Gym Class

Kai just started a gymnastics class with his neighborhood buddy Amanda. Today was the second class and they did great. It really looks so much fun. After traveling so far to gymnastics gyms growing up it is so amazing to have such a nice one right here by where we live. We were excited that Kai and Amanda were able to do the whole class by themselves with the teacher. Not bad for almost 2 1/2 year olds.

Here is Kai going down the tumbling strip in to the foam pit:

Wild Man Singing

Here is a wound up Kai doing a little song performance. Sorry for all the bouncing.

Note how he asks Lance not to contribute in the second video. Ha! :)

January Zoo Trip

On Saturday we had a nice break between cold weather and snow storms so we decided to take advantage of it and head for the zoo. The weather was actually quite comfortable and we had a great time. A few perks of the trip were getting to see the new baby giraffe, seeing the very active tiger up close and personal, and turning in our vouchers for free yummy hot chocolate. Yesterday we had a big snow and tonight it seems to be starting up again so we're glad we made the most of the break.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through twelve years of global expansion, has died at the age of 97.

If only we could each accomplish a small portion of what he did in his 97 years.



On April 6, 2004 his wife Marjorie passed away. At the General Conference following her death President Hinckley said:

"My children and I were at her bedside as she slipped peacefully into eternity. As I held her hand and saw mortal life drain from her fingers, I confess I was overcome. Before I married her, she had been the girl of my dreams, to use the words of a song then popular. She was my dear companion for more than two-thirds of a century, my equal before the Lord, really my superior. And now in my old age, she has again become the girl of my dreams."

How comforting it is to know that they are once again together. Our thought at this time go to their family. We have had the opportunity to become friends with 2 of their grandchildren while living here in Utah. We cherish some of the fun and special anecdotes they have shared with us about their grandparents.

President Hinckley's special connection to England and English/ Literature made him all the more dear to us.


"Our whole objective," says Hinckley, "is to make bad men good and good men better."

Deep Snow Today

January Fun

Today was a beautiful day so we decided to take Kai out for a little sledding.







And here is a sideways video clip. Mental note that I can't hold the camera up and down while on video. I know my Mom has a way to fix this, but it is getting late so it will have to do for now.



In other news Kai has a new FAVORITE bath toy. For the last couple of months he has been obsessed with the kids tv show Little Einsteins. It is a cute show and if he is going to like something it is nice that it is one that at least attempts to teach about music, art, and geography. They are doing something right because Kai loves it!

Happy 3rd Birthday Cousin Kennedy!

Cousin Kennedy turned 3 on December 31 and had a super fun birthday party at Fat Cats. We loved the bowling, pizza, cupcakes and arcade games. Happy Birthday to Miss Kennedy and thanks for letting us help you celebrate!

Christmas 2007

We had a wonderful Christmas. The Thursday night before we left for San Diego we had our own tiny family celebration. That night happened to be a rather large snow storm which made it extra fun to turn on the holiday music and open our gifts to each other. Gift highlights included a Thomas the train backpack/ rolling suticase (to be taken on the airplane the next day), a beautiful Kitchen-aid mixer that I have been wanting for forever, and some workout clothes and a flash drive. It was a nice night.




Friday we left for San Diego and boy oh boy was Kai excited. He had been asking every few hours for the last 2 weeks when we were going to go on the airplane. He had a great time being spoiled by Grandma Grandpa Whitney. Some highlights of Kai's trip included a trip to Sea World with just Grandma and Grandpa, the Holiday Bowl luncheon, parade, and actual game, and finally getting to open up all those presents.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to our final Christmas celebration at Lance's parents. The dinner tradition there is fondue and we look forward to it all year.

Enjoying the Lights

Last week we went to Temple Square to check out the lights with the YW from Church. This picture is courtesy of Amber. Thank you! :)

Over the last few days we've also enjoyed Lance's firm Christmas Party (yummy as usual), the Pep vs BYU Basketball game at BYU (Kai LOVED our behind the Pep bench seats and even gave the Cougar a high 5 which is huge for him), 2 extended family Christmas parties, caroling with a big group in our neighborhood, the RS Christmas Party, and helping assemble some fruit baskets. It's been busy, but fun.

Where Is Monkey George Going?

"Ummm.. to San Diego to see Grandma Grandpa Whitney." Kai told me very seriously the other day.

Video Attempt

Here is our first attempt at posting a video. This was taken the other day at our house when Kai's buddy Amanda came over to play.



And here is a picture of the two of them having a little cracker break later:

Weekend Excitement

Highlights of our weekend included:

-Kai enjoyed time and got good reports from two different babysitters on Thursday and Friday night. The holiday season has begun.



-Lance and Ashleigh went on an actual official date on Friday night to a John Schmidt concert at Kingsbury Hall. This guy is amazing. In addition to simply being an amazing pianist he throws in all kinds of extra entertainment like playing the piano with his hands crossed while laying upside down on the bench. The snow started falling while we were at the performance so when we left it was quite the winter wonderland.

-Due to the beautiful snow our power went out some time while we were sleeping Friday night and didn't come back on until around 1:45pm. It was starting to get chilly in our house and of course many of the items on my Saturday to do list involved things that needed power.

-While the power was out we decided to get out of the cold for a bit and go get Kai and Lance haircuts, so they are both sporting fresh cuts that look very handsome.

-Saturday night we had an interesting adventure attempting to get to a wedding reception in Lance's parents neighborhood. At our house the snow had stopped falling long ago and the roads were clear, but in his parents steep and hilly neighborhood it was snowy and slippery. We made it to and from totally safe and sound, but it made for some interesting moments for other cars that didn't have 4-wheel drive.

-Now it is on to a new week full of holiday preparation. It is a busy time of year, but it is so much fun.

Saturday is for Snow

So remember our post from last Saturday and how much snow there was. Now here is a picture of what was left by yesterday (Friday):


And here are some pictures from today:




(Lance doesn't mess around with a tiny snowman)






For those who are observant you may have noticed in one of the top pictures that our neighbors have a Chargers flag flying. Our other neighbor a couple of houses up the street is also from San Diego. You can sort of see him in the background of this picture. He was shoveling in shorts and his SDSU sweatshirt this morning. :)

Jam Session

Just a warning to Grandma and Grandpa Whitney (this is how he tells us he is talking about his San Diego grandparents)that Kai has been having his own practice jam sessions in anticipation of our upcoming visit.

A Snowy Return

Kai and I returned from our trip on Friday morning and then on Saturday morning we woke up to a great snow storm. It really helped put us quickly back in the mind frame of Winter and getting ready for the Holidays. We spent Saturday putting up our decorations, listening to Christmas music, and getting in to the holiday spirit. Kai and Lance also did a bunch of shoveling. Note Kai's tool for shoveling. He loves it all- especially the snow and the Christmas tree. Here are some pictures:











Like most people it looks like it is going to be a busy month for us. We took some time on Sunday to put things on our calendar for the month and it was quickly inked up with special activites on top of all of the normal things. We are going to be talking about this very topic in this month's neighborhood Mother's Education Class that I go to. In other words how to find organization and time to reflect on the true meaning of the celebrations in the midst of all the busyness. Anyone have any good tips? We will also repeat an activity that we did at this time last year. Everyone brings 1 favorite inexspensive household item wrapped up as a present. Then we do a gift exchange with those items and explain why we love those things so much. It was a great and fun way to get some new ideas/ tips last year. People brought everything from a favorite recipe to a favorite cleaning product etc.

Happy 30th Birthday Daddy!

Lance had his big 3 - 0 Birthday on Thanksgiving Day! We love him very much and are so glad that we got to spend some special time in HI with him on his birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy! Here is to a great start to the 30's!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Brice!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa Brice on November 21! To celebrate we went on a hike and had a super yummy dinner at Tommy Bahamas.

We Made It!

These were the words Kai exclaimed as he exited the plane in HI upon our arrival and our words upon our return. The other passengers on the plane found this quite amusing. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving trip on the Big Island. Much time was spent playing in the ocean and pools, eating super yummy food, playing and hugging cousins, and loving on grandparents. It was a great trip! Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson for more great memories in HI. Here are just a few of the MANY pictures that tell the story better.

Only 45 minutes to go until they come get us to go on the airplane, but he's going to keep an eye out just incase:


Lots of time spent enjoying the sunsets and playing in the grass in the back:


Some Surfing:


Riding on the Slides:


Taking a Swim Break:


Riding the Boat:


Golfing:




Hiking to the Black Sand Beach:








Happy Thanksgiving:


Dancing:


Loving Cousins (One 4 year old, Three 2 year olds, and One 7 month old):






Aloha!: