Zermatt Resort 2008

Our family in front of the carousel at the Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah. We have been here a couple of times and LOVE it. Anyone looking for a great, short family winter vacation, this is it. They have awesome rooms (I love the gas fireplace), a really nice buffet and restaurant, sleigh rides with real horses, afternoon activities each day, (another picture shows us roasted marshmellows and making smore's as one of the activities). There is a huge, heated indoor swimming pool with a water fall into the hot tub (which was our kids favorite), movies in our room and more. We got a weekend get-away deal that made it very affordable.

Bill and I stayed one night without kids to celebrate our 8th anniversary. We drove to Park City for dinner and a movie and then got to sleep in. It was bliss. December 2008

Christmas 2008

We usually wake early, as our kids are early risers. We open our stockings and then eat a holiday breakfast. I like to decorate the table the night before and have it all ready so there is little to do Christmas morning. We had sausage, monkey bread, orange juice, hot cocoa, milk, a fruit tray and more. After we eat, we open gifts. Our family tradition is that the kids get 1 (ONE) gift from Santa and the rest come from Mom and Dad. The gift from Santa is usually big or more expensive. This year they each got their own Nintendo DS hand held game.

We just had to capture Max's double shiners one more time. This is a few weeks after his injury.

The kids are sporting their new tool sets they got for Christmas.

Years later I may wonder or my kids may wonder why I got them the same pajamas, the same gifts, everything the same. The answer is that as long as they each have their own, they do not fight over it. One of my goals is to minimize the contention.

Christmas Eve P.J's

Jack (age 5) and Max (age 3) boxing on the Wii in their new Christmas Eve pajamas.

December 2008

Picasso Jack

This is Jack's picture of Rudolph the "Red-nosed Reindeer". It's a perfect replica. (I love the antlers!) This photo also depicts Jack's love to get dressed up in costumes. The kids have a variety and he loves to wear them every where: the store, the gym, the neighborhood. It's great to be a kid!

Rare Family Christmas 2008

This is a rare photo of my biological family. From left to right: Amber, Seth, Misty, Tiffany, (on the floor) Josh, my Dad Steve, and K.C. We do not usually have everyone together for the holidays. Seth traveled to Utah from Pennsylvania, brining his girlfriend Karen (pictured below) and many gifts for each family member. He gave us a clock, kitchen towels and a Wii game. Everyone's gifts were perfect and well thought out. Thanks Seth! We had a family dinner at my house and Bill got his Christmas gift early to help entertain all: Guitar Hero. (thanks to D.L. for all of the help and the great deal!)

Cats

Jack and Max wake up early in the mornings. Often they entertain themselves until mom gets breakfast made. This particular morning they made cat whiskers out of yarn, "kid scissors", scotch tape and tah-dah! Whiskers.

Buzz Lightyear by Jack, age 5

On the bottom of Buzz Lightyear's foot, he has the inscription of his owner "Andy" written. Jack did the same to Bill's foot when they were pretend playing Buzz Lightyear. Jack loves reading and writing though he is only 5 and still in pre-school. Creative kid.

OUCH Max!

December 2008

Max was jumping off a swivel chair onto our bed and missed the bed as the chair turned away from his target. His head hit the footboard and caught his fall. The next photo shows his double black eyes from the bruising. Much to my sister's horror, we did not take him to the doctor. We watched to make sure he walked straight, knew his name, could recall simple memories, didn't vomit and put ice on to help with the swelling, though he didn't love the ice. He seems find now, but still has a permanent indent above his eyebrow. Ouch indeed!

Lake Powell 2008

On this trip, I tried "surfing" (behind the boat) and much to my shock, got up my first try. It is now one of my favorite things to do. We also went wake boarding and skiing. We rode as a family on the giant tube. It was really fun. The kids also went fishing for their first time and caught a few small ones, but threw them back.

Lake Powell Trip--September 2008

We went with several families to Lake Powell in September 2008. One of the families we went with was Bill's business partner, Dave Brown. I had to post this photo because it depicts the usual traveling "bumps" that happen. We get all the way there and realize that there are no keys to the boat. The keys were left (inadvertantly, of course) in Salt Lake--hours away. It's really hot, around 100 degrees. All of our stuff is unloaded from the cars. The kids are eager to go. And the boys are trying to hot-wire a boat. It took some time and we all felt like we were melting, but they were finally able to figure out a way to get the boat started without keys. Who says Bill's wild past isn't helpful in times like these! :)

Our Little Rock Climbers

July 2008--Logan, Utah

I was teaching EFY (Especially For Youth) at Utah State while Bill took the boys out for a day of fun. He discovered that our kids are especially apt at rock climbing and they LOVE it! I thought it was important to record where their fame and fortune all started. :)

Goodbye Old Friend

Summer 2008

Bill found this tandem bike at D.I. (a local thrift store). We spent ten times the amount he paid for the bike on the leather seats and white walled tires. We took this bike on Sunday evenings around the 'hood and rode it for the annual neighborhood 4th of July parade. However, our kids are growing, maybe someday our family size will grow too and we found that it took too much space in the garage. So we sold it.