More Zoo Pics

Okay, so you might say, "Hey, don't you guys do anything but go to the Zoo?" Well, honestly, the winter is a great time to go! There aren't so many people. It's not a million degrees outside. And the animals are TONS more active. Even the kids enjoy it more!

So, put up with a few more pictures and perhaps someday we'll add some different activities. Springtime always brings more days at the park and more fun outside (like shooting).

Jack actually didn't let me take the picture. It's one I had to sneak in while he wasn't looking. But he wanted to ride the alligator! This one looked pretty harmless to me. And Jack insisted I take a picture of the tiger. It had been walking around growling all the time we were walking up the hill to it's cage. As soon as we got to the big window, it sat down. RUDE!

This is the second attempt at getting Joe into his namesake: Turtle. The first one showed him sprawled on the ground on his nose. We didn't realize the shell was sloped slightly down and he slid from end all the way out to the wood chips below. He was a good sport about it, though!

See the two fingers in the background!? It was all I could do not to giggle and set the girls to looking away from the camera. Thanks, Daddy! Those are two cute girls!

And last, but not least, comes John. He had a blast jumping off of the pillars that hold the giant spider web. He thought it was great fun. Who needs fancy and expensive toys? Just get some thick rope, pound some logs into the ground, and you've got a boy's dream playground.

Merry, Merry Christmas

Our Christmas celebration started on Christmas Eve. We had the kids perform their very first nativity. Bekah immediately volunteered to be Mary. Kelsey wanted to be the angel. John was chosen to be the wise man (he argued that there were three...we don't have enough for three people!). And Jack was...riding the rocking horse/donkey. Joe just sat and watched. Ah well.

After that, the kids opened their gifts from Macher. They loved the coloring books, jacket, gloves, and Jack did NOT want to give up his brand new underwear! Not even to let Mommy wash it so he could wear it in the morning. It's the little things that make them excited!

After setting out all of the presents after small people were asleep, Mommy and Daddy were given their first gift from the kids: Joe slept through the night! Ahh...and the rest of the kids didn't get up until 0700. Ahhhh...peace! But the kids got up and got a neat little surprise in the kitchen and then for their stockings (which they opened before breakfast).

Thanks to Grandma Yvonne and Grand Grammy for the dishes on the table. I remember eating out of these when Grammy lived on 1 Horseshoe Lane. I can almost remember the smell of the house and waking up to the early morning fog...but enough of that...thanks for the nostalgia! The kids love the cups and plates too! Thanks for the stocking stuffers too, Grandma Yvonne!

And now...to break things down by kid:

JOHN!!! He loved his race cars, tools, and building set! Oh my goodness. The squealing we got off him from the Criss cross racetrack...joy! Here's to loads of racing and building!

Just look at that kid! Oh, and Great Grams, we loved how John's jammies matched the wrapping paper on his gifts! That was awesome! Thanks a bunch!

Now, KELSEY:

I just realized we don't have as many pictures of Kelsey and her gifts. Crazy! She must have dashed off to play with them before we got any of her. I did get her to pose with her newly decorated jewelry box. Thanks, Grams! This was an awesome idea! She loved designing and decorating stuff to make it her own. And now she's got a place to store some of her new bracelets and necklaces. Thanks so much!

Bekah:

She was the first one dressed in the morning. She couldn't wait to get into her new Christmas dress. And all of the accessories went well with her new dress too! She was so excited about her new jewelry box too! We got it all decorated for her. She did some of the work and Kelsey pitched in to help as well. Thanks for the awesome gifts!

Jack:

He tried opening everyone's gifts. Things just weren't moving fast enough for him. Enough of the one-by-one opening gifts. Let's get things done! But he loves his train and tools. He's been fixing his Tonka truck every chance he can. Thanks so much for the gifts!

Don't touch other's gifts, Jack! "Oh, man!"

And finally, Joe:

We didn't get as many of him because he decided to take a nap most of the way through opening gifts. I guess that's okay since Jack got to open some of Joe's. But it's kinda hard to get pictures of him opening gifts if he's not around. Ah well. First Christmas for Joe! And he got some awesome gifts. Thank you!

Aren't I cute?! And so warm too!

Shawn and I didn't get any pictures of ourselves (go figure!) opening presents, but we feel truly blessed. We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you all had a memorable one as well. In the days to come, we'll try to get pictures of the kids enjoying their new toys even more. Thank you all for your love and support. We love you!

A Great Halloween!

We all remembered last year...rainy, cold, but cleared up just as we went hunting candy for little people. This year was completely the opposite. It was almost warm and the sun was still shining at 1800 when we set out for a fun evening with the kids.

Everyone had a great time! The kids came home with a bunch of candy and were good enough to share a few pieces with Mom and Dad. Thanks, kids. Only Joe got a little fussy. We forgot his pacifier. Maybe next year he'll be better about the candy collecting.

Enjoy the pictures!

John chose to fit into his cowboy costume again. I think it has something to do with the cap guns making noise. But he loved it! The red neckerchief is a carry over of the costume he wore to school. He was Brer Rabbit there and the neckerchief was originally on a stick as Brer Rabbit's hobo bag. Good thing we can use these pieces for more than one thing! He even had a shoot-out with several neighbors as we went trick-or-treating.

Aren't those the cutest princess's ever? It's amazing that Kelsey still fit into her Snow White dress. The maroon dress looked beautiful on Bekah. Wow! And they hardly needed jackets over their pretty dresses. Amazing!

Jack had plenty of room for his candy. That honey pot has an extra pouch in the front and it got weighed down as the night progressed. Jack's trick-or-treat bucket was half the size of the other kids. Cute, but meant for littler guys who don't appreciate candy like Jack.

Joe spent the day as in a pumpkin sleep n' play. For the evening, he dressed up in a warm tiger costume. I think Jack was a little jealous, but he got over it once the candy started flowing.

One of our favorite neighbors brought home some work and chased around our kids with a robot bus. It was pretty hard to get this close. They weren't a big fan of a talking, moving bus. Ah well. It was good times.

I think next year we may see even more excitement for candy. The kids will be older and braver about approaching "strange" doors and asking for treats. They will teach Joe all about the joys of Halloween. Here's to hoping your Halloween was memorable as well!

A Winter Zoo Day

Okay, so we decided to do something for President's Day that we've never done before. We took a trip to the Hogle Zoo. There's been hardly any snow at our house (not unusual for a place by a lake) but the zoo had a foot on the park where the kids HAD to play! Ah well, they had fun.

There weren't too many animals out and about. All of the African animals (elephants, giraffes, primates, etc) were put away for the winter and we couldn't see them. Well, that is except the ostriches. Weird, if you ask me. But the tigers were lazing around and the Amur leopard was pacing. So, at least the big cats were actually doing something. Normally, they just lie in the shade and pant during the summer time.

Jack walked most of the way, choosing only inopportune times to get out of the stroller while I was pushing it. But he had some fun this time and wasn't left home to nap. The zoo wasn't even that busy. We got front row parking! It's amazing I got some good shots, since I the sun was so bright and I couldn't see the display on my phone! I was just hoping they turned out okay.

Happy Fourth of July

A very big Happy Freedom Days to everyone! In honor of the 4th of July, we take the kids to see the balloon festival every year. It's held in the baseball field behind the Utah Valley hospital and this is it's 26th year. They have lots of balloons, people, kids, and even an early pancake breakfast by the Kiwanis club. It's a good time!

We decided to see the balloon launch on Friday morning. I was hoping that there wouldn't be as many people attending the Friday session as the ones for Saturday and Monday. I was right. It was a LOT less crowded! It was actually more enjoyable this way. The only problem we/the pilots encountered was a strong crosswind somewhere overhead. There wasn't any wind on the ground, but it's been fairly windy for the past couple of days, and the atmosphere above us could be doing anything.

Anyway, we got to see the balloons inflate and one was even offering rides (I didn't check out prices). But it was an awesome sight to watch deflated fabric suddenly "balloon" overhead and then lift off of the ground! The kids loved it!

Thanks to Daddy's camera abilities! The panoramic picture is awesome, Shawn! I think the Coke bottle was a favorite of everyone's this year. John kept calling it "Dr. Pepper" but he finally figured it out when he could see the letter "C" on the huge label.

Amazing what they can fly? So...the unusual balloons this year were the bottle, piggy bank, and Smokey the Bear. Kinda fun to see something different in the sky.