Rainbow Bright

Gabriel is developing quite the "colorful personality"... I'm sure getting four teeth all at once doesn't help a bit-- poor baby! Lets just say he lets us know what he wants and doesn't want- very clearly!!! He started crawling around Christmas time (I do have a video- but never got around to posting it!) and is now pulling up to everything and even climbing as much as his short legs will allow!! he especially loves it when I tip the laundry basket over for him to pound on and the step stool too!

But hand down his favorite thing is to climb the stairs!! We have safety gates up, but several times during the day he crawls over to them, pounds on them, his eyes fill up with big alligator tears, his little lip juts out and he cries the cutest most pitiful cry ever!! He learned quickly that his mama has a soft heart and putting on that show sometimes (ok ...always) works... So I take the gate down, he grins and I sit on the stairs while he climbs up over and over again!!!

Aren't these baby legs leg warmers the cutest thing on him!! After seeing them in a few magazines I just had to have them for my crawling baby... the tile is so hard and cold and...I just had to have them....in a few other colors and prints too.... (blue polka dots, skulls and crossbones etc...)I told Glen about them and he gave me a funny look "leg warmers for a boy??" I knew that was coming and was prepared with pictures of Gwen Steffani's baby boy wearing them and older boy's in the magazines had them on! He still wasn't buying it until he saw Gabe wearing them... that just says it all! he laughed and said "that is the cutest thing I've ever seen!!" and he's right...He is the cutest baby...colorful personality and all!!!

And the Winner is.....REVNEVAN

This year in Evan's class they had a Valentine box contest. We were brainstorming one day after school, trying to think of ways to decorate his box. At first he wanted to put stickers on a shoe box... What?? Where's the fun in that? I told him that when I was little I remember my brother Steven won his class Valentine box contest. He made his box look like a computer. My dad helped him, and the rest of the family even got in on the fun!! Computers were sort of new back then (sorry Steve!) so it was pretty cool. The whole thing was decorated with candy!! The keys were conversation hearts, the space bar was a stick of gum! There was a slit cut as the disk drive and that was where you dropped in your Valentine!! the screen and all the buttons were candy... I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever, and wishing my box that I'd made at school was neat like his! Everyone else thought it was pretty great too- he did win!!! After I told Evan this story, his eyes lit up and then he really started naming some crazy things that he wanted to do with his box! He finally decided that he wanted it to look like a semi truck! (fitting, since he does want to be a semi truck driver when he grows up!!) So when Glen got home Evan told him all about it and together they came up with something a little more do-able! ...a pick-up truck! Glen had a little too much fun with it, if you ask me.... He was talkin about suspension, hydraulics, and rims???? they even put a custom license plate on it "Revvin Evan!" They had a blast and it came together great!!! Guess who won the contest... yep, EVAN!!! He was so proud!!

Love is in the Air...

We really look forward to holidays around here! I credit most of that to my mom, who always made holiday's special and created lots of little traditions, most of which I've carried on, changing some to fit the needs of my family and adding some here and there too!! I don't know that it was so much the day that was special as we were growing up, it was the fun the anticipation the feeling... all that combined together made us kids feel special! I remeber that when my mom pulled out the cross stitched tiny heart pillows, with a pocket on the back, our nicknames sewn on the front... that Valentine's day was getting close! ....Thank you to my mom for setting the bar and being a great mama! Well... I try to follow her example, right? and I just love any excuse for decorating, special little surprises, games, seeing my boys get excited etc... anyway... we do have a few fun traditions that lead up to Valentine's Day and Evan and Eli were so excited for the day to get here!!

The boys were home from school on Valentine's Day due to the nightmare day before (read all about it...a few posts below...) They were curious when they saw two packages sitting on the kitchen table, and became very excited when they noticed that they were addressed to

EVAN and ELI Huber...

Grandma Karen wrote them each a little note using conversation hearts! She had no way of knowing that the kids would be home from school that day, and that her Valentine would be the perfect thing for a day stuck at home!... A movie and some treats!!

The other package was from Grandma and Grandpa Huber

They sent a Valentine card with a sweet note written inside along with LOTS of Evan and Eli's favorite Treats! Added together- the boys felt very special and loved, had a new movie to watch and plenty of treats to eat while watching it!!

Thank you for sharing your love!!


Glen and I do something special together on Valentine's day, after the kids are in bed!! With little ones around and the day usually falling on a school night- ... we've kind of turned the holiday into a day for ALL of us to share our love!! One thing that we do as a family each year on or around Valentine's Day is have a "Love party"


This year I put hearts all around the house, written on them were some of the reasons why I love my boys! I hung some for Glen above the door so that he'd be showered with love when he walked in the door, home from work!

For dinner...Glen brought home the main course (take out) and I put together some RED side items to go along with it! The boys anticipate and really love our annual candle light dinner. As we eat, we each take a turn telling everyone what we love about them or share a story of love about each other. Previous years we've played LOVE bingo, and toss the hearts etc... This year we made skookies for dessert and watched NFL football follies together!


A while ago I was telling Glen that it would like to own a TV tray. I remeber going to my Grandma Evan's house when I was little and using her TV tray. I didn't even have to have a meal... I would just fill up a glass of water and set it on the tray. It was the coolest thing ever!! I can still remeber her tray. It was metal and had big flowers and leaves on it! Glen told me that his family used to have TV tray's and on special occaions they would get them out and eat dinner together while sitting on the couch or during movie nights they would use them as a a place to put their popcorn!!!... that sold me!! He had loving memories of TV tray's and so did I!! I added them to my (forever growing) wish list!! Well guess what I got for Valentine's day??? a very nice note written by my sweetheart, a secret post on my blog, a set of TV tray's and a cozy microfleece blanket! It was so thoughful of Glen!! Now I can curl up and watch a movie and have a place to put my popcorn!! I was SO excited...especially because earlier in the evening I thought Glen had forgotten... yup, it's happened before (he's come a long way in 12 years)... so there for a minute I was a little bummed...he said he was just "saving it for later" I just wish he would have at least told me that... anyway it was a day filled with love in the air...at least for the most part anyway!!

Below are some of my favorite pictures of my Valentine's
My whole world... the love of my life... my boys!!

hope you had a happy Valentine's day too!!

xoxo

Sunday Drive

Last Sunday we decided go for a drive. I love Sunday drives! It is so nice to get out of the house and relax while taking it all in, being together, and exploring... We decided it would be fun to drive by Camp Williams, an army base that is out towards Saratoga Springs. We wanted to show the boys some of the army vehicles because they are really interested in that kind of stuff right now! They love G.I. Joes. setting up army bases, guns and tanks! So they were very excited!

At the base they have a circular drive that you can drive on. Along the way there are army vehicles and artillery, some are old and look like they are from a long time ago and others looked newer. It was fun, I was surprised that Evan knew the official names of most of the vehicles and was asking lots of questions about wars and history! The boys got really excited when we spotted some real "army guys" who were dressed in army fatigues (Evan taught me that one!) and marching. I'm looking forward to our next Sunday Drive... If you haven't been to Camp Williams, you should go check it out if your in the area!!

Our "All- Star"... Elijah Paul

Last month Eli was the All-Star student of the week in his Kindergarten class. We made this poster to provide a way for his classmates to learn more about him. Every single time that we enter and exit a store together, Eli asks if he can buy a gumball, he loves gum and treats!! so I thought that would be a fun way to showcase him! the gumballs in the machine have his "favorite's" written on them and along the edges are some pictures of things that Elijah loves! I kind of forgot that he needed to take the poster and so that morning we had to quickly throw it together, last minute!! My mom and sister Julie were in town and it was nice to have some extra hands!! He got to tell his class all about the poster and had the coveted jobs for the week of leading the class in the pledge of allegience and being the first in line everywhere they went! He was SO proud! We love our Eli!

Airplane...Coming in for a Landing!

One afternoon last week, Eli was feeding Gabe some yogurt for me, so that I could get the dishes done. Gabe absolutely LOVES Eli. He gets so excited whenever he see's him, and likewise, Eli can't get enough of his baby brother. As I was doing the dishes, my mind was running over the things I needed to get done that day! After a minute I realized that Gabriel had the giggles. I turned to see Eli doing the "airplane...coming in for a landing" game with the spoon. I had kind of forgotten about this simple trick to get toddlers to open their mouths and had never needed to use it with Gabe before. He loved it and thought Eli flying his spoon like an airplane was the funniest thing he's ever seen!

I especially love those two little teeth!

oooooooh, I am so head over heels for this baby boy! ... he's irresistable!!

Happy Birthday to my Baby Sister!!

Julie and Ruby Halloween 2007

Happy Birthday Julie bugs! ...that is what we called her when she was little! Out of all of us she definatley has the most nick names... Jules, Jubee, Ju Ju, Julie boo, baby doll, just to name a few. We were all enough older when she came along that Julie was the center of our universe! She is the baby of our family, four years younger than me! I remeber thinking she was sort of like a toy, (but only in ther best of ways!) we'd dress her up, and push her in our doll stollers. She was sick a lot as a baby, had lots of allergies- to milk especially... I remember eating our cold cereal with water with her... just so that she wouldn't feel bad. And if we ever had ice cream, we'd take turns playing in the other room with her, so she wouldn't know what she was missing!

As we've gotten older, we've only grown closer. Some of my favorite things about Julie are...

* Being the youngest of two older sisters and a brother who were married while she was still in high school must have been hard, being in the house alone with mom and dad, for one, but then always having to hang out, holidays, trips, everything we did she probaly felt a little out of place with all of us being married! but she was always such a great sport... She traveled with Glen and I pretty much everywhere we went, NYC, Jackson Hole, she slept in our tent when we went camping... she became another little sister to all of the in-laws!

* She was there with us when I delivered Evan. When I was in nursing school, I was amazed at how moving it was and what a miracle it was to see a tiny perfect baby come into the world, and to be one of the first people to greet them, so fresh from heaven! I invited Julie because I knew that its not very often that you get to have that opportunity! It was so special to have her there to help me and to see tears of joy running down her cheeks as we all welcomed Evan. She is so tenderhearted!

*When she was single, living in an apartment, going to Utah State, and working. she was so busy, Instead of avoiding us, her family. She made sure to be there for everything we did... carving pumpkins, coloring easter eggs, decorating ginger bread houses, Sunday dinner- everything! She had some of the best roomates, who usually came along and became like sisters to us! Julie loves her family and she lets us know it!

* When she worked at the Anniverary Inn in Logan. We'd stop on the way home from Evan's preschool to see her and she's always give us a Cookie from the Welcome platter that was just for guests!

*She loves her nieces and nephews, and they adore her!

* When Julie lived in Logan, she was single and rich and had the cutest clothes! I went to her apartment once a week at least to borrow her clothes. She always let me, and she helped me put together the cutest outfits when I had a special occasion. She has this eye for funky, trendy, stylish fashion. She still has the cutest clothes, she's too far away for me to borrow them now, and I'm not quite her size anymore either!! (darn, third baby!)- I miss her!

*Julie got the sense of humor in our family! She is always sayings things that make me laugh, her perspective is positive and fun! She is so much fun to hang out with!

*We were so excited when Julie met her husband Richie! They were made for each other- the cutest couple! Her wedding day was beautiful. So classy and elegant. Her's was the last wedding for our little family- It was so incredible to have our entire family in the temple together! It was such a bitter sweet day- We were so happy of course, but were a little sad to see her move to Wisconsin but knew she'd be well taken care of, joining her handsome husband who was soon to be a doctor! Julie is adventurous!

* Julie is an incredible mother to her baby girl Ruby Jane! Ruby has red hair, just like Julie... (except when she dies it blonde or brown!) Ruby is the happiest, sweetest, most funny girl and it is so fun to watch Julie adore her, love her and teach her. It is so fun to have babies so close in age and share experiences together!

I could list a million other things... I have so many things that I love about Julie and so many memories with her and about her, I wish I had time to share them all! All these thoughts and memories wrapped up together give us the relationship that we have today. We are the best of friends! All of us sisters are! We call each other on the phone everyday! (seriously) Julie keeps me going, encourages me, laughs with me, gives perfect advice, and makes me want to be like her. She is my favorite little sister! Happy Birthday Julie! I love you so!!!

Wednesday's News Reports

Sam Penrod (KSL News) at the Point of the Mountain said: "I've been near Thanksgiving Point for the last three hours, and the situation just keeps getting worse with the snow and wind. I would describe it as an emergency situation around the Point of the Mountain. Blowing snow makes it difficult to see and people are stuck in traffic, they are stuck in the snow, and it's getting to the point that there's really nowhere for people to go.Southbound traffic is beginning to improve and clear out, but conditions are still dangerous. It looks like it'll still be a couple hours before traffic is all clear"

again. About 7 p.m. "we traveled on S.R. 92 near the Micron IM Flash Plant, looking for a stranded school bus. (Evan and Eli's bus!) To me, personally, it was frightening, because the snow was drifting so fast, we couldn't see where we were going. We could see dozens of cars that drove off or slid off the road and were stranded.We finally turned around back to the freeway and had to use our GPS compass to drive directly west so we could stay on the road, because we couldn't see where we were going."

This is how people trying to drive home to Alpine described the scene."It's crazy. It's wild. I've never seen anything like it.""It's the worst snow I've ever seen in Utah."People have been running out of gas, sliding off the road, some are losing their patience and don't know where to go.I've talked to people who have spent five hours getting from Salt Lake to Thanksgiving Point. With the highway to Alpine and the roads to Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain closed, thousands of people really are stuck, waiting for the roads to reopen.Snowplows are out, but the problem is cars are stuck in the road, so it's nearly impossible to clear the roads.Over 200 students are stranded in three schools and one bus in Utah County. There are 165 students still holed up at Ridgeline Elementary School in Highland. Several of their parents have been able to get to the school with food and blankets, and they're ready to spend the night if they have to. For the kids there, it's a big adventure. Thirty to 40 students are still stuck on a bus about a half mile from Ridgeline.

A Parents Worst Nightmare (one of them anyway!)

I heard that there was going to be a fast moving cold front accompanied by snowfall moving into the Wasatch Mountain area. So on Wednesday as I sent my boys off to school I made sure to pack along their mittens and hat and insisted that they wear their coats! Just the day before, Tuesday, it was like spring outside... warm and sunny, I could hear water dripping as the snow was melting... It smelled like spring! It was beautiful. Evan was "so HOT" at recess that day so he thought I was crazy to make him pack his winter gear because Wednesday started out the same "spring" way... there was a warm breeze.

I went out shopping in the afternoon and the wind was starting to pick up speed. When it was time for the boys to arrive home from school, it was really windy and snowing a lot- It looked pretty bad out! Glen was working from home, so I asked him to go and pick Evan and Eli up from the bus stop. He went to meet them and waited for about 20 minutes and the bus didn't come!! The weather was really horrible... I couldn't even see out of the windows- they were plastered with snow and ice! I was calling other moms and we were wondering what was going on and where our kids were?? The school started calling...with a recorded message letting parents know that due to the harsh weather conditions- the buses would not be able to bring the students home, that all buses were returning to the school and that the students could be picked up there. So, I was relieved that the kids were off of the roads and fine and figured we'd just wait out the storm. Glen decided that he'd go really slow and just start on his way to get the kids before the traffic got really bad! He called me after he'd been gone just 10 minutes and he wasn't even to the highway yet... he said he had to stop, because it was such a whiteout he was disoriented and couldn't even see the road!!! I asked him to stay put or just come home. He waited awhile and them came home. He changed out of his work clothes and said he was going to go help some of the poeple who were off the road and continue the trek to the school. After he'd been on the road for about 2 hours (just so you know, on a normal day... it takes about 8 minutes to get to the school) He was about half way to the school. There was no turning back... the cars were bumper to bumper, and sliding off the road in all directions

meanwhile the whiteout continued!!

One of our neighbors who had headed out earlier and was ahead of Glen finallly made it to the school! His wife called me to let me know that once he got there he found out that the bus our kids ride left the school on time and had not yet returned to the school !! This was now several hours since school dismissed... and all those little kids were somewhere out there!!my stomach dropped and my heart began to pound!! Where were my kids?? I tried to call Glen but at this point there was no cellular service. I called my mom getting some much needed comfort as I tried to explain the situation to her. I quickly hung up in order to try to get more details. But then my home phone was not allowing calls to come in or out. the power kept flickering on and off... It was a nightmare!!! Here I was trapped in! With snow on every window, not sure, unable to contact my family or Glen, completely worried sick! I wondered if Glen was ok and I had no idea what the circumstances were for my kids! Luckily- the phones worked to call within the neigborhood so my wonderful friends kept calling and we'd try our best to keep each others spirits up and talk about what we'd heard. Some people had spotty cellular coverage and were keeping in contact when possible. Many girls in my neighborhood, had husbands who were stuck on their way home from work, and had no way of getting their kids from the school except to load up their other babies and head out. Which some of them did! This made the traffic even worse... everyone was just worried and wanted to see their kids and I think people didn't realize how bad the storm was until they were out there and it was too late to turn back!

After lots of pacing and praying and at least an hours time gone...My phone rang!!!!! It was Glen. He said he'd seen a bus off to the side of the road and figured it must be from a different school, because last he knew- the buses from our school were suppost to be at the school! He just kept feeling like he should check it out... so he stopped... holding up the slow moving traffic for a bit! He knocked on the bus door and as he entered he heard "Dad?" He'd found them! He was able to take Evan and Elijah with him. But when he asked about taking some of the other kids who we had permission from their parents, the bus driver told him for safety reasons, he could not let him take them. Glen said it was the hardest thing to walk off that bus and leave those kids, especially since many of them were crying and begging him to take them home! This was around 8 o clock pm. They had been on that bus for almost 5 hours!!!!! I was so relieved that Glen found them and that they were with him but my heart went out to all of my friends who's children were still there and especially all of those scared little ones... on the bus! I quickly got a few details from Glen before our phones cut out!!

Because of where he told me he was when he got the boys I figured that even with the bad conditions he would be home in about an hour... Boy, was I wrong!!!I didn't hear from him again until THREE hours later at 11:00 pm.... In the meantime, we kept hearing that the highway patrol and a snow plow were escorting the bus back to the school, but Glen said that the bus driver told him that he was heading the other direction if he could. Because the traffic was so bad... because it was such a white out and because the bus driver was a substitute and didn't know the area, and couldn't see to tell them where he was... (SEE like I said NIGHTMARE!!) anyway because of all these things combined emergency vehicles could not quickly get to the bus. Once they did they realized that the bus was not going anywhere... it was stuck in the snow bank on the side of the road. So... finally the students were transported by the highway patrol off of the bus and to a near by LDS church house at about 11:oo pm- They had been on the bus for nearly 8 hours... One mom who found the bus earlier in the evening had dropped of some groceries for snacks that she had in her car, the kids were able to exit the bus if they needed to use the bathroom, but had to brave the 70 mph wind and pelting snow! needless to say there were potty accidents, it was dark outside, they didn't know the driver, they were scared, thirsty, hungry little children!! It was just awful! But finally they were getting off of the bus and everyone was hoping to be reunited... many parents were at the school waiting or on the roads still driving to or from the school... and it would take them several hours to finally be together!!! Our stake president, who had to pick up his children from the church, was aware of several people's circumstances and wanted to help however he could! He talked to the chief of police who let him take his truck, along with a few other troopers, they came into our neighborhood and picked up parents who were unable to leave and they took them back to the church to be able to get their kids. And then returned them to their homes. The last children were picked up from the church around 2:00 AM. Several children were never able to get home from the school and had to stay overnight, with parents and teachers who were there.

So... back to the story... I finally was able to get phone coverage with Glen around 11:00pm He had been through whiteouts, bumper to bumper traffic, un-plowed roads, closed roads, no phone service etc... He was able to stop and get the boys something to eat, and they were safe, thank goodness!! He had just entered the exit that leads to our home, he knew it was closed but hoped that maybe they'd let him through. The officer there told him he could wait for about 25 minutes and they might be opening it then. So Glen parked and waited and after about 40 minutes. Fianlly they let him through, but only because we have 4 wheel drive!!! WOO HOO!! They were coming home!!!!! (several people who did not have 4 wheel drive were not able to get home) I finally was able to contact my mom who had last heard me frantically explaining that my kids were not home or at the school but stranded somewhere out in the storm... and then we had no way of talking... She and the rest of my family were SO worried!! Just as I got off of the phone sharing the wonderful news- My long lost little strangers... pulled into the driveway!!!! It was one of the best moments... to see them and to smoother them with hugs and kisses. I laid by them for a long time as I tucked them into bed! It was perfect to have them home!! I am so garteful to my brave (and maybe a little carzy!) husband for his patience, his driving skills and his perservance through the conditions! He brought them all safely home!

The local news and radio channels covered this story... but I feel that they left out lots of important details and didn't show the real chaos it created... Maybe thats because it's hard to match the chaos and worry in a mothers heart!! ...Since we experienced this day first hand along with our friends and neighbors we know of mix-up's, several miracles and lots of heartbreaking stories too, that never made it to the news... We are just so glad that the day is over and hope that those who are still struggling will find peace!!! I promised that if I could just get my kids back safely that I would be the most patient mom and that they would never "get on my nerves" again! Well, I'm not sure how long that will last.... but I hope I can remember the feelings and deep love for my boys that was renewed in my heart because of this experience!!!



P.S. School was cancelled the next day, Valentine's day, and that morning the highway was still closed and officers were checking I.D. and only letting people in who lived up here. They discouraged people from leaving, and sent many people back
to their homes until later in the morning.

Glen's Guest Post - My Valentine top 14

I just had to slip in a guest post. Now I have to warn everyone that I am not the writer that Emily is and my post probably won't be as exciting as hers are, but what I do write comes from my heart. I wanted to post the top 14 (Valentine's Day) amazing things about my Valentine. Of course I could easily go up to 500 top things but here are some of the best:

1. She is so hot - I don't know how I lucked out with her.
2. She is such a good person - always looking for ways to help others.
3. Living the gospel is so important to her.
4. She has the most beatiful, striking brown eyes.
5. She always keeps the family doing fun activities.
6. She has the coolest blog.
7. She is the best mom to our kids - always helping them do fun activities and teaching them so much.
8. I love her cute smile - it melts me.
9. She has an amazing ability with math that keeps me smiling.
10. She makes me a better person - even though I have a lot to work on.
11. She gives 110% on anything she is in charge of - and it is always amazing.
12. She loves to hang out and just watch TV with me.
13. I love that she loves the outdoors and camping and hiking.
14. After all these years she still loves me!

These top 14 just scratch the surface. All those that know her understand what I am talking about. She is my perfect Valentine and I love her so very much!

Happy Birthday Dad!

(my dad holding Gabriel 05/07)

Today is my Dad's Birthday!! If we were in Logan, just about now we'd be celebrating eating a delicious Birthday dinner at mom's house accompanied by a yummy Birthday cake and ice cream for dessert! since we are not there. I just want to let him know that we're thinking about him today!! sure love you Dad...

Here are a few tid-bits about My dad...

There are a few treats that he loves, but doesn't eat unless its a special occasion... black licorice and peanuts, Dad also likes any treat that is sour! He loves little sentimental trinkets... he is very thoughful and collects things that mean a lot to him or remind him of special things. He is a big fan of sports, he played all sports growing up and even played basketball for Logan High. he especially loves soccer! He served his mission in England, so he likes things that remind him of England. He LOVES books, and reads a lot. I credit my dad for instilling in me my love of reading... I remeber him sitting on the steps, each of us tucked into our beds, listening to Dad read out loud to us. Each character had a special voice, he made every story come alive! He has a passion for music, one of the best collections I've seen. He likes grapefurit juice, orange juice, root beer... pretty much any drink... he is always mixing them, making some pretty interesting concoctions, usually they are pretty good too!! My dad doesn't like milk... he eats his cold cereal with Chocolate milk... he WILL NOT drink white milk! My dad is an educator, a really good one too! he taught elementary school-fifth grade for a long time, and has most recently been a principal in the Logan city school district! He is an advocate for students and teachers and has a deep love for education. He has made a BIG differnce in the lives of many children and teachers who have been lucky enough to associate with him! My dad can make the best animal sounds ever. He sounds just like the real thing! My personal favorites are a horse and a cow!! Once I was on a "sound scavenger hunt" with the YM/YW, where we had to tape record certain sounds. Whoever got them all first- won. Our group couldn't get a cow to moo, so I volunteered my dad... no one knew the difference!! An interesting fact...My dad has a twin sister and 5 other siblings, they ALL grew up in a two bedroom house! He made some really cool science projects for me in middle school and he always helped me with my homework!! He is very generous, he loves to buy things for his kids and grandkids! He likes his toast burned, and he eats vineger on almost anything! Lets see....I could go on and on, but I will finish up with my #1 favorite thing about my dad and that is that he loves my mom! He teases her and he holds her hand, he hugs her and does nice things for her. They are still so in love! I remember them dancing in the kitchen to Anne Murray or Kenny Rogers when I was little... they have always shown respect and affection for each other. I think that because of the way I saw my dad treat my mom that he in turn helped me to look for that LOVE and tenderness in my husband!!

Now for any of you who knew me in high school, you may wonder if this is the same girl who you knew... the one who didn't really like her dad... Yup, it's me... and I'm blaming all that on being a bratty teenager!! How could anyone not like my dad? He is one great guy and my life is blessed because I'm his daughter!!!

Happy birthday dad!!

I love you!!!

Wildlife... not so wild!

Living so near the foot hills we've had a few encounters with wild animals. A GIANT snake last summer... seriously, it was at least 3 feet long and really fat, I think it must have just eaten a rabbit family or possibly a small child!!! I LIKE snakes but this one freaked me out!!! Our neighbor came to the rescue for that one... This winter we have seen lots of deer, which is so exciting! I remeber when I was little, driving home from my Grandma and Grandpa Murray's house each Sunday night and watching for herds of deer in their yard or other people's yard's nearby. Grandma and Grandpa live close to the mountains and I remember dreaming about someday living in a place where I could have deer walk into my yard!

Last week just after the boys arrived home from school I saw a movement through the window, out of the corner of my eye, and there, just five feet away was a DEER in MY backyard!!! I quietly got the boys attention, and we whispered, trying not to scare her. She kept looking right as us through the sliding glass door and pretty soon, (after lots of squeels and pounds on the glass, courtesy of Gabriel) we realized that she wasn't scared of us at all... or just really desperate for some food! Pretty soon along came a few more deer.... It was incredible!! I felt like a wildlife photographer... too bad the pictures don't look like I'm a wildlife photographer, but I seriously took about 50 pictures... just imagine 10 copies of each of these pictures and thats what I shot... I know I 'm nuts!! Iwas just SO excited... I couldn't help it!!!

The boys put some carrots out on the patio, hoping our friends the deer will come back!!

I sure hope they do!!

Cub Scout!

I love a man in uniform... I know he's just a kid, but there's something about that uniform that warms my heart! I am ashamed to admit that not to long ago in my life I thought the scout uniform... needed an update... to say the least! And I vowed that if I ever became a leader- I'd NEVER wear the dreaded YELLOW shirt, reserved for the women leaders. But I can now say that I've turned a new leaf. I am embracing being the mom of an eight year old cub scout and I love everything about it! Evan has some really great den leaders and is taking scouting very seriously, to those of you who know Evan, that comes as no surprise, he's a pretty sincere kid. My sister lovingly calls him Earnest Evan! The cub scout motto is "Do your Best" and Evan is conscious of that in every aspect of his life...except last night at dinner when he refused to do his best at eating stir fry... hey a kid is a kid, right? Can't be perfect!!

Backyard Buddies!

I mentioned before that we have some great sledding hills just out the back door... our street is a big hill... so all of the neighbors yards combine into one long bumpy ride! It's a perfect hang out for all the kids in the neighborhood... and nice for me and Gabe to watch from the window!! We've had so much snow this year, making for lots of time spent outside...building forts, and snow tunnels, having snowball fights, and lots of sledding!

Elijah with kissable rosy cheeks! Brrrrrrr
Gabe gets so excited as we watch from inside through the window! He squeels and pounds his little hand on the glass. I decided to let him go out for a few minutes this day.

He loves to be with his brothers and he especially loves to touch the cold snow!!

some of the kids from the neighborhood....Backyard buddies... best of friends!

Evan and his best pal Preston ... our next door neighbor

Glen loves to ambush the kids with snowballs when he gets home from work

and they love the big push

he gives them on their way down the hill!

Fun with Family

The first few days in January my sister Sara and her family (who were in town for the baptism) came and stayed with us before flying back to California. Our kids are the best of friends, our husbands too, which makes for lots of great times together and leaves us always anticipating the NEXT time when we'll be together!! Below are some pictures and descriptions of some of the things we did before they left and before the boys Winter Break from School ended...

Krispy Kreme Donuts

We surprised the kids just as they were waking up one morning, by telling them we'd be having donuts for breakfast!! They were so excited! We headed to "Krispy Kreme" donut shop and made it just in time to see the donut making process... The kids pressed their noses against the glass window as they watched, fascinated! I must admit, it was very educational and fun to see the donuts moving along, flipping over from side to side and my personal favorite... watching them go through the frosting waterfall!! It took everyone quite awhile to pick their "perfect" donut. The kids all had flavors and sprinkles added. But for me, plain old glazed and still warm from the oil... was the BEST...mmmm....I love Krispy Kreme donuts they melt in your mouth!

the kids...taking it all in!!

Sara's baby Miles thought he was pretty "neat stuff" with his own Krispy Kreme hat!

Could there be any more sprinkles on that donut??

Breakfast...can't beat donuts with chocolate milk!

cute kids!

Playing in the snow!!

The kids played out in the back yard for a long time. It's nice to have so many sledding hills just out the back door. they warmed up after sipping hot chocolate while watching a movie!

The Dinosaur Museum!!

Glen offered to give me and Sara some much needed "sister time" Isn't he the greatest?... He really is!! We put the babies down for naps and hung out while Glen took the four older kids to Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur museum for a few hours. They had a blast learning about dinosaurs, making their own dinosaur land in the water/sand tables, and digging for dinosaur bones using brushes and tools!

We did some other fun things in those two days that they were here also... can't get better than a late night Taget run with my sister! a crepe smorgasbord, adult game night, and being treated to a girls outing for pedicures! The two days that they were here went by too fast, we had so much fun but we were excited knowing that we'd see them again in just two weeks, when they would return for a ski trip with their friends in Deer Valley. They planned on having my mom babysit Miles while staying at my house since it was closer than Logan! At this time we didn't know that my little sister Julie would end up joining us from Wisconsin too... I'll save that story for another post...stay tuned... I'm almost caught up!!