LEGO

The other day, Drew got to pick out a toy at the store because, well, I'm a sucker. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I let him pick out a LEGO Star Wars Space Ship. The picture on the front didn't appear to be a major production so I thought, how bad could it be? The fact that it had 163 pieces didn't really register with me and I thought it would be a piece of cake. Boy was I surprised when I opened it up and it was basically 163 pieces the size of peas and directions meant for a member of Mensa.
I managed to get it done in under 2 hours and only had 6 extra parts. Whatever.
Drew was excited and now after all that hard work, the LEGO space ship is back into 163 pieces waiting to be eaten by the vacuum. Note to self: No more LEGOs for my kids.

Fun in the Snow

As mentioned before, we came home from Hawaii to a pretty good snow storm which I loved!! The kids loved going outside to play and build a snowman. A couple of months ago, we bought a 4-wheeler and we got to take it out for it's first run in the snow in the field behind our house.
(After the snowman was built, Avery walked up to it and gave it a hug and a kiss. We had to build a baby snowman next to it for her.) (Brent caught some serious air off the ramp they made.)
(Too cold for this snow bunny.)
(Drew tried several times to make a snow angel. He just wasn't heavy enough to make any sort of indention in the snow so I finally had to press him into the snow and then he was finally able to make one.)

Houston

While we were in Hawaii, my sister-in-law Kat watched Drew and Avery for us and we are so thankful that she did! The kids had a great time at her house and I got to visit Kat and Jon in Houston for the first time. Kris helped me make the drive to and from Houston and was also able to stay and help Kat out. We were able to stay a few extra days to spend time with Kat and the kids and do some fun things around Houston. Since Jon is in the middle of school, he was pretty scarce, but it was fun to see him too. While there, we were able to go to the zoo and to the NASA space center.

(As we were leaving the zoo, Drew was our guide, reading the map. I thought it was cute so I was laughing and trying to take a picture of him to which he said very seriously: "Could you not laugh at a little boy while he's trying to read his map please?")

(Isn't this the cutest picture?! This is Drew and Sevy. They would just walk around and then stand there and look at the exhibit holding hands. It was so sweet.)

A good time was had by all. Well, almost all...

It was about a 13 hour drive to Houston from Hereford and when we made it back home, Drew said "Wow! That was a long ways from Houston. You should call Kat and tell her to maybe fly next time she comes."
Good Idea.

Inspired

I am learning a lot from teaching seminary and often, a quote or a scripture from my studies will really resonate with me and my testimony will be strengthened. Tonight, I came across a quote that I really like and I thought I would share. I think it's quite appropriate in the times that we live in and a nice reminder of where our focus and influence should be, especially for the youth of the church. This is from President Ezra Taft Benson:

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environments. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.

Aloha!

In December, Brent and I had our 10 year anniversary. To celebrate, my parents invited us along on a Hawaiian vacation where my dad had a business conference. Our airfare and hotel were paid for by the company sponsering the conference so how could we pass that up? My parents were also celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary so we joined forces for a great anniversary vacation. I surprisingly did not take a ton of pictures but here are a few.

(The view from our hotel room)

We started our vacation on the island of Oahu where we went to the Polynesian Culture Center and to Pearl Harbor. If you ever go to Hawaii, both of those places are a must see. The Polynesian Culture Center had the most incredible show and a really nice luau. Pearl Harbor was cool to hear all the history and see the warships.

After Oahu, we flew over to the big island in to Kona. While there, we flew in a helicopter (with the doors off!) over a volcano and along the coast of Hilo.

We also went on a zipline, which I must say, aside from the PCC was the highlight of my trip. It was so fun.

It was a great way to spend an anniversary and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to go. Here's to ten more years!

A Cold Welcome

This is what was waiting when we got home from Hawaii. A snowstorm that closed the schools for 2 days and even cancelled church on Sunday.

Brrrr!

I know most of the country is seeing extreme temperatures right now and although we aren't getting much snow, it's c-c-cold here! This morning on my way to Seminary, this is what my car said the temperature was:

It is very hard to get up early to study scriptures in that kind of cold!