Steve'e Escapades

Coyotes, now Bobcats...sure to come, ice fishing then mule deer, possibly antelope, elk and black bear! Oh, the adventures. This stuff is just in Steve.

New Daycare

The kids are happy at the new daycare center. Jenna is happy making her crafts with the "bigger kids". Here is her pizza that she chose the toppings for, "but in real life just cheese please". I know that she still misses her friends in Indiana. Zac just seems happy at the daycare without need for a specific reason. Thankfully, his is pretty lovable.

No Use Crying....

"There's no use in crying over spilled milk". Zac has been in rare form as indicated by his black eye and an incident like this- pouring his own milk, while I was in the other room for maybe 4 minutes. Steve and I have decided to choose our battles, laugh a little more and be a little more flexible. Though dumping milk didn't get my praise, I handled it better than I wanted to.

Funtimes with fam and friends...

Jeff and Zac

Lissa and Christian and their little one came down this weekend and so did Jeff, Steve's brother. The kids had fun chasing each other and jumping on the beds. The adults had fun too- we played Playstation 2, watched movies, ate good food, drank "Purple flirt" grape soda (as Jenna named it), and laughed plenty. Good times.


Monday, we went to St George to see our good friends. All 4 of us get excited about going to see them. We are grateful for their friendship and example.
Jenna said just today that when she grows up, "I am gonna marry him (Jackson)". Jackson is 6 years old, just like her cousin Mason.

Washing and drying crayons with Steve's work clothes.

This is the life-saver. Just thought I would share that news. It's like the time that I discovered the "Magic Eraser". People have to know this gets out the crayons that were in your 2- year old's pocket.

I can write my name!

That's right, in the upper left hand corner of this exquisite dog, Jenna wrote her name. All letters in the correct order, in a line, no extras, and the right direction! Yes, the second letter is an "e", she just likes to color-in the loop. It's funny, just like a lot of things with kids, one day it clicks, and she's got it in her own time. She's so proud. Good job, Jenna.

Stories by Jenna

This morning it was very cold as we ventured to Wal-mart for groceries. (The low tonight is 8 degrees.) I was telling Jenna about frostbite which prompted this story, that I will try to tell verbatim.

"Once upon a time there was a girl that was playing outside and it was very cold, and she played outside too long. She got frostbites all over her body. Then the policeman came and took the snow flakes to jail. Then the girl put bandaids on her bites. Then you know what hapened? The girl was beautiful and her name was Jenna, and she was a very fast runner, but there was a giant snowflake that was fast too. He was chasing her. Jenna came to a tree that protected her and took her home to her cozy bed, but you know what?, the tree turned into a snowflake! Ahhhh!"

Jenna loves to tell stories. Steve and I tell her stories at bedtime, and she loves being read to. Apparently Steve often pauses during his stories and says "And do you know what happened next?. . ."
By the way, this is not how I thought I described frostbite!

We have a winner!

Though nothing seems quite like Pope John Preschool- (above), we think that we found the next best thing. Searching for daycare is a difficult thing. You love your kids so much. It's hard to leave them anywhere, but knowing that they are safe, loved and having fun makes all the difference. After researching several, visiting 4, trying 1 for a while and now another, we are down to the winner. It's a new group child care center. The owners have been in child care 11 years and enjoy it (bless their special souls). The preschool/daycare is in a new Presbyterian church building with plenty of appropriate rooms and an outdoor area to play. My mom would approve- a preschool/daycare director and teacher herself. Also it's less than a mile from home. It just feels right! Shewww, what a relief.

We Miss you!

Jenna and Zac talk a lot about their family and friends "back home".
We miss you all very much.
We are excited that "Maw" will be flying to Utah in March!

Church

Steve and I were busy in Indiana with callings or stewardships at our church. (We love you Madison Ward!!!) Steve is now kicking back without an official job, and Mandy has been called to the "Home, Family and Personal Enrichment committee", specifically helping women learn about preparedness. We truly enjoy serving in the church. We are grateful for all that we are able to learn.

Jenna is loving her 4-5 year old class, although she misses Sister Tyler in Madison. Zac is "ok" with Nursery but asks about Sister Mamaw Pam. ... We'll adjust.

Also we cannot forget to mention Kevin, Steve's brother in Armenia who is serving a 2- year, full-time LDS mission. We love you Elder Christensen and are so proud of you!!

"Can I get a Nurse in here!!"

Mandy is glad to be back with Intermountain Healthcare as a "Float" RN. She'll be floating on the Med/Surg Unit, Mother/Baby, ER and SDS as soon as she is oriented to these units. Mandy will work 2 day shifts a week.

Position Filled: Accountant

Steve's job brought us back to Cedar City. He is the accountant for National Pilot Academy. We are relieved there will be no tax season this year, however he has talked about some business "on the side".

Coyote Calling

Steve says

"this may be an addiction."

He has missed "the hills" in the past couple of years; he is excited to be back.

Park Discovery

The apartment seems to demand that the kids get out of the house, but it is so cold. It was about 45 degrees and the sun was out on the 11th, so we ventured to the Park. This park is awesome- even in the snow!

"Once there was a snowman..."

Sledding Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve it was in the 40's and the snow was great for sledding. The kids had a blast and so did mom and dad.

Back in Utah

We are back in Cedar City, UT after living in Madison, Indiana for 2 1/2 years. It is bitter sweet. We love Cedar, but miss our family and friends in Indiana so much.