Can't Believe Summer is Over!

We've had a fantastic summer.  It's gone by way too quickly! We had a California trip where we drove out to welcome my parents home from Germany.  It was so great to have the family all together.  With 2 new son in laws and 3 grandbabies while they were gone, this was our first time really altogether.  It was great!  We surprised them at the SF airport, as pictured below.

Altogether :)

While in Cali we went to an A's Game which the girls loved.

Too lazy to turn the pic, but here's my bday celebration.  My girls sure do love birthdays!

 Back in Utah we went to a rodeo which the girls really enjoyed.... I found myself just worrying the whole time that someone was going to get hurt.  Haha. 

 We've been meeting John for lunch at Liberty park every couple weeks throughout the summer.  Its been fun playing hide and go seek after our picnic.

We went to a family reunion in southern Utah that had a good portion of my mom's side of the family.  There were a lot of us! My grandma and grandpa are awesome. 6 of their 7 kids were there plus their kids and grandkids.   

 At the reunion we had a talent show, went swimming, hiking in Zions and we particularly liking off-roading in the golf carts.  Don't know how I didn't get a picture of that!

 And we've got pigtails!  Unfortunate this is the best pic I've got of them... I'll have to try again soon :)

Other fun summer activities have included zumba for kids at our local library, playing with cousins (especially playing in the water!) and going to the waterpark.  We liked the wave pool and lazy river.  Mia starts kindergarten on Tuesday.  Hard to believe!  

Catch Up

Mia played soccer this spring with her cousin which she really enjoyed.  She liked running around, but I think her favorite part was the treats at the end of the games and getting a medal when the season was over.  Here

she is at her end of soccer season party with her medal.  Yes, Norah is dressed up as a pirate.  Norah loved soccer too because it meant she could play with her cousin and chew gum.  

 

 Ruby turned one year old on May 17.  She sure loved getting cake at Mia's soccer party and then again at home.

 Here is Ruby with her ladybug cake that Mia helped me make.  Ruby is crawling all over the place... most often after her sisters to try to get whatever yummy food they are eating.

Norah is as independent as ever.  This is the haircut she gave herself.... thankfully they can almost pass as bangs.  She is now potty-trained!  Halleujah!  She'll run to the bathroom yelling, "Pee pee is coming!"  She can always make us all laugh.

The kids loved going to a BYU softball game and getting hot doggers.  It was weeks ago and Norah still talks about giving Cosmo a high five.  It was a huge highlight for her.

We are loving our backyard and use it rain or shine... yes they are in swimsuits in the rain.  It was a warm rain thank goodness :)

Mia finished preschool last week and we are gearing up for summer!  Its getting warm and we hit the waterpark yesterday which the kids loved.  I've got to figure out a summer routine for us so we don't go crazy :)

Easter!

Hooray for Easter!

Wowie Does Time Fly!

I can't believe its almost February! We've been keeping busy... John is enjoying his work (and we are enjoying the free tix we've gotten to the Jazz games from work with dinner and snacks included...wahoo). He's still home for dinner every night! He got called to be 2nd counselor in Young Men's and coaches the YM's basketball team which is fun. The YM have campouts every month though!!!! Ahhh! I'm not too excited about that. I got called to teach Relief Society which freaks me out! So we'll see how that goes! Mia's loving carpooling to preschool with a neighbor girl.... Norah loves going to her "school" (aka... the child care at our local rec center where I pay $3.50 for them to watch Norah and Ruby for an hour while I work out. Its been FABULOUS!) We like going to BYU athletic events (basketball pictured here).... this past weekend we went to a gymnastics meet which was fun. Norah yells "Go BYU" anytime she sees a sporting event on tv. Gotta start her young! haha. Ruby just keeps growing. She is sitting up and eating solids and still a joy. There's a brief update on us.... more to come shortly. Hopefully some pics of the house soon. I feel like I'm finally starting to get it together. hooray!

Christmas Party!

We had our ward Christmas party in which Santa made an appearance! Mia was super excited... Norah on the other hand was very hesitant, but then once she saw he was giving out candy canes she thought he couldn't be that bad :)

Halloween!

Peter Pan, Wendy, Tink, Captain Hook & fellow pirate....We had fun at halloween parties and the kids loved trick or treating. Norah sure caught on fast :)

Gardner Village

We are getting settled in here in Utah. So far so good. Mia has started preschool and is enjoying it. We have loved playing with cousins on a regular basis. The girls and I are exploring all that Utah has to offer. We went to Gardner Village last week with my sister Megan who is only 40 minutes away now. Hooray! Gardner Village is a cute little village all decorated for Halloween with witch displays all over the place. We enjoyed it. Here are a few pics Megan took while we were there.

Next week we close on our house which we are super excited about. Pictures to come :)

Germany

We did it! We made it to Berlin Germany and back! Here's just a few pics from our 11 day trip. This pic is my dad meeting Norah and Ruby for the first time at the airport after 14 hours travel time! It was sooo great to see my mom and dad! We flew 11 hours to Frankfurt and then took an hour flight to Berlin. It was a miracle... we saved a ton of money by not getting Norah her own seat, and both on the flight there and the flight back there were empty seats near us so she could have her own seat. It would have been a nightmare if she had to stay on our laps the whole time. I think we had all 3 children crying at only 2 times during the flights ... not bad. They were troopers. Thankfully John's sister Kristina came with us. It would not have been possible without her.

Our second day we took the subway into downtown Berlin. We were a bit jetlagged.... 9 hours time difference takes a toll on your body!

This is us at the Brandenburg Gate in downtown Berlin...

This is a fortress we visited.... Mia loved that we went to a REAL castle...

It was fun that my dad got to take a few days to be grandpa.

The drawbridge and entrance to the fortress..

We went to Wittenburg where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses...This is the door...

This is the church in Wittenburg where the first german mass was given.... the first time religion was accessible to the people.... the beginning of the reformation and eventually the restoration. Amazing!

Norah chillin' in Wittenburg...

Aunt Tina and Mia

This is Dresden... the girls using their preferred mode of transportation :)

Mia in Dresden...

We love Nutella!

Ruby and Grandma :)



















We loved seeing the mission office and going to a zone conference to see my dad teach the missionaries. He has 210! Its the largest mission in europe right now.

It was great to see my mom and dad and brother Mike! We had a fabulous trip! We saw all sorts of amazing sights (too many to put here..... John and Kristina even rented a car and drove many hours to see the church where their great great grandparents were married. Pretty cool!) but the best part was being with my parents.

New Adventure...

John and I had a deal that when we had a 3rd child, he had to get a new job... haha. Actually we've been looking for a new job for over a year but just haven't found anything with better hours until now. John has accepted an in house position at the company Energy Solutions which is headquartered in Salt Lake. Its all happened rather quickly, and now we have given 2 weeks notice at Orrick.... will go to Germany to visit my parents for 10 days so my dad can meet Norah and Ruby.... and then the movers come to pack us up (I don't have to pack a single box! Hooray! And the company is paying! Double hooray!) and then we head to SLC and I get my husband back! Hooray! So that's the latest with us!

Messing Around...

We went to a wedding reception the other day that had a photo booth.... we had a little too much fun I think :)

A Blessed Baby...

We were originally planning on blessing Ruby in Germany when we went to visit my parents, but now that trip is a bit more up in the air, so we decided to go ahead and bless her while my sister, her husband and my mother in law were in town.

Yes that is Mia winking at the camera. She's like her dad and likes to wink.

Ruby wore the blessing dress that my mom made and that I was blessed in as well as Mia and Norah were blessed in it.

Ruby B

My sister in law was kind enough to take some pics of Ruby while we were in Utah. Since these pics Ruby has gotten quite a bit bigger and her eyes are a beautiful blue like her daddy's. Ruby continues to be a champion sleeper.... 11p-7a is not uncommon for her. She also is so patient with her adoring older sisters... even with Norah who continues to be in her face and touching her face constantly while saying, "Hey Ruby baby!" We sure love Ruby!