Merry Christmas!

The kids had a great Christmas. We got Guitar hero with drums to keep us busy. Anthony plays guitar with Allyson on vocals and Stryder on drums. The kids have a great time. They are true rock stars. We hope everyone had a great holiday season!

Christmas Traditions

Here are some of our Christmas family traditions:1) Decorating the tree with pictures from every school year. It is fun to compare and see how much the kids have grown. They get to hang their own pictures. Everyone is jealous because Anthony gets to hang the most because he has more pictures. We started this when Anthony was 5 years old so now we have quite a collection. We get matching frames so we know which year is which.2)Decorating a gingerbread house. Allyson would do this all year long because she has so much fun eating the candy and frosting. 3) Christmas Eve dinner we make Rouladen. It is a German dish that is soooooo yummy. 4) Christmas Eve we go see the lights at Temple square. David proposed to me there on Christmas Eve 15 years ago. This is one of my favorite traditions. This year we made hot chocolate and took the "train" downtown. It was a lot of fun especially because it wasn't very cold.

Cookie is in the house!

We got a dog! (for three days) We named her Cookie. She is a Lab/St. Bernard mix. Unfortunately I am allergic to her and we had to give her back. We are planning on getting a dog in the summer that I am not allergic to. The kids are very sad and miss her a lot. She was so cute and cuddly.

Turkey Bowl

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Happy Thanksgiving! We played in a turkey bowl this morning. Everyone got to play. Both David and I scored a touchdown. Anthony, Stryder, and Allyson enjoyed running plays.

Welcome back to SLC

We have been in SLC for about a week and a few days. The first week we were here there was a huge snow storm. Welcome to the winter cold. I am slowly getting used to the cold and rain. I sure was spoiled with St. George weather. The kids are enjoying school and have already made new friends. Anthony went from intermediate school back to elementary school both of which are 6th grade. His comment was "at least I get recess now." He and Stryder are in the same school which makes my life easier with only one time to pick up kids. After the first snow fall I cleaned up the garage so that at least one car has covered parking. David is working for a former employer in a management position. He really enjoys this especially being busy. Allyson and I are unpacking boxes and moving things around to make the house feel like a home. We are pretty much unpacked, we do still have some boxes around the house but it has only been less than two weeks. There is still time to get to them.

Thank heaven for little girls!

Allyson is such a big girl. She is growing up so fast, I can't believe she is 3 and 1/2 years old. She was begging for her picture to be taken. She has loved being in preschool and has learned so much. We need to find a new preschool for her to go to in SLC.

Halloween Party at school

Stryder and Allyson are waiting for the school parade to start. Stryder is a wizard and Allyson dressed up as a monkey(Stryder's costume last year). This is their last day of school in St. George! What a sad day!

Allyson had a trunk or treat party at preschool. She wanted to dress up as a pink puppy just like last year. She is here with some of her preschool friends. She is the one in pink with the cheesy smile. What a goof!

Thanks for everything Mom!

It has been two years since my Mom passed away. While we were in Salt Lake for fall break we went to the cemetery. We each said something that we remember and miss about her. Stryder kept kissing his hand and putting it on the headstone. They truly had a special bond. We love her and miss her! It is good to know that someday we can see her again. The top picture was the day Allyson was born. My Mom was so wonderful and inspiring. I hope that I can be as great as she was!

Playing at the park

We went to the park with Grandpa Hansen, Ashley, Chase, and Cadence. We enjoyed swinging, sliding, monkeying around, football, rolling down the hill, and a picnic. What a beautiful day in Salt Lake!

David's Birthday!

We went to Salt Lake for David's birthday! We went to the University of Utah football game and then to dinner at Red Robins. After we went to his parent's house for cheesecake with the Poulson family. We hope you had a great birthday David! We love you!

Pumpkin Carving

We got to carve pumpkins with Grandma Poulson. Grandma got each of the kids a pumpkin. They each drew what they wanted to cut out. They really enjoyed digging the guts out and then using the KNIVES to cut out the faces. There was adult supervision and no accidents to report. Thanks Grandma for the fun times.

Welcome to the Rodeo

We went to the rodeo today. The kids had a great time. The bull riders were the favorite as well as the half time show of dogs and Frisbees. The kids liked seeing the rodeo princesses and wanted to get their autographs.

Are you ready for some football?

Anthony started tackle football! It is so fun to watch him and his team mates on the field. Anthony is #33 and plays in the receiver position and is also on the kick off team. They won their first game and to make the day even more special he got a candy bar poster from his biggest fans!

Happy Birthday to ME!

For my birthday we went to Gunlock Reservoir to go boating. Michael came down for the weekend to hang out with us. We all had a great time on the boat. After boating we went to one of my favorite places to eat-Cafe Rio. We then went back to the house for cake and ice cream. What a great birthday for me! I did really well on the wake board which made the day even better.

The turtle we call Baloo and other water friends

For Anthony's birthday he wanted a pet. He finally decided on a turtle that he named Baloo. Allyson and Stryder also got pets. They each got two fish. They are so excited to have new additions to the family.

JAZZ FANS

We went to a mini Jazz camp this afternoon. The Jazz player was Kyrylo Fesenko. He is huge. The kids had to do drills and free throws. He also told us about his rookie season and a lot of funny stories about other players. At the end he signed balls for the kids. They had a great time.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Today is the first day of school. Anthony is in 6th grade and goes to an Intermediate school with 6 different periods. Stryder is in 1st grade and is really excited to play on the big kid play ground. Allyson doesn't start school until September, but she already has her High School Musical backpack ready.

Anthony turns 11!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTHONY! I can't believe Anthony is already 11. David had the banner made for Anthony's birthday. He loves football especially the New England Patriots. He is a PI RHO in the making with the birthday candles. It's all about the fire. We hope you have a great birthday!

Birthday Bliss

For Anthony's birthday he wanted to have a pizza party/ slip-n-slide/ water balloon party. It was a great plan until the storm blew in. We still had a fun time even though is wasn't 100 degrees outside. The boys had contests to see how far they could slide on their stomachs and on the boogie board. Anthony and Kaden won. It was warm enough for the ice cream sandwiches to melt all over their hands.