Taylor has accomplished a lot in the past few weeks. He had an opportunity to play in Salt Lake at Abravanel Hall in the All-State band. This was quite an amazing experience. The band was wonderful. We were all quite impressed-even Grandpa! (and that says a lot!) Taylor also finished the requirements for his Eagle Scout award! We were able to attend his Court of Honor the same weekend as Abbey's baptism, so Grandma and Grandpas could come. Taylor is a great kid! He always has a smile on his face and he is a wonderful example to his brother and sisters. We couldn't ask for a better oldest son! Thanks Taylor for being who you are-we are very grateful for the character that you have.

Our little Abbey turned 8 on January 30th. Wow-how time flies. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in the hospital in Salt Lake awaiting her early arrival. Abbey was a little miracle baby. She was born at 31 weeks, weighing only 3 lb 8 oz. She thrived and grew in the hospital for 6 weeks and was able to return home to her family in March. We love her so much. She has really added a sweet, kind, caring Spirit to our home. She also is a little fighter and has been from the start. That is what pulled her through the rough start that she had. She has always been healthy and we are so grateful for this. We are so glad that she is a member of our family and made the decision to be baptized. They took these photos of Abbey when she was about 3 weeks old and had them up on a bulletin board in the NICU. I always thought that they were so cute! Our cute Abbey a few days before her baptism. Right after her baptism-looking so clean! We had quite a crowd for the weekend-42 in all! It was a blast. We were sooooo grateful for all of the family making the effort to come and celebrate with us! Abbey wanted to go to Zions for her birthday. Luckily it was a beautiful day so we loaded up the kids and went on a picnic. The kids had a ball hiking to the emerald pools. It was spectacular to see the run off into the lower pool-quite a waterfall!

Our Valentines Day outing. . . better than Disneyland?!

So on Valentines Day, we were trying to think of something different to do with the kids. We mentioned bowling and the kids were on board with it. We traveled to Hurricane-(yes, an hour!) to go to dinner and then we headed to the bowling alley. It was so cute. All of the kids were soooo excited-Abbey in particular. She said "Mom, I love bowling! This is better than Disneyland!" So there you have it-we don't need to travel 7 hours and pay the $60 admission fee, we just need to head on over to Hurricane and hit the $2.00 bowling alley. Sporting the most fashionable bowling shoes. (I like John's the best!) Anna was content just riding the 25 cent cow (I think that is what it is). Tanner was Ally's helper. The goal was just to get the ball to roll fast enough to make it to the bowling pins without having to run up the alley and help it out!

Michelle's wedding and a little bit more. . .

Many of you know that my sister lost her husband last year to Leukemia. She has been through quite a tough time-but, recently was very blessed to find a kind man to marry. We feel like they were really made for each other and that the Lord's hand was in this joining. We are so happy for Jeff and Michelle and wish them a very happy life together. Michelle and her girls-Megan and Madelyn The girls got a little carried away with the foamy soap! Not sure if that is what it is meant for- After the wedding, Jeff gave us tickets to a box seat at the Jazz game. I thought that was really cool, but what was even cooler was that President Monson was in the box just a few down from ours. It was so fun to see his relaxed personality come out and especially to feel the reverence that is present around him even at a Jazz game. It was pretty amazing to me-I had a hard time focusing on the game.

John's accident-

On New Years eve day, John was traveling up to Salt Lake to spend the weekend with us. He was just about to Hatch when he decided to pass a large delivery truck who was following behind a very slow truck and trailer. While John was passing the truck, the truck also decided that he wanted to pass-but neglected to look to see if he was clear. He ran right into John and pushed him off the road. John had a trailer on the back that came off the hitch and was connected only by the chain. The trailer rolled and John spun around and ended up on the opposite side of the road, facing the opposite direction in a snow bank. John was very shaken as was the other driver. The trailer was totaled, but our truck is fixable. We feel like John was very blessed and watched over during this time. We think about what could have happened, and realize that protection was given and are very humbled and grateful! This accident just once again reaffirmed the fact that life is precious, things happen fast and we need to appreciate each day!

Finally an update! (Are you ready for this?)

So the holidays are over and I finally got around to updating my blog-and what an update this is. You don't have to go through all of the gory details but I thought that I would just do some highlights from the past month. I don't know about you, but I am sooo tired of looking at those silly halloween photos! We had a wonderful vacation-here are some of the highlights. Thanks to all of you for making them so great and creating memories with us. And remember to enjoy the moment! Ally turns 5 (finally)! Ally has always seemed older than she is. She has been asking when it is time for kindergarten for a full year and a half now! (I think that she just wants a turn to take the guinea pig home since Abbey brought it). She wanted to have a reindeer party. I thought the idea was very unique and cute so I ran with it. We had so much fun-we even had a special visit from Santa. It was an extra treat to have cousins come from Lehi to join in the fun. Ally is such a sweet girl. She has always been the peacemaker of the family. Everyone gets along with Ally. She loves to help in the kitchen and with folding clothes. She also has always loved to sing and dance. Her favorite food is watermelon and her favorite color is orange. Everyone has always commented on her beautiful green eyes. She is full of personality and is a very happy child. I love Ally so much and am so grateful that she is a part of our family. Ok-so I'm a little embarrassed about this photo. What kind of cake is that?! I forgot candles at Ally's birthday party so I promised her a cake for the family party. When our friends dropped off these warm donuts, I thought-the perfect cake! It worked and saved me some work in the kitchen. Anna-loves to help-"one for you, one for me" ( I think that more actually were in her mouth than on the tray!) The girls on the sunday before Christmas. Christmas Eve-the traditional nativity. I was so excited to finally have some costumes this year! (Thanks mom and Dorte) Our traditional Christmas eve pj's! Christmas morning! We had such a fun day just relaxing with the family. The original plan was to head up to Salt Lake on Christmas, but we were snowed in-so we just hung out all day! How Sweet is this! Sledding-Anna had a great time-loved it! The kids fought over who got to take her down the hill. She was exhausted after 30 minutes! Me and my boys went skiing/snowboarding for the day! It was so much fun. I had forgotten how much fun a day at the slopes is. We spent an evening going out to dinner downtown salt lake and then enjoying the lights on Temple Square. It was a beautiful night and really brought to light the true meaning of Christmas. We spent new years eve at Michelle's beautiful new home in Alpine. It was a great party with wii, board games, ping pong, bunco, delicious food, movies and especially great company. We all brought in the new year together-thanks grandma and Jeff for the confetti, hats and fireworks.