Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope that you have an enjoyable time with friends and family. I can't wait for Santa to come. I've been a very GOOD girl! ; )

Flashback Friday

Wade (and me) excavating two pit houses called Dos Casas in 2001 for our BYU Field School. I'm in the back, bent over with a purple bandana and aqua blue shirt...

This is me during our Field School while on survey (the first week of the dig, my crew was on survey). We surveyed all the way until the edge of the canyon. Had to take a picture. At the very bottom is the Escalante River.

Here is a bit of reminiscing for our dig/survey in Escalante. It was before Wade and I started dating. It was a blast, we got great tans and learned so much. I really do have a passion for Archaeology.

Christmas 1993.

Ode to a Car Seat....

So I'm such a sentimental freak. I get so attached to things when there really isn't need to be. I feel sorry...yep, SORRY for Christmas trees that have been cut down and don't get picked and then all the trees that are picked are just tossed out like garbage once Christmas is over. It's hard to throw things away like a doodle from Charlotte even though she has 100 pages of the exact same (well, close to it) doodles. I think (not literally) that objects have feelings and I need to hold on to them. When I was labout 8 years old, I got a pair of hand-me down jeans. They had the zipper at the bottom of the leg. You know what I'm talking about...those cool zip jeans. Well, of course I wore them all the time and got holes in the knees. So instead of throwing them out, I decided to make them into jean shorts! But that's not the crazy part. I kept the part that was cut off from the rest of the jean. Isn't that just dumb? I found them in my keepsake box a few years ago. Of course I put them straight in the trash....but it took a bit of courage. WEIRD, I know. I think I have that hoarding syndrome...but a small form of it. Anywho. So Jack's carseat started to break at the top of the handle. So we decided to call Evenflo about it. They are going to replace it (actually it just came today!). I was so excited. We needed a safe car seat when hauling him around but couldn't afford a new one. But the sad thing is...they don't have the same fabric/style anymore. I was so bummed. They sent out the closest looking thing...which isn't close at all!!! But I'm sad. I was going to just keep the same cover and put it on the new one but the new one has a new feature...you can put a seatbelt through the top if you don't have a base (like for a second car, etc.) so now if I put the old cover on...it would cover up that area. And part of the deal for the replacement is that you return everything from the old car seat to Evenflo. Sigh. I'm excited for the safer car seat but sad to get rid of the old one. I actually got teary -eyed when Wade packed it up in the box. I'm teary-eyed now. Isn't that silly? It's just a car-seat...but it's not any old car-seat. It's the seat that Charlotte and Jack were taken home in from the hospital, the seat that came to New Zealand with us. A seat with memories. Oh well, time to make new memories. Goodbye, car seat. Farewell, you were loved!

And one more...

I needed another picture of Jack on here. Searched for one and found this. I hate blogging more pictures of one child over another...maybe it's just me being crazy. Just have to let you know I love both kids! : )

Bouncer

Charlotte loves her bouncer...now it's Jack's though. She goes all out rocking that thing like crazy! But you should see Jack in it too. He gets his leg going. It's so funny to watch him in it. I need to get a video of it sometime.

Charlotte's Christmas Program

Peeling the Santa gift, shred by shred...Hurry up!! ha ha

Random picture of Charlotte...just had to show off the dress ;). 1.99 at Kmart when we found it March of this year!!! I love deals : )

The magician came...the kids loved it!

Charlotte read the program during the program.

Here is the best picture of all the kids in the Sound Beginnings Program (minus a couple). Too bad there was a large head in the bottom of the photo. Argh.

Charlotte's school had a Christmas program. The kids sang (well, the older ones did) We just sat in the audience. During a story time, the kids helped with the puppets of "The Gingerbread Man". Charlotte helped with the river shaking. My pictures came out blurry. I can't stand the camera!! I need to figure out how to take a picture that isn't blurry (or if it is on auto...not to make it dark in NATURAL LIGHT. So lame). The kids gave the parents a gift (a rag tied Christmas tree), Santa gave them a gift (Charlotte got a coloring book) and Sound Beginnings gave each child a stocking full of presents. It was awesome...even the refreshments were great. She had a great time and looked dang cute in her "Santa" dress!

I know I know...Charlotte's are blurry...but she MOVES. ha ha. Had to add them in anyway since she so is against having her picture taken now.

Sleeping babies

About a week ago after Charlotte and Jack went to bed, we checked on them. Charlotte just looked so dainty while she slept. Like many pictures, it was cuter in person but hey, she's cute no matter what! Had to add a picture of Jack-a-roo too : )

Charlotte walking.

I've got two videos of Charlotte walking. They're pretty much the same except one is shorter. But she's doing better and better everyday. Go Charlotte!

Santa and the kids.

We had a ward Christmas party on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun! Santa came so we had the opportunity to get some pictures. We had just received our new digital camera (thank you black friday deals! 89 bucks!!) and so the ones with charlotte are blurry since we didn't have time to think to get the proper settings right. The moment she was put on Santa's lap she did NOT want to be on him! It was so funny. And Jack, he just didn't care. That was the first time both kids got on Santa's lap. She had a blast minus the Santa incident!