New York..New York

Better late than never but we had an awesome spring break in NEW YORK CITY! We flew into La Guardia on Saturday and rented a car and drove to New Canaan, Conneticut to Shad's sister Jamie's house. All of Shad's brothers and sisters and their families made it and we had a wonderful family reunion. Here's a recap:

Saturday: Arrived, got to New Canaan around 11pm
Sunday: Went to church, EQ lesson by Glenn Beck, fun ward
Monday: Left early drove to Palmyra (6 hours), Joseph Smith Farm, The Sacred Grove, and Hill Cumorah. Stayed the night at the Palmyra Inn
Tuesday: Sacred grove in the morning, Granden Press shop where the Book of Mormon was published, Fayette, NY where the church was organized, Martin Harris Farm, and Alvin Smith gravesite. Then drove 2 hours to Niagara Falls. Left the falls and headed to Amy's sisters Julie's house in Portville, NY and stayed the night.
Wednesday: Drove back to New Canaan
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: NYC here we come. Took the train from New Canaan to Grand Central Station, The Natural History Museum, Times Square, Rockefeller Plaza, Central Park, Saw Shrek on Broadway, The Metropolitan museum of art, Cab rides, Subway, Staten Island Ferry and pretty much everything a tourist would want to see.
Sunday: Flew back to Houston

We had a wonderful trip being with family and seeing the early church sites that are special. We loved telling the kids about Joseph Smith and how he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove and all that transpired from that. It was truly amazing to be there. Overall, we had a wonderful time and miss having all our family around us.

Christmas

We had a fantastic Christmas this year. This was the first year in our married life where Shad didn't have nasty finals right before Christmas, & it was wonderful! We stayed in Houston & spent a lot of time with our Hanis family, including Aunt Carrie who flew in from Boston to see us. Hailey & Zach were at the perfect age where everything was completely magical to them, & consequently it was a lot of fun for Shad & me as well. Not only were they excited about Santa Claus, but they are starting to understand the real reason that we celebrate Christmas--Jesus Christ. It is very sweet to watch their testimonies growing.

Thanksgiving

Wow, I can't believe that I haven't updated my blog for so long. But, yes, we are still alive & well. Here are some of the highlights from the last several months.

For Thanksgiving, we went to visit Grandpa & Grandma Nebeker in Spokane. We had a wonderful visit with them. Marcole & Tyler made it home too, so it was quite a party.

Despite Mom being so sick (and half unconscious) the whole week, she still put on a beautiful dinner with all of the trimmings.

The highlight of the trip was all of the snow we got to see. The kids (and that includes Shad) were pretty excited to be in the snow. We took a drive up to Mount Spokane to see the snow, but the next day it started snowing in the valley--enough to make a nice big snowman.

Projects

So last week Amber & I went to the Quilt Show, a yearly outing. As always, I come away from it inspired & motivated to do more craft projects. So on Friday, Zach & I made this quilt top together. Ok, so it isn't very intricate or complicated, but I was able to the whole thing, start to finish, during one of Chloe's naps. And now I feel proud of myself. I just wish my mom & sisters were close by to join in the fun with me.

Halloween

Another Halloween has come & gone (thank goodness). This year Hailey dressed as a witch, a nice witch, & Zach was a skeleton. And I guess I might be a bad mother, because Chloe had no cute costume. Oh well. We went up to our Church for some Trunk or Treating. Hailey was worn out afterward, but Zach wasn't done yet, so Shad took him out in the neighborhood for a little while. We put their candy bags away, & they've hardly even asked for them. Good for them because they haven't eaten a ton of candy--bad for Shad & I because we eat it for them!

Happy Birthday Zach

Zach turned four years old last week. We can't believe how big he is getting! We celebrated with extended family the night before, but on the big day, we had a party with all of his friends here at our home. It was a dinosaur party & we had a great time. When Shad came home from work, we headed out for a surprise visit to Chuck E. Cheese for some pizza & games. And as if that wasn't enough, we topped the night off with a family party & some more presents. He was one excited boy!

The Aftermath

Our front yard

Hailey & Zach in front of our debris pile (This is early one--the pile doubled over the next few days)

The branch that split & almost fell on top of our house. Can you see the crack?