Random pictures

Annika playing with Aunt Katie. She was being so cute so I grabbed the camera and of course didn't catch a cute picture again. Sigh...but she is still cute.

Caleb is also incredibly good looking.

So one day I went in and Annika had dressed herself in this:

Then Caleb thought it was hilarious and wanted to wear a shirt on his legs too. I have a fabulous video of him dancing around in a shirt on his legs and would love to post it, but at the end the shirt slips just a little too much to post online. It was just too much of a plumbers crack...Also, Annika has quite the little personality. She's independent and opinionated. She has so many cute clothes. Seriously I just want to dress her up in every outfit she owns and take her picture. However, she has serious preferences and that whole mommy play dress up with her baby doll girl is not going over with Annika and she insists on picking out her clothes. Occasionally I can persuade her that certain things don't match or certain things do...but sometimes we get the outfit like the one she's running around in in the superman video. By the way, Caleb also loved that outfit and said he wanted to buy one like it. I said they don't make outfits like that for boys and he was really disappointed over it.

Annika really likes to help now and I need to be on top of it and establish habits like clearing your place when you eat when she is so eager to help. She can pick up toys very well, help set and clear the table, wash her hands, put her dirty clothes in the laundry room and probably a few other things.

Decorating for Christmas

Caleb loves plugging in the lights and one night we just played in the dark with a string of lights and the kids were being so cute.

Thanks Grandma Evie!

Grandma Evie sent us a wonderful Christmas gift--the Illustrated LDS Christmas Songbook and ornaments that were just right for Caleb and Annika to put together. I was so impressed at the way Caleb did it all by himself. He looked at the picture and figured it out! I started out helping him then went to help Annika and he did it himself and didn't want more help. Annika couldn't leave her sticky things on and just wanted to put them on and take them off again. Way fun. Thank you so much Grandma Evie! The ornaments are hung prominently on the tree and the book is on the piano.

videos

Annika's new coat

Grandma Evie sent a package full of all sorts of new clothes for the kids!  Annika went for the coat right away.  It's the only thing I have pictures of (more coming I promise Evie) but she loves her coat.  

New Garage

Swing!

Heat's On!

We have central heating and whenever the heat comes on Annika announces, "Heat's on!"  She hasn't quite got it and says "heat's on!" when it goes off as well, but Caleb and Annika love to sit by the same heater I sat in front of every cold morning before school.
We have c

Bike Trailer

Andy bought us a bike trailer a few months ago.  I had such intentions of getting into great shape going on bike rides multiple times a week...well, I have gone on multiple bike rides...and I do use it as transportation.  One day I was going to go grocery shopping for my mom and went to start the car and it was dead.  Determined I decided to take the kids in the trailer.  We've gone to the grocery store before but only for a couple things.  This was a full on shopping trip and we buy 5 gallons of milk...plus it's me and I buy lots of groceries...

The kids were awesome!!  They thought it was great being surrounded by groceries.  I had my reusable bags slung on my handle bars and people in Ephraim probably thought I was crazy.  But we had fun!

Working with Grandad

My dad needed to put air in his tires and invited Caleb to join him.  Annika somehow found out about it and wanted to join in.  I have a cute video of this but will post it when I am at a different computer that I know how to download videos onto.  I really appreciate when my dad does things like this.  Andy is really good at letting the kids help in projects like this.  Caleb helped Andy tinker with his bike since he could walk and LOVES helping with such projects.  It was wonderful.

Annika in the garden

I couldn't decide so I put them all in.  Isn't she adorable!!!

Hiking the S year two

Last year you may remember that we hiked to the Snow College 'S' on the mountain.  You drive most of the way so the hike is not terribly long, but still some college kids struggled and last year Caleb hiked almost the whole thing himself and he was 2!  I was so proud of him and have told him so since.  This year my dad couldn't come but my mom and I set off with two kids and Annika insisted on hiking herself.  We wondered if we would make it back by dark and we started before 5:00.  She did a pretty good job for and after a while she let my mom and I take turns carrying her when we wanted to make just a little time.  Caleb was a trooper and hiked it all again.  I made Annika get in the back pack on the way back, and it's been a while so I don't entirely remember, but I think she fell asleep.

Making slow progress but having fun!

Caleb stepping on the rocks

So of course Annika had to, too.

One of the more determined moments:

My mom got the great idea of going from sitting rock to sitting rock to get up the hills.  She would carry Annika to the next rock and they would sit and Caleb and I made our way up.

Here we are at the S!

Caleb wanted to climb to the top (or at least the top of the curvy line).

It was really fun!  I'm glad we have this tradition and that the kids are willing to keep going.  Fun memories!

More from summer 2010

My sister agreed to go camping with me so we could have a camping experience and not by myself.  I was so excited for it and thought it would be so fun.  Then I think I was just kinda grumpy and it wasn't as fun as it could've been had mom (me) had a better attitude.  However, Aunt Katie was great and we went on a little walk in the woods with the kids and threw rocks in water, set up the tent, made a fire, roasted marshmallows (Annika loved that part!), and got to bed at a reasonable time.  It was fun, I was just grumpy.  Maybe we can do it again and I won't worry so much about having breakfast or dinner and getting the fire to work...it is fun to be in the mountains as a family and I'm really grateful my sister--who is not a huge outdoor enthusiast--was so willing to go camping with me and have fun with a grumpy mom and two adorable, but normal, kids.  Thanks Katie!

My parents got a garage for the first time in their married life excluding the time they lived with my mom's grandmother.  My mom has wanted a garage for years and she always makes goals and has pictures drawn up of just what she wants.  She's done wonders with this house.  The garage is no exception and we have people stop and tell us how nice it looks.  The kids are watching the construction through their bedroom window.

I'm not sure when this picture was taken but this is a sweater that my mom made before I was born.  She worked on it after her first baby died and I wore it all the time.  There are lots of pictures of me wearing this sweater as a girl.  It's pretty gender neutral so Caleb has worn it some too.

Videos of Kiddos

I posted a few pictures of the kids at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=38835&id=100000038052190&l=d42080549f

(they upload much faster on facebook than on blogger).

Videos from Labor Day Weekend

More Picture from Labor Day Weekend

Pictures from Labor Day Weekend in Park City