Family Fun

The Monday after Christmas we headed to Utah. I didn't think Baylie was going to be able to wait a second longer. I think she was more excited to go to Grammy's and play with her cousins than she was to open presents.

Being around family is always a bit overwhelming, but also so much fun. I especially love watching my kids interact with their cousins. There are four little girls that are close in age and they are such great friends. Three of them are staying at Grammy's house and there is a lot of squealing going on around here.

Everyone was very excited to wake up to Utah snow, which is a bit more substantial than South Carolina snow. The grandkids ganged up on Grandad.

We went to Pirate Island for Aunt Shanelle's birthday. Baylie loves to say "Aaargh!"

Lauryn combed her hair with a "dinglehopper."

Jalen threw back a pint.

And the family had a snowball fight in the parking lot.

The girls sang and laughed and squealed all the way home. At one point, Baylie squealed "Weeeee!" To which Lauryn replied, "We have a Wii." (They got one for Christmas.)

Other passengers were not as thrilled with the squealing.

That night Grammy set up the popcorn popper and took the lid off so the popcorn flew everywhere.

Then the girls decided to eat the popcorn like Tanis (cousin Ava's dog).

Grammy read the girls a bedtime story.

And eventually the house quieted down. I hope that Baylie and Jalen grow up with family memories like the ones I have. I love my family!

The Reason for the Season

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Lights at the Zoo

I have blogged before about how AWESOME our zoo is. We love it. At Christmas time they light up the zoo and we got in free because of our membership. It was a really fun night with carousel rides, toasted marshmallows, hot chocolate and lots and lots of lights.

We are having fun just staying home this Christmas. We'll be heading to Utah shortly afterwards, but it's nice to be home for the build up and actual holiday.

A Christmas Miracle

If you've read my blog for a while, you know I love old buildings. They fill my soul and fascinate me. My parents live in Provo, Utah, a town that is home to some beautiful old homes and buildings. There are two that are stunning: Brigham Young Academy - precursor to BYU and current home of the city library - and the Provo Tabernacle.

The tabernacle was originally constructed from 1883 to 1898. It is a symbol of pioneer artistry and sacrifice. In 1909, U.S. President William Howard Taft spoke at the tabernacle. It has memories for most citizens of the city. In my case, I attended meetings and concerts there, my dad's graduation when he received his doctorate degree was held there, live nativities are acted out there every year and I used to work in a historic building located diagonally across the intersection from the tabernacle. I saw it every single day. It was beautiful inside and out.

In the early morning hours of Friday, December 17, the building caught fire. Because the structure is primarily made of wood, it had little chance of survival. My mother called me in tears later that morning to tell me of the fire. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I have been drawn to the internet ever since to see photos and read updates. The pictures are difficult to look at.

But these two are remarkable.

Especially this one.

Coincidence? I think not.

Pictures taken from ksl.com.

Christmas Fun

My mom sent us a paint-your own nativity. I told David that he should paint it (he's the artistic one in the family) and let Baylie paint one piece. Apparently, he heard just the opposite. Guess which piece is David's? I'm all for encouraging children in art, but my Type A personality will have to do some touch ups on this one.

Baylie had a blast.

Jalen tried his first popsicle - to mixed reviews.

We had a church Christmas party themed around Bethlehem. Our kids were adorable in their costumes - while they lasted.

Jalen actually got excited dressing up, but the head piece only lasted about two minutes.

And there was no crying this year with Santa. Baylie agreed to stand by him, but told me in advance she would not sit on his lap. I'm fine with that. Why do we tell our kids not to talk to strangers and then ask them to sit on some strange guy's lap?

Baylie has always said she was going to ask Santa for a candy cane, which was great with me. All of a sudden right before we got up to Santa, she said she was going to ask him for a bike. I said "What's a bike?" She said, "I don't know."

12 Days of Christmas (some of them anyway)

Watch at the end for some of Baylie's awesome toe dance moves she learned at the Nutcracker ballet.

It Seems a Little Too Quiet

We were sitting visiting with the missionaries when all of a sudden we realized we hadn't heard from Baylie in a while. According to her, she was making soup.

"I don't want to take a nap."

You gotta love a man who will wear his daughter's sleeping cap.

Daddy Daughter Date

Today David and Baylie went to see the Nutcracker Ballet (gotta love $5 balcony tickets, especially when after intermission you get to move close up). We are hoping to make this an annual tradition.

We were worried that Baylie would be too little and wouldn't like it, so we reserved tickets at the end of a row. But she LOVED it. She was so excited to go on her special date with her daddy. They both got dressed up in their very best clothes and Baylie spent quite a bit of time practicing her twirls. We had a hard time helping her realize that she wouldn't actually be the one dancing.

When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said the candy canes. After the show, they let the children go back stage to meet the dancers and they handed out candy canes.

I think David is thrilled he finally got to introduce one of his children to culture instead of sports.

As for Baylie, she's still twirling.

Gross Me Out

If you're squeamish, you should probably skip this post...

David's been nagging me to see the doctor about a couple of things. So I am now scheduled for a sleep study this weekend (creeps me out to have someone watch me sleep...). Apparently I stop - or almost stop - breathing while I sleep.

But that's not the gross part of this post. I have had a weird spot on my arm for a while, so I went to a dermatologist. Turns out my arm is fine, but I had two moles on my back that had to come off. After having them removed yesterday, the doctor told me not to do any lifting or bending. Um, yeah, I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 month old.

So today David changed the dressing for me. The first one looked pretty good (well, relatively since it's still gross).

But upon seeing the picture of the second one, I realized I probably shouldn't have done the laundry or the cleaning. Whoops!
Now that's gross.

P.S. Could I be any whiter?