Owen's first Valentine's

So

This was Owen's first Valentine's at pre-school.

So I thought I should take a picture. This is him with the balloon Nanny and Dave gave him and his Valentine's from school. We spent a nice quiet Valentine's at home with the kids. Nanny and Dave had little things hung on the kids doors and balloons for each of them (including Sid) when we got home from our trip. The kids were pretty excited!!

Super Bowl Party

We were able to have a really fun Super Bowl party at Carol and Claude's house. It was just family. But I'm sure that was plenty of craziness. We had a good time. Carol made quite the spread of food. The kids had a good time just playing with each other! Here are some pix. The boys decided they wanted to take a bath. Not sure why Owen's head is in the water!!!

G-Mac

As I said, we went to Florida for Gretchen Mackenzie's (i think that's how you spell it) blessing. Jason and Erin's kids are Mike and my only nieces and nephews. Emma is 6. Jake has Down Syndrome and is almost 5. Grady is 20 mon. And sweet sweet little Gretchen was born just before Christmas. I am completely smitten with her! I had the oportunity to keep her overnight one of the nights we were there!! I loved every minute of it!! Anyone who knows me, knows I love newborns. But to be able to keep my niece overnight? Awesome!! And you can see Addie was taken as well. She was always wanting to hold her and feed her. This is her beautiful blessing day. Here are some of the men that stood in the circle with Jason. They are all incredible men. It was really neat to be able to be there on this special day. On a personal note, I know Sidnee was there that day. I haven't felt her that close in a long time. I am positive she shared that day with us. I nicknamed Gretchen G-Mac for Gretchen Mackenzie.

Trains and lizards, oh my!!

We had told the kids that there are lizards just out in your yard in Florida. It was their whole mission to find one as soon as we got there! They couldn't find any at Claude and Carol's. But we did find some at Carolyn's. This is Addie with her's. Can you see it in her fingers? This kept them entertained for many hours. And I think none were harmed. I think.

At the Orange Park mall they have this really cool train that the kids can ride on. We let them do it and they had a blast!!

St. Augustine Beach

It's hard to go to Florida and not make a trip to the beach. This day wasn't exactly warm, but it wasn't cold either. We didn't spend long there. I thought we could just dip our toes in. What was I thinking? Owen's pants were completely soaked in a matter of seconds. ( I don't think my kids are too worried about cold water) They had a really great time. Found lots of treasures. A starfish and lots of shells. There's nothing like smelling that fresh ocean air.

Fun at the zoo with cousins

We went to the zoo one day. I love the Jacksonville zoo. We had a great day with Jason and Erin ( Mike's brother and wife) and their kids. Lots of adventure. The kids got to feed the giraffes. Not sure what Mike is doing to that poor elephant. Owen got trapped in a huge web. Jason and Mike held hands while going down the slide. Owen decided why use a restroom? We're outside. Just drop pants and go. Not once, but a couple of times he peed just where we were. I promise this is not a normal thing for him. It was pretty embarassing. And much more fun. Finished up by a really cool ride on the train. Such a great day!

Love the dock.

This is the dock at Carol and Claude's (Mike's dad and step-mom) They live on the St. John's river. Although, these are different days on the dock, I combined it together. This is Mike and the kids taking a walk. The ones with the sun are the last day we were in Florida. ( of course the warmest). Mike had the kids sitting out on the dock fishing with them when I got up. This was their first time fishing. So I took my breakfast out and ate there. Beautiful day. It was hard to come back to Utah and the snow and cold. After the fishing, Carol came out and convinced them to put a toe in the water. The next thing I know they jumping off the end of the dock with Mike. I hesitate to put the picture of that in cause Addie and Owen only had their underwear on. We didn't think we would need swimsuits in Jacksonville the beginning of Feb. I guess we were wrong! I wasn't too keen on the idea. This water is so gross. And don't forget Aligators and snakes swim this river. However, I remembered they were in hibernation this time of year (well, I was told). So, I figured what the heck! I knew the kids would love it. And figured Carol and Claude would love to see these grankids swim in the river. It's kind of a big deal for someone to swim in the river this time of year. But not for these guys! They swim in Bear Lake in the summer! Which is pretty darn cold. On the way up the kids decided to take the lift up. Carol had a lift built for Claude so he could get in the water in the summer. Which is pretty cool since he had a massive stroke almost 4 years ago.

Trip to Florida

On Jan. 31st or should I say Feb 1 when flew to Jacksonville Fl. to see Mike's family. We actually took the red eye. I was nervous for how the kids would do. They did great!! I was so proud of them! It was probably the easiest time we've had flying since we've had kids. But then again, we didn't have to take any diaper bag with formula, diapers, sippy cups ect. We had a backpack for each kid (which they had to carry). And we each took a carry on suitcase. We had a great time while we were there. The purpose of our trip was to be there for our beautiful niece's blessing, Gretchen. It has been over 2 years since we have been there. It felt good to see everyone again. It will be hard to decide which pictures to include.

Not for the faint of heart!

Owen being himself, did this to his teeth Jan. 26. Addie's friend Gracie was over. Owen had just gone downstairs and was chasing the girls. They decided to get away from him by hiding under a blanket. He decided to jump on Gracie over the blanket and did this. Poor Gracie's forehead had the actual print of Owen's tooth in it! I rushed him to the dentist. He said most likely he'll lose the front left one. Or, it'll turn gray. Yeah. What the heck? 2 out of 3 kids are gonna lose their front tooth? Addie knocked her front tooth out when she was 2 1/2. 3 weeks after Sid died. The doc said it was just cause I was in this profession. Anyway, a few weeks later, he hasn't lost it. But I'm not convinced he won't. Good times!

Mike's 35th birthday!

We celebrated Mike's b-day a day early. He turned 35 on Jan. 25th. I had to work on his birthday, so we celebrated the day before. Mom and Dave to us out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. These are some pix from there. And this is Mike riding the saddle that they do there for your birthday. Of course he had to ham it up by putting his hand to his ear. We enjoyed good eats and good company!!