It's hard being a baby girl!

We finally decided to go ahead and get Carri's ears pierced before she got too old for it to be a traumatic experience. Of course, she still thought it was a traumatic experience, but it's all behind her now, and she looks so adorable!

Oh the tortures brought on by big brothers! I had the kids in the bathtub together, and while my back was turned, Thorin decided to use my leg razor to shave the back of Carri's head. Her hair is supposed to be as long as that piece on the top. I'm thankful that nobody got hurt, but there go my dreams for a full pony tail any time soon!

Easter in sunny AZ!

We were able to spend Easter with Grandma Sandy and Grandpa in Arizona where we were able to wear shorts, play at the park, and go swimming! Carrigan loved being able to play outside for the first time, and she even took to walking with the help of a scooter.

On Easter morning we enjoyed watching the kids find their easter baskets which were hidden by the Easter Bunny. We then had a delicious breakfast and watched conference as a family. It was a perfect day.

Carrigan

Thorin

Jackson

Thank goodess my girl was actually born with some hair. This was my first attempt and anything more basic than a partial pony tail. It was so much fun!

The kids all got to have an egg hunt in Grandpa's backyard with their cousins. Fun!




Unfortunately, our trip had to end at some point, so we loaded up in the van and headed home. This was what our drive looked like for the majority of the drive. The roads were slick and it took almost 3 extra hours to get home! Needless to say, we all missed the warmth and sunshine in sunny AZ!

Teeth

Jackson's so grown up! He has now lost two bottom teeth and has a loose tooth on top.

Wow! The tooth fairy left a whole dollar! I think I only got a quarter when I was a kid.

New Year

It has been tradition in my family for as long as I can remember to stand outside at midnight and bang on pots and pans. This year we added poppers, crowns, and Martinellis as well as delicious chex mix to make our party complete.

Jackson, Grandma, Thorin, Linette, Liana, Ian

Yum!!
Who would have thought that any object you give to a baby would go straight into their mouth?

Love the snuggi there Mom!

Christmas

Merry Christmas! Better late than never right?

The Christmas Eve scene. We had to leave the bottom three rows of branches off the tree so some of the larger boxes could fit underneath.

I love this picture! Daddy and his little girl. (By the way, thanks to Aunt Julie who picked out those awesome pj's for Carrigan--the tutu is so cute!)

One of the non-blurry photos of Thorin...

Sing it with me....Transformers, robots in disguise! We thought it would be a fun new tradition to have one of the weekend nights become a family sleepover night complete with a campout in the living room, so both the boys got their own airbed/sleeping bag combo.

A Grandma Ann (G.G) tradition...the oh-so-warm fleece blanket!

Thorin's bed just had to be Disney's Cars. He wouldn't even notice it otherwise!

Despite all the photos of presents, we did try to make Christmas a little more meaningful. It was hard to get all the Santa hype out of the boy's heads, but it will stick some day! We love all our family and friends, and we're grateful for all you do! Thank you for helping us bring the christmas spirit into our home.

Halloween

The next few posts won't have the greatest pictures. I had lost my camera for a while, so all the pictures I took were lost with it. I have now found my camera, but with my incredible luck, have now lost the SD Card that is holding all those lovely photos. For now, all the posted photos were taken with my cell phone and are unfortunately few in number.

Little baby Carri in her halloween outfit. My baby girl is so cute!

Not for the first time, it seems I have neglected the blog! I haven't even put up the Halloween post yet, but not to worry! It's a project I hope to be tackling before Christmas gets here. I just had to do a quick post to share my excitement with everybody.....Thorin is now completely potty trained! He's been using the potty for the last several months, but it was just a few days ago that we took him out of his pull-ups and into "real big boy undies." You can't imagine my relief at having only one child now in diapers (to all you mothers out there-I know you understand), especially since we've been waiting for this for so long!! What a wonderful Christmas present!

An Evening Out

We had the chance to see Hale Center Theatre's production of The Scarlet Pimpernel a few weeks ago. I bought the tickets a whole year in advance. That's how excited I was to see this. I had always loved the movie, and had the chance to see it on broadway in L.A. on my senior year choir trip. Needless to say, I LOVED it...and Jeremy liked it to.

Labor Day Weekend

Jeremy's mom and Bob flew in last Wednesday night and stayed through the weekend until Monday. We had fun seeing them. It was their first time seeing little Carrigan, who took to her Grandma immediately!

Bob, Carrigan, Mom, Addi

We spent Friday night at our condo in Jeremy Ranch where Addi was the perfect little mommy to Carrigan. She even helped give her a bath.
Addi was so good at putting Carrigan to sleep, she fell asleep herself!

Chris and his amazing baby handling skills. Despite all his protests, he's a natural!

On Saturday night, we were able to go to Jake's improv show at the Empress theater in Magna. He and his troop are hilarious! Good job Jake!

We took a nice Sunday drive to Cascade Springs. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks in the stream.

Finding the fishies.

Jackson

Jeremy, Bob, Jackson

Addi and Thorin

Hiking up the stairs.

Our family. It was almost a year ago that we took a family picture in this same spot!

First Day of School

Jackson's first day of Kindergarten was on August 31st. He said he wasn't very excited because he went to school last year, but he was happy that his cousin, Ronan, is in his class with him.

We got Jackson a new backpack this year, so Thorin had to get one too. He wears it every day so he can be just like Jackson.

Thorin, Jackson, Ronan, and Alyssa after the first day of school ended.

To celebrate surviving the first day, we had a picnic lunch at one of our favorite parks.