Surfboarding

I love this boy. Even today when he has been whining at me all day. I love his smile in this pic. He loves the beach and "surfboarding"

Sorry Ladies...he's taken.

Yep...he's all mine. Matt grew a beard last fall. Before he shaved it all off he donned this little number...for a few hours.

The zoo with Caroline and Rose

We love to have visitors. In January Sarah-Beth, Caroline and Rose came to visit. We had so much fun. One thing we did was go to the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Here's an animal--and I don't mean the Giraffe--that would best be caged but is alas roaming free and in fact harassing me at this moment while I try to blog.

Isn't she adorable? This was our first time meeting little Rosie and the kids loved her. She was so fun to hold. We even got to babysit her while Sarah and Caroline went to the YO-YO Ma concert.

So the real hit of the zoo this time was the new sliding hill. It's just an astroturf hill that the kids could slide down on card board. They loved it! Kade was totally going for it.

Go Ella!

Can you see the big snake?

Ella the Superstar

So when Ella was finally picked to be superstar in her kindergarten class she had been waiting all year and even had already packed up her items to share. She was so excited! She couldn't wait to decorate her poster and share with her class. Before we even left her classroom to go home with the superstar stuff she said, "I love being the superstar!"

The things Ella wanted to share were:

Her American Girl doll

Her rock collection

A couple of stuffed toys

Her favorite book--Angelina Ballerina

One of her Barbies "with the pretty dress"

Some things on her poster were:

Her favorite colors are blue and pink

She likes look for bugs and lizards

She loves to swim and go to the beach

She wants to be a teacher when she grows up

She loves to act silly

Her favorite movie is Barbie Swan Lake

She loves to make and EAT treats

Some things I want to add about Ella:

Ella tells me many times a day that she loves me.

The other day she said in her prayers, "thank you for all the love that I have in my heart."

She loves to snuggle but is the most wiggley snuggler EVER!

She loves to help me cook but can't keep her fingers out of the bowl.

She LOVES treats! Oh my goodness!

She is my pickiest eater but ironically likes brussel sprouts.

She loves to dance and act silly.

She likes to make people laugh.

She loves to dress up and puts together the craziest outfits.

Yesterday when Matt was taking about what they should do on their date she said, "lets go sopping (shopping) at the mall." She loves to shop and put outfits together. She has a very unique fashion sense.

She still cannot say her "r" sound which gives her a really cute Ella accent.

She loves her kindergarten teacher, Ms. Harrah

She loves Kade but when her baby cousin Rose was here she loved her so much that she wanted to trade her for Kade. She loves babies--but especially girl babies.

I love her so much--she is so full of personality. She is smiley and loving. I'm so glad she's mine. And isn't she beautiful? Those eyes!

A day in the life of Kade

So one day last week I wrote down all the things Kade did in one day. (except drawing on the couch--that was the day before but I had to get it in there)

He colored on every cushion of the leather couch including the ottoman with a ball point pen

He colored on the mirrors with a marker

He spilled a glass of milk everywhere

He spilled his glass of grape juice everywhere

After Matt spent considerable time fixing and putting batteries in his firetruck he brought it in the shower and ruined it

He smashed oranges into the carpet

Snuck off to a corner with a huge hunk of dipping chocolate

Took off all his clothes at the park and peed in the sand in front of all the other moms--twice

Took my new double bag of bread from Costco and rode it like a horse and smashed it

Gave me tons of hugs and kisses.

Said "I love you momio"

Smiled his irresistable smile.

Screamed "DADIOOOOOOO" when Matt got home from work

I love you too Kado.

Let it snow!

The day after Christmas we headed to snowy Utah. We were hoping for snow and were not disappointed. We stayed with Dan and Jena in Highland and they're huge yard full of snow with the beautiful mountains as a backdrop provided the perfect snowy playground. The kids LOVED IT!

Ella, Brooke and Jessie

Scary Monster!!

Carson and Cole spent the most time outside building snowforts and throwing snowballs. They also spent alot of time playing wii and playstation.

Go Kado!

These girls were inseparable. Shayla and Claire

We went and saw the beautiful Christmas lights on temple square. It was FREEZING!

Sledding at Aspen Grove near Sundance with Aunt Nan and Uncle Richard and Hunter Cousins

Check out these Icicles!!

We had such a fun trip. Some other things we did that I didn't get on film were:

We had a really fun New Years party at Dave and Amy's and spent the night.

My Dad and Karie were also in Bountiful visiting Karie's sisters. We went to see Princess and the frog and had dinner after. Kade loved the popcorn and socializing with other movie patrons. It was fun to get to know Karie's family better. Kade loves hanging out with "Gampa Karie"

We also saw the Chipmonks movie. Matt and I saw Avatar and Invictus. Both were really good.

We had such a great time! Thanks to our family for entertaining us and spending time with us.

I also saw my friend Chelsea and her cute little baby Moses. We went the the cutest boutiques called Dear Lizzie in Highland. Such cute stuff.

Happy Birthday Matt

I like this picture even though I have a goofy look on my face.

Today was Matt's Birthday. It was a great day! He took the day off and we went mountain biking then we had lunch at Cafe Firenze with Kade in tow. (He went to Summer's for the mountain biking part of the day) Kade was kind of a stinker at the restaurant--he's not really fancy restaurant trained. In fact he's not restaurant trained at all. Then the kids came home and made homemade presents for Matt including pictures and letters and coupons for services such as foot rubs, carwashes, taking out the trash etc. Then we went to Islands for dinner where Kade once again demonstrated his lack of restaurant manners--and then home for Cake and presents. I think Matt had fun. The bike ride was awesome. So beautiful. I love you Matt!