my dress

(holding a bar of chocolate)

after church

before church

My exuberant little girl bouncing out of the picture frame.

I love this picture.

This is me wearing the same dress when I was little (about 5 in this picture).

This is probably my favorite family pictures of when we were little.

This is a dress my mom saved and mow my little girl can wear it. We switched the ribbon color and made a new under-dress.

She loves to twirl and dance when she wears it. She knows that Grandma made it and calls it the Grandma dress.

Hello and Goodbye Kitty

Well, Santa brought the family a cat for Christmas. The kids (Claire) loved it. Mom and Dad did not like cleaning up after it (apparently it was not well litter trained) and constantly getting it off the counters and table and keeping it from scratching the furniture.

So we said good-bye.

Somehow the kids are ok with it.

The best part about this cat was that he let Claire do anything with him and he never got feisty with her.

Thanks Tiger for an exciting three weeks. I hope you make some other little girl really happy.

Mike style sledding

This is the way Mike goes sledding: we are in Utah so why not just drive up the canyon and find a good mountain to cruise down. There was no way I was going to hike up and down a mountain, but I had fun watching from the van. It was quite an adventure. A bit rocky though. When they were done sledding they climbed the mountain and threw sticks and snowballs from the top. Mike was so patient with Claire all the way up and all the way down.

My kids have a good Daddy.

snow day

self-made sledding hill

this is a ruler on our back porch!

The day before winter break we got a snow day! bonus. All the kids on the street were out playing and all the dads were out shoveling. (I don't understand why they didn't have to work)

We have a great street and the kids loved the day. It was so story-book/romantic.

gingerbread house

The whole second grade class made gingerbread houses and I went in to help Ethan and the other kids. We had a good time. I was trying to convince Ethan he needed to cram as much candy on his board as possible so we could take it home and eat it. It was a big hit and a big mess.

Andrew's b-day

Andrew has turned 10! It feels like a whole new age category. Everyone keeps telling me I am not old enough to have a ten year old.

We had a simple party. pizza and cake and a trip to the dollar movies with a few friends. It was my kind of party. simple. Andrew and the kids were happy too.

plungers are the next legos

We bought new plungers for our new house. They were a big hit. Don't worry these were clean and new and we explained to them this is a one time thing and they are NOT to be played with again.

Katie's wedding

I hesitate to post these pregnant pictures of me. It's hard to look pregnant but not fat.

But my brother requested some pics. of me- so these are for you Scott.

I got the chance to go to the wedding of one of my old friends from freshman year of college. It was so fun to see her again. She looked beautiful and I am so happy for her. This was perhaps one of the most beautiful receptions I have ever seen. It was in a green house garden like place with lights and cobblestone pathways. Simply enchanting.

Thanksgiving 2010

setting the table

cooking and cleaning, cleaning and cooking

and eating

box fort

cousins Lexi and Adam

"I am the queen"

siblings

Mike, Heather, Becky

We had two of Mike's sisters and his Mom over for Thanksgiving. It was a low-key quiet dinner. The cousins got along so great. And the adults had a good time talking. And the food was delicious!!! It was nice to have people over to show our new house to :0)

moving

Well, I didn't get that many pictures of moving. But two.

Buried in Boxes in the Basement.

The kids have loved playing with all the boxes. I was thinking more along the lines of building forts and walls. But they like to throw them and kick them and make big piles.

Having breakfast on our first morning in the new house.

It all happened so fast. We closed on Nov. 10 and moved in on Nov. 13 and it still feels like a dream. We love it. We love having our own space-no sharing walls or floors with neighbors! We love having our own rooms. Having more than one bathroom. Having a beautiful kitchen. Having a basement. Having a two car garage. And freedom to do with it what we want.

(I'm waiting for a day when the house is all picked up and looking good to take more pictures)

saying Good-bye

Our YW presidency

My Mia Maids

Mia Maid leaders- both prego

My last event- YW in excellence

I'd like to think I've gotten better at saying good-bye having moved six times, but it still hurts to leave people you love. The good thing is I'm not far and I can still go see them. Love you girls and ladies of the YW.

Fall=leaves

One of the best parts of Fall for kids is the leaves. Everything leaves. Leaf angels, leaf piles, leaf fights. We had a good time.

Halloween

Mike as Jack Frost

Why does he always get his last minute costumes to work out?

wicked by Mom (chosen by Claire), ghost by Ethan, screaming skull by Andrew

I know it's a little late. And I didn't get any pictures of the kids in their costumes. But better late than never right? Claire was a butterfly/fairy, Ethan was black Spider-man, and Andrew was a scary phantom with red glowing eyes.

We went to a costume party/magic show at the library, then the ward Halloween party/trunk-or-treat and so by the time the actually day of Halloween came they were done with dressing up. And I guess they felt like they had enough candy. So we watched a movie and handed out candy instead. I didn't mind because I was tired and there was a terrible storm. But, next year I think I will force them to go trick or treating house to house. They are missing out on the experience.