Random bits of what we've been up to.....

Joe went snowboarding for the first time in a looonnnnngggg time! Hooray for him! On Saturday he went to Northstar Resort in Tahoe and had so much fun! Tanner and James said they couldn't believe how well he did, especially for his lack of involvement in the sport for some time. He LOVED it and is excited to go again before the season ends! (Maybe he'll even blog about it himself!) We're hoping to get up there for some fun together...hopefully it will work out. We are heading back up to Northstar this weekend with our friends who have a connection with a cabin there. No skiing, maybe sledding though! We are excited to see the snow for a couple of days....and then to leave it there! :)

Joe has had a busy month and has been working really hard and this was a much needed break. He had state survey right before Christmas and passed without any major problems. At the beginning of the year his facility embarked upon a major remodel project and so he is dealing with all of the construction issues associated with that. His great attitude amazes me.

While he was gone, we turned the satelite radio onto the The Beat-Dance Hits station and danced our way through the housework. After we had finished our work, I sent the girls out to jump and I popped some popcorn with Aaron...he's easily entertained. I made the mistake of leaving him with the bowl while I posted about Abby's hair/train accident in the next room....a few minutes later I heard an interesting sound and so I ran into the kitchen.....

to find Aaron crunching and spreading popcorn all over the counter and floor.....which, of course, had just been freshly swept and mopped!

I learned that popcorn is easily cleaned up, especially when it's not loaded with butter. Whew!

For dinner we decided to make homemade pizza! The girls had lots of fun mixing and rolling out the dough. I tried a new dough recipe with whole wheat flour and it was pretty good.

The finished product. YUM!

I'm grateful for my talks with my mom on Sundays (everyday really, but especially on Sundays). Sundays get a little long with Joe in bishopric meetings, so it's nice to talk and pass the time. This past Sunday during our chat, Aaron grabbed the goldfish box and thought it would make a nice diaper cover. I grabbed the camera as fast as I could before he started kicking it all over the place. I love the curiosity of this age..."I wonder what would happen if I...." has to be going through the mind of a toddler constantly!

Abby started pre-school this last week! It took us a while to find exactly what we were looking for, but we finally found it and we are all pleased. She loves it! She goes in the morning twice a week for a couple of hours, and Brynn goes in the afternoon everyday, so they miss one another for a couple of days a week, but it's fun for me to spend the time with each of them without each other. The two girls almost seem like one when they are together......they are inseperable. Having each of them one on one (with Aaron too, of course) is a great reminder to me of their individuality....as much as they seem like one, they are very different.

Today while Abby was at pre-school, I had BYU-TV playing in the background as I did my morning work. I was bathing Aaron when I heard Brynn exclaim, "Mom, come quick...hurry, you'll miss it! I can't hold it much longer!" I went in to find her doing the routine along with the BYU's "Total Body Workout" that airs in the mornings. Silly Brynn! She was so proud of what her body could do.

We went to go to Fairy Tale Town yesterday after school and realized it was closed...BUMMER! it's straight across from the zoo, so it was a quick fix. The zoo costs twice as much as FairyTale Town, so I wasn't thrilled, but when we arrived at the window and I pulled out my checkbook the clerk told us her ticket computer was down so it was a FREE day at the zoo! WAHOO!

In the coming weeks we're looking forward to......

*Northstar with the Cole's!

*A trip to Trinidad CA, for the Trinidad to Clam Beach Run

*Laguna Beach with Joe while Grandma Rowene babysits the kids in Woodland!

*Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa and the St. George crew

*The Amgen Tour of California...especially their ride through Woodland!