We are a Happy Family....

Lately our family has seemed to come to life again after a grumpy winter's hibernation. (Well, speaking for myself at least) We are singing more, enjoying the sunshine, staying up later, I'm attempting to cook more, read more, laugh more... you get the idea. I was driving in the car yesterday and singing at the top of my lungs to a CD and looked back to find Noelle and Corom dancing along. "This is the life," I thought to myself. What a happy bunch we have been lately. I have been thinking about what the difference could be. I realized quickly that it is me...my attitude and mood that affect my family. Happiness for me is a choice and I have chosen lately to be more pleasant to be around and it seems to really rub off on my kids. We have been having so much fun! It is has been a busy week. Here are some of the highlights...enjoy!

We have completed a year of co-op preschool. Here we are last night at our year-end show and party. The kids performed all that they have learned this year. So cute! 

Our little preschool girl with Holly

I was changing my sheets and the kids got a hold of my down comforter. They played with it for entire morning!

What a great feeling-rolling around on a feather blanket!

Memorial Day Fun!

What a fun weekend we had! Two of Dan's classmates are married to sisters. The families invited us to vacation with them at their cabin in Scofield for the weekend. (Central Utah in the mountains above Price) Yup, the cabin is in the middle of nowhere, but a very, very gorgeous nowhere! It was the first time that either of us had gone south of Provo, so we were excited to explore the vast farm lands and then beautiful mountain landscapes that are so different then Salt Lake. As we approached the cabin we tackled the muddy roads and had some fun seeing what our car was capable of. We enjoyed a weekend of good company, relaxation, church in a little tiny mining town and four-wheeler rides through the muddy trails. It is so refreshing to get away. It really just lit a traveling fire inside of me. I'm eager to explore our surroundings! (Before the baby comes and we are home for awhile) We ended the trip by taking a drive down to Manti to see the temple. As you approach Manti, you drive into an old farm town with an amazing temple located on a hill. I guess it was completed before the Salt Lake temple, making it one of the 3 oldest temples in Utah. Hope you all had an opportunity to play and relax as well!

Noelle on the grounds of the Manti Temple

Corom loved being outside. This one is also taken at the temple

Taken at Electric lake. Yup, I am looking really pregnant!

SOOOO FUN!

I am bummed we didn't get a picture of when all four of us went for a ride. Corom fell asleep on my back as Dan and Noelle drove. I now have an ATV on my wish list!

Is this not the most gorgeous temple that you've ever seen? The sky was so blue and it appeared to be just barely over head. It is so much of how I picture heaven looking like! And to think it rises above a small farming community!

Callie and Brian come to visit....

What a weekend we had (see also the post below)... so action-packed! My sister Callie and her husband Brian flew in on Saturday from Phoenix for a short weekend. We met up with them on Sunday at the Shirleys and were lucky enough to steal Callie away for the night. Monday was her birthday and we celebrated with a waffle breakfast (Noelle's favorite), a little shopping and some play time at the park. We were all so pooped from the weekend, but Callie was gracious enough to just relax with us. We had a really quiet day. That evening Brian met up with us for dinner here at our house. So wonderful to see them! Callie is now 20 weeks along and I am 23. We are so sad to think that this may be the only time that we will see each other during our pregnancies as travels are so hard to do these days. (She is itty-bitty I might add!) Happy Birthday Callie! It was so fun to have you here! I wish I had taken more pictures- I really goofed and only took a few!

PARK CITY get-away...

On Wednesday, we took a short (half hour) drive up to Park City for a much-needed and highly anticipated weekend away. Dan's parents arranged for a condo for the weekend. We drove up on Wednesday and then they flew in from Sacramento and met up with us on Thursday. What a beautiful place! They extent of my Park City ventures had just been to the outlets. I really hadn't experienced the beauty that is such a short drive from our house. We spent the weekend relaxing. Deb and Richard spent the weekend pampering us by playing with our kids! We all shopped, ate out to some yummy restaurants, went to a brand-new nature preserve in Park City and hiked around and had a picnic up at Jordanelle State Park. On Friday night Dan and I went out on a date. (Yup, you heard that right- we never get out alone!) We did dinner and went to see Angels and Demons. After returning to Salt Lake, we spent a night out at the Gateway and on Sunday the Shirley clan (John and April) hosted us all to dinner! Thanks to Deb and Richard for a wonderful weekend. We had a blast!

Tami and Noelle at the Swaner Eco Center

Noelle calls these her "wishes"

Corom and Papa exploring the "wishes"

We came across this brand new Swaner Ecocenter in Park City

Papa with his grandkids

Our hike up at Jordanelle State Park

Crazy Corom!

He is getting so big and oh-so independent! 

Noelle playing with her Nana

Noelle playing at the condo

Noelle's Famous!!!

Dan's dad has been submitting pictures to the Sacramento Bee since Noelle was a baby with the hope that she would one day be published. Well this week she made it in the paper! Yeah for Papa! This picture was taken at Fairy Tale Town. Tonight she said to Dan and I, "When I went to Egypt, wait what was that place called? Oh yah, Fairy Tale Town... with Nana and Papa." Our neighbors are from Egypt- I suppose that's the connection. She's a funny kid!

What have we been up to?

I'm finally signing in to update my blog. It's been awhile since I've sat down to really fill you all in on our lives. Today marks the 22nd week of this pregnancy. Amazing to note that I am as pregnant looking now as I was towards the end of my 1st pregnancy. My body keeps saying, "Crazy lady! You just did this a year ago!" Despite my expanding belly, we are enjoying life and looking forward to having a baby by the end of the summer. (Yikes!) The weather has been gorgeous! Most days we go outside in the morning for the kids to play on the playground, go inside for lunch and Corom's nap and return outside to enjoy the sunshine again the afternoon with all the mommas on lawn chairs and the kids playing. Could life get any better? I swear I do get stuff done, we are just all so much happier outside than inside the house. Life is so busy, but so relaxing these days. I have to remind myself that we won't always live lives without alot of outside pressures. I know someday the demands of extra-curriculars and homework will replace our lazy days on the playground!

Dan completed finals this week and has a week off of school before returning to an intense summer term and internship out in Utah County. We love having him home! He is in the process of training for a 69 mile bike race that will be held in June. Needless to say, he is putting miles on his bike while off of school. This week his parents will fly into town and we will all go for a short getaway. (Relaxing, swimming, etc.) 

We are all surprised by how much Corom has taken off. He is a maniac! He has so much energy- way more than Noelle ever did at this age. (Though she has it now) He is climbing, running and playing really hard. Since he has started walking, he sleeps 12 hours at night and takes a morning and an afternoon nap. (Can you believe it?) He loves balls and cars and sitting on Noelle. We catch him all the time with his leg in the air trying to climb over things or on things. I was putting Noelle's shoes on after gymnastics and looked up to find he was gone. He had run to the other side of the building and I found him laughing in the bathroom. He is so fast! We are enjoying this phase- he is so fun to be around and almost always in good spirits! Noelle is still doing preschool (joyschool) 2 days a week and gymnastics. She is quite the busy girl! We laugh because people are always commenting on how shy she is, when at home she talks from the second she wakes up until long after we put her to bed. When she not talking, she's singing or insisting on "doing things herself" or "helping". This is also a fun age! There is never a dull moment with these children around! 

Corom loves to get in on the action- 1st Duncan bumbed into him, then Noelle slid into both of them! He is going to get tough really fast around here! 

Noelle just loves to play with Duncan!

Dan was having some fun with the camera! Here is our little man- isn't he getting big?

Spring Cleaning

My husband is a trooper! When we moved in to this apartment, all of our garage items (camping gear, ice chest, bikes, etc.) had to find a space in our closets. AHHHHH! This has made me just about go crazy. I hate living on top of stuff. It is so hard to keep organized. So, finally this week I found a storage shed pretty much down the street from us. I made my big to-go pile in our living room and then watched Dan do all of the work of lifting and toting to the shed. Pregnant me- I can't do the lifting that I would normally do. I must say our closets look FABULOUS! I now feel like we can move our new baby into Corom's room. Gone is the luggage, baby swing, excersaucer, etc. that has been filling his closet! YIPEE! Thank you to family for helping us with this cost and thanks to Dan for doing all of the labor. Spring has sprung here in our home!