Suprise or Not?

I know some of you know; but others may not so I just wanted to make it official: We're PREGNANT! I am due the first week in August but so far I've never made it 40 weeks so I'm hoping for the end of July. We are having a girl this time, which we are super excited about. I am doing good and feeling fine. According to the Dr. the baby is great also. She is quite the mover and so far hasn't given me too much trouble. That could change very quickly though. :)

Evan and Wyatt are really excited for the new baby, and She has already taken a very strong hold on Daddy's heart.

Let It Snow

This year Blanding had one of the best years ever for snow. We really were blessed this past winter with moisture. By the time Russ had shoveled it all he would probably argue for a curse more than a blessing; but when you live where we do we'll take all the water we can get. Luckily the kids both got new snow stuff for Christmas and they were outfitted for such a harsh winter. They loved the snow. Wyatt loved to eat it and throw snowballs, and Evan loved sledding and attempted a snowman a few times. The snowman was tricky because the snow was so soft and deep that neither Russ or I could walk on top without sinking through to the bottom which for him and I was at least waist deep. So only Evan and Wyatt could walk on the top and trying to explain how to build a snowman to a 3 year old without being able to show him was a little tricky. Luckily his cousins came over to help shovel off the roof and while they were here my niece was able to help him get one built.

This is the tree out side our front porch. It was so pretty because the trees were so heavy with snow that they just drooped over until they rested on the top of the snow.

In this picture you can see the snow piling up. If you look close you can see the top of our trailer almost covered in snow; and off to the right is our 4 wheeler submerged underneath.

Poor Abby, who loves to be outside, had to "melt" in the tub whenever she came back inside. She is a house dog but still has to go out to go the bathroom. The snow would ball up around her fur and would freeze. If you pulled on the balls it would rip her fur out, so she had to melt each time she came back in.
After we shoveled off our roof it created a mound right outside our door. Evan would climb up the mound from the porch and then sled off into our front yard. He had a great time because he was able to do it by himself.

Christmas

Family traditions are starting to be more important to me every year. One that I love is going to cut down our Christmas tree every year. I love being together as a family and enjoying an un-interupted day with them as we pick out, cut down, and decorate our tree each year.

The Keith Family Christmas Tree! Evan got the chance to pick out our tree this year. He did a great job. He was very particular and took a lot of time in choosing the perfect one. He helped Daddy cut it down and then helped carry it to the car. Luckily we went on a warm day so our only discouragement was the setting sun. These are my favorite Christmas pictures. I love pics of my kids sleeping. I always try to take a couple pictures on Christmas morning. They don't appreciate the flash at all but it is only once a year so they tolerate it. This year Russ and I woke up before the kids (we get just as excited to see them as bigger kids do for Christmas day) I love early Christmas morning when it is quite and the lights are on the tree before all the hustle and bustle starts; I love to just sit and listen to the quiet, smell the tree, and enjoy the peace I feel. When Russ and I can't wait any longer we go and get the kids and new excitement starts to replace the quiet calm. Do you think he's been naughty or nice? The boy's taking in all that Santa left for them. You can tell Evan is excited, I love it.

Mommy helping Wyatt open his stocking stuffers.

Grandma Kathleen helping Evan with bubbles. Abby was trying to sneak in a peek too.

Wyatt enjoying his new "gugga" (Blanket) and duck.

Uncles helping Wyatt get some more gifts open. Wyatt got a new hat from Uncle Jason and to this day he wears it at least once a day. It was one of his favorite gifts ever.

Enjoying the day together is probably my favorite feeling of the day. I am so grateful for my own family, and the moments we get to share together. Christmas this year was a great time for us to be together. I am glad that each year we get to celebrate our Savior and the great feelings that come when we allow him to touch our lives and the lives of our families.

Halloween and Turkey Day

Evan's FAVORITE holiday is Halloween. He looks forward to it every year. Of course we did pumpkins. He got to clean and cut his own this year. I helped him with the face but he put a lot of little knife marks in it; which when it was lit up created a super cool effect on the face of the pumpkin.

Getting ready to take out the guts.

Wyatt was a little less than interested. He liked to take the insides and eat them as opposed to throwing them out. He did like the feeling and Russ helped him put a face on his pumpkin as well.

Mom and Evan working on cutting out their pumpkins. Evan's hair is white because he had his school Halloween party earlier that day and was allowed to dress up; it was part of his costume.

Wyatt getting ready to attack his pumpkin.
This year Evan was a ghost, I made his costume which I didn't think would be that hard but seriously, I stressed over it more than was needed. He loved it and had a great time. He had a party at his school, we went to the carnival at the college, (he won 3 bottles of pop in the ring toss); and we topped it off with a Halloween party at our house and trick or treating. Wyatt was a Vampire. He looks so sad/mad in this photo. It was a long day to say the least and he hated wearing the cape. This was the best picture we got. I made his costume as well. He liked the fish pond at the carnival, and liked trick or treating until it got cold. Evan and Mom trick or treating, If you look close you can see Abby in the basket of the stroller. She came with us but was too distracted by all the other children to focus on walking so finally I decided to put her in the basket. Luckily she stayed and just enjoyed the ride.
The kids in their costumes before trick or treating. Jason dressed up as Bruce Lee and I also dressed up as a she-devil. Halloween was great and Evan has already started talking about trick or treating again this year. Hopefully Wyatt will like it more this year too; maybe a change in costume will lift his spirits.

For Thanksgiving we went to Russ' Grandparents house in Monument Valley. We had a great time and I met most of Russell's mothers family; most of whom I'd never met. This is a picture of Russ' family. We had fun however Evan got sick on the way down, so did Abby. So the drive was less than fun but we made it and luckily the kids slept the whole way home.
This year I was asked to make the pies for dessert. It was great. I made 10 pies for the occasion; a feat which until attempted I didn't know was possible. This picture was taken outside of Monument Valley, and holds everything that I am most grateful for.

Summer Catch Up

Because I am such a slacker and perfectionist; I have fallen far behind on our current doings. A perfectionist because I keep thinking I'll take the time to blog everything that I want the way I want and a slacker because the further I fall behind the more overwhelming the task seems and the farther I fall behind. But I am hoping to leave all that behind and move forward here is a very breif summary of what you missed this past summer. My Dad bought the kids a set of golf clubs earlier this summer and Russ and the boys proceeded to spend every free minute on the course. The boys love to chip in our yard but their favorite is to actually go to the course in Monticello and play a round of golf, or hit a few buckets of balls with Dad.

We did lots of cooking out and even tried more camping this year. Camping was a nightmare because Wyatt was not so keen on all of us sleeping in a tent in the cold air; but Evan thought it was really fun. They both love to be on the mountain and cookout though. Which is great because as they get older we plan on doing more and more. Russ and I love to be outside and we're hoping it passes on to our offspring.

We spent some time with Russ' Grandparents who live in Monument Valley. It was good because the boys don't really know who they are but they had fun at their house and love to get to know more of their grandparents. Russ' parents only speak Navajo so Russ' mom came along to translate.

We went to the Hogle Zoo, the carosel was of course their favorite. They liked the park too, and each year they are warming up to the animal exhibits even more. Maybe next year we'll actually be able to look at the elephants. Wyatt seemed to like the animals more than Evan; who just wanted to rush through so he could ride the escalator at the mall.

While we were also up there we hit the West Bountiful fourth of July parade. My kids love a parade. Wyatt liked to watch and was pre occupied with a sucker for most of the parade. Evan loves to get the candy and waves at the "floats" passing by.

So I'm not too big into the matchey-matchey but how could you resist. They are just too cute.
We went to the Albequerque Zoo this year as well. I loved their zoo. They had a lot more animals and we must have gone at the right time because there were a lot of babies which was great. We got to feed the giraffe, and Evan loved playing in the park and riding the train. Wyatt liked chasing the birds that were rummaging around as we had lunch. My favorite were the hippos.
We went to the Olsen reunion and it was great to catch up with family. We don't get up to Logan very often so it was nice to see everyone. The boys had a great time at the park with their uncles. We ate, talked, and played games. I'm so glad we were able to see more of our families this summer; thanks to Russ' new job. Here is us at the Hansen Planetarium. The boys had a great time. The exhibits were cool but they loved the toy by the stairs that has all the wheels, balls, and rotating cogs that spins and does whatnot. It took us a long time to finally leave because the boys were too busy. Finally we decided to add a new edition to our family. Her name is Abby. She is as cute and as sweet as she looks. She is our "house dog" and the kids love her so much.

Evan's First Day Of School

My baby is growing up and he started school last August, with Tiny Tots Preschool. He loves going to school and hanging out with other kids his own age. He has been learning lots of new academic and social skills. His best friends are Shaylee and Kaylee and his teacher is Mrs. Lee. His favorite things to do are to paint, play outside, and snack time. His least favorite is thing to do is to walk to the front door by himself. He is gaining more confidence in himself and in his abilities, which is great. He'll graduate this year in May and start again this upcoming August. Getting ready to go!As you can see he had a great first day. One of his biggest accomplishements this year is learning to write all of his letters and numbers. He has done great and continues to love going to school.