Temple Square at Christmas Time!

I love that Sarah is giving herself bunny ears here... and I love how freezing my mom looks!


Some guy was outside giving rides on this old couch with a remote control! The kids totally wanted a ride!
While my parents were here we went to Salt Lake to see the lights at Temple Square. I can't believe I have not been since I was in college... It was so beautiful! It is amazing how many lights they put up and the beautiful Nativity they have! So glad we were able to go.

Tae Kwon Do

The kids started Tae Kwon Do last year from Mrs. Tina in our neighborhood. She is awesome and teaches in her basement. Sarah got her white belt with yellow stripe and Britten got his white belt with black stripe. It is fun to watch them and see what they are learning! Ian even likes to do kicks and punches too. Since they started they have had a few bully encounters and they are not scared of anyone! Not sure how good that is... We were at Kangaroo Zoo and I look over and see Sarah grabbing some 12 year old by the shirt and swinging him around. Sarah also was sparing an 8 year old in her class and he kept backing up and she said, "you gotta defend yourself dude!" Britten is doing great and improving quickly!

Ice Skating Outing!

Sarah and Nana going around the rink! She did so good and she actually wants to have her birthday party here with her friends... I went around with her a few times and she kept saying speed up slow poke!
Britten and his Dad... I was so impressed with how determined Britten was to get this ice skating down. He had spaghetti legs when he first started and was all over the place. He fell so many times but he was determined to skate around the rink on his own. By the time we left he was doing a pretty good job!
Papa John and little Ian. I thought it was so cool that they had skates Ian's size. He was the cutest little peanut out there!

We had a lot of family visit us over the holidays! Jeff's family likes to do something FUN everyday they are here. We decided to go ice skating at the Olympic rink in Provo and the kids had a BLAST! It is something that I recommend anyone who lives around here and we will totally go back!

Since it is snowing today...

Ian at our neighborhood pool!Ian LOVED swimming this past summer! He even wore his floaties around the house sometimes! He would not let my dad take a break from this trick!
Britten and Sarah with their cousin Ryder in Nana and Papa's backyard!
Ian was not so sure about running through the sprinkler...
Here are the kids at the fun hotel in San Antonio!
My kids are like little fish in the summer time! I seriously think they spent more time in the water than out of it! So glad they love to be outside and in the water so much! We are looking forward to next summer to swim some more!

Snowy PLACE

sledding up Parley's Canyon... it was so beautiful!Christmas Wreath covered in snow!
view from the front door...
view from the back...

So for those of you that know me and Jeff we both grew up in Houston, Texas. Never in a million years did I think we would grow roots in Utah and live here. When we first got married we went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. After Jeff graduated we moved back to Houston and then he got a job offer in southern Utah and a transfer here to Eagle Mountain. Above are a few photos I have taken of the snow around our house. I always LOVE the first few snowfalls... by the 5th or 6th I am ready for the pool to open and warmer temps for sure!

Flash BACK!

Back in August we adopted a new kitten and named her Cinnamon. She was so little when we brought her home and so scared! In fact we brought her home and put her down in the garage and she darted underneath our stairs and would not come out. 2 days later we had to scare her out and put up a baby gate to keep her from running and hiding. Well, her name really suits her personality! She is the SWEETEST cat we have had and believe me we have had many in the past few years! We love our little kitty!!

You've Got A Friend in ME!

For Christmas Ian got a buzz lightyear costume from his Nana and Papa John... It took him a few weeks to discover and since then he has been wearing it daily!! He LOVES "buzzyear". He walks around the house singing "I gotta friend in you... I gotta friend in you..." And many nights he request that I sing the "Toy Story" song to him before he goes to bed! Too bad this costume was not around when it was Halloween!! This is my favorite age and I love how Ian is my little bud!

blogger cast away...

i can't believe how much time has passed since my last post!! i am in the process of a bloggy make-over! i am so excited to start blogging again! it might be random flash backs for a while... because there are a few fun moments i would like to capture here on this site!

Our Crazy visit to Texas!!

So get your box of chocolates or something... this is a LONG one! The first weekend we got to Texas we had a fun cousin sleep over with Caroline and then headed over to DEWBERRY FARMS! Here is Sarah on the rope swing!
Britten on the potato sack swing. Not sure what this thing is called but he loved it!
Ian and I on a little tractor ride! WEE!! I totally broke the plastic container - OOPS!!
Here is Connor and Britten on the BIG trampoline thing. Connor just turned 15 years old. He was born when I was a freshman in college!! MAN time flies. He is turning into a handsome young man! I'm sure he would love to hear that!
Here is Lilly! My kids love Lilly and so do I! It has been so fun to be her auntie and watch her grow! She is in 5th grade and cheering with high school girls! I was able to watch her practice for a competition and it was cool!
Here is Jimini and Britten! They had a mining station where you buy a bag of sand and pan for "gold" which was coins, stones, sharks teeth, etc. It was very cool and all of the kids had a blast doing this!
Caroline is Bill and Nicole's youngest and she is a doll! She is a year older than Britten and they all play so well together. Caroline always leads my kids in some kind of craft when they get together. Britten and Sarah LOVE her and I'm sure my mom LOVES when they get into all of her crafting stuff!
Here is Sarah on the pony ride. This girl is going to grow up and get a horse I just know it! SHE LOVES them so much! You can tell by her face she is totally HAPPY! I have about five and she is grinning from ear to ear and petting the pony in all of them!
Hello!
Here are a few shots of the Woodlands Mall! My kids have always played in the play area there and have loved it! This was Ian's first time and he did not want to leave. I was sad to notice Britten has really outgrown this area by the height chart but he played anyway!!
Wish I knew what Ian was thinking at this moment!

We went to the Woodlands with Nana! Nana has always taken the kids to the mall to play, ride the carousel and get double doosies. She also always takes them to the book store! They love to pick out books and they sure LOVE their Nana! Thanks Nana for the fun books!
We got some good ones this time!
Are you thirsty yet? This is so not like me but still blogging... Here are the kids at the Children's Museum! They have completely redone it and it is AMAZING! If you live in Houston or are visiting you do not want to miss it! We went here with Nana and Papa John and the kids could have stayed hours longer! Here are Britten and Sarah at the grocery store.
Sarah is taking Nana's order and the restaurant.
Ian is driving a truck in the small kid area of the museum.
Here is Sarah in the science/experiment room! She is designing something.
Here we are on the way home... the kids were totally wiped out from the busy day! And the stomach bug...
The Downtown Aquarium!!! One of our favorite places to go when in Houston! My kids always want to go there so we do! Here is Sarah and my mom on the shark train ride! Even though they know the shark is going to jump out of the water Sarah got totally scared! It was Ian's first time and he was holding on tight to me and cried when the shark jumped out of the water and splashed him!!
My Dad, Britten and Ian! Must have been loud because Britten is plugging his ears!
Jeff and Ian on the Farris wheel! I HATE this ride but my dad bought me a ticket. Totally had anxiety on this one!
Britten and Sarah got their faces painted there - Britten is a transformer and Sarah got a unicorn. Oh to be a kid and get your face painted!
LOVE this shot of Britten! He loves transformers so I was not surprised he picked out this design.
I can't believe it has already been a month since we were down there! From the pictures we all look happy and healthy but that was not the case! Monday night Britten had the stomach flu, Wednesday night Sarah and Ian had it, Thursday night Jeff and Britten had it, Friday I took Britten to a clinic and found out he had strep throat, Saturday night Britten had throw ups again!! So I never threw up but there were several nights I just knew it would be my turn. Sadly we did not do half of the things we had planned or did we get to see all of our friends we wanted to see! I guess we will be back again!! One last important note: we did get some GOOD Texas Mexican food! YUMMY!