April in Arizona

Back in April, Jaron went to a conference for work, and I tagged along (thanks to Nana for staying with the boys!). We had a lovely "getaway". We stayed at a nice resort in the foothills of Tucson, did a little mountain biking and hiking, and greased our tubes at the scrumptious "In-N-Out". I sure have an amazing husband, and it was so fun to have an extended date with him. Can't wait to do it again!

Catalina State Park. Right near our hotel. I spent half a day hiking around while Jaron went to conference meetings one day. Rough, I know.

"Together we stand, Divided we fall"...cause I'll be darned if I'm falling off into the cacti! Mountain biking was pretty intense, because if we weren't careful we'd be eating cholla or prickly pear! Check out these Dr.Seuss-looking cholla bushes. (Those are thorns, not fuzzies):

Thanks for a wonderful trip Darlin'!

Spencer's Piano Recital

Spencer worked hard this year at practicing piano. He doesn't always love practicing, but he sure brings joy to the home when he plays! We're so proud of him for being so dedicated!

Dread-locks

WARNING: Excessive use of winter hats and sleeping on pillows MAY cause up to 12 dreadlocks on a single head. These are not life-threatening, but are likely to cause severe irritation of the scalp when attempting to comb through them!

The recommend course of action is to immediately cut (with scissors or a Suck-cut) the mad nappy-ness.

After you have shed the mean case of bed-head, you will likely feel light and free, and may even attempt daring acts such as scaling the pantry shelves to get your paws on the chocolate chips.

Spencer's Baptism!!

We're ba-aaaak! We're pleased to announce our return to the blogging world after a forced hiatus due to the loss and (thankfully!) recovery of all the pictures on our hard drive.

So now it's business as usual!

There's so much to catch up on, but rather than letting myself be paralyzed with guilt, I'll just trudge forward as if we hadn't experienced a 3-month hiccup, and hope that maybe someday I'll get around to publishing Christmas, and Spence and Trevor's birthdays.

Last week (March 26th) we had the wonderful experience of having Spencer baptized and confirmed in the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Spencer has been the light and joy of our lives. He is a great example of kindness to his little brothers and his peers. His teacher has told me that the other children look up to him, and we are so grateful that he has been a positive influence on their lives. In addition to being a great friend, story-teller, and example, Spence has a desire to know God and to make good choices. We're glad that Spencer wanted to take this step to help him draw closer to God.

We were grateful to have Nana and Opa, and Chris and Deanna and their girls be there for the baptism. Opa gave a simple yet powerful talk about the Holy Ghost, and Jaron's confirmation blessing was sweet and touching. It was a peaceful, love-filled morning, and we wish we could have shared it with all our family and loved ones!

Don't be fooled by the sour face. Trevor really was excited for Spencer--he just needed a nap!

Where's YOUR Husband??

It's 4:30 am and 20 degrees outside. Do you know where YOUR husband is...??

I woke up this morning to discover Jaron's car still parked in the driveway. I double-checked the bed, but he wasn't in it. After checking downstairs to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep studying, I realized that Jaron had done the unthinkable: He actually RODE HIS BIKE to work!! Call me a wuss, but I stop running outside when the mercury dips below freezing, and when we consider the extra windchill one would experience on a bike...well, let's just say that my "low" limit would be more like 50 degrees!

I think Jaron deserves this week's official "I'm Too Sexy For the Cold" award.

Trip to Chi-Town

A.K.A. Chicago.

A couple weeks ago, we took a little family vacation to the "Windy City". We went to a couple museums and stayed in a hotel with a pool. We had so much fun together!

During the 4-hour drive there, we told the boys about skyscrapers. As we got closer to the city, we went through a town with some 6-story office buildings. Mikey saw those tall buildings and said, "Look Mom! Skyscrapers!!" Boy, was he in for a treat!

Chicago Children's museum:

We worked together as a family and built this super-tall skyscraper!

Trevor taking in the view:

I love this guy!!

Look Mom! I'm the Sears Tower!!

We didn't get many pictures at the Shedd Aquarium because it was EXTREMELY crowded, AND a couple of us were REALLY tired from staying up too late at the hotel, so we cut our visit here short. But we LOVED the 4-D Diego movie, especially the part when we got sprayed with water!

I love this giant statue of "Man Hugging Fish" outside the Aquarium.

We *Heart* IOWA

From fall leaves to pumpkin patches, from Big 10 Homecoming parades to corn up to your eyeballs, there's a lot to love here in our "North Texas" land! :-)