The Taylor Tribune

Look Mom, no training wheels!

2011-05-04T15:52:00.005-06:00

Well, Avery has been begging Jason to take her training wheels off her bike. It was a nice day to get out there and test out the bike with no help. I was a little nervous that Avery would become frustrated at not getting it the first time. But once she started she did pretty well! I was a bit surprised. She is still having a hard time getting started and not looking straight ahead but hopefully she will get the hang of it or comes crying when she runs into a car because she is not looking at where she is headed.

My little girl is growing up.

I had to throw this picture in from Easter. She is just too cute.

Ride 'em cowboy!

2011-04-08T09:06:00.006-06:00

Well, the Frontier Rodeo came to town this week and we went Wednesday night to the Extreme Bulls. Avery was SO excited to go and immediately went and put her boots and hat on. We were pretty close to the action and Avery enjoyed every minute of it. She was especially enthralled with the Rodeo queen and princesses. She admired their hats, crowns, and sparkly clothing.

Avery with her CRAZY dad! He is also really excited to go, just can't contain himself!

These boys are insane!

Avery's favorite part of the rodeo was watching the cowboy pull the bull back into the chute

Did he hold on for 8 seconds? Yeah, he did.

We had a really fun time. Jason thinks he should practice on a mechanical bull then head out into the arena on a real bull. I laughed.

Craft Day

2011-03-24T21:55:00.003-06:00

It has been a REALLY long winter and Avery has been having cabin fever so bad. So to pass the time away I have been trying to do last one craft or project each week with her. We built a leprechaun trap one week and we made lava lamps another. It has been fun to watch her eyes light up when we cook or do fun things. Here are some pictures of Avery making her lava lamp. The project turned out ok but she had a lot of fun doing it herself.

Can you see the tiny bubbles? They would form from the salt at bottom and eventually float to the top

Church Ball

2011-03-24T21:46:00.002-06:00

I have to post something about Jason since he gets left out. He has been playing church ball with some of the guys in the ward and is having a lot of fun with them. It has cost him a couple of toenails and hundreds of dollars to have them removed but he is out bonding with the guys. Avery and I went and cheered on the team and I tried my new camera out. Here are a couple of pictures of my basketball star.

Avery's first sleepover

2011-03-24T21:36:00.004-06:00

Avery had her very first sleep over with her friend, Taylee. I wasn't sure it was a good idea since they are only 4 and Taylee is somewhat of a homebody. We had spent the evening with her family watching the BYU game and when it was over, Taylee had her 4 bags packed to spend the weekend with us. I didn't know if she was going to make it through the night at a different home. But they had a great time and went to bed with no problems. While they were playing I overheard their conversation and it went something like this:

Taylee: You know Avery, you are my BFF forever.

Avery: What's a BFF?

Taylee: You know, best friends forever.

Avery: ok.

It was the cutest little conversation while they were playing dolls. Avery woke up the next morning and Taylee didn't wake up until an hour later. When she found herself in a different bed is when her eyes welled up with tears and she wanted to go HOME! She wasn't awake for 15 minutes before she was home with her mom and dad. They can't wait to have another sleepover.

Happy St Patrick's Day

2011-03-23T18:05:00.005-06:00

Once again we tried to catch us a leprechaun with no success. Avery built, with a little help from me, a great trap in hopes of catching the little green man. She wanted him to climb the ladder to get the gold and fall into the trap. He was just too quick! He took the gold, fell into the trap but got away. He left his little green hat behind and a little little note and a treat.

Avery peeked in to see if she had caught him the next morning. She looked in and yelled, "We caught him. Somethings in there." She was a little scared to peer in again but was saddened when just his hat sat in the trap. On well, better luck next year!

I am trying new hair styles on Avery and this year for St Patrick's Day at school, I did her hair in a 3 leaf clover. It was fun to do and her teacher just loved Avery's hair. I gotta keep up with my niece, Breanna. She is getting better than me at doing Avery's hair!

Hanna

2011-03-05T20:00:00.011-07:00

My sister in law asked me if I could take some pictures of her new little baby girl. I was of course hestitant because I don't take good pictures. But I wanted an excuse to use my camera so I said yes. Despite being naked and cold, little Hanna did great. Here are a few of the pictures I took of my cute little niece, Hanna.

I think they turned out cute but I am still learning ALOT. I hope to be descent at taking pictures some day. Until then.....

Growing up

2011-03-01T11:10:00.006-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I have posted but honestly, our lives have been very uneventful, and even a little boring. This is the only exciting thing that has happened in a few months.

Avery had her first dental cleaning with Aunt Stephie. I was a little nervous because I thought she would cry the whole time. She did relatively well. She let Stephanie clean her teeth but would NOT let Dr. Fackrell look in her mouth. Oh well, maybe next time. Jason promised her a toy or getting her ears pierced if she did well at the dentist appointment. Well this is what Avery decided...

P.S. I am loving my new camera!

All aboard!!

2010-12-28T21:37:00.007-07:00

This Christmas Season was extremely busy and went by too quickly. We were able to sneak away to Heber City, UT and ride the North Pole Express with my family. It is much like the Polar Express movie. We boarded the train that took us to the North Pole where Santa was waiting for us. While we were making our way north, Santa's little helpers served us cookies and hot chocolate. We sang Christmas songs and enjoyed the lights and deer as we made our way up the canyon. When we finally got to the North Pole, Santa jumped onto the train and visited with each of the kids and asked them what they wanted him to bring them for Christmas. Avery asked for a baby doll and a camera, which Santa did deliver them!

Waiting to climb aboard.

Avery telling Santa her LONG wish list.

Eating our cookies.

Avery sitting with my parents. I took 5 pictures hoping to get a pic with my dad's eyes open. It never happened.

It was fun to be with my family and see the kids excited to meet Santa. Each of them love the Polar Express movie, so each of them thought they were riding on THE polar express train.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...

2010-11-23T12:47:00.010-07:00

This is the quote that we heard WAY too many times while we were on our Disney cruise! We went with Jason's family and a blast. Avery loved every minute of it, not to mention Jason and I had a very relaxing time on the beach.

Jason and I went kayaking and snorkeling in Cozumel. I love to kayak in the ocean!

Avery got to see every princess on the boat and got to wear her own princess dress to meet them.

Avery got to enjoy the kids club and play and have story time with Belle. She got to make flubber and got to make cookies with Ratatouille.

On Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, we played on the beach all day and buried Jason and made him into a mermaid. It was an awesome beach there and i could have lived there!

We are being tendered over to Grand Cayman to swim with the dolphins and visit a turtle farm.

Avery was very nervous to hold a turtle but she did and loved it.

We had a pirate night at dinner.

Our bingo group! Karalee and I were addicted to Bingo and lost every time. All of us were only 1 number away from winning the jackpot of $7000.

Bike riding on Castaway Cay. It was one of my favorite things to do. (Whose is the whitey tidey behind Avery?)

Picture at Castaway Cay.

It was a fun trip with Avery and Jason. Loved every minute and loved the people we went with! As Pierre would ask, " How was your vacation on Disney cruise?" I would say, "It was excellent."

Parties, Parties and more parties

2010-11-09T08:44:00.009-07:00

The last week of October was super busy at our house. We had 4 parties all in one week. Needless to say , Avery was entertained all week long. They first party was a birthday party for our little princess Avery. Avery turned 4 on October 29th and she had a princess birthday party. It was filled with everything princess! She invited a few of her princess friends to attend her royal ball. When they arrived they handed Avery her present and it was opened before they even got in the door.! Avery was SO excited to have them over to play games, eat cupcakes, and play dolls and dress up. For their games, they played Tiana Kiss the Frog, Cinderella's missing shoe, and Sleeping Beauty Slays the Dragon (it was a pinata that looked like a dragon thay they had to slay to get to the candy). They had a lot of fun and played dolls and dress up most of the party.

These are her little princess friends: Payton, Drama Queen Avery, and Taylee.
(noticed Avery has already changed from her princess dress into pajamas that Payton gave her.)

After her party was done, the very next day was Payton birthday party. Payton and Avery are only 2 days apart. Payton is the daughter of Kimmer, who is one of my best buds in the world! She had a bowling party and Avery loved bowling and partying it up with Payton.

Then it was onto to Halloween. This year we had two families parties that were really a lot of fun. It was the first year that Jason and I dressed up and we think it will be tradition for the whole family to dress up. Avery loved watching us get into our costumes. This year Jason was the best Joe Dirt and I was the evil Cruella De Vil. And what else would Avery be. Princess Aurora with her blond hair.

Cruella, Mario and Luigi, Wicked Witch of the West, clowns,

Princess Aurora, the lion, and Spider man

Avery hitting the witch pinata with Joe Dirt in the background.

Shauna from the 70s, witch, monster, Joe Dirt, Cruella, and 2 slightly overweight vacationers

Cruella De Vil with the love of her life, Joe Dirt.

It was a fun Halloween!

Adoption Awareness Month

2010-11-02T17:04:00.002-06:00

It has been 2 years since we started the process of adoption. It has been an emotional and hard 2 years to endure. I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of our struggles and there will come a blessing of another baby if we will just be patient! November is Adoption Awareness month and we hope that everyone still remembers our desire to adopt a baby.

Once again, family pictures

2010-09-25T21:39:00.003-06:00

It is that time of year again! We had family pictures and I can't believe how much Avery has changed in one year. I love to have pictures taken just to see the change in her. She growing up way too fast! Isn't her red hair gorgeous?!!

2010-09-18T13:38:00.003-06:00

Well, since I turned the BIG 30 this year, I told myself that I was going to run in our local marathon BUT I didn't run A marathon. I would have been dead on the side of the road if I had done that! HOwever, my sister in law, Jackie and I decided that we would shoot for a 5K. It turned out to be really fun. We met up with a friend in our ward and off we went! At the finish line, my mom was there to hand out our medals. It turned out to be really fun and I was very pleased with my time (29:15)!

It was so much fun that Jason felt left out so we ran in a city fun run today and the course ended up being a little bit harder than the previous race. I just knew that my time wouldn't be as good but in the end, I did better than expected(28:19). Jason also did really well. He placed 3rd in his age group and ran right around 24:00 minutes. It was really fun to run with Jase even though he left me in the dust. He ended up being my cheerleader at the finish line. All in all, it was fun running in a couple of races and fun to run with Jase. Who knows, next year I might get ambitious and run the 10K.

Summer Fun

2010-08-19T14:07:00.005-06:00

Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to this summer. It is going by so fast that before you know it the leaves will be falling.

Most of our days have been spent with neighbors, watching our kids play. Avery has been playing every day with her friends and loving every minute. She has a few friends that she loves to be with. They love to play house, have tea parties, and ride their scooters.

Avery also took dance with summer with another best friend, Payton. They were in the Chubbuck Day parade with their dance group, Danceology. Avery had a blast throwing candy and dancing! She definitely likes dance a lot more than soccer. I think she is going to be a girly girl!

We also had a family reunion in West Piney with Jason's extended family. I was really horrible about taking pictures but I did get this one of the family wearing our fancy bandanas, which were totally ugly! We had fun going white water rafting and hanging out with family.

The Freedom To...

2010-07-04T15:45:00.001-06:00

Happy 4th of July family and friends! I hope you have had time to reflect on our privileges of living in this great country and what freedom means to you. I am so thankful to all the men and women of the past and of today who sacrifice for our freedom, especially our freedom to worship our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Our country was founded on freedom to worship as we please. I am so blessed to live in this country!

My Niece

2010-06-16T20:43:00.004-06:00

This is my newest niece: Katelin Sydnie. My sister was nice enough to let me borrow her to practice photography. And thanks Karalee for helping me!

Happy 30th Birthday Jase!!!

2010-06-13T16:07:00.005-06:00

Singing Happy Birthday to him. He is totally embarrassed!

He is such a weirdo!

Jason turned the big 30 on May 31st! And to his utter surprise I threw a surprise birthday party for him. It was stressful keeping it a secret for so long and having Avery keep it a secret also. From the invitations to the way we got him there, everything had to be planned perfectly. We had dinner with our whole family at a local pizza restaurant. It was a lot of fun and it surprised Jason. I had to do something big for him. He also got a new mountain bike to go with his new helmet. Hope you had a super duper birthday Jason, WE LOVE YOU BEYOND MEASURE!!!

Kick the Ball, Avery!

2010-05-24T13:26:00.007-06:00

Avery has been pretty busy lately. She graduated from Pumpkin Patch Preschool. So, with that came a field trip to the Pocatello Zoo (not exciting whatsoever) and her graduation program. She was so cute at her graduation by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, introducing herself, and singing the songs she had learned. I would put the video online but I cannot get the videos to work. Sorry!

She played soccer this spring, which turned out to be VERY cold and almost miserable! But she endured to the end and was really starting to play. They don't have any strategy, they just get out on the field and run around. Once and awhile both teams would end up on the next field playing with the other two teams. It was quite comical. I think Avery just liked to run around with Luke and Aiden and really enjoyed the treats afterwards (Remember those days when you couldn't wait for the snack after the game? It brought back memories for me).

She thought the sunglasses made her run faster and play better!

Here are some other cute pictures of my little princess that I absolutely adore!

If anyone really knows Avery, you know that she LOVES, LOVES, LOVES pajamas. So anytime that she can wear them, it's off with her clothes and into her PJs and snuggling in with ther yellow blanket. Gotta love her and the PJs.

I have this obsession with taking pictures of Avery's hands and feet. I guess I never want to forget the size and they always remind me of the innocence of a child. I love them because they are perfect to me!

Garden Time!

2010-05-11T15:25:00.006-06:00

It is that time of year again! We all got together to plant the garden out at Shauna's house. It is quite the production but with all hands on deck, we got the job done in about 3 hours. Not bad! Let's hope that our hard work with pay off in the fall. When all the work was done Joe got the saddle out and saddled up Dusty and let the kids ride him. They were so excited and loved every

minute of it.

Waiting patiently for Joe to bring Dusty over

This is what happened when they had to share and wait their turn.

Okay, Shauna- Where my 1,000 bucks?

Happy Easter Everyone!

2010-04-06T14:29:00.011-06:00

Happy Easter

Here are a few pictures of my little Easter bunny and princess. She is so adorable I had to post these pictures. (Can you tell I am a proud mom?)

This year for Easter I really tried to focus my efforts on the reason we celebrate Easter. It is because of our Savior! So most of our Easter activities were related to His death and resurrection. Avery loved the fun things we did and it was fun teaching her about her Savior. It amazes me the things that she knows and remembers. She loves the gospel and speaks often of Grandpa Randy living with Jesus. Her simple faith is inspiring to me. Here are just a few fun things we did to remember Easter.

We made Resurrection Rolls and they were a hit at my house. They are about Jesus and His Resurrection in a way that Avery understands.

-Avery was given a crescent roll which represented the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in

-Then a marshmallow was used for His body and His purity.

-Then Avery dipped the marshmallow in melted butter which represents the oil for embalming.

-Then it was dipped in cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint Jesus's body.

-Then His body was tightly wrapped up in the cloth and placed in the tomb (oven) while it was baking we pretended that 3 days had passed.

-Then when the rolls were done, Avery opened up her roll to find that the marshmallow had melted and Jesus had risen but that the white cloth remained.

It was a great way to teach Avery about the true meaning of Easter. It was simplified in a way that she understood. The rolls were really yummy too!

We colored a little coloring book I found. It was about the 7 days of Easter. Each day of the week spoke was Christ's last week and there were scriptures that we read for each day. Avery didn't totally understand but she really liked making the book.

Of course I can't totally deprive Avery of the Easter bunny, the egg hunts, and dying eggs. So she did get to do all of those but just a few days before Easter. She had a blast running around with her cousins looking for eggs. She got WAY TOO MUCH CANDY! But loved every minute of finding them. She also dyed Easter eggs with Aiden, Ethen, and Spencer. Let me tell you, Avery is all girl. She would delicately place in the eggs in the dye so as to not splash. while the boys would drop the eggs into the cup and dye would go everywhere! She used the egg dipper so her little fingers wouldn't get colored. But towards the end, she was dipping her little fingers into the dye.

She also had an Easter egg hunt with grandma Shauna but unfortunately I had to work so I didn't get any pictures. I know she had fun and can't wait to use her Wendy's gift card.

Honoring our serviceman, Jared!

2010-03-22T19:01:00.004-06:00

We love our service men and women, especially when one of them is Jared! We truly appreciate his sacrifice for our freedom and safety. It is also a HUGE sacrifice for Kris and little Jack. So with his recent deployment, I thought it was a neat idea to get a military service flag for Shauna to fly at her home. She had never heard or seen these type of flags hanging in windows of families that have members deployed.

Now a little history of the flag so everyone knows about it! The flag was designed during WWI,becoming an unofficial symbol of a child in service. During WWII, displaying the flag became very common. Almost every home displayed the flag indicating the number of family members serving in the Armed Forces. In 1966, the Department of Defense declared the specifications of the design and display of the service flag. The flag is white with a red border. Each blue star represents the number of members serving (one star meaning one member serving). The color of the stars is symbolic in that the blue represents hope and pride. When a service man been killed a smaller, gold star in placed on top of the blue star to create a blue border surrounding the gold star. The gold star represents sacrifice to the cause of liberty and freedom.

According to the Department of Defense, close family members should fly the flag. So parents, siblings, wife, husband, and children. The flag should only by flown during times of war.

And there is your brief history lesson for the week!

So thank you Jared for serving our country and for your HUGE sacrifice. We pray for you everyday.

He got away!

2010-03-18T12:29:00.008-06:00

Well, this year for St Patrick's Day Avery and I built a leprachaun trap to catch us a little green fella. We set out a lot of gold but when Avery got up, he had stolen all of the gold without the trap going off (better luck next year). He did, however, leave little green footprints and a pot of gold for us to enjoy then he escaped down the heat vent. Avery really wanted to catch one but that little guy was just too fast for us but we really had a fun time trying.

Then I made green pancakes and green milk for every one to enjoy on St Patty's day. Avery took green jello jigglers for her little class mates to enjoy. From sun up to sun down, I added green to everything! Dinner rolls, milk, peppermint brownies, if I could add green I did. Jason thinks he's going to be pooping green for the next week!

We've got the Winter Blues!

2010-03-14T14:44:00.015-06:00

She is so excited to be put on her coat and hat...again.

Since Hawaii, our lives have been in the usual rut. We cannot wait for Spring to come. Avery

drags me out every day to see how our tulips are doing. She can't wait for warm weather!

We did break out and make our way to Salt Lake. We got tickets for Avery to see Disney on Ice. It was a painful month waiting for this to arrive since she asked me every day if it was time to see the princesses dance on ice. So the night finally arrived and she squealed with delight. We had fantastic seats!!! We got to sit on padded seats which made my night (I hate sitting on hard chairs, it ruins the event for me). We were on row 1 so no one blocked our view and all of the characters were right in front of us. It was a great show because Avery's attention was focused on those Disney characters!! She was mesmerized and so cute when she waved at them. Here are a couple of pictures from our night.

Isn't he thrilled?????

And we are so excited we can hardly stand it!!!

I will add video when my computer doesn't freak out when I try to add them.

ALOHA!

2010-01-30T10:00:00.026-07:00

WARNING: This is a LONG post!

Well, despite my anxiety with leaving Avery for a week, I had a wonderful time spending the week in Hawaii with Jason. It was beautiful, RELAXING, and warm. We spent the week in Oahu, soaking up the sun and taking in all the gorgeous scenery. It was a long flight over there, just about 12 hours because of technical difficulties with the plane and strong head winds. We made it and spent the week doing whatever we wanted. The island is like I remember it, not much has changed. I went about 10 years ago with Kimmer, a good friend of mine. So here are some pictures of our fun filled week!

Day 1

It was late when we got into Honolulu so we ended up just eating dinner and sleeping! We were exhausted.

Day 2

The Polynesian Cultural Center was pretty fun and we learned a lot. We learned that Americans are pretty boring and have no culture to pass onto our children! But it was a lot of fun and we got to visit the temple visitors center. The temple was closed for renovation which was disappointing to hear. But Jason tried to start a fire from wood and almost had it but didn't have any coconut hair to get the flame going. Darn it! We also got tattoos from one of the villages. On the way to the PCC we hiked to a lighthouse found on the east side of the island and many times whales can be spotted from here.

Day 3

We spent the day in the sun and I paid for it for the rest of the week. I got REALLY burned but it was worth it. We went snorkeling at Hanama Bay where the fish are unreal! Jason saw a whale out in the distant come completely out of the water. I was pretty upset that I didn't see it since I was the one wanting to see a whale. When he was snorkeling an eel freaked him out and he quickly swam back to shore. After we got enough rays, we hiked up to Diamond Head. There are close to 200 stairs you have to climb in addition to all of the switchbacks. The view makes all of those stairs worth it! Once again, absolutely stunning! We were stuck in traffic longer than it took us to hike. 2 hours stuck in traffic-horrible!

Day 4

We visited Pearl Harbor and anyone who has visited understands the magnitude of this event. Visiting a historical sight has so much more meaning than learning about it in a textbook. It is a sight that everyone should visit when going to Hawaii. We also experienced the flea market at Aloha Stadium and it was like any other flea market. But we did get some good deals! We headed up to the Dole Plantation and this is where I fell in love with pineapple ice cream. I loved it! While I was there, I learned that pineapples grow from the ground, not a tree! Who knew? It was a beautiful plantation but above all, the ice cream was the best!

Day 5

AWESOME! This is all I can say about our kayaking trip to an island called Monu'lua Island. The water was GORGEOUS! It was 4 mile round trip with crystal clear water the entire way out. I could see the bottom of the ocean the entire trip which was breath taking. Jason would ask, "Are you going to paddle?" because I would get caught up with the view and looking for turtles and Jason would end up paddling by himself. Needless to say, the next day I didn't have a sore muscle to speak of unlike Jason whose upper body was sore! When we got the to island, we+ saw a hidden tide pool that Jason took a dip in. It was a place where Hawaiian royalty came to vacation. We had lunch then headed back to Kailua beach to snorkel. This beach is by far my favorite beach. It was amazing and in fact, it is rated the second best beach in the world. So you can understand why it is so awesome. But it was a fun adventure that ended up being the funnest activity we did!
Day 6

I had been waiting for this day. It was my shopping day at Hawaii's outlet mall. Banana Republic and I are great friends! They have great clothes for work so I stock up while I am there. Needless to say, it was a successful shopping trip. Even Jason came away with a few things!

Day 7

I was determined to see a whale when I was in Hawaii since it is the season they migrate to Hawaii to give birth to their calves. So I booked an awesome tour that includes swimming with dolphins, turtles, and whale watching but with the strong winds we had to cancel. So our second option was to take a catamaran out into the ocean and look for whales. And indeed, we saw a pod of three whales, one of which was a baby. It was pretty magnificent to see them! Although towards the end of the trip I was feeling a little woozy because the ocean was really rough that day. But at the end of the day, I was glad we went out and got to see those HUGE animals. Because we spent the day in the sun, Jason was plum tuckered out so he needed a little nap before we went out on the town!
Last day

We drove around the island in our little Volkswagen bug that was yellow. Jason said that all he needed was a surf board to attach to the top and he'd fit right into the Hawaiian lifestyle. We first hiked up to Monoa Falls which was about the 45 minute hike through Hawaii's rain forest. I enjoyed the hike more that the falls because the scenery was BEAUTIFUL! After our quick hike, we headed up to the north shore of Hawaii to check out the surfers and the big waves. Well, we saw some magnificent waves (about 30 foot waves) but no surfers. I guess they didn't dare attempt them; they were HUGE! At the end of the day we ended up back at Dole Plantation to get another yummy pineapple ice cream. I think they are to die for but Jason would disagree. It was worth the drive around the island for another one. We also saw the Byo do-in Temple, which is a temple seen in Japan. It was pretty cool and it was nestled up against some mountains which made it more amazing.

I have to thank everyone for helping with Avery while we were gone. We really appreciate my mom and Shauna for their willingness to have Avery for the week. Thank you Lauren for taking Avery to church, especially to our own ward! That was above the call of duty. Thank you Steph also for watching our little angel. And Jackie for taking care of things around our house! I came away from Hawaii refreshed and renewed to be a better mom and wife! Thank you everyone! Also Jason, thank you so much for the WONDERFUL vacation. I love spending time with you and it was so great to get away with just you! I LOVE YOU. Thank you.

This is what we came home to- it made my eyes well up with tears. She is my angel and that made my day

Christmas

2009-12-28T21:57:00.014-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We had so much fun playing Santa this year. We had to build a dollhouse that Avery had been asking for since Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun making sugar cookies for Santa. Avery was so excited to leave cookies and milk by the fireplace. On Christmas morning we woke up and Avery immediately went to see if Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk. And sure enough, the cookies were all gone! Then she turned around and found her dollhouse.

She had a blast opening gifts. She was so funny because every time it was her turn to open a gift, she would say, "Don't tell me what it is." It was pretty funny. Christmas was a lot of fun.
Jason got a subwoofer for his theatre system in our family room. And here is Avery in her sleeping bag that she got. She is really into the Disney princesses so she was thrilled to get her pink sleeping bag.
Here are some more pictures of our Christmas with my family. Jason got an internal frame backpack which he was pretty stoked about. I got some sewing stuff so I can do some more sewing, and Avery got a tent, a sled, and a remote control car that she loves.

And we spent Christmas day with Jason's family. We had a wonderful Christmas.

Partners in crime

2009-12-10T21:48:00.006-07:00

I just had to post these pictures because I think she is too cute.

This is Aiden, her partner in crime!

Our New Addition...no, it's not a baby

2009-12-10T20:30:00.007-07:00

This Christmas season has been a really fun since Avery is a little older and really understands Christmas and Santa. We kicked off the season with the new addition of Curby to our family. He is our elf from the North Pole that we adopted this year. He watches Avery every day and flies back to Santa each night and reports about her behavior. It is so FUN because each morning he is in a new place in the house. Today Avery found him sitting high on our shelf. He has been found sitting in the Christmas tree, in the chandelier, and in her Christmas stocking. His rules are that he cannot speak to children and he cannot be touched because he will loose his magic. It is amazing how a little elf can change Avery's behavior in a matter of seconds! It has been a lot of fun to start a new tradition in our family.

We also have been busy making gingerbread houses at our own home and at Grandma Shauna's Avery is getting pretty good at decorating. She loves doing it. It has been so much fun with Avery this Christmas because she is SO excited for Santa and everything is exciting! As a parent, Christmas is fun again because we re-live our childhood through our child's eyes.

November is National Adoption Month

2009-11-06T21:27:00.003-07:00

Just a reminder that November is National Adoption Month. We want to remind everyone of our hopes for adopting a baby. Please keep your ears and eyes open for our birth mother. We pray that a miracle will happen in our lives soon. If anyone would like some of our pass along cards, let us know.

2009-11-04T21:48:00.001-07:00

Halloween

2009-11-04T20:52:00.006-07:00

Before we left for Disneyland, Grandma Shauna had a Halloween party for the family. She dressed up as Cookie Monster. It was pretty funny watching her eat cookies. She made us all laugh. We also stopped by my parent's house so they could see Avery dressed up as Pocahontas. Here are a couple of pictures from the night.

It's a small world after all

2009-11-04T19:03:00.012-07:00

This last week we went to California to Disneyland and to visit family. It was a lot of fun especially with Avery being older and taller! We spent 3 days at Disneyland and 3 days in San Diego. It was a lot of fun but I told a friend that I now need another vacation to recover from this vacation!

We flew out of Salt Lake and had to sit on the runway for 45 minutes before take off so they could de-ice the plane. Let me tell you, it was a very painful wait because Avery could not wait to fly in the air, so it seemed like forever before we actually took off. If you look closely at my jacket and window you will see the snow. I was glad to be getting out of there, heading to warm weather.

Disneyland was a lot of fun. Avery loved the Disney princesses; she could have probably just met all of them and done without any of the rides. She got to meet Cinderella, Snow White, Cruella Deville, and Jafar. If any of you remember Snow White's wishing well- this was Avery's FAVORITE place to be. It was a great time of year to go because the lines were short. We only stood in line for about 15 minutes-even for Finding Nemo! It was great because we got to ride a lot of the rides two or three times each. There were some rides where we had to go alone since Avery was not tall enough to ride. Jason rode the log ride and got really drenched and I love Indiana Jones ride. We saw a couple of shows including Aladdin. It was awesome, well worth the 45 minute wait in line. We had row 5 so many of the characters during the play came down our row and interacted with Avery. It was a lot of fun and would recommend it to anyone going to Disneyland.

After Disneyland we headed down to San Diego to spend some time with Jared, Kris, and their new baby, Jack. Jared is Jason's brother. We planned our trip around his baby blessing. It was great to spend some time with them and meet Jack. He is the cutest baby and looks a lot like his mom. We hung around their house on Friday and Saturday evening so Avery could go Trick-or-Treating in their neighborhood. The weather was absolutely beautiful and warm so Avery could wear her costume without a coat! She was the cutest Pocahontas and everyone knew who she was which made her very happy.

On Saturday, we headed to the zoo. It was fun and Avery liked looking at all of the animals. But I think once you have been to one zoo, all of them are alike.

On Sunday we attended Jack's blessing. Jared gave a really nice blessing and Jack was an angel during the blessing. Then Kris made a yummy lunch for us. It was nice to spend time with them. Then Monday we came back home to freezing weather! It was a fun vacation!

2009-10-29T21:07:00.001-06:00

My baby is 3!

2009-10-29T20:57:00.003-06:00

Well, Avery turned 3 today! Where does the time go? I would say that I remember the day she was born but due to all the drugs, October 29th, 2006 was all a blur. I do remember the moment she was born and devising a plan to wrap her in a blue blanket. It was a trick for our families since many of them thought she would be a boy. That was really fun. But since Avery was born, it has been a very fun three years. She is a huge blessing in our lives and are so thankful that she is in our family. I can't even begin to describe Avery and her personality but I am going to list a few things about her.
1- Avery is so tenderhearted that it is sometimes very hard to discipline because she has such a soft heart.
2- Avery is a people pleaser. She wants to make sure that you are not mad at her and that she pleases you. She always asks, "Mom, are you mad at me?"
3- We call her our mother hen. She is always being the little mother to her younger cousins. She is going to be a fabulous older sister and wonderful mother someday.
4- She is a mama's girl. When I am around, there is no one else that can stand in between us. We are partners in crime and loves to do girly things with her mom. Sometimes I do need a break and she has to be with her dad.
5- She loves books. Since she was very young, Avery has enjoyed being read to. We read every night.
6- She loves playing her friend, Payton. They love to play dolls, Barbies, grocery store, and farm. They are only 2 days apart so they love to do things together.
7- Avery loves go-gurts and cheese sticks. It a ritual every night to have either one of these snacks
8- She loves the Disney princesses and loved seeing them at Disneyland. She could have done without the rides and just been with the princesses all day.
9- Avery always tells people that she loves them. Not a day goes by that I don't hear, "Mom, Dad, I love you to infinity and beyond." I love hearing those words come from that sweet little girl.
10- Avery loves going to church and learning of Jesus. She is always excited to go to church and can't wait to get into her dress. I hope this continues throughout her life.

Avery, we want you to know that we love you and am so thankful you are our daughter! Happy Birthday!!

Love is in the air!

2009-10-23T08:49:00.002-06:00

My youngest brother is finally getting married!! He's marrying his sweet girlfriend, Heather in the Salt Lake Temple on November 21st. It has been very busy around my house and the house of my parent's organizing and planning but it has been very exciting and fun at the same time. Last week we went dress shopping and found the most beautiful dress for her! She's going to look fabulous. I am so excited for them and know they will make a great couple. Congratulations Paul and Heather. We love you guys!

Adoption Cards

2009-10-13T21:31:00.006-06:00

Well we are trying another avenue in hopes of finding a birth mother. I was talking with my neighbor about their adoption experience with her two children. She was explaining to me that she and her husband had ordered adoption pass along cards and had family and friends leave them at restaraunts, send them with their bills, and tack them to business's advertisement boards. It was through this pass along card that they eventually found their birth mother of their two children. The birth mother was very close to giving birth to their first child when she got their card from her mother. She then got pregnant again and again she chose Dani's family as her adoptive family for her second child. I was truly in awe as I listened to her story. It was through this simple act of leaving their card at Mama Inez's table that their path crossed with their birth mother's path. It forever changed their lives. After hearing her story, I knew that we had to get our own pass along cards. It may never bring to pass a success story but we have to explore every path in order to get our children here. If it is as simple as leaving a card at a table it is worth it.

This process is a test of my patients as this whole process involves MANY people. We are trying to do our part, such as these cards, to find our birth mother. I have complete faith in my Heavenly Father and his plan. HE KNOWS BEST and knows me and my family. Family is central to His plan and He will bless us with another child. This definitely is a trial for us but we are truly blessed with an angel that lights up our lives and keeps us going. She is my miracle and am so thankful for Avery. Heavenly Father will bless us when the time is right, for He wants to make us happy.

If any one is interested in some cards to leave at places let me know. I have plenty to go around! I am going to be sure to take them to California with us, ya just never know who you'll meet!

Family Photos

2009-09-19T16:32:00.004-06:00

We had our annual family photos and they turned out pretty darn cute. I was happy with them. I had to post some of my cute little angel. She so dang adorable!

Where does time go???

2009-09-11T21:26:00.020-06:00

I have fallen behind in the blogging world just because summer has been super busy. We have done a lot of fun things this summer so I am posting one HUGE post.

Avery finally got to start preschool called Pumpkin Patch. She has been patiently waiting to start since May. It was our way of getting her potty trained. We told her only big girls go to school and you have to wear big girl underwear. That's really all it took to get her potty trained. She was a little unsure the first day but with time she has really come to enjoy it and loves coming home with her school projects. Although when you ask her, "Do you want to quit going to school?" She'll say, "Yeah mom, I want to stay home all day with you." It is so sweet but I really love the two hour break!

She has really been into the 'puter', she is always wanting to play Diego or Dora. So grown up!

(Click on pic to enlarge)

I have been super busy cutting vinyl this summer with a few projects but the biggest one I did was for my mother in law. She had a shed built this year and wanted to put sayings that Randy would always say when he was gardening. It is a great tribute to the master gardner and it was so fun doing it. The project turned out so cute, although the men of family think we're creating a shrine. It was fun creating it and I have to thank Shauna for letting me do this as it brought back great memories of Randy and his passion and love for gardening. We miss him and it is projects like this that will never let us forget him. We love and miss him so much.

Jason went mountain biking with my brothers, Ben and Kent in Sun Valley. They are always doing some type of guy trip and this year they thought it was time for some mountain biking. They said it was a lot of fun. I think Jason said they went about 8 miles. Lots of fun until Kent went tipsy-do over the handle bars!

We also spent a week in Island Park with my family and it's always an adventure. But this year my parents rented a big trailor for us to stay in since all of us can't stay in the cabin. So it was really nice. Of course, the boys did some mountain biking while the girls stayed home and did nothing but watch kids. Right! While the cats are away, the mice will play. We filled water balloons and prepared to attack the boys when they got home. Everyone ended up getting wet and it was fun to surprise them. I will post pics when I get them.

We also went into the park and saw Presiden't Obama's helicopter fleet land in the park, preparing for his Yellowstone visit. It was really neat to see. There are only a five cars, and two of them were ours! Avery had to have a raccoon hat, which was pretty dang cute on her!

We went to the Palymill and saw a theatrical play, went four-wheeling, played lots of games, hike, and just hung out! It was fun to get away.

This year was Jason's first year at scout camp and I think he had fun. This was the first scout camp for all of the boys so they all had a lot to learn (zipping their tent closed will keep mice out)He said it was a lot of work and was sure gald to be home. But overall, I think it was a success. Then a couple of weeks after scout camp, he took the boys backpacking to Independence Lakes, which is a 7 mile hike that can be pretty tough. Jason and I explored that hike when I was six months pregnant and it was hard then but such beautiful country! So I can imagine the boys thinking it was tough but every one of them made it! And it is always fun to hear all of the crazy stories Jason has to tell when they get home. This backpacking trip each boy had to sleep under the stars (meaning no tent!)

2009-07-28T22:49:00.001-06:00

Slip-n-slide

2009-07-28T22:44:00.003-06:00

We had the best family outing to a place where there are slip-n-slides that are just HUGE. There is a family that has built these slides on their land and allows people to come and have fun on them. It is a lot of fun and I think that the pictures can do all of the talking. Everyone had a turn with the camera so we got lots of great pictures. Thanks everyone for taking a turn! In total we got 164 pictures of the fun. Needless to say, it was a BLAST! Avery LOVED it so much that by the end of the night she wanted to go by herself. She would not go with anyone. She is our adventerous little one! We can't wait to go again. Thanks Steph for arranging this, it was fun!

Jackie, this ones for you!

2009-07-17T16:12:00.005-06:00

This post is mostly for Jackie because they are pictures of her kids. We went to Cherry Springs for some pictures and we didn't get too many good shots. We were getting eaten alive by mosquitoes! Plus Avery was there getting in almost every shot! So Jackie, we'll have to do it

again!

The boys were very active boys who didn't like to site still. Ethen just wanted to run around, especially from the mosquitoes. But his pictures turned our better than his older brother's,Aiden.

Aiden is at the age where all of his smiles were forced. So these are just a few of the ones that turned out. Thanks guys for letting me take pictures of your kids and practicing; I hope to get better with time. Thanks!

Sneak Peak

2009-07-11T20:37:00.005-06:00

I have to post some of the pictures that I took of my nephew Spencer. I think they turned out cute even though he is very hard to photograph since he will NOT sit still for 2 seconds.

He would do everything but smile so we got lots of his cute looks that I love so much!

I have more to edit but these are the few that were done and I had to show them to someone!

2009-07-07T09:17:00.001-06:00

Lots goin' on

2009-07-07T08:22:00.005-06:00

My favorite picture from the 4th

We have a had a busy weekend. Of course it was the 4th of July so that meant fireworks and barbecuing. We let the kids play in the pool before dinner to keep them entertained. I think the adults were more entertained by them. Then we were lucky to eat dinner before the HUGE rainstorm came in with a ton of rain and hail. At the time we were at my parent's house who live in the Highland area and with all the rain they got, there were garbage cans floating down the street! We really should have gone tubing but the lighting kept us inside. We were eating dinner under a canopy and with all the hail, the ceiling of it was caving in because of the weight of the canopy. So Paul and my mom had to go out in that horrible storm and taking it down. There is a picture of them coming in drenched. But eventually, the skies cleared and we were able to light our fireworks. The kids loved them, especially the little snaps that you throw on the ground and their sparklers. Avery was old enough to really like the firework show this year.

Then on Monday, my grandma threw a surprise 80th birthday party for my grandpa. I spent all day helping her get ready for that and it turned out really fun. My dad took him to the cabin in Island Park to get it ready to use for the summer. So when he came home he was VERy surprised to see all his family and friends suprise him. I love him so much and am grateful he is my grandpa.

2009-07-03T22:26:00.001-06:00

It's finally warm to swim!

2009-06-28T19:27:00.010-06:00

We had to take advantage of the warm weather and spend a couple of days at Downata. And we were out in the sun so much that we came home pretty crisp (meaning VERy sunburned). My family and us rented a cabin there and spent the days swimming, barbecuing, riding 4-wheelers, playing Mexican horseshoes, and roasting marshmallows. The kids loved playing outside with toys and swinging on the swings.

Avery loved playing in the sidewalk sprayers because warm water sprayed out from them. I don't know why she is still wearing her water wings!

The cabin we rented was big enough for all of us to stay in. It had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a very large kitchen to cook in. It was fun just to hang out together and let the kids run around outside.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T12:58:00.005-06:00

I wanted to pay tribute to all of the fathers out there, namely Jason, my dad, and Randy. They are all men who have tremendous influences in our lives.

Jason is the BEST daddy to Avery. One of us has to be the fun loving one and he is it! He is always playing with Avery and keeping her busy. He is patient with her and teaches her so much. Thanks for being the best dad that you can be. You teach me how to be a better parent. I appreciate you and love you! Happy Father's Day!!

My dad is a great father who has always been there for me. Thanks dad for wanting to be with our family and providing such a great childhood for us. I will never forget all of the fun vacations we went on. Now that I am older we hope to create those fun memories in Avery's life. You are a wonderful father and grandpa and I love you so much.

Jason's dad is an amazing man who has taught us many lessons and molded Jason into the man he is today. He taught Jason the meaning of hard work, the love for learning, and his great adoration for the outdoors. Randy is doting grandpa who loves Avery. If he were here with her, he would be laughing his laugh when Avery did something funny. We love you and miss you like crazy!

He's 29!

2009-05-31T21:31:00.003-06:00

My husband has turned 29! It was just like yesterday when I met him in math class when we were just 16! Oh, how time flies. We celebrated with cake and ice cream and everyone from each side of the family came over. Thanks to everyone who came over and made Jason's day extra special.

I wanted to let him know that I am so glad to be married to him. He is the BEST husband, friend, and father. Jason, Happy Birthday. I hope you had a special day. I love you.

Aloha!!!

2009-05-22T09:38:00.006-06:00

Aloha! My sister and I decided that we needed to have a luau to kick off summer. We had so much fun! We had leis for everyone, girls had grass skirts, and the guys had straw hats. We had pig (just not a whole pig, just pulled pork), rainbow salad that my sister made (amazing 12 layer jello salad), and fresh fruit. We did hula and hung out and listened to Hawaiian music. My grandparents came with their Hawaiian attire and even my dad wore shorts and flip flops. That is amazing since he NEVER wears shorts. Overall, we had a blast and we will probably do this every May.

The girls of the family dressedut in coconut bras and grass skirts!

Avery has a grass skirt but it was getting in the way of her fun.

The mighty men in straw hats and leis

Paul's girlfriend, Heather, practicing for our hula contest

Jason haingin' loose while wearing Avery's sunglasses. He is such a good sport!

Paul and his awesome girlfriend, Heather

Avery chillin' in the sun!

We finally got a.......

2009-05-05T21:11:00.003-06:00

A new car! It was time to trade in the old reliable Honda for something a little bit bigger. We ended up with a 2009 Subaru Outback! It is really nice. The story behind it goes like this...Yesterday Jason went to the store to get some new sprinkler heads for our system and he was gone for about 2 and 1/2 hours. I thought, "Boy, that store is really busy or he just can't find the part he's looking for." But he finally came home as I was taking dinner out of the oven and said, "I've been at the Subaru dealer, wheelin' and dealin', do you want to go look at what I've got picked out?" It was kind of a surprise but I said sure we could go look. Well we looked and ended up buying a car! But the one they had in stock was a color I was not interested in. I wanted white (what a surprise) so they said they could get me a white one. So today, I went and picked up our beautiful white Subaru outback. I love it! Although I am having attachment issues with my Honda; it was my college car and it is still an excellent car but as a family, it's not what we need now. So we will be selling my Honda so if you know of anyone who could use a really nice used Honda, send them our way!

Our Adoption Profile

2009-04-28T18:51:00.006-06:00

Well, it has been a long process getting here but our adoption profile is now available for everyone in the United States to see. Yet another step closer! There are many hoops that we had to go through to get here but I know it will be all worth it in the end. Jason and I just got finished taking a couple of adoption classes last week and came away with many new feelings regarding adoption. We got to meet with past birth mothers who have chosen adoption for their children and got to talk with them about their hard decision. I came away with more admiration and appreciation for these mothers who selflessly provide a better life for their babies. We met other couples who are in the same circumstance as us and are feeling the same feelings we are experiencing. I have posted our link to our profile in our side panel under adoption and I will also post it now but it can also be found at beta.itsaboutlove.org. Just click here to see our profile.

Easter

2009-04-11T22:13:00.005-06:00

This week I have been thinking of Easter and it's meaning in MY life. It gives me the peace and knowledge that I can be redeemed and live with my family for eternity. It is also a day when we celebrate the greatest victory, the victory over death. It is through Jesus Christ that immortality is made possible for each one of us. Death will come to each one of us but it is made sweet with the certainty of the Resurrection. I am so thankful He gave me the greatest gift of his redeeming grace and personal resurrection. I love what the First Presidency's message to the world about Easter and our Savior

"In this Easter season of the year—when we are reminded yet again of all Christ has done for us, how dependent we are upon his redeeming grace and personal resurrection,
At this Easter season of hope and renewal we testify of the glorious reality of the atonement and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The empty tomb brought comforting assurance and provided the answer to the question of Job, “If a man die, shall he live again?” (Job 14:14).
Because of the Savior’s resurrection we will overcome death and become the beneficiaries of His mercy and grace. In a world of trouble and uncertainty, His peace fills our hearts and eases our minds. Jesus is in very deed “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
We give our sure witness that Jesus is the Christ. Though He was crucified, He rose triumphant from the tomb to our everlasting blessing and benefit. To each member of the human family He stands as our Advocate, our Savior, and our Friend. "

'Egg"cellent Masterpiece

2009-04-10T12:33:00.008-06:00

As a family we dyed Easter eggs and we even dyed 12 eggs! (Inside joke, Jason says he only dyed 1 egg when he was a kid) Avery loved every minute of it. She began using the egg dipper and by the end of it she had her whole hand in the cups pulling the eggs out. She would put all of them in the dye then pull all of them out. Over and over we repeated this process until she started spilling the dye. Although she did pretty well for a two year old, she thought they were balls and was hitting them against the table and before we knew it, half of them were cracked. I guess that is to be expected!

My canning adventure!

2009-04-07T20:09:00.005-06:00

Today I canned butter for the first time. "You can can butter?" is probably what you are thinking because I said that exact same thing to my neighbor, Ginger when she told me that she cans butter. So it peaked my interest and she taught all of us at Enrichment night how to can butter. And it is so EASY! And yes, it stores for 3-5 years! And yes, it tastes just like butter from your fridge. So here is to adding to my food storage and hoping that it will be tasty when we need it! Ginger said she will be learning how to can beef and would let us know how it turns out. I'll pass on that canning lesson!

Avery's Easter Creation

2009-03-29T13:00:00.006-06:00

Easter is right around the corner and I decided to do a craft with Avery this week and it turned out to be so fun! I decided that we would make paper mache Easter eggs like the ones we use to make in grade school. It was a lot of fun since Avery could put the tissue paper on any way she wanted to and it still looked good. Every time she would put a little piece of paper on the balloon, she would say, "Mom, perfect!" She had so much fun that we ended up making 4 eggs and giving each grandma and grandpa one filled with candy.

We got approved!!!!

2009-03-24T15:05:00.004-06:00

Today is a very exciting day, one that brings us a step closer to adopting. Our caseworker called and told us that we were approved for adoption!! What happens is we have a fill out A LOT of paperwork, make a collage of our family (Thanks Karalee for helping me make ours), and have 2 letters written to the birth mother. This is all taken before an adoption commitee to make sure that we are able to care for another child. It is very exciting news and a relief to know that all of our paperwork, background checks, and references are all complete. Thank you to everyone who wrote letters and helped us with this process! Now probably comes the more difficult period when we must be patient and have faith that a child will come into our family. I know that Heavenly Father wants a child to have a loving and eternal family to go to, so I lean on Him and trust that He will bless us and will guide the birth mother to our family.

I have been reading a book about adoption and have been learning the emotions, decisions, and thoughts that go through a birth mother's mind when she is deciding which path to chose for her and her child. It has brought me to a new understanding of the heavy decisions that weigh on their mind and the emotional rollercoaster they experience. I pray each night for our birth mother, that she may feel Heavenly Father's guiding hand in her life. This experience has brought me to appreciate motherhood, families, and the miracle of life. I am thankful for the leaders of the church who testify of the eternal principles of adoption. It testifies of the Savior's Atonement by making the bitter sweet, the sorrow into joy. This process has deepened my faith in Him and He will bless our family with another 'grandpa's angel'!

St Patrick's Day Dinner

2009-03-16T11:54:00.006-06:00

We had dinner with my family on Sunday and we arrived to find that dinner was green. My mom and Emilee decided to celebrate St Patrick's Day on Sunday with everything green. We ate green chicken and noodle soup with green rolls. A green salad was also served and for dessert we had green cake. It was really fun and the kids all had green leprechaun headpieces. It was fun to be festive.

AN ELECTRICIAN LIVES HERE!

2009-03-07T13:07:00.007-07:00

We have finally started our basement! We installed our fireplace in October but waited until after the holidays to finish. Jason got help from our brother-in-law, Dave to help us do the electrical work. I was worried that he was going to electricute himself or we'd get finished and we wouldn't have any lights. But he did a fabulous job. Thanks Dave for helping and thanks to Steph for letting us borrow him for a few Saturdays! The sheetrockers came and brought TONS of sheetrock. They hoisted it over the fence with a crane and brought it all in through our basement window. When they went to leave, their truck was stuck in the mud behind our house. With enough rocking back and forth, they eventually got out. Jason was amazed at how fast they could hang that sheetrock-just about 2 days! It would have taken Jason 2 years to hang it himself! We are now in the process of having the texture put on the walls and ceiling and that should be done next week. It will be so nice to have my house back and have a whole another floor we can live in. And no more TV in my front room!! It is very exciting!

Avery's 1st Swimming Lesson

2009-02-09T11:16:00.006-07:00

Well, Avery had a very successful swimming lesson. When I signed her up I thought it was going to be a horrible experience with crying and tantrums. But to my surprise, she loved it! She is taking private lessons with her little friend, "Wuke" as she calls him. His name is Luke, who is Jenny's boy. They each get fifteen minutes with the teacher. They practice kicking, blowing bubbles, and going underwater. She got right in the water and kicked, kicked, kicked. She even went underwater and did not cry. I was so proud of her! The tantrum came when her lesson was over and we had to leave Wuke and go home. She kept saying, "I want to swim with my friend, Wuke!"

At the end of the swimming lesson, they get to hop in the hot tub to warm up. Both were sitting on the step and Luke decided to go swimming himself. In the above picture you can see his butt and him starting to drown. It's kind of funny that I got the picture of just his butt! Jenny was reached right in and pulled him out getting herself all wet! But after his faced was dried off, he was back into the hot tub.

A Sun Valley Get-a-way

2009-01-29T18:58:00.002-07:00

Finally, a couple of days of grown up activity. This week Jason and I were able to ski in Sun Valley. It was a lot of fun, with great snow and few people. Although the weather was on the cold side (about 15 degrees) it was still fun skiing. We left Avery with family and took off to hit the slopes. I was hoping to see someone famous, namely Demi Moore or her cute husband, Ashton... no success. Oh well, I still enjoyed getting away with my hubby!