Pure Bliss

is...

Finally having warm enough weather for the kids to enjoy playing

outside after months of being cooped up indoors.

Laughing with Megan.
Man - who is that annoying person laughing in the background?
I only want to hear Megan laughing :)

Having John home today on President's Day for the first time since our college years!

Valentines chocolates. mmmmm.

We also spent Valentines Day checking out the eagles out in Farmington Bay. If you look really close, there is a small black blob behind us to the right. Yup, an eagle. Don't Fret if you can't see it...

And best of all - Today we're finally getting around to our valentine's sugar cookies. Bring on the sugar overload!

Blessing Day

We decided to buck tradition this time and do a low-key blessing day. Why did it take 4 kids to figure this out? I remember wondering at our last baby blessing for Natalie why the one who just had a baby was cleaning house, planning a meal, etc. for the big day. We decided to forgo any meal and attended all our church meetings after the blessing. It was gloriously relaxing.

It was a beautiful blessing and I was reminded of how lucky I am to have such special children. I like to think that my dad got to be a part of the special event.

Yes, that is a plant growing out of my head. Don't fret,
I had it removed shortly after the picture was taken.

Classic Motherhood Moment

Gotta love these moments...

Last night at dinner time I was trying to tame a pot of boiling water filled with pasta while holding my crying/hungry baby. Meanwhile, Natalie was upstairs screaming for my help because her pants drawer wouldn't open and I was listening (okay - half listening) to Alicia read her chapter book out loud.

Usually John is home by then to help with the chaos, but he was helping me out by picking up my latest acquisition..



My first ever double stroller!! I got a great deal on ksl.com. You'd think I would have purchased one of these beasts before now, but amazingly I made do with my double bike trailer/stroller, or just waited until John came home to push a 2nd stroller.

These are the two lucky ones who get to be
strapped into the contraption.

Just Asking for Another Broken Back

Even after John's broken back incident sledding a few years ago, we still enjoy going sledding (Don't ask him about how sore his back is though). We found another great sledding hill in Bountiful.

It was a very long hill...

Which made for a very tiring walk up.
Natalie insisted on sledding down by herself, so John hiked her
down about halfway so she could go on her own.

Can't beat the view.

Word on the Street...

If you've heard the word on the street...I am here to officially declare the word true. John will be finishing up with Orbit Medical on Friday, February 12th and starting a new job programming software for the Air Force's solar telescope network projects at Hill Air Force Base on Monday, February 15th. Might I say his commute will be *ideal*...a mere 15 minutes from our house. Need I say more?

Wait, I did think of something. All those government paid holidays I didn't even know existed. Nice :)

What? Bangs aren't in style anymore? Perfect...

Thanks to some magic scissors Natalie came across,
she no longer has any bangs.
Stylin', huh?

New Year's Fun

This year for New Year's Eve we went to a party that included an invigorating game of dodge ball. Nothing like playing a game that kills two birds with one stone...1) Fun and 2) Sheds those party treat pounds.

A few other tidbits:

John was flying his bird the other day, and while John was turned getting some food for Orion, he flew on top of his head. In the process, he left his signature on John's head. Nothing like cleaning bird crap out of your hair.


Also, I have cause to celebrate today because the two oldest girls have gone back to school. I have my sanity back (mostly)! The two youngest were being so cute other than cleaning up a few incidents from Natalie (cookie dough munched into the carpet, pieces of Alicia's pictures she had sitting out cut up into pieces, and a broken cd player).

Natalie was so excited to have Megan's fingers wrapped around
her finger. Megan actually looks pleased herself :)

Here Megan is playing with her lady bug friend. She was fascinated!