Sledding

Aaron took Kaya sledding today. This was only the 2nd time that she has been sledding. The first time she was probably only 19 months old and didn't know what to make of it. This time, she REALLY enjoyed herself as you can see in the video below:

Flashback Friday - Happy Birthday Joshua!!

Today is Joshua's 19th birthday. So in honor of Uncle Joshy, we dedicate this Flashback Friday to you. Joshua is Heather's youngest brother. Kaya & Logan loved having Uncle Josh in Utah for a semester going to school. Logan often sees young men Joshua's age/size and he thinks it's Josh. Joshua is the musical one in the family and has been blessed with lots of talents. We all think he's spoiled but he's grown up from a squeaky little kid to a handsome young man. We hope you have a great birthday!!

Did you know???

Do you know about green M&M's? A women came into the grocery store the other day and purchased a Mylar balloon that said "I Love You", 3 green helium balloons (That didn't even match the mylar balloon) and a bag of green M&M's. (Yes - They sell bags of only green M&M's for Valentine's Day) As it turns out, she was on her way to pick up her husband at the airport who was returning from serving 11 months in Afghanistan. Apparently, she was going to pick him up and head straight to a hotel for the night. (They have 10 kids at home!!! - We're they hoping for #11?) Anyhow - some of the clerks were a little confused about the green balloons and green M&M's. I vaguely remembered something about green M&M's from high school. I thought it would be interesting to see what I could find on the legend and share it with you. Here's a quick history:

"Green M&M's have long been the subject of myth as they are considered, by some, to have magical aphrodisiac powers. As to whether or not this is true is, of course, subject to interpretation. Curious as to how this myth may have occurred, we did a little research and learned the following fun facts about the color Green. According to Celtic myths, the Green Man was the God of Fertility. Green has long been considered a metaphor and symbol for fertility and this was evident in the fifteenth (15th) century as Green was the preferred color for wedding attire. The symbolism attached to the color Green continues today even though it has taken on a more modern meaning. The myth per Green M&M's was fueled in the late seventies and early eighties, as rock and roll performers , such as Van Halen, requested bowls of Green M&M's backstage. Adding to this myth, Masterfoods, in 1996, released a commercial asking "Is it true what they say about green ones?" There is no empirical evidence as to whether or not these fabled candies have magical powers but we do know that they taste great and are part of Americana candy lore."

Flashback Friday & Guilt

This week's Flashback Friday picture was taken the day after Logan was born - not quite 17 months ago. It seems like just yesterday. Here's the guilt part: I have yet to scrapbook any of my pictures since Logan has been born. I actually stopped shortly after Kaya was about 6 months old. I just got busy. In my defense, since then I have scrapbooked 50+ years worth of pictures for my Mom & Dad and scanned over 700 slides for Aaron's parents. So I have been productively preserving history, just not in my own family. For Christmas I got a Cricut (2 of them actually). I have only managed to open the box so far. It's sitting in the Laundry room waiting for me to use it each time I walk by with a load of laundry. Since we found out that we're pregnant, I have been mentally making a check list of things to be done before the baby comes. One of them is to get Logan's scrapbook going. I also need to get Kaya's current. At least I have been good about keeping the baby books current. Now that I'm starting to get past the feeling sick part of being pregnant, it's time to get started on getting things done. Wish me luck!!

It's Official...We're Having a Baby!!

For those that don’t already know….we are expecting an addition to our family around August 7th. Heather went to the doctor today and everything is right on track. We were able to hear the heartbeat and see baby on the ultrasound. Baby isn’t much to look at yet….but it was still fun to see. We are thankful there is only one little one in there. Kaya is pretty insistent that she’s getting a baby sister. We just tell her she’ll have to wait and see. We might actually let ourselves be surprised with the sex of the baby this time. We haven't decided yet. We’ll keep you posted as “production” progresses.

Futuristic Friday

We usually like to do a "Flashback Friday" and yet today we actually have a "Futuristic Friday". Aaron's brother, Nick, took a picture of Aaron & Nick and did his magic to make it look like they have aged about 40 years. This is pretty funny and quite realistic looking. I have included the original picture for you to compare. Aaron's nose got bigger. Is that something that happens with old age? Enjoy the pictures:

Our Little Sunbeam

Yesterday at church, Kaya moved up to the Sunbeam class. She has been so excited to be a Sunbeam with her friends. (This is the class for kids turning 4 during the year) She was such a big girl and didn't even miss going to the nursery. She is getting so big that it's hard to believe sometimes. I often wonder how our parents must feel as we grow up, get married, and move on. Thank goodness for pictures, scrapbooks, and memories!

Aaron & Heather's Trip To Denver

For Christmas, Heather gave Aaron 2 tickets to watch the Minnesota Vikings play the Denver Bronco's at Mile High Stadium in Denver. She booked flights, arranged a hotel, and transportation in order to surprise Aaron on Christmas morning with tickets to watch his favorite football team play in person. We got home from CA on Saturday night and left for Denver first thing Sunday morning. We were there just over 24 hours. We went to the game, made a stop for guitar pins & food at the Hard Rock Cafe, took a tour of the Denver Mint, took pictures around Denver, and hung out with Aaron's brother, Nick, who lives in Boulder. It was FREEZING cold and it even started to snow the last few minutes of the game. The Vikings lost by 2 in over-time, but we had a great time. We were able to leave the kids home thanks to Heather's brother & sister-in-law and Aaron's sister. We LOVE them!! Here are a few pictures:

Our Trip to California

Our family was able to drive to California this year to spend Christmas with both of our families. Heather's parents moved back to Camarillo which allowed us to only be 20 minutes from Aaron's parents in Ventura. Quite convenient. We had a fun time just relaxing and being able to visit with family and friends. We spent one day at the Santa Barbara Zoo with Aaron's family and Heather took the kids to San Diego one day to visit with her Grandma. The kids enjoyed seeing their grandmas & grandpas and visiting with thier cousin Ettoile. Everyone was pretty shocked to find out the news that we were expecting baby #3. Heather made a shirt for Logan that said, "I am the BIG brother". It was fun watching as everyone put two and two together. Heather has been pretty sick this time around, which made a long drive seem even longer. Our trip home had an unexpected delay with vehicle problems, which added an extra 2 1/2 hours to our drive. All in all we had a great time and made it home safely. We hope you all had a WONDERFUL holiday. Enjoy a few pictures from our trip.

Home Sweet Home 2008!!!!

We have finally returned home from our week-long vacation in California and an overnighter to Denver for Aaron's Christmas present. We had a wonderful Christmas spending time with family and friends and enjoyed a little get-away trip to watch the Minnesota Vikings play the Denver Broncos. We'll post more details and pictures as soon as we get a chance to finish unpacking and getting settled. We're excited for the new year and all it promises to bring our family! May you all have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!