Camera Fun

 

Little Moments

Yep, it is somehow already February. Sometimes it seems the days go by slow (we miss Daddy when he is at work), but the weeks and months really do seem to go by fast. So fast that it alarms me a little sometimes. Kai still has his little boy moments, but there are an awful lot of big boy moments these days too. It makes me want to capture in my memory the little memories of the kiddos at each stage. Like right now all of the funny things Kai says and does, Rori's soft little fingers that she slowly rubs against us while she is eating, Kai's out of the blue "I love you's" and snuggles, and the way Rori looks at Kai and just giggles for joy when he gets close enough to reach out towards. Life is funny that way- I think most of us spend a lot of it wishing for time to fast forward or go in reverse. It's hard not to sometimes.

We took a quick trip to the Zoo yesterday. The sun was shining so we bundled up the kiddos and went in search of the animals. We wondered what Rori must have been thinking of it all.







In honor of the Super Bowl today we made this Buffalo Chicken Soup in the crockpot. It was actually pretty tasty for those who enjoy an occasional spicy chicken wing but don't want to deal with bones or messy fingers. I'm a crockpot fan. I think it is great to be able to dump a buch of things in a pot in the morning and then have something smelling delicious ready to go when you get home. I don't think I'm ready to try what this lady did quite yet though. In fact that might make me hate the crockpot. :)



And one last thought:


Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it.
Brian Tracy

We've...

...been watching Rori master rolling over the very second she's put on her back.

...learned that Kai can memorize lengthy things much faster than his Mom.

...been having fun playing with the camera.

...been working hard trying to keep up with the snow that started falling this afternoon.

...all been trying to fight off this crummy cold thing that's been going around (note the watery eyes).

Hello, Hello...

we welcome you today!



Today was Kai's first official day of Primary at our Church. Last week we had Stake Conference so they just had the kids wait until this week to start Primary.

He ran right in the big Primary room and sat in his little chair in the front row next to his buddy Drew without ever looking back. Lance and I laughed as we peeked in the window and saw the two of them sitting there with their little legs swinging under their chairs (their feet don't touch the ground even in the smallest chairs yet).

The report afterward was good. The teacher said he had sat nicely and helped the other kids. Kai said his favorite part was the singing which is no surprise since he loves anything to do with music.

We can't believe he is already in Primary. It sure seems like he is growing up fast these days.

Speaking of... one of his favorite new activities is playing the Kids Sequence game he got for Christmas with us. Here are he and Lance getting it all set up tonight:

Weekend 1st For Rori

1. She tried out her new Christmas toy for the 1st time and thought it was awesome.

First time trying it out:


"Want to be friends Mr. Frog?":


Kai helping Lance and I put it together:


2. She had "real" food (squash) for the 1st time and thought it was better than rice cereal but still just ok:

Having a taste:


"Not too bad":


She joined big brother in the big tub for the 1st time and thought it was pretty fun:

"My brother is so interesting":

Caitlin and Ricky

Lance's cousin Caitlin got married on Friday in the very beautiful Pine Valley Chapel here is SLC. She asked Kai and Kennedy to be the ring bearer and flower girl which they were pretty excited about. They walked down the isle together which I think went a long way in regards to their courage levels. We are very happy for Caitlin and Ricky and wish them all the best.

Making Sure They Know Their Mark:


Going Down the Isle:


Here they are after with the reward they had been promised for doing a good job (a ring lollipop):

"The Cab"

Last weekend we took a trip up to the family cabin at Bear Lake. It was so much fun! Kai keeps asking when we can go back and sleep over at "the cab". We are so excited for all of the fun times we will have there over the coming years as the kids are growing up. The view is beautiful and there are so many neat little things about the cabin.

Kai and Kennedy had a blast together as usual and cute little Jack was just about 30 seconds behind them everywhere they went. He is going to be right in there with the bigger kids very soon now.

Kai and Rori did really well on the car ride which was great. Especially since it took a little longer than usual due to weather and Rori still doesn't love being in her infant seat. We have a swaddle blanket that has a whole you can run the strap through and that does seem to help make car rides a bit more bearable with her. She's about ready to graduate out of the infant seat carrier (she's already at the max height just like Kai was at this age). We're hoping she likes being in a bigger seat better. We'll see!

It was a fun weekend adventure!

Here are some pictures of the upstairs:

Holiday Adventures 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

We've back from our holiday adventures. We started the celebrations with the Mullins the week before Christmas in SLC. Then we spent our first Christmas Eve and Christmas morning (in our married life) in our own home which was fun. On Christmas Eve Lance's parents came over for a little while and we got to get a jump on Christmas by opening up their gifts.

Soon after checking out Santa's gifts at our house we flew to San Diego for a fun Christmas lunch and afternoon present opening at my parents. We're glad to report that Santa did remember Kai this year and brought him his much requested Wonder Pets Fly Boat. It was a hit. Kai had picked this thing out of the Toys R Us Book months ago and had stuck with it the entire time. He was thrilled.

Lance returned from San Diego on Sunday night and the kids and I stayed for a few more days so we could enjoy the Holiday Bowl pre-game and game day activities. It was lots of fun. Kai especially loved the parade and the battle of the bands. The three of us had a fairly easy flight home which I appreciated since it was my first go at flying with both of them by myself. The flight home was Rori's 8th take off and landing (3 trips with 2 additional plane changes). Pretty impressive for a 4 month old. I'm ready to not have to pack a suitcase for everyone for a bit. We are going to have one more holiday celebration with Lance's parents and his brothers family this weekend and then we are calling it a wrap for 2008.

We had a wonderful holiday- lots of fun activities, lots of special time with family, lots of magical moments enjoying Rori's 1st Christmas, lots of great Holiday cards from family and friends, lots of fun neighborhood gifts, lots of yummy meals, lots of fun adventures- like Sea World, the Parade, the Battle of the Bands etc., and lots and lots of fun gifts too. Thanks to everyone who helped make all of these things possible!

Here are a few of our favorite photos from it all:

Cousin Kennedy Turns 4

Kennedy turned 4 on Decemeber 31!

We had a blast at her super fun brithday party yesterday - Bowling, Games, Pizza, Cupcakes, and more.

Thanks for bring such a fun and sweet cousin!