Happy Valentine's Day!
We had special visitors this week with Travis' Dad & his Grandpa.  I think it's amazing that Mia & Zoe will know their great grandpa.  I didn't get the chance to know my great grandparents and really only got to see my grandparents annually over the holidays.  Our girls are very lucky and I try to remind them of that often. 

Travis got some fun photos of Zoe who took a couple days to even warm up.  She can be such a stinker when it comes to anyone else other than Mom or Dad.  Have I shared our experiences with Zoe & Nursery yet?  Yeah, that's a treat every week!

Travis got to practice taking some photos of his Grandpa while they were here.

Here's Mia who wanted to wear something special to school on Valentine's Day for the party.  Mia said her favorite part was passing out Valentine's into the treat bags. 

Other Haps at Home...
Over the past week, Mia has been gearing up for soccer practice.  She's signed up for the Spring league and has been dribbling the ball throughout the house.  I was recently able to go to Miami for a work conference and even though it was for an entire week, I have to admit, Travis and the girls seemed to manage really well.  There was only one night of craziness when Mia got the flu, but there was a quick recovery and for this blog and her posterity, I will spare you the details of the all-night extravaganza. :)

We finally got some snow this past weekend and I forgot how nice it is to be home, snuggled up on the couch, when it's snowing.  It's a long weekend for President's Day so I'm just happy we get one more day of cuddling with the girls! 

Are Squinkies popular in your house? 

Mia is so lucky that her Grandparents know what Squinkies are!  They were a hit in our house come Christmas morning.  We had originally thought we would be in Seattle on Christmas morning, but at the last minute, we changed our plans and decided to take it easy and leave later on Christmas day to start our drive.  We woke up to this...

This was the year for Zoe and things to snuggle with.  She loves baby dolls more than Mia ever did.

Yummy!  Grandma Jo sent some of her homemade apple butter. ;)

 Zoe tore into the presents this year...it didn't take her long to figure out what was inside.  :)

And...for the final night, Krinkle Boy (our Elf on the Shelf) left a note for Mia and Zoe reminding them the true meaning of Christmas and thanking them for such a fun holiday season.  He also asked if he could go to Seattle sometime!  Mia giggled.

The best gift didn't come from Santa this year, it's the gift of new front doors!  It's amazing what a little face lift will do for your 70's home.  :)  THANK YOU, TRAVIS!  Like usual, we wonder why we waited so long to get them installed.

(Before)

 (After)

Zoo Lights

It's been an exciting couple of weeks as we gear up for the big man's arrival!  During this past week, we had dinner with Mrs. Claus and then strolled through the zoo to see all the lights.  It actually started to snow and that made the evening really fun.  Since we made our snowman, we haven't had any snow in December.  There's been a couple flurries, but hardly any snow on the ground and it seems strange.  The worst part is that it's very cold.  We'd rather have snow if it's going to be so cold!

I love the way these pictures turned out...the colors at zoo lights were awesome!

Merry Christmas Eve, everybody!  Mia got a phone call from Santa yesterday and he said, "We need to go to bed early so he can bring us a surprise."  Have a very, Merry Christmas!

Trying to get caught up...

Oh wow.  I almost feel guilty that I haven't posted since September!  I've tried many times to sit down and upload a few new photos (thus the photo of the carved pumpkins that showed up in the header), but lo and behold, something would always pull me away.  Could it be the 1 year old tugging at my pant leg or the 4 year old needing some attention?  Hmmm.  :)  You know the story.

Either way, I am sad that I haven't posted more because this is my online journal for Mia & Zoe.  I can only get better!  The good news is that we've been busy and celebrated yet another birthday party (Travis' was this past week), our first big snowfall, our 13th Anniversary, Zoe's first steps and Halloween.  For this week, we're getting ready to have Thanksgiving at our home with Travis' family.  Should be fun and action-packed to stay home this year and enjoy the holidays together.

We spent a lot of our time this Fall up at Snowbird.  They had some great activities for the kids (Mia loved the alpine slide!) and we stayed up at The Cliff Lodge for our anniversary.

Every now and then I find random snapshots like this on the hard drive when I'm going through the photos.  Not sure how Mia's face showed up in this photo, but I can tell you that this is a very typical scene in our home.  Two beagles, patiently awaiting the crumbs and sometimes the sweet taste of a Bunny Graham that either gets tossed or falls to the floor.  What a life!

We celebrated Halloween FIVE times this year.  It was exhausting! (School, church, work, family...and then the actually holiday finally showed up)  Once again...what a life!

Eleven years later (or 77 years old in dog years) and she's still got that spark to run in the snow!  Go Piper GO!

Here is Mia's FIRST EVER snowman.  Built with love and care by Mia and her mom in our backyard.  Mia named her, Foofa.

I had to post this other very typical scene in our home.  Zoe loves the fridge...inside and outside.  It's become a favorite pastime.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!  We love you!!

YOU ARE FOUR!

Miss Mia is turning 4 years old and she can barely wait for her princess party to celebrate!

She's been waiting all year for "Buttercup", the unicorn on Toy Story 3.  Thanks to eBay, mom was able to find several Buttercup's.  I've fallen victim to being the parent who searches high and low for the one, unique gift that a child requests.  I'm thankful that her requests have been practical so far...not sure how I will manage the requests one day for a new car!

It's been a great summer so far and sadly, it's coming to a quick close.  We have enjoyed swim lessons, 2 summer camps and a trip to Seattle and St. George.  Zoe has been growing like a weed and basically tells us, "No" to lots of things and then smiles and tilts her head and makes everything all better!  We went to the ABBA concert as one of our few date nights out and it was awesome!  It was a Swedish band that rocked the house and had all the blue-hairs dancing (sorry if I've offended anyone, but I know you can picture it).

Mia has one more year of Montessori and then we'll have to decide on where to send her for Kindergarten.  For now, I'm really enjoying this growing family!  Zoe is at such a fun age and her attitude is really starting to shine.  She's not walking just yet, but Mia is a wonderful big sister and for now...they love each other dearly.

Happy Birthday, Mia!

Travis' Big Day

It's quite the day when you can start off with a bike ride in the park with your family, then go skiing, golfing and end with a motorcycle ride.  It was crazy seeing the photos of everyone up on the slopes for the 4th of July...party central!  I would like to post some, but to be honest, they aren't really appropriate for a family blog!  It was all bikinis and Speed-o's and no one needs to see that! 

Here's our Dad, showing off his furry legs in none other than his favorite cargo shorts and a tie dye Grateful Dead t-shirt.  We love you, Dad!  Another testament that living in Utah is pretty fun.  ;)

More 1st Birthday Photos!

Zoe was quite delicate with her 1st birthday cupcake. She used her left hand to pick at it and hardly made a mess.  She loved the chocolate and was all smiles.  What a cutie!!

"Sniff, sniff," says Lucy.  ;)