The Month of LOVE

We started off February with a bang...well, more like a birthday. Opa turned 71 this year. We brought him dinner and a cookie for a cake. The kids LOVED singing to him!

Then Tally went to Switzerland and the kids and I went to Highland, Utah to watch these little munchkins. They're cute, huh. And crazy fun. Poor Aiden submerged in a world full of girls.

Sadie is wearing Kelsey's PJs and Kelsey is wearing Sadie's. They LOVED wearing each other's clothes.

What the pose?

Cutie!

Family prayer caught on camera. I was being reverent, I swear. 

The first night there was a LONG, FRUSTRATING night mostly because these two didn't want to sleep my themselves, or with their cousins. Then Aiden pushed a button on the TV remote and took out my plan B. Then he did it again in the living room and ruined my plan C. TV was just not meant to be. I finally got mean enough and the kids got tired enough that they did this.

A few days later it was back to my house for church. The three youngest girls decided they wanted to wear all Matilda Jane. Luckily, Kelsey has enough to go around. See, I was just being prepared!

Green smoothie shots

Ellie's words, not mine: "This is the most fun I've ever had!" And it shows on her face.
The kids went "swimming" in my bathtub. Once it got full enough Brooklyn had to hold Aiden to keep him from slipping under.

All cleaned up and ready for CUPCAKES! Healthy ones of course, with nuts and evaporated cane juice and carrots. They didn't seem to mind!

Sadie pulled out her claws whenever things didn't go her way.

Kelsey was usually on the receiving end of that. By the time Sadie went home, she had scratches on both her cheeks, her chin, hands...and maybe more. The black eye is from Kelsey running right into the cabinet cutting board at Tiffany's. Poor thing. Though she did plenty to egg Sadie on...for some reason they still loved playing with each other. Now Kelsey says, "Sadie was mean to me!" She'll forget, eventually.

My curly-headed boy chowing down

Soon it was that time again: Mini Cheer Camp. Kelsey's cousin Sarah was in charge of teaching this group. Kelsey's cousin Edie and Edie's cousins Ella & Claire were also in this group.

Yay! So excited!

Ella, Claire, Edie & Kelsey - all of Edie's cousins her age and gender

Kelsey did about two of the moves and the rest of the time she stood there and watched everyone else. I was on the front row trying to help her but she ignored me. She's also the youngest, she was supposed to be FOUR. Little Claire was SUCH a ham! It was so darling!

The kids REALLY missed Tally while he was gone so they tried to spend every minute they could with him. Meanwhile, Tal was jet-lagged. 

Pom-pom and tattoo (which didn't come off for days)

A few days before Valentine's day, my friend Tricia and I went to my friend Alisha's studio to

Can you tell that she had a black eye and scratches on her face?

I love this one that Tricia took!

Here's my cute boy!

He LOVES shoes, no matter the owner or color

Over President's Day weekend, we watched my Taft & Mary's dog, Ginger. Tal was in Vegas with his buddies so it was great timing. Plus, she's hypo-allergenic. The kids LOVED having her around, better than a shiny new toy. 

Kelsey put bows in her fur

Are you seriously letting her do this to me?

Playing in the snow together

Pure JOY

Yummy snow!

Ginger liked sleeping with Kels. G WAS asleep, until she hear me come in. Kelsey wanted G's kennel on her bed. Whatever. 

It's been WAY too long since we've gotten together with our Swiss friends. Luckily, Alyssa Barlow and family came to down and demanded a party. It was SO great to catch up with everyone and REMEMBER! We had Raclette of course! We missed those who weren't there though too. 

The hostess with the mostess

Kelsey LOVED Janelle's belly and held her own belly like she was pregnant! 

Prego buddies. They had the same due date but then J got moved up. 

Tate loved taking charge of the kids, and I didn't hear any complaints from the kids! I think Aiden had a crush on Autumn - he kept knocking her over and taking her toys!

My SIL Alliso came to town and put feather extensions in K's hair. I had to take pics of it. I love her sass!

Then at the end of the month, my grandparents came to town so the Utah side of the family got together at our place one night for dinner. We celebrated Jason's birthday with pumpkin pie!

Kelsey in Great Grandpa's lap, ready for that first piece of pie. Tiff looks pretty excited for it too ;)

Libby's Baptism

This is our sweet niece Libby. She was just baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the beginning of March. We drove up to Idaho and stayed the night. I'm SO mad at myself for only getting a few pics. WISH I'd gotten one with her and my kids...especially in white. She was BEAMING. It was fun hanging out with these guys, even if it was only for a short time. 

We're SO proud of you, Libby! 

Her brother, Austin baptized her - we're proud of you too Aus!!

Naartjie Ad

Last month, Kelsey & Aiden were chosen to be models for the upcoming Naartjie photo shoot. We went down to American Fork to Peekaboo Photos. Katie Moss and her husband have an amazing studio (I was DROOLING) and they are amazing photographers. It was a lot of fun to see a professional in action. Naartjie is a very "natural" brand so I couldn't even put Kelsey's hair up or hair spray it. The marketing director at Naartjie is very nice, but Katie Moss is WAY more talented than he lets her be for these photos.

Here are the pages from the site:

 Aiden was first and he did SO well! He NEVER smiles that much for ME!! He was a cutie, I only wish they'd gotten a shot with his curly hair! I know, they have to market their hats too. Aiden had a little growth spirt right before the shoot so I think he was a little too big for the one piece jumper! Kelsey was shy at first, especially when they wanted her to be in a picture with another girl. I kept hitting the photogropher on the head with a balloon to get her to laugh. She warmed up. I think they both enjoyed it. They also got $50 each for doing the shoot, which I will put in their savings account...or go buy them Naartjie clothes (or Matilda Jane?).

Goodbye to Great Grandma Miller

My great-grandma Miller died at 11pm last night. She was 93. She lived a long, full life so for me, there is no sadness - just relief (for her and Gma Lang). Her husband died last year and she's been living in a care center. She's been close to death a couple times since then, but always rallied. When we went to see her, my Grandma Lang said she wasn't doing well and this might be the last time we see her. We went to see her on January 4th and she died yesterday, January 17th. I'm so glad our family got to say goodbye, even if she couldn't hear us. She was so sweet. She couldn't take her eyes off the kids. She's always loved babies and even held Aiden for a few seconds (then he was off!).

One of my favorite memories with Grandma Miller was going to her clubhouse for Christmas Eve. All the cousins were there, we ate, danced, and had a blast. I remember thinking her community club house seemed like a taste of paradise. I've since gone back and thought the mobile home community was pretty cheesy - oh the bliss of innocence! Charles & GGma used to get us McDonald's gift cards for Christmas when we were little and we thought that was the coolest. I think they used to get the adults lotto cards if I remember right! I also loved that she loved stuffed animals so much. It was especially great when my kids went to her house because they had toys to play with! She had such a loving heart.

One of the things I love the most about Wanda Miller is the wonderful daughters she raised, in particular, my Grandma Lang. I grew up 5 minutes away from my Grandma Lang and she has been there for me at all the big and little stages of my life. She is one of the few who ALWAYS sends me a birthday card on my birthday - it often arrives on the actual day. I could write a whole book about my Grandma Lang and all the traits I admire and strive for that she possesses but I'll leave that for another day.

My Grandma Lang found a Book of Mormon that my cousin and I had given to Grandma Miller when we were younger. I'd always hoped she'd get baptized, but she never did. I'm grateful for the knowledge that she lives after this life, and that she can still choose on the other side. I'm so grateful that this life is not the beginning or the end and that we, as beings, can continue to develop our characters to become more perfect, more like our Savior. I'm grateful for examples in my life that have made me who I am today and will continue to influence who I am tomorrow. I'm grateful to have another angel watching over my kids from heaven.

We love you Great-Grandma!

Christmas Card 2010

                                           PS...the colors look weird on the blog...

2010 has been a wonderful year for our family with lots of changes! We are excited to be living back in the U.S.A. for Christmas this year, but we miss Zurich dearly. We’ve had a lot of people ask, “how’s life now that you don’t travel as much – boring?” or “what do you miss most about Switzerland?” We miss the quieter, non-commercial, simpler days. We miss seeing Tally more, and of course, traveling together, we miss our friends who became our family away from home. We miss our view of Lake Zurich. And yes, I even miss speaking German. I also miss my almost daily dance with my camera.

With that said, we are loving living in Salt Lake. One of our biggest milestones this year was buying our first house! It was exciting, scary, and thrilling, all at once. When we came to Utah in March, we had to start over: Cars, furniture, décor, yard tools, etc. It’s given us a fresh perspective and a new appreciation for homeowners.

           

Life is far from boring, we have a lot going on! Tal is getting his Masters in Business from Carnegie Mellon via satellite at Goldman Sachs. He oversees a team at GS that covers Europe so he’s at work by 5am! Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean he comes home early. He does homework, takes tests, and studies the nights that he doesn’t have school. He’s also the 2^nd counselor in the Elder’s Quorum at church. Earlier this year, he competed in the Olympic distance at the Jordanelle Triathlon. He did great and even carried Kelsey across the finish line! In February, he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro AND was diagnosed with skin cancer. He has a big scar running the length of his bicep and has to get it checked regularly but it makes him look tough.

Between playgroups, errands and activities the kids and I are always usually running everywhere together. I love the stage of life my kids are in. Some days we walk to the grocery store or have friends over and others it seems we’re in the car all day long. I became the Relief Society Secretary at church, which keeps me busy but is a good way to get to know our new neighbors.

Kelsey LOVES taking dance and gymnastics. She’ll dance around the kitchen at dinnertime, showing us her new moves. At 3, she’s quite the fashionista and we have many conversations in the morning about what matches and what doesn’t. She’s becoming quite the bossy bee.  She’ll become a sunbeam at church in the New Year and start pre-preschool! She’s very excited and can sing, “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam.” My favorite recent funny thing she said was, “Mom, you can’t wear those shoes to the gym!” She was right, I’d gotten all the way to the gym in my Crocs.

           

Aiden is notorious for having a bruise or scratch at all times on his face. Our adventurous, fearless little almost 18-month-old is a magnet for falling objects, wreckless toddlers, and wall corners.  Somehow, he manages to learn new words although his favorite phrase is “GO COUGARS.” He is very loving and when he smiles, it makes the whole world brighter (which is often). He’s such a happy little guy. He’s a bit small for his age so it’s funny when he starts talking. The other day at breakfast he said, “MOM! Inna more baater (I want more water).” I just laughed. Seriously?

Most of all, we’ve learned this year to trust in our Savior. He is our light that guides us through the unknowns of life. May He continue to bless all of us this coming year as we remember to put him first. May your holidays be bright!

With love and best wishes,

Tally, Jessie, Kelsey & Aiden

I just got these in the mail today so if you don't get one by next week and you want one, PLEASE email me!

Thanks to my cousin, Tiffany for taking this great shot of us!


Here's the card I made for my parents to send out: 

Kelda Adams took it, she's so great. Check her out here. 

Tour of Great Harvest

April 2010
While living in the Holladay 28th again, the mom's group kindly invited us to tour Great Harvest. It was really fun, and Kelsey seemed to enjoy it. Especially the eating yummy bread part of it.

Each kid got to roll out their own piece of bread. 

Isn't that a HUGE oven!?

Quite the mixer

The kids were told not to touch anything and to keep their arms folded. Kelsey kept hers folded until WELL after the demonstration - good girl!

Peekaboo mommy!

The let us bring one home for free!

Also this month, I got to go to the SLC temple several times - once with my best friend from high school, Emily Brown! And I got to celebrate her birthday with her this year too ;)