Sophie Turns 9...and a trip to the ER

Sophie had a really great birthday party at Seven Peaks Ice Arena

The kids ice skated, enjoyed a lesson from a real ice skater, and Santa was even there.


But before we could truly enjoy all of the ice skating festivities...I was hit in the face with a soccer ball while I was taking a picture of Sophie...



The kids were having such a great time that I hated to ruin it all with a blow to the face...but the party did take a dismal turn once the kids saw the blood running down my nose, and Sophie crying, hiding in the corner because the accident scared her to death. Ugh. Not quite the party I had envisioned...


This is us trying to take a picture of the damage with my now broken camera...I left straight from the party to the ER where I received 7 stitches from Dr. McBee...the plastic surgeon. Whew...that's a party we won't easily forget.

Concerts and things...

Grace wanted to join ballroom dance, the only problem? She needed to bring a boy (surprisingly they had a lack of male attendance). So she coerced Spencer to join. And he actually likes it! They sure are cute. Grace is our family Mozart...and we enjoyed another Violin Concert with her elementary school orchestra.

Heber Valley Railroad

We did the Heber Valley Railroad...the North Pole Express. Oh what fun! Even Spencer can admit that it was mostly fun.... He was a good sport--since he is practically a man. The girls loved it. The best part? The lazy train ride, caroling and the hot chocolate. The worst? Hmmm. It was quite a lively ride. Just imagine a train packed with energetic kids; singing, dancing, laughing, crying. Yep. Just about every emotion that is possible was packed into that train ride. Get ready for some drama that only the hope of Santa can create.

Winter is Here!

With all the stress of the cold and snow we try to help each other out. We call this the "pain train"...shoulder rubs for everyone...hey wait, what about me?
Lucy loved the snow...for about 10 whole minutes, and then she came inside because it was a little freezy.
And I know we're practically cavemen because we still buy FRESH Christmas trees...but we just love the piney smell.
So it was off to the Christmas Tree lot. And we found 2 beautiful trees.

And because we have a special event tonight...we gave our kids their Christmas pajamas early this year. So cute!

We hope you all are having a fabulous Christmas Season. xojen

We Rocked the Rockettes

We had a taste of good old fashioned New York, Americana in Salt Lake City! I tried to convince Adam to come with me but when I invited him he said, "Am I ninety?" Uhm, no. (And I must admit there were quite a few people over sixty. But that's okay, now they're my peeps.)

Luckily I easily convinced the girls in my family that this show was a must see.
And the show WAS fun...so many great dances. Our favorites were the Santa's Dance and the Toy Soldiers. Actually, it was all wonderful. It got us into a festive spirit...so much so, that I would go again.


We also had a great "Girls Lunch" at Macaroni Grill. I so enjoyed spending time with the women I love, especially my baby girls who are growing into young women right before my eyes.

Halloween? Finally, a few pictures.

We went trick-or-treating at 4pm! I know, a little early right? But we wanted to do our neighborhood and head on up to my sisters house. We made it! And everyone got WAY too much candy. In fact, I think I still have some Halloween bags with treats in them. Wow.
Spencer was a Middle Eastern man (thanks to Adam's friend who helped him pick out everything authentic), and he kept reminding me that he was NOT wearing a costume. If he lived in Qatar, he'd look like everyone else. Point taken. Grace was a sorceress. Sophie a gypsy, and Lucy finally got to wear the costume I bought for Sophie 6 whole years ago (and Sophie refused to wear it then because she thought it felt "weird". Lucy was our beautiful baby witch, and she didn't feel weird at all.

And we made cookies!




I think Spencer carved four of our six pumpkins...his, Lucy's, mine, and I think Adam's. Adam was too busy helping the girls with their beautiful pumpkins (they both have the intricate bat and ghost pumpkins). The girls were very dedicated to their carvings and spent so much time making theirs perfect. Spencer is more interested in how many he can carve, not so much a detail kind of guy. I thought the end result was awesome!

A Sneek Peek...

After all, it's fall in the family.

Here are a few pics from our family photo shoot with the talented Eveline Wunder at blog.littlewunders.com. She makes taking family pictures ALMOST fun...

Some Sad News...

So I feel like I have to share our sad news, since I just shared our great/wonderful/good news only a week ago.

On Tuesday I had my 12 week apt with my doctor. While there he couldn't find the babies' heartbeat. He then got out the ultrasound machine and found that our baby had passed away. I was completely blind sighted by the news. I had had a completely healthy pregnancy, no spotting or cramping. Everything seemed to be coming along nicely. Needless to say, I was a little shocked.

I had surgery on Wednesday and everything went well. I am home recuperating and doing some (ok alot) of crying. Our kids are devastated but we will weather this new sadness and survive it of course. I just felt like I needed to let you all know, since we had so many well wishes on my previous post. Thank you!
Love, Jen

October Conference 2010...and some good news.

I am so far behind on my blog! I wrote nothing in October! Not one thing. But I must write about one of my favorite talks this October General Conference. Elder Uctdorf's talk, "Of the Things That Matter Most." You can view the whole talk here.


One of my favorite analogies is of the rings of a tree. He said, "One of the things we learn from studying the growth of tress is that during seasons when conditions are ideal, trees grow at a normal rate. However, during seasons when growing conditions are not ideal, trees slow down their growth and devote their energy to the basic elements necessary for survival."

What does this tell me, sometimes it's good, even crucial to SLOW DOWN.

He said, "It is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."

Actually, without even realizing it, that's what we've been doing at our house. (Thus, the no posting on my blog in October). Because...we are having a baby!!!

Which is absolutely exciting news, but, also has put us (ME) in a survival mode of sorts.


Necessary: Food (croissants and white toast are preferable). Sleep. Smiles. Hugs. (Really, I need those to survive).

Not Necessary (But would be nice): Clean house, a made bed (now how can I make my bed, when I spend 85% of my day there?), a homemade dinner.

I have been the tiredest of my life! I didn't realize I could be this tired without being dead. :) haha. My kids may argue this point. Also I've been so nauseous that the thought of creamy Italian chicken makes me throw-up a little in my mouth. Maybe TMI? sorry.

But I'm hoping for an end in sight! In fact, in the last week or so, I've had some good days mixed among the bad. We see normalness in the horizon!

So this is my post dedicated to Survival! May we be able to weed out the importants from the unimportants and give our selves a little slack once in a while.

The End.

Oh. And the baby is due in May! I've always wanted a May baby and now with my last, I've finally succeeded!

Spencer Turns 12!

So I'm running a little behind on my summer posts, but I couldn't march forward without talking about Spencer's 12th birthday!

First, he went with about ten friends to SPACE CAMP! And, wow, what an experience. I still don't quite understand it all, but from what I gather it was like walking onto a Star Trek ship: They dressed-up, and roll played, and aliens attacked, and asteroids threatened, and they barely escaped a black hole. Whew. And it was all he and his friends could talk about for weeks. So. Okay. Fun was had.

Second, he got to go out to lunch to is favorite CHILIS.

And third, he received the Aaronic Priesthood at church. And did all kinds of deaconish things, like passed the sacrament, graduated from primary, earned his Faith in God award, collected fast offerings, and helped clean the church after sacrament. Wow. And all the while he looked so sharp in his new suit. And he suddleny turned quite responsible! Like overnight. Who is this new boy?


We couldn't be more happy with Spence. He's a great little man and we love him so much!