The Vegtable of Trees

Here is Kirsten at the Vegtable of Trees as she calls it (really the Festival of Trees) in Salt Lake. A lady did a tree in honor of my dad so my mom and LeAnne went up to see it and Kirst went with them. Later that week, we had planned to go up and Jannika got the flu. Well, we thought the other kids might get it too but we decided to go anyway. We did have a nice time at the Festival and went on up into the city to see the lights at Temple Square and Claire got sick. So I stayed in the car with her while Kyle took the other kids out to see the lights for a few minutes. Then on the way home Kirsten got sick too. I will spare you the details of our looooong stinky ride home and just say that we are stronger for having that experience and we will listen to our instincts next time!

Halloween Fun

We had lots of fun this Halloween. We went to the city party and Kirsten even won a prize for the best costume in her age group! We did our ward trunk or treat (which they had inside, thank heaven, because it was FREEZING outside) We had so much candy from those parties we hardly needed to go out on Halloween!

Family Pictures

We had some pictures taken on Saturday over at the family farm. Pretty good except that in most of them Kirsten was in one of her moods... Oh well.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

It's Kyle's big 3-0 today! Wow, are we really this old?! Anyway, just wanted to give you a shout out, honey and I wanted to tell the rest of you 30 things about my hot husband!

1. He is very funny. He makes me laugh all the time!
2. He doesn't really like candy or other things that are too sweet, except Swedish Fish.
3. He does like Japanese food, Chilis restaurant, cinnamon rolls, donuts and sunflower seeds.
4. He doesn't do drama like really dramatic scenes on TV. So, in other words, we never watch CSI, ER, Grey's Anatomy etc. TOO much DRAMA! Maybe he doesn't like it because he lives in a house full of WOMEN! Sorry!
5. He does like to watch Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Office. We are also liking the new Jay Leno show. Yay, it's at 9 now! (I know we are dorks because we don't want to stay up late to watch it!)
6. He is my buffer in social situations. I am naturally shy and he naturally talks to people so it makes it easier for me to meet/talk to people when I am with him.
7. He does really well with the Young Men and has pretty much had YM callings since we have been in family wards.
9. He is starting to like to play Scrabble. He did not like it when we first got married (my family plays it a lot) and a few days ago he won the game against me, my mom and LeAnne!
10. When he gets his mind set on something that he wants, that is all he thinks about. He looks for it online, comparing different ones (like trucks, camp trailers, 4-wheelers etc) until he finds exactly what he wants and then he finds a way to get it. Very persistent.
11. He loves our kids so much. They run to him when he gets home, he takes Jannika to scouts with him and gives them rides on the 4-wheeler. He is a great dad.
12. He loves going deer/elk hunting.
13. He likes to tell stories to our kids about when he was a little girl growing up in Ferron (his grandpa always told stories that started "When I was a little GIRL..." So Kyle tells them like that too.) The kids think it is so funny.
14. He is great about watching the kids while I have a girls night/day out.
15. He is a great handyman. He put in a new countertop, sink, beadboard for my mom and put up trim and beadboard in our girls' room.
16. He loves golfing and snowboarding.
17. He gets up in the night with the kids.
18. He changes poopy diapers :)
19. He sticks with things. Going to Japan on a mission was very challenging but he stuck with it.
20. He drove over to Ephraim from Price (about 1 1/2 hours) almost every weekend while we were dating. On my birthday, he even drove over and surprised me and had to drive back that night!
21. He has always been a friend to everyone.
22. He sometimes asks my mom or his to babysit and takes me out on a date.
23. He ran for city council this year and maybe will run again in the future.
24. He works for government agencies but is NOT a tree hugger!
25. He likes 80's music, a lot!
26. He took a ballroom dance class with me and liked it!
27. He sometimes forgets the punchlines to jokes.
28. He honors the priesthood.
29. He has a very strong testimony.
30. I'm so glad he's mine!

Happy B-Day Honey!

Pre School!

My Kirsten started pre school a few weeks ago. She has a little bit of a hard time when we first get there but then she loves it for the rest of the time. I am glad she is getting some social interaction because she doesn't like to go to primary so I hope this will help her! She is such a sweet girl and loves to climb up on the counter to help me when I am cooking. She likes to play alone a lot and I often hear her talking to herself and playing games by herself. She likes other kids too but doesn't mind playing alone. She loves to wear skirts (she is wearing a skirt in these pictures) and loose pants, it is very hard to get her to wear levis!

Here we are soaking up some of the last days of summer. The kids have loved the new city pool and also our little kiddie pool.

Sorry, randomness. Kyle cut down a bunch of trees in our back yard and went out and saw that he had carved our initials in a heart shaped stump. Isn't that just romantic?!

The Dancing Potato

The other day I found this picture on the table. I asked Kirsten if she had drawn it. She said, "yeah, it's a picture of me. I look like a dancing potato!"

I asked Jannika how school was a few days ago. She said it was okay but they had too many recesses! (I think she didn't like it outside because it was soooo hot!)
I asked her about school lunch and she told me they had hot dogs that day.
Me: "How was your hot dog?"
Jan: "Pretty good. The outside bun was good but the hot dog looked kind of old; it was probably from the fifties!"

Adventures

My sweet oldest girl went to first grade today. She wasn't scared or nervous and I think she'll have a great day!

Kyle went on an adventure a few days ago for..ahem...work. He and another guy he works with decided it was time to do a little hiking out in a canyon called the Black Box. It is pretty much wading through the river and even swimming in some parts where the water is really deep.