Christmas 2008

What a wonderful Christmas: lots of family, lots of food, lots of fun, and even lots of fluffy white snow. The first visitors to arrive were Grammy and Grampy so they had a day to play with the kids and adjust to the altitude. Uncle Pete and Aunt Jen arrived in time for a bowl of 'chow-dah' before we all headed out to a Christmas Eve service. Rachel got to join the adults this year and even wore her pretty Christmas dress - what a doll.







We continued to celebrate our favorite Christmas Eve tradition of indulging in just appetizers after the church service. We had our usual full spread - yum, yum, yum. Rachel enjoyed taking pictures while the rest of us were eating. Most of hers were of inanimate objects like tables, rugs, curtains, etc. - she is still working on her aim. But fortunately someone had the sense to grab another camera and get a few pictures of people.







Christmas morning started out fairly quietly. The kids aren't at the age yet where they get up at 6am to open presents (thank goodness). So most of the adults were up before the kids! But once they were up, the unwrapping was in full swing for over an hour and when the dust settled the living room resembled a toy store that had just exploded. Below you will see Carson and Rachel testing out Rachel's new baby stroller, Carson showing his genius side, Rachel trying out her new sleeping bag, and Carson sizing up his new clown toy.

The day after Christmas we were lucky enough to have Paul and Kelly visit and add to the fun. Rachel had lots of fun playing with her older cousin, and Kelly was a very good sport about playing with toddler toys. She and Rachel really hit it off. Even Carson seemed to enjoy having another 'little person' around.

Uncle Pete was called upon to put his snowman-making skills to the test when Rachel and Kelly wanted to build a snowman and the snow outside was nothing but fluffy powder. Since the snow would not pack, Pete improvised with a very large snowman, or snow-blob. But at least he has a hat, eyes, and a nose!

Thanksgiving 2008

As we sat all around our Thanksgiving table Rachel summed it up well when she said, "This is the best Thanksgiving ever!". We enjoyed a wonderful visit with Grandad for several days before Thanksgiving. He had fun reading to the children and Carson loved to sit in Grandad's lap and play with 'forbidden fruit' up on the countertop (literally, the fruit bowl). Uncle Pete and Aunt Jen joined us for Thanksgiving weekend and had lots of fun playing grocery store and playing 'Old McDonalds' with Rachel (this is what she calls McDonalds). Turned out to be a fun week for all, despite the colds that Rachel and Carson developed.

The last two photos below were taken after Thanksgiving, but seemed worthy of posting. One is Rachel all dressed up in outdoor gear, and her princess high-heel shoes, complete with sunglesses. She has a wonderful imagination! The last photo is Rachel and Carson playing with their indoor fire truck, a toy they both love but rarely do they sit on it amicably together. A rare moment captured on camera!

Rachel's Third Birthday

Rachel's third birthday drew quite a crowd to our humble abode, much to Rachel's joy. Our first visitor was Grammy, who came equipped with a bunch of fun ideas and games to share with the kids (Grammy has a new friend that was a kindergarten teacher for years... way to go, Grammy).





Our next visitor was Aunt Deb, soon followed by Uncle Pete and Aunt Jen. We had wonderful weather and were able to get out in the sandbox with the kids.





Aunt Deb had fun dragging the kids around in what is now termed the 'leaf pool' as we discovered it makes a great holding bin for leaves before dumping them into the woods. Picture the photo below with Aunt Deb pulling the pool around the yard singing, "Leaf pool's going for a ride, leaf pool's going for a ride...". The kids loved it.





The activity chosen by Rachel for her birthday celebration was the zoo. Although we did bring the camera with us you would never know it based on the photos we have from that trip. At least we got a buffalo on camera!

Later that evening Rachel blew out all the candles on her cake in one fell swoop!

One of Rachel's favorite birthday gifts was a tricycle which she had lots of fun trying out. How nice for her to have so many adults around to help out and cheer her on during her first few runs down the driveway. She never had to pedal her way back up the driveway, instead she would get lifted up and carried, while still on the tricycle, by her favorite aunt or uncle, or by Daddy (see Pete in last photo). She did very well and had lots of fun.

October Snow

Last weekend we had an early snowfall - Sunday morning we woke up to almost a foot of snow! It felt like we should be playing holiday music and putting up Christmas decorations, but then we realized that we hadn't even celebrated Halloween yet! Rachel was excited by the snow and wanted to go outside and play. She did very well considering the snow was almost up to her waist. Carson was not as happy with the snow since it impeded his walking and when he tried to crawl in it (after taking off his glove) he was very upset to discover how cold it was. He only lasted about 5 minutes outside, Rachel was out there much longer with Daddy making snow angels.

One of Rachel's favorite foods is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Its extra delicious when she gets to make it herself.

The rule at our house is that binkys (pacifiers) are only for sleep time and rest time. Until recently Rachel has been the only one able to sit still long enough to rest - Carson is in constant motion so he gets a binky only for nap time. Just recently we tried giving Carson a binky and told him it was for rest time. He walked right over to the pillow next to Rachel and layed down next to her. We could not believe our eyes, he actually lay still for almost a minute. I guess he has learned at least one good thing from his big sister.

Utah State Fair

Last weekend we spent a day at the Utah State Fair. The kids loved the mini-farm exhibit that was designed just for kids. They buried pretend seeds in a sandbox, then went to the next sandbox to pick some vegetables and put them in a basket. The exhibit included barns with pretend sheep and cows. Much easier for the kids to pet the pretend animals! And even John Deere tricycles (with trailers!) which the kids enjoyed playing around with. Our one ride of the day was the merry-go-round. Rachel doesn't seem interested in most rides but she does enjoy the merry-go-round. Carson can tolerate anything but is too little for most rides yet. By the afternoon Carson was asleep in the stroller and just as he woke up it was Rachel's turn to snooze in the stroller. We love our double stroller, comes in very handy for family outings.

Summer Is Here

We had a fairly cool spring here and Grammy timed her June visit with the onset of our warm weather. We went from 60's to 80's in just one week! Grammy has been designated the kids "number one fan" this year, she has been so good to make the long trek out to visit them several times so far. We had fun coloring with crayons, playing outside, and going to the park. Carson seemed to know his Grammy this visit and warmed up to her more quickly than her last visit. He's a pretty smart little guy :)





On the Fourth of July we took the kids to a parade nearby. The double stroller definitely comes in handy on days like these. Rachel loved the parade - her favorite parts were the music and the big floats. When the bands started playing she wanted us to put her down so she could do some dancing! Even Carson was bouncing a little to the music.

After the parade we set up the kiddie pool in the back yard since it was such a hot day. The kids love playing in the pool and Carson loves to splash in the water. He even loves to put his face in the water - maybe he'll be a swimmer someday! Since our backyard is still mostly dirt (a work in progess), the possibilities for mud are endless when there is water in the pool. Rachel loves to play in the mud and deemed herself the 'mud monster', as you can see in the second photo below.