Gardner Village petting zoo

Audrey has started to like animals, so we decided to take her to Gardner Village so she could see them up close. It was a COLD day, so she took a more passive role. The kids tried to introduce her to a bunny, but she preferred to be an observer this time. The animals were all very insistent they be given the most, so we went through three buckets of feed. Audrey's favorite animals continue to be the Beanie Boos her siblings buy for her. ;)

Kitchen Makeover

We decided to paint our house "Agreeable Grey" a couple months ago and after doing so realized that our counter tops really clashed with the wall color. We had my friend Lisa Clayson come and give us design ideas. Our first change we decided to make was replacing our nice granite counters with Alpine Mist quartz counters. It was hard to make the decision to switch out perfectly nice counters for ones we didn't technically need, but it turned out nice.

Our next improvement was a back splash. This is the first back splash we've had in our almost 16 years of marriage, so we're feeling quite grown up. (old) I need a better after picture, but it looks nice.

I need to take one when it's cleaner, but this gives an idea. It turned out nice. 

Happy New Year!

On New Years day I woke up early to do a "race" I'd never done before. It's called the Revolution Run and held at the Olympic Oval in Kearns. Racers have five or six hours to run as many laps as they can/want to. My friend Emily joined me for the first ten miles. I felt good so I decided to add on a few more and ended up with around 21 miles. They were slow, and my calves were cramping at the end, but it was the longest I'd ever ran. A marathon doesn't look quite as scary as it once did. 

After the race I went to ARUP to donate blood. It had been a while and I always like to. I had a hard time recovering and took some iron pills because I was still a bit fatigued a couple weeks after. Basically, I'm not 20 anymore. (soon to be not 30 anymore.)

For posterity purposes I'll post Mike's favorite outfit to wear around the house. The two plaids are so nice and complimentary. ;)

Random December

First off, some cute, random pictures of Audrey being Audrey. 

Audrey had a blast at Airborne. 

She continues to Un-Marie Kondo my drawers. So helpful!

Cheering on the Utes in their bowl game, which they lost. 

Steven and Sarah both attended their school's winter dance. There was lots of food, loud music, and I think they both enjoyed it. 

We normally try and avoid skiing during the holidays because of the crowds, but we made an exception for the Isgetts. Mike and I went on the 26th and we took the kids with us on the 27th. The kids have all improved a lot.

Ever since The Mandalorian  came out, we've been a "little" smitten with "Baby Yoda". Andy made Sarah a baby Yoda and we decided he needed a place to sleep, like his pod on the show. I haven't done paper machet since elementary school, but Sarah I worked together to make him a new home.

Mike and I usually try and go to bed early on New Years Eve, but our kids are getting older and wouldn't allow it. We decided to stay up late. Kind of.

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas morning we told the kids they could wake up and get their stockings, but couldn't wake us up until Audrey woke. Babies don't usually know when they're supposed to sleep in, so we woke up and got started with our normal Christmas traditions. We started by watching, "The Nativity". This is my favorite part of the morning and helps remind us the true meaning before the crazy present grab begins. 

The small gifts this year were a sewing machine for Sarah and myself, a punching bag for the boys and the Lego Saturn 5 rocket for Mike and the boys to put together. It was basically for Mike, but we can pretend it was for the boys. ;) They built it through the day using a time lapse app. The big gifts were a cruise to the Caribbean we're taking over spring break. I made these cool ticket booklets for them, but failed to take a picture.

Mike's parents and Andy came over for brunch and presents. Andy used his amazing skills of crocheting and knitting to make Sarah a baby Yoda and Audrey a gorgeous eggplant purple sweater. It's so nice I put it in her once and now it will be saved for posterity.

My mom made these beautiful ornaments for us. We all loved them.

The Isgetts flew in Christmas afternoon and we enjoyed spending almost a week with them. I was not on my picture game and this is one of the only ones I got. We started a puzzle with doughnuts and it was fun brain candy.

It was a wonderful Christmas. I'm so grateful for this time of year. This may not be the season Jesus was actually born, but the focus, love and season of giving in His name is my favorite time of the year.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."