Friday night sleepovers

We have a really small tent and Lucy and Ethan enjoy setting it up in Lucy's room and sleeping in it on Friday nights. It's really cute! They think it's really cool to turn off all the lights and read books with their flashlights until we come in and tell them lights out. They have so much fun together.

Good Bye to Andy's Family table!

We've been very busy doing lots of projects, cleaning out, and de-cluttering. Andy was sad to say goodbye to the table that has been in his family for as long as he can remember. We used it when we were first married. We had to take a picture before getting rid of it. Here's to Andy's table!!

When Andy was a kid he stuck a marble in the table and look - it's still there!

The kids LOVED helping Andy paint our storage room.

Oh what do you do in the winter time when all the world is white?!?!?

Each year I look forward to the winter, the first snow, sledding....but then I hit that point where I can't stand anymore snow. I have already hit that point and unfortunately we still have a LOT more snow in the near future!!! Hard to believe that last year at this time we were out swimming each day in Brazil!!! Where is the sun? So, here is a glimpse of what we do to entertain ourselves in these long Michigan winters!!

Andy has always been a fan of icicles. Once in provo he insisted on keeping a giant icicle in our freezer! Hmmmm. No room this year but nice try!!
Ethan is soooo desperate to play outside he insisted on riding his bike on our icy driveway. He put his snow pants and everything on just to go out and "ride" his bike. He was a bit frustrated because the wheels weren't working right. They just kept spinning!! I wonder why?!?!?

Everyday I smile as i watch Lucy get on the bus. She is so weighed down with her snow pants, boots, gloves, hat, and her giant backpack. She seems so little climbing onto this giant bus!
We do a lot of this during the winter. Amazing how many different cities you can build out of the same blocks and roads. It's different everytime!
The wheat bucket seems to come out a lot in the winter. It's a pretty good mess but keeps EVERYONE occupied for long periods of time. Even Lucas loves it and amazingly doesn't put it in his mouth!!

Our little reader!

Lucy has been going to young 5's this year. It's a pre-K class our school district offers. It has been the best thing for Lucy. She has started reading a lot lately. One day we went to the library. We hadn't had time to read the books yet and she called me over and started reading a book she had never seen before. It was very exciting. Now she checks out books and she reads them to us. She is really good at sounding out words and even attempts to spell her own words. I guess it's really exciting because she is our first child so it's a new experience for us. We have a child who can read!!! Go Lucy!!

I chopped my hair!

Well, I finally got sick of long hair - well long for me - and I chopped my hair. I love it and it only takes a few minutes to do.

Farewell to our prophet

It was last Sunday that I found out President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away. It was a bittersweet time. He was loved by so many. He has lived a GREAT life and influenced so many people. He dedicated his life to the Lord and had endless energy. Although it's sad, it is also so sweet knowing he has been reunited with his wife and continues to serve the Lord even still! I enjoyed his funeral and all of the special clips they had about him following the funeral. He did so much good in his lifetime and touched many lives. I knew he had done a lot in his life but learned a lot about him yesterday during and after his funeral service. It makes me want to be a better person. It was pretty interesting to see how little media coverage he got outside of Utah. It's just so interesting - here is a prophet of God who passed away - a PROPHET of GOD - and yet there was no coverage. They are still talking about Heath Ledger (an actor who died several weeks ago) but hardly any mention of the death of a prophet of God. It is sad to me but not too surprising. What a blessing to have prophets on earth today. I will always be grateful for these great men who serve us. I will always be grateful for the impact President Hinckley had in my life. He will be missed!