Mark in SLC

Mark was in SLC last week for business. He was able to go to dinner with my sweet grandma. Then he was lucky enough to catch Brent and Kim dancing the Lindy Hop at the BYU Basketball Halftime Show. What fun! Brent & Kim are partners for this dance. Kim is in the pink pants.

Cute Boy

Cohen

Jonah

I know that I posted last week about how I have the cutest little boy in the world. But my nephews come in an extremely close second. Here are just two examples. Aren't they adorable?? The Williams came to visit this weekend. Doesn't Jonah look like a little Justin Bieber? He is so sticking cute. Saturday night the Friess clan came over to celebrate Cohen's second birthday. This was his smile for the camera. I'll post another picture of his incredible green eyes. The next best thing to hearing a little voice say "Mommy!" is one happily calling for "Aunt Genet."

Comatose kids vegging in front of Saturday morning TV.

Mark and Aaron took advantage of the lovely Saturday afternoon sun and put together the trampoline that we gave the kids for Christmas (that has been sitting in the garage for a month.) They did an amazingly quick job or so it seemed to me. Maybe it didn't feel that way to them.

It was put together in time for Cohen's birthday get together and the kids all loved jumping.

Cohen is just getting big enough to be excited about opening presents.

If he wasn't quick enough all the other kids were more than happy to jump in and help him open them.

Jonah does not like to keep his pants on. Good thing he's got pretty cute little legs!

Emily's cupcakes were a big hit. Lip-licking good!

Those are the eyes I was talking about. Amazing!

Indoor Gym

Today the sun was shining and it was in the 50's so we enjoyed our first day at the park in weeks. Last week we were not so lucky so we spent some time at the indoor gym at the community center -- what a great idea! You can tell by the second video it was totally wearing them out!

Fantastic Kids

Jackson: The big news for Jackson this month is BRACES. It was a much harder experience than either of us anticipated. He got top & bottom braces with bumpers behind his front teeth that make it so his back teeth do not come together, plus rubber bands. It was a LOT for one day. The first few days were very painful, plus he couldn't talk normally. But now that he has had them for several days he is adjusting beautifully and doing just fine. He can almost chew, though he still prefers oatmeal and soup over anything with crunch. He has felt better commiserating with friends about the woes of braces. A right of passage into his teenage-hood! Jackson is also thrilled to back in class at Village Home. He missed it terribly over the LONG break. He loves his classes there, especially the Lego Robotics team, Latin, and history. He has been fascinated with science of late (even more than usual) and you can find him drawing molecular structures in his free time.

Bennett: Bennett gave a wonderful talk in Primary last week. The last time he was asked to give a talk he froze up completely and I ended up reading it for him. So we weren't quite sure what would happen. We practiced a lot at home -- with a homemade podium, complete with an introduction and multiple videotaping sessions. When the time came, he walked right up to the front by himself and rocked it. And he did an awesome job! Here is a video of the at-home practice as well as a special after-church taping in the Primary room. (It got a little long so the end is chopped off, but I'm sure you won't mind.)

Sarah: Sarah is a cute as ever. Now that her head is healing, she does not look quite so beat up. She weighs all of three pounds more than Paxton. She loves to dance and watch her princess movies. We have gotten a large number of princess books from the library. Unfortunately, she has decided that she loves to DESTROY them in the privacy of her room. Several times, I have found her happily RIPPING the pages out of her books. "I'm sorry, Mommy. I won't do it again! I promise." Until the next time you make her have quiet time, that is! I have forbidden any books in her bed until further notice.
On a less destructive note, Sarah loves to dress up and pretend to be a princess. She has started playing "with" her cousins and friends, instead of just next to them. She and her friend, Lucy, were hiding from the dragons the other day. She loves to take care of her babies. She tells me, "Jesus wants us to share and make other people happy." She loves to go to nursery and play with the other kids. She lights up when we go to our little music class. She dances all over the room, sits on the teacher's lap, loves playing the instruments. She always wants to be the center of attention. She refuses to keep her socks and shoes on, especially in the car. She likes to wear the sparkly shoes that Nana sent for Christmas (so does Addie!)

Paxton: Pax is the cutest little boy on the planet! (Sorry, all you other moms, but it's true -- at least for me!) He is so happy and so much fun. He is trying to talk and says so many words -- Daddy, Mommy, Jack ("ga-ga"), Bennett ("be"), Sarah ("wa-wa"), Papa, Nana, Grandma, nana (banana), baba (bottle), cracker, cookie, puppy, quack quack, ride, poopy... pretty impressive for less than 16 months. He also clearly nods "yes" and shakes his head "no" so you know what he wants.  He LOVES to sing, especially in church. As soon as the organ starts playing, he is singing at the top of his lungs. All of the sudden, he has been okay when I leave him places so he is happy to go to the child care at the gym, or a friend's house when I have an appointment. It's lovely! He loves to play with the big kids (even though they frequently don't want him there because he wrecks their forts, etc.) He is fascinated with balls and cars. He LOVES to ride his rocking horse which he can get on & off by himself. Independence is fabulous! His smile lights up a room and warms my heart. Such a sweet little boy!

(This was a few weeks ago so the talking has improved since then.)

Asleep in car after long day of dental appointments in Salem at Grandpa's office.

Mark & Genet: Mark finished up the year as President of wired.MD, a division of Krames, and started the new years as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development at Krames/Staywell. How is that for a mouthful? He took a token picture of himself in his office on New Year's Eve, and then outside all of the wired offices that they had had in town. It was the end of an important and very significant era in our lives. We are excited about the new adventures ahead.
We also went to the Hood to Coast movie premiere this last week with Mark's parents, Emily, Wendy, Kerry Johnson & Jackson. It was really fun. Bob was interviewed by the local TV news and one of our friends (Shannon Phair) randomly saw him on her local news in Utah. Weird, huh? It was a fun night out and if you get a chance to see the movie, we would highly recommend it. It was snowy that night and driving the babysitter home, I hit some black ice and saw my life pass before my eyes. Luckily we ended up in someone's yard, rather than in their house, only breaking a planter and the wheel of the car. The babysitter & I were shaken up, but fine. It was an adventure getting back up the hill we had slid down. Even on foot, Mark & Jade had to remove their shoes and walk in their socks to get enough traction to get out!!

As John would say, "It was a win!"

Mark's parents at the premiere

Q & A after the showing. Mark asked a question of the filmmakers.

We took a few other pictures, but they are on Emily's camera so I'll have to post them later.

Belated New Year's Eve Post

We attempted to celebrate New Year's Eve with our new friends, the Tanners, but some of our family came down with the flu that was plaguing the Friess' over Christmas so we had to fly solo. We tried to make it a fun night anyways. We had lemonade and cupcakes (thanks to Rachel who was kind enough to drop them off even though we couldn't eat them together!)

She also made cute little medals (also courtesy of Rachel) that we passed out to everyone for their achievements during the year. The kids loved them.

About 7:30 pm, we found a YouTube video of the New Year's Countdown in Sydney, Australia and subsequent fireworks. We put it on the big TV and counted down with the kids. At "midnight" we dropped a bunch of balloons from a sheet. Lots of fun!

Sarah likes to give this "serious" look these days. We're not sure why. Can you see the big bruise on her forehead?

Here is a closer look. She had a run-in with the refrigerator door. She was trying to open it. Bennett was blocking her. She won and the door opened. But it through her back so she hit the back of her head on the corner of the cabinet and the door handle clocked her in the head. This is actually MUCH better than it looked when it happened.

 Happy New Year!

 Paxton wasn't feeling quite himself and was ready for bed. He loved the shakers.

 What a handsome kid!

 Everyone was in bed shortly afterward. Welcome 2011!

Christmas in Sunriver

We had a wonderful time with the Friess family in Sunriver. We rented a large house that accommodated us well. We loved the kitchen/family room layout where we could all be together without being on top of each other. The kids had a fabulous time playing with each other and beating up on their beloved Uncle Brent. It was Paxton's first time to experience the snow and he LOVED it, other than the frustration of not being to use his hands well in the snow.

 

 

 Bennett & Myah

Brent's girlfriend, Kim, came for a few days and the kids thoroughly fell in love with her! We could easily tell why Brent likes her so much.

Cohen

 Addie

We all loved playing in the hot tub after time out in the cold snow, but the kids loved it most of all. They liked getting really warm and then eating the cold snow as a "snack."

We continued a Jackson family tradition of decorating a homemade gingerbread house. Jackson designed the layout on his own and made the pattern for me. We made one for the kids and one for the grownups (so we could do a fancy one), but the grownups never took their turn so we won't be trying that again!

Some of the kids really liked decorating the house while others just enjoyed eating as much candy as they could get in their mouths (Sarah).

 Haven & Myah

Bailey

 Brent & Kim

We had a mass birthday celebration for all our fall and winter birthdays -- Danielle, Canyon, Mark, Brent, Wendy & Mom. Danielle made the cutest cards for everyone. She is so creative! I got a picture of everyone's but Mom's.

 Canyon's card

 Mark's card

 Wendy's card - slightly more humorous than Mark's

 Brent's card

 Cohen eating candy off the finished gingerbread house.

Kim and Brent showed us a few ballroom dance moves. Robert was game to try and he did a surprisingly good job. I think Brent will stick with Kim as a partner though! (There is video evidence but it's on Brent's phone. I must get myself a copy for future blackmail purposes.)

We tried to go on a sleighride at the Lodge, but the communication about tickets, etc. was poor so we ended up just seeing the gingerbread house display and taking some photos. Bennett refused to get in the photo so here we are trying to convince him to join us.

We took turns cooking which made things really easy for the moms. It's amazing that being in a house with all those people could actually be easier than being at home. (But only because everyone worked so hard to make it easy!)

Mark, Dan & Dad took Jackson, Haven & Myah innertubing at Mt. Bachelor one afternoon. We stayed home with the other kids and had a great time playing in the hot tub. 

Canyon is the cutest little peanut you have ever seen! You have never seen a more "chill" little kid. But a wonderful flirt! I had the best time looking at him from across the dinner table, and getting some fabulous snuggles!

Sarah all decked out for the snow.

 I think Haven's parents are going to watch out for those boys in a few years!

 The Towel Nativity Cast

 Bennett - Joseph; Canyon - Baby Jesus; Myah - Mary

 Santa-filled Stockings

 It was fun to open presents together on Christmas morning.

 Sarah was in heaven with all the princess gear.

 Robert MADE Jackson a chess board. It was very cool!

 Paxton climbing on Bennett's Wobble Deck.

 Bennett in his king costume made by fabulous Aunt Pam.

Emily made us some gorgeous pillow covers, different sets for different times of the year. They are so fancy and awesome!

 Addie having a merry Christmas!

 Canyon bundled up for the snow.

Grandma & Paxton -- Happy Boy

 Wrestling with Grandpa

Jackson buried Brent in the snow.

For several years, Sharon has gotten the kids matching number shirts. This was by far our best attempt at a group photo with them. Usually at least one child is screaming bloody murder. They were all happy and cooperative. It may never happen again!

When we got home from Sunriver, we had a little mini-2nd Christmas with presents from the Jackson family. We felt spoiled all over again. One of my very favorite presents were these picture books my mom made: one for Paxton about his family (those are pictures of Mark below), one about our Prescott Thanksgiving and one about our trip to Lake Chelan last summer.