life. Living with them was a blessing. I continue to learn from their example as I think about the attitudes they had and the way they lived their life.

I'm 30! And Another Girls' Weekend!

I'm 30! I had my birthday in December and hit the milestone year. Nothing feels too different, but it is now easier to remember how old I am :) Back in December, I was missing my sisters. Neither of them were able to come out for Christmas this year and it was a bummer. I love my family and hate that my sisters live so far away. Anyway, back in December, a killer deal came up for flights. Turns out, that is just what I wanted for my big old birthday coming up. Plane tickets for my sisters :) They came out for a week and it was so much fun. Except for the fact that all of Heather's kids were sick and up all night. But it was still fun! We also were able to do our annual Girls' Weekend. I have to say, that is a tradition I think every family should have. We get a big hotel room with our cousins and Aunt, just for a night. We shop, talk, and laugh. It is the best. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such marvelous women. And I feel so blessed to have a husband who encourages me to get away with them.

A girls' weekend would not be complete without a run to Target! Wait! Who is that random man in the picture with us? Oh yeah, he thought Heather was flirting with him when she kept insisting that he should jump in the picture. Remember Heather, his name is Tony and he works at Target!

That's better. Although, we will always cherish our memory of Tony.

One more Target shot with Bobbi Ann, Kendra, and Stephanie. I love that we are the crazy group of women posing for pictures in Target. I wish I had pictures of mom and Dicksy, but I was having too much fun to worry about taking pictures :)

Random Pics

Macy loves to take the camera and take pictures. Some of them are awesome and capture things I don't capture because I always say, "Look at mom and smile!" Others are completely random (think pictures of objects that we care nothing about). And others are blurry or indesciferable because her finger was in the way :)

I went on Carston's fieldtrip to the Bean Museum and the BYU Art Museum. It was fun seeing him interact with his class, and it was so reassuring to know that he is settled in and no longer feels like an outsider or the new kid. It was a LONG field trip!

This was the first year Carston could play on a basketball team. John coached and his two cousins played with him. It was a lot of fun for them to all play together. I love watching Carston improve as an athlete. He is learning that it is not rude or mean to be aggressive in sports :)

Kate Turned 3!

Kate turned 3! All the way back on January 8th! Even though we had barely been moved into our house, I wanted to give her a special party. She wanted a Dora theme since Dora is the best thing ever when you are a little youngster. And she wanted to invite all her friends. I asked her specific names and she listed her babysitters, Carston's friends, Avery's friends, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins....I think this year's goal should be to help her find friends that are under the age of 8 :) My mom took her in the morning so we could get everything ready. Everyone was waiting when she came to the door and we yelled "Surprise!" It was priceless. She was terrified! She blurted out, "Those are all my friends." and then clamped her mouth shut tight to stop herself from crying. It was so adorable. We opened presents after that to help her calm down and remember how exciting birthdays were. And then....we had a Dora Adventure! I wish I would have taken pictures. Swiper "stole" the treat bags and we had to find them. There was a big map that showed us the way. We went to Tico's Forest and helped her rebuild her trees that the wind blew down (Christmas Clearance items). We had to make our way through Star Valley and catch all the stars. We met the Grumpy Old Troll (aka John) and had to solve his riddle. We helped Diego find all the baby animals that got lost. We went through the spider web and across Crystal Lake. And then we finally found Swiper's hideout! Kate really thought swiper was hiding inside the big cardboard box. She happily accepted someone's offer to go in and get the treat bags. As soon as we had them, she said, "We did it!" and started singing the song. It was awesome. I love the power of birthday parties. A few hours of my time, and she was in heaven. She talks about her birthday EVERY SINGLE DAY. And it has been over 3 months. That made it all worth it.

She was so happy to get her bike. She CRUISES around on that thing at top speed. She also has the sweetest Grandpa Danny. He was going to be gone for her birthday, so he went out all on his own and bought her a Dora Doll. He brought it over the night before he left and she was in heaven. I love that my kids have so many people who love them to pieces and want the best for them. We love you Kate and we are so blessed to have your sweet spirit as part of our family!