March 2014

Happy March! This  month was Rich's birthday and we were able to go out to dinner. We have been wanting to try some fancy ramen noodles. We've seen lots of stuff on the food network about how ramen is making a comeback and we decided to find out where we could get some. We found a little hole in the wall place, that was actually pretty good (not to mention the enormous serving sizes!). Happy Birthday to Rich. :)

Here are some pictures of other things we did this month...

 We got some tickets to see the U of U basketball game. Sophia and Max did great. Sophia loved cheering!

Here is Max and me. He didn't know what to think with all the yelling and loud music and the band. 

Sophia is showing off her new backback. She likes to take it to church, stuffed full of all the books, crayons, and snacks that will keep her entertained during sacrament meeting. She'll even think of packing toys for Max. You'd be surprised at all that little bag can hold.

Here's another picture of Sophia lost in her books. And Max playing contentedly on the floor. Thankfully we got new rugs for our living room. Who knows what was lurking in the old one!

Zoo day! Max is about to pass out, he's so tired! But we had to see the giraffes! 

Sophia's book got ripped and she came up with the idea to "tape" it back together with these post-its. What a smart girl!

I wish I could explain these pictures, but I didn't take them. The first time I saw these were as I was just loading the pictures, I had to laugh at her expressions, as well as her outfit!

One Sunday, I took a nap and when I woke up, I found these two taking a nap of their own. They are such good buddies!

December 2013

Sophia discovered how much fun it is to be a dog. She insisted that I force Rocco in the kennel with her and close the door. It was a lot of fun for him, I'm sure!

I love pictures of Sophia and her books. She got into reading books right before bed and nap times and I would find her like this a lot.

You may have noticed that Sophia is now in a big bed. She had a hard time letting Max take over her crib. Sometimes I would find her like this. And Max's blankets and puppy was on the floor. I thought it was so funny that she would throw all his stuff out and fill the crib with every stuffed animal she has.

She found a new use for her underwear.

More books and one happy girl!

I love when they play together. They both thought it was so funny to sit on the chair under the blanket.

Look at that smile! Such a happy kid!

For Christmas Eve, my mom came and stayed the night. She and Sophia made cookies together. My mom is so fun and Sophia just loves her. She thought it was really funny to pose together the same way and insisted my mom bend her head "like this".

So she did.

And more posing. Notice my mom's legs. Sophia put our stockings on her. Those are some massive stockings, huh!

The big Christmas present for us was a new fridge. Goodbye ugly, leaking, old fridge.

Hello, new, fancy fridge! I love that the freezer is on the bottom. It is wonderful to be able to open the fridge and see everything that's in there without bending over.  Plus, it's great when you have crawlers in the house. 

Every Christmas, my grandparents on my dad's side, throw a Christmas party like none other. There is a Christmas pageant that all the grand kids participate in. The highlight of the party is when they bring in their donkey for Mary to ride on. After the pageant, all the kids can ride it. Sophia loved it!

Family Pictures

I'm always happy when our family pictures are OVER. I hate the stress of planning outfits and scheduling a time that *hopefully* won't interfere with naps, lunch, or work.  We used Fotofly On The Spot, where they came to our house and did a photo shoot. I am pretty happy with the way they turned out. It is so nice to have professional pictures of the kids.

In these pictures, Sophia is 2 and Max is 10 months.  

I love that Rocco got to sit in a few shots with us. He is 9 years old now, and such a great family dog.

November 2013

This kid loves her books! 

And her dad!

For Thanksgiving this year, Rich smoked a turkey again. It's delicious, as you can imagine. I love the gravy he makes from the drippings. Mmmm... Gravy. Just thinking of it is making my mouth water!

Early that cold morning, we ran in the Turkey Trot in the canyon. Rich pushed our stroller (which is not meant for running, by the way!) and ran with me. I think that's the first time he's ever run with me because I'm too slow for him! It was super fun though. 

The kids got lots of comments on their turkey hats. It's funny that making these takes HOURS and they really only wear it for that 30 minute run. At least I got some mediocre pictures that will preserve all my hard work. 

Sleepy head!

We all got together and had dinner at the Bowen's. After we all stuffed ourselves, some old puppets were pulled out from when Rich was a kid and the next generation (with Jeannette's help) performed the story of the first Thanksgiving. It was really cute.

Another hat photo. When I say they took hours to make... I mean hours and hours.  For several days. Oh, well.

A tradition Rich and I have started is doing a Christmas puzzle together on Thanksgiving night. It's surprisingly fun, but I have to admit, I barely contributed to this puzzle. Rich was flying on it!  Another tradition we have is pulling out everyone's Christmas blankets to use until after Christmas. Also, Grandma Sorenson gives all the grand kids Christmas pajamas. I love the beginning of the Holidays!