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Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time...in a kingdom far away...we'll call it Park City...there was a castle that had been rented for the weekend...

...a kind and loving family had been invited to spend the night in this castle...

...by two beautiful and fun loving princesses whose beauty was only matched by their ability to sleep through loud doorbells...

the little family from a remote kingdom (we'll call it kingdom Spring of Rocks), also had a handsome King who also had an ability to sleep through door chimes...

particularly when they slept in the downstairs dungeon...

Luckily, one of the kings had been woken up by his fair princess to stop the front clock from chiming...luckily the intelligent prince noticed that one of the carriages had left a light on...but really it was the princess from the remote kingdom who had gotten locked out of the castle.

So, Jason and Meradith invited us to go to a cabin in Park City that they rented...GORGEOUS!!!! It was fun to spend the night in such a wonderful place and with friends...

Kiri after her bath

Mervis & Julie, Brandon and Becky, Jay and Linda and us all got to go on a walk...Corbin was a little distraught not by this bug, but...

That Becky scolded him when he wanted to squish it...gotta love boys!!!

What a gorgeous family!!!

This is a classic Kiri face...she always wrinkles her nose...and she was saying, "it's a BUG!"

Another gorgeous family...I think Lucy had a belly ache...

A rare family photo op!

Mervis was so cute...I wasn't quick enough to catch it...but he literally swept her off her feet!

Max...silly boy!

Lia...running with her running face!

Cute daddy, daughter shot

Such a great time!

"The Garrens Comedy Troupe 20th reunion celebrates BYU humor!!!"

...The post title was the headline in the SLC Tribune

Eric used to write and perform in the Garrens when he was at BYU...so, he was delighted when they asked him to be a part of the reunion cast.

You can see some of the Singles Ward cast members in the picture...

Eric showing his dancing skills...

We had to drive all the way back from Provo to to meet some friends in Park City...I was so sad he missed being in the group photo. It was great seeing him perform!!!

First Snow of the year (actually, of the winter)!!!!

I took these pictures after the first snow that stuck this winter. I love their personalities...

Max is still into superheroes...though he's added some new ones...Max Steel...he loves to color and create stories. He's getting used to his role as the 'big' brother.'

I love Max's happiness ...such a fun loving boy!!!

Kiri is all girl, she loves pink, pretties, princesses, ponies, glittery things...

...and his craziness!!!

Lia loves playing monsters & zombies, jumping, dancing and watching Kai-Lan, Caillou and most of all Bubble Guppies!!!

They are each such a blessing!!!

BYU vs Uof U Photo Bomb

I just wanted to add this picture because I think it's such a funny photo bomb. Some of our friends invited us over to watch the game and you can clearly see respective allegiances.

Max was adamant that he wanted to wear his BYU Jersey (did I mention I bought it for him for his first birthday)...needless to say, it was a belly shirt! We've got to teach him about modesty in dress!!!

I made BYU football turtles

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Sept 2013

So, my parents sent me some moon cake for the Moon festival and I decided to teach the kids about the moon festival and get them excited. The Autumn Moon Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. It is also called the Mid-Autumn Festival since it generally comes in the middle of fall. At this time, the moon is at its fullest and brightest, making it an ideal time to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest...I figured since I just finished the summer posts...I might as well start here.

Eric drove us to the highest point of the White Mountains behind our house and sure enough all of the kids fell asleep. Kiri woke up as we were looking at the moon...

The traditional food of the Moon Festival is the moon cake, of which there are many different varieties. In the Yuan Dynasty, China was once harshly ruled by the Mongols. The people devised a plan to revolt against them. To deliver the message, their written plan was secretly embedded in moon cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the people revolted and drove out the Mongols. I serve the moon cakes in honor of their meaning...and truth be told, my father and I are of a dying breed who love the traditional moon cake with the egg yolk inside!

It sounds gross...but you shouldn't knock it until you try it...but I like Chicken feet...so...

Happy Mid autumn moon festival!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Summer 2013...it's a wrap!

O.k., it's official, summer is over...so, I had better do my summer wrap post...the Summer of '13 will be forever remembered as Swimming lessons with friends