This is the view from our back door on Saturday morning. Scott and I were supposed to be in D.C. for our anniversary, but we headed back early so we wouldn't get caught in the storm.
And this is the view from our front door.
Mason and Logan have LOVED playing outside, but Brady isn't a big fan of the snow....hence, no pictures of him. He lasted about five minutes on Saturday and hasn't been out since. That's okay....it's nice having him inside to keep me and Claire company.
Cute boys!
We have a tradition of taking our family photo on Thanksgiving. Last year, however, Claire was only one week old and I selfishly opted out. Scott scouted out the perfect spot this year and my aunt, Denise, took our picture. Thanks, Denise! It's hard to believe that we're a family of six now!
Mason had his very first piano recital last Saturday. He's been taking lessons from one of our good friends, Brittany. She teaches several kids in our ward and does a great job. I have been amazed at how much Mason has taken to the piano. He enjoys it so much and I love listening to him play.
He was a little nervous, but he did a great job. I was so proud of him. Unfortunately, Scott didn't make it in time. He was stuck at home waiting for the HVAC repair guy, but that's a story for another day.
I hope Mason continues to love the piano as much as he does now. It would be so fun to have a musical family. Hopefully he'll make better use of his lessons than his parents did!
My friend Tammy made these gorgeous cupcakes for Claire's birthday. She's so amazing....check out her website (www.cupcakekali.com). We had Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins over for her party on Sunday. It was so much fun!
Claire definitely had no problem digging in!
Has it really been a year? It's amazing to see how much she's grown!
Daddy loves his little girl.
Happy Birthday, Claire!
Another race accomplished by Team USA (or so we've been dubbed...thanks, Paul!). It's been so fun training with such a great group of friends! I'm so proud of all of you ladies!!! Thanks for helping me accomplish something I never thought I could do!
Who knew the kitchen could be such a wonderland? Claire loves playing in the dishwasher. I swear, she can hear that thing opening a mile away! Notice who's doing the dishes...there's nothing better than your hubby doing the dishes AND watching the baby.
Who says playing in the water is only a summer activity? Claire and Daddy had so much fun splashing in the sink last night. It was a little messy, but a lot of fun!
I love this picture...so cute! Daddy's little girl!
We loved having Halloween on a Saturday this year. The kids had so much fun carving the pumpkin and roasting the pumpkin seeds.
Since we only carved one pumpkin this year, Scott had each of the boys design a part of the jack-o-lantern. Brady had the eyes, Logan had the nose and Mason had the mouth. I think it turned out pretty well.
Mason was so excited to be something scary this year. We had fun with the makeup! Logan was Batman and Brady was Bumblebee the Transformer. He picked out a really cute astronaut costume at our playgroup costume swap, but between then and now he changed his mind. Go figure.
Claire was so cute in her little poodle skirt...another score from the costume swap. A mom in our ward made it for one of her little girls a couple years ago. Isn't it cute?! I can only dream of being that talented!!! Thanks, Gretchen!
It was so nice and warm this year. No one needed coats or layers. It was the perfect first Halloween for Claire!
For some reason, this is Claire's favorite sitting position. It doesn't look that comfortable, but apparently it is. Every time I see her like this, I can't help but picture her in a little cheerleader's outfit. Go Team!
I've noticed that I have increasingly fewer pictures of each child. I always used to wonder why there were so many more pictures of my older brother and sister than there were of me, but now that I'm a mother of 4, I totally understand. There's just so much to haul around these days that the camera unfortunately ends up at the bottom of the list. These pictures are a small attempt to close the gigantic photo gap. Pardon the runny nose and crusty face...just more evidence she's the 4th child!
It's been so chilly here lately, but a few days ago, we had some really nice weather. The kids were playing outside (except for Mason who was sick and in bed), so I thought I'd bring out the camera and get a few shots. I got a little carried away....when I uploaded my pictures, I discovered that I'd taken 99 photos. I'll just post a few of them. =)
Logan is playing soccer again this year after taking last year off. We decided that having a new baby was a big enough adventure this time last year. To our surprise, he picked it back up with no problem. He loves to run around and is pretty quick for a little guy. He loves being on the same team as our neighbor and he has a great coach.
I went in for highlights a couple weeks ago and ended up waaaay too blonde (as you can probably tell from my last post). I went back to my hair stylist and asked him to make me a brunette. After coming home a redhead, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Thanks to a box of nine dollar hair color, I'm now a brunette again. It's been years since my hair has been this dark and I'm not sure I like it. So....I'd love some feedback (I've got thick skin - I can take it). Do I keep it this way or go for highlights again???
You know those people you just connect with and know you'll be friends forever? Julie is one of those for me. We met as roommates our freshman year at BYU, and now 13 years later...10 years of marriage and 4 kids each, we're still the best of friends! Thanks for coming to visit, Jules! I can't think of a better birthday present.
I can't believe how quickly the summer flew by. Mason and Logan were both really excited to start school this year. Brady started preschool this week, and it's so nice for him to have something of his own. He's been going to the bus stop and dropping kids off at preschool with me since he was born, so he's thrilled that it's finally his turn. I'm a little thrilled myself, to be perfectly honest. =)
A BIGGER HAMPER!!! After reading my last blog post, my cute sister-in-law called and mentioned that she happened to have a hamper she wasn't using. Being the wonderful, thoughtful, generous person that she is (yes, I'm talking about you, Suzanne) she offered it to me. Thank you so much, Suz! I actually haven't done laundry since she gave it to me. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but I'm loving the amount of clothes it can hold!
