Alice In Wonderland

Cami tried out for her first musical - Alice In Wonderland. She was cast as small Alice and has lots of speaking parts and also gets to sing "Zip-a-dee-d00-dah" with the catepillar. She has loved staying after school for practices and had all her lines learned within the first couple weeks. We can't wait to see the performance the end of March and are proud that she has found another talent to develop.

Great Wolf Lodge

We decided to get away for the long weekend. We didn't have time to go far, so we headed up to the Poconos to an indoor water park called Great Wolf Lodge. The temperature inside is a consistent 82 degrees and no sunscreen is necessary:)

Our kids had fun, but they were just a little too old. Kids just slightly younger could stay for weeks and have a blast, but older kids can only ride the same rides so many times. We had good food, went shopping, and watched great football games on TV. It's always fun to just get away together for a few days. I had fun trying out the high speed setting on my camera, but the light inside was terrible.

MLK Day of Service

We had our yearly day of service for Martin Luthor King day. Our ward opens it's doors to the public to join in a service project making blizzard boxes for the elderly. We always have a good turnout and enjoy the day. I like this tradition in our community and we have families that look forward to coming every year.

Go 49ers!

We had such a great time cheering for our team this year! We have remained loyal 49ers fans all these years and haven't had much to be happy about for almost a decade. This year was finally a good one and we soaked it up. I am such a sucker for those cheesy moments in sports. When Vernon Davis made the winning touchdown catch in the playoffs and was overcome with emotion when he hugged his coach I shed a few tears myself.

Some of my fondest memories growing up were made while watching football as a family. My family likes to snuggle in on the couch, make popcorn, wear our team gear, and cheer together. Ed and I have always loved football and even spent our entire Christmas budget the first year we were married to buy tickets to a Monday night game in San Francisco. His mom actually saved the banner we made (which got us on the stadium screen several times) and made it into a quilt. I'll post a picture of that later:) We were very sad that we didn't make it to the Superbowl this year, but at least we have something to look forward to next year.

GO NINERS!

Too Many Too Young

The last few years have been full of too many losses. I have written before about how difficult some of those have been. The kids have taken the loss of their friends particularly hard. Dallin lost a friend to a brain tumor and we lost a friend in our ward during an H1N1 outbreak. Taylor lost a friend after a long battle with brain cancer a few weeks ago. With each passing, it seems to compound the sadness. It's hard to explain situations that are so hard to understand. I am so grateful to have a full understanding of Heavenly Father's love and plan for us. This knowledge is the only real way to process this kind of grief.

We have tried to be supportive of the causes and fundraisers in memory of these wonderful kids. Here are the names of the foundations set up in honor of their beautiful lives.

Team Morgan

Wisdom Teeth

Dallin had his wisdom teeth out. He was not a big fan, although he actually did really well with little swelling. The first night someone from a group project at school called and begged him to help finish a project (even though he had already done his part). I told him to say no, but he was willing. He didn't want any pictures after the surgery, but I snapped this one while he was working on said project.

New Job

Well, it finally happened. I decided to go back to work. I've been on the fence about it for several years and it seemed like the right time. I found a part-time position in a family practice about 15 minutes away. I work 3 days a week and all except 2 hours are during school. I hope that it will be a good experience for all of us. I want the kids to see me doing something I love. Selfishly, it fulfills a part of my life I miss. Something that is only about me. It's hard to put into words, but most moms know what I am talking about. It's nice to walk into a room and only be known as Jen, the nurse practitioner. It's selfish "Me" time that actually makes money. What could be better?

I'm sure that this will cause some adjustments in our family and particularly my life. I still have to get all the same things done in less time, but with Dallin able to drive himself around it really helps. I also haven't practiced in many years and while all my licenses are current, the stress of getting my brain back up to speed will be tough. I'll make sure to write another post after the first few months, but for now... here we go!