He's On His Way Home!!

Earl's coming home!!! Yipee!!!
Can you tell I've been missing my sweetie? He has been in The Big Apple for just a few days, but we sure have missed him.

I know I eventually got 'used' to him being on the road for about 50% of our lives when he was traveling for work, but I'm so glad we don't have to do that anymore! This three day trip has been very different for us. Chloe doesn't remember what it is like to have Daddy travel, so she doesn't understand that he'll be home, just not right now. Andraia has been looking forward to Tuesday night since Earl left VERY early Sunday morning. She is going to be thrilled to eat dinner tonight because she knows we get to head to the airport shortly after we're done.

Believe me, you've never met 5 people more excited to go to the airport. And we aren't even getting on a plane!!

February Update

We've had a very fun month!
Early in the month, we went to the Draper Temple Open House. It was really beautiful and the kids loved being able to see what the temple looks like on the inside. Now they kind of know why Mom and Dad love to go to the temple so much!!


Spencer's school had a 6th grade Valentine's Dance. He DID dance, but here is a picture of him hanging out with his friends. The decoration for his class mentions 'drop kicking'. Poor Miss Seedall has to threaten them with something!


Both Earl and I celebrate our birthdays in February. This year we attended Stake Conference for my birthday. It really was neat. For Earl's, Andraia picked out a special cake at the store. Earl grilled yummy steaks, and we spent the evening playing with the kids. Are we getting boring in our old age or what?

This is a picture of my nephew, Calton, 'helping' Spencer play a game on his PSP. Calton is so cute. He loves to play video games with Spencer!!

And here's a picture of Andraia with her friend, Mary. Mary's family performs Native American dances. We were able to watch their performance at the library. It was incredible. Our entire family really enjoyed the experience. Everyone loved watching the dances, hearing the stories and listening to the music. Even Brayden!! It isn't often this family finds something we can ALL do together!!

We Love To See The Temple

We attended the Draper Temple Open House a week ago as a family. It was so beautiful! Because Brayden isn't able to walk long distances and feels more comfortable in a more confined space, we parked at the temple and borrowed one of their wheelchairs. He did really well that way, and we found ourselves skipping parts of the line because we had to use the elevator.

We had a bit of a hard time in the sealing room because Brayden didn't want to stop his 'ride'. It was hard for him to sit and listen to the guides tell everyone about the beautiful mirrors, but I'm so glad we were all there together.

Earl and I attended the Mount Timpanogos Temple open house when I was pregnant with Spencer and it really means so much to me that we were able to attend this one with all of our kids. We might not have been the most reverent group in the sealing room, but we were together. Brayden is so close to the spirit, I just couldn't see us going without him.

Now we are waiting for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Our kids are so lucky to be able to attend these events!

Wonderful Birthintine's Day!

It has always been really fun having my birthday on Valentine's Day. It makes for a day filled with love, family and friends. I have enjoyed celebrating it in many different ways over the years. Earl always makes sure to treat me like a princess which isn't always easy with busy schedules and busy kids!

This year my birthday consisted of....presents from dear friends, text message from my dad and brother, cards from Earl and the kids, many lovely emails and facebook posts from my friends and family, relaxing at home while Earl took the kids to run errands and keep them out of my hair (that was lovely!), and ...... Stake Conference! I have to admit Stake Conference wouldn't normally be my first choice of ways to spend my birthday, but I'm so glad that Earl and I decided to listen to the spirit and attend the adult session last night. We heard some much needed speakers and got to sit by our friends. It was a very special treat to sit with Earl on one side of me and one of my BFFs, Mindy, on the other. And no kids climbing on us and asking for toys, treats and trips to the drinking fountain. That was heavenly!!

After the session was over, some of the adults from our ward met at our ward building for dinner and dessert. It was very nice. We had a great time joking around with and getting to know some great people. And Mindy's yummy cheesecake was the best dessert of the night! I probably could have lived without Judy and Alisa having the entire room sing "Happy Birthday" to me, but it was really very sweet of them to acknowledge that it was my birthday! Alisa, I forgive you for letting Judy 'pressure' you into that! ;)

One of the best blessings of the night was coming home to happy, pajama-clad children. Camryn, the daughter of my good friend, Jacque, tag-teamed with Spencer to take care of the little kids. Our girls sure enjoyed having her here!

It was a really wonderful Birthintine's Day!

Science Fair

Spencer had a great time with his 6th Grade Science Fair project. He studied the affects of mass on a cart traveling down a slope. It sounds so 'technical', but it was just a fun project that allowed Spencer and Earl to push toy cars and their assorted loads of batteries down a homemade 'hill' in our kitchen!

(Doesn't he look so old? I can't believe he's 12. And only a half inch shorter than his mom. Look out Dad. He'll be as tall as you soon!)

OK-I'm REALLY Late With The Pictures!!

Obviously I've been neglecting my picture posting duties lately! I realized when I went to take pictures for Spencer's science project that I still had pics on my camera from Christmas---and everything since then. Oh well, better late than never!
Here are a few from Christmas Morning.


This is Chloe 'trying on' her new PJs from Mrs. Santa on Christmas Eve.



This last pic is of Chloe playing a game sent from some friends in Hungary. It is a tic-tac-toe game that uses cute little bugs as the playing pieces. We were fortunate enough to meet this great family while Brayden was in the hospital this past summer.
Enjoy the rest of the new posts and pictures!

New Years Eve

For New Years Eve this year, we went to Zoo Lights at Hogle Zoo and had yummy treats at home. Brayden's new favorite snack is chips and salsa!





The Zoo Lights were really beautiful! They had lights all over the zoo. We were able to see the big cats who are usually in hiding during the warm times of the year. And we saw a great performance of 'The 12 Day of Christmas.' That's Andraia's all-time favorite Christmas carol, so we couldn't miss it.