Categories
Family Fun

Glassblowing in Sonoma

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My mom had the idea of taking a group of us to check out a glass-blowing shop in Sonoma. It was so much fun and such a memorable experience! My dad was so nice to stay home with little Caroline while we went on this outing. Thank you, Parents!!

This furnace was 1000 degrees. He had to stick the rod with the liquidy glass in there several times throughout the process to keep it malleable.

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Charlotte was too young to participate, but she enjoyed watching it all!

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(My brother, Gino, also did a great job making a bowl, but the photos we took of him were on his own camera.)

Here are our results! I hung them up from our kitchen light.

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My “Root Beer Float”-inspired ornament. Yummy. Everything I had envisioned it to be!

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Chase’s ornament. Looks like Earth… With a whole bunch of continents.

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Charlotte’s purple ornament that Pace so kindly made for her.

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Categories
Family Fun

New Year’s Eve Dance Party

Just a few embarrassing photos. Good idea, Nathan, volunteering to be the one behind the camera!

(Same day as the Howarth Park day, hence the same clothing.)

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Rachel was rockin’ her new robe!

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Categories
Caroline Charlotte Chase Family Fun

Good Ol’ Howarth Park

This is a public park somewhat close to my parents’ house, which we must visit every time we’re in town!! It’s extra special because it’s a park I used to play at when I was little (although it wasn’t quite as fancy back then as it is now).

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“Swing us around, Daddy!!”

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Alright, you asked for it…

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Bulging Man Muscles (All natural)

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“Again! Again!!!”

(Such a fun guy. Tires me out just to look at these photos.)

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Categories
Caroline Charlotte Chase Family Fun

My Snow Babies

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It is so incredibly cold lately. Tomorrow is a high of 12 degrees, low of –6 degrees. Yeeeesh! Worst thing about living in Utah. But my kids don’t think so; they like the snow! Even little Marshmallow Girl here.

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I’m glad Chase enjoys playing out there so much, since he’s the child with the most energy & needs the physical outlet! It’s fun to see what Chase comes up with when he plays in the snow. So creative. He uses all sorts of things from the garage. There are probably a bunch of rakes, pliers, & tennis rackets buried all over the yard and we don’t even know it.

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Charlotte was pretty determined to ride her bike through the snow… She enjoys collecting pretty icicles & likes to play out in the snow for a short amount of time.

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More often than not, though, the two little girls are inside the house, staying warm!

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Categories
Charlotte Family Fun

Happy 4th Birthday, Charlotte!

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Charlotte had her 4th birthday when we were in California. She was a little disappointed to not have another Tangled Birthday party like last year (Was that only last year? Seems like a long time ago), but she was a good sport about it. We had lots of people around to help us celebrate!

For her breakfast in bed, she requested Cocoa Krispies cereal, juice, berries, and a Mandarin Orange from Grandpa & Grandma’s trees. Caroline of course had to get in on the action, because she’s always hungry!!

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She opened a few little presents (we’re so into the “less is more” mode at this point) and then asked where all the other presents were. We told her she had gotten plenty! Poor girl has Christmas 2 days before her birthday.

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She got to go with Pace & Chase to see Wreck-It Ralph at the movie theater, which is her very favorite outing! I took Caroline & picked up some donuts for her Donut Cake that she had requested. Pace also stopped to buy Charlotte a bouquet of her choice: Light purple roses. Such a thoughtful daddy!

We all went to Olive Garden for dinner that night, because she wanted Mac ‘n’ Cheese for dinner, and somehow that translated to Olive Garden to the adults!

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We went back home to sing to her and have Donut Cake (nothing fancy, just donuts in tower shape).

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A few of the party guests:

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Rachel & her little daughter… I mean, NIECE.

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Seriously, look at their faces! So similar, it’s almost scary. But I’m positive that I was the one who carried Charlotte in the womb.

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Categories
Family Fun

Our Safari Out West

We went as a family (minus the Skankeys) to Safari West to check out the animals they have on a beautiful preserve in Santa Rosa. It didn’t disappoint!

Lemur

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Cheetah

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Charlotte’s hair was super frizzy on that foggy morning. All our kids were happy & well-behaved for the adventure!

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Did you know that flamingos get their color from the shrimp they eat?

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Pretty giraffes roaming about

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This clever guy was stealing food from the gazelles

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Why, here’s a friendly giraffe!

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He came right up to our truck, and the people sitting on top (Ryan, Tina, Pace & Chase) got a great close-up view! Ryan pet its face. Charlotte pet the giraffe’s body from down below where we were sitting.

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Rhinoceros

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Some odd type of cow from Africa, whose horns have evolved to be huge. How do they hold those things up all day?

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My personal favorite, the zebra!! Soooo beautiful. They look so sweet & friendly, huh?! Actually, our guide told us that zebras are not very friendly to humans and that the zebras definitely wouldn’t allow anyone to ride on their backs.

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Wildebeest: The easiest prey in Africa! Apparently, they’re pretty dumb.

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This ostrich was crazy. It charged right toward us—I moved to the other side of the truck! It nibbled Pace’s shoe for a minute before we moved on.

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Some more wild African animals! ha.

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Poor Caroline was sick that day, but she was a good sport along with Grandma, who was also sick!!

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Love those sweet babies!

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Categories
Family Fun

An Assortment of CA Photos

Making gingerbread houses! Rachel & Pace were the good sports who helped the kids make these. I definitely prefer just making little gingerbread men because they’re easier to assemble, you can take pics of them, & then eat them!!

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The obligatory sampling

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Bonding time with Uncle Gino. He loves babies, can’t you tell by his thumbs up?!

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Picking delicious Mandarin Oranges with Grandpa on a cold, windy day. I realize now that when I was a teen, I didn’t appreciate having those beautiful oranges right outside the back door! Now I wish I could transport a few trees to our house here in Utah so I could feast on those tasty oranges all the time.

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P90X time! My dad is in the best shape ever. He did this workout after he had already swam laps for 1.5 hours earlier that morning! Good example to me.

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Charlotte was exhausted after about 3 minutes of exercise. I don’t blame you, Charlotte!!

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These weirdos decided to spontaneously pretend to be Joseph, Mary & baby Jesus with the couch arm covers + Charlotte’s sweater.

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Now switch roles! Cute….

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Caroline checking out the Christmas loot

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“The Men” went on a short fishing trip at a neighbor’s pond… Didn’t catch anything, maybe because it was about noon, not 5am?

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My handsome guy grew a goatee for a few days.

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Trip to the Redwoods

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Good thing she wore her rain gear!!

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Categories
Family Fun

Faux Christmas Before the Real Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Pace’s family a couple days before we left to visit my family in California for the Christmas break. We felt so lucky to be able to open some presents early! We made breakfast before we opened presents, which drove the kids crazy. Hence my conniving grin below, haha!

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Caroline got to open her gifts first because we thought she was ready to go down for a nap (she wasn’t though, because of all the excitement going on). She got a toy cell phone, a turtle toy, & some little Mary Jane shoe socks that I found on clearance & that I love.

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Caroline has been obsessed with bracelets lately—for a while she loved having both of these slap bracelets on her wrists (which were from the Paynes when they visited during the summer—thanks)!Now she wears a big shiny one of Charlotte’s on her bicep—that is where she pulls it up to every time! She screams if we try to take it off of her. I’ll have to post a picture of that one!

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Tyler appreciated the fact that his present looked like it was meant for a little tiny girl.

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This gift from Pace’s fam was probably Chase’s favorite gift of all this year—a fiber-optic lamp thing that glows blue. He likes to play with it in the dark & turns it on each night when he’s going to bed.

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GG & Caroline were excited about the homemade paper candy cane that Chase had made!

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Charlotte got tons of girly stuff, of course, like a musical butterfly jewelry box & pretty jewelry & princess makeup. She got to open her birthday gifts from the grandparents also, since we were going to be gone for her birthday.

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I got a new Crockpot (my original one is cracked & leaks so that was great) and Pace got a new snow blower! That was a total surprise. He has gotten to use it since then, with all the snow & freezing cold weather we’ve had. We appreciated our presents and the fun family time!!

Categories
Family Fun

Disney On Ice!!

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We scored some free Disney On Ice tickets through Pace’s coworker (who’s a radio DJ for “KBull 93” on the weekends). We were grateful to Gretchen for going all the way to SLC to pick up the tickets for us in advance.

The show was amazing! We all absolutely loved it. I was super impressed by the skaters’ skills! Aunt Jessica so kindly babysat little Caroline back at home, so it was a relaxing afternoon for us, minus Caroline, plus GG.

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Categories
Chase Family Fun

Date with Chase

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Pace brought home some big ol’ coins from work several months ago, & started a program involving this coin, AKA “The Manner Medallion.” Our kids earn it if they’ve been exceptionally well-behaved & used their manners all day long. They get to cash in the Manner Medallion for a date of their choice (within reason!), with a parent or the whole family. I got to take Chase on one recently to go get Slurpees, candy, & chips (I know, not nutritious). It was fun to hang out & talk with just Chase.

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