So, 3 months quickly go by without me writing. Here is a run through of what we have done (Note: Kid Quotes at the bottom if you want to skip to the good stuff):
DECEMBER
The first few weeks of December consisted of getting ready for and taking finals. I have no recollection of the event in question. We will quickly fast forward to Christmas break. We headed to Utah to spend the holidays with Kindra's family. We had a lot of fun. We attended several Christmas parties, went sledding, played some broom hockey, built snowmen, went four wheeling, had a brief visit with Misti and her family at temple square, Kindra went skiing while I took the girls to Pirate Island Pizza, and many other fun things. It was nice to relax, see friends and family, and try not to think about school. We did happen to be there while Kindra's grandpa, Clel Jensen, passed away. We were fortunate enough to attend his funeral. While we lived in Utah, we were only a short distance to their house, so we visited them often. Clel was a very smart, kind, and fun man. He will be missed. It was a nice visit, and it was difficult to leave. It did make it slightly easier when returned to 70 degree January weather.Here are a few pics of our visit:
JANUARY
January brought a return to school and routine. Kierra was much happier to begin pre-school again than I was for my school. Maybe if I were learning about the letter A instead of the letter epsilon... Anyways, January was very busy. We did find time to visit the
desert museum, one of our favorite attractions in Tucson. It is a zoo, but it is different than most zoos. All of the animals there are native to Northern Mexico or Arizona, so they are all in their natural habitat. The animals are much more active than the animals at other zoos. The exhibits are well put together. They have neat shows such as a raptor show with the birds flying all around you. It is a great place to visit, and just another reason to come visit us. We followed that up with a picnic/nature walk at a place with Native American petroglyphs. Here are some January pics:
FEBRUARY
In February, we dealt with Ariana's annual sickness, and an amazing amount of rain. In August I was convinced we live in a desert. Now, I am not so sure. Of course we celebrated Valentine's day. Kindra and I attended a ward party where we had dance instruction from a couple who instructed participants on Dancing with the Stars. It was nice to dance with Kindra. We also had our yearly tradition of me cooking a 'fancy' meal for Kindra and the girls. This year was grilled sea scallop and mango kabobs and cous cous over spinach. It was a hit. Now, I need to start planning for next year!
KID QUOTESAriana: Mom, too bad you married dad. I wish I could have married him first.
Kindra: Kierra, we have your shots this week.
Kierra: Nooooo! I DO NOT want shots!
DJ: Mom might take you to ice cream afterwards.
Kierra: Eeeee! Now that might put me in the mood to get some shots.
Kindra: Ariana, be careful! There is some dog poop there.
Ariana: Ahhh, no fair. I wish I could go dog poop. (This made me feel less proud that she wanted to marry me).
DJ: Ugggh. This wheat oatmail is horrible. It tastes like dirt.
Kierra: You've tasted dirt before?!
I also took the time to do a little wood work. Just before Christmas, we had a mishap with our kitchen table. The leg broke off in a way that was beyond reasonable repair. Considering we bought the table 6 years ago for $12 at a yard sale, it was difficult to justify spending much to fix it anyway. However, it has been our family table forever. Luckily, we found a way to keep it part of the family. I used the table top to make a smaller table top and two benches, then built a base for a kid-sized picnic table. It is a bit wierd to see a picnic table made out of finished oak, but the girls love it! I still need to finish the edges, but that might have to wait until summer now that school is back in. Either way, it was a relaxing project over the break.
Here's a pic of the girls getting ready for the ward Easter egg hunt. Look out boys...in 20 years!
