Rachel's giggles

We were fortunate enough to capture Rachel giggling on video! Enjoy!

Christmas 2007

At the Living Nativity in Alpine

Emma, Brent holding Rachel, & Elizabeth at Temple Square
The kids in awe of Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus in the "stable"

Sarah's caramels actually turned out!
Acting out the first Christmas: Elizabeth, Ethan, Matthew and Emma surround Rachel.

Clayton, Matthew, Emma, Elizabeth, & Ethan all decked out as shepherds, wise men, etc.

Once again we had a truly magical Christmas, thanks to our children. Some of our favorite traditions that we carried on this year included:

• evening drives to see Christmas lights in the area (one that's easy on mom & dad since the kids are all confined in their car seats)


• a trip to Salt Lake for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, a visit to the children's exhibit of the Museum of Church History & Art, and a stroll around Temple Square to see the lights


• One of our favorite traditions: Going to the Living Nativity in Alpine, where the kids saw camels, donkeys, and other animals as well as scenes portrayed from "Bethlehem" before going into a barn to visit Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus (a real baby) in the manger. It was freezing cold but very memorable for everyone.


• Making Christmas goodies, including Sarah's first success at caramels, and delivering them to friends and neighbors


• Driving through the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights. Sarah's family came over for a Christmas party and we all piled into cars to go see the amazing light displays which even the adults never tire of!


• Acting out the nativity story while it is read from the Bible. Lisa & Steve and their kids came over for Christmas Eve, and we had a wonderful evening.

SNOW much fun!

Emma and Elizabeth all bundled up to go out
Matthew, friends Brayden & Ashlyn, and Elizabeth proudly show off the snowman they made
Is this crazy, or what?

Well, we've had plenty of snow around here, and the temperatures have been so low that it's not going to be melting anytime soon. Last week the kids had some friends over to play in the snow, build a snowman, and enjoy hot cocoa using the new hot cocoa maker Lisa & Steve gave us for Christmas! Note how all the snow gear (coats, snowpants, hats, mittens, boots...) just "piles up" around here!

Our 3 Lavender Pajama Girls

The other night, we discovered all three of the girls were wearing matching pajamas and just had to capture the moment on camera. Luckily, they were all happy to oblige!

Family Photo

When Rachel was 3 months old, we finally decided to get family pictures taken! It was easier than we thought: we just had my dad take pictures behind his work building in the Provo Riverbottoms with his digital camera. He took a few dozen photos, then we chose our favorites to print at Costco. It sure was a lot easier (and cheaper!) than hiring a pro.

Welcome to our new family blog! I've wanted to start one for a while; now that we have a newer computer I can actually get one working! We hope you will enjoy pictures and news about our family. - Sarah