3 Years Old

Our little Halle girl turned 3 yesterday. Halle is an energetic, happy, and caring 3 year old. She loves using her imagination, playing the computer, making messes, making Taya laugh, riding bikes with the neighborhood kids, wrestling with Dad, and dancing in pretty dresses. She makes our lives very meaningful and rewarding.

We absolutely LOVE this girl!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Oasis

Ahhhh, who knew a ~natural oasis~ was just an hour drive from our house. Brandon heard about this place through the St. George grapevine so we decided to check it out while the Talbots were visiting last weekend. Upon arriving it seems like you're driving into the middle of nowhere and then suddenly you see a cluster of palm trees. Unfortunately, when we arrived they weren't expecting us or anybody else so they had to quickly fill the pool. Luckily the fresh warm spring water flows pretty fast and the extra large pool was ready for swimming in about 30 minutes. This beautiful place is called Warm Springs Ranch and it's owned by the LDS Church. The previous owner was Howard Hughes and he sold it to the Church in 1976. There are two couple missionaries that run and take care of the property. Not many people know about Warm Springs which makes it a gem of a vacation spot. When we arrived the air temp was near 70 degrees and the water was about 85 degrees. We'll have to hit this place again sometime soon!

Taylor, Owen, Taya, Halle

Mckadin & Halle watching the water flow & waiting to swim.

Halle, Taya & Nat enjoying the nice water.

That's Brandon.....

Dancing At Last!

We've been looking forward to this day for a LONG time. And it finally came! Halle began dance lessons yesterday. I don't know who was more excited, me or her. I enrolled her at Westside Studio just a few blocks from our home. To some, having their daughter in dance lessons is just another milestone, but for me it means a lot more. I danced for 18 years - and still wish I was doing so. I have attended a class here and there but it's just not the same when you're 30 and and no longer 90 lbs. As a mother I was worried she'd be shy her first time, but Halle jumped right in. The class is called "Too Much Fun" and it's the class right before pre-ballet. With each song the girls get a pretty dress or prop to dance with. Halle (Mom) can't wait for next week!!!

Our Holidays

Another great holiday season has passed. What a fun time we had!

So, Chad thinks my babies look like the babies in "Wall-E" Here he is doing his impression. Should I be upset?
Halle opening her Christmas Eve gift from Santa. Hippo pj's.
Big Grandpa and Granny helping Taya open the gift instead of eat it.
Halle finally got her Lego! Come on Dad, give Halle a turn.
Good job Santa!
What a cute bunch. What do we do while at Nana's? Princess dancing, lolipop suckers, eating candy that's meant for the gingerbread house, Pirate's Booty (if you don't know what it is, find it at Costco...yum), sledding, GG, etc...
Helping Nana in the kitchen. Chocolate dipped fortune cookies!
Sledding was a must!
New Year's Eve at the Talbots...Food, Mafia, Partini. Baby Taya(6 months) and Baby Owen (5 months).

My Little Bro

This is my cute little brother Jason.

This kid is the most hard working person I know. Giving up could have been easy. After years of schooling, studying, stress...he's going to dental school!

Congratulations Jason!

Doesn't he look like a dentist?

He's been accepted to a couple dental schools, so good luck with making that decision J. We love you and wish you and your cute little family the best.

I'll guess I can no longer be an "anti-dentite".

Jason and Livia studying hard.

Miss you guys!

Winter getaway...

You have to really love Lake Powell to stay there in the winter. We do... so we tried it and we had a blast! We were in desperate need for a little vacation so we took the 2.5 hour drive to Wahweap and stayed for two nights in the Lake Powell Lodge. You're probably wondering what you do at Lake Powell without a boat and when it's 50 degrees outside? We found some great sight seeing adventures and took the 3 hour boat tour. Our tour guide was very informative so we learned a lot of new interesting facts about Lake Powell. It was a fabulous relaxing trip for us and for our traveling companions/babysitters, Mr. B and Arlene. It was fun having them with us.

Searching for fish

The scenic overlook was a great view of the dam from the river side.

p.s. We forgot our camera so we we had put our trust in a walmart disposable. Love the streaks!

It's a Tradition

Last Saturday was our annual Christmas Tree Hunt. It's just too much fun, now that we live in sunny St. George to drive up a snowy canyon and play in the snow for a couple hours. The trees we chop down are never like the ones you'd find at a tree lot in the city, they're actually quite Charlie Brown-ish. The tree we found will be Halle & Taya's and will be theirs to decorate. Craig, Peggy, Hayden, Sarah, Holly, and Porter also went along and found a tree of their own. Tiara and Ellie couldn't have been happier running in and out of the trees so freely. And Halle's favorite thing? Eating snow of course!

The eyeballs in the blue coat - that's Peggy.
Holly in yellow. Sarah in green. Halle in stripes.

The snow princesses

Taya stayed cozy warm in the car.

Halle before her nose turned red and drippy.