tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61531857400169633292023-11-16T09:54:00.450-08:00The Carlson FamilyRussell, Emily, Mirian, Maced, Snickers and BootsEm and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-50124959574048401582014-01-20T20:23:00.002-08:002014-01-20T20:23:24.485-08:00New Port Beach and Christmas 2013Okay, last one and then I'm all caught up! Hopefully this will be a much shorter post. We took our annual trip to New Port Beach just after Thanksgiving. I love going to Newport! I could go there every year for the rest of my life! We stayed at the Marriott Villas right off the Newport Coast. The first day there, Russ went to a Clippers Game with an old mission buddy. He had a blast! Mirian and I stayed back at the timeshare and checked out the playground while he was gone. The next day, we went to see the movie Frozen. We LOVED that movie! Even Russ enjoyed it! It was a fun, quiet day for us. That evening, we met Russ' broker for a fantastic dinner at Parkers Lighthouse. I really like that restaurant!<br />
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Russ at the Clippers game </div>
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This is the way to play checkers! </div>
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Do you want to build a snowman?</div>
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On Tuesday, we went to the Happiest Place on Earth,
Disneyland!!!!! Oh, how I love Disneyland! Mirian was a little nervous
about the rides at first, but she soon got over her fears and had the
time of her life. She went on all of the rides. When we got off of
Space Mountain, we asked what she thought of it. She said "I almost
fell asleep on that ride." That girl cracks me up! We love going to
Disneyland around Christmas time, because they have the Christmas Parade
and all sorts of beautiful Christmas lights. At the end of the night,
they play Christmas music and then snow falls to the ground. It is so
magical!<br />
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Does Someone look excited for Disneyland? </div>
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Mim and Dad on Dumbo </div>
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Mom on Dumbo (why do I look worried?) </div>
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Gotta love Splash Mountain! Good thing we brought ponchos! </div>
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Mim couldn't wait for Space Mountain! </div>
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Russ likes to anticipate the camera </div>
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It's A Small World was all ready for Christmas</div>
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Sleeping Beauty's Castle all lit up </div>
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Waiting for the snow to fall</div>
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When we got back from Disneyland, Scott and Olivia and the kids showed up. We were so happy to have them come. We went swimming in the pool and spent time at the beach. We found lots of anemones and even a couple starfish. Russ and I made those guys listen to a timeshare presentation so we could get $125 gift cards. Hey, we really wanted to go eat at Cheesecake Factory, so the gift cards more than paid for our delicious meal and dessert!<br />
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Russ was trying to disturb the seagulls </div>
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Mim and Syd </div>
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Cousin love </div>
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Linc was a little stud at Cheesecake Factory</div>
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We played lots of games with Scott and Liv. They even got me to play their epic games which I typically don't enjoy. On our last day in Newport, we went to Balboa Island. We were really sad we hadn't gone to Balboa Island earlier. We took a one car ferry to the island, then we went to a cute little arcade and played ski ball. Then we went to the beach. They had on awesome beach there! We weren't dressed to play in the water, but we enjoyed playing in the sand and walking out on the pier. The ocean was so beautiful! And don't forget the awesome frozen chocolate covered bananas!<br />
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Ski Ball!!!!! </div>
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A Cool Pelican at Balboa Island </div>
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Weeeeeee!!!!! </div>
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Gotta love a frozen banana</div>
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On our way home the next day, we saw a sign on the freeway saying that the freeway was going to be closed 15 miles ahead. Apparently a huge snow storm had just hit Southern California! Cars and tours buses started to turn around in the middle of the freeway. Cars were driving back up the on ramps. It was total chaos! We had to find an alternate route back north. What should have been an 8 hour trip turned into a 12 hour trip. It was awful! Luckily we got home okay.<br />
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If you look closely, you can see head lights facing the wrong way</div>
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Okay, moving on. When we got home, we immediately went to get a Christmas tree (we only had 2 weeks till Christmas!) I love the smell of a fresh Christmas tree. Mirian loved decorating the tree! The next weekend, Russ went to Arizona for a wedding, while Mirian and I went to our ward Back to Bethlehem night. I was in charge of making the palm trees for the night. The church looked wonderful. I only got on really dark picture, but it was a great experience. It helped us to remember what the true meaning of Christmas is. On the Sunday before Christmas, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Carlson's home for an early Christmas dinner. We got together with all the local family and had a wonderful time. We even had a special visitor come!<br />
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We love Christmas trees! </div>
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Russ at the wedding in Arizona </div>
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Every night we read Christmas stories </div>
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Look who came to Grandma and Grandpa's! </div>
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I asked for Real Estate </div>
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Back to Bethlehem. Look closely and you can see one of my palm trees. </div>
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All those presents are for me!</div>
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On Christmas eve, we went to California to spend Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa Carter. Christmas was wonderful! Everyone gave and received such thoughtful presents. Matt and Kristal made an epic movie about Judo Joe. It was SOOOOOO funny! I was crying from laughing so hard! That night, Mirian woke up with the stomach flu. She threw up several times making it a very long night. The next morning, I got the stomach flu and then that evening, my mom got it. This was the year of sickness! Soon after Jeff and Marlena and their kids got the stomach flu. Russ was also down with a bug (we think maybe pneumonia?) Needless to say, the rest of Christmas break was spend indoors, trying to feel better. We did manage to sneak a few family pictures in though and play some games. New Years Eve was kind of the same as the rest of the week. My Mom, Russ, Sydney, Mirian and myself all went bowling and that was fun. Not my best game, but it was still fun to hang out. We set off a few fireworks that night, and then played some games. Half of us went to bed early that night because we were just feeling crumby. The next day, we had to drive home.<br />
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Mirian loved her present from Kristine and Nicole</div>
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Cousin bath time</div>
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Can you believe daffodils were blooming in December?</div>
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Thanks Kristal for making us look like a good looking bunch of people! </div>
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I love this family! </div>
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Look at that face!</div>
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I like to go bowling with my friend Bert!</div>
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Grandma in action! </div>
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This is how we all felt on the drive home</div>
Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-57921930137299320542014-01-20T16:35:00.001-08:002014-01-20T16:35:15.508-08:00Fall 2013<span id="goog_674386490"></span><span id="goog_674386491"></span><br />
<br />Alright, here is the update for Fall. We had a great time and I can't believe that it has already passed. I love Autumn so much. I love the colors, the smells, the warm clothes and anything pumpkin! Here are a few of our adventures.<br />
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Mirian started preschool this year with Sis. Campbell from our ward. She loves going to school and she has so many great friends. Mirian also LOVES her teacher. She is learning so much and she can't wait to start kindergarten next fall. <br />
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First day of school </div>
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Daddy taught Mim how to drive the riding lawn mower.</div>
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She is a pro!</div>
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Our good buddies, the Mills came to visit in September. Kate and I canned up a storm. We made applesauce, apple juice, freezer jam, dried apples, and fruit leather. We had so much fun and I learned a ton. We also went to the Central Washington State Fair with the Mills. We love the fair, but we especially love going with good friends! </div>
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Mim and Colton </div>
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Ride 'em Cowgirl </div>
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Mim loved the petting zoo! </div>
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Look at these super heroes! </div>
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Braden, Tanner, Mirian and Colton </div>
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Now that is a tire!</div>
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Fall is not complete without a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. We love going to Thompson farms. They have a great pumpkin patch and all sorts of fun activities. Russ loves the pumpkin cannon, and I love the pumpkin donuts. I was too busy eating mine to bother with pictures! We went with our friends the Mowers, because it is always more fun to share experiences with others.</div>
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Searching for the perfect pumpkin </div>
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Elaine and Mirian (these two are best friends)</div>
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We took another trip to Utah in October for Jessica's wedding. Jessica is the first Grandchild on the Carlson side to get married. We are so happy for Jessica and Travis. They are the cutest couple! Jessica asked Mirian to be a flower girl, and of course she was the CUTEST flower girl ever!</div>
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Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Pearson</div>
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Cousin Matt is so nice! </div>
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Mim and her cousin Katie trying to peak into the temple </div>
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"I'll go inside someday"</div>
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We love going to the visitors center at Temple Square </div>
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Cute Flower Girl</div>
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The next day, we spent with the Carlson cousins. We got to watch Amie in her cheer competition and she was awesome. Then we went to the pumpkin patch. We watched them drop cars from a huge crane. It was awesome. We also got to go on the hay slide and a little train ride. And you can't forget the corn maze. We had a blast with all the cousins, aunts and uncles, and Grandma and Grandpa.</div>
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Enjoying the train ride</div>
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That night, I went to Witches Night out with Olivia and her friends, the LBG's. We had so much fun, dressing up and dancing the night away (well, I didn't dance, more of a bobbing movement.) We then headed over to Chili's for some late night snacks. </div>
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I love this lady!</div>
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When we got home from Utah, we had to prepare for Halloween! Monday night, we had caramel apples, carved pumpkins, and watched our favorite Disney Classics. We love keeping traditions alive! We had the missionaries over for dinner the night before Halloween, so we made them a spooky dinner. I love Halloween! On Halloween night, we went to our Ward Trunk-or-Treat party. I made all of our costumes. I'm not a great seamstress, but I love making costumes. </div>
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They looked beautiful, but they were as hard as rocks! </div>
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Spooky! </div>
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Gus Gus the Mouse, the Wicked Step-Mother, and </div>
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of course, Cinderella </div>
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November was a busy month, getting ready for Christmas to come and I was getting over bronchitis (not fun). But we did try to enjoy the things were were thankful for that month. The Christmas tree that was on display in Washington D.C. came through Yakima, so we went to see it. It was fun to see a small part of History. We signed our names on the banner that accompanied the tree. Mirian even got her picture in the local paper. We went to the Veterans Day Parade. We love supporting those that serve our country. We are so grateful to live in this country and for the freedoms that we have. Mirian's preschool had the cutest Thanksgiving program. We love this little girl. We also had a fantastic Thanksgiving in Richland with the Jeppson clan.<br />
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Mim signed her name for all to see </div>
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Someone was excited for the Veterans day parade to start! </div>
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She waved her flag every time a veteran walked by</div>
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The cutest little Indian Brave </div>
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Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-74836203671171623942014-01-19T22:56:00.002-08:002014-01-19T22:56:32.647-08:00Summer 2013Okay, so I know I haven't blogged in a while, but my goal is to try to blog more. So I will try to do a quick update of some of the things we were up to, starting with June 2013 (since that is when we got our new phones, and all of my pictures are on my phone). Now bear with me, because I'm just going to blaze through a ton of pictures. We had a super busy summer. I was only home for a total of three weeks all summer!<br />
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We kicked off our summer with our annual trip to Lake Tahoe for the DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay. This year was the 49th year. It was a blast as always. To change things up a bit, we decided to have different themes at each of the legs. Russ and I went with Zombies! It was so much fun and everyone loved the chalk outline in the middle of our finish line!<br />
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Everyone loves spending time with G-ma D! </div>
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Grandpa loves his grand-kids!</div>
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Soon after Tahoe, we made a quick trip out to Utah to see our niece in the Miss Utah pageant. Of course, we thought she was totally awesome and gorgeous! We got spend a little bit of time with Scott, Olivia and the kids, and our good friends the Kings as well on this quick trip.</div>
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Olivia and the kids came for an overnight stay at our house and we were so happy to have them! Mirian loves her cousins so much!!! <br />
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Our best buddies, the Divis' came to visit for the 4th of July! We love getting together with these guys! It is never a dull moment. We made flag sandwiches for the kids, and then of course we enjoyed setting off fireworks! <br />
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I was Girls Camp director this year for our ward at church. The camp theme was Once Upon a Time in Camelot, so of course, our girls were the Dragons! We had so much fun with this theme. I made all the girls a dragon hoodie and we had some really fun decorations for camp. I loved girls camp, but of course, I missed my girl while I was gone. She spent a lot of good quality time with dad and Grandma and Grandpa Carlson.</div>
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Going to feed the chickens with Grandpa</div>
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Girls Camp!!</div>
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Next, we went back to California so Mirian could go to Grandma Camp! Before I dropped her off for the week, we went to the Cheese Park (Caper Acres) in Chico. This park is always a must when we go to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We went out on Grandpa's boat, we went for a little hike and then we swam and swam and swam! It was hot down there in Cali! Mirian has always been afraid of the water. Until this summer, she would only get in the water if you were holding her with a death grip. Finally, we got her comfortable enough to swim with floaties on. She loved it! While in California, she was swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool. She was watching the other kids without their floaties, but she knew she needed hers. At the end of swimming one day, I took off her floatie and she said, "Hey Mom, watch this!" and then she jumped right into the deep end of Grandma's pool. I had to jump in after her to rescue her. While we were all scared at first, it actually seemed kinda funny in the end (I know, I'm a bad parent!) She realized that she can't swim on her own, and I don't think she will try that again anytime soon!</div>
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While down in California, we also got to meet the newest Carter Cousin, baby Kate! She was born the day before I had to return home. She is such a sweetheart! </div>
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After I left, Grandma did all sorts of fun things with the kids. They ate delicious food, made fun crafts, and had all sorts of little adventures. Mirian is looking forward to next year's Grandma Camp already!</div>
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The "Cheese Park"</div>
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Sitting on "The Cheese"</div>
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Grandpa took our girls camp flag and used it for his cool castle </div>
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A long, hot hike for this little on! </div>
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That's okay, she got ice cream!</div>
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We love Grandpa's Boat! </div>
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Sweet baby Kate</div>
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Look at this little swimmer! </div>
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Craft Time </div>
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S'mores </div>
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Is that a black bear behind them?</div>
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More crafts, look how hard they are working </div>
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After Grandma Camp, we went out to Utah again. This time, we went to Aspen Grove for a fun filled week with the whole Carter Clan (minus Matt, Kristal, Natalie and Katie). This was the best vacation! All the kids met in groups each day and they had fun activities for them. The adults got to do all sorts of awesome stuff while the kids were busy in their groups. We got to do an awesome ropes course, we played an epic game of softball, we had a paint ball war, we played games every day and night, we hiked and we just had fun being together as a family. I sure love these people!</div>
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Mirian playing with her group </div>
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Her group performed a cute song </div>
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Getting ready to do the ropes course!</div>
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Can you see the fear in our eyes?</div>
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I'm not there yet?</div>
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Woot! I made it to the top! </div>
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My cute Indian princess</div>
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Russ braved the climbing wall </div>
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I love this family!</div>
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When we finished at Aspen Grove, we went to visit Scott and Julie and Matt and Amie. Russ went 4-wheeling with Scott and Matt while Mim and I went with Julie and Amie to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was so fun! Mirian loved it! We love getting to spend time with all our cousins!</div>
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Mirian LOVES Amie! </div>
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This was the best part! Making castles in the sand </div>
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Say "Velociraptor" </div>
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Ahhh! Shark Attack! </div>
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Mim with Amie and Aunt Julie</div>
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If you've made it this far, I'm sorry! I know it is a total crazy picture overload with little explanation, but that's all you get from me today! We finished off the summer by visiting our friends the Mills. They took us out on their boat and we even went and picked a TON of corn with them. We love these guys!</div>
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We also managed to sneak in a few playdates in the few days we were home. Mirian has some great friends and we love spending time with them.</div>
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Well, this is the end for now. Stay tuned for the next super huge blog update!<br />
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Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-58281861883974040802012-04-02T20:00:00.001-07:002012-04-02T20:04:38.099-07:00Happy Birthday Extravaganza!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9Z3SL5AHLvtcP7dIFo_68jOPqZVOtkkeis9X7gFyHNC7-7LglXWD2ev3wyqTCo_uoyJXUZ4HtWPETB1W2vNr0LLAT1RzaCTBn11QoQ_MzXCV06mUuG-zdhMea695EmwO7dHe0s679aA/s1600/IMG_1627.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF9Z3SL5AHLvtcP7dIFo_68jOPqZVOtkkeis9X7gFyHNC7-7LglXWD2ev3wyqTCo_uoyJXUZ4HtWPETB1W2vNr0LLAT1RzaCTBn11QoQ_MzXCV06mUuG-zdhMea695EmwO7dHe0s679aA/s320/IMG_1627.JPG" width="240" /></a> <br />
Today my baby turned 3 years old! I just can't believe that she is not a baby anymore. All weekend, I have been reflecting on how our lives changed when this little girl came into our home. We have learned so much from watching this little girl grow and trying to help her be the best that she can be. Mirian is such a joy in our lives.<br />
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Mirian is such a big girl, literally! She is as tall or taller than some of her friends that are 4 years old. She is in 4T clothes and she is just growing like a weed! She has a silly sense of humor and she always knows how to make her Mommy and Daddy laugh. She is very sweet and compassionate. We watch a little boy, Carter, frequently and she can be so kind and gentle to him. She is also very rambunctious and I have found her pinning Carter to the floor as he is kicking and screaming to get away. Mirian loves the gospel. She loves going to church, she loves to say prayers, she loves reading scriptures, she loves seeing pictures of Jesus. We watched General Conference this weekend and every time the Holy Ghost was mentioned, Mirian would perk up and say "Holy Ghost!"<br />
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Mirian talks so much now (finally), and she has an opinion about everything. She absolutely loves Disney Princesses and Dora the Explorer. When we put her to bed at night, she asks us to tell her a Cinderella story or a Belle story, where Mirian is actually the character. If I ever say "Cinderella" instead of "Mirian," she quickly corrects me. Mirian goes to preschool two days a week and she loves it! She loves spending time with her friends and she loves to learn. She is just an awesome kid and I love her so much!<br />
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On Saturday, we had a party with all of her friends over. Mirian wanted a Princess/Dora party, so I made a map and told the kids that Swiper had taken all of the presents and hid them in his cave. The kids had to follow the map to get the presents. To start out, they had to walk across the "stones" to the kitchen. Some of the stones were missing and so they had to find the missing stones. When they got to the kitchen, all the kids had to make a pizza (we just did the English muffin pizzas). From there, they had to go into the basement and crawl through the spiderweb and then they found the cave (tent) filled with her presents. The kids had fun following the map,and when we were all done "rescuing" the presents, they asked if they could follow the map again. Afterwards, we had a Cinderella cake and ice cream.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the stones to the kitchen</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing through the spiderweb</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They found the presents!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russ was there briefly</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6L0BoXzlNJe4WsyXUqgAx8ZnQvWHgdlCsEkdr0Ro9BAgwvaobzn2df9PZLe0dJFQ-4Np7LEecqNTGjjezRH807JWX8pA5qJEnGTSWeUavyAuO5_CaySr1f-iTMHwselrjqix-LYn9ESA/s1600/IMG_1604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6L0BoXzlNJe4WsyXUqgAx8ZnQvWHgdlCsEkdr0Ro9BAgwvaobzn2df9PZLe0dJFQ-4Np7LEecqNTGjjezRH807JWX8pA5qJEnGTSWeUavyAuO5_CaySr1f-iTMHwselrjqix-LYn9ESA/s320/IMG_1604.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Princess with her Cake</td></tr>
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Sunday was my birthday (yippee), so we had another little shin dig Sunday evening after conference. Russ' family came over for sloppy joes, veggies and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream (my favorite cake). It was fun to have everyone over and Mirian loved getting to play with her cousins.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snuggling with Daddy during Conference</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to burn down the house!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpuexLT44yAzwxtnACu4WGBejp5P1h-wlvFjofi5m_bNuyQeW8VrCr5lfhYlhFh57dhveNmI8SzWA1Drw-_w6fHbhSPVshVjBIYe5TP6jNAXEG52AIti-ow7Lg_hFoBlUyxyOSk2l2_k/s1600/IMG_1617.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpuexLT44yAzwxtnACu4WGBejp5P1h-wlvFjofi5m_bNuyQeW8VrCr5lfhYlhFh57dhveNmI8SzWA1Drw-_w6fHbhSPVshVjBIYe5TP6jNAXEG52AIti-ow7Lg_hFoBlUyxyOSk2l2_k/s320/IMG_1617.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I almost caught my hair on fire!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnV0Qo6p9CKScGnywva-Hz4JM4_5oLIQaCBqHS0uu0DkScQOhhvz0IVJErNoRVfdBxfBM0qy5LxY-RZnznChftNa8csUGRLUh8xLh4HvYHjjV8td_Wh95MKVPW1UPQqBhDf_OG3oEKWtg/s1600/IMG_1618.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnV0Qo6p9CKScGnywva-Hz4JM4_5oLIQaCBqHS0uu0DkScQOhhvz0IVJErNoRVfdBxfBM0qy5LxY-RZnznChftNa8csUGRLUh8xLh4HvYHjjV8td_Wh95MKVPW1UPQqBhDf_OG3oEKWtg/s320/IMG_1618.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyT2jclWwLU92trOKA8dmVipv6Cgb4hQGZ-KtyGxrm2NXl_QVjf3B7eTeur3m19j-bjg4JcfjUPlIw2nkkCZ9A-3wXCSoLqAkbUSsbz-R5k1JvkViYNncmiOmjIn3Rm8_4_57J5UtHJ8/s1600/IMG_1620.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKyT2jclWwLU92trOKA8dmVipv6Cgb4hQGZ-KtyGxrm2NXl_QVjf3B7eTeur3m19j-bjg4JcfjUPlIw2nkkCZ9A-3wXCSoLqAkbUSsbz-R5k1JvkViYNncmiOmjIn3Rm8_4_57J5UtHJ8/s320/IMG_1620.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIy8Y9vUIpSr3v3pFQPql_cuMBc9WrZfexs3B-Fdz3morys3VLAeiCRUwdBtjw10560xIqO_jW9SmDuB3lgxY6kkhahxZWzES1O8nxkXSW0pMnARLOvexVbUyeeyGdyxU7GvMnzfCQnc/s1600/IMG_1623.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifIy8Y9vUIpSr3v3pFQPql_cuMBc9WrZfexs3B-Fdz3morys3VLAeiCRUwdBtjw10560xIqO_jW9SmDuB3lgxY6kkhahxZWzES1O8nxkXSW0pMnARLOvexVbUyeeyGdyxU7GvMnzfCQnc/s320/IMG_1623.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Russ got me 7 pairs of toe socks!?!?!?</span> </td></tr>
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Even though we already celebrated her birthday, I wanted today to be a special day for Mirian too. This morning, we played games together (at her request), then we went to Kids Castle (a giant indoor play place) with her buddy Carter. She had so much fun climbing around, going down slides and playing in the ball pits. She was so worn out by the end of it that she took a nice long nap when we got home. It has been a fun few days, but I think we are now ready for life to get back to normal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFwklwqTBZQq5YpbpkuZpsRRmXH2RPqRTwDXyXK1Yx0oyz5tmJ2gMs0Ia9zCz9XpPJ8nMKy7_ekN1_7X6CpHC7lZdkeVYh7X1aOm0Ar82j5vrNdKnNYTpGqrJ-5GC__H3ROqYjbKibJ8/s1600/IMG_1628.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFwklwqTBZQq5YpbpkuZpsRRmXH2RPqRTwDXyXK1Yx0oyz5tmJ2gMs0Ia9zCz9XpPJ8nMKy7_ekN1_7X6CpHC7lZdkeVYh7X1aOm0Ar82j5vrNdKnNYTpGqrJ-5GC__H3ROqYjbKibJ8/s320/IMG_1628.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Queen of Kids Castle!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQafli3VZtNL9e5aXojx2MadeBuZmZkLAuyTARMOJhKTDSNeSwQmqo_MXQ70681vra7-YzCiSkLOMM2fBSJ6O-q0caSevnnzlXIUAw4JCD86Y6gfdOayNCUPLB_DyfpiTKFoLxCZPx4E/s1600/IMG_1630.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQafli3VZtNL9e5aXojx2MadeBuZmZkLAuyTARMOJhKTDSNeSwQmqo_MXQ70681vra7-YzCiSkLOMM2fBSJ6O-q0caSevnnzlXIUAw4JCD86Y6gfdOayNCUPLB_DyfpiTKFoLxCZPx4E/s320/IMG_1630.JPG" width="240" /></a> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirian and Carter on the swing in the backyard</td></tr>
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Happy Birthday Mirian! We love you!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-25406800533881530682012-01-24T17:10:00.000-08:002012-01-24T17:10:23.643-08:00Snow Princess We finally got snow, and we were so excited to take advantage of it. At Mirian's preschool, they had a Princess Party, so Mirian wore her beautiful white coat to be the Snow Princess. She loved it! Mirian doesn't have a lot of dress up clothes, so she had to wear her pink tutu. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx_5HI4rdXl-JUl-sd9xNjSJWRKNbMSYumKLyGn1SgSF6Cjc4dBm5xF2fOyd922UcKvqUbginND8CnDwJqKlLP6bNkEwuVCqsQLqFLiMLR0EbooGapFxwd15RN-Sqfu7uY8hG-6mMRm4/s1600/IMG_1561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAx_5HI4rdXl-JUl-sd9xNjSJWRKNbMSYumKLyGn1SgSF6Cjc4dBm5xF2fOyd922UcKvqUbginND8CnDwJqKlLP6bNkEwuVCqsQLqFLiMLR0EbooGapFxwd15RN-Sqfu7uY8hG-6mMRm4/s320/IMG_1561.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> She made the crown at preschool. She wore it until it fell apart. She thought she was so beautiful in it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSc4P8taw552Sg3TEPTeAaPGU4ew_CLG8muuBT8pE1OtDBGZY34hIbElyHc8DYei4QluWLYP8g41FBRzdEYae6mPZ5bdKWAuiSFOlb30TdzhlFbFUjkqRKUJvdWITcMlzFhgQoOHiKLw/s1600/IMG_1562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilSc4P8taw552Sg3TEPTeAaPGU4ew_CLG8muuBT8pE1OtDBGZY34hIbElyHc8DYei4QluWLYP8g41FBRzdEYae6mPZ5bdKWAuiSFOlb30TdzhlFbFUjkqRKUJvdWITcMlzFhgQoOHiKLw/s320/IMG_1562.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> Over the weekend, we had our awesome friends the Divis' come from Spokane. They braved the weather, just to spend a few days with us. Since we had so much snow, we had to let the kids go sledding in the back yard. Mirian loved playing in the snow, but not so much the sledding. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphendVV0Sn5EdrFMBbxuapf2M_ywyFh1JtrE3FoGzWBpwHc05p8VGvomAN5f5qjlTyDPl1A4QpuK-aFK_GOBbU7j26x6jO4yKDVk7vCvG9JOOfBrmX6iQdF8cj3i-AWDcUOLp3k3_u3AIs/s1600/IMG_1560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghyphenhyphendVV0Sn5EdrFMBbxuapf2M_ywyFh1JtrE3FoGzWBpwHc05p8VGvomAN5f5qjlTyDPl1A4QpuK-aFK_GOBbU7j26x6jO4yKDVk7vCvG9JOOfBrmX6iQdF8cj3i-AWDcUOLp3k3_u3AIs/s320/IMG_1560.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>And here is the Panty Princess. Lately, she has been getting out of bed when she is supposed to be asleep, stripping off her pj's and pull-up and putting on panties and a hat. She thought she looked so cute the other night, that I had to take a picture of it. I sure do love that girl! She always makes me laugh! I'm going to have to show this picture to her future husband one day to truly embarrass her.Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-34331584505256299392012-01-24T16:55:00.000-08:002012-01-24T16:55:50.094-08:00Christmas Holidays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqnYhvkJvz3IBHKtW0pbe1UK3FhGgqVxGsflW2rSGZUUdvYdZ9ieQzWcdVix3Q4pP5Z_kOsPYTjqJGiOXVN0VgpdUa2uRfLoD4dw8mEA80n3c0gqGnfBt0ft5fx8jno85u_00CTUEdz4/s1600/IMG_1523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqnYhvkJvz3IBHKtW0pbe1UK3FhGgqVxGsflW2rSGZUUdvYdZ9ieQzWcdVix3Q4pP5Z_kOsPYTjqJGiOXVN0VgpdUa2uRfLoD4dw8mEA80n3c0gqGnfBt0ft5fx8jno85u_00CTUEdz4/s320/IMG_1523.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We had such a wonderful Christmas season this year filled with fun and family. Mirian was old enough to make Christmas really fun. She got to meet Santa at our ward Christmas breakfast and she has been obsessed with him ever since. Mirian still talks about Santa a month later. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2C2imDLUWn5DVFnn7tU45sQdf_TdQDSSs9ZStg1xu1y4PWyx3lollqv_H0l9l4cWWx8_FuHzsNlS2oxNnzZaweOXtIXpryEyoTy_JspfuQUb92zodMaAn7RSi0ZKkCewH67j4djlE-A/s1600/IMG_1524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil2C2imDLUWn5DVFnn7tU45sQdf_TdQDSSs9ZStg1xu1y4PWyx3lollqv_H0l9l4cWWx8_FuHzsNlS2oxNnzZaweOXtIXpryEyoTy_JspfuQUb92zodMaAn7RSi0ZKkCewH67j4djlE-A/s320/IMG_1524.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Mirian got to make a snowflake ornament at the Christmas party. She had so much fun!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraJMH0Ggs0lKSaKtqpQdreExKXFPQNWQdcuWL8iSwXnR-TyygDuTKe8j96VvM94beGNYMHciiBf8zscr5CKxdAWfgf9V4w4uMX1yy9jGiTZWNn8LJ68AubBdmLPZmG6S8royH1quZnGk/s1600/IMG_1527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraJMH0Ggs0lKSaKtqpQdreExKXFPQNWQdcuWL8iSwXnR-TyygDuTKe8j96VvM94beGNYMHciiBf8zscr5CKxdAWfgf9V4w4uMX1yy9jGiTZWNn8LJ68AubBdmLPZmG6S8royH1quZnGk/s320/IMG_1527.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>On Christmas Eve, we went to Russ' parents house for dinner and a live nativity presented by the grand-kids. Mirian started out as a shepherd, but then when the program started, she came out as this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgTY0tAUFhyphenhyphenHTBQHACjh8QgVTLxJ12mpjnVO1k34hkjMTCpC36iiDrKtWkeVgiF59zvMKozHCBCF1Qlsy93tfq6sq0nX-40n49I6t25z4E8_T9ngmvWjAUCjjZ2L1IANhNZKdW1GDedc/s1600/IMG_1529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgTY0tAUFhyphenhyphenHTBQHACjh8QgVTLxJ12mpjnVO1k34hkjMTCpC36iiDrKtWkeVgiF59zvMKozHCBCF1Qlsy93tfq6sq0nX-40n49I6t25z4E8_T9ngmvWjAUCjjZ2L1IANhNZKdW1GDedc/s320/IMG_1529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Either way, she was adorable. The kids then performed the nativity and sang songs and we all thought that we had the cutest kids ever. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8hV1VDhNqGfGUs6wSx1bxwCFro91CvHzxJP5sxcbqrSkQ9cwSGUae_25Sd7YWj6Tz8zWfXGwORPKkZ5AwbhMNk75c11tdTxUe2SWBepk1hZgzB9vQPRqATU9G0PKU9Fwz4YRFEv9BKo/s1600/IMG_1531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8hV1VDhNqGfGUs6wSx1bxwCFro91CvHzxJP5sxcbqrSkQ9cwSGUae_25Sd7YWj6Tz8zWfXGwORPKkZ5AwbhMNk75c11tdTxUe2SWBepk1hZgzB9vQPRqATU9G0PKU9Fwz4YRFEv9BKo/s320/IMG_1531.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVIx7qmnojYRMy5MJhyphenhyphenobx9jm0SSv1E2BJyGP3akkw2UFtDmnAiP4hEzL4ZuFihenS2Buiz18-WdZGohkvbgpzuUr3TtGMD8lyDmViAwSLKpJI0KHvpSjj6pQlkbbkVOk831HRL2oU9U/s1600/IMG_1532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmVIx7qmnojYRMy5MJhyphenhyphenobx9jm0SSv1E2BJyGP3akkw2UFtDmnAiP4hEzL4ZuFihenS2Buiz18-WdZGohkvbgpzuUr3TtGMD8lyDmViAwSLKpJI0KHvpSjj6pQlkbbkVOk831HRL2oU9U/s320/IMG_1532.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Just look at that little face! How can you not think she is the cutest!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNd2P8ED675k14QXDAyxFC_CmUtTCycUZ4EsfTMYXVwHvF79M2Ru1c3-KdEJoMBPbXTK2qe4JE-19XKuwNPbNLwqnpywQ0hic3JfqgiyZN5X3BjGR5WmhR430ypMRqYdryxcMBVo4wY8/s1600/IMG_1536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNd2P8ED675k14QXDAyxFC_CmUtTCycUZ4EsfTMYXVwHvF79M2Ru1c3-KdEJoMBPbXTK2qe4JE-19XKuwNPbNLwqnpywQ0hic3JfqgiyZN5X3BjGR5WmhR430ypMRqYdryxcMBVo4wY8/s320/IMG_1536.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> That night, Mirian got to open her Christmas jammies from Santa. She was sooooo excited because they were Dora jammies.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwus4cDeMi5qkPmPikwinAMz9THizmmwjjJXgBiDRtKQaLHQf5FPvadDiuBSoBugJ-O1AbEh1Fekeht2g5X16RAJWqY8x9-7z1PgxIbIykUt1P_eSzA1F5qx2jcn1OytKv5zSH_gFOQo/s1600/IMG_1538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNwus4cDeMi5qkPmPikwinAMz9THizmmwjjJXgBiDRtKQaLHQf5FPvadDiuBSoBugJ-O1AbEh1Fekeht2g5X16RAJWqY8x9-7z1PgxIbIykUt1P_eSzA1F5qx2jcn1OytKv5zSH_gFOQo/s320/IMG_1538.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Just as we were getting ready to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night, we had a special visitor come to the house. It was Santa Claus! Mirian was so excited! She ran right up to him and hugged him. She didn't leave his side until left. It was so fun to see her eyes light up. We told Mirian that she had to go to bed because Santa was going to come back while she was asleep and bring presents. That made her even more excited. We had to be back at Russ' parents house at 5:45am, so we went into Mirian's room to wake her up. Usually, it takes her awhile to wake up, but she immediately jumped out of bed and her first words were "Christmas, Santa come!" She ran out of the room to see if Santa had indeed come. Mirian was not disappointed.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqRUv9D9OIgKsr49bns_e4mCq82Zi83kJ5PHu2xbz1GOTBeGcDUBJ278sXv07-oQ5LzVhngu7jJ0xMDaxYVfPNvhGyNxMHIEOrTwTmQxXLGnvWaTI-6hLsqaiOJgJVJ5ATLWpHn-oyNk/s1600/IMG_1545.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmqRUv9D9OIgKsr49bns_e4mCq82Zi83kJ5PHu2xbz1GOTBeGcDUBJ278sXv07-oQ5LzVhngu7jJ0xMDaxYVfPNvhGyNxMHIEOrTwTmQxXLGnvWaTI-6hLsqaiOJgJVJ5ATLWpHn-oyNk/s320/IMG_1545.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> Back at Grandma and Grandpa's house, everyone had to line up in order of age to go open presents. Mirian was obviously the youngest there that morning, but that made for a more magical Christmas. She loved opening presents and would help everyone with theirs if she didn't have one to open.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2a23DZng-_2lmlVcDQoAMVlzcIIrwfX9XtvsC2FEQRPz60ujoJbvKdtJeKpgpV_zoyW1OPdcHV72RcEXw8RCQVQEOvCvdqDwc5XQ-68fE5-faVDekMchA_VqzDNhB1-mtit6SIOQuZo/s1600/IMG_1547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2a23DZng-_2lmlVcDQoAMVlzcIIrwfX9XtvsC2FEQRPz60ujoJbvKdtJeKpgpV_zoyW1OPdcHV72RcEXw8RCQVQEOvCvdqDwc5XQ-68fE5-faVDekMchA_VqzDNhB1-mtit6SIOQuZo/s320/IMG_1547.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOjglMc-wFMYBq34dv8gM1w_niIm7QdAXFkEpInNPZP4uf-Vuia2rhz52yKdf5QDppsxLmFIuuJ6qbrVCF8oWGoaFp89heaWL2yF5eIIcshXl36h9FSh7hly-579qLQWgSwSSWGckaPk/s1600/IMG_1552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOjglMc-wFMYBq34dv8gM1w_niIm7QdAXFkEpInNPZP4uf-Vuia2rhz52yKdf5QDppsxLmFIuuJ6qbrVCF8oWGoaFp89heaWL2yF5eIIcshXl36h9FSh7hly-579qLQWgSwSSWGckaPk/s320/IMG_1552.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Later that evening we went back to Russ' parents and Mirian of course, had to be decked out in her new Christmas clothes, playing with her new Christmas toys. She is at such the perfect age for enjoying the holidays. I think this was one of my favorite Christmas' because it truly felt magical. I will never forget that sparkle in my little girl's eyes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAI1MXKozTbF3osuWvEp_uQ1wvmfQave9kQ9OcP-OVvEYOh4akHDEhMKsOS4OgLu3bmKk_bX3-8MFjiZk5yLvY89wNo-SCw-0zU2igixkZxhNDIY_S5U5g0aEAgoSSCPl1dQZBRTTxEU/s1600/IMG_1553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieAI1MXKozTbF3osuWvEp_uQ1wvmfQave9kQ9OcP-OVvEYOh4akHDEhMKsOS4OgLu3bmKk_bX3-8MFjiZk5yLvY89wNo-SCw-0zU2igixkZxhNDIY_S5U5g0aEAgoSSCPl1dQZBRTTxEU/s320/IMG_1553.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpc_vjYybOOoHLTKTeJeUZMaY73ZIeOFop1WPK8adpame9V8SiijCHNkmNWQlgrpJpNdunUHdoIvL99P6dzA-_MQN85a668b5iRrb5qTfH5k6u6LGBBwlthHYBt4onYtwa4xHq0m5iXo/s1600/IMG_1554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpc_vjYybOOoHLTKTeJeUZMaY73ZIeOFop1WPK8adpame9V8SiijCHNkmNWQlgrpJpNdunUHdoIvL99P6dzA-_MQN85a668b5iRrb5qTfH5k6u6LGBBwlthHYBt4onYtwa4xHq0m5iXo/s320/IMG_1554.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> The next day, we went bowling with the family. Mirian thought it was pretty cool, she even had a better score than her mom (okay, she might of had a little help from others).<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7TKTN2ohCXClLX_CTpaYzs6chsgnscfhqRvSZNWLIiUnVSyPBUujWSA-RkH7qY-COBdr-njC65ohN1c7v0PvKVAndVNwRK1RC78A1f8KZzXs7tYu3AhDLSsmdcTFzccDJ-mFvQxSCBA/s1600/IMG_1555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7TKTN2ohCXClLX_CTpaYzs6chsgnscfhqRvSZNWLIiUnVSyPBUujWSA-RkH7qY-COBdr-njC65ohN1c7v0PvKVAndVNwRK1RC78A1f8KZzXs7tYu3AhDLSsmdcTFzccDJ-mFvQxSCBA/s320/IMG_1555.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM__a8MWKZhY5YkF371-Q6DqTLNudeZnPi4JUrkvHFPgvhy_LQKrfe1ROdvkP60MVi9DFGHRWbVY8TCdmxNxK3EUPxjMYBwsLMQJljadWEmxJfcB1p6TZCZbkHYClgDZ7a6gR2v-WAMQg/s1600/IMG_1557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM__a8MWKZhY5YkF371-Q6DqTLNudeZnPi4JUrkvHFPgvhy_LQKrfe1ROdvkP60MVi9DFGHRWbVY8TCdmxNxK3EUPxjMYBwsLMQJljadWEmxJfcB1p6TZCZbkHYClgDZ7a6gR2v-WAMQg/s320/IMG_1557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Yummy bowling alley nachos!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-8773174654886286192011-12-09T16:46:00.000-08:002011-12-09T16:46:44.615-08:00Some Extras to ShareWell, since I'm already up blogging, I figured I better throw a few pictures up here for you all to see. Enjoy!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2_bYTobfXKM1_10rfkXr2u1nphp0Eb_227O8ttFGNDOtHCl7KXnf0EdQPZuxe-P0RBexuDN5RUFPwx4FPoVeod6KO-pLEJOy5-DH8LxnxKfryeOexi7ZnMYKlrzD89VEJ0rd76tMmog/s1600/2011-10-01_13-03-48_875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2_bYTobfXKM1_10rfkXr2u1nphp0Eb_227O8ttFGNDOtHCl7KXnf0EdQPZuxe-P0RBexuDN5RUFPwx4FPoVeod6KO-pLEJOy5-DH8LxnxKfryeOexi7ZnMYKlrzD89VEJ0rd76tMmog/s320/2011-10-01_13-03-48_875.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIWTU3Zvzy5mDmZDXL-3HwiKgfMxPD7qha7-doYq9bN4Bs8fvRZO6qzTMZ4KkLg-Z60XTh8hRtcI9MK_T0zSxyY8DdOXeGjFvMl07qOlUjR23TyNDT2q4cuZmT4Ecw6rJQrX8s2gBLEo/s1600/2011-10-01_14-03-01_320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIWTU3Zvzy5mDmZDXL-3HwiKgfMxPD7qha7-doYq9bN4Bs8fvRZO6qzTMZ4KkLg-Z60XTh8hRtcI9MK_T0zSxyY8DdOXeGjFvMl07qOlUjR23TyNDT2q4cuZmT4Ecw6rJQrX8s2gBLEo/s320/2011-10-01_14-03-01_320.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>At the Pumpkin Patch in Spokane. Mirian was really tired from lifting that huge pumpkin! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2KKeFANb1QBfd1MEoxJ_sMV6oai2f12vtobeSOgOhqeQ4KCbZ-XXGgrDuroqKBp-Ty5UeJgTBGQ4EMq-jFdsYbfRNHEHq6xGuJerFUSxjfWo_oK_QMD6UmASq_afvxaZ0MQmRsGfdYY/s1600/IMG_1494.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2KKeFANb1QBfd1MEoxJ_sMV6oai2f12vtobeSOgOhqeQ4KCbZ-XXGgrDuroqKBp-Ty5UeJgTBGQ4EMq-jFdsYbfRNHEHq6xGuJerFUSxjfWo_oK_QMD6UmASq_afvxaZ0MQmRsGfdYY/s320/IMG_1494.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGN1xU42x8D2M8MeyOXQQdnTCjpHhi7jxs46KjCGISzKW0EHv0UlDvPHzvO7sRBlrXosNQnlL735yK4gcWU2N0oMR6aFUXKiyZRIy8ZSyBOX_MoM9cn2U7au15tU58iM9U0BfgPbEwC0/s1600/IMG_1495.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGN1xU42x8D2M8MeyOXQQdnTCjpHhi7jxs46KjCGISzKW0EHv0UlDvPHzvO7sRBlrXosNQnlL735yK4gcWU2N0oMR6aFUXKiyZRIy8ZSyBOX_MoM9cn2U7au15tU58iM9U0BfgPbEwC0/s320/IMG_1495.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YUsdTjXQ8SK0J6Fv2Ke_17AkBVFVz6PrZg9kxQjsb85KW8EdvrUBNzQohzWNSV4NkEmeRTbD2cUMU9FX3DRvCo6Af3aGzrAPfP_A9Fze49ysEvwf0Ip8OXWcets6dPC9T_jFD0NWHm4/s1600/IMG_1497.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YUsdTjXQ8SK0J6Fv2Ke_17AkBVFVz6PrZg9kxQjsb85KW8EdvrUBNzQohzWNSV4NkEmeRTbD2cUMU9FX3DRvCo6Af3aGzrAPfP_A9Fze49ysEvwf0Ip8OXWcets6dPC9T_jFD0NWHm4/s320/IMG_1497.JPG" width="240" /></a> <br />
Halloween Night! What a silly ladybug! She absolutely LOVED Halloween! She still walks around the house with a purse, saying "Trick or Treat!" I love it!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgei-lcde_FvoXiS-_iu2qcWaIBx3aNoyBl7HarRRhSCDVK0AHmksFvmfqQfV3sfMHT3-rQ_MuA9vHQnDrzBSvYINkWcyEjLbSGm_K8_i9QZifn90szwiatFCZzdcA4m2LGvNPDY0tnzGU/s1600/2011-09-24_15-22-00_66.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgei-lcde_FvoXiS-_iu2qcWaIBx3aNoyBl7HarRRhSCDVK0AHmksFvmfqQfV3sfMHT3-rQ_MuA9vHQnDrzBSvYINkWcyEjLbSGm_K8_i9QZifn90szwiatFCZzdcA4m2LGvNPDY0tnzGU/s320/2011-09-24_15-22-00_66.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> Family Picture at my Aunt Pat's Wedding in Portland. We had such a good time with family.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaBvqMywi7sS_9aIWg3aVhWxXWpj8M8qRCCLKZxAA365POpAhY95-L_iu35WacYVuTuPhSJo-wolV78vugpTNHLEdFjgIZw69RND5cl4pPkAryd0XW_nE76zUJwag3v6c_-JWMu7AoJc/s1600/IMG_1491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkaBvqMywi7sS_9aIWg3aVhWxXWpj8M8qRCCLKZxAA365POpAhY95-L_iu35WacYVuTuPhSJo-wolV78vugpTNHLEdFjgIZw69RND5cl4pPkAryd0XW_nE76zUJwag3v6c_-JWMu7AoJc/s320/IMG_1491.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Russ' Brother Mike got married at the Columbia River Temple. We love Mike and Stephanie! They are so cute together. Mirian loves weddings now!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AeT8e_YQZ55tP1R9sdyz79nnz3QMBjyoMKr7ne4xPYkoVGRHJIYso2iG4UPOjimHn_KEJe49e51az0NP7xaIH-V1pxDpy2ZjkYMobvjl_3OYcPw9txWuQtxFALVJElvcoAYgt2bvbXc/s1600/IMG_1520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7AeT8e_YQZ55tP1R9sdyz79nnz3QMBjyoMKr7ne4xPYkoVGRHJIYso2iG4UPOjimHn_KEJe49e51az0NP7xaIH-V1pxDpy2ZjkYMobvjl_3OYcPw9txWuQtxFALVJElvcoAYgt2bvbXc/s320/IMG_1520.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This morning, I gave Mirian a bath, and before I could change her into some clothes, she ran out of the room and I heard her say "Go doggy, go!" She was trying to ride Maced : )Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-71754026413404245212011-12-09T16:20:00.000-08:002011-12-09T16:20:45.317-08:00Trip of Epic ProportionsSo I know it has been a bazillion years since I blogged, but I figured it was about time to write what we have been up to as of late. We just got back from a 10 day trip through 6 different states (so we were only in Arizona for like 10 minutes, but I'm still counting it). Please don't feel like you have to read the whole thing, but I just needed to get this out there for the universe.<br />
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On Wednesday, November 23rd, we made the long trip down to Paradise, CA to see my parents for Thanksgiving. My parents are in the middle of remodeling their kitchen, so we spent Thanksgiving day helping them tape off walls and start the painting process. Since their kitchen was in shambles, we headed to good ol' Home Town Buffet for dinner. Nothing says Thanksgiving like mashed potatoes, turkey, tacos and fish sticks. <br />
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Friday morning, we packed up my parents car and drove down with them to Newport Beach. We stayed at the Marriott again, right across the street from the beach. Mirian was so excited to see her cousins when we got there. All of my brothers and their families came, except Matt and Kristal who just had a baby girl born a few weeks ago.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiU1bWVbrYHmjn_tHc4qCetaPVsh2T2GVieanGmnxmymNTtXAPoBzPXp1nABQZjLL30BKMm0WXieLjsX9TdxAjdP9IsPwX-SAPPKHM0Dlw94BXlLwjULEMUPrfDa75krwVlNbYWLsC8M/s1600/cousins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwiU1bWVbrYHmjn_tHc4qCetaPVsh2T2GVieanGmnxmymNTtXAPoBzPXp1nABQZjLL30BKMm0WXieLjsX9TdxAjdP9IsPwX-SAPPKHM0Dlw94BXlLwjULEMUPrfDa75krwVlNbYWLsC8M/s320/cousins.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
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On Saturday, some of us went to the beach while Mirian and Shade napped. We loved looking at the tide pools and seeing all sorts of fun sea creatures. We told Mirian all about it and she was sad that she didn't get to go. On Sunday, we went to church and enjoyed some epic game playing. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SU94GZPri_9mCGnK1epLaPXsN8RcZFrAOWLJFWoYZkux19t1YBcQkDsQqNKxaY4DUOkANI0d2X9bp3Q-CvpnbHwxRPMZrAm-5G-w0a4ww0lb1Kv0jodOyDn0VIYDreki-vfBidzNSPc/s1600/beach7.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SU94GZPri_9mCGnK1epLaPXsN8RcZFrAOWLJFWoYZkux19t1YBcQkDsQqNKxaY4DUOkANI0d2X9bp3Q-CvpnbHwxRPMZrAm-5G-w0a4ww0lb1Kv0jodOyDn0VIYDreki-vfBidzNSPc/s320/beach7.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEx24-xt-Jv9w8w3qB5alg30609qYbY0mPsca2dc2TEiwLumBhFZfexiy5WYFTwuvtZoZwAqa9dzZD9HUVg5qTI-oBeyeRigYtdSgIu8nJEI558YKCyHuzrdfFHLQ7OtAF-Rjctrzg9D0/s1600/family1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEx24-xt-Jv9w8w3qB5alg30609qYbY0mPsca2dc2TEiwLumBhFZfexiy5WYFTwuvtZoZwAqa9dzZD9HUVg5qTI-oBeyeRigYtdSgIu8nJEI558YKCyHuzrdfFHLQ7OtAF-Rjctrzg9D0/s320/family1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaesHOqN0sVwpt58zo3_U-4boMLT39ex8FDq6Nl7EYZLRZFsXUFrB06hNrkH-Al2WgyL1TBGLaL5djDIr6v_YLQ5uynrLFRgutN1hAFO-aXjLBUrz8kWysVJ1S-6oN1kMU2xX6pH7aok/s1600/Newport+Sunday.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaesHOqN0sVwpt58zo3_U-4boMLT39ex8FDq6Nl7EYZLRZFsXUFrB06hNrkH-Al2WgyL1TBGLaL5djDIr6v_YLQ5uynrLFRgutN1hAFO-aXjLBUrz8kWysVJ1S-6oN1kMU2xX6pH7aok/s320/Newport+Sunday.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkUdGbIhp7MmXNKguxpr4hYWmiV7KpcW0eTgKVzrJBb4LSzn3DE29vX7K-505jkXvMdC8h8__3Kw-JqxLmYJhGBz75391UDTv0IClFF7G4RAFmhiwTZGMZ2agD9q-NuBlclFFIfY8O00/s1600/family2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkUdGbIhp7MmXNKguxpr4hYWmiV7KpcW0eTgKVzrJBb4LSzn3DE29vX7K-505jkXvMdC8h8__3Kw-JqxLmYJhGBz75391UDTv0IClFF7G4RAFmhiwTZGMZ2agD9q-NuBlclFFIfY8O00/s320/family2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Monday was another beach day, however, this time Mirian hated it! She spent the entire time screaming. We thought she was going to love it because she had been talking about going for weeks, but I think the sounds of the waves scared her, and she doesn't like getting her feet dirty. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRhYwVhFhA4aQLraearx9e_z1YGwYlo51uBYV8OglAh-QMSqRxf1L0i7co-59sO-J1JsVuGKZKbBN4OxrXuWHbtNEm-yuQ-v7rp3ZMSU9ZpU_ouDVy6lAE_JhrfY9j2MAR4iWEkEerLc/s1600/beach+day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnRhYwVhFhA4aQLraearx9e_z1YGwYlo51uBYV8OglAh-QMSqRxf1L0i7co-59sO-J1JsVuGKZKbBN4OxrXuWHbtNEm-yuQ-v7rp3ZMSU9ZpU_ouDVy6lAE_JhrfY9j2MAR4iWEkEerLc/s320/beach+day.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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After all of the screaming at the beach, I was really nervous to take Mirian to Disneyland. I thought for sure she was going to be a beast. Surprisingly, Mim love Disneyland, but what kid doesn't? It is the happiest place on earth. The week after Thanksgiving is definitely the time to go. The lines were short and the weather was perfect! We had so much fun! Mirian wasn't a huge fan of the rides, but she did love Dumbo, the storybook train and It's a Small World. Disneyland was so beautiful! It was all decorated for Christmas and it was the highlight of our whole trip.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiH-R7Hl6cA8adC4kWXl4NS786M0ojC3kD3w_Ux8j_NpG4WS2XU5qBR15koiDSwCZ90JU2_P7NsOXliM0nWl8Lr36DZMB1_873ReSjtQN4suMVtoo1r7ZTxTart3nPA5rzDiy_Oxkk98/s1600/IMG_1503.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiH-R7Hl6cA8adC4kWXl4NS786M0ojC3kD3w_Ux8j_NpG4WS2XU5qBR15koiDSwCZ90JU2_P7NsOXliM0nWl8Lr36DZMB1_873ReSjtQN4suMVtoo1r7ZTxTart3nPA5rzDiy_Oxkk98/s320/IMG_1503.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZwwAuh0UaVqJ4IbMvA-IQOyce382I_b70UwIsNlNW8-8SIE0DOXyHqaxLoAZinMoxVSMSnOs1ftSR1c8qG60pVW_kg1-ZoREKlAKqESECWjMKgOpZcjQTO_17tJq1hvXjyyT0MX-lpM/s1600/IMG_1500.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZwwAuh0UaVqJ4IbMvA-IQOyce382I_b70UwIsNlNW8-8SIE0DOXyHqaxLoAZinMoxVSMSnOs1ftSR1c8qG60pVW_kg1-ZoREKlAKqESECWjMKgOpZcjQTO_17tJq1hvXjyyT0MX-lpM/s320/IMG_1500.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37avzhDfTuuBwF576JH-8Olyrz3N5fu3A-N7d0ZGSbes7cqVSevdL1cs_N_BQLjFW52GFw67KPAvRcEhQS3Jh-Xld9K-YbhDVFGBMfE9J7l3pdEAcd3PRiAtKZB3fRI33ifEE3_dcn_E/s1600/disney+cousins.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37avzhDfTuuBwF576JH-8Olyrz3N5fu3A-N7d0ZGSbes7cqVSevdL1cs_N_BQLjFW52GFw67KPAvRcEhQS3Jh-Xld9K-YbhDVFGBMfE9J7l3pdEAcd3PRiAtKZB3fRI33ifEE3_dcn_E/s320/disney+cousins.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9st_VSkyPgt82DcuvYBalFR8j-63LKujSqOv7FflYfCestm7QzRxMqm7m1oCyTibHqtJzc7Fv7leHOZprA9ja1WgPTfSa49uIiB41vcwqG6X9U8ew0p8fXcD_f3H0xWYsGgnkhCM8V7U/s1600/dumbo.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9st_VSkyPgt82DcuvYBalFR8j-63LKujSqOv7FflYfCestm7QzRxMqm7m1oCyTibHqtJzc7Fv7leHOZprA9ja1WgPTfSa49uIiB41vcwqG6X9U8ew0p8fXcD_f3H0xWYsGgnkhCM8V7U/s320/dumbo.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7zWSmOS-3ongD04sc-OVuYIYwYPgR2rEXIk8aVvDTWxQU4fCV92iJS0Nobb9uo8mIUejprqhVgCsbDcSzva_f4ZJZPP3kODSTa78h242OPiaYpekTcyWcpteefNsouWwiNJxKkcI90c/s1600/dancing+with+syd.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7zWSmOS-3ongD04sc-OVuYIYwYPgR2rEXIk8aVvDTWxQU4fCV92iJS0Nobb9uo8mIUejprqhVgCsbDcSzva_f4ZJZPP3kODSTa78h242OPiaYpekTcyWcpteefNsouWwiNJxKkcI90c/s320/dancing+with+syd.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4f6NKJHSnDGFvtAAzWrWfAWtGU9AeXiLqqXcgNcnx2cJRCWB1Q8rM6oe6RpX-XSUvoMGqa2p08w97LLsyLYN1vW-kAvCeCFi5byrhXduQLpwvDhSGrdcyeZ8TdKNTzwXN5eCkuAotXO4/s1600/tea+cup.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4f6NKJHSnDGFvtAAzWrWfAWtGU9AeXiLqqXcgNcnx2cJRCWB1Q8rM6oe6RpX-XSUvoMGqa2p08w97LLsyLYN1vW-kAvCeCFi5byrhXduQLpwvDhSGrdcyeZ8TdKNTzwXN5eCkuAotXO4/s320/tea+cup.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEKk00PE0y06bWa7Np4adzbyGIV645kI66L81-tE7DNe4JyPtEbXp9s-qMwX7d20NPwBw38LXiZxuk3WL9TlqkVjvWajbLtG8alv_foGmg4nAgQ9kj6kv5UBdQ6EPI3oBOlImfmw6W1w/s1600/teacup2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEKk00PE0y06bWa7Np4adzbyGIV645kI66L81-tE7DNe4JyPtEbXp9s-qMwX7d20NPwBw38LXiZxuk3WL9TlqkVjvWajbLtG8alv_foGmg4nAgQ9kj6kv5UBdQ6EPI3oBOlImfmw6W1w/s320/teacup2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd7o2w3tekn_P0FNpWIhk1ZaOr9JO3craqIlwuEY7Y7GhoDX6sdMHqynqVvWuoPcUMbDIKjeaOeufS40mciRaf_lAM9aMpVZbxekqQW0mgoPu74yWRz1ghrBt6UgOoDBnMf_Tnz4COrw/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd7o2w3tekn_P0FNpWIhk1ZaOr9JO3craqIlwuEY7Y7GhoDX6sdMHqynqVvWuoPcUMbDIKjeaOeufS40mciRaf_lAM9aMpVZbxekqQW0mgoPu74yWRz1ghrBt6UgOoDBnMf_Tnz4COrw/s320/IMG_1510.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzRs6k7cwNY-ZwNHPTK_PrAhyphenhyphenF7DtNkzX7x2lAgAJ7sDSd6qUit_yu9N7hNgmS1xI674qYA4A-vb6kDIyV3_hP7LWaTScOt3yCvDG6cFPSQy_SK4vvZdSwBFgqOFml_s0OnMe_L0MBWM/s1600/dancing+on+stage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOzRs6k7cwNY-ZwNHPTK_PrAhyphenhyphenF7DtNkzX7x2lAgAJ7sDSd6qUit_yu9N7hNgmS1xI674qYA4A-vb6kDIyV3_hP7LWaTScOt3yCvDG6cFPSQy_SK4vvZdSwBFgqOFml_s0OnMe_L0MBWM/s320/dancing+on+stage.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNuXY9PZvBTb-BoayZUsS8mIjFJ4_tJCT3oZAAKjJW9_21DFDmEM3h6alc7_sCkNRPUL6ck3-cF8fnvKN0olYKjTpYCFidflHFul7SD080Iwy4l5LaEOHcz6p4r0cfrP7sdcaj3mmVZI/s1600/IMG_1516.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNuXY9PZvBTb-BoayZUsS8mIjFJ4_tJCT3oZAAKjJW9_21DFDmEM3h6alc7_sCkNRPUL6ck3-cF8fnvKN0olYKjTpYCFidflHFul7SD080Iwy4l5LaEOHcz6p4r0cfrP7sdcaj3mmVZI/s320/IMG_1516.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
On Wednesday, we took the time to relax. We went swimming in the pool, played more games, and then the girls sneaked away to watch Breaking Dawn, oh the horrible goodness! We spent Thursday at the Aquarium in Long Beach, which was a lot of fun. I think everyone's favorite part was feeding the lorakeets. They just hoped right up on you. Mirian really loved the sharks. If you ask her what she saw at the aquarium, she will tell you all about the sharks. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPt2IPJySF0HGl6a6gNmUsKKWIs6TMaIZrZoH7DjsZx8UxqZTIRf2ZoKHJuV_JAARfaSlZdFIn__gNtWTWbxUPpRMVtk7LnQO3K8YQn-qVSSIujd_z6ZB4rnDNZDJENZPYvRvR_TGVM8/s1600/bubba+gump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDXNboCLigOlovNgQJY7jKyixi6qxl5_NcO8AhK3QowZp1XW81znq2EevdhhCGWfN0Ltj2Fr8k7fWzq9UpCdClSJsJv__Q3VDJDPt0n14OFlyyVlneVUzo_lZiu1lMOi-bIXJf5Qe5po/s1600/titanic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDXNboCLigOlovNgQJY7jKyixi6qxl5_NcO8AhK3QowZp1XW81znq2EevdhhCGWfN0Ltj2Fr8k7fWzq9UpCdClSJsJv__Q3VDJDPt0n14OFlyyVlneVUzo_lZiu1lMOi-bIXJf5Qe5po/s320/titanic.jpg" width="179" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPt2IPJySF0HGl6a6gNmUsKKWIs6TMaIZrZoH7DjsZx8UxqZTIRf2ZoKHJuV_JAARfaSlZdFIn__gNtWTWbxUPpRMVtk7LnQO3K8YQn-qVSSIujd_z6ZB4rnDNZDJENZPYvRvR_TGVM8/s1600/bubba+gump.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPt2IPJySF0HGl6a6gNmUsKKWIs6TMaIZrZoH7DjsZx8UxqZTIRf2ZoKHJuV_JAARfaSlZdFIn__gNtWTWbxUPpRMVtk7LnQO3K8YQn-qVSSIujd_z6ZB4rnDNZDJENZPYvRvR_TGVM8/s320/bubba+gump.jpg" width="179" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Tulz-ONstUOd2qGdZAkS6bPkjy-NGQae2CukOMzyAV3X1kt3RT0goP7VYKOj0h69T7gPcf3MU0wxgSMsa5vfiU27DUJyMpFcINrzxPhyphenhyphensVwxSO2REfCBiCPPLJ-0bxWq7ZoJJbhOhOI/s1600/IMG_1519.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Tulz-ONstUOd2qGdZAkS6bPkjy-NGQae2CukOMzyAV3X1kt3RT0goP7VYKOj0h69T7gPcf3MU0wxgSMsa5vfiU27DUJyMpFcINrzxPhyphenhyphensVwxSO2REfCBiCPPLJ-0bxWq7ZoJJbhOhOI/s320/IMG_1519.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuWWFRnjEfKAquz40xewyTum2uqxSnUBDvOyP36CqmN29NbR96Ap0x2ql0WiRi9cxQq_4oea0x6YYvZXt99FhsIjG558SBqjjKsiI8pH6NcYlm-gwKJtq0L3UqjfpZuFqEAQlhX51zmU/s1600/lorakeets.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzuWWFRnjEfKAquz40xewyTum2uqxSnUBDvOyP36CqmN29NbR96Ap0x2ql0WiRi9cxQq_4oea0x6YYvZXt99FhsIjG558SBqjjKsiI8pH6NcYlm-gwKJtq0L3UqjfpZuFqEAQlhX51zmU/s320/lorakeets.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Finally, it was time to leave the warmth of beautiful So Cal, and we headed over to Utah to see Matt, Kristal and Baby Natalie. Natalie is the most beautiful baby, and Mirian just adored her! While in Utah, we were blessed to watch our niece Ashley in her Drill Team competition. Her team took 2nd place in two events, which was a great accomplishment. These girls can dance! We went to Salt Lake City as a family on Saturday night and got to see the Christmas lights. If you have never been to Temple Square during Christmas, you are missing out. It is breathtaking!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6N6xwUFds_xAQWdZt9uy00CucSjUStWZbTJyoDSnJp7sH15_N2MpLQZyCnRb8ZA5Gk9r5oVLSy06251gbCGyNtRUqsNF374KP1cg6hT2T4YhVfg4qZh8xa-Y-2Xd3403qe-8M2buKoQ/s1600/baby+natalie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6N6xwUFds_xAQWdZt9uy00CucSjUStWZbTJyoDSnJp7sH15_N2MpLQZyCnRb8ZA5Gk9r5oVLSy06251gbCGyNtRUqsNF374KP1cg6hT2T4YhVfg4qZh8xa-Y-2Xd3403qe-8M2buKoQ/s320/baby+natalie.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitKwjxMMxlcvooP3XeRQEfK5X7mXxx9rSNSa0shBwmyW9PaC-vZCDhX0h43UC9VGYcV7E0D4h4p_ytDXzbs0ugJvbDGaxo6roH03L7gdWkXt_K7dIJ4_hya6aWUYOAum1Wo39_6uxRTA/s1600/Temple+square.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjitKwjxMMxlcvooP3XeRQEfK5X7mXxx9rSNSa0shBwmyW9PaC-vZCDhX0h43UC9VGYcV7E0D4h4p_ytDXzbs0ugJvbDGaxo6roH03L7gdWkXt_K7dIJ4_hya6aWUYOAum1Wo39_6uxRTA/s320/Temple+square.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbM_mk0_SuaWQS6Z8K9PT4rgarPLCsubKkzx5seTZHwpK4YnbI7pUwYoh-vqEsfjA7Xk-ApA4uXYylHtmGj1rB21YCOzGl4r4Cj7PGpMnz01YL5IWUcuYrvbzYrTgulzxNzZg3ogx0GcU/s1600/temple.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbM_mk0_SuaWQS6Z8K9PT4rgarPLCsubKkzx5seTZHwpK4YnbI7pUwYoh-vqEsfjA7Xk-ApA4uXYylHtmGj1rB21YCOzGl4r4Cj7PGpMnz01YL5IWUcuYrvbzYrTgulzxNzZg3ogx0GcU/s320/temple.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />
Sunday was a special day, because that is when Matt and Kristal blessed Natalie. I am so excited for them, and I can't wait to watch Natalie grow up! After the blessing, we drove back to Paradise to pick up our car. Then, we left Paradise first thing Monday morning to drive back home. But our trip wasn't complete without a stop in Wilsonville, OR to visit my cousin and his family and to pick up the newest member of our family, Baby Kitty Boots!<br />
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Well, thanks for sticking through to the end, I hope you didn't get too bored. We are thankful to have such a wonderful family that loves us and supports us through everything. We are so thankful for this Christmas time and for the birth of our Savior. I know that he lives and I am thankful for this time to think about Him. We love you all and hope you have a wonderful holiday season!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-43077828707753842472011-08-04T08:58:00.000-07:002011-08-04T09:54:16.193-07:00Happy 10 Year Anniversary Emily!!!!!!Last year on our anniversary I claimed <a href="http://emandruss.blogspot.com/2010/08/happy-anniversary-to-my-sweetheart.html">"One more year and we will be "an old married couple"</a>. Well guess what, it's been one more year!!!! I guess we are an old married couple now!!! Happy 10 year anniversary to my sweetheart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <br /><br /> Proof that you are happy!!!!!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLquhXAsGCIcpQZ2TJtGrFa2IsoldASiU3aDKEq48uvysrVxmduI1sHv9EVECgg_4V3hx5j_A5skGv6T_qXPQgZ6W8xEPSiRLqSfPi9vlTVEt6SommhBsg8CIRlCmUFpI7xhr9g2pIxnA/s1600/253274_10150272597537439_826337438_7511615_622801_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLquhXAsGCIcpQZ2TJtGrFa2IsoldASiU3aDKEq48uvysrVxmduI1sHv9EVECgg_4V3hx5j_A5skGv6T_qXPQgZ6W8xEPSiRLqSfPi9vlTVEt6SommhBsg8CIRlCmUFpI7xhr9g2pIxnA/s320/253274_10150272597537439_826337438_7511615_622801_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637044600680511858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I know, cliche', but I love you more and more every day!!!!!!! Please don't have me "done away with" in order to collect life insurance money . . . . . . I know you know how to use a bat!!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvKwQ-qmtcySBAlsogbDqbZsO5iIPgPAT21xL2KctFS_gAGGk67B_n9mZPj5FuzRyVSkQ29G26S2QTBeHNE1tBvXuJ52TgLjmVrOwmrmp08sX-1qkDgGaKPv6XuaQSy8T3A3morsiGoQ/s1600/254211_10150265581977439_826337438_7436114_6625143_n.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHvKwQ-qmtcySBAlsogbDqbZsO5iIPgPAT21xL2KctFS_gAGGk67B_n9mZPj5FuzRyVSkQ29G26S2QTBeHNE1tBvXuJ52TgLjmVrOwmrmp08sX-1qkDgGaKPv6XuaQSy8T3A3morsiGoQ/s320/254211_10150265581977439_826337438_7436114_6625143_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637044460735054978" border="0" /></a>Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-75170186975687058262011-05-23T15:29:00.000-07:002011-05-24T07:42:03.738-07:00Catch UpOkay, so I haven't blogged in a long time. We have been very busy with Russ' parents' bathroom remodel, having a renter move into our basement for the summer and a nasty sinus infection that lasted for a month. But I wanted to share some of the things that we did last month, even if it is a little bit late. Better late than never, right?<br /><br />So Mirian turned two last month, and for her birthday, we had an impromptu party. Her birthday was the same day as General Conference, so during the Priesthood session, our nieces and nephews come over and some friends who didn't want to be alone while their husbands were at the meeting. We went from having no party planned to several people over for a little shin dig for Mirian in just one day. It was so fun though to have friends and family want to celebrate with Mirian, and she loved being the center of attention.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-reIi0utxvR3sd1Fnj-cDNvgbXKHfAVut0YlJWBPXfsL576XTdLb5HBFlwghErRt0szT3l02j05LmQwWuLfzWry8RcH39c-1YV4CrC0HCuo4gGJjwrhBYRWX-76DeNtqiaumEWEYCwUM/s1600/IMG_1375.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-reIi0utxvR3sd1Fnj-cDNvgbXKHfAVut0YlJWBPXfsL576XTdLb5HBFlwghErRt0szT3l02j05LmQwWuLfzWry8RcH39c-1YV4CrC0HCuo4gGJjwrhBYRWX-76DeNtqiaumEWEYCwUM/s320/IMG_1375.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610048764887323362" border="0" /></a>Mim's Birthday Cake<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDZi8usrSRjIMpkgxhKLpDGp77LluztChuRCCzC6EOVnxU9Q2RPVn0yeW3DJSaWdF8EjQR28FSzRfrOQ3k9IdY9EA0Wks6U-HNEYQgsYN4LDewrJ6NUIFapxqhbIaanEZqwWQhCpzU_o/s1600/IMG_1379.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjDZi8usrSRjIMpkgxhKLpDGp77LluztChuRCCzC6EOVnxU9Q2RPVn0yeW3DJSaWdF8EjQR28FSzRfrOQ3k9IdY9EA0Wks6U-HNEYQgsYN4LDewrJ6NUIFapxqhbIaanEZqwWQhCpzU_o/s320/IMG_1379.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610048771219918674" border="0" /></a>Not sure what to think of the Candles<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmb859eh3HbbnX8oybZIvI0wdS2_xGZBRrTubcpLfp-pMm3kzu1BT5h7VL6XlJBrFMFjir1dyOnV4ytNxVIuEEo-Cm_AtTV_UOrd08qTUp-Dd79ldCAN44sWWbUVJEP00I5wMbznA000/s1600/IMG_1394.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmb859eh3HbbnX8oybZIvI0wdS2_xGZBRrTubcpLfp-pMm3kzu1BT5h7VL6XlJBrFMFjir1dyOnV4ytNxVIuEEo-Cm_AtTV_UOrd08qTUp-Dd79ldCAN44sWWbUVJEP00I5wMbznA000/s320/IMG_1394.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610048776893532322" border="0" /></a>Mirian LOVES kitties!<br /></div><br />The next weekend we had a big Carlson family get-together. Our nephew Zachary was baptized and Russ' brothers came from all over to attend the baptism. We had so much fun getting everyone together and Mirian just adores her cousins. We had a two huge Easter egg hunts (thanks Scott and Julie), and we went to Meadowbrook to play mini golf and ride the go-carts. It was so much fun to get to see everyone. We wish we all lived closer.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uThpzm5fxmopKuUbO2dKNiyjXPgfnIoWT8py1ge5nnDt1FMgMnnZKpzuUYfHQcuU7u7WDCdc07IzjymfRBm9ak8Y4gmtqg4ghpIEclP3keU8tMJrplVUkIv8QKHE8rParD2QQVfEtDw/s1600/IMG_1400.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uThpzm5fxmopKuUbO2dKNiyjXPgfnIoWT8py1ge5nnDt1FMgMnnZKpzuUYfHQcuU7u7WDCdc07IzjymfRBm9ak8Y4gmtqg4ghpIEclP3keU8tMJrplVUkIv8QKHE8rParD2QQVfEtDw/s320/IMG_1400.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610048788359331970" border="0" /></a>I found one!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8C_bPkEvCTunpYDvOffQGVQhsJXUbmZMQPiUQ4OfIjrC74cznt2BTy8M_We6HUFeISkFQZAH0feL5Nvj29hpnsHJ_vdre5Pk0LrRf-UHab25nsTYtEry_VEyI0lI24XdasXn5WrbjBo/s1600/IMG_1404.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8C_bPkEvCTunpYDvOffQGVQhsJXUbmZMQPiUQ4OfIjrC74cznt2BTy8M_We6HUFeISkFQZAH0feL5Nvj29hpnsHJ_vdre5Pk0LrRf-UHab25nsTYtEry_VEyI0lI24XdasXn5WrbjBo/s320/IMG_1404.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610048797821618178" border="0" /></a>Too Cute!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEkUO-u9ZSl7QR0JJItyxCp4R30c7jtBF-tO-9zbR27SDzenK_yFx4cYeyFO7sZUx1iOGwJ-VlfKDEnRGdb7bL_FHQkwArvYcQroM9GafHYBdE8f_QaHsmZn8KYp1HfYdMax6CcAw8gE/s1600/IMG_1411.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEkUO-u9ZSl7QR0JJItyxCp4R30c7jtBF-tO-9zbR27SDzenK_yFx4cYeyFO7sZUx1iOGwJ-VlfKDEnRGdb7bL_FHQkwArvYcQroM9GafHYBdE8f_QaHsmZn8KYp1HfYdMax6CcAw8gE/s320/IMG_1411.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610054170370164194" border="0" /></a>Having fun at Meadowbrook<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgxdBbtdSrG7Zu8ZEp6Ca1_pYDtAYOOlu70FDeCa_UKfcmx9E_9VlLUJis0wRkI-jDvHcBXIETcbzpUVm4xbbmp5ig4lufqDElXlt_3WoH99Zv3k3khy8jTo_Neb1cWbaffThyxoqx4A/s1600/IMG_1407.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgxdBbtdSrG7Zu8ZEp6Ca1_pYDtAYOOlu70FDeCa_UKfcmx9E_9VlLUJis0wRkI-jDvHcBXIETcbzpUVm4xbbmp5ig4lufqDElXlt_3WoH99Zv3k3khy8jTo_Neb1cWbaffThyxoqx4A/s320/IMG_1407.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610054159876610962" border="0" /></a>Going for a carousel ride<br /></div><br />For Easter, our bestest buddies the Divis' came down for our annual Easter get together. Mirian just adored baby Sadie. She kept trying to get toys and blankies for Sadie. Mirian loves babies and couldn't get enough of Sadie. While the Divis' were up, we drove to Seattle to go to IKEA. We had a blast (at least Audra and I did). Then Audra and I drove home with the kids, and Russ and James went to a Mariners game. On Easter Sunday, the kids got to go on an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. I love that Mirian is starting to get into the holidays. She had so much fun looking for eggs, and every time she picked up an egg, she would shake it to make sure there was candy in it. It was so fun!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGSt2dvvEfD_jas8VMBx6dqoOaw23w4vvJ2XfrpA9rRpilEfzO8BpyQZ48apWYoKeJwmQHqpbWK6G-maAklO7ihZvABXB29MuPoKwnWq-ET_PhoS7KMIvyyitCjdIVMjhiXya1_SXEu8/s1600/IMG_1420.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiGSt2dvvEfD_jas8VMBx6dqoOaw23w4vvJ2XfrpA9rRpilEfzO8BpyQZ48apWYoKeJwmQHqpbWK6G-maAklO7ihZvABXB29MuPoKwnWq-ET_PhoS7KMIvyyitCjdIVMjhiXya1_SXEu8/s320/IMG_1420.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610054178851131218" border="0" /></a>Mirian's Easter Dress<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9MmSdbL-cUTsFuaUFfF0KWvkdwm3UulWmRXyFDteSR4qRrRXQQOOmTDMkjhFSLaB8FuXzftHN0wkKOjsr4ufkbFxQZcJWP7cN8DyO3ze5RXY_AIRm1rMuGpcCXOtJV2w4gbMPrzocHU/s1600/IMG_1427.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9MmSdbL-cUTsFuaUFfF0KWvkdwm3UulWmRXyFDteSR4qRrRXQQOOmTDMkjhFSLaB8FuXzftHN0wkKOjsr4ufkbFxQZcJWP7cN8DyO3ze5RXY_AIRm1rMuGpcCXOtJV2w4gbMPrzocHU/s320/IMG_1427.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610054188657001410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lql_6mw21T80DQB2VITbmGYa3yr99BfPtgcyrqcfnC3xPZdyFhEyieJ1yFLjF1_iyeBSidYPZB6xgQoge5PcrUVRHhS4bReStULLNGx6TSetZ1ULG91lQhOzi-e4K4wqnf6NPdmo8-4/s1600/IMG_1442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lql_6mw21T80DQB2VITbmGYa3yr99BfPtgcyrqcfnC3xPZdyFhEyieJ1yFLjF1_iyeBSidYPZB6xgQoge5PcrUVRHhS4bReStULLNGx6TSetZ1ULG91lQhOzi-e4K4wqnf6NPdmo8-4/s320/IMG_1442.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610054201530007938" border="0" /></a>Yummy Chocolate!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32qOF4HnqNeM7zpHm5n9RD6xYNIm5KWlqSMoaBNalB58n57wPDT1YbXqhSyFGA0ejrXXR6RxH8rze-FICyKS11KyE5etXXFh93bTLOmIy9w9fU3VB6pJAdC8JrxyEazviIfTi6WMTFW0/s1600/IMG_1444.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32qOF4HnqNeM7zpHm5n9RD6xYNIm5KWlqSMoaBNalB58n57wPDT1YbXqhSyFGA0ejrXXR6RxH8rze-FICyKS11KyE5etXXFh93bTLOmIy9w9fU3VB6pJAdC8JrxyEazviIfTi6WMTFW0/s320/IMG_1444.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610055179073380498" border="0" /></a>Mirian, Makayla and James Michael on the swingset<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseW1x34oYf3imGxb5eKByPFoIKut3Yn9BhhB0hoSqLO_o24pDMWi8EezI0fmwlKHekdnKpaDDjiuwQODq3d-_KQhbGBXWKLU-2EHHtqqPsXXJ-DAkk-5wrI4kxUu2gfOYf-3lNrtrCUA/s1600/IMG_1446.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseW1x34oYf3imGxb5eKByPFoIKut3Yn9BhhB0hoSqLO_o24pDMWi8EezI0fmwlKHekdnKpaDDjiuwQODq3d-_KQhbGBXWKLU-2EHHtqqPsXXJ-DAkk-5wrI4kxUu2gfOYf-3lNrtrCUA/s320/IMG_1446.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610055194047078578" border="0" /></a>Mirian Loves baby Sadie!<br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaSWEYEr8NCAB57kpg_Fwr_BMJbf1q9luQFOZZOODu9lhanCDbhTLJJXKPPo99priQo90EmMxd4_YTZR8E4CM6sKgstDK84aHleqBGGww7nDB-OxIZSNnTDP1DefijMeo7cBzFmXxHfA/s1600/IMG_1447.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaSWEYEr8NCAB57kpg_Fwr_BMJbf1q9luQFOZZOODu9lhanCDbhTLJJXKPPo99priQo90EmMxd4_YTZR8E4CM6sKgstDK84aHleqBGGww7nDB-OxIZSNnTDP1DefijMeo7cBzFmXxHfA/s320/IMG_1447.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610055200938634226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The last few weeks we have just been keeping busy trying to get Russ' parents house ready and get our home ready for our renter. Russ' parents got home last Monday at midnight and we are so happy to have them back! They loved every minute of their visit! Mirian is quickly warming up to her grandparents again. <br /><br />We had our renter move into our basement on Friday. It was kind of a last minute thing. We weren't looking for a renter, but a friend of ours contacted us and asked if we would be willing to rent to her friend's husband. He is a great guy and is doing a pharmacy internship at the Indian Reservation. His housing fell through two weeks ago and was desperate to find a place to live. Since we hardly use the basement anyway, we thought it would be a great opportunity.<br /><br />So that is what we have been up to. We haven't fallen off the face of the earth. We are happy and we constantly feel so blessed.Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-92136420404810521082011-04-02T07:50:00.000-07:002011-04-02T09:45:58.072-07:00Happy Birthday Sweet Little Mirian!!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0ou63ypkoC3oZHl1Dm_pDrqjhTASRGZG6Cys3YiObaLHQLgjuBCTnmbNVv_dMB9VdOPi2QAE2CSDaXJ0TzSPXDbR7d89N-68lmivRLqBgiMPhmx3LpSDkyIJ_gofRRstjPDqHr1zu_8/s1600/IMG_1371.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho0ou63ypkoC3oZHl1Dm_pDrqjhTASRGZG6Cys3YiObaLHQLgjuBCTnmbNVv_dMB9VdOPi2QAE2CSDaXJ0TzSPXDbR7d89N-68lmivRLqBgiMPhmx3LpSDkyIJ_gofRRstjPDqHr1zu_8/s320/IMG_1371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591020583787130626" border="0" /></a>Today Mirian turns two!!!!! What a complete and total Joy she has been for us!!!!!!! We love her so dearly! It was two years ago today that Russ got a speeding ticket on the way to the hospital. He even told the police officer that he was going to the hospital to adopt his new baby girl.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAFGSJDXasLssHws3VUOWLeCbLGZoNbFRUrrEVx9GZP88okQCISWrVE2rqHqQssafCprNY5KqP1uu2qeboAMfgZveRxI3_G2KfhWPadnqaFF5EKETE4UXx-hj_nmdZD29ODVOZHhckT0/s1600/Newborn+Mirian.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAFGSJDXasLssHws3VUOWLeCbLGZoNbFRUrrEVx9GZP88okQCISWrVE2rqHqQssafCprNY5KqP1uu2qeboAMfgZveRxI3_G2KfhWPadnqaFF5EKETE4UXx-hj_nmdZD29ODVOZHhckT0/s320/Newborn+Mirian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591023985737570082" border="0" /></a>Newborn Mirian<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-H6CaS9sTpPsDTv_8hZSdzg0NF91rHOLXLvogtXhnA8a0DEMw714WwSZ5yqte8eKjCdo_Yl7dYtu0aZ-l2iQhO1H5HCiP38ZmlDWyJ_6vOejo2wN5aU_LfHcd_PqDUFo1XY6KKQP3os/s1600/IMG_0833.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-H6CaS9sTpPsDTv_8hZSdzg0NF91rHOLXLvogtXhnA8a0DEMw714WwSZ5yqte8eKjCdo_Yl7dYtu0aZ-l2iQhO1H5HCiP38ZmlDWyJ_6vOejo2wN5aU_LfHcd_PqDUFo1XY6KKQP3os/s320/IMG_0833.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591022461114361698" border="0" /></a>Mirian on her first birthday<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAA1b_TUL7UOHqhb9sKwKRU8dlzMWAMTfo-siotPvu2n8LLVfEdrY3v2o6yld8IuHIC6jc0k1cCcfxUh3CV_GeSBKy0nMjiUr3qpycQtqIYfIaHh6lC47QUFVOXw_U8Ry1tpJDoClY60/s1600/IMG_1369.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPAA1b_TUL7UOHqhb9sKwKRU8dlzMWAMTfo-siotPvu2n8LLVfEdrY3v2o6yld8IuHIC6jc0k1cCcfxUh3CV_GeSBKy0nMjiUr3qpycQtqIYfIaHh6lC47QUFVOXw_U8Ry1tpJDoClY60/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591020581314844178" border="0" /></a>Mirian at 2<br /></div><br />Mirian has a wonderful birth-mother. Her name is Kristine. Thank you Kristine for your completely selfless and loving act of providing us the opportunity to have and raise this sweet little girl!!!!<br /><br />Mirian's personality is so wonderful!!!!! She absolutely LOVES kitties!!!!!! Her daddy would have preferred that she loves dogs (which she does) but she drops everything for a kitty. Her favorite movie is "Oliver and Company," because it is about a kitty. Mirian even sings along with the songs. In the car, she gets upset if we don't listen to kitty music (the "Oliver and Company soundtrack). Mirian loves babies! She has 3 baby dolls, but she could easily have a million more and be happy. She loves to change their diapers, push them in strollers and put them down for naps. she is a good little mama. Mirian also loves to read books. Her favorites are "Goodnight Moon" and any book with pictures of animals. She loves to point out the different animals and make their sounds. Mirian loves music and she loves to sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." It is so fun to watch her do the movements and say "Copcorn." Mirian is her mommy's big helper. She loves to help out with anything that she can around the house. Mirian loves to dance, and she sure knows how to shake her little bootie. It is adorable. Mirian loves to say prayers. She always remembers to fold her arms when we sit down to eat, and she always folds her arms when we are done reading scriptures. She is a good reminder to her mommy and daddy. But one of her mommy and daddy's favorite things about Mirian is that she loves to give kisses!!!!<br /><br />Today Daddy made waffles with homemade blueberry syrup for Em and Mirian's birthday breakfast. As you'll see from the photos, Mirian LOVED it!!!!!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_oYd13oPDdcp7YUIkpI5vYJA5_EsPaoKyS1GGvK_PhfZtsCkq4r5iryt4hfE8FoKKDBLB3AL31bBdrAJtl2lXpzRPGb7RH5hcd04optmIHP2mnDZYBZ1ZUyQi3fg8-kzwgEUxipqQHM/s1600/IMG_1374.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_oYd13oPDdcp7YUIkpI5vYJA5_EsPaoKyS1GGvK_PhfZtsCkq4r5iryt4hfE8FoKKDBLB3AL31bBdrAJtl2lXpzRPGb7RH5hcd04optmIHP2mnDZYBZ1ZUyQi3fg8-kzwgEUxipqQHM/s320/IMG_1374.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591020592063299938" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHsaWlNSkQ28RUh8ZKlpEgr_0BqIjfFinWrB_XmjW_Jx7HiKoSrscjJc11gH0BQXsfblZM5VR3CTDkOq961tPshPfyjQql-sVxAvuxgjJvAawkyXdda7k_wF9CJmGdbYHKb5O0EYEIoM/s1600/IMG_1372.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHsaWlNSkQ28RUh8ZKlpEgr_0BqIjfFinWrB_XmjW_Jx7HiKoSrscjJc11gH0BQXsfblZM5VR3CTDkOq961tPshPfyjQql-sVxAvuxgjJvAawkyXdda7k_wF9CJmGdbYHKb5O0EYEIoM/s320/IMG_1372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591020589487446418" border="0" /></a>Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!! We love you!!!!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-20601576383042918862011-04-01T08:43:00.001-07:002011-04-01T10:00:03.696-07:00Happy 30th to My Beautiful Bride!!!!Happy Birthday Emily!!!! You have now reached my plateau!!!! I've been anxiously awaiting your climb to 30 as I sit up here all by myself . . . . . . .<br /><br />As I was thinking about what to post about Emily, I thought maybe I could post about the best 30 things about her. I then decided that there are too many good things to limit myself to just 30 (come on folks, up top!!!! Brownie points for me for that last comment!!!). <br /><br />Finally, since I am a little biased, I decided to list several of the comments that others tell me about Emily. Most, but not all, of these comments have been made to me without Emily present so as to not embarrass her.<br /><br /><ol><li>Her smile is contagious!!! - Sherm and Irene Carlson</li><li>She's our own Vanna White!!!- Sherm and Irene Carlson</li><li>Russell, if things don't work out with you two, I'm next in line - Wesley B. Carlson (my grandpa)</li><li>She's so happy and content - Van Holland</li><li>It seems like nothing can ever get her down - Van Holland</li><li><span jsid="text">Its too bad Gertrude (referring to Emily) isn't gorgeous or anything!! - Janelle Givens</span></li><li><span jsid="text">Shantel </span><span jsid="text"> (referring to Emily) </span><span jsid="text">looks hot - Janelle Givens</span></li><li><span jsid="text">Em - You are as beautiful as ever! Russ - You're blessed.....to have Em as your wife - Darlene Svetz</span></li><li><span jsid="text">Em you are SO CUTE! -<a href="http://oliviacarter.blogspot.com/"> Olivia Carter</a></span></li><li><span jsid="text"> I love you guys, but... Emily more. - <a href="http://jamesandaudradivis.blogspot.com/">Audra Divis</a></span></li><li><span jsid="text">You are so lucky Russ to have two of the cutest girls ever living with you :D!! - Jessica Carlson</span></li><li><span jsid="text">The two are really cute! - Kathinka Leinz</span></li><li><span jsid="text">Where did you find this woman?! (this was a compliment but it could be misunderstood since it's out of context). - Abraham Wise</span></li></ol>There have been so many other compliments given of Emily and in my old age, I just can't remember them all.<br /><br />Emily is so creative and so loving!!! Everyday I am amazed by her!!!!!<br /><br />I love you sweetheart and I hope you enjoy your birthday today!!!!! Live it up since tomorrow Mirian gets the attention for her birthday . . . . . .Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-12762629407330603722011-03-29T08:34:00.001-07:002011-03-29T08:52:10.708-07:00Maybe I'll learn to slow down a little in the futureA couple of weeks ago I posted about my busy life and adding <a href="http://emandruss.blogspot.com/2011/03/as-if-i-didnt-have-enough-going-on-in.html">umpiring</a> to the already busy schedule. Well I've done it again. We're not finished with our own kitchen remodel and last week we started remodeling my parents bathroom. Thankfully, I've had a lot of support from my siblings. That has made it easier. I really do have good siblings!!!! The willingness to help out has been phenomenal.<br /><br />For some reason I didn't take before pictures. But the bathroom was very outdated. It was comfortable for my parents, so they felt no need to make a change. But right before they left on their mission, we found that there had been some leaking problems. They were going to have it remodeled at that point, but were so busy they couldn't add anything else to their plate. The problem has continually gotten worse and worse and needed to be fixed now.<br /><br />Here's a picture of part way through the demo. Notice the harvest gold shower to the left and the patch of wallpaper that was behind the toilet and couldn't be painted. Like I said, outdated.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24pFORVDTgVdYPKhXAwInC9UGmXdGtWOzvGXbCdGu_nPRhuahbGgbz8TOUpr79fLCZAcaX4jtlTynVgGyvDbXLxIOYoqW0rz61WvpP0kPTTdU7og_tr2z8QV9xxddvI5ZAsY05WX1I3Q/s1600/IMG_20110317_123744.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24pFORVDTgVdYPKhXAwInC9UGmXdGtWOzvGXbCdGu_nPRhuahbGgbz8TOUpr79fLCZAcaX4jtlTynVgGyvDbXLxIOYoqW0rz61WvpP0kPTTdU7og_tr2z8QV9xxddvI5ZAsY05WX1I3Q/s400/IMG_20110317_123744.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589528522083627954" border="0" /></a><br />We have done the demo and reinstalled new subflooring. We've also installed the shower basin. We are waiting for the mud to dry on the basin before we start moving forward on everything else. I don't want to post too many pictures because I want the overall remodel to be a surprise to my parents. They know we are doing the remodel, but they do not know what the end result will be.<br /><br />Here is a picture of where the shower used to be.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04NaQp7ht7kAYArf1SC_LYzZr1bdnUAwu5XyBDUDah_pnZaO4B4NGULGcaP_gmJdeAub3KE7kZOpMw3RdFwXImvsu9bhDTt46zlOeOmIQemNRzX4U_1kW6pyoMSb2DC75Nya8I6-GOv8/s1600/IMG_20110317_142706.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04NaQp7ht7kAYArf1SC_LYzZr1bdnUAwu5XyBDUDah_pnZaO4B4NGULGcaP_gmJdeAub3KE7kZOpMw3RdFwXImvsu9bhDTt46zlOeOmIQemNRzX4U_1kW6pyoMSb2DC75Nya8I6-GOv8/s400/IMG_20110317_142706.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589528527469377426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And here is my brother Brian putting in a line of studs to line up the walls where the shower used to be.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jTLETOSGPciSd0GTV784tAwv1uOhHC7hVBwF_oBrHNj6OwojQRkb2WKQ-iVZn3zfhKo3WzdWlLGBtTpKKKwEsKpzqWdcIaCTXgaEbhZ09qzErND5d5Nok87rAWyWs7pp0tSB43hfgF0/s1600/IMG_20110325_202948.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2jTLETOSGPciSd0GTV784tAwv1uOhHC7hVBwF_oBrHNj6OwojQRkb2WKQ-iVZn3zfhKo3WzdWlLGBtTpKKKwEsKpzqWdcIaCTXgaEbhZ09qzErND5d5Nok87rAWyWs7pp0tSB43hfgF0/s400/IMG_20110325_202948.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589528530755465314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My parents' already know this, so it's okay to post. We are going to put in a heated floor so that the tile is nice and cozy when you go in without any shoes or socks. Won't that be nice . . . . . .Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-52812551715024592722011-03-17T16:28:00.001-07:002011-03-17T16:33:43.623-07:00Happy Saint Patty's Day!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01AmXsPxQ0PXJZarZ2XxR-9xvQp1xC6P5lAcSbQxRwEWY_O6i1tUBptSDsb8S97Rd4-ds_aULvyQmOIb5ZNwlZMWikBxU1syEZ3xezWymAXg4RlNrBL6hcpS6XKepwoNTpfivwu63jKg/s1600/IMG_1368.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi01AmXsPxQ0PXJZarZ2XxR-9xvQp1xC6P5lAcSbQxRwEWY_O6i1tUBptSDsb8S97Rd4-ds_aULvyQmOIb5ZNwlZMWikBxU1syEZ3xezWymAXg4RlNrBL6hcpS6XKepwoNTpfivwu63jKg/s400/IMG_1368.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585195287508531474" border="0" /></a><br />After a long, nice nap (nice for mom and Mirian), Mirian was ready to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, complete with a lovely green dinner and Shamrock Cookies!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-8788877749716873552011-03-14T13:05:00.000-07:002011-03-14T13:10:49.925-07:00Family Challenge, Last weekWell we are in the final week of the family challenge. To date during the challenge, I've lost 30 lbs. To hit my ideal weight, I still have another 15 to go, but it won't happen during this challenge. <br /><br />The challenge has been a tough one. As I've mentioned before, it isn't just a diet (in fact I wouldn't call it a diet at all) it's a personal challenge to change your life for the better. Since starting the challenge, I've exercised ALMOST daily except for Sundays, I've read books (yes plural), I've updated the blog as part of my journaling, I've looked for opportunities to serve, I've lost a bunch of weight, and I have increased my energy level. I'm super-pleased with my efforts and the goals I've set. My goals were not simple, but I felt GREAT when I was able to accomplish them.<br /><br />Thank you Mom and Dad Carter for inspiring me to be healthy and a better person!!!!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-38769894938612962642011-03-13T15:23:00.000-07:002011-03-13T15:37:53.095-07:00Tiling the Kitchen FloorWell, when Em's parents came to visit over Christmas time we remodeled the kitchen. Uncle Walter also flew up to help. We are SOOOOOOO appreciative for their help and the help of other family and friends. One of the things we weren't able to do was to tile the floor. So that has taken me about 3 1/2 months thus far . . . . .<br /><br />Well yesterday I was doing some tiling, and it turns out, I had a little helper. . . . . .<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubGL7pGb1BHgHJaDEu7QFoGADoRcOMm9nS8fmQ0Rc6afbXnZsMvLnvHqGls83dHyDScpiUciU_j8NWxAJlpH6b57A8RlmLBD-Zy-q5IcPJXKb7wp6Ip9fkdlgIF2OtG8ibz4wzJ6Ylmw/s1600/IMG_20110312_162814.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjubGL7pGb1BHgHJaDEu7QFoGADoRcOMm9nS8fmQ0Rc6afbXnZsMvLnvHqGls83dHyDScpiUciU_j8NWxAJlpH6b57A8RlmLBD-Zy-q5IcPJXKb7wp6Ip9fkdlgIF2OtG8ibz4wzJ6Ylmw/s400/IMG_20110312_162814.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583695180235432034" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here she is helping to lay some spacers<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzeipopMjsLNSPVTCOYdhiipzIQ_K2qrcdbb2h_q5cr3Sk68DGX_cXBqxADgpVa_RTtfIsSPZVvCiXwNShk_aM4P8Eab2pOWR9pnvXogdMF-dumpIvy-S1tUnAHfRD__vp8rrpOtGMTA/s1600/IMG_20110312_162828.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzeipopMjsLNSPVTCOYdhiipzIQ_K2qrcdbb2h_q5cr3Sk68DGX_cXBqxADgpVa_RTtfIsSPZVvCiXwNShk_aM4P8Eab2pOWR9pnvXogdMF-dumpIvy-S1tUnAHfRD__vp8rrpOtGMTA/s400/IMG_20110312_162828.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583695183065805154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />What a cute little helper!!!<br /><br />She just loves to do what mommy and daddy do. Mirian loves to work along side us, she loves to clean the house along side us, and she even loves to do exercises right along with us. We always have a fun little chuckle when she stretches and does her exercises with us. It's just so cute!!!!!<br /><br />We just love our little monkey!!!!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-79266846781114877212011-03-10T12:39:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:42:30.843-08:00Peanut Butter Jelly Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ61AQfFAyVC5aGfMD9c5WdB7FMOWQVP45ybP6YFMPki1bJnxyKW4VVX8x_hUei7DGVcNYrsZ3APR558CncZ_-6e7fQKXgXmM7LGPrSQwamiZdjLFrAmGP6BoiQznwecLHKtq-vwAi4g4/s1600/IMG_1363.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ61AQfFAyVC5aGfMD9c5WdB7FMOWQVP45ybP6YFMPki1bJnxyKW4VVX8x_hUei7DGVcNYrsZ3APR558CncZ_-6e7fQKXgXmM7LGPrSQwamiZdjLFrAmGP6BoiQznwecLHKtq-vwAi4g4/s400/IMG_1363.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582554332292745346" border="0" /></a><br />With a side of "Cheese!"Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-14401929803810904532011-03-03T09:25:00.000-08:002011-03-03T09:37:47.483-08:00As if I didn't have enough going on in my life . . . .<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8QbBE7gT2a8txcQsYAI8xi3-CrNo6J8aiCFNpCa3mui_ILSOTbexrr20IYhXBiPBKZi_Aaliic6NnE0lnUYE8yuWlYquih6A3xzf6eH9bJ_zGLJazr-hchYUwkW6V27OHWid8SQ1SLI/s1600/umpire.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 140px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8QbBE7gT2a8txcQsYAI8xi3-CrNo6J8aiCFNpCa3mui_ILSOTbexrr20IYhXBiPBKZi_Aaliic6NnE0lnUYE8yuWlYquih6A3xzf6eH9bJ_zGLJazr-hchYUwkW6V27OHWid8SQ1SLI/s200/umpire.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579906426323895586" border="0" /></a></div>I really do enjoy working with youth, it inspires me to be better. And that is probably the main reason why I will be adding "Certified SUA Umpire" to my repertoire. Our good friend Steve Lawson has umpired for YEARS!!!! He started officiating in high school and has even officiated college softball games. He is VERY GOOD at what he does.<br /><br />Steve convinced me to become certified as an umpire in order to help out the community and help some youth. It does "pay" but not enough to be considered "an income". There is training that we undergo at least 2 times/week with no pay, so, yeah, you don't do this for the money.<br /><br />Needless to say, I will probably get some of this<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEO57cijQ1VIBavY5XEQUtuwwphF_KQdjwvaC22D1uN-aqJh_HaK7NPIDc0Fgc14w6EXt6P3SzsiPLe3VsIt_Fsnvmw9N90CBiQxRVtTzZmueOZtgQ_7XQ5EuETXN1DgP2awO-iKF2K5Q/s1600/umpire.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 347px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEO57cijQ1VIBavY5XEQUtuwwphF_KQdjwvaC22D1uN-aqJh_HaK7NPIDc0Fgc14w6EXt6P3SzsiPLe3VsIt_Fsnvmw9N90CBiQxRVtTzZmueOZtgQ_7XQ5EuETXN1DgP2awO-iKF2K5Q/s400/umpire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579909063296934018" border="0" /></a></div><br />And yes, I'll admit, I might do a little of this<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcvjnVyEwU38f3ADmDY-zKP_MgtOpy8n_p9XkaiCenLTfjls6lTG5lfqhPdgEsXFPDVbGRwFZIIBp8YEcRwMuUTCMsB-lQd3WLxD4H20-JpgfYNOOH1ljKSOIn8jQXa9a-a0CAz1VcaA/s1600/umpires+-+oops.gif"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcvjnVyEwU38f3ADmDY-zKP_MgtOpy8n_p9XkaiCenLTfjls6lTG5lfqhPdgEsXFPDVbGRwFZIIBp8YEcRwMuUTCMsB-lQd3WLxD4H20-JpgfYNOOH1ljKSOIn8jQXa9a-a0CAz1VcaA/s400/umpires+-+oops.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579909064601673154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Nevertheless, I am excited for this opportunity. I don't plan on changing professions (even though MLB umpires make around $300,000/year), but this will be a good opportunity for me to learn (I have to read and understand the 50 page rule book. I even have to memorize about half of it and take tests for the certification) and grow and work with youth.<br /><br />Wish me luck!!!!!<br /></div></div>Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-54548985368126258992011-02-27T18:14:00.001-08:002011-02-27T18:25:29.057-08:00SF Trip Vs. Family ChallengeWell I accomplished some major exercise milestones this week. I walked 6 miles in one day through San Francisco. I walked from Union Square all the way down Market Street to the Pier and back, then I walked from Union Square all the way to Ghiradelli Square/Fisherman's Warf. And this was through the VERY steep hills of San Francisco. The view was great but that combined with the steep hills, and this is what you get.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nzhkkgNcC_BZA3NxrnWSeoEMmN9uC7YoIt-ZH5Xxuxd-oyFUfpu0134-iPs1RU-kyU_f3DRav4ywPfOU8Brr2Sj51llVqni0M5aiglBBlkowONLpIUVcUTnlqGnoY1w1udoAucPHHFY/s1600/IMG_20110222_145151.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nzhkkgNcC_BZA3NxrnWSeoEMmN9uC7YoIt-ZH5Xxuxd-oyFUfpu0134-iPs1RU-kyU_f3DRav4ywPfOU8Brr2Sj51llVqni0M5aiglBBlkowONLpIUVcUTnlqGnoY1w1udoAucPHHFY/s200/IMG_20110222_145151.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578559912718174994" border="0" /></a><br /></div>It was cool to walk by Lombard Street. I haven't been there for probably 15-20 years.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaR2LY4HMWWkS2mMfPo5Qq3ESpzjYASHf5DU1HRFn3UGuKlQd7maTF5qBG_ytB5uJuX9e4kfJ_wuj3WFNvBe8K9SdYhDhyH-AhyVsNAsOvdcLLuDFP49yiZBKg-zzdJQ6D2SrMUHZLls/s1600/IMG_20110222_145854.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglaR2LY4HMWWkS2mMfPo5Qq3ESpzjYASHf5DU1HRFn3UGuKlQd7maTF5qBG_ytB5uJuX9e4kfJ_wuj3WFNvBe8K9SdYhDhyH-AhyVsNAsOvdcLLuDFP49yiZBKg-zzdJQ6D2SrMUHZLls/s200/IMG_20110222_145854.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5578559917334440130" border="0" /></a><br /><br />My weight loss has slowed. Even though I didn't eat too much and I exercised like I was supposed to, my exercise wasn't a lot of running, it was pretty mellow since most of it was done in a suit while heading to meetings. I hope to get back into the extreme weight loss category again, that feels really good and provides a lot of motivation!!! We'll see!!!!! Wish me luck.<br /><br />Russ<br /></div>Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-64787132679399874042011-02-15T09:13:00.000-08:002011-02-15T09:23:40.244-08:00SF vs. Family ChallengeWell I have a <a href="http://affi2.kma.net/index.asp?bid=7561">business trip </a>to San Francisco starting this Saturday that will carry though Wednesday. I have been nervous about figuring out how to find time for my exercising and making sure I eat right and don't lose points on this challenge.<br /><br />Discipline will be the name of the game. I'll be very busy and typically I don't sleep well on trips, so all that combined will make for an interesting trip.<br /><br />We shall see . . . . . . .Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-2092797380919283112011-02-13T17:45:00.000-08:002011-02-13T17:51:11.587-08:00Italian Wedding Soup<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_i-vOskA-_o2acYCdSR7HCFCYGqm1AtEJ3MidhrcXsONJELFFFd2mNiSIb-up5zwD-YyFk0h1Z-4d4xk0LRAgKCFUi-_Q6shSgwDGxmeiHOzf_nuTc37gdO2msaGLs55_9PDNeLynHkE/s1600/IMG_1354.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_i-vOskA-_o2acYCdSR7HCFCYGqm1AtEJ3MidhrcXsONJELFFFd2mNiSIb-up5zwD-YyFk0h1Z-4d4xk0LRAgKCFUi-_Q6shSgwDGxmeiHOzf_nuTc37gdO2msaGLs55_9PDNeLynHkE/s200/IMG_1354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573356546973552594" border="0" /></a><br /></div>Tonight for dinner, we had one of our favorite meals, <a href="http://www.bhg.com/recipe/meat/italian-wedding-soup/">Italian Wedding Soup</a>. It is so quick and easy, and it tastes great. We especially love it with homemade bread. We've been getting several requests lately for this delicious recipe, so I thought I needed to blog about it. <a href="http://www.bhg.com/recipe/meat/italian-wedding-soup/">Try it out</a> and let us know what you think.Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-41879988888867153502011-02-09T09:57:00.000-08:002011-02-09T10:58:49.481-08:00New BeltWell this <a href="http://carterfamilychallenge.blogspot.com/">Carter Family Challenge</a> has been, how do you say, challenging. And the competition seems to be heating up!!! Regardless of who the winner is (I, Russ, am currently in the lead, woohoo!!!!!!), I am so happy about the progress and energy I now have. It's been a while since I've felt this good!!! I started the competition at 245 and I weighed in this morning at 228!!!!! I'm gonna need a new belt when this is done and over with. My end goal is 200 lbs.<br /><br />In addition to the challenge of eating healthy and exercising, there have been other challenges that are included. Things like reading a book. I have to read everyday. If you know me, you know I can't sit still long enough to read a book. I've been able to listen to books on cd or the iPod. I've "read" more books this year (3) than I have ever read in any one year of my entire life. I just simply don't read. People talk to me about getting addicted to it and loving to read. I can't say that I love it that much, but I've been entertained. I find myself wanting to continue on with the rest of the book and being interested in "what's next". The book I am reading now is so so, which is kind of frustrating, but I told myself I'd finish it regardless.<br /><br />Another piece of the challenge is that you have to get 8 hours of sleep every night. Now sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night, but that doesn't matter. As long as you go to bed (not lay in bed and watch a movie, literally go to bed) and wake up 8 hours later, you get points. This has probably been my hardest challenge. I have so many things going on that I have to simply not accomplish things as fast as I would like. But I do find myself having more energy, so that keeps me driven to keep going.<br /><br />The last thing that I've had to pay attention to on this challenge is eating breakfast. I typically didn't eat breakfast as I felt I was already overweight and adding to my eating would only make it worse. In addition, I typically am in a rush to get to work in the morning, so I run out of time. When the competition started, I began eating breakfast EVERY morning. Most of the time, I eat two packets of Quaker Oatmeal. I sell product to them, so I may as well buy from them right???? I feel good and I know that Oatmeal is also good for maintaining lower cholesterol. High cholesterol runs in my genes, so this is definitely an added bonus. I also don't get hungry mid-morning like I used to.<br /><br />All in all, I feel SOOO good about my progress. My energy level is good, I'm starting to get some abs and calves, and I have improved my life in ways I never figured I would. Thank you Mom and Dad Carter for this opportunity to challenge myself and better take care of my family.Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-22829184686655064752011-02-06T12:50:00.000-08:002011-02-06T13:10:02.450-08:00Baby Sadie's BlessingSo this weekend we got to meet the cutest baby in the world, Sadie Belle Divis. We came to Spokane this weekend for her blessing and she is the cutest, sweetest baby ever! We have been in Spokane since Thursday, and what a blast we have been having. Audra is one of the best cooks, and every time we come, I have to steal her recipes. We have been playing and watching movies and lots of fun talking. These guys are some of our bestest friends. Poor Audra, was sick with strep throat the whole time, but she was still a great hostess. Mirian has especially loved playing with James Micheal and Evan. It has been so fun watching her follow James around like a little puppy dog. Mirian especially loves baby Sadie. She is going through a baby phase right now, and she loves anything that has to do with babies.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO3iED3BeZ0GoupUoiegneGe1fJAaV7aL6s-1TY8Vkg0om6iLgVouPfKSEGJFIX_DwpZRdXWGAB36QShoKtTkIiuhQN7s1RCL_WHGm2OToMt6zQBhoYhoqgiW47CohUsSJQIovhNSz40/s1600/IMG_1345.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO3iED3BeZ0GoupUoiegneGe1fJAaV7aL6s-1TY8Vkg0om6iLgVouPfKSEGJFIX_DwpZRdXWGAB36QShoKtTkIiuhQN7s1RCL_WHGm2OToMt6zQBhoYhoqgiW47CohUsSJQIovhNSz40/s200/IMG_1345.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570685540926357442" border="0" /></a><br />Sitting at the big kid table<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9b6AX1nCDET309zmhTpBsQ18bzAzQ6ODTiIJTKXnAo53jy-aZaz1oYmf6do86ll3lNSlUPHanN9DqG03m81si6k2PAd7wCr-c8pIdCqLidUZQsZP6an8OwrMvDn7Ijhm6TYgcU8txthg/s1600/IMG_1350.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9b6AX1nCDET309zmhTpBsQ18bzAzQ6ODTiIJTKXnAo53jy-aZaz1oYmf6do86ll3lNSlUPHanN9DqG03m81si6k2PAd7wCr-c8pIdCqLidUZQsZP6an8OwrMvDn7Ijhm6TYgcU8txthg/s200/IMG_1350.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570685576478882866" border="0" /></a><br />All the kids, ready for bed<br /><br />Baby Sadie's blessing today was just beautiful. She looked so pretty in her dress, and she was just so sweet. We are now winding down now to get ready to relax in front of the Super Bowl and then head home tonight.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5DfQeJP7jm6WLadFd0xd0n6HXfq9DD6VRZ09MakbKkY4mZ8_2wMR8HXL39eCkhFYtOdp3o_4UySFM4kwPr1xyNtJjKHd19UB1X6-xqBER0URuOScTr5VGeU6-MsfC9hBNQIKYvMpXCQ/s1600/IMG_1351.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5DfQeJP7jm6WLadFd0xd0n6HXfq9DD6VRZ09MakbKkY4mZ8_2wMR8HXL39eCkhFYtOdp3o_4UySFM4kwPr1xyNtJjKHd19UB1X6-xqBER0URuOScTr5VGeU6-MsfC9hBNQIKYvMpXCQ/s200/IMG_1351.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570685816709097554" border="0" /></a><br />After Sadie's blessingEm and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-28958896902581246862011-02-01T08:43:00.001-08:002011-02-05T09:19:03.751-08:00Carter Family CompetitionSo as the Carters do so well, they've created a new family competition. It is so helpful when we have these competitions because it's the motivation that we've all been looking for. You are welcome to follow the program that we've been following. Feel free to check out the <a href="http://carterfamilychallenge.blogspot.com/">blog</a> for some helpful guidelines. We've been doing the competition for about a week now and I have to say we are cruising forward.<br /><br />We are eating healthier, exercising more (versus almost zero), doing service for each other, reading more, etc. This has been a great competition so far, and it's only just begun.<br /><br />I've (Russ) lost 11 lbs as of this morning (8 days into the competition). We are planning on doing this for 8 weeks so if my one week of history keeps up, I'll have lost 56 lbs . . . . . . okay so it won't and I don't want to lose 56 lbs, but it still gets me excited to keep going. Last week I walk/ran just over 12 miles. My goal for this week is to run for 30 minutes straight before Sunday.<br /><br />Here's to hoping . . . . . . .<br /><br />Emily and I work together on our strength training. Most of the time we are working on either our arms or our abs. As we lay on the floor doing our abs, Mirian likes to come over and climb all over us (mostly on Emily).<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8SHipAP5pksIasEaRfQEbCnGjwZ_nJ8FnthyjJJ6RpaB0eQ9eik7DAad4j4IGF0kAWBwcM8q7XaXbNtShff5-JFqS5oDodU_Rs-OP0dVPBgjXoPZml5BdwNjaSX03M4XWFeYlJs_Alw/s1600/Mirian+on+Emily.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8SHipAP5pksIasEaRfQEbCnGjwZ_nJ8FnthyjJJ6RpaB0eQ9eik7DAad4j4IGF0kAWBwcM8q7XaXbNtShff5-JFqS5oDodU_Rs-OP0dVPBgjXoPZml5BdwNjaSX03M4XWFeYlJs_Alw/s200/Mirian+on+Emily.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568770390027603858" border="0" /></a><br /></div>We recently got Mirian to "exercise" with us. This really only involves her laying on the floor next to us and putting her arms and feet in the air for about 2 seconds, but it is oh so cute!!!!! What sweetheart she is!!!!Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153185740016963329.post-86098031431805431242011-01-30T15:25:00.000-08:002011-01-30T16:03:09.330-08:00The Carter CabinLast week we went to California for a little getaway. We were supposed to go on a cruise this week, but our cruise ship caught on fire a few months back, and they still haven't finished the repairs. My Dad had the week off from work, so he asked if we wanted to come down and play and maybe help with a few projects. We got to my parents house on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Russ helped my Dad repair a fence and garage at my brother's house. While the boys worked, the girls shopped. We had a blast. On Thursday, we went to my grandparents cabin. We haven't been their in about 6 years. My uncle now owns the cabin, and he made a bunch of changes to the place. It looked so nice!! While we were there, we did what we Carters always do, played lots of games. Anyone that knows my family, knows that they are epic game players. The cabin is such a nice place to getaway from technology and just be together as a family. Mirian loved getting to know her cousin Shade better. She is obsessed with babies right now.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGW5q0EVOH6_QQ6X21WO5d8UQwFfqqLmJTvxm9dGjBgot3-eEbljvFFAOJbgwPn9JvjCYl9slUR_1YH1c8oUAYqU-WCs-nRKWfnzeROhwuAf3nVWvaVchOAWeEzaStQDujdpPRueIm_E/s1600/IMG_1327.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirGW5q0EVOH6_QQ6X21WO5d8UQwFfqqLmJTvxm9dGjBgot3-eEbljvFFAOJbgwPn9JvjCYl9slUR_1YH1c8oUAYqU-WCs-nRKWfnzeROhwuAf3nVWvaVchOAWeEzaStQDujdpPRueIm_E/s320/IMG_1327.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568128282723632290" border="0" /></a><br />Mirian and Shade loved sharing toys<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIoETJ2nEuBvV5WoLQ1uyemGB6WScYDU0cLBMbdcNlnCyU4N2-tecvYRJRp4TgMf7KAvPxASvpZnaEkV4Mi0-mkoacctHuRnqWoJgwSf9SlBvXFs7UXlyxJoSkofizgt4fLHC_DBQDTc/s1600/IMG_1331.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtIoETJ2nEuBvV5WoLQ1uyemGB6WScYDU0cLBMbdcNlnCyU4N2-tecvYRJRp4TgMf7KAvPxASvpZnaEkV4Mi0-mkoacctHuRnqWoJgwSf9SlBvXFs7UXlyxJoSkofizgt4fLHC_DBQDTc/s320/IMG_1331.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568128289625619698" border="0" /></a><br />Say "Cheese!"<br /><img src="file:///C:/Users/RUSSEL%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/RUSSEL%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/RUSSEL%7E1/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot-3.png" alt="" /><br /><a href="http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy20/carter_family/Cabin%202011/IMG_5944.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 519px; height: 345px;" src="http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy20/carter_family/Cabin%202011/IMG_5944.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Bath-time for Babies ( I love clean babies!!)<br /><br />The next day we went to Columbia, a restored mining town. It was fun to relive my childhood there, getting Sarsaparilla, climbing on the rocks, and of course getting an old-time family photo.<br /><br /><a href="http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy20/carter_family/Cabin%202011/IMG_5917.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 403px; height: 268px;" src="http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy20/carter_family/Cabin%202011/IMG_5917.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Just us girls, sitting on the rocks (and Russ too)<br /><br /><a href="http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy20/carter_family/Cabin%202011/IMG_5918.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 425px; height: 637px;" src="http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy20/carter_family/Cabin%202011/IMG_5918.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I love the old buildings that they have restored here<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PWAMHQHU8VUEpu9hR3uZuGvi60qwXDPZmGYiPss1wgk-hasSZFTQMSm4OtTEKpnhI7nVhh1GYKHWGxKFEXOm7NXKaLrE5frMZEW8CmVVxG_voI2_wkMyOeEr_3oK5DOKSbXUyBDnsEQ/s1600/img091.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 382px; height: 481px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0PWAMHQHU8VUEpu9hR3uZuGvi60qwXDPZmGYiPss1wgk-hasSZFTQMSm4OtTEKpnhI7nVhh1GYKHWGxKFEXOm7NXKaLrE5frMZEW8CmVVxG_voI2_wkMyOeEr_3oK5DOKSbXUyBDnsEQ/s320/img091.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568128564643871042" border="0" /></a><br />Don't mess with this rough 'n tough family<br /><br />The next day, we had to leave, we were sad that it was such a short trip, but we had a wonderful time. We were sad that Scott and Olivia and their kids couldn't be there either. We missed you guys.Em and Russhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732383886869467503noreply@blogger.com3