Catch Up

I need to play catch up with this blog. So many thing have happened since my last post. We ended up going to spend Christmas with the Rose side of the family. One of the fun things we did was to surprise Bryan's Aunt, Uncle (with the help of his cousin). After a great surprise breakfast with them, Bryan's Uncle Brett went with us and the girls to the aquarium. We had so much fun.

Later that night I got to show my girls something I love very much. We were able to go with Bryan's Aunt Bethann, Uncle Brett and cousin Rebecca to see the lights on Temple Square. It was so great and so cold, but we had a blast!!

The girls got to enjoy spending Christmas Eve with Uncle Brent and KeKoa.

Of course as is our Christmas Eve tradition...we got our Christmas Eve pajamas. We didn't leave anyone out....Grandma Nancy, Grandpa Chuck, Uncle Brent and KeKoa all got to enjoy the fun too.

We had an amazing Christmas. It was so fun to go to bed with no white stuff and then to wake up with a fresh blanket of snow all over the ground. We were so happy to have a white Christmas. I think the kids were in heaven with it.

We got to spend time with my niece Kenley. She and I got to be goofy together.

One fun thing we got to experience is ice skating. Claire has been asking to go for a while now and with how well she had done with her spelling test...she earned the adventure. We were so happy with how well they both did.

When we got home and back into the swing of things...life had to be crazy...Claire had a birthday party with one of her best friends (they turn 8 a day a part from each other).

Then she got her ears pierced. She was so brave, but the best part of Claire's birthday was her choice to be baptized. 

One of the other fun things is that she was able to be baptized with one of her best friends.

We are so grateful to the many family and close friends that came to support Claire at her baptism and her luncheon afterwards. Thanks to all those that helped in so many ways. One of Claire's favorite things from the luncheon (besides grandma's meatballs) were the cookies Aunt LeeAnn spoiled her with.

With it being Valentine's day I decided to try and do something fun for the girls....I made their heart into hearts!! I think I did a good job.

 We love our family and friends and are so grateful to all you for your support and love. 

Past Few Months

The past few months have been busy...filled with doctor and therapy appointments as well as family fun. We are still feeling so blessed and we are grateful for all those that continue to check on us and support us. Here is just a few pictures to show what fun we have been having.
First off, instead of carving pumpkins this year, since our expert carver isn't able to carve, we decided to let the girls paint their pumkins instead.

 Of course we attended our ward Trunk or Treat. It was a fun night. We had family come with us and then we took the girls to a few houses around the neighborhood. What a fun night. Our Tinkerbell and Flapper girl had a great night.

Over Thanksgiving, we decided to help our girls learn the importance of exercise and we did the Turkey trot. There is a 5K and a 1 mile. We decided it would be best to do the 1 mile. Bryan took Mia and I went with Claire. They both did so great. We are so proud of them.

 Of course we couldn't miss out on the opportunity to have a fun family photo like this!

Then this December started out busy and fun. First we had our ward Christmas party. It was a whoville theme. It was so well done and a lot of fun. We even had our own Grinch...he was amazing!

The next day was a busy one...I, along with a dear friend/sister, participated in a holiday bazaar. It went better than last year, but I of course was hoping it would have done even better.

The girls were both so exited to mail their letters Santa. This year we showed them the red mailbox.

Then no holiday time would be complete without visiting Santa and his reindeer. We are so grateful for our holiday traditions...including keeping the true meaning of Christmas in our hearts. 

 MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!

Catch Up

We ended the summer by celebrating with ice cream. This summer our primary got challenged to memorize the Articles of Faith. Both of our girls learned them....thanks to the primary songs. We are so proud of them. Here they are screaming for their ice cream.

Claire then got to have her first day of 2nd grade. I can't believe she is growing up so quickly. It makes me a bit sad, but I am so proud of her and how much she loves learning.

Next we celebrated Mia's birthday. Again my girls are growing up way too fast. Mia is such a special and loving girl. We are lucky to have her in our family.

Mia got to go to preschool this year. Last year it was a co-op, but this year she feels like such a big girl because she is actually going to school. She has already made some good friends.

The girls got to sell cookies at the parade of homes again. They love doing this. They helped me make the cookies this year. They loved playing in the dog house that was being raffled off at the parade of homes also.

They only got to sell for one weekend. Many of you know, but Bryan had a work accident and he has had a few surgeries. We are blessed that it wasn't worse than it was and feel so grateful for the many prayers that have been offered on our behalf. We are also thankful for all those that stepped up to help us in so many ways during the crazy surgical weekend and the weeks following.

We still have had some fun. The girls love going to the pumpkin patch. It is a tradition (well it has become one) that we see how tall they are.

 The girls loved picking out their pumpkins.

However, I think their favorite parts were the rides. They couldn't stop smiling.

I also got the opportunity to go with Mia's preschool class on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. She is so proud of her pumpkin.

That is a quick update of the last few months. I will try to post more often.

Girls Summer Trip

This Summer the girls and I drove back to Utah to spend some time with grandma, grandpa, cousins, aunts and uncles. We had a great time. Here are just a few of our pictures from the trip...There were so many great ones it was hard to choose. Here are some of our favorites.

One of the first days after we got to Utah we were able to celebrate Pioneer Day. The girls had so much fun at basically their first parade. They loved all the candy and extras they got. They had a blast waving at the queens and getting them to wave back

Grandma and I took the girls to BYU's Bean Museum. They had so much fun and it was really nice. They have really improved that museum. Of course we then had to go to the creamery and get some chocolate milk. As we were walking in my girls said "this is where we buy the best chocolate milk in the whole world right?"

A few days later we were able to go to East Canyon and go camping for a few days. It did rain on us, but we had a lot of fun anyway. We went swimming, played mini golf, played at the splash pad, watched movies, had fun in the trailer and the girls did some shopping in the little store. This picture is something only my family would understand, but this picture is a memory from growing up for me. When I was little my brother always had to sleep under the table bed...so my girls thought it would be fun to sleep like Uncle Brent did.

When we came home from camping, the girls, grandma, Uncle Brent, KeKoa and I went fishing. They had so much fun catching their fish.

 After fishing we went to the dinosaur park. We have heard good things about this place, but it was our first time ever going to it. It was a lot of fun, but you had to be careful because they dinosaurs just might get ya.

 While we were at the dinosaur park we found the world's most dangerous creatures! Look out they will really grab you!

We got to go to the Zoo also. I am just so amazed at how much they improve the zoo each and every time we go. The kids had so much fun and they loved spending that time with their cousin.

 We attended the bird show as always. It was also great. We all loved it. The kids loved having their picture taken with the birds.

One of the last days we were in town the Ogden Temple Open House had begun. It was a great opportunity for me to take my girls into a temple and allow them to see all the rooms we have discussed. It was such a great time. What an amazing opportunity for us to have.

 YEAH THE RODEO!! We got to attend a rodeo with Aunt JuLee, Grandma and Uncle Brent. It was so much fun. The girls even got spoiled by Uncle Brent. They sure love him. 

It was hard to say goodbye to family. We are so grateful we got to spend so much time with family and were able to create so many memories. Thanks to all those that made this trip so much fun!!

Family Reunion Fun

The Summer is only half over and we have already made so many amazing memories. Here are some of the our memories. (Warning there are a lot of pictures to follow)

The first few days after getting to my parent's house we were able to help watch my nephew. My girls absolutely love spending time with Bugaboo (their nickname for him). One of they days, I got to be the "favorite aunt". I took them to the farm, went on a wagon ride, played at the park and even got ice cream.

A few days later we were off on my family reunion. Since we had 99% of the entire family in attendance the first night camping...we decided to take a family picture. I love being with my family. I wished we all lived closer where we could do more together...or I wish they would visit us more often. I know we try and go there as much as we can...although we all have busy lives.

The girls have been wanting to know how to hit a baseball for quite a while. I have tried to help them, but my knowledge is slim to none. I enlisted the help of one of my nephews (a few of them play baseball). He was so kind and patient with my girls. Now they know how to play. I am so grateful for extended family and how much love they show to my girls.

 This year while camping we found a family of owls...there were three of them...a mommy, daddy and baby (according to what the ranger said). Here is one of the parents and the baby. It was so cool to see them in their natural habitat and see them so closely.

We spent lots of our time at the beach and splashing in the water. As a family we rented some paddle boards. The girls loved going on rides. They aren't quite big enough yet to try it themselves. 

One of the traditions we have at the family reunion is always having a water fight. It is usually just grandpa and the grand kids, but this year grandma and a few others got roped into play.

We stayed only a day and a half after coming home from camping. Bryan and I took our girls, our nieces and nephews to the park. Mia loves climbing on things...she is our Mia monkey!

 Claire learned how to do the monkey bars. She said she started learning at school, but she can touch the ground at school so this was a great time for her to practice and learn. She was so proud of herself and we are too.

Here is a group shot of the park kids. It was a lot of fun to have them all play together. The girls love being with their cousins.

We weren't able to visit after the reunion for as long as we usually do. We had to come back quickly in order to be here to celebrate Terin's (Bryan's sister) wedding. The girls got to be flower girls. They really took their job of dropping petals quite seriously. 

They looked so beautiful in their flower girls dresses.

Finally we are to the last picture...Here is the family right after the wedding. It was so beautiful. I am so glad we were able to be a part of such an amazing event.