Endearing Momments

I am sure I am not alone in the world of mothers, when I say that sometimes I look at my girls and think, "I can't believe how cute you are!"  On that note, here are a few Kate stories I want to remember.

Yesterday, Kate found a stack of tax documents on the table.  She picked one up and said, "I'm going to read you a story."  She got a very serious look on her face and began, "And it came to pass...a monster." She then proceeded on in Kate language for a few minutes before picking up another paper and saying, "And it came to pass...another monster."  Then a few minutes later, "And it came to pass...more monsters."

Whenever we go to my parents house Grandpa Larry and Kate sneak upstairs to get a "secret."  Kate usually emerges with a very guilty smile on her face and some chocolate residue around her mouth.  Grandpa Larry has a stash of chocolate frogs in his closet.  One afternoon when we were in Arizona Kate started thinking about her Grandpa Larry.  Her eyes got a little dreamy and she said, "Grandpa is my chocolate friend, my secret friend.  I miss him."

I left Kate with my Mom one day while I went somewhere.  They played outside, made cookies, and did all those fun grandma things.  When I went to pick her up and was walking with her to the car she said, "I love that Grandma.  I like her a lot."

I was talking with Kate the other day and asked her, "What is your last name?"  Without any hesitation she responded "Beautiful." 

After a nice wrestling match, a game of hide and seek, and a walk across the ceiling, Kate gave Josh a big hug and said, "I like you Dad. [thoughtful pause] Except I don't like you when I go to bed."

Girls' Trip

Sometimes you just need to get with the girls and do girl things.  Last week my Mom, Kate, Jane, and I traveled down to Arizona to hang out with Cheryl.  We exercised, we shopped, we watched chick flicks, we painted our toe nails, we worked on projects, we cooked when we felt like it and didn't cook when we didn't.  I can't account for the time in terms of every day productivity, but sometimes you need an few days invested in yourself.  A chance to relax and be in the company of your mom and your sister can go a long way to sustain you in the reality of everyday life.

A Few More Pictures

I have to include a few more pictures from our "1st Annual Girls' Trip" to Arizona.  I have decided a girls' trip should be an annual event so I am declaring it such.  

Jillian & Jane

Bruschetta Feast

Cheryl & Kate Plant Squash

Making a Mess & Loving Every Minute

The Shopping Trip

Jillian, Kate, & Jane

What Does a Fishy Say?

Return of a Fickle Blogger

I am not sure what happened to my blog.  My first excuse was Christmas, then I was working on a cousin slideshow for my family, then I was trying to keep my Relief Society running, and then. . . who knows?  I guess I just got lazy.  But I'm back and I will try to fill in a few holes from the last few months.

Temples

We recently had the chance to go to the open house of the Draper temple.  When I told Kate we were going she said, "To get married?"  I told her she had to wait at least 23 more years before she got married and she said, "okay."  I hope she holds to that resolve when she is 19-ish :).  Her favorite parts of the open house were the pictures of "Jesus stories" on the walls and the oxen holding up the baptismal font.

The church recently produced this video on why we build temples.  I enjoyed it and, again, Kate loves the oxen.

I noticed that this link scrolls through different video clips.  It is the first one that comes up entitled "Why Mormons Build Temples."  If it takes you a while to read this post you may have to use the back arrow to get to the right clip.

Winter Adventure

We have a tradition in our little family of  going cross-country skiing on Christmas morning.  Unfortunately, we had to postpone our adventure this year because Kate was sick on Christmas.  We finally got out this week.  Josh was a little worried about me leaving him in the dust since Kate has grown and we added Jane to the chariot this year.  I, on the other hand, was thrilled at the prospect of Josh being slowed down by an extra 40 pounds.

We went up to the Nordic Center at Silver Lake which is located at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon.  We were, however, too cheap to pay the entrance fee, so we waited in the parking lot until it closed at 4:30 and then hopped on the trails.  It was fun to be on groomed paths that didn't sport a steep grade like the canyon where we usually ski.

We had a good hour of adventure before it started getting dark and cold.  Then just to add a little extra charm, it started to snow as were skiing back out toward the car.  It is always good for the soul to get outside on an adventure and enjoy the beauty of the earth.