The Christmas Rundown

Christmas Eve we went to Madison. We spent a couple of hours that went too quick with mom to open presents and visit, then off to Dad and Regina's place for Christmas there. That was fun. Dad had family and some friends over for the get together. It was a really fun, relaxing night there. The kids had fun, the dog was even worn out from playing. Thanks Regina for always being so kind and generous, always a great hostess too. After that we went to Buddy's and opened presents there with mom and his kids. Mason was so grateful. All the kids did well, and love each other so much. We then made the 2 hour drive back to Lexington. We really like the idea of being in our own home for Christmas, mostly selfish...I can relax, and it's more intimate. Who cares about bad breath and all the trash and craziness when you are at home. So we set things up and went to bed around 1 am. The kids slept in, Zac came in the bedroom at 8:30 and said, "mommy wake up, it's the first day of Christmas!" They had a fun morning. Jenna now knows a little about names and letters, so she passed out gifts and was really sweet to Zac.
Thanks to everyone for the gifts. The pictures are just the fun ones with real smiles that I could capture in the midst of tearing open gifts. I wish I had more of mom and dad and the grown-ups too, but as Buddy said, "it's all about the kids."
Thanks to Scot and Julene for everything too. Lis, you'll see the picture of the kids with your gifts too. The kids had a great Christmas.
That night we went to my Uncle Mike's house and had a nice meal with them. I haven't seen them since 2001. Jenna whispered to me at dinner, "this is the best gravy ever!". That was cute. She loves mashed potatoes and gravy, her grandma great's pots and gravy in Orem are her favorite though! After the kids went to bed, Steve and I played Mario Kart on the Wii and laughed. It was a good day.
Next year I hope that we won't be moving again. This happened close to Christmas last year too. I hope that I can have more talks about the Savior with the kids and teach them better about the true meaning of Christmas. We are grateful for our Savior. For His humble birth in Bethlehem, for what he taught us while He was on Earth, for His atonement and death, and for the resurrection.
"May God be Thanked for the priceless gift of His Son, Jesus Christ."

We hope that you had a Merry Christmas!

Congratulations Kevin and Anna!

Congratulations to Steve's brother Kevin who was married in Armenia on the 19th. Welcome to the family, Anna. We love you both and are excited to see you!

Christmas Pictures 2008

 

 

 

Lexington

We are in the home in Lexington. Driving from mom's to here was fun (it's 2 hours). I love to see the farms and the look of KY. It's beautiful here too, just a different beautiful than Utah.
Everyone here has been super nice. The house is nice, and the kids are starting to settle in, sort of. Zac is an emotional wreck at bedtimes and a little out of whack in general. We are trying to remind ourselves that this is a change for everyone. All of us are dealing in our own ways, and have our own concerns whether verbalized or not.

We did finally put up a tree last night, after the third try on finding one...most normal people apparently have theirs up! That was fun. Jenna loved it. She was fun, Zac was very zealous about the lights. My friend from high school, Kelly came over too. It is nice to have her here. I am glad to have her here in Lexington. She has been so helpful, and I think that we will really find friendship in each other as her husband works a lot in Med school Residency, and Steve is working the tax season.
We went to church Sunday and really loved the Ward. They were so friendly. We were invited to bowl at as a Ward tomorrow morning but are going pass on account of a lot to do before heading back to mom's to celebrate Christmas there tomorrow evening.
Thanks again for everyone's prayers and well-wishing on our behalf. Much Love to you!

Dec 17th: We are here!

We made it. My odometer read 2040 miles for the trip last night when we got to mom's. It was a long haul, but in the end, the kids and dog did great, minus a few hiccups typical for kids and a puppy. We were able to leave Cedar Saturday at 1pm. We arrived past Flagstaff, AZ, in a town called Gallop, NM. Thankfully we were just driving through Flagstaff as the snow was starting the fall. Mind you that they are now calling for a total of 20' there! The next night we stayed in Elk City, OK. Our last night was in Springfield, MO. Kudos to Steve for always choosing a hotel with an indoor pool and swimming with the kids each night. The last night the wind chill was 1 degree...it was an indoor/outdoor pool, they went under the curtain and swam briefly outdoors! Fun memories for the kids. The dog did awesome, minus tearing up the carpet in the corner of a hotel room. We are still waiting for a call from the manager there! Yikes, that was awful and we feel terrible. She needed to burn off energy too. It was like 15 degrees most of the time, which made the dog hesitant to play fetch or even pee at the stops. Steve rode with the dog and I rode with the kids the entire trip.
The van was awesome, minus the windshield wiper fluid was froze most of the trip.
Steve was totally fine with the long trip and enjoyed it, aside from the fact that he worried about us in the van when the roads were bad or the traffic was heavy. He knows that I get all nervous and sweaty.
We head to KY on the 19th to sign the lease and meet the landlord.

Thankful

Well, I googled the school wrong, and come to find out, it is a terrific school that is 4.5 miles from the home that we have decided on in Lexington. I also think that all day will be fine for Jenna.
Also, not only do I have a friend there and an uncle, but Steve has a relative in a nearby town that is our age.
Also, the kids are doing fine, the weather may hold for the cross country drive, and we are so pleased to have renters sign a lease last night. Hooray.
Also mom plans to keep the kids for 4 straight days while Steve and I unload in Lexington and maybe hang Christmas lights.
Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement when I think that a melt down is in order.

Vicarious nausea

We are coming close to a decision for where to live next week! I can't get one place to call me back, and the other looks pretty good. It is so hard not seeing the places myself. We plan on a 6 month lease, enough time to look around and see where to settle in.
I am mostly sick for Jenna. I was searching for schools nearby the potential homes. 1 is 35 minutes away (almost 45 minutes from where Steve and I will probably work), another is downtown Lexington- I get an ugly picture in my mind, and the other is a public school with strict dress codes. - $$$, she has no khakis right now, I just bought 2 pair of jeans Saturday! And they are all day! She has been doing afternoon only and has been great. She currently loves her teacher and has her little friends at the school that is not even a mile from here. She is shy and withdrawn when she is upset. She is already starting to do that as we say goodbye to people. I worry about her. I pray that my worry is unwarranted and that she does great and loves it! I also hope that she makes friends at church that will help. Thank you, thank you that I can be there for her the first few months and not work. It's late I know and that is probably half of why I am looking at the blurry screen because I want to cry...I just love her and want her to be happy and confident. Gall! I have to re-live the August kindergarten post all over again! Don't worry the logical and faithful part of me sees her smile and laughing and happy, talking about how much she loves school and the kids that sit at her table. I can be positive, and for her sake and mine, she will see me be positive and strong. :)

On a good note, I am pretty sure that we have renters even after our original ones fell through earlier today! Yea!!!!!

Our House

I have been taking pictures of the house for craigslist and those that have inquired about renting. I thought that I would post them here. None of my family has seen our home. I thought that I would post them.

Old Kentuck

It was official Monday. We are moving to Lexington, KY. The movers are lined up, and we are looking for housing in Lexington. I am proud of Steve, we interviewed in KY, AZ and Logan Utah and received offers from all 3 places. Crowe Horwath gave us an awesome offer that will be a great experience for Steve, albeit in a cubicle. We are grateful to have choices (some are easier than others). What a great country to live in where we have freedoms and options. We are also glad for Steve's education that we continue to pay off monthly. :)
We have been impressed through this ordeal of losing a job and looking for a new one, and renting the house, etc...that there are so many good people out there. So many have been just awesome... Our home teacher, friends at my work, friends in general, prospective employers, potential renters, the moving companies, etc. My dad even offered to drive out with his trailer if it would help us move.
We are holding our breath a little for good renters so that we can afford to not do something drastic with this house. I am going to miss Cedar, we all are. I suppose it wasn't meant to be. "Kentucky will be an adventure" is the attitude we are going for. Jenna simply says, "moving to Kentucky is not an adventure!". She is happy to be closer to Ma and Mason though. We will look for new kindergarten, and Zac (or maybe Steve and I need him to go) desperately needs to go back to preschool and play with kids other than Jenna and Spongebob! We'll find an OB, and I am thrilled to not have to work until after #3. That just makes me so happy! It almost seems necessary to get things in order and "be there" for the kids as they adjust. It's tax season too almost immediately, so it will be nice to have off through those difficult months.

Cook out

Last night, we drove up into the hills a little ways and had a cook out with tin foil dinners. Steve prepared them while I slept after working the night before. We also made smores. Jenna told scary stories, and Zac threw a lot of rocks. The kids liked collecting all the wood. The kids wouldn't go on an "adventure" (hike) with me and find "gold treasures" (spent bullet shells). Steve said "you can't blame them, there's a fire." It was nice out there. Once it was dark and we were eating smores, we even heard some coyotes off in the distance howling. The kids thought that was cool, almost as cool as Steve thought it was. Anyway, it was nice. We love the mountains and the public land. We were glad to be able to squeeze that in at the end of November, it was nice weather.

Lexington, Logan, Waiting and Decisions

Steve went to Lexington, KY on Monday and despite a horrible trip of missed flights and forgetting his toiletries, the 4 hours of interview and lunch were good. He liked the company. The benefits are amazing. Of course I like that it is only 2 hours from home, esp in light of having a new baby. Also I still have family and friends of the family there and connections. I have always loved Kentucky; it is just a part of me and who I am. I have always loved an old farm house on green rolling hills. We are awaiting an offer after he gets his background check.
Yesterday we went for an interview with a small firm in Logan, Utah. This firm invited me to come to the interview too. That was different, but nice. The hard part is that they do an obscene amount of tax returns and put in 80-85 hours a week! I really liked Logan. I loved that it was more rural and agricultural. It was more country than I know Utah to be. There are plenty of Canyons and Bear lake is close. And of course the mountains to run around and play in. It's the best of both worlds in terms of outdoor opportunities and the "look" of it all. They said it would be 2 weeks before they were done interviewing. We have friends there too (Sorry Cansas, it was last minute, and I had to be back for work that night. We weren't able to make it happen to see you all!) Also Steve's sister and her fam are 2 hours away from Logan.
Thanks again Liss!

Tucsan, AZ

Steve had a face to face interview in AZ this past week. Tucsan is in southern AZ. We drove down Weds, spent the day Thursday, and returned in time for me to work Friday night. The trip was closer to 10 hours with just a few stops to eat and stretch.
The interview went well. Steve thought they were a professional and also fun firm. They will respond by letter as to an offer or not. We were pleased they paid for the gas and hotel. They also treated Steve to a nice lunch.
We agreed that it was beautiful and an appealing place to live, but not exactly what I expected. I figured that it would be a hotter, brown Utah, but Utah doesn't have the thick cacti that was there in Tucsan. An appealing part of staying in the the West was that there is plenty of public land to ride four wheelers, camp, hike and be active, and hunt for Steve. Plus, I am beginning to believe that my body needs sunshine! But the cacti and desert shrubs are so think there that you have to go to a designated camp spot anyway and have to find a place to ride the wheelers or even hike. Plus the idea of buying a few acres would be in the distant future. It was unique to me and the homes are attractive. Very Southwest and stucco looks beautiful there. Mountains surround the area. By the way I wanted to point out that the Sonora desert was not all brown. There was a lot of green vegetation, and even grass at the parks and in a few yards. Being from the Midwest, this was a big deal! The cacti were so fun to see everywhere. At the park, we had to constantly remind Zac to stay on the trail and "watch where you are going!" because just off the trails were cacti of many variety. The tall ones, the saguaro were speckling the mountains like evergreens would on the Cedar mountain.
All in all it was a nice mini-vacation. We swam even though it was a high of 74 and got down to the high 40's at night. Jenna and Zac both thought that they would like to live there in the hotel with the pool! We went to the Sonora Desert Museum that was awesome. The kids loved the cave!
It was fun for them and the trip was sweet in the van. It was a nice get-away.
We are glad for these experiences. Next week, monday, Steve flies for a face to face interview in Lexington,KY.

Halloween at Grandad and Grandma's House.

I had to work Fri-Sun night this past weekend. Steve and the kidos went to his parents in Blanding. They had a blast.
When they arrived Julene had folding chairs set up in front of the TV and clips from the spooky scenes of Disney movies for the kids to watch while they ate popcorn and suckers. After that they made "spider cider" which was apple juice poured over dry ice for the smoke and sprinkled with spiders all in a cauldron for Jenna to stir her "potion". They loved the spider cider drink! Grandma Julene had "brains and worms" to eat which was spaghetti with meat sauce. Jenna was wary...but Steve said that she should have had a headache that night because of all the smiling.
Steve dressed them in their costumes. I love my fancy witch and happy skeleton! They went to Steve's Grandparents in Blanding, Grannie and Grandad Great.
They trick or treated in his neighborhood, walking the streets with their grandad and daddy. Jenna told me that Zac was wild and that he was ready to walk in the peoples' houses.
After they trick or treated, they ran to answer the door for trick or treaters at Grandma's. Steve said that Jenna was precise and only gave a piece or 2, and Zac was generous giving a whole handful..that he loved the trick or treaters!
The next day they raked the yellow Fall leaves. It was a huge pile. They loved playing in the leaves.
Jenna also came home with lots of fun crafty things that her and grandma worked on.
How fun, Julene. The kids had a blast and Steve enjoyed the visit too!
We had the crappie and walleye fish tonight.

Job Nibbles and Gratitude

As of today, Steve appears to have 3 pretty serious job leads, he is on at least his second interview with each. They are in Idaho falls- Idaho, Lexington- KY and Tuscan- Arizona. That is right, I keep saying there is major change coming and big decisions. There are pros and cons to each.
We appreciate all of your concern and prayers.
This has been a sweet opportunity to recognize the tender mercies of God through the kindness of you and others. It has been an eye opener of what is important. We feel humble and although we get nervous about the decisions and prospect of moving, the bitterness is gone.

The Fall trip to Indiana.

I headed to Indiana last week for my 10 year class reunion. That was fun, but proved to be stressful for me. Maybe next time the class vice president should do it. He is so fun and his wife is amazing. They would be great!
Anyway, the best part of the trip was seeing the nephews and family. Buddy and Carrie took a couple days off and the cousins hung out a lot. I love visiting, and it is always heartbreaking to leave. I love them all so much. Zac loved sleeping with his "Ma" every night, and I loved just being with my mom and seeing Buddy more this time.
We went to the zoo, made cookies, had a sleep over with the cousins, carved pumpkins, colored a lot, wrestled (well not the grown women) ate well, spent time at mom's, Buddy and Carrie's and Dad and Regina's. I was also able to see some family and friends that popped in around all the festivities of the reunion and running with the kids.
It was a nice trip that always goes fast and ends with tears but great memories too.

Party Pooper

We are grateful for a baby coming, for our family, and for our health, and the nice things that we have. We are glad to live where we do. It is beautiful, and I love the sun shine and the smell of sage brush. Our house is coming along nice....aside from a few more things that should hang on the walls, our house is feeling like home. I love the yard and even the dog that sometimes makes me crazy. I am really liking my job and my co-workers. I am just about finished with orientation, in fact next week I will be more on my own. I love that Jenna is liking school, and that I feel safe with them at day care on the days that I work. They are truly loved there. Things are coming together at church. We are making friends and have callings there.
The scary things is that Steve was laid off about 10 days ago. LDS General Conference and optimism were very helpful and we were hopeful..."life is a journey", but after only 10 days and 20 resumes and a gambit of online job applications, we are starting to panic. He had such a good job that he enjoyed. He and 3 other colleagues didn't know the day before that they would receive a letter the next morning laying them off because of lack of monies and business at the firm, blaming the economy and lack of funds transferring from a client in China. He and the other 3 were the most recent hires.
We felt humble, then bitter toward his employer who made him big promises for partner, then jaded and dejected, and now panicked. The thought of moving again breaks my heart- esp for the kids. Also the cost of it all, and the potential of losing it...family is most important, but good credit is helpful! :) Plus I love my van and somewhat unkept yard. It's not luxury, but I love it.
Isn't it interesting how you respond to things in relation to your partner? He is calm and optimistic and so am I, once he panics, I follow in place. He has done awesome as Mr mom, the house is clean and the laundry is done, dinner is made and the kids love him home, but it has offered time for him to think and worry while I was working the past 2 days. Maybe tomorrow we will feel better. One thing is for certain, there is change a-coming, and although I have never hated change, this time, I didn't choose it, and don't feel up to the heartbreak or "going with the flow"... there are lots of factors now, 2 of which are small and sweet and will be confused.
I hate a party pooper, but today I don't have it in me to muster up something optimistic and hopeful. It just wouldn't be genuine. Well, I can honestly say that I do trust that things will be ok, it's just getting there from here.

There's a BOY in there!

 

Can see him reach out and grab his feet?
That is fun huh. Yes, it's a boy. I thought that it was a girl, but I have been wrong all three times. I have always hoped that my intuition out of utero is better than in utero. Anyway, we are excited.
Zac got to come along with Steve because of some changes in plans (Jenna was at kindergarten). Anyway, Zac said that he didn't need a turn on the table after me because there wasn't a baby in his belly, "if she puts that soap on my belly, she will only see food: peaches and pizza." He saw the baby's toes and counted them. He seems vaguely excited about it all. Steve saw "the part" he wanted to see. He is thrilled for another, likely wild, boy. (smiling) Jenna will be thrilled. BTW the 2nd is a tricky 3D, see if you can see a partial profile, hidden behind some "stuff"...

Kindergarten Update.

Kindergarten brought more stress than I thought it would. I didn't realize how much was expected of them. I overheard some older woman at work talking about how kids go to Kindergarten to learn to write their name. I was thinking, that these days you need to know how to write your name and how to recognize all the letters, (not just sing the alphabet) BEFORE kindergarten or "have you thought about the remedial class?". In November there is a second assessment, where the kids are supposed to be able to, among other things, blend sounds together to make words, express ideas in print, and write all the letters of the alphabet, Upper and lower case. This blew my mind. My barely 5 year old is supposed to write sentences and sound out words after 3 months of kindergarten? So she can recognize an "s" and a "t" but now she is supposed to know that an "s" and a "t" together make a "st" sound. I am not as flabbergasted and dejected now, she is doing fine. Every night we work on writing letters and go over her skills sheet. It's interesting to see that children at even a very young age have their best way of learning. I am working on learning why it is in her brain that she can recognize a "Gg" and has a hard time with "Dd". What makes her click? Flash cards aren't as effective with her, she has to relate it to something.
Anyway, I could go on and on, I have learned that even if you read to your kids every night since infancy, and even if they can sing their alphabet and know how to write their name, that they need some "schooling" before school actually starts. I have taken the approach that I would not drill my kids prior to school, and took no interest in having my kids know the states and capitols before kindergarten. Let them be little kids! play in the dirt, run, use your hands, cut, glue, make a mess, play with other kids, go to the park, see animals, play pretend, build forts, manipulate puzzles, bang on play musical instruments, dance and be silly in the living room, Love using your body to move, and your hands to make things. Know your colors and shapes and count, go to preschool to reinforce this and to learn how to take turns, wait in line and interact with others besides your siblings and parents. These were my priorities. It has been an eye opener. Zac and I are going to start sooner with letters, not just the alphabet song and his simple name. I am going to try to have him recognize and name all the letters out of order before kindergarten, the trick is getting him to care that a "u" is a "u". Any suggestions are welcome.

By the way, Jenna is really liking school, and the one on one time with her has been good in the evening working on letters, I just have to be careful not to "teach or drill" too much or she turns off and her brain turns to gew. She has made friends, most of them boys, as has been her pattern- probably because of her great relationship with her cousin Mason since she was a baby. She is proud of her book bag and cares very much about wearing a bow in her hair. She really likes her teacher, and I am so glad. We are all going to survive, it's these firsts that really teach us, right? I may look back and laugh at myself when our last goes to kindergarten, but the reality is that the first kid does teach us so much because there is just no instruction book on this stuff, and to top it all off, each child is different and the world changes with time, so basically I'll never have it figured out. I'll just do my best and love 'em, that should stay constant.
Here is a picture of Jenna on "picture day", I figured this would be better than the official one from school.

Date Night

Last night Steve took Zac on his first "hunting" trip. They dressed in camo and drove up the mountain to see if they could call-in any coyotes and just look at any animal that showed up. Zac has been asking Steve if he can go too whenever Steve goes in camo to hunt this past season. Zac was so excited. They had fun, Steve said that they saw a lot of deer, but that no coyotes came in when they called.

Jenna and I ate and shopped, just the girls. It was fun to talk to her at dinner. We went to Pizza Hut and to Robert's Crafts to browse, and then we bought a few pumpkins for the front porch. Steve and I both enjoyed spending time with them individually, we like the little farts.

Goblin valley

On the way home from Blanding, we detoured about 45 miles to a place called Goblin Valley. It is North of Hanksville, UT. It was once called Mushroom valley which seems more appropriate. Some friends of our from Kentucky vacationed in their RV out West, and liked this stop for the kids to climb and explore. This was a good stop. It was windy, but it was still fun. You'll notice that Sunny got to explore too, the rule is that she wear a maximum 6 ft leash, it didn't say that you have to hold the other end...she was good to stay with the kids though. We'll go back Jenna, I promise!

Road Hunting the big Blue

We went road hunting on Blanding's Blue Mountain with Steve's family. The kids thought they were so cool riding in the bed on the mountain roads. We only saw does. Steve has about 10 days to get his buck and bull elk before the archery season is over!

Blanding fun

The kids loved this activity with Grandma Julene. They had a blast and were real pleased with themselves when they were done, especailly Jenna. Good idea Julene.

Zac's Birthday

I know you may be tired of his birthday, but his "Ma" will want to see it all!

Born, 1, 2, 3!

Happy Birthday Zac! Can you believe that he is 3?

we are planning a weekend to Blanding this afternoon, so we thought that we would open presents and eat cake for breakfast (which happens to be Steve's family tradition anyway). When this morning came, Zac was sleeping-in for once and so we decided not to do it this morning before Steve went to work, but Steve didn't put the cake and presents away that we had out on the table the night before. So I woke up this morning to small noises in the kitchen. I went down the stairs and saw Zac eating the corner of his cake. He didn't look guilty nor did he assume that I would be mad, he just looked happy! I wasn't mad (that prayer helped), he was having a special day. Happy birthday Zacy! We love you and wish we could be as happy and forgiving and sweet as you...with some of your energy.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten started Tuesday. I cried on the way out of the door. I didn't care that people in the hall saw me crying. I was leaving my baby to the world. It wasn't the day itself, it was what it represented, or what the rest of her life would be...I hoped that others would be kind and love her, that she would have friends, that she would excel, that her teacher would see that she is special, that someone would watch out for her, that she would be confident in herself and love who she is. I hoped that she would make good choices and be nice to others. I hoped that she would listen and use her manners.
I guess I can't duplicate how it felt. I just wanted the world to be gentle with my little girl.
She had a good first day, but was disappointed that Kindergarten would be everyday. Wednesday she said, "you mean today is not a stay-at-home-and-play-day?" She is still a little girl after all.

Tooth Fairy Visit

Jenna lost her first tooth last week, we put her tooth next to her bed, and Jenna said very skeptical, "for real mom..there's a tooth fairy?"
Sure enough the tooth fairy remembered her. Jenna was real excited in the morning.

Snips, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Snips, snails and puppy dog tails. Do you think they say puppy dog tails because they are endlessly moving? Snails because they love dirt and slime, and why snips, or is it snakes?

Either way, as rough and tumble as Zac is, he has his moments of sweetness. A true blessing to me. I cut my hair and colored it brown a couple weeks ago now and without any discussion of my hair, Zac says. "I like your hair mommy" and his eyes lingered on me and he smiled. Another day, I got off work, and mind you that I am useless to the world after I work, anyhow, I changed my clothes into something comfortable, and considering that I started this pregnancy several pounds heavier than with Zac, I don't have a lot of options. I was wearing men's XXL scrub pants cinched on that I need to return to the OR and a T shirt that was entirely too small. I pulled my hair back and put on my glasses, and when I walked down the stairs he said, "you look cute mommy", and patted my leg with a smile. Then finally the other morning , I worked a night shift and as I was coming up the stairs to go to bed, he was just waking for the day, he said as he always says when he sees Steve or myself coming home, "I am so glad you're home after working all day" followed with a hug. Then he told me to take off my scrub top (I guess to ensure that I was staying). Then I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and I told him to cuddle with daddy and wait in bed for me. When I slid in bed, he said, "Umm, mommy, your breath smells so good! I love you" and then he Eskimo kissed me. This little boy's skin is so soft on my face, especially that morning. I nearly cried, I was so touched by the love of this little boy, especially in those moments that I may be struggling to love myself.

Campout

Somewhere between Brian Head and Panguich Lake, we turned off of a dirt road and then off of that dirt road and set up our tent. This was our first overnighter with the kids and the dog. It was so fun. The kids really loved it! We hiked and enjoyed the things the kids observed. Jenna said of a tree that fell, "a chipmonster" must have got that one"- chipmunk. The kids and I rode down the dirt road in the bed of the truck, and Jenna thought that the "concreek" was beautiful- she was looking at the creek. They also loved to hear their echo. It seemed that Zac thought someone was talking back to him. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him on Steve's shoulders, he was so at home up there, the way he rested his hands on top of Steve's head. Zac loved picking out and then throwing rocks, and Jenna brought me more than a couple bouquets of weeds. There is something about camping that brings the family together. Overnight it gets to around 40 degrees on the mountain, but we all stayed warm and the kids were real champs with their little sleeping bags and flashlights, even the dog did well. It was a good experience. Next time, I'd like to fish, build a fire for dutch oven and smores, and Jenna will keep working on squatting to pee.

Birthdays over the years!

Happy Birthday Jenna!

Jenna had her 5th birthday yesterday. She is growing up! We love you Jenna Lou. Happy 5th birthday beautiful!

Thank you to those that called her and sent gifts, she is loved...and a little rotten!

Some random Fun

Last weekend we went up to the Hogle Zoo with Lissa and her boys and Jeff. Steve and I thought, "wow that was really fun", aside from the fact that I did take too long in the gift shop...but I am a sucker for the gift shops at places like the Zoo. Anyway, the kids were so unusually easy and good. It was enjoyable. They loved riding in the cart and the Sno cones were fun. It was a good day.

Last Sunday, Lissa and Christian had their baby, Kaiden, blessed in Orem. That was great. I don't have many pictures, but I did make it a point to take a picture of Jenna and Grandma-great. Grandma and Jenna sort of have a tradition of having a tea party when they see each other. Jenna even knows to hold up her pinky. Jenna was given a new porcelain tea set and thought it was the best! I love this picture and that Jenna feels special when she has her tea parties.

There has be an inordinate amount of rain here, and the kids have enjoyed the chocolate river.

A "Sunny" Addition

A few weeks ago Steve called and asked what I thought about getting a lab or a retriever...he saw an ad in the paper. I told him that I wasn't up to a hyper puppy right now, that I wasn't always up to the 2 kids and work, blah blah blah. Plus, past experience with our first dog in Indiana has left a bad taste in my mouth. That dog brought the devil out in me...he was a maniac (Jenna said he was "a mean-i-ac") that we tried to train and love, but he was so difficult. I did "interview" a few people, and then was happy to give him and his medications away to a true animal lover before our move back to Utah. That aside, I did think that an English bulldog in December (after her next liter) would be fun. The bulldog is possibly the laziest breed. Likes to eat and sleep, is slow and docile...much like myself. Well, here is our new dog that Steve and the kids picked out Weds while I was at work, and picked up Friday while I was at work. In all honesty, I am excited about her too. She is a good pup. She does play, but sleeps a lot too. I love that she lays by the couch and sleeps. The kids are excited, and have loved animals for as long as they've been alive. I am ok with it. She is 6 weeks old and house broke, she "sleeps" in a crate at night and sleeps over half the day, the other part of the day she is playful, but not freakishly so. It was fun to see her in the backyard this morning chasing the kids. Oh, her name is Sunny. We plan to go camping this upcoming Friday and think that she'll be a fun addition to our family...she better be Steve! :)