Oh Santa!

I wanted to take Jack to see Santa this year and get his picture taken. With the kids being sick and then me working all day everyday last week, we weren't able to make that happen while still in Utah. We took the kids to a mall yesterday in Albuquerque. We waited in line for two hours. Before we decided to wait we went and looked at the prices for the pictures and we saw that you can get a CD for 12.99. Not too bad of a deal, so we waited and waited. When we finally got to the front of the line, the worker lady told us the prices. I told her that I wanted the CD she told me it was $25 for one picture! Rip off! I explained that the sign says that it is 12.99. She said only if you purchase a package (in very tiny printing). The cheapest package was 22.99 for one picture. It was also terrible printing and not that great of a picture, so we decided no picture. Since we weren't going to buy a picture we asked if the kids could still sit on Santa's lap. They said yes. My sister was standing in the crowd with her camera and was going to try and snap a few. The Santa saw her and yelled "Hey no cameras" Then the worker ladies came to her and told her to leave and Meghan said what are you going to do punch me? They said no but we will get the police. Ha Ha, police! Please. Anyway since we weren't paying for pictures the Santa barely spoke with the kids and then pushed us away. The real kicker is that it took about 10 minutes in between picture taking because the ladies working were such retards, so they weren't even ready yet forthe next family. I was soooo mad. The other reason that the wait was so long was because they were letting people retake the picture to get the best one. It is a Santa picture people, the fun of it is to have the kids screaming. They shouldn't want to sit on a strange man's lap! So the Santa at the Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque is a total retard as well as the workers. Maybe we will try another mall and another Santa!

Highlights of my week

After the sick week of Thanksgiving and the week after not being any better, I would like to take this time to highlight some good things about this week, the week before Christmas.

1. No sick kids! Woohoo!!!
2. Snow, we are friends for now. (I will say it again, that I love snow before Jan. 1st after that I absolutely despise it)
3. Seeing Twilight (again, this time the whole way through) with just Aaron
4. Listening to Christmas music on Pandora
5. Did I mention no sick kids?!
6. Leaving Utah behind to go to Albuquerque!

I am so happy to be getting out of the valley!

Albuquerque here we come!

We hope that everyone has a very merry Christmas! Believe!

My mom has been upgraded!

My mom has had a pacemaker for the last few years or so. Recently her body has been performing how it did before she got the pacemaker. So with moving to New Mexico she had to find a new cardiologist. The new doc suggested that she get a new pacemaker that also has a defibrillator. I joked that it was like getting an upgrade! Anyway she went in for the surgery today to remove the old pacemaker and put in the "upgraded" one. My dad just called and said that the surgery went great. He was on his way to my mom's recovery room. I am so glad that everything went well. I was starting to get worried. Her surgery was supposed to be at 11am, and takes about 3-4 hours. My dad told me that the surgery got delayed and didn't start until 2pm. whew! That is a relief. I was letting my imagination run wild with thoughts of complications during my mom's surgery.

Happy 6 years Aaron (well two days ago)

It was a Friday the 13th at high noon six years ago when Aaron and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Oakland Temple.






We spent the day shoveling snow and hanging with our friends Ben and Heather. Later that night we tried to go to a movie. We went to go and see Twilight, however just before we left Jack got a high fever and so we decided to take him with us, thinking that he would fall asleep. Ha Ha... His fever went down and he did not fall asleep. So we left about half way through and went to Wal-mart. Woohoo. It doesn't matter how we spend the day of our anniversary but how we spend the days in between. It has been a wonderful 6 years. I am looking forward to many more years. Maybe one day we will actually do something with just us on our anniversary.

BlogFrog

Here is another site/resource to use to manage all of your favorite blogs. So check it out.
http://theblogfrog.com

Also you can enter to win a $200 gift card to Target.

I have entered so many contests, I have lost count. I should win eventually right?

Silent Night (well afternoon)

While Paige was sleeping this afternoon, Jack and I got to spend some time just playing. I took a break to look up some Christmas gifts online. While I was chatting with Aaron I look down to see Jack fast asleep on the floor. I didn't think he would take a nap today since he woke up late this morning. But I guess playing together tired him out. So precious!

Paige is 9 months!!!

My little Paige is NINE months! I can't believe it.




She had her appointment yesterday and she weighed 15 pounds 7.5 ounces (the 5th percentile for weight) and she is 26 inches long (9th percentile for height). She is so teeny tiny. She was in the 75th percentile for weight at her 6 month appointment, I think that part of the weight decrease is from her being sick this past week. Even without being sick she is still so small. Her feet are about the same size Jack's were when he was 2-3 months.

Paige has such a wonderful little spirit she is very strong willed. Lately she has started dancing by bopping her head whenever she hears music of any kind. She is still not crawling, the doctor was a little concerned about that because she is not even army crawling. He said that she needs to be pulling herself up onto furniture and cruising around the furniture by the time she is one, so she may be on her own time schedule. Either way I would really appreciate it if she could start getting herself to where she wants to be on her own.

Paige still loves to play with Jack and likes to be included in all things family, even if she is just sitting nearby, as long as she feels included. (so much like me!) She is such a perfect addition to our family, I can't imagine our lives without her in it.

Jack's Snowman

Since we finally got some snow this morning, Jack was very excited to play in it and the first thing he wanted to do was make a snowman. There wasn't much snow but we made a little snowman with a celery nose and chocolate chip eyes and buttons. Once his hands got too cold to play anymore we came in for some hot chocolate. I told Jack that hot chocolate would warm him up. He must not have believed me because after he drank some he said "I feel so much better Mom!" with some surprise in his voice. Don't worry kid I've got your back.

Its funny but I really hate the snow anytime after the New Year but I am glad that we got some today, it is beginning to feel like Christmas.

I'll give you mine if you give me yours!

I may get flooded with emails, but it is worth it. I would like to send out Christmas/New Years cards (I say New Years because that is probably when we will end up getting them out) but I need your addresses. So please email me. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Trimming the Tree

We were able to get a fake tree this year from a family in our ward (thank you again). I miss having a real tree, but we thought that Paige would be crawling and we didn't want to worry about her getting pine needles in her mouth. So we put the tree up awhile ago, like a week or so before Thanksgiving. I was going to get the lights on and everything Thanksgiving weekend but that didn't happen.

We did it today. Jack was big help putting the ornaments on the tree. As you can see by the picture below. He just piled them all on top of each other. I have also found a nutcracker hanging upside down. I need to do some rearranging. He is super excited about Christmas this year, which is fun. I don't think he really knows what to expect but he knows it is going to be good.

Car Seat Story Continued....

Sunday our car seats were stolen. We talked to the owner and our boss about it. When he came in Monday he reviewed the security camera tapes from the time frame we thought the theft happened. He noticed a white pick-up enter without anything in the bed of the truck and then noticed the same truck leaving with stuff in the bed of the truck. To him it looked like car seats. Aaron also looked at the tape and confirmed that those were our car seats, Paige's pink blanket and all. They looked up the person's information in the computer and saw that it was someone that has a unit not too far from where the car seats were stored. So with permission from the owner Aaron took down the address and we drove to their house. Scary! Aaron was very nice and talked to the person who opened the door and explained that maybe whoever took the car seats may have thought that they were abandoned. (Aaron was trying to be nice by giving them the benefit of doubt) He also told the guy who opened the door that if we didn't get the car seats back in three hours we would call the police and hand the security tape over to them. The guy said that the person was not there but he knew how to get a hold of her and that as far as he knew the car seats were not there. So we drove away and about 7 minutes later Aaron got a call on his cell phone from the person who had our seats. He told her to take them back to Armor Storage and leave them in the front office. Aaron was very stern with his voice and he said that the woman sounded worried.

We finished running our errands and went back home. Sure enough our car seats were waiting for us in the office. I guess when she dropped them off she told the girl working, "I am supposed to drop these off." Um... ya because you stole them. Anyway we got everything back, blankets, toys and the pad thingys. They all smelled like smoke, but that is easy to fix. The car seats needed a washing anyway.

I am so glad that we got the seats back. It is such a huge relief to have them back and not to have to shop for new car seats. We are so grateful for our friends who let us borrow car seats for a day. It was so nice of you. We are also grateful for a boss who cares enough to help us to some research to get them back. We are also grateful for family who was willing to send us some money to buy new ones. I was going to post last night, but Jack has gotten Paige and I sick. So I am finally feeling a tiny bit better, mostly because I know that Jack is going to a friend's house tomorrow, and I won't have to worry about him. (btw: he is so excited to play with Bentley he had a hard time falling asleep... I should have waited to tell him in the morning!)

Thank you car seat thief for returning our car seats, we are so happy.

Extra Coupons

On the brighter side, I got tons of extra Micheals coupons in my Sunday papers yesterday. If anyone wants some I have lots of extras, about 8. Just let me know.

Seriously?!

Dear Car Seat Thief,

We are so very sad that you took our car seats. Without our car seats we cannot go to the store with mom and dad. We also can't go to the zoo or to go see family this Christmas. Without car seats we can't go for any ride in the car. We are so very sad. Please give them back to us.

Sincerely,
Jack and Paige

That is right you read correctly someone stole the kids car seats!!! They un-strapped them off of the van seats and took everything off the van seats, including a blanket and the cool Eddie Bauer pad things we had to protect the seats. At first we were really mad, but then we realized that it wasn't the end of the world, just a real bummer. (at least the cute kids that the car seats are for are still here and ok) I really hope that the person that stole them needs them more than us. But considering we really do need them, they must be in desparate need.

Thanks to our friend who is lending us a car seat for Paige until we can afford to buy one for her. We really appreciate it. You Rock! So I guess today, one of us will be going out and getting a car seat for Jack. (we all can't go because the kids can't ride in the car without car seats and someone needs to stay home with them!)

I mean seriously kids car seats? Nothing like stealing from kids to bring in the Christmas Spirit.

One more thing...

I am also very thankful for modern conveniences like a washer and dryer. I lost count on the amount of loads that we have done today.

Happy Thanksgiving

When planning for this holiday weekend, we originally planned to travel to Lake Tahoe and stay with my parents at their time share. My brother, his wife and baby were also going to be there. I was very much looking forward to getting out of the valley and seeing some family. I was really looking forward to seeing Abby. Well Aaron thought that he had until the end of December to finish his math class but he doesn't, he has until December 3rd. So we decided to stay.

We thought that since we will be here we should go to the zoo on Thanksgiving Day (they have a feast with the beast thing and it sounded like fun), but Aaron stayed up all night last night with Jack. It is so hard when your kids get sick. Jack has the flu, so much for getting the flu shot! (this happened last year, got flu shots and still got the flu) So Jack is spending the day in and out of sleep with occasional vomiting. It is a good thing we were not in Tahoe because it is always nicer to be in your own home when you are sick, plus my sister-in-law had to have emergency surgery Wednesday to have her appendix removed. So it would have been crazy with a sick two year old on top of recovering from surgery. My parents ended up leaving their timeshare early and heading to Matt and Katie's for the rest of the weekend.

I am thankful for things working out, which they always seem to do!
I am also thankful for the Priesthood and the peace it brings (especially when you have a sick baby)

Some of you may know that Aaron and I are in the process of the HCG diet and it has some strict eating guidelines, so we won't be eating turkey today, but maybe 100 grams of chicken and 1 serving of melba toast and a serving of cucumber and half of a grapefruit for dessert.

I am thankful I don't have to cook a turkey and all the fixins'

(btw, I have lost 5 pounds and Aaron has lost 18 pounds, we are about a week and half into it.)

Jack sleeping on the "big chair" not feeling very good.

Paige just playing. (hopefully she doesn't get sick) I haven't changed her out of her pajamas yet and it is 2:15pm!

I am thankful for restful days with my family (no need to get all dressed up)

We are having a very nice and relaxing day even though it is not at all how I thought it would turn out and that is a blessing.

I am so thankful for all of my blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nativity

Since I have been married my mom has gotten me (us) a new nativity. I got this year's in the mail the other day. Here are the nativities throughout the almost 6 six years we have been married.

Here is this year's. It is a really small one because we live in a really small house.

Here is a closer look, because it is so small.

Christmas 2007- a good one for Jack (then 18 months old) and future kids (pregnant with Paige) to play with because they are magnets.

Christmas 2006- the year Jack was born (my favorite so far).
It says: Christmas...The Holiday had its beginning... But its message has no end...
(It reminds me that our family also had its beginning, but it also has no end because we are sealed together for eternity).

Christmas 2005- a snow globe that plays my favorite Christmas Song, 'O Holy Night'.

Christmas 2004- actually I don't remember which one came first this one or the one above.

Christmas 2003- Aaron's favorite.

Christmas 2002- Our first Christmas (about 2 weeks after we were married).

Since my mom has started this tradition, I have been collecting nativities from other places too. I got one from Ecuador since that is where my brother Matt served a mission, one from Germany since my sister-in-law Melinda lived in Germany for a year, and one from Spain since my father-in-law traveled there for work. I hope to be getting one from West Virginia since that is where Cameron is serving his mission and I also hope to get one from Portugal since that is where Meghan and Stephen are going on their honeymoon and that is where Stephen served on his mission.

Win Free Jewelry!!!

Got to this site to enter to win free jewelry: http://www.silvertreats.com/

More Friends

So I am a total blog/facebook stalker. It is an illness. I love seeing what other families are up to and funny things their kids say or any other funny stories. Recently I have found friends on facebook from high school and it is so fun to catch up and see how successful they are and yet some how still the same. Finding people on facebook has caused my fellower blgogers list to grow, which I love (means it is easier to stalk) Anyway I appreciate the wonders of technology and the ability to connect with people. Just a side note, my cousin told me about google reader, which I guess makes stalking even easier, but I haven't tried it yet. Thanks for posting and sharing some of your experiences. I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

More picutres posted...Finally

Finally I have posted some more pictures on my Photography Blog. It has taken me some time to learn how to use Photoshop and I am still a long ways out from being an expert. I am having lots of fun taking pictures and then playing around with them in Photoshop.

The blog is: http://studio21photos.blogspot.com, if you want to check it out.

Thanks for looking!

Prelude of things to come?

A couple of weeks ago, while Jack and Paige were in the bath, Paige grabbed Jack's back and pinched him. It left a nice big red area. I squeezed Paige's little hand and told her no, we don't pinch Jack. She pulled her hand out of mine and screamed at me. Aaron and I both chuckled but deep down we were both a little worried. She is only 8 months and already we are getting attitude from her. Hopefully she gets it all out before she becomes a teenager and gets the mix of hormones with the attitude. She is definitely full of spunk. She is still cute and we love her tons. I just need to remember that when she is giving us some strong willed attitude. My mom just laughs because apparently I was very similar when I was little. So I guess I am getting it back for the headaches I caused my parents!

Brotherly Love

This morning while Paige was happy eating in her high chair, I was in the office completing some of my morning tasks. I heard that Paige was getting fussy, which meant all the food on her tray was gone and she wanted more. Before I got a chance to get to a good pausing spot, I heard Jack. He said "Paige, you want some more?" "Ok I will get some." Then I heard the entire bag of teething cookies dump onto the tray. Then Jack said "There you go Paige."

So sweet! What a good little helper and such a wonderful brother. Keeping an eye out for his little sister. When I came in to make sure that all was good, I saw a smiley Paige with a mouth full and a proud little boy. I am so glad that Jack and Paige get along so well. They truly love each other.

A chance to win!

I love a chance to win and here is a link to enter.

http://betterhomeinteriors.blogspot.com/2008/11/giveaway.html

Its the little things

Even though last week was not our greatest, there were still some little moments that seem to make it a better. Here are a few of those moments.

One morning after we had that rain/snow, we were in the car, Jack and I had this conversation:
Jack: "Mom what happened to the mountains?"
Me: "I don't know Jack what happened to the mountains?" (lately he asks a lot a questions, so I have been answering his questions with questions)
Jack: "They got snowed!"
Me: LOL

We had misplaced our Incredibles DVD and just a week ago or so I found it. Jack has watched it and seems to like it. So as we were getting ready for church yesterday this is what I heard:

Jack: I'm super.
Aaron: You are super.
Jack: No, I'm Dash, and mom is ewasticgrill, and you are Mr. Credible, and Paige is super baby.

Then he ran into the bathroom and told me that I was ewasticgrill and that Paige was super baby, because we are all supers!

We had a little family dinner at my aunt's house, in Salt Lake, last night and on our way home randomly Jack says, "That was fun trick or treating." We responded to him and yes that was fun and we get to do it again next year. He replied by saying "I want to wear my costume and be a soccer monster!" Not sure where he got that from, but it was funny.

I am so happy that I get to experience some of these little moments and I can't wait to hear some of the things that Paige might come up with.

Flu Shots and Voting

My day started out as any other day. However by lunch I was crying "UNCLE". Does staples make an "easy button" for screaming kids? Well it is rainy, snowy here in Utah and so I thought that I would be nice and drive Aaron to work so that he didn't have to ride his motorcycle and get all cold and wet. Normally this isn't a big deal however after we dropped off Aaron, Jack started whining and crying. Once we got back home, I just decided to do the drive through, even though it was a little early. (better than taking kids out of the car and then putting them back in, blah, blah) well Jack woke up early and so he was going on two hours with no breakfast. He melted down. There was no consoling him. He would scream and cry and yell, then I would yell back at him and so on and so on. Paige would have taken a nap in the car but couldn't because of all of the screaming, crying and gnashing of teeth. We finished the drive through and I finished my morning stuff in the office, tried to feed Jack breakfast, tried to put Paige down for a nap, with only minor success. Jack ate three yogurts but Paige did not sleep.

As you are reading you are thinking well the title said flu shots and voting, and you might be confused and thinking that I really have lost it. Well I am getting to the flu shots and voting. Around 10am someone came to cover the office while I took the kids to get flu shots. USU offers a flu shot clinic once a year to the employees and their families. It is cheaper than going to the kids pediatrician. It is still raining and Jack won't move once he gets out of the door. So we are all standing in the rain and yep, you guessed it, Jack starts crying again. After getting both kids in the car and up to campus, who are both crying at this point, I park and walk to the Ballroom, where they are giving the shots. It is still raining and students just stop in the middle of the walkways to talk to friends. I had a long moment where I wanted to ram into them with my double stroller (don't worry I restrained). We meet Aaron, got the kids shots and actually they did really good, considering our morning. They both feel asleep on the way home and I was happy and my day got a little better.

Now the voting part. So I thought that early voting meant that the polls would be open a few days maybe a week before election day. Well I was wrong! I was planning on voting yesterday on my day off, but well that didn't happen. So once we pick up Aaron after work we will zip over to our place of voting and cast our ballots! Hopefully we don't have a repeat of this morning because I am sure that Jack will be hungry and there will be long lines (this time I will get smart and bring snacks). Anyway I am excited to be able to vote. It is one of the great things about our country. I am anxious to see the results of PROP 8 in California. I hope that it gets enough yeses. Same sex marriages are no good. Happy Election Day! I really hope that everyone exercised their right to vote!

The Story of the Murphy Bed

Shortly after we moved into our little apartment we purchased the hardware for a Murphy Bed. While we waited for it to ship we had a guy we know make us the cabinet that the hardware goes into. Then he called us about 2 weeks later saying that his shop caught on fire and our bed was damaged. All he needed to do at that point was paint it. So I said well we can find someone else to make it since he was busy dealing with insurance and clean up. We had our previous next door neighbor build it. I got it painted (it needs some finishing touches still) and it took Aaron 8 hours to put it together with some help from me. It was so nice to sleep on. The best part was we were not in the same room as the kids. I slept so much better. Then a few days later Aaron notice the wood bulging out on the right side. The right side bracket had totally bent and so we took it apart so that the cabinet stayed in good shape. The company we bought the hardware from was really great to work with and the day Aaron called them they shipped out a new part. We got it in 2 days. It took less time to replace that bracket and we have been sleeping in our wonderful Murphy Bed ever since. We still need to touch up on paint and add some trim so that it doesn't look like a giant black coffin!

Boo in the Zoo

Since we have the membership to the Hogle Zoo we thought that we would head down for their annual Boo in the Zoo. We not expecting everyone else to do the same with their kids. There were so many people it was crazy. They had 25 booths for trick or treating and you had to wait in line for 5 minutes or so. Jack finally was like lets go see animals. So we bagged the whole getting candy thing and went to look at animals, which was difficult. The lines were so long that it was hard to see the animals because the lines went in front of the viewing areas. I still think they both had a good time. It was fun but crazy!

Pumpkin Walk

Yoda Jack

Pepperidge Farm donates cookies each year and the boys got messy with theirs

Wild Thing Bentley

Aaron and I took the kids to the pumpkin walk the first night and we forgot the camera. Its okay because Jack, Paige and I went with Jack's new friend Bentley and his mom and baby brother. Bentley and Jack play good together and seem to like each other. The Noah's Ark was my favorite display.

More Recipes

I just thought that I would share this link. My cousin has it on her blog and I have glanced at the recipes and they all look pretty good. Anyway here is the web address: www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

In a Dinner Rut... Recipe Tag

My friend Kirsten started this tag and I think it is a great idea. So I am playing along. Lately our favorite has been cheese tortellini covered with spaghetti sauce, french bread, and a salad. However there really isn't a recipe so I thought that I should also post a real recipe. So here it is:

Lately I haven't been much in the mood to make dinner. I think I need some new ideas so I'm making up a little "Recipe Tag". I'm going to post an easy dinner recipe and then you post one on your blog and tell people to do the same. Then leave me a comment telling me so I can have a new recipe! Easy recipes that have common or few ingredients are best!

Chicken Divine
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream
chicken
rice
broccoli

Boil chicken until cooked. Dice chicken (personally I hate eating meat that I have cooked, so I use my food chopper and I mince it so that when I am eating it I don't really know its there). Partially cook broccoli until bright green and semi soft. In a casserole dish mix soup and sour cream. Once chicken is ready mix that in with soup and sour cream. At my house we also mix the broccoli right in, however my mom puts the broccoli on the bottom because not everyone likes it. Bake 350 for 35 min.

While it is cooking, prepare rice. Chicken Divine is served over rice. We usually have french bread with it as well.

Bath Toy Help

I put the toys in the bath the other night for Jack and saw chunks of mildew or mold floating in the tub with him after wards. So I thought that I should go through his bath toys and get rid of some of them, because that is gross and plus Paige chews on the bath toys while she is in the bath. Then I discovered that the bottom of the bath toy basket was also nasty. I was going to take a picture to post here but I didn't think anyone else needed to gag like I did and I made Aaron take it to the outside trash right away. So only a few bath toys survived, but I need to find a better solution for storing bath toys and preventing the gross, mold, soap scum and mildew. Does anyone has any suggestions?

Snorting Paige

The other night Jack was jumping on our bed, (yes we still do not have our murphy bed) and it was cracking Paige up. She even snorted. She is totally my daughter! Anyway it gave me a good laugh and I snorted too.

A message to Teeta

My brother, Cameron, is on his mission and mentioned that he can't remember what Jack's voice sounds like. Since he can get attachments in his emails we sent him a little video clip. Oh by the way Jack calls Cameron, Teeta. No idea why. Paige is laughing really hard at the beginning which I think is super funny. She loved being included in the dad and Jack fun.

My chunky baby

So Paige had her 6 month appointment today. She is healthy which is good, but bad because I was hoping there was something wrong to attribute her fussy behavior to. No such luck. I guess she could be teething, but who knows. She weighed 15 lbs 2 oz and is 24 inches long. She is in the 75% for weight and 25% for height. What a chunk! She is getting pretty good at sitting up by herself, but still needs the boppy for support. Recently she has started pushing herself backwards when she is on her tummy. This only makes her more frustrated because it gets her farther away from the toy she is trying to grab. She will figure it out. She loves to watch Jack. She tries to reach for him and really would love to be able to run around with him. We love our little ball of a baby. Paige also is not very fond of baby food. She makes a weird face and then spits it out. However she will eat the teething cookies.

Albuquerque Pictures

Here are some pictures that I said that I would post from our trip to Albuquerque. I absolutley loved it there and I can't wait to take Aaron and show him around.
These pictures were taken from my parents upstairs window.
Since the Balloon Fiesta is the first week of October, people were getting ready and just about every morning you could see hot air balloons out the window. Well one morning the balloon was really close and as we watched we saw that it was going to land. We were not sure if it was on purpose or if they were landing for reasons of distress.

And it landed

There was a truck that was driving up to help them.

At this point Jack ran downstairs saying that we need to help the balloon.

We saw people walking around, so I guess everything was ok.

This is the Albuquerque Temple

Waiting in the shade for someone to come with gas.
We were sitting by a back door to the temple and Jack was pulling hard on the door and kept saying I want to go in the house. I tried to explain to him that it is Heavenly Father's house and some day you can go in. He responded by saying I want to go into Heavenly Father's house while tugging on the door.

The beautiful sky. It was so pretty everyday.

The Sandia Mountains. Sandia means watermelon and when the sun sets the Sandias are the color of watermelon.

Jack ready to go on the airplane with his Diego "rescue pack"

Here we are waiting for Aaron at the SLC airport. The video iPod was a life saver on the plane and the car ride to New Mexico and of course waiting for dad.

Albuquerque

For the past week, the kids and I have been in Albuquerque, New Mexico. My parents recently moved here. My dad moved here at the end of April and since my mom was making the stops before she made it to ABQ, Jack, Paige and I hitched a ride with my mom to see the new place. We are flying back to Utah and a very lonely dad on Tuesday.

I love ABQ!!! It is so beautiful and the people here are super nice. Every where we go we end up talking to someone and they are always so friendly and nice. It seems that not many people are actually from here. In my parents new ward there are a few families who lived in Logan and went to USU and moved to ABQ for jobs. Maybe that is in our future too?!

We took Jack to the zoo the other day and that morning I told Jack that we are going to the zoo later so we need to get dressed. Jack says "get out! we are not going to the zoo!" My mom and I laughed for awhile. He loves being at the zoo. In fact when we went to leave he jumps out of the stroller (while in motion) and throws himself on the ground, trying to latch onto the concrete because he didn't want to leave. Funny kid.

Anyway my parents just got internet over the weekend. It is pretty silly that I have been going crazy with out the internet. I can't believe how dependent I have become on the internet. I will post pictures of the gorgeous landscape when we get home. Everyday I comment on how pretty the sky is. My mom and I have been driving around a lot checking out different places in the city. For ABQ being populated with around 800,000 it really doesn't feel that big. That is another thing that I love about this town. All of the big city perks with the small town feel.

Oh and we went to temple. It is the only temple in the state and it is one of the little ones, regardless it is still pretty. Funny story actually. The first Saturday that we were here, my dad wanted to show me some of the city, so we went for a drive. Before we headed out my mom says that we should get gas and my dad says no we will be fine. Well we get to the temple and the kids both feel asleep so my dad and I got out and walked around while my mom stayed in the car. When you leave the temple the street that we go out on is up hill and sure enough we didn't make it up the hill because we ran out of gas. So naturally the kids wake up and my mom and I walked around the temple grounds for about an hour with the two kids. Luckily my mom was thinking and threw the stroller in the back before we left. It was a typical dad move.

Well anyway that is it for now. We will be back to Utah soon!

First Camping

Jack lounging by the fire

It got pretty cold at night, so we tired to keep the kids warm

Anna and I took the boys for a little walk. I think Paige enjoyed being in the pack once she got used to it.

Jack and Spencer coming back into the boundaries that were set for them so they wouldn't go to far.

Brandon and Paige playing.

Over the weekend we went camping Friday night. It was lots of fun. It was both Jack and Paige's first time camping. They did great. It seemed like a lot of work to set everything up for just one night, but it was worth it. Our friends Jay and Anna invited us to with them. They indulged us with their dough boys, a camp fire treat. So yummy. Jack and Spencer seemed to be having a good time running around and having fun. I totally forgot my camera but here are some pictures that Anna took with hers.