Happy B-day to Me!

Roger wanted to know what I wanted to do for my birthday (my first annual 29th that is), and since the Rexburg Temple dedication was fresh on my mind, I told him I wanted to go to Rexburg. He was thrilled =) My mom watched the kids (thanks again mom - tending in the best b-day present any mom could recieve) so Rog and I could see the new temple and check out my old stomping grounds. The temple is beautiful. Rexburg was just as I remembered it. It hasn't changed as much as I had expected. I can't believe I lived there for almost two years. It seems like it never happened. Time goes by sooooo fast. Rog and I have been talking about time a lot lately since we are both getting so old. I keep telling him, "Time goes by so fast, pretty soon we will be dead" :) We've got to live it up while we can.

Winter PlaygRoundy

Jaelyn has asked if we could go to the playground countless times during the last few weeks. The kids and I are getting sick of waiting for it to get warm, so we just bundled up and headed out. It turned out to be a nice day. Jaelyn kept saying, "I'm sweaty" :) I usually get carried away with the snow clothes. My kids are both such warm bodies. I freeze and they sweat?!?! We had fun and can't wait to go more often (without the boots and gloves).

Happy Valentines Day!

Every Valentines Day, Jaelyn dresses each of us in our finest attire and we gather for a tea party. Jaelyn was a great hostess. She served sugar cookies, cup cakes and "sunshine" lemonade.

Roger is so vain. He deleted a pic I had here of he and Jaelyn at the tea party. He didn't think that he looked pretty enough, so therefore Jae didn't get her picture on the blog. Sorry J. I will have to go private and not invite Rog :) Party Pooper!

Mackay has to have his own tea pot because he loves to pour his own drink.

Earlier Mackay was enjoying the weather outside. We love (only because it is Valentines Day) the snow, but we are looking forward to mowing the lawn and planting flowers. Thank goodness we have 4 seasons, because by the end of another blistering summer, we will yet again
be looking forward to the snow.

(Tricia- I know you don't like animals, so you can just skip this part :)
This is Alice. Super cat. Half dog. She just burrowed into the snow and rolled and flipped around. We just watch her and laugh. She is so playful and mild mannered. Unlike Mackay :)
We gave her a bath the day before she did this. Why bath a cat you ask? Alice jumped up on the toilet and fell in - Jaelyn hadn't flushed. So, Alice got a bath and surprisingly enough, she seemed to enjoy it. I don't even have any claw marks to show for bathing a cat.

Smile!

Just some things that make me smile.
We were all at the dentist's office a few days ago. The receptionist was entertaining Jaelyn with a game on her computer. She asked Jaelyn, "Who made you so cute? Was it your mom or your dad?" Jaelyn quickly and simply answered, "It was Heavenly Father". She is such a smart cookie, but also a silly one.
Another conversation that we have frequently that makes me smile is Jaelyn's idea of what 'big girls' can do. She will say, "When I'm a big girl, I can use sharp knives." She thought that being 4 meant she was a big girl. She has advanced from never being allowed to touch sharp knives to helping her dad put them away in the wood block when they empty the dishwasher. We couldn't be more proud of her :)
Mackay has started bringing on more smiles and less shock. He is a little devil that growls at everyone including the cute old lady in the grocery store that smiles at him. I have gotten past the point of being embarrassed and just started smiling. He is his own little man and has such a cute little voice. He loves the movie, Cars and we are all so entertained when he says,
'Liting Queen" and "Tracor tippin".
I don't know why I posted this silly information, but my guess is, it will be for posterity.

What a Week!

What a week we have had.
The main event of the week was the passing of our prophet. What a great man! What a great life! We will miss his humor, his loving inspiration and his inspiring words.
Until we meet again President Hinkley. We will miss you.

________________________________________________________________________



This week is what we call, our "Birthday Week". Mackay and Jaelyn get to celebrate their birthday's in the same week.
Mackay turned 2 - look out!!!

This is a picture of a tradition at our house. My mom always did this for me and I loved it, so I wanted to pass it onto my kids. I put pics of them up on our bay window. The kids love to see themselves as babies and I really enjoy doing it too. It is fun to look back through the pictures and see how much they have grown.






Mackay is really into Cars (the movie). He carries a Lightening McQueen car around with him everywhere he goes, and always asks to watch, 'car show'. He was excited to see his cake and add Mater and Sally to his collection of Cars.









It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

We also went to California. Roger had a meeting he had to be at on Friday, so we decided to go with him. This is Jaelyn's 7th visit and Mackay's 5th. 65 degrees felt really nice.

Mackay loves Pluto. He even kissed him on the nose. Mackay surprised us in Disneyland. He was actually patient while waiting in line and only had 2 'down on the floor' tantrums the entire trip. Maybe he will have the terrific two's instead of the terrible two's - we can dream can't we.
This was their bed at the hotel where we stayed. They loved it. We loved it. It was a good price for a suite, and nice for the kids to have their own beds (it was also nice to have a Cheesecake Factory next door). We stayed at a hotel in SLC last week and had the kids sleep in the same bed. It didn't work!!
Roger left the three of us at Disneyland on Thursday so he could work. The kids were great and the park wasn't busy at all, but Jaelyn eventually pooped out and this is how we ended the day. One umbrella stroller for 2 big kids - Mackay didn't mind, but Jaelyn didn't know whether she would rather ride or walk.
Chilling out with their favorite treat. CHURROS!!! I usually have to bribe them with churros when we go into Costco or Sam's. I wish they were the same price at Disneyland.





We came home just in time for Jaelyn's 4th birthday party. She invited Riley, Max, Carter and Megan to go sledding. They had a great time. The snow was fresh and it was relatively warm. Mackay rode up front on the snowmobile with Roger to pull the kids up the hill.

After sledding we met at our house for cake and ice cream. Here are the cute kids. (Notice that the girls couldn't wait to dress up). Riley, Jaelyn, Megan, Carter and Max.
SUCH CUTE KIDS!!!

Grandma Frank made this treeco (is that how you spell it?) night gown for Jaelyn. My mom has made these for all the grandkids over the years, and they all love them. They are so soft and cozy, and so fun to spin around in.
I had a pair of these stompers (homemade with cups and string) when I was a kid, so I thought they might be fun.

Aunt Marla made this Barbie cake for Jaelyn for Sunday dinner. . It was so cute and Jaelyn couldn't wait to get the Barbie out.



We had a very busy, fun, exciting and emotional week. We are so glad that we get to share this life with each other and with family and friends. Thanks everyone. We love you.