Visit to Utah

Mike had to go to Salt Lake for simulator training so we tagged along for the weekend. The kids loved Grandma Janet's new house, especially the leaves.

Katie would have stayed out there all day if we had let her.

We went to Gardner village with Kathy and her family. The petting zoo was our favorite part.

Katie got her face painted. This is one of the best face paintings I have ever seen. She told the lady painting her that she was an artist so she liked to have her face painted. She didn't want to wash it off.

It was so nice to see our families. I was able to spend some time with my mom and my sister and her family as well as Mike's mom and his brother. Gordy and I have birthday's a week apart. Mike's mom made a big dinner for all of us to celebrate. She also made three different kinds of pies and with the help of a little girl, a cake. Everything was amazing! Thanks Janet!
Chocolate goatees must be hereditary because I had one for most of my childhood as well.

Balloon Fiesta!

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to go to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We have been wanting to go to this for quite a while so we were so happy we finally had the chance. Mike's mom was in town and we have been wanting to take her to Santa Fe so we were able to do both. Despite losing his hand, Tommy was thrilled to be at the Fiesta. (He later found it in his sleeve)

Katie was equally excited to be there.

These bee balloons were my favorite. They flew together for a while and then separated. We really had a great time and I'm so glad we got to go.

On the way back home (sort of) we stopped in Santa Fe. Mike and I love the food there and Janet has been wanting to see The Miracle Staircase at Laredo Chapel. It really is worth seeing. It has been featured on Unsolved Mysteries and has a great story.When you ask your kids for help, do they say yes right away and wear a big happy smile the whole time? Mine neither.

Actually, we didn't even ask them to help. Mike was painting the deck and they really wanted to help. They did a great job. I feel bad for underestimating their abilities because they did so well. The next day, they said, "we'll be out raking leaves if you need us". What good kids.

New hobbies

My new hobby? Dressing the kids up and taking their picture. (Actually we were just going to church and I took their picture but I'm trying to stick to the theme here)

The kids' new hobby? Piling stuff up around the house. They asked if they could put all of the stuffed animals in a pile in the office. I made them promise that they would put them away when they were done. I had them sign a contract in front of a notary and offer up all of their possessions as collateral. They actually cleaned up afterward. I'm not as hopeful about this pile of blankets behind me right now.

Mike has three friends deployed right now. The kids and I made them some cookies. They almost got an ever bigger surprise.

Tommy's new dream hobby? Beekeeping. Our neighbors discovered this swarm of bees on a small bush in front of their house the day they were leaving town. They tried calling pest control but they said they couldn't get their until after the weekend. Mike found a beekeeper online and gave him a call. He was very grateful and came out the next morning. We all got to watch him and his wife vacuum up the bees. It was so interesting. The thing I really love about Mike is that he is knowledgeable about so many different topics. He was able to ask so many great questions of the beekeepers. They estimated that there were 10,000 bees in this swarm.

So after all this, Tommy keeps asking us to order a package of bees. He watches every beekeeping related video on Youtube. I feel confident that I could install a bee package now after watching it 100 times. Don't get me wrong, it would still freak me out. We actually like our neighbors and Mike's bee allergic mother so I don't think we will be starting this hobby anytime soon. But who knows.......

Rocketing is a new hobby for the whole family. If you haven't seen the movie October Sky yet, you need to. It is so great. Tommy loved it. The kids are really excited about this. Another great thing about Mike is he really likes to support local businesses. He found a rocket shop in town. It was pretty amazing. The kids (all three of them) had a great time looking around. This was our first attempt.

Is Katie doing some kind of Egyptian dance for luck?

It was a windy day, but the launch was successful. Oh, except for the devastating explosion.

That's OK, it's just the first try. The kids are pretty reluctant to let Mike launch their rockets though. I have to keep telling them that's what rockets are for. Up next, the Saturn V, which is the model of rocket the Apollo astronauts used to go to the moon.

Puzzle building is a constant hobby. So is this face Katie is making.

Even the puppy has a new hobby.

He figures just a few more rolls in the mud and he will look just like this...

Happy Birthday Tommy & Katie

We celebrated Tommy and Katie's birthdays with a combined party with friends. Since their birthdays are two days apart, we will be raising them as twins, at least until they complain. Actually they complained this year so this may be the last joint party.

No party is complete without full contact games of some kind.

The kids really liked it when Mike chased them around and threw a ball as hard as he could at them. (Next year we'll be asking guests to sign waivers)

The jumpy jump is always a big hit. Turns out five kids is the maximum.

Tommy kept taking time out of his rough play to pose for pictures. I usually have to force him to pose so this was a treat.

In years past we have made special half and half cakes, Little Mermaid meets Darth Vader, etc. This year Katie picked out a little cake with flowers. She said she didn't want any people on her cake.

Tommy went for Transformers.

OK, I asked Mike to take pictures of the present opening while I wrote down what was given. Here's THE picture he took. Great job, sweetie! I guess Tommy will just have to take our word for it that he received presents.

Who doesn't love a pinata? Again, I would like to apologize to the parents for the obscene amount of candy. I guess you're not required to fill the thing to the top. Who knew?

Without sight is a challenge, but without air? Now that's a challenge!

I just hope everyone had a great time. I know this little girl did.