Pasta with Red Sauce

Not only does the boy love to eat, but he loves to eat MESSILY!

SNOW!!

We woke up on Thursday, October 24th and it was still dark outside.  We made coffee and got our day going and about a half-hour later, I was putting my coffee cup in the kitchen sink and took a look outside and was SHOCKED!  There was snow covering everything!  We've had some snow in the mountains recently, but not at all in the city.  What a shock!

Andrew was pretty excited about the snow when I opened the door to show him:

The snow kept falling and stuck around the rest of the day.  Fortunately, by the next afternoon, the snow in the valley was gone.  However, the mountains have taken on a completely different look.  They are completely white and when the sky is blue, it is such a beautiful view.  Here's a shot I snapped while driving around the neighborhood yesterday:

It's so frustrating because that photo doesn't even do it justice at all.  It's much more striking in person.

By Friday afternoon, we were getting antsy to get a little closer view of the snow.  So, after dinner, we packed up the kids and took a ride up Big Cottonwood Canyon.   We drove up the entire canyon to Brighton ski resort, where things haven't quite gotten going for the year.  But, it doesn't look like it'll be too much longer!  We hopped out of the car and got a few pictures, but it was only 22 degrees up there, so we didn't last long!  Here's some pictures I took with my phone during the drive:

Solitude Ski Resort

Brighton Ski Resort

Nearly full moon over the mountain on the drive home

Everyone here is starting to get a little giddy about ski season and snowshoe season starting soon!  

Our first visitors!

We were blessed with a visit from my parents last weekend.  They arrived Friday afternoon and were here until Tuesday.  When they arrived, we had blue skies and warm weather, but by the time they left, it was cold and dreary!  I'll have to write about our current winter weather in another post.

The first night my folks were here, we took them up Big Cottonwood Canyon:

The next day, we had a combo birthday bash for the boys.  Thankfully, it was 75 and sunny for the party--the last summery day of the year apparently!  Phew!

Matthew and Lily (and Ella's hand)

The parentals and some friends (Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the cute centerpieces my mom created for the party!)

Happy Birthday Song Video (my first blog video!):

Happy 3rd Bday Andrew and 1st Bday Matthew!

Andrew and Ella

The men trying to get the lost rocket from the tree (stomp rocket mishap)

I think we wore out the parentals the first 2 days and we spent the rest of their visit mostly around the house.

Thanks for all the stories, Papa!

It was great to have our first visitors!  It motivated us to get some projects done and get more settled and also gave us a chance to start figuring out what to do when people are in town!  Thanks for coming to see us, Mom and Dad!  Anyone else who wants to come--we're ready anytime and love to host!  

Solo Hike

Today we had our babysitter come watch the kids from 9-3.  It was B's idea when we moved here to have a sitter one day a week to give us a chance to do things that aren't easy to do with the kids.  In the winter, we plan to take ski lessons and go skiing, but for now, we've just been using the days to get caught up on things or grab lunch or coffee together when B is off work.  He was working today, so I used the day to run some errands to get ready for the birthday party we're having this weekend.  I got sick of hopping from store to store and the sky was so blue and those mountains were just begging me to visit.  So, I took off and headed 20 minutes away to Big Cottonwood Canyon.

It was great hiking on my own, but I do wish B could've joined me.  I got some gorgeous views, saw a waterfall, and enjoyed seeing the fall colors again.   All the reds are gone in the mountains and now it's just yellows, browns, and evergreens.  I couldn't help but think about my most-loved author's book, The First Forest, while on my hike today.  I was definitely feeling bad for those trees that were standing stark naked...

Here's some photos from my hike.  I'm very blessed to be able to easily hike somewhere so stunning.

Andrew turns 3 and the Bday curse of 2012

Andrew turned 3 this week!  The night before his birthday, he woke up 5 times crying because there were boogers in his nose.  Yup, you guessed it.  Andrew was sick for his birthday too. Ugh.  He actually woke up in the morning in a pretty good mood and opened his present from us and from his godmother.  He was happy and excited about all of them!  Then, as the day progressed, his mood seemed to deteriorate quite a bit.  He developed a fever by the afternoon and was pretty whiny and miserable.  Luckily, we're having a party to celebrate their birthdays later this month, so they'll have time to get sick again healthy for that!

Here are some pictures from Andrew's Birthday:

Our gift to him--his first bike!

A real hard hat from Aunt Faith!  Now he won't have to wear a colander on his head anymore!

Puzzles of construction trucks from Aunt Faith!

A tool belt from Aunt Faith!!

A very happy Andrew the Builder--thanks to a wonderful godmother!

Then, it got closer to lunch time and things really deteriorated.  I believe these tears were because I set the macaroni and cheese he didn't want too close to him on the table.

After nap, Andrew the Builder needed to rest for a while.

After his rest, Andrew the Builder decided to try out his new bike to ride from project to project:

Later that night, Andrew got to have a birthday cupcake.  He was a little confused about why B and I got to eat one too since it was his birthday.  

Pretty tough to keep that pinky down to show us he's 3!

Making a wish and then passing all his germs to the rest of the cupcakes.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Andrew!

Matthew is One!

Matthew turned 1 last week!  Sadly, he spent the day miserable with a fever.  I'm pretty sure he didn't understand why we kept making him talk to people on the computer, tear paper off toys, and eat a chocolate cupcake.  Poor lil' guy just wanted to sleep and be held all day.  Here's some photos from his birthday:

Opening his present with a little help from Andrew--a big drum full of instruments!

Haha--poor guy.

Trying to whistle with his tamborine.

Matthew was a good sport when we gave him his cupcake.  He tore it apart, took a bite, and threw the rest on the floor.  Looks like a successful 1st b-day cake eating though, right?

Here he is a few days later--feeling better and modeling an adorable outfit and toy he got from his wonderful godmother:

Happy 1st Birthday Matthew!

Introducing...

Meet the newest addition to the family...which we may or may not have chosen mostly because of the Steelers sticker in the window.  I mean, what are the chances of finding a car with a Steelers sticker in a used car lot in Salt Lake City?  Fate, I tell ya.  Go Steelers!