The Good, The Bad, and the Gray

So we took the kids on a mini-vacation to the Homestead in Midway last night, partly to celebrate my 35th birthday (ouch!) and partly to just get out of town. I had high hopes of a beautiful mountain retreat, relaxation, good food, and good cross-country skiing....I've been dying to get out and try skiing with both kids in tow in our awesome Chariot! The quiet seclusion of the Homestead was great, as was the food at Fanny's Grill. We swam, we slept, and we watched TV to Tiana's heart's content. The weather, however, didn't cooperate so much. We awoke to damp drizzle, but doggedly headed out to ski anyway. It is SO annoying that we had to ski in such slush! Thankfully, the rain held off until we were almost done. And, I have to admit that I'd rather be out skiing in slush than sitting around inside on such a gray day as this was. Lunch at the Dairy Keen in Heber cheered our rainy day blues, and at the end of the day, I feel content. Here's to another year....

Highlight

We took Luke to the temple to be sealed to us on Dec. 26. It was undeniably the best day of the holiday season. Do you ever catch yourself enjoying life so completely that you let some things slide? Like posting on your blog, for instance? These last 3 months, that's what I've been doing. Enjoying ALL that is my life. (For glimpses of how good and rich life is, check out our web album! I've been a little bit better at updating it, at least!)

Laughter at Dinner

This video of Luke laughing at Tiana is mild compared to the laughter that he's been producing lately. The unfortunate thing is, when he sees the camera, he tends to clam up, so this is the best I've got. My favorite sounds are my childrens' laughter and giggles.

Boo!

We've just now come to the end of the BUSIEST Halloween season we've ever had. For the past week and a half, Tiana has had some fun Halloween event or another that required her costume every single day but Sunday. (Even then, I'm sure she dressed up just to make sure the fairy wings still fit correctly!) From picking pumpkins to carving jack-o-lanterns to parties to witch-hunting, we did it all. Not to mention the double trick-or-treat treat (once at dad's office, once around the neighborhood!) Check out more pictures on our web album...
The video that follows is the donut-eating contest at the Goodrich Halloween party. Tiana's giggles and squeals are adorable!

Dynamic Duo

Luke is in the process of acquiring a new skill: sitting up (with the help of his Bumbo!) He is happy as a clam up on the counter, in the middle of the action. Tiana and he have had a few adorable exchanges over dinner while waiting for daddy to come home. She'll say something funny or make a silly face and he laughs - yes, laughs- at her. It is priceless. They're quite a pair!

Caramel FHE

Last Monday night we deviated from the normal Family Home Evening and invited the Greenwoods over to make caramel apples. It was an experience, to say the least. After a few minutes of six kids under 5 years old in the house, Eric and Bud determined that this should be a once-a-year experience. Katie and I rolled our eyes. Do they realize that this chaos is what we live for??

Primary Program...the best Sunday of the year

Tiana did a fabulous job on her Primary Program part on Sunday. And I'm not just saying that! This video doesn't even begin to do her justice (cute as it is!) Through the rest of the meeting block, people came up to Eric and I in a steady stream to compliment Tiana's performance. She even outdid most of the kids in Senior Primary with the length of her talk, her memorization and mostly her poise. One gentleman's comment was, "If only we could all speak like that!" It was absolutely adorable. She truly stole the show. Needless to say, Eric and I were beaming!

Family Camp

Chad, Carole, and Emily flew out from South Carolina for the weekend and we had such a great time playing with them. From camping to the zoo to dinner and Dad & Em's birthday party, the fun never stopped. One of the highlights of the weekend was camping in the mountains...there's nothing like cool mountain air to help me relax and reflect on how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family...as the long weekend came to an end, I realized with some dismay that I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. In pondering this misfortune, however, I realized that in neglecting to have my camera at my fingertips every second, I actually enjoyed LIVING each moment. I came to the conclusion that sometimes memories are better kept in our minds, where they are pure and un-edited. Celebrating dad's 60th birthday was exciting...the movie Ryan and Braden made of his life was awesome. I'm so proud of my heritage!Luke was perfectly content all evening...he couldn't have been bundled in more layers, and with everyone clamoring to hold him, his first real camping experience was a success (okay, so he didn't actually CAMP overnight - thank goodness we live so close to the canyon - but he did love the evening campfire and early morning camp breakfast in the mountains!)
Tiana wore herself out exploring the woods with Emily and then learning the art of roasting (burning?) marshmallows and munching on cheetos simultaneously. She was too tired to complain when, as the campfire surrendered itself to the chill of the night, Eric changed her into her thermal jammies and tucked her into a thick sleeping bag. She slept like a bear till 6 a.m., when, much to Eric's chagrin, she had to go potty. I say he ought to count himself lucky that she didn't have to go in the middle of the cold night...
The ultimate life....marshmallows, a cupful of cheetos, and a warm fire. Emily and Tiana were absolutely adorable despite the cold.
Tiana was excited to show grandpa Reed the endless possibilities that a headlamp can provide...Happy Birthday Dad!
Derek brought his family up to join us for the camp breakfast the next morning. While the adults relaxed and then broke camp, these 3 musketeers had the time of their lives playing in grandma and grandpa's tent.

The Perfect Daddy

Home from a work party where she got her face painted
and had more fun than any preschooler
should be allowed to have on a school night,
Princess Tiana posed with her two princes.

Luke often falls asleep
while Eric catches the nightly news.

Eric taking a break from his nightly surf of political blogs (it's an election year, after all!) to feed Luke with an ever-vigilant Tiana making sure the feeding goes well. When the kids are awake, he's spending time with them in one way or another, and I'm so grateful for his dedication and interest in their lives. What could make a mom happier? Life is just so GOOD!

School Days

Preschool is back in full swing, and Lucas doesn't know what hit him! He and mom are both adjusting to a stricter schedule and less attention-on-demand while Tiana delights in a new crowd of kids in the house...she loves school and her friends and is learning to love actually doing her schoolwork...!