Caleb Lost His First Tooth

There were a few tears, and some anxiety about what would happen, but Caleb lost his first tooth. Considering the extensive dental work he's had in his life, I didn't think this would be a big deal. It was. However, once the tooth was out, he was fine and more than happy to put it under his pillow. He was also very excited that another tooth had already started growing right behind the wiggly one.

Our New Son

Beth and I were recently introduced to our new son, Jake (from State Farm). He transferred to WWCC mid-semester and needed some crazy ladies to serve as his mother's whilst away from his own mother. 

Popsicle Sales in January

When he didn't get many takers, he started selling them door to door. He made $10.00.

Sometimes You Just Need a Good Wrestle/Snuggle From Your Dad

Wrestling Practice

Most days I just drop Caleb off at wrestling and then run off to take the next kid to the next activity, just in time to get back to the high school to pick him up. On this day I arrived a little early and caught a very blurry Caleb doing his conditioning drills. Afterward he told me that he really loves wrestling, but really hates running.

 

He also officially got his wrestling card, now he's official and can wrestle all over the world.

Dorothy's Wedding Reception

The weekend after Dorothy's wedding in the Logan temple she and Kyle hosted a reception in Rock Springs. Cali was so happy to be reunited with my cousins/her cousins. We were also glad that we got to reuse the back drop built by Gary Gard for Bethany's wedding. It was a fun reception with lots of friends and a lot of yummy treats and donuts.

Bethany and Steve tried to recreate their wedding day and tried to snap a few more family pictures.

The little girls had a fun time with some photo ops in the backdrop.

 



They also tried a few random pyramid poses too.

Holding Jacey and giggling so hard.

 



I'm not entirely sure what this one was all about. Needless to say I got a bunch of pictures of these cute crazy cousins, and no pictures Kyle or Dorothy. 

This is Normal

Just a normal Hop-on-Pop situation caught with a camera.

Dorothy's Wedding Day

Cali and I had a great day at Dorothy's wedding. We got up early and drove from Rock Springs to Logan by way of Bear Lake. It was a great drive and we made it to Logan in time to eat a nice lunch an Kneaders. Cali especially liked the cannoli's. We missed the boys, but Christian was with Carter and Caleb at a basketball tournament in Green River.

Muah!

It was a cold and foggy day, but a great day to be with family and friends in the temple. Cali went with Hannah and Sean for some Logan adventures during the wedding ceremony, and then met us at the temple for pictures. Cali really liked the Logan temple and thought it was extra special that my great-grandma and great-grandpa were from the Logan area, and married in the Logan temple.

We had a great day with Todd & Chris and their family. Christian recently returned from his mission, and it was good to talk with him about his time in Poland.

 



We are so glad that Dorothy met Kyle. They are the best couple, and I wish I could take personally responsibility or credit for their meeting. We loved Dorothy living with us and spending the past summer at our house. Now were especially glad that when she graduates from USU she'll be moving back to Rock Springs!

On our way home the weather took a turn, and we had to be a lot more careful with the blowing snow all over the road. Cali was trying to take a picture of beautiful Bear Lake, but this is all we got. It may also be worth mentioning that on the way home we almost hit a deer. It was close, not super close, but close enough to make sure Cali jumped at every bump in the road all the way home.

A Boy and a Box

Caleb loves nothing more than a good old fashioned card board box. Everyday after school he says, "mom, can we get a box?" As long as he's got cardboard, he's a happy boy. One day he even delivered himself to our doorstep, in a box.

Happy New Year

 

Welcome 2015! It's going to be a great year!

New Year's Day Project

New Year's Day is always a pretty boring day. Once you get past the "Happy New Year" at midnight, it's all downhill into the next day. Christian found a tutorial on how to make crossbows out of hair berets, popsicle sticks, and embroidery thread. He and the boys had a fun time making them, and some fun when they actually worked. These little weapons can shoot a match pretty far and fast. Most of my New Year's Day was spend yelling, "don't shoot it at the face!" 

Taking Down Christmas

And just like that, it was all over. All the Christmas programs and the Christmas shopping, all the Christmas parties and Christmas decorating. It comes and goes so quickly. Did I take time to enjoy it? Or, did I spend all my time and energy running around like a crazy? Maybe some of both?

 

As I took the decorations down I thought a lot about how I want to remember the holidays and things that I can do better in the future to reduce stress and make the time enjoyable for everyone, even me.

 

Here are a few pictures of the decorations as they were being put away.

 

Our tree of 9 years finally bit the big one, and whole sections refused to stay lit. We'll be buying a new tree next Christmas.

 

We received a lot of cards from family and friends and displayed them on a little tree in the entry way.

 

We made a Christmas count down with pictures of Jesus and a scripture to go with each day in December leading up to Christmas.

Christmas Morning

On Christmas Eve we hosted the Pollastro's for a fun family Christmas sleepover. The day before they arrived I took Caleb to the doctor because he had a big lump on his neck. I took Cali too because she had a sore throat. Cali ended up having a virus, but Caleb had a horrible infection in his lymph nodes. For the next several days, including all the Christmas festivities, he was swollen and ran a fever. The medicine he was required to take was horrible, and making him take it was almost as bad as the sickness.

 

On Christmas Day he started feeling a little bit better, but it was one of the worst sicknesses I've ever seen a kid have. On top of hosting a house full of people, cooking, taking care of sick Caleb, I was done with Christmas about the same time it started.

 

Christmas morning was full of fun presents from everyone.