Puppies - 4 weeks

We got new pictures of all the boy puppies in the litter. We won't know which one is ours for a few more weeks. They wait as long as possible to see personality before assigning them to families. They are soooo cute! We can't wait until he arrives! Any suggestions for names? Here's our list so far - Hudson (my favorite), Scout, and Chester.

A Day in NYC

Taylor received a really fun Christmas present this year - a trip to NYC to see The Lion King and Wicked. Wednesday was finally the day! Ed and I took Taylor to the city for a fun-filled day together. We started the day with a little extra primping (doesn't her hair look cute?) and a drive through the Lincoln Tunnel (you gotta love New York Traffic).



We made our way to Times Square and did a little shopping. Did you know that if you make a purchase at American Eagle you can have your picture taken and put on their HUGE screen for free? Taylor thought it was fun to stand in the square waiting for her world debut!



After a quick bite of lunch, we headed over to our first show - The Lion King!


What can I say - it was amazing! The costumes are so cool and the visual effect of the whole show is awesome. Taylor and I agreed that the giraffes and the elephant were our favorites. The mask that appeared on stage was also really cool. Our day would have been a total success at this point, but we still had more to do...



Ed spent a lot of time finding a great Gluten Free restaurant for us to have dinner (thank you sweetie). We took the subway to Greenwich Village to a tiny place called Risotteria.


Taylor and I got to eat the yummiest bread sticks I have had in years - heaven! We also had pasta, a panini, risotto (of course), and dessert. What a fabulous treat! I think I might drive back into NYC just to eat at this little place.

After dinner we headed back toward Broadway and watched the skaters at Rockefeller Center.



We ended the night by going to see Wicked.




It was just amazing. It's hard to describe how unbelievably talented these people are. Their voices are so powerful it just blows you away. The timing of Glenda was perfect - she was hilarious. My favorite moment was right before intermission. The song Defying Gravity. Elpheba lifting up on her broom. The smoke and prism-like lights. The huge cape billowing over the entire stage. Her voice filling the entire theater. And then... thundering applause and goosebumps. Can you say WOW!

We had so much fun spending the day with Taylor. As a middle child, she craves time alone with us. It was such a great day to see her so relaxed and happy. She's so talented and loving and it feels good to remind her that we notice and appreciate all the wonderful things about her. I'm pretty sure she'll remember this day forever. We love you Taylor.

Ice Skating Video

Here's some video of Cami at her lesson. The first 30 min. of the lesson is with a teacher and the second 30 min. is sort of like free skate with roaming instructors to help them practice what they have learned and have some fun. I just took one quick video during each segment.

Dear Mother Nature

All right Missy.... I've had just about enough of your attitude this winter. I've been patient and tried to be cheerful through all these storms and record-breaking events. I'm done. I don't want to shovel another foot of snow. I don't want to shovel another INCH of snow. The kids don't want any more snow days - now you see the extent of our desperation. Please adjust your attitude or I may have to take drastic measures (what they would be I don't know... but don't underestimate my creativity).

I know everyone is probably tired of snow pictures. I'm tired of posting them, but since this is (hopefully) the snowiest winter of my life I thought I should document all the big storms.

This one was called a "blizzacane" by the local weather guys as it included hurricane force winds with snow. There were 90 mph winds in New Hampshire. Luckily we only had 40 or 50 mph winds and didn't have any damage. The drifting was really bad in places. We had only a few inches in parts of our driveway, but several feet in others. Sigh... I'm going to my happy place where flowers are blooming and grass is visible again.

Our walkway is under here somewhere.

Ahh... here it is under two feet of drift!

Poor Dallin had done his share of shoveling this year!

Happy Birthday Dallin!

Dallin celebrated his 15th birthday yesterday! I really can't believe that the countdown to driving has begun! We made his favorite breakfast (bacon and eggs) and even waited to eat as a family until he woke up from sleeping in. Ahem... can you say 10:30? Ian came over to hang out and play video games and we gave him a few presents.

Then we told him the REALLY GOOD NEWS!

We're getting a small to medium golden doodle puppy!

Dallin has wanted a puppy to call his own for years and has spent a great deal of time begging. I finally had one of those moments where I realized that we only have a few more years of him at home and if we were going to do it, now was the time. One of the puppies in this pile is little Seguine - we don't know which one yet. They are 3 weeks old today and will be delivered at 8 weeks. If you know me, you know I love dogs. I am also under no illusion about how much work this will be for me. I'm ready for the task. If you love puppies too... come visit and get your fix:)

Dear Aunt Heather

I just wanted to tell you that I passed Basic Level 2 at lessons this week! I worked extra hard and surprised my mom when I brought her my patch. I really love learning to skate and keep asking my mom when I will be able to come visit you so we can skate together. The only thing that would make my lessons more fun would be if you were my teacher! Mom says she'll take some video soon and post it for you to see.

Love,
Cami

Really Mother Nature?

I mean... REALLY?

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a nice quiet day. We were supposed to have Stake Conference, but it was canceled due to the snow. We started the day with pink heart pancakes (at Cami's request) and enjoyed giving each other cards and small gifts. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and to be able to show my love for them each day. I hope you had a great day!

The Second Blizzard of 2010

The first storm hit Saturday and the second storm hit on Tuesday Night. We still had lots of snow on the ground and got somewhere around two feet over 24 hours. We shoveled three or four times during the day Wednesday and again this morning. Pictures really don't do it justice. The amount of snow is amazing.

I actually love being stuck at home. We play in the snow, drink hot chocolate, watch movies, and just enjoy being together. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Me, Myself, and the Cupcake

We shoveled three times yesterday (Ed did most of the work, but my little arms are sore:). This morning we had at least a foot waiting to be shoveled off our driveway and so I had a conversation with myself that went something like this:

Me: OK Self, let's get going out into the snow.
Myself: I just don't think I can do it - my arms hurt and I'm tired of snow.
Me: I'll make you a deal. If you get out there and help, you can have something delicious for breakfast.
Myself: You mean like one of those scrumptious chocolate cupcakes on the kitchen counter?
Me: Why yes... and there is no guilt attached with all the work you've been doing. Come on - how often do you get to have a chocolate cupcake for breakfast?
Myself: Deal.

And with that I was up and out of bed and eating a yummy cupcake in my snow gear.

There's a First Time For Everything

Cami has never had the stomach flu before...
until Monday.
She was not a fan.
I was starting to believe that she would never actually throw up.
We consoled her by reminding her that she still holds the record for the oldest person I know to never have thrown up.
We're glad she's feeling better.

The First Blizzard of 2010

We've had a CRAZY winter this year! It's been snowy and cold... and we just lived through TWO 20+ inch storms in only 5 days. Here are a few pictures from the first storm. Hayley spent the day with us as well as a bunch of Taylor's friends. It was really fun and cozy having a full house.

Dallin, Hayley, Taylor, and Maggie just plopped down in the snow to talk.

Taylor, Hayley, and Cami on their way to sled!

The table is a good indicator of how much snow we got - wait until you see the pictures from storm #2!