My Spring Snow Bunnies

Last night Sarah got really excited when she saw the snow. She said she wanted to wake up and make "Frosty the Snowman" and have a snow ball fight. When she woke up there were a couple inches on the ground and she got excited. I told her she'd have to wait until after school and that there probably wouldn't be any more snow.

After school the snow was melted and it was a cold, but nice day. She was in tears immediately. She called her dad crying about how she missed "her favorite season" (it isn't) and how badly she had wanted to play in the snow.

So...after lunch we grabbed the kids snow gear and headed east. We finally found snow, a lot of it, up by Alta ski resort.

Here they are making snow angels


Having the snow fight they so desperately wanted (I won)



Sarah dug a "bug house" in the snow so the bugs could hide from the cold. Steven then used it as a seat.



Sarah had a lot of fun and didn't want to leave, but as we were driving home she said we never have to go back there. I asked why and she said winter is no longer her favorite season and it's just too cold. (maybe that's why she didn't want to go outside a lot during the winter and said Spring was her favorite season)

6th Anniversary

This is Mike and this is my first (and probably only) post as I do not blog.

April 21st is Liz's and my 6th anniversary. I just wanted to take a moment and let Liz know how much I love her. The last 6 years have been crazy as I think we've had more stuff happen in those 6 years than we've had happen in the previous 23 years of our lives combined. For example, we've moved a couple of times, had 2.5 kids, we finished school, we changed jobs, we joined the military, etc.

These 6 years have been so extremely busy, but so much fun because of Liz. There is no way I could have survived any of it without her. She is so selfless and so completely devoted to our family. Sarah, Steven, Unnamed Baby, and I are so extremely lucky to have her. No offense to any of you readers, but she is the best mother and wife in the world. I thank the Lord every single day for bringing her into my life and the fact that she likes me and actually wants to be around me.

Thank you Liz for, by far, the greatest 6 years of my life. I love my life and that is all due to you and the kids. I am very much looking forward to the next 6 and beyond.

Happy Anniversary!

Love, Mike

Sarah's 1st Soccer Game

On Saturday Sarah played her first soccer game. It was so much fun to attend. At practice, which was held right before the game, she was all about setting the example. She was showing the kids how to dribble, pass, and was constantly saying "look coach." During the game the speed and physicality was a bit much for her, so although she followed the action, she wasn't overly enthusiastic about getting into it. Her two friends Aysia and Anslee are on her team and that helped a lot.

Here she is practicing...



And during the game




Steven cheering on his sister :-)

Kid Friendly FHE

On my mission a temple security guard made some of us sisters a small "Plan of Happiness" lesson/FHE. My set has English on one side and Spanish on the other. Sarah likes to play with it, but I worried about pieces getting lost, so I scanned them and made them larger.

If you'd like a set, just email me and I can email you the PDF. You can see where they were laminated, so just cut around that. You can even touch up the color if you'd like.





If you'd like it in Spanish, I can scan them for you as well.

Easter weekend in Arches/Moab

This past weekend we took the kids down for our 2nd annual Arches/Moab trip. Our friends the Anderson's and Whitney's have been doing it for a while and invited us to join in the fun. Our camera battery died early, so some of the latter pictures are thanks to our friends that came prepared. :-)

We went down on Thursday and after setting up camp, we had a lazy evening. We went to Sand Dune arch, but it was a bit chilly and windy, so we didn't stay long.

Friday was a fun day. We went to Dead Horse Point National Park, and on the way tried out a "road" that is on the Arches map that we hadn't dared try in our Subaru. It was a little bumpy, but Mike enjoyed climbing up the rocks in a couple challenging spots. His brother Kevin, wife Shannon and daughter Amelia were with us. Kevin likes to find geocaches and wanted to leave one of his own. We found a great spot on top of a hill on the side of this road that would be just enough of a challenge to make it fun to find. Kevin even let Sarah make the rock "house" to hold it and she took that responsibility very seriously. If you're ever in the area you can find it at N 38° 42.066 W 109° 38.269



We then went to Dead Horse Point National Park. Our friends weren't arriving until later in the day, so we just enjoyed the short trip and let the kids explore. It's something that has to be seen to really appreciate. The drop is 2000 ft and the only thing in the way is a small, man made wall. I got a little dizzy just by looking down. Sarah kept wanting to look over the wall and I had keep a close eye on her. She's very adventurous.



On Saturday we took the kids on a hike near Moab to find a GPS cache that was hidden towards the end. Only half our group made it the whole way, but it was a pretty nature hike. We took a wrong turn at one point and lucked out that it happened to end at a mini waterfall.


On Sunday we packed up our things and then had an egg hunt for the kids. I think the hunt is more fun than what's inside. (at least what I give ;)


Here is the great group we went down with. Kevin and Fam, Us, Anderson's, Brett and boys and the Whitney's. We're grateful to have such a great group of friends, and this live in this beautiful state. Thanks for the fun weekend.