And He Loves You, Too.

Lexie & Joseph love making us notes, invitations, & pictures. But today Lexie surprised us with this...

She's right.

January Bike Riding

Thanks to our new Smartcycle, the kids have gotten really good at pedaling their bikes. And thanks to the gorgeous weather we've been having, there are lots of opportunities for them to practice the real thing.

Hopefully Lexie learned that when you get going too fast, taking your feet off the pedals & screaming doesn't make you stop (at least not the way you want to stop).

Cure for the Hiccups

We had just put the kids in bed & I hear loud growling from Lexie's room. I ask her to be quiet, close eyes, & go to sleep. Her reply, "Mommy, I'm trying to scare my hiccups away!"

Afternoon at the Park

Today was so warm & nice. We couldn't wait for school to be out so we could go play at the park.

We had a great time. Andrew could not get enough of the slide. Lexie could barely leave the swings. And Joseph, he was just everywhere. I love sunny, warm days like this, especially in January!

Family Home Evening

Tonight for FHE we talked about tithing. We decorated banks & their old tithing jars with paper, stamps, & stickers. They enjoyed it so much that now Joseph wants to make lots and lots of tithing jars. We're trying to teach him that one is enough. But, we think that means he had fun.

(Thanks Grandma for the banks.)
We gave them some money & taught them how to count out their tithing. Lexie said she was a "little sad" that she wouldn't have all of her money we gave her but she "felt happy inside that it would help other people." The kids have always loved paying their tithing & giving it to the Bishop. We hope they will always feel that way.

A Sunbeam! A Sunbeam!

Today was Joseph's first day in Primary. He was so excited to be a Sunbeam. He had a great first day & did an excellent job of being reverent. He even got the Star Award because he was so well-behaved. (The Star Award is a coupon for a treat & a handshake from the Bishop.)

One o'clock church is different for the kids. Andrew took a nap before church so he didn't sleep at all there. Joseph, on the other hand, slept through all of Sacrament Meeting. We'll see how long all of this keeps up.

New Year's Resolutions

For Family Home Evening we talked about goals. Lexie & Joseph had fun helping make our family goals for the year as well as some for themselves.
One of our family goals is to actually read the Book of Mormon all the way through. (We generally make it to 2 Nephi but we're gonna get it all done this year!)
Lexie wants to learn to do a cartwheel.
Of course, Joseph wants to learn to do one, too.
Joseph (& now Lexie) are both going to learn all of the states and capitals. (They're off to a great start.)
Check back in 2010 to see how we did.

What A Nice Dad!

After a long day of meetings & responsibilities, he still made time to read Lexie a bedtime story.

(Lexie likes sleeping on the floor so she can put her feet over the vent & feel the hot air when it blows.)

Christmas 2008

We had a very Merry Christmas!

We're very grateful for all of our friends & family that gave us such fun & thoughtful presents. We hope your Christmas was wonderful, too!

 

 

Kansas Trip

We had a great trip to Kansas just before Christmas. We got a lot done while we were there & still managed to fulfill our high priority item: play lots of Hand & Foot. Mom & I were even able to defeat the Almighty Rick (he had only one loss during the whole visit). The kids had so much fun playing with cousins, aunts & uncles. They came up with this great idea to make the dining room "The Party Express" (like the Polar Express) & decorated it all up. They also loved making the gingerbread house with their cousins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really enjoyed ourselves. The kids keep asking when they can go back to Grandma's house to play.

One more cute thing, at Church on Sunday, Lexie was drawing on her Magna Doodle & created this masterpiece for Grandma. It's Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus lying in a manger. We were pretty impressed.

Joy School Christmas Program

Joseph had his Joy School Christmas Party & it was so cute.

They sang some cute songs for us.

And acted out the Nativity for us. Joseph got to play the part of Joseph.

Andrew gave his big brother big hugs because he did such a great job.

We had a great time watching these cute kids. Once again we are so amazed with how much Miss Jen can teach these kids in such a short amount of time.

Another Year Older

And hopefully wiser, too. I guess only time will tell.

We started the day off right by going out to breakfast. My sister came and took me out to lunch. And Rick took me out for dinner. What a great day-no cooking! The kids had fun helping me open presents & eating cake. After Rick helped with a move he took me out to see Twilight. We sure had a fun day.