In honor of Valentine's Day, here is a small list of things or people I love...
1. Alec. He has a nice, logical, calm response to all my rantings and ravings about life and things I can't control. And he's so thoughtful, always trying to think of the perfect gift or some way of surprising me. This is what he gave me today for Valentine's Day:
2. Abigail. She's sweet to her brothers, loves creating things, and seems to say something profound everyday. Abigail wanted to make her Valentine's this year. Since I pretty much forgot about that little project until yesterday afternoon, we had to make do with what we had. Of course, to the five-year-old they were the most beautiful things ever, and she thoroughly enjoyed assembling them and signing her name with a silver marker. And she didn't even care that she was going to be handing out the Costco fruit snacks we happened to have in the pantry instead of candy. I'm glad my kids are still young enough that I can get away with my lazy ways. 
3. Owen. He's just so hilarious, and cuddly, and enthusiastic. I also love that when I put him down for a nap everyday he says "I love you." (albeit in his poutiest tone)
4. Nate. He's really happy and kind of scrawny (at least compared to his cousin Will), and I love it when he "sings and dances." Oh, and I'll have to put a video up soon of him in the bathtub. He loves the water, and looks like a little frog in the tub. Here's a few pictures of Nate, since I feel like I never really include him in the blog.
5. Blue eyes. Most of the people I love most have blue eyes. No offense to those of you who don't, I still love you anyway. This is kind of a strange picture, but I thought it was kind of cool.
6. Blogs. Even though I haven't been very attentive to mine lately, I love this easy way of keeping tabs on people.
7. Chocolate. It can get me through so much.
8. The Office, American Idol, and Lost. I miss you, Office.
9. Magazines. I love to read magazines because the articles are short and I can come and go from them easily.
10. Sunsets. They can be so amazing sometimes, and they remind me of my mom. She loved them, too.
I'll just stop at 10. Hope you all celebrate the things you love today!
For Christmas the kids, with the help of their Grammy, gave me this apron. Alec's mom snagged them all a couple of days before Christmas and helped them put together this surprise. The cutest part about it was how excited Abigail was to give it to me. That was the first package she wanted opened on Christmas morning--even before any of her own. She had definitely caught the true spirit of giving...thanks, Grammy!
The stockings were hung on the sofa with care.
I don't have a picture of the actual gift, but the classic Owen moment of Christmas morning was when he opened his new Ikea train set and exclaimed: "HOLY SMOKES!! A train, a train, a train!" Although that was his most enthusiastic response, he still was so thrilled about every little thing he received. If only we could all be as excited as a two-year-old when we open gifts.
Nate chillin' with Pops
Alec's awesome shelves he built in our garage. (He hung some on the other side, too. But I don't have a photo of those yet.)
New Year's Eve fun....or not fun, depending on who you are.Okay, so I am finally getting around to blogging about our Christmas break. We were invited to spend the holiday with Alec's maternal grandparents, Becky and Jay (aka, "B and J"--which gave Abigail quite a bit of concern before we got there, because she couldn't remember which one was "B", and which one was "J.").
We jumped at the chance for a visit, and I'm so glad we did. Alec drove down with the two older kids, and I flew down with the baby. It was super nice! Being in California was a lovely break from the norm, and Alec's grandparents were so nice to constantly dote over the kids. Not only did we get to spend time with B and J, we were able to see Alec's parents, too (they live about an hour from B and J)!
I really felt like our family was enriched from having spent time in the home of Alec's grandparents. After 80 some odd years of life, I suppose you have a nice perspective on what's important. When the kids would throw a fit or refuse to eat something, B and Jay would say something tongue and cheek, like, "My! We're only used to perfect children!" It always made me feel relieved that we weren't annoying anyone, and that my kids were just being normal. B and J are wonderful people, and were so gracious to invite us into their home over the holidays.
While in Southern California we were able to enjoy some activities we wouldn't normally enjoy in December in Utah.
Like play on the front lawn after church...
go for walks...
walk by pretty pink flowers....
play in the wood chips at the park (a favorite pastime of Owen's)...
go down the slide....
run in the leaves (without a jacket or sweater)....
and hunt for sticks....
Plus we got to play at Grammy and Pop's house with all their cool retro toys...
read stories with Grammy....
be silly with cousins....
and hang out with Dad in the middle of the day!
Before Christmas break, Abigail's ballet/tap class had an open house for all the parents to come and watch a class. It was nice to watch her dance, because I have been wondering if she likes it or not. She has taken up complaining before class each week, but then she is happy at the end of the class. I just can't decide if she really "hates" it, "hates listening to the teacher" (like she says each week), or if she just hates changing her clothes and getting ready to go to dance class after school. Anyway, here are a few pics...
This is Abigail's friend Ashlyn from preschool last year.
Nate enjoyed the show.
"No more pictures, please!"
Love him to death, but sometimes Owen gets into the worst mischief. I guess he wouldn't be a two-year-old boy if he didn't. This happened one recent Saturday morning, when Alec and I decided to leave the kids to their own devices, while we watched some TV program upstairs in our bedroom. Owen actually had a shirt on, but was still able to accomplish this full belly art.
I have had so much to blog about from the end of the year, but have had no time to do it until now. I don't know how much I'll get through in this sitting, but at least I'm beginning.
I'll start back in mid-December with the Nutcracker. All of the girls in my family went to a Saturday matinee performance of Ballet West's Nutcracker. Before the show, we all met up at Red Butte Cafe (yum) for lunch. I just loved it! It was so fun to be with all the girls for a group Mommy Daughter date. I don't know how to describe how cute I thought the outing was, and I hope we are able to do it again next year.
After the show, Abigail wanted to take one last look at the orchestra pit, so we lagged behind from the rest of the group. As she and I were leaving, a woman came up to us and offered us two tickets to the backstage after party. It was fun! We got to go up on the stage, where they had punch and cookies, a magician, and some of the main characters there to greet us. They also told us about some random trivia. For example: One performance of the Nutcracker requires enough electricity to power a house for an entire year!