Decorating the Christmas Tree

Connor was adorable this year. I did most all of the christmas decorating this year while he was asleep one night. But when he came down the stairs the next morning, Dave had already turned on the lights on the tree to Connor's delight. Connor just kept saying "Wow, Wow, Wow" when he would look at the tree. And from then on, any time he wanted us to turn on the tree's christmas lights, he would just point at the tree and say "Wow, Wow". It was beyond cute. In this picture he is "helping" mom place a couple of ornaments on the tree. By the end of Christmas all of the ornaments were in the top half of the tree to get them out of Connor's "helping" hands.

Downhill Skiing with the Kids

For New Year's Eve, we took Abby and Jacob to Snowbasin for some skiing. Dave, Abby, and Jacob all took ski lessons since this was only their second time on skis. And all three did GREAT! I was able to watch them learn and take a few pictures of them while they took their classes. After their classes were over Abby skied with Dave and me for another hour until the slopes closed. Jacob was tired and decided he was happier to sit on the patio and cheer us on. We are looking forward to taking the kids skiing again when they are here for their next visit.

Dave and the kids at the end of the day.

Abby and Alicia at the base of the bunny slope. She really did better and better with each trip down the slope.

On the chair lift


Abby and Jacob in their ski lesson.


Abby skiing off the chair lift. If you look at the chair coming up, you will see Jacob riding it. He somehow was not able to make it on the same chair as the rest of the class on this trip up.

Dave skiing off the chair lift. Dave's poor classmate really had a hard time mastering the chair lift exit.

Dave showing off his new skiing skills.

He is so comfortable skiing he can even make faces for the camera!

Preston is 4 Months Old

On Christmas Day, Preston turned 4 months old. He is getting pretty darn big, very vocal, interactive, and active. He loves to grab on to his toys and play with anything that rattles. He laughs and smiles constantly and is always happy. It is amazing since I have never seen such a happy baby, other than Connor of course. Here are the monthly pictures I took of Preston.



Today we took Preston to the doctor for his check up and shots. He weighed 16 lbs 8oz (80th percentile) and is 26 inches long (85th percentile). Basically, the kid is getting big! As a comparison, we weighed Connor in the office too and he was 23lbs (10th percentile). The doctor said that Preston is doing great! Meeting all of his milestones and he was impressed with how vocal and active Preston is.

It's "Ninja Wheelie Time"!!

When Jacob was younger and we were living in NY, he was given a Kawasaki motorcycle toy that made lots of noise, flashed its lights and drove across tile floor by itself. The toy was beyond annoying. So when it got buried in the basement in Utah, we were not too disappointed or eager to get it back out. On Christmas morning, Connor was down in the basement with Abby and Jacob and found the motorcycle. As you can see, he LOVES the toy. He will not play with anything else. Which makes me think..."I could have saved some money this Christmas and just given Connor Jacob's hand-me-down".

Here is a couple of pictures of Connor (in Jacob's bed) with the motorcycle.


Connor playing with the toy in our kitchen. He spent alot of time chasing the toy back and forth across the kitchen floor.

Christmas Morning

This year was a blessing for us to have all four of our kids with us on Christmas morning. This is actually the first time I have had Christmas morning with Abby and Jacob. The kids were pretty fun to watch when they were opening their gifts and enjoying playing with them. I took some pictures of them while they were opening their gifts and first playing with them.

The start of Christmas Morning. The view was just too cute to not get a picture of it. (P.S. Thank you Sharee for the cute pajamas!)

Mom and her boys

The kids opening up their Christmas gifts.





Connor spending quality time with his baby brother.

Christmas Eve Night

When I was a kid my family had a Christmas Eve tradition that I loved and looked forward to each year. The tradition was for the whole family to gather in the living room by the tree and each person got to choose one gift to open that night. The gift could be the biggest or the smallest or anywhere in between. As long as the gift was under the tree and had your name on it, it was fair game. It was always a big deal for each of us kids to try and pick the 'perfect' gift to open that night. We would do reconnaissance for weeks trying to figure out what our gifts were and what they were wrapped in. But it never failed that one of us would pick a horrible gift to open and regret it all night long. And when I say a horrible gift, I mean socks or something like that. Since this was the first year we had kids old enough to open gifts on Christmas Eve with us, I decided to institute my family's tradition into my own family. Abby, Jacob and Connor all loved the gifts they picked out and spent the entire night playing with their new toys.

Dad and Preston at the start of the evening.

Abby and Jacob opening their gifts.



Abby and Connor rolling their arms

Jacob playing with his Iron Man

Connor checking out his new Mickey Mouse toy.

Jacob explaining Iron Man to Alicia.

Connor showing off a few of his dance moves.

My Greatest Gift of 2009

I just had to get some cute pictures of Preston in with the gifts under the tree. He was fascinated with our tree and all the lights, so it was easy to keep him happy while around the tree.

The Polar Express

In Heber Valley there is a train that becomes the Polar Express each Christmas. While on the train the kids read the Polar Express story, drink hot choloate, and spend a little time with Santa and his elfs. This year we got all four kids dressed in their Christmas pajamas and took them on the Polar Express. I hope you like some of the pictures I was able to take at the event.

Family Photos


Abby and Jacob at the start of the train ride.

Our cute kids hanging out together.

Mom and Preston enjoying the train ride.

Connor playing with the condensation on the window.

Jacob reading "The Polar Express" while the 'train conductor' reads it out loud.

Abby ringing her bell for the elf. She was trying to see if the Elf could tell her which reindeer the bell came from by the sound of the ring.

Santa meeting Connor. Connor was okay with Santa as long as he was with Dave.

Jacob telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas.

Abby telling Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

Meeting Santa Claus

Dave and I took Connor and Preston to the mall to see Santa Claus so that Connor could tell him what he wanted and I could get a picture of the boys with Santa. Connor was not too fond of Santa and did not want to sit near him for the picture unless Dad was right there with him. So Dave is in this year's Santa picture. It seemed like a better solution to our issue than just getting a picture of Connor screaming hysterically. Preston did not care who was holding him for the picture. He was happy either way. But I am sure that will change next year when he is a little older and pickier about who he lets hold him. It is easy to imagine why little kids are not too fond of Santa though. He is this really big stranger with a big white beard and he is trying to get you to sit still on his lap. But I know Connor will come around to loving Santa once he figures out that Santa brings the really big gifts to our house for Christmas.


Connor and Dad enjoying a meal at the mall after meeting Santa.



Preston enjoying some time with Dad after meeting Santa.