Washington DC Temple trip

Just recently we went up to DC for a temple trip. We stayed in a Hyatt Regency hotel (that we pricelined and only payed $50 for). It had an indoor heated pool and it was right on top of a metro station. How nice is that! Although it rained the entire time, we had a great time. Aaron and the kids swam while I went to the temple. Then the next morning the kids and I went to breakfast and walked the temple grounds while we waited for Aaron to come out. After, we took the metro and returned to the Natural history museum (the kids favorite) then ate at the Old Post office
I've always loved the DC temple, but this trip confirmed that it is my favorite. It is so beautiful and I'm sure it's even prettier in the spring and when the sun is shining. I'm glad we were able to make this trip because we will be moving out west soon.

Book #2 A Tale of Two Cities

This book took me forever to read! Even my husband was excited for me to finish. I read it back in 9th grade and remember liking it. Well, I did like it, but what I needed was my English teacher so I could really discuss what was going on. To be honest, I haven't read a classic novel in quite a while so I actually had to THINK about what I was reading!! (not quite the same as the Twilight series). I don't know if any of you have read this, but I do reccomend it if you are thinking of reading a good classic. I think the first half of the book was a little hard for me to get through and keep track of who was who. Oh, but once it got going I really enjoyed it.
I think my next book will take a little less brain power. I have to many other things to think about right now :)

Ryan's birthday and Ice skating

Ryan turned 6 last month and we celebrated together as a family. He really wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese's for his birthday, so we braved through a very busy chuckie cheese and had a good time. I made him a Lego cake because that is what he's obsessed with lately. I think it turned out ok, but on one of the pictures you can see that someone (nobody admits to it) took a nice chunk out of the side of the cake. Ryan got a lot of fun things, but especially loved the Razor scooter. I keep watching him ride and hoping that he doesn't come running in with a broken arm!!
The following weekend, we finally went ice skating for Samantha's birthday wish. Samantha did great until she had two big spills at the end and was ready to get off the ice. Ryan kept falling and falling and was all over the place! I found out later that he was trying to be like the speed skaters in the olympics! He didn't want to start at beginner; he wanted to be the best from the time he hit the ice! He came home with two huge blisters on his legs. He didn't complain once because he was so focused on being a speed skater. And we did take Carter out on the ice (briefly). He actually had ice skates on, but that didn't last long. All in all, we had a good time together and maybe next time we'll leave carter home and try roller skating :)

Snowed in.......Again

Here we are, snowed in again! On saturday it snowed 13 inches so church was cancelled and so was school for today. We'll see if it is still cancelled tomorrow (I wouldn't be surprised). We had fun playing in the snow, but we don't have a lot of winter gear so it didn't take long before everyone's legs were freezing and we headed in for hot chocolate. I believe next year we are going to have to spend a fortune on snow clothes considering we'll have to buy for everyone. In fact, when it snows next year, I'm not going to know what to do when church and school is not cancelled!

My book list

So I wanted to start making a list of books that I read this year on my blog. I guess I just wanted to see how many books I read this year. I just finished my first book "The Undaunted". It was really enjoyable to read. It was about the pioneers who made the treck from Cedar City through Hole in the Rock to Arizona. This was an amazing story that I never knew the details about. And what makes it even better for me is that my Great Grandfather was born on the trail. It actually mentions his name in the book (page 716) Oh, did I mention it was 800 pages! I still would recommend it to all.
I think I'm writing this because I'm having Book club withdrawals. Oh, how I miss my TN book club! Well, if any of you have any great books that you recommend, please let me know.

Samantha turned 8!

Samantha turned eight this month! Am I that old!? On her actual birthday she had strep so we postponed the party. This year was just a family party and she wanted an ice skating theme. We were going to go ice skating, but because of the sickness we have to find a time this month to fulfill that want (we are a busy crew). So we just had a nice at home party. She wanted her favorite meal, chicken pillows, then we played games, opened presents and had cake and ice cream.
Then yesterday she was baptized. It was a special time for her and our family. There were a lot of church friends that came to support her and we were very happy about that. Our family was most of the program besides her primary teacher that gave one of the talks. She asked me to speak and, of course, I cried some. I guess that is just what comes with the whole experience. Ryan gave a great prayer even though he was very nervous about that.
Apparently that font water was not that warm, but Samantha didn't complain, she was just so excited to be baptized. We wished we could have had family there, but other than that, it was perfect!

The new year

My goal this year is to actually keep my New Years Resolutions. Have you made any this year??