Walking Man!

Dec. 22
He was just starting to try and let go of furniture.


Dec. 26th
The walking lion was James favorite toy this Christmas and he doesn't like anything to get in the way of his lion. I know I should have stopped him from running down Lila, but it was so cute! Sorry Lila.

Jan. 10

Temple Square

I have always loved to go to Temple Square. I remember visitng as a kid and being blown away by the beauty of the temple. the next time I remember being there was with some friends my freshman year of school. Then I was able to get married in this beautiful building almost ten years ago. They always do such a wonderful job of decorating for Christmas. I love the lights in the reflection pool and the nativity scene with life-like wax figures. Kenny liked the "big Jesus" (the Christus for those who need a translation). I am glad we made a point to go see the square even if it was FREEZING cold!!

Candlelight Christmas at This Is The Place Park

The babies James and Lila at dinner before heading to the park.

We went to This Is The Palce Park on night to enjoy a littel Christmas cheer pioneer style. The entire park has restored house and people acting out the parts of people from the mid-1800s. We didn't have a ton of time so we just hit the highlights (train, Santa, reindeer). Of course we rode a little train around to a few of the parts, which was a highlight for the boys. It was a lot of fun. Everyone around use was in such a joyous mood and the entire train sang carols while riding around.

We got to see Father Christmas and his reindeer.
We ended the night with a cup of hot chocolate and three sleepy little kids.

Random Christmas Pics

No, we did not jump off the face of the eart. We spent the holidays in Utah. We left as soon as school was on in DEcember and got back this last Sunday. It took us 33 hours (counting stops for food, restrooms, and gas) to get there. But it was worth every minute. The boys are great travelers and we had such a WONDERFUL time! I have lots of pictures, so I will post them in chunkcs. Here is just a random sampling of our first day or so there.

The first is James in the hotel room. He had a marvelous time exploring a new place. And of course he learned to walk while we were gone. I have a video I need to get off the camera to post. He is still pretty shaky but he improves everyday.
Have you ever seen the movie "A Christmas Story" with the little boy who wants the bb gun. Remember the little brother who the mom dresses for school in a red snowsuit and he whines about a little problem he has with his clothing.

Poor James..."I can't put my arms down!" Little guy kept trying to roll over and he looked like the most adorable flopping around red slug you ever saw!


The "big boys" as we call them had a great time in the snow. Nathan was particularly fond of eating the snow.





And last, but not least, Kenny lost two teeth in one day right before Christmas. Can we say "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth?"

Let it Snow! Let it snow! Let it Snow!

Two records were broken yesterday. This is the earliest snowfall in our area and the only time it has snowed two years in a row. It happened while I was at school and I have some great pictures of my students with snow in their hair and rosy little cheeks, but of course I can't post them.We had an inch or two of accumulation at my school. And the snow kept falling off and on all day. I know you northerners think snow...big deal. Well, 'round here in coastal Texas snow is a big deal!
We had a few things to do at Walmart so we bundled up and headed out into the cold. When we woke up this morning it was 23 degrees!

Good Food and Family...The Perfect Combination

Ken's grilled turkey was wonderful! I never knew you could grill such a large bird. It had a traditional thanksgiving seasonings rub mixed with a smokey, charcoal flavor. Yum!!