Jan 11, 2017

Christmas 2016

Merry Christmas! We had a great one and felt lots of love and gratitude for each other and our lives together.

IMG_0482
We bought and wrapped dozens of socks, mittens, hats, and treats for the homeless shelter.
IMG_6566
For Avery, Todd and I built a loft bed in her bedroom.  We had to lock her out for a week so she'd be surprised.
IMG_6567
I've never built a ladder before.
IMG_0513
Here's the Christmas Girl checking out her new pad
IMG_0514
This has already been hours of entertainment for Avery and Lydia.  What a great Christmas gift!
IMG_0496
On Christmas Eve, we snow shoed up Millcreek Canyon, and then sledded down.  It was such a fun way to spend the day!
IMG_0499

IMG_0504
Family Photo.  Christmas Eve night we ate home made Thai food, played at Draper Park, then let the kids open one present.  It was a wonderful Christmas. :)

Wintertime Stuff and Photos 2016

November and December have been busy with lots of playing, family time, and the great outdoors.  Todd spent 2 weeks climbing in Laos (he promised to blog about it so stay tuned) and I spend a week surfing in Nicaragua.


IMG_0470
Lydia is nearly as big as Avery now!
IMG_6470
We've had a rather snowy winter so far!
IMG_6451
My shoveling buddy
IMG_6431

IMG_6409
We visited Aunt Sue while Todd was in Laos
IMG_6398

IMG_6536
Abominable snow dog
IMG_6523

IMG_6512
Shyla is such a spaz!
IMG_6507

IMG_6504

IMG_6501

IMG_0487
Most of my time at home is spent underneath the kiddos ;)
IMG_0490
Or doing chores with them in my lap. It's not a bad way to spend the day! 

Jan 10, 2017

Happy Birthday to Me in Moab 2016

As per my favorite birthday tradition, we stayed in Moab with some friends.  We biked, climbed, hiked, bouldered, and ate good food together.  It was a wonderful birthday and I loved having the Richins there!

IMG_6310
The Richins
IMG_6307
The Hammonds
IMG_6302
:)
IMG_6290
IMG_6276
Brett at the top
IMG_6271
IMG_6256
Avery's first time on a rope!  She did awesome.
IMG_6248
IMG_6237
Carlee fell into a bush!
IMG_6236
How can anyone look this beautiful while biking?  Seriously Car!

New Car

We said goodbye to an old friend a couple months back.  Todd's Civic Hatchback finally bit the dust and had a blue book value of $250.  So we bought a Prius!


canvas1
Leprosy claimed another victim.
canvas
Chunks of Todd's car were just falling off at random.
IMG_6333
Here she is in all her glory
IMG_6331
The Prius feels like quite an upgrade- it has way more space (and 4 doors!!) and gets 50 mpg. It's clean and quiet, and we don't have to crawl over seats with babies in our arms to get them buckled up. We were able to pay cash for it too, so that was nice!  Here's to living on one income!

Oct 23, 2016

Amazing Avery is FOUR

Avery turned four this month!  She is bright, clever, and just loves to be silly and laugh.  Some of her favorite things are "shows and treats" and hearing stories.  She loves to play with her unicorns, make the dog "soup" out of dirt and bits of everything, and jump on the tramp.  She'll lay under my bed with Smacker the cat for hours.  She loves to be snuggled and crawls into bed with us every morning before facing the day.  She loves preschool, dislikes going to daycare, and begs to see her Grandma Pinnell and cousin Tommy regularly.  She is an excellent swimmer and good with puzzles, letters and numbers.


IMG_0599
Halloween themed birthday party.  Cutest witch on the block.
IMG_0601
IMG_0606
We painted pumpkins for her birthday party
IMG_0607
IMG_0623
Her best buddy in the neighborhood Jane.
IMG_6111
We went to Lagoon for her bday.
IMG_6112
And Rylie slept over!  What a special birthday for Avery.
Being a 4 year old, she says a lot of funny things.  Her 4 year old cousin has diabetes, and we talked about it last Summer when we spent some time with him.  She asked me the following day, "why does that boy have dia-boobies?"  And later when he fell and started crying she asked "Did he hurt his dia-boobies?"  lol

Then last week she asked me about "that boy who has diarrhea."  Meaning diabetes.

Today she asked me, "Who makes air? What is inside clouds?  What is inside water?"
Her inquisitive mind is so fun to observe, and I'm always very honest with her.  I tried explaining what hydrogen and oxygen atoms are.

The Summer's End

Here are some pics from Summer to early Fall.  2016 has been full of fun!

IMG_5583
No one loves this dog more than Lydia
IMG_5589
IMG_5593
IMG_5767
IMG_5946
IMG_5977
IMG_5982
IMG_5983
Avery's 4 year old haircut
IMG_6003
IMG_6040
 We got to visit a fire station
IMG_6047
Avery's preschool (above) Huelas y Sonrisas is a Spanish immersion program.
IMG_6053 (Edited)
IMG_6057 (Edited)
IMG_6074
IMG_6086
IMG_6033
I'm still plugging away on a horse.  It's been slow going because riding a horse correctly is hard!