V-Day 2011

We had a great Valentine's Day. My favorite is getting cute cards from my kids. Glitter Dad & Mom hearts from Natalie, Rainbow heart from Austin, and handprint heart from Makenna. LOVE IT!!
Natalie called Gram when she found out she got to make a Valentine box again this year. They worked hard and came up with this cute creation. It won "class favorite" at school. Thanks Gram for all of your help!!
We decided to get the kids pillow pets for Valentine's Day. They have all been wanting one, especially Makenna. I kept telling her she could get one for her B-day, but then decided July was just too far away. They were all so surprised and excited. Natalie got the bumblebee.
Austin got the puppy.

And Makenna got the unicorn.

And for me, a new trailer hitch and 2" ball, nothin but the best from my honey. Can't you all just picture me pulling our 4-wheeler trailer behind my Explorer, yeah me neither, but apparently it's Danny's dream come true!! Who needs flowers and jewelry?? Just look at that ball shine!! (Sorry ladies, he's taken.) Ha, Ha...but stay tuned for a look at my real Valentine present...new carpet. I can't wait!! We went to lunch for Valentine's and then went shopping for new carpet, it was very romantic...yes after 14 1/2 years of marriage and 3 kids, being alone together is always romantic, even if you're just shopping for carpet!!

A BAD case of SpRiNg FeVeR!!

Yep, we've all got it...Spring Fever has us all going crazy these days!

It snowed again last night, but only a couple of inches. We were glad when the sun came out and melted it all away. And look, you can see some grass peeking through.It's been hard trying to keep Austin and Makenna busy when it's so cold outside. Today was so nice and sunny, they loved running through the snow and riding their bikes. I sat out on the porch and folded laundry while soaking up some Vitamin D!
For the past few days the kids have kept busy inside playing with R/C cars. We've used up lots of batteries, but they have been entertained for hours!

A few days ago the kids saw the sun shining and wanted to go to the pond and feed the ducks.

It wasn't quite as warm as it looked, but 40 degrees felt pretty good!!

We bundled up and headed out to feed the ducks.

They were very hungry and happy to see us!

Austin found a few sticks to play with.

And Makenna found the slide (and a mud puddle!)

It sure is nice to get outside and get some fresh air...can't wait until we can do it everyday!

Trip to Vernal

Two weekends ago the kids had a few days off from school. We had been wanting to take them to the Dinosaur Museum in Vernal so we thought this would be a good time to go. Then we thought it might be fun to stay a night out there. We found a hotel with an indoor pool and off we went! We left Sunday around noon, the kids were so excited, more excited to swim than to see dinousaurs. I was just excited to be getting them out of the house!! We took our time driving down, it took us 5 hours! We stopped at Wingers in Price for lunch and had to stop a couple times for Makenna to go potty. When we got to Vernal Danny took us out to the school that he had worked on last summer. He also showed us the apartment he lived in. He showed us the bench he sat on when he talked to us on the phone each night. The kids liked seeing that. We finally made it to our hotel around 5:00, I'm glad we decided to stay overnight. The kids let Dad rest for a little while and then they were ready to hit the pool!!

We had the whole pool to ourselves, and it was so warm!!
We spent almost two hours swimming.
Makenna loved every second of it.

So did Natalie. Austin loved it until he got hungry, then he got out and wanted the rest of us to get out too! I called for a pizza and then he was happy again.

The next morning we headed to the Dinosaur Museum. It has been totally re-done and has moved to a new building.

It is a lot bigger and has a big children's area with lots of fun activities.

Here are the kids digging for fossils.

I love this picture, it looks like the pole is going right through Austin.

They had an art exhibit with lots of paintings of Dinosaurs.

They also had an exhibit of Indian artifacts, Austin loved that part. His favorite was the display of arrowheads.

Makenna liked the Indian petroglyphs.

We spent a couple of hours at the museum and then started for home. We stopped at a saddle shop in Roosevelt and the kids got to see where the man made all of the saddles and chaps. We let Austin pick out a pair of chaps and he was so excited. He thought it was cool that he saw where his chaps were made. Makenna picked out a pair of pink cowgirl boots and was not leaving the store without them on her feet. Then Danny found some workboots on clearance for half price. We paid the man and got the heck out of there! We stopped for lunch and a few more potty breaks and finally made it home around 4:00. It was a fun little trip and I'm glad we went. Who knew you could have so much fun in Vernal???

What we've been up to....

Austin rode another sheep at the Buckaroo Rodeo. He did a great job and rode it really far this time! Way to go Austin!

Natalie had a dance performance the other night. She loves to dance and had so much fun. Good job Natalie, you were great! (She is the second one from the back in the beginning of the dance.)

We had SEP's this week. Natalie got straight E's (excellent) again. Austin's teacher was happy with his progress and said he is doing great! I am so proud of both of them!!

Makenna has been working on potty training since the week after Christmas. She is doing great and hasn't had any accidents for 5 days! Way to go Makenna---You're a big girl now!

Christmas Break...lots of pics

Christmas Break started one day early thanks to school being cancelled because of snow! I don't remember school ever being cancelled, it was kind of weird. There was a lot of snow though! We woke up that morning to at least a foot of new snow. Austin was super excited when he heard there would be no school, Natalie not so much. Didn't Nebo School District know that Natalie and her class had been working for months on learning to play recorders???? The Christmas recorder concert was supposed to be that day!! Apparently they didn't get the memo. Natalie was very upset with the whole situation, but after joining all her neighbor friends outside in the snow, she decided a snow day was alright after all. She is sure her teacher will reschedule the concert for a later date. Austin doesn't care if they ever open up the school again.

Makenna & Austin throwing snowballs at Mom.
Building a snow fort.

Our house after the storm

The path out back to the horses. Danny didn't go to work that day and spent most of the day digging us out.

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Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve playing in the snow and then making & decorating cookies for Santa. At 4:00 we went to Gram & Pops house for dinner and a party. The cousins exchanged presents. After the party we headed home for our own Christmas Eve traditions. New pj's and an ornament, putting out treats for Santa, and looking at pictures from throughout the year.

Cookies for Santa

The kids on Christmas Eve wearing their new pjs.

They were just a little bit excited...didn't think they'd ever fall asleep!

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Christmas Day

Opening & Playing with Presents...

Natalie got the DSi she wanted from Santa and a few other surprises. She also got dance warm-ups and some clothes and was able to buy a case for her DS and a game with a gift card from Gram & Pop.

Austin got the Mobigo and Deer hunting game he asked for and then a few surprises. He was surprised & super excited to get a BB gun and gun case from Mom & Dad.

Makenna got lots of fun toys this year. Play food, dress up dolls, beads, books, and of course a pretty dress. She loved Austin's Mobigo so we took back one of her toys that she didn't like too much and combined the money with a gift card from Gram and Pop and bought her a Mobigo of her own.

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New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve we went to see a movie during the day. The boys saw True Grit and the girls saw Tangled. It was Makenna's first time to see a movie in the theater and she really liked it. Later that night we had our own little New Year's Eve party. We played games, ate yummy food, and then did some fireworks. None of us could make it until midnight though, we were all dreaming when 2011 began.

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New Year's Day

On New Year's Day we continued our tradition of going bowling with everyone in my family.

Austin loves jawbreakers...and bowling!

Makenna was so excited to get her own bowling shoes this time.

After bowling we went to Gram & Pop's house for pizza. After lunch the kids and Dad's went out to the field and pulled sleds behind the snowmobile and horse. It's been a fun break and I'm sad that it's almost time to get back to reality