January Stuff

I wish I had something exciting to blog about, but it is January so not much is going on. We are trying to keep warm and hope that the sun will come out someday. The smog here is pretty bad and makes me realize what a difference the sun makes when it comes out for a day. I am looking forward to Spring, but also realize that it's a few months away. So here is a few pictures of stuff we have been up too. We have probably been watching too much t.v. and playing too much Wii, but I always tell myself that in another month or so the kids will be able to get outside more and play, so for now a little t.v. and Wii are o.k.

I think our most recent important event was the death of Gavin's frog Francis. Gavin got a frog habitat for Christmas in 2009. We sent for the tadpole back in June, but it didn't come until November because it had to be a certain temperature for them to send it to us. We had given up on the fact that it was going to come and then it showed up in the mail in the middle of November. We have spent the last two months watching the tadpole grow and change into a frog. We were so excited this past week because he was actually getting out of the water onto dry land and jumping around. But then the end came. We are not sure what caused his death. He was great one minute and dead the next. It has been pretty hard on Gavin. He loved watching his frog and was so excited when he grew his legs and arms. We buried Francis in the backyard so Gavin will always know where he is. We all miss Francis, but I sure don't miss feeding him and cleaning his habitat. Anyway, that is our frog story.

The only other news I can think of is that I was released at Relief Society 1st counselor last Sunday. I had being serving for almost 3 years. It was an awesome and faith building experience. The whole thing is a little bitter sweet. I am happy to be able to serve in another way, but sad to not be serving the sisters of the ward. Anyway, Hope you are all having a good January. It's almost over!

Spike the cat chilling with Liam while he watches t.v.

Funny Ashlyn. We have all been sick this past week and she looks like it! :)

The kids watching Saturday morning cartoons together.

Francis the Frog

Poor Francis. R.I.P.

Ashlyn got this for Christmas and it only took her a few weeks to figure out how to spin herself. She loves to play on her spinner!

January

I always forget every year how much I dislike January. It has been hard to get back on to a schedule since Christmas break and the weather has been very cold and gloomy. I told Nate the other day that I really want to be outside planting flowers and my garden. Too bad I have to wait about 4 months before I can start doing that. The kids are getting pretty bored being stuck inside all day. I sure hope January picks up some speed and gets over soon! :) Here are a few pictures of my girl Ashlyn. She got a baby stroller for Christmas and her favorite thing to do with it is sit in it. What a goof!

Showing off some new clothes! Love that smile.

Another great smile.

Liam and Ashlyn. Both smiled perfect!

Happy New Year

Goodbye 2010 and Hello 2011!! We stayed home for New Year's Eve. It was great! We just played games, ate good food, and I even finished reading my book that Nate gave me for Christmas. Liam made it to about 11:00pm and then crashed on the couch, but Gavin stayed up with Nate and I until 12:30am. It was a relaxing and fun night. Here's hoping for a wonderful new year!

Me and Liam

Playing Uno attack!

More Uno Attack. It is a fun game. The boys love it!

The days after Christmas

It is hard to believe that Christmas is over and our Christmas break is almost over too! I am not looking forward to getting the kids back in school and getting back to a routine. I have enjoyed not having any sort of schedule for the past two weeks. Even better Nate has been home almost the whole time. Not sure if I am ready to send him back to work on Tuesday. Anyways, here are a few pictures of what we have done this past week. I didn't get any of Nate and I celebrating our anniversary on the 27th. We went to lunch and did a little shopping. Nothing big, but a nice break from the kids. I can't believe we have been married 9 years. Time sure flies. Here are some pictures of our happenings since Christmas.

Gavin with his finished Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle lego set. He built the whole thing by himself in one day. He loves his legos!!

A close-up of the castle. Pretty cool, huh!

We didn't have snow on Christmas day, but it did snow the day after. We actually got a few inches so the kids went out with Nate building a snowman, some snow forts, and then had a good snowball fight. It was great!

Ashlyn playing with her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

That pretty much sums up what we have been doing. Building legos and playing with all the stuff Santa brought. It has been nice to just stay home and spend time together as a family.