Long time no post!

There is no valid excuse, we just haven't found the time to update our blog. We have had a lot of traveling go on in the last few months. The kids were very well behaved, and we are excited that we may dare to go on longer vacations once again. First we will have to be able to pay for them though!

Our adventures started off in mid-February when Amanda's grandfather passed away. We decided to travel down to his funeral . It was held in Mesa, Arizona. Mesa is about 10 hours from where we live, but it took us over 12 hours to get there. We had to stop and take multiple potty breaks, and we had to stop to feed Lizzie about every 2 hours. Amanda's sister lives further away, left after us, and still beat us to Mesa! This picture was taken at one of our stops. It is right outside the visitor's center of the Glenn Canyon Dam. Like I said earlier, the kids handled the trip very well! ( I think they handled it a lot better than their Mom and Dad.) While in Mesa we went on a long walk, and visited a lot of neat places in downtown Mesa. We evHere's a picture of Amanda and the kids after a LONG walk, resting in the shade of the Mesa temple.entually made our way down to the LDS temple, and finally to Amanda's grandmother's house.
The first weekend of March we made a much shorter trip to Moab, Utah. We had a fun time visiting with BJ's family, and even found a fun park that had musical instruments as toys. As I type up an update about each of us, I'll include a picture from the outing.

BJ
This picture was taken in the lobby of the hotel in Moab, before heading out to find some fun hiking the city trail!

Things are going great for me. It seems like I am always running around lately, literally. I have found a new hobby in running, and working out. I have lost a lot of weight and am feeling a lot healthier. I have a few more pounds to reach my goal, so cheer me on! I also have been working on a Math Endorsement to add on to my teaching license. It has taken the better part of two years, but I have now completed the coursework for it. All that is left is to wait for grades to be posted, and turn some paperwork into the state. It won't be hard to find something to fill up the time those classes took up on Tuesday nights.

Amanda

Amanda and Lizzie found a "Digger" at the park in Moab.

Amanda has been scrap-booking up a storm. She bought a cricut with some Christmas money she received, and has been working hard ever since. Anna's scrap book has jumped from January 08 to April 09. Kate's book was at Christmas of 08 and is now up through Dec. 09.
Daniel's book also is current through Christmas of '08. Lizzie is still waiting patiently for hers. Our family scrap book is still a few years behind, but Amanda is practicing on the kid's albums, so ours can be perfect lol!

Anna

Anna discovered the "music park" first. She took off running and played us a tune.

Anna is enjoying Kindergarten, and is doing quite well. She is reading all sorts of books, and is also writing her letters and numbers very well. She likes to feel pretty, and is always trying to wear dresses to school. I wonder how long that is going to last. I know that many of my sixth-grade students wouldn't be caught dead in a dress. She takes a dance class, and loves to go every week. She still has to wear a patch over one of her eyes for a couple of hours everyday to strengthen her other eye. Hopefully the doctor will say that we are finished with this process in May, as Anna hates wearing it.

Kate
Kate loved making music at the park, and tried to sing a song as she pounded on the bells.

Kate is very happy when she goes to dance class. She often will tell me, "Dad, I am a dancing princess!" And twirl off around the house. Kate also had been a little jealous of Anna doing "homework," so we have had the pre-school she goes to send home a book for her to read each day she goes. Kate read her first book by herself too! It was an ABC book that Daniel got for Christmas. Kate must be getting ready to grow soon, because she always seems to be hungry. She has two really good friends in the neighborhood, Makayla and Gracie.


Daniel

Daniel was surprised we let him bang on things. He took advantage of every second.

Daniel has become a very good mimic. He wants to say everything and do everything he sees someone else do. He loves is sisters, and is quite upset when he can't do what Anna or Kate is doing. Daniel loves to feed the cats, and really do anything outside. We have to constantly lock the doors, or he tries to escape outside. Anna calls him Daniel the Destroyer, because he seems to destroy almost anything he touches. It isn't that he is trying to break it, he just wants to find out how it works.

Lizzie

Lizzie is now eating solid foods, though she gags on most of them still. She doesn't like anything that has flavor, but wants to eat real food. She is also sitting up, and getting near to crawling. I can tell that as soon as she starts moving, she will be into everything. She looks like she is already planning on what she will get into. She will not take a binki, but does suck on her bottom lip to soothe herself, or smack her lips when she is hungry. She is as smiley as ever, but also is getting a real opinion of what she does and doesn't want.

Well, that's the last few months in a nutshell! Hopefully our next blog post will be sooner than three months down the road!