I love January!

Okay, not really. I am usually bummed that Christmas is over and January means we have to get back to real life. However, I must say that this January has been surprisingly fun and enjoyable. Here are a few things we've been up to.

Allie and I have been reading 'Great Illustrated Classics' like Pollyanna and Anne of Green Gables at night. We just finished Anne of Green Gables. Allie is 3 and I wasn't sure how much of the novels she was picking up and understanding. However, the other day Allie and I had to cross a puddle filled with cold water and ice. Allie yelled out, "Look Mom. It's the Lake of Shining Waters!" I was so proud of my little Allie. I had brainwashed her to love Anne Shirley as much as I do. I almost cried.
Allie also loves joy school! The other day we went on a field trip to the Post Office. The best part was that she learned that anyone could mail real chickens. (There was actually a very loud chicken there, waiting to be shipped - only in Spanish Fork!)

(Allie is in the purple jacket, holding Anna's hand)

Connor has discovered the joy of bathing. He gets all hyped up just at the sound of water from the bath faucet and of course Allie doesn't want to miss out on all the fun. The only 'modest' picture I had of Connor doesn't really show his excitement. Sorry!

Connor is also a crawling maniac . . . army crawler, that is. He won't crawl on his hands and knees (probably because he gets around so fast on his belly.) Check out the videos below.

Cameron loves home improvement projects and I love that Cam loves them! Cameron and I decided to use some of our Christmas money to finish our fireplace. Cameron kept begging me to put the TV above the fireplace and I finally gave in as long as he could figure out a way to hide all the cords and the DVD player. It was the main reason why I had an entertainment center. So Cam put me in charge of buying an end table, which I found at Savers for $12! Cam found a way to weave the wires from the TV, through the wall, and into the end table that holds our DVD player, etc. He built the mantel, put up the rock, and voila! It is amazing how much money we saved doing it on our own. (A special thanks to Kirsten for assisting in the stone patterning and to Cam's dad for offering free consultation! We love you guys!)

We love Christmas because . . .

. . . we get to hear the Nativity story each year.
(Allie at our ward Christmas party being the star)

. . . it gives us an excuse to have get togethers with many of our friends and neighbors.
(This was just one of our gatherings we enjoyed - good friends from our married BYU ward)

. . . we get to spend time with family!!!
(We went to Henderson, NV for Christmas this year). . . we get to stuff our faces with really good food and with really good company.
. . . we get to watch all the kids get so excited over Santa Claus.
(Santa made a special visit to Grandpa's house Christmas Eve)

. . . and watch some kids freak out over Santa Clause!

(Kelli's brother David with daughter Ella - she wouldn't get near the guy )

. . . the men get some time doing a little manly bonding.
(the boys helping grandpa build a swing set)

. . .the women get to go shopping - with no children.
(My mom, sister, and I always go shopping the day after Christmas - it is one of the highlights of my year - not the shopping but being with the girls again)
. . . last but not least, we get to wear matching pajamas!

Santa

On the drive to the mall, I prepped Allie on the whole sitting on Santa's lap scenario so this year she wouldn't freak out. I told her that she gets to see Santa and tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She was really excited about this. So when we got there, she told Santa that she wanted a guitar. We took the picture and walked away. I looked down at Allie who was looking pretty sad and she says, "Mom, he didn't give me a guitar." Oops - I forgot to tell Allie that you tell Santa what you want now and then he may give it to you on Christmas morning. To Allie, everything is new and a learning experience. It is so hard to remember that sometimes.

Tree Plus Snow Equals Christmas!

Cameron always goes out of town for work when there is a big storm. Last time Allie, Connor, and I didn't have electricity for several hours. He left again just in time for me to shovel all of this. My mom, who lives in Vegas, told me not to shovel it because I would throw out my back. I laughed.

Allie helping . . . because she is late for school by this point.

I thought I did a pretty good job for never having to shovel snow growing up. To be honest, I enjoyed the exercise.

You know the excited feeling you get on the first warm day of spring. It's because you know what is coming. I got this feeling when it started snowing. It just really didn't feel like Christmas until the snow came.

Thanksgiving!

I wish we would have taken more pictures of our awesome Thanksgiving in Denver this year but I think we used more of the video camera this time. Here are a few of my favorites!
I told Allie that on Thanksgiving we get to eat all kinds of good food like Turkey. She looked back at me with a inquisitive look and said, "a Turkey?" This prompted a deep discussion about how the Lord gave us animals on this earth to eat like chickens, cows, pigs, and yes...turkeys. The next morning Allie woke up all excited and said, "Today is Thanksgiving!!! And we get to eat an animal!"

Allie absolutely loves playing with all her girl cousins.

First Thanksgiving in a long time that I didn't get sick! Now that is something to be thankful for.

Cam's sister Kirsten, step-mom Kathleen/Nana, and Cam's sister Verretta

Kathleen spoiled us with a ton of delicious food. Here are us girls making home-made pretzels.

I woke one morning, got out of bed, walked downstairs to find Kathleen wearing almost the exact same thing as me. Great minds think alike. Thanks again Brad and Kathleen for having us. We had a blast!

John and Emily Jones

For the past week, Kelli and I have been mourning the loss of John Jones, who died during the Thanksgiving holiday in the Nutty Putty Cave near Spanish Fork. John and his wife Emily were in our last ward, and are some of the best people we've ever met. Their unselfish and faithful attitudes were contagious and inspiring to everyone around them. We treasure our memories of their Sunday School lessons and their warm smiles.

Upon hearing of John's tragic death, we were utterly heartbroken. With his departure, he left behind a wife, a 14 month-old daughter, and a child on the way. Our feelings have ranged from bitterness to sorrow to hope as we have thought about and prayed for this family. Ultimately, we have clung desperately to the knowledge that the Lord loves this family infinitely more than we do and that He will care for them, comfort them, and that with time He will heal them.

A memorial fund and an auction been established to help Emily and her family, for any who are interested. Thanks also to Troy and Melissa for sharing their record of the funeral with us all. We wish we could have been there.

Quick Update

Life is getting busy with preparations for the holidays but I wanted to blog a quick update.

Allie and Connor found a new toy. Connor loves hearing Allie play the guitar.
Connor's hair was out of control. Every nap he woke up like this. To save money, I decided to cut it myself.

Connor just before the haircut.

Oops! I butched the poor boy. It was harder than I thought cutting a squirmy 6 month old. However, our clippers weren't working so considering, I thought I did an o.k. job using scissors.

I went to 'Time Out for Women' in Salt Lake City with family last weekend. It was awesome and I totally recommend it. While I was gone, Cameron took Allie on a date. They went to Disney on Ice. Allie loved it and Cameron was courageous enough to take her.