Yes, we are alive!

Wow, it has been so long since I've been on. Sorry! (I know I've said that way too many times lately. Working on it!) :0) We survived our trip to Oregon over the holidays and had a wonderful time with family and friends. We weren't quite sure if we would make it to Oregon, or not, due to the weather. We had planned on driving there, but when we found out about all of the storms and road closures, we decided to fly. Thank goodness for Bri's air miles!!! ;0) It all worked out in the end, though, and I think I prefer flying with the kids for an hour than driving in the car for 10 at this age!! :0) Paige and Austin have always been great on airplanes and this was the case on both flights! Thank goodness! ;0)

The reason why we went to OR in the first place was because Brian's brother, Dan, was getting married to one of the sweetest girls out there, Rachael. It was an amazing sealing and I loved seeing how happy they were through out the ceremony. It reminded me of my sealing to Brian and the covenants we made with one another. The gospel of Jesus Christ is truly the most wonderful thing on this earth. It brings so much peace and joy to my life, knowing that I can be with my family forever!!

Well, we are now home and getting back into our schedule after 3+ weeks of being home. :0) I apologize for the picture overload, but hey, it's been either feast of famine lately, so bear with me!

Here are a few Christmas pics. The kids were so excited! It was hilarious have the kids go through their stockings and seeing them get so excited about the Little Einstein movies, candy and socks that were in there. If I get a chance, I'll post some videos of Paige and Austin looking through their stockings. Funny stuff!

Austin gave Paige a Polly Pocket set. She was SOOOO excited about it (see the next picture) and has been playing with it non-stop!! Best pressent ever, according to Paige! Great job, Austin!! ;0) Paige gave Austin a little remote control dinosaur that is so cute!! It's probably the slowest remote controlled anything that I've ever seen, but perfect for an almost 2-year-old boy!!

Paige asked Santa for this one! She also asked for a REAL dog, but that wasn't going to happen, so she got this instead. She didn't seem to mind....thank goodness! :0)

Austin is LOVING trucks and tractors right now. He was so excited to get these little construction trucks. He's even learning all the different names for the trucks from his Grandpa N. He especially loves his "caterpillar" or "pillar" as Austin says it! :0)

I made this little paper doll for Paige with my Cricut for a quiet church activity. I made Austin an alphabet matching game with animals for every letter. They turned out so well and the kids actually like playing with them! Always a plus, isn't it?!? ;0)

Lauralee is one of a kind and we love her so much!!! Doesn't her smile just make your day?!? ;0)

Brian and I went on a double date with John and Bethany (BIL and SIL) to the Blazers game on Christmas Day. It was fun going to the game, but it would have been better if they would have beat the Dallas Maveriks!! Oh well. At least the one their game against Boston two days later!! I'm pretty impressed by the shot I was able to get at the beginning of the game. It was fun watching Oden play again in person. Reminded us a little of our days in Columbus! :0)

Dance party '08!!! We turned on a little music and got out onto the dance floor! It was hilarious watching all of the kiddos dancing. Can you tell that the girls outnumbered the boys a little?!? :0)

We were able to take a few pics at the Portland temple after Dan and Rachael were sealed for time and all eternity. Of course it was raining, so we took the pics in the atrium. The kids were fascinated by the plants as you can see!

A pic of the happy couple. Sorry I wasn't able to get a better shot of you two, D & R!!

The one and only family picture taken with my camera. Love Bri's facial expression!! (He's blaming it on a cold!) :0)

Reception time! Paige seriously thought that Dan and Rachael were a prince and princess! She was in heaven!!

A little pic of my little handsome boy!!

More dancing. You just can't stop these girls!! ;0)

We spent 3 days at a beach house at Seaside!! It was so much fun! We did plenty of lounging....

playing on the beach which was VERY cold and windy the first day, but nice the 2nd day....

seeing lots of marine life at the aquarium....

playing on lots of rides and games at Fun Land....

and I think the best part, riding Fun bikes on the beach!!!

Paige LOVED these things. She could actually reach the pedals pretty well and got really good and going all over the place....that is until her and Brian got hit by a wave and she got soaked. She wasn't too happy about that and was pretty much done after that! She still says that riding bikes on the beach was the best part of our vacation, though!! ;0)

I saw Beth!!!!! I haven't been able to see Beth for years and after I called her to see if we could meet up I found out she only lives about 15 minutes from Bri's sister. How cool is that!!! It was so fun seeing her again. Seriously, she is such an amazing person! She's so talented, beautiful, funny and the sweetest person you could ever meet! (Have I embarassed you yet, Beth?!?) It was wonderful seeing her again! And her kids are soooo cute!! Thanks for the great visit, Beth!

When we got home from our little vacation, we were finally able to put together the gingerbread house I got for the kids. I sure you can tell what the favorite part was for the kids (notice I included Brian in the "kids"!!) :0)

Paige did such a good job decorating the house! She would eat maybe 1 piece of candy for every 10 she put on. Austin, on the other hand, ate 10 pieces of candy for every 1 he put on. Yeah, sugar-high-city!! ;0)

We had a wonderful Christmas vacation. Paige absolutely LOVED spending time with her cousins, Natalie, Lauralee and Sydney. We hardly ever saw her during the day because she was constantly playing with them, whether it was dressup, puppies, house, etc. It was so fun seeing her get along with her cousins so well! Austin learned a little about defending himself around his cousin, Ava. Ava has to be THE funniest little girl. She has the most personality I have ever seen in a toddler, EVER! :0) And Austin was quite afraid of her!! They pretty much had a hate-hate relationship according to Austin. Oh well. Hopefully they'll learn to play well together the older they get! :0)