First day of school

Emma just started 2nd Grade. This year has been such an easier transition. Unfortunately my camera went dead when I went to drop off Ella to preschool. That's the story of my life.

Summer Fun

We had a party for Sam at the park. Kate had a cupcake and it was the messiest cupcake I've ever seen. It was like chocolate glue or better yet, chocolate poop!
Ella's dance costume (which came a little small).
This year Ella started to acutally like soccer. She still liked to pose as she ran.
Ella has conquered the two wheel bike after many tears. A trip to Michaels finally helped her to get enough courage to do it.

Our Trip to Hawaii

We were lucky enough to be invited by Chris' sister, Lara to go to Hawaii with them. I was on board from the minute she asked us to go. Chris and I always wanted to go back to Hawaii....alone. We were reluctant to take our girls, but it was the best decision we ever made. (I need to make it clear that we did not take Kate. I panicked the night before, but it turned out great.). We had the most incredible time. The girls had the time of their life swimming, swimming, and swimming. The place we stayed was incredible. It had a its own lagoon where you can snorkel without waves. It was absolutely beautiful. I've decided that if I could, I would live in Hawaii and visit Utah to see the snow. There's no where in the world I'd rather be.

The girls and the cousins were constantly looking for a chance to get their pictures taken.

There was nothing like the Hawaiian sunsets

The girls loved making sand castles
We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Chris wanted to "see the island". Our quick tour turned into a 3 hour drive. Atleast it was gorgeous scenery.
Cousins. The girls had so much fun with the boys.
This was my most favorite part of the trip...the shaved ice. They were to die for. Ella got to pick out a shirt from Hawaii and we walked out with this hat:)

Chris' new office

Chris, my brother, and my dad finally opened their second office. What a process it was. They worked so incredibly hard over the last 2 years to have this happen. It turned out so nice. We had our open house and we had a great turn out. I want to thank every person that came to it to support these guys. We were truly humbled to see so many of our friends and family came. We are truly blessed to live where we do, and to have the family that we do.

Kate's Search for Sugar

As many know, we've been having a difficult time getting Kate to eat healthy, let alone eat at all. I've never in my life seen a baby be able to detect sugar like she does. Its as if she has a detector in side of her that goes of the second sugar is in the room, even if its in the cupboards. If she even hears a package of cookies being open, she comes running. She doesn't even need to see what it is. I must make it clear that this ability she has is only with real sugar, and not natural sugar. We will place a wide variety of fruit in front of her, red strawberries, green kiwis, blueberries...and she won't touch it if her life depended on it. We even put mashed potatoes next to a cake, trying to sneak "frosting" mashed potatoes, and she will spit it out as fast as she can like she is ready to die. I did trick her today. I gave her a box of yogurt covered raisins. You should have seen her prance around like she was the coolest kid, as if I had given her a box of white candy.

SO.....Kate is on her first diet. She isn't allowed to have sugar.. (The girls think it is so funny to sneak her a dum dum).

A New Year

Another new year. I know most people hate January, especially here in Utah, but I love it. I love to get rid of the Christmas decor and all of the clutter and get back to a normal routine. Chris and I had a wonderful Christmas. We've been so blessed this year, I can't complain. My grandma passed away before Christmas, which was really bitter sweet. We will miss her dearly. On a lighter note, I have to admit that I scored big this Christmas. On both sides Chris and I were given a group gift; one being a Bosch mixer and the other a toaster oven. Chris really lucked out to get such awesome presents! We spent Christmas night at our cabin. What a great memory...all because of the endless hours my dad spent hauling everything up there. Its something my kids will never forget. On Christmas eve Chris pulled the kids on a sled behind a four wheeler in our backyard. The kids loved it. The biggest news this year is that Chris and I stayed up until midnight on New years eve...something that rarely happens...and yes we stayed up till midnight playing games, some of our favorite past times. We are really proud of ourselves. Here are some pictures from our holiday. We went to Richfield to cut down a Christmas tree. What an adventure!

One highlight was taking Chris' grandma's to dinner.

The three babies, Sam, Kate, and Cooper, all born within 3 months of each other. We all felt so blessed to have Sam with us, after fighting his battle with Leukemia.

We took all the girls to see the Nutcracker.

Ella almost made it to the end. She fell asleep the last 10 minutes.

The girls got frilly p.j.s They aren't the cutest things, but the girls love them.

Family Pictures

Yes, it is true. After 10 years of marriage Chris and I finally got our family pictures taken. It is a miracle. There's nothing we both hate more (sorry about my language). So here's the result!