Road Trip

The weekend after school started we took a road trip to Utah for Papa's birthday.

All in all the drive was painless, though Cole had a hard time in his carseat and needed his mommy to sit by him for a couple hours.

Papa's birthday morning all the kids climbed into the bed and watched a movie and ate some hershey kisses.

The cousins having lunch...

Cole and Sophie love spending time together!

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009 started with a surprise. We weren't sure if the weather would cooperate with us enough for us to travel to Utah and back home on Christmas weekend, so we made no definite plans with the family. But thankfully, it looked like Christmas was a perfect time to make our way down there and surprise everyone.

Our first stop was to Grandpa Dowland's house for Christmas Eve dinner. The girls snuck up and rang the doorbell and surprised Grandpa Bob enough to bring him to tears. It made the trip all worth it.

After dinner and a visit from Santa, we were off to surprise Nanna and Papa.

That night we stayed at Nanna and Papa's house and got up early in the morning to have breakfast at The Grand America in downtown Salt Lake.

The cousins had a blast playing with each other and being silly.

Then it was back to Nanna and Papa's house to open up the presents from Santa and from the family. It was a crazy, fun madhouse.

Christmas night we all spent the night at our friend's the Price's. The relaxing time we had there was heaven sent and it was wonderful being able to catch up with them.

The next day we went back to Nanna and Papa's house where Lorelei, Meredith, and Hailee spent almost 2 hours in their grandparents bathtub, being spoiled rotten with popsicle after popsicle.

That night the girls were ecstatic to spend some quality alone time with Grandpa and Grandma Dowland while their parents went out to dinner. They spent the time making gingerbread houses, eating pizza, and cuddling up while watching a movie.

It was a whirlwind of a trip and we were so glad that we were able to do it.

Jeremy's Weekend in Utah

While Jeremy was missing his girls terribly while they were in California, he was able to spend some time with Nanna and Papa Pace and with all his brothers and sisters. He had a great time relaxing and talking with them all and and having fun together.

Here he is with Auntie Annie and Hailee on the slide at the fair. She didn't want anything to do with her mommy for the slide, just Uncle Jeremy.

Auntie Sarah and Uncle Ryan also enjoyed the fun of the fair.

Number 14

A picture is worth more than a blank page. Take out those dusty photo albums. Pick out photo #14. Count however you like, but make sure you stop at photo #14. Look at the photo for 2-3 minutes. Then write all the things the photograph made you feel and think of.

This is a picture of Jeremy and Lorelei when she was around 6 months old at her Grandpa Dowland's house in Bear Lake. It was late in the summer and we were all ready to get on the boat that weekend but it was freezing, hence the hat and the sweater. She was just learning to eat solid foods and was so happy all the time. She was such a perfect baby! It seems like forever ago... Jeremy was and is the most perfect dad. He is so loving and has been the most hands on father that I could have ever hoped for for our children. He has surpassed all my expectations. He works so hard for all of us, and never complains or gets cranky. He is a great example to all of us who know him. Even though our little family has gone through a lot of tough times, some that people know of and some that people don't, he has kept his positive attitude through them all and has been the rock that we have needed him to be. I love him so much and I have no idea how I got so lucky.

Gingerbread Houses

It was a crazy weekend in Salt Lake City, jam-packed with family activities and parties. The girls were so happy to play with their cousins and see the family.
Grandma and Grandpa Dowland took the cousins to Breakfast with Santa and they came home and decorated gingerbread houses.

Road Trip

My handsome husband, the Grinch and Meredith.