photo session

A really cute picture that we didn't use on the Christmas card.... What a cute family I have.. :-)

And then it all went bad when Ari didn't feel like posing anymore...

Decorating the Christmas Tree

So Max would painstakingly put the ornaments on the tree......

And Ari would painstakingly take them off....

Max was getting a bit frustrated.....

Ari could not have been more pleased with her efforts!

The Morning After....

This was Ari the morning after Halloween. She put her costume back on and was ready to go all over again. :-)

Max: Post-trick-or-treating

After trick-or-treating, Max went through his candy deciding what to keep and what to put out for the "switch witch." He doesn't like candy all that much (except for starburst, m&m's and tootsie rolls), so most of his candy was put on the door step to await the switch witch. In our house, the switch witch comes Halloween night. She takes the candy that is left out and puts money in its place. We had to stop Max, though, when he started going through Ari's candy looking for MORE candy to turn into dough. This year, the switch witch ended up coming Halloween night AND the next night! Max was so happy about the candy trade that he put candy out the next evening as well. The switch witch(es) were thrilled! :-)

Ari: Post-trick-or-treating

We are fortunate to live in such a great trick-or-treating neighborhood. We were unfortunate that it rained the entire evening. However, the misery of a steady rain was no match for the draw of free candy! Ari inhales yet another of her prized pieces of candy. During our trick-or-treating adventure, her hat blew off numerous times, she shuffled along slowly in her "Jessie" boots and she squinted against the rain. To help her out, Michael would periodically try to carry her candy bag for her. But no matter the physical trial, she would not release her vice-grip on that candy bag for anything! Such a cute little trooper.

After that last piece of candy, the rain and physical exertion had taken their toll and she was exhausted....

Halloween/ Pre-trick-or-treating

Max was Buzz Lightyear again. The costume was so cute that, as long as it still fit, I really wanted to get another year's use out of it. Max didn't object. Ari wore a Woody outfit (Max's costume from a few years back), but we put taped a long braid made out of red yarn to the back of the hat and called her "Jessie."

Michael was a greaser. I was me. :-)

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!

Our neighbor caught this spider a few weeks ago as it was crawling up their driveway!! And then the next day, I saw a similar one crossing the road while I was driving. Really! I could actually SEE the spider while I was driving... it was THAT big. Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross.

Post Marathon Bliss

Nothing like downing a giant tub of butter popcorn after a 26.2 mile run! (Of course Ari ate like she had run 26.2 miles as well!)

2008 St. George Marathon

So in the 32 years they have run the St. George Marathon, it has only rained twice.....and of course, one of those times had to be this year... the year Michael trained his butt off (literally; by the time he was done training, he had lost 8 pounds, and really had no butt)! Not only did it rain for the entire marathon, but there was a horrible head wind as well. Michael still managed a fabulous time of 3:12:04. But boy was he cold afterwards... can you see his blue lips?

We finally took him to the medical tent to get warmed up because he was just so, so cold. And those lips! The lady in the medical tent was convinced he had eaten or drank something blue because she just couldn't believe that lips could be that blue just from being cold.

Ari and Max hovered and shivered near Michael's cot in the medical tent.

Michael's friend, John, (owner of the infamous St. George condo that we frequently borrow) also ran it, but didn't have nearly as much of a problem with blue lips.

Chatting while waiting for a ride back to warmth!

First Day of Kindergarten, 8/25/08

He looked so cute in the outfit he picked out. Of course he really didn't care about his outfit. It's just what he put on when he woke up that morning.

All I wanted was a picture of him getting on the bus the first day. Of the many I took, this (pathetically) was the best one.

Ari, May 2008

Where in the world did she learn this?? We still don't know....

Max's Preschool Graduation, May 2008

He just really wasn't that into it.... Playing with his cap instead of wearing it on his head.....
Yea! He finally put it on!

Okay, off again and now twirling it.....

Receiving his "diploma" and treat

Posing with his class.... again, he just really wasn't into it.... Ho hum... :-)

A visit from the PA grandparents

My mom and dad came to visit in May. We spent a day in Temple Square, visiting the conference center, watching the film on Joseph Smith, eating at the Lion House and marveling at the beautiful gardens.

Happy Mother's Day

So certainly motherhood has it's challenges, but it also has some sweet moments....like when your kids smile for the camera.

Ari's second birthday...

Ari turned 2! She adores Dora the Explorer, so that became the theme of her little party. Party attendees included Michael, Max, Grandma Josie and me. It was an exclusive event. She is so much fun and we love her oh so much...

Snowstorm

I am going to try to get this updated a bit.... Back in Feb., I wrote about a snowstorm we had that was a bit memorable, but never posted the commentary. So this is a outdated, but thought I would send it out there nonetheless.

February 14, 2008

It was a year ago yesterday that we left Florida for our new home in Utah. What a very interesting day we had to commerate the anniversary….

So I knew that we were supposed to get hit with another snow storm (as far as I can tell, there is a snow storm everyday, so that was nothing new). I was hoping it would start later in the day so I could get Max to school and home before any major snow-on-the-road issues (I freely admit that I am not a great snow driver). It was his Valentines Day party at school and he was really, really excited about going…. So the snow held off til just before I picked him up. It was just starting then, so except for a few slides and a nervous ascent up the final hill to our house, we got home just fine. And then came the brunt of the storm. The power went off soon after we got home and that’s never a good sign. It was off for about a half hour and then flickered off and on for about another hour but then stayed on for good. I called Michael at work and told him it was starting to get bad, so he was prepared for a nightmare commute home. Oh, we had no idea….

His boss caught him on his way out so his plans to leave at 5 didn’t come to a fruition and he wasn’t able to leave until 5:45. He called me about an hour later and he wasn’t even on the freeway yet… ugh. He later found out that the freeway onramp was closed and he had to get on at a different point. An hour later, he STILL wasn’t on the freeway. Soon after that, I had the tv on and saw that they had closed the road that leads from the freeway to our neighborhood. What?? They listed a chapel that Traverse Mountain residents were to go to if they couldn’t get home. Ironically, to get to the building they listed, you needed to take the road that leads to our subdivision….. which was closed. How does that make any sense??

That was around 8:20 p.m., so I called Michael with that fun information. He had already been on the road for over 2 ½ hours, so you can imagine how he took that news. By that point he was on the freeway, but had passed the exits for his mom’s house and his sisters’ houses and there was no turning back.

To make this long story a little shorter, by the time he got to our exit, he couldn’t even exit the freeway. The police had it all blocked off. He ended up at a McDonalds a few exits down at about 9:30 or so. He eventually ended up in a hotel in Provo, south of BYU. He checked in about 11:00 pm. How’s that for a fun commute? Over 5 hours later he wasn’t even home but rather in a dive-of-a-hotel. It is now 8:35 a.m. the next morning and they still haven’t opened the road to our subdivision. Grrrr…. I’m not liking snow so much….

The last report I heard before going to bed last night was that the winds were at 70-miles-an-hour. So apparently the amount of snow wasn’t so much of a problem as the hurricane winds causing blowing snow and unbelievable snow drifts….. Miserable. It also sounded like another significant part of the problem was that people were abandoning their cars on the side of the road because they just couldn’t get anywhere (where did they go after they left their cars??) and then snow plows couldn’t get through because of all the stranded cars.

Later in the day… they finally opened the road to our subdivision at about 11:30 a.m. Soon after that, the snowplow came through. As soon as Ari goes down for her nap, I will go out to shovel while Max plays in the snow. Michael went straight to work from the flea-bag hotel he stayed in last night… He showered of course, but had to wear the same clothes he wore yesterday. The road was still closed when he needed to get back to work, so he still couldn’t get home. I haven’t even seen him since I went to bed Tuesday night. Crazy Valentines Day! Who in the world talked me into moving from sunny, warm Florida to this frozen wasteland?? My funny Valentine, maybe?

More from New Years.....

Today is Sunday and we woke up to MORE snow. This time they actually cancelled our church meetings... which is a bit humorous because our church building is less than a 1/2 mile away... but the parking lot wasn't plowed and after the snow plows came through the streets, no one could get out of their driveways. Michael is out shoveling right now. We had an added bonus to our day.... after Michael showered this morning, there was a strong gas odor in the house. And then the smoke alarms started to go off. Grrr. So Michael went out in the blizzard and cleared the vents. That seemed to remedy the problem. Til I showered. And then, no gas smell, but the alarms started again. Okay, then everything seemed fine again. Well then, no hot water. Sure enough, the pilot light was out. Problem now is we can't get it lit. Grrrrr again. Wonder how this will resolve.... Okay, so more about New Years....

We spent New Years Eve playing "Settlers of Catan." Does anyone else play this? (Besides those of you I know about.... Bohlings, McIllece.) Lots of fun, but it would be more fun if I won every once and awhile. For the record, Karen won. Even Max got in on the guitar hero action.... Michael would hit the notes and Max would strum...very excitedly!
Mommy and Ari....
Ari just looking cute....

New Years Day and beyond.....

Our good friends, John and Karen Davis and their children, Ashleigh and St. John (Sinjin), invited us to spend New Year's in St. George with them. They recently purchased a condo there, and we welcomed the break from all the snow and frozen temps. We spent a lot of our time honing our guitar hero skills. For some reason, my skills did not mature as quickly as others, so I did not come home "guitar hero" heroine. But had fun nonetheless. I think we actually had withdrawal symptoms upon our return. I would fall asleep hearing the songs and seeing the notes come up the tv screen.... I could have been a contender! :-)

John and Karen brought their sweet puppy, Scout. (Obviously she's not really a puppy....) Ari is fascinated by animals and Scout was so accommodating of Ari's constant attention. New Years Eve.... Ari didn't make it til midnight, but Max (what a surprise!) did.....
Guitar hero wannabes in action! Doesn't it look like Michael could have been a rock star by the look on his face?? It looks like I am singing along.... I'm not. I'm probably hurling expletives at the tv because I just missed ANOTHER note!
Ari modeled her New Year's tiara well before midnight....

Christmas morning

Max in front of the tree. I don't know why, but Ari did not want to pose with the tree as background. In the present-opening process....
Drinking in the magic of the season.....Ari testing out the weight capacity of her new doll stroller.
Michael supervising Ari's doll-pushing test run. (And apparently sucking on something very sour.)