Where did the last year go?

Okay.  So I have been a blog slacker and apparently have lost the last year.  The kids are getting older.  Sam turned seven in April and just started second grade.  Kelsie just turned four and is obsessed with dinosaurs.  She is a new dinosaur every day and gets upset if you don't call her the correct title (mud spinosaurus, whysaurus, etc).

Here are a few pics of the girls...

Samantha lost her first tooth a few months ago.  We made her a tooth pillow to put the tooth in for the tooth fairy.  And it worked.  She got a shiny gold dollar the next morning.

I'll try to do better at posting...but no guarantees.

"Happy Birthday to You!"

Today was Samantha's sixth birthday. It's hard to believe she's been part of our family for 6 years already. She is happy and sweet, loves to help her sister and parents, remembers all sorts of things that surprise us, is curious, funny, has an impressive vocabulary, and is a wonderful friend. She is sensitive, beautiful, and gives the best hugs. I love to hear her say that she loves me and it brightens my day to see her smile. Happy birthday, Sweetheart!

Sam wanted a puppy cake for her birthday. So this is what she got. I didn't show her how it turned out until it was time for the cake. On our way home, I told her it didn't turn out looking much like a dog and kind of looked like a tractor. Why a tractor? First random thought that popped into my head. She even told me it was okay, that maybe a tractor would be alright. Cute.

Sam asked for a bike. Matt came through and wheeled out this beauty with balloons tied to the handlebars. Sam jumped right on it, gave her daddy a hug and said, "Best birthday ever!" Go, Dadddy, go!

Happy birthday, Samantha!

A Saturday of Sledding

On Saturday, we took Sam and Kelsie to go sledding with their cousins. This was their second time going sledding...ever. My girls are snow-loving kiddos. I frequently have to ask Sam to stop eating snow. She just loves the stuff. Now, Sam has always been a little hesitant to try things that require much bravery, but she has really taken to sledding. She'll grab a sled and be down the hill before I can even ask her if she's ready. And then there's Kelsie. She is way worse. At one point, Matt set down the sled at the top of the hill while he went to check on our niece. As soon as Kelsie saw a vacant sled in "starting position", she was on it and starting to gather momentum down the slope. Fortunately, I managed to dive and grab the sled (sacrificing my knees in the process). Matt and his oldest nephew had the idea to build a jump on the hill, which led to a few runs where we got some air. A fun day, and not nearly as cold as the 4 degrees the previous weekend with the Provo cousins.

Sam with Hailey at the top of the hill

Kelsie going down the hill with Mommy

Saying "cheeeeese!" for Aunt Carrie

Sledding in the Superman style...no hands...she's flying!

Kelsie going down the hill all by herself

And loving it!

Mommy and the girls all ready to go

Matt getting some sweet air over the jump

Merry Christmas with Love

A free ecard by Smilebox

On the Move

What have we been up to lately? Here are a few hints.

We've been packing, driving, unpacking, and just generally trying to get settled in Utah. Matt is going to be going back to school at Weber State to go through their nursing program, so we've moved to the Beehive State. I'm going to be teaching fourth grade in Herriman at a pretty new school. It's all exciting and stressful at the same time.

Sam is still a bit sad about leaving her friends in San Jose (we all are a little bummed about it), but is making new friends in Primary at our new ward. Plus, she'll be starting Kindergarten in about a month and a half and will find plenty of friends in her class. Fortunately, we are able to keep in contact with her San Jose friends, too. So, for her San Jose friends, here she is singing one of her Charlie and the Chocolate Factory favorites: "Veruca Salt".

The Big Scary Cake

So this past weekend, my little sister Ashley got married and she had asked me (read: told me) to make her wedding cake for her. Now, I like to cook and decorate cakes, but a wedding cake is different. It's huge, fancy, and presented in front of potentially hundreds of people. I was terrified of making this beast. I baked all of the cakes, made all the frosting, fillings, and fondant and got ready to tackle this. She requested a three-tier cake--bottom layer was lemon, middle was chocolate, and top layer was white with a cheesecake layer inside. All of this was to be covered with fondant. At first, she wanted white and navy blue designs on all the tiers. I talked her down to a simple white cake with white designs on it. Now, I was feeling better, but then I stacked the layers together and the bottom tier was HUGE--6 inches tall, 14 inches across, and about 30 pounds. Scared again. So I continued this stressed, scared, worries cycle all throughout the construction of this beast. I finished it about 30 minutes into the reception and we walked it out to the reception area. It felt great to set it on the table and be done. I thought it was cute...and delicious. Mission complete. A big "WHEW"!

A Berry Good Day

This morning, we loaded up the car and drove over to Watsonville to visit a berry farm. We went to Gizdich Ranch to pick strawberries and olallieberries (kind of like a blackberry). The girls had alot of fun. Kelsie preferred picking the strawberries and Sam was really good with the olallieberries. Kelsie wanted to pick everything that was even a little bit reddish, so I got to chase after her and refocus her on riper fruit. Sam would race ahead and come jogging back to show us the great berries she picked. Everything got added to the box and we brought home about 7 pounds of fruit. We enjoyed ourselves and we bought an olallieberry pie to bring home with us from their pie shop. Looking forward to trying it tomorrow.



On our way home from Watsonville, we stopped by Gilroy Gardens to get further use from our season passes. The girls (mostly Sam) were very excited about playing in the water splashing area. Last time we were there, we didn't have swimming suits for the girls, so Sam didn't get to try out the water slide they have there. This time, we were prepared. Sam was getting wet and cruising down the waterslide, but Kelsie decided to be water-phobic and just hung out with me.

One of these things is not like the other: Sam is getting wet and Kelsie is trying to get the camera from me. She really wanted it. Imagine the following conversation (which really was imagined, because she is not nearly this articilulate): 1.) "Mommy, could I please hold the camera?" she asked while cozying up to her mother. "No sweetheart, it's not for you," mom replied. 2.) "But Mommy, I need it!", Kelsie begged while reaching to grab the camera. "Sorry sweetie, I'm using it right now." 3.) "Aaaahhh! Give me the camera!" she screamed persuasively. "Fine. Here," Mom resigned. 4.) "Thank you mommy! Was that so hard?"