Ringing in 2010

Andy and I had so much fun hanging out with the kids for New Year's Eve. We'd never gone to Provo's First Night, but had heard there were a lot of fun things to do for kids and adults. It didn't disappoint. We had a great time!

CHRISTMAS 2009

I don't have many pictures of Christmas morning (which I'm a little bummed about), but I did take a lot of video, so I guess it's okay. We did Christmas morning at our house with my dad. Cael: X-Box, walkie-talkies, remote control dinosaur, transformer head. Ava: new doll, stroller, Barbies, purse. Will: Basketball hoops, lawn mower, balls. Then we headed up to Star Valley to spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Hokanson, and a few others that were able to go home. We had a wonderful Christmas.

Buddy the Elf made a surprise appearance at our ward party. For my kids, it was as good, if not better than having Santa there. Cael quotes that movie all the time, so he thought that was the coolest thing ever!



Temple Square

Sundaes & Movie Night



Since Will is such a climber, Grandma Hokanson will tie him to the barstool with a ribbon, so he won't try to climb out. It always makes me laugh.

Ava's 4th Birthday

Ava turned four! For her breakfast in bed, she wanted to have Trix and toast. She had two fun parties, one at Chuck-e-cheese with Gramma, and then a "Fairy Princess" party with all of her girl cousins. Gramma treated Ava and I to a girls night out, and we went to see Disney Princesses on Ice (we had the greatest seats). She was in heaven the entire show. We are so blessed to have Ava in our family. She truly is a little miss sunshine, brightening up our lives with her smile and cute personality. She is the peacemaker of the family, and would do anything for Cael and Will if it would make them happy. Some of her favorite things right now are: anything Hannah Montana, Disney princesses, dance, playing with her brothers and friends, bubble tape, riding bikes, snow tubing, make-up (lip gloss and nail polish), "babysitting" Will. She is still our night owl. She loves staying up as late as we'll let her, and in the middle of the night, she often will get out of bed and go climb in with either Cael or mom and dad. She is still loving dance, and is excited for pre-school in the fall, even though she would love to skip this next year and go straight to kindergarten, so she could ride the bus with Cael. Happy Birthday, sweet girl!







One of Ava's birthday presents was a completed scrapbook which Gramma put together all by herself. She loves looking at it. It is actually more of a present for me, because I have been meaning to catch Ava's up for the longest time. And now it's done!

Cornbelly's @ Thanksgiving Point

Valley of Fire - Ragnar Relay

Run, Drive, Sleep, Repeat... or rather: Run, Puke, Try to sleep, Repeat...
Team 88 "El Doce Loco"

Andy and I were able to be on the same team with some of our friends, and even though we didn't get to see each other that much, it was fun just knowing he was doing it with me. We had such a great time! It seriously is a fun experience...when you look back on it. It's the times when you're having to run a 6 mile long leg at 3:00 in the morning, that you start asking yourself, "...now why again did I sign up for this?".

All the ladies. Allyson & Tara

Home sweet home for two days. This van saw a lot of tears shed (due to laughing so hard), and heard A LOT of girl talk. What fun memories...my favorite? Mel taking us (in the van) on this BIKE trail, through low clearance tunnels, and hair-pin turns, going around 40 mph because we were in a hurry to make it to an exchange...We got lost quite a bit, but always managed to make it to our check points on time!

We 3 got the "Saints and Sinners" medal, for running in both the Wasatch Back and the Vegas Ragnars.

Granparent's Day @ Spanish Oaks

The first grade put on a program for Grandparents. My mom was able to go and watch, and she took Ava along too. Cael did such a great job singing all of the songs, and saying his memorized part. After the program, Cael was able to give Grandma a tour of his school and class room. She then took them to get treats afterwards. It meant a lot to Cael that my mom would drive all the way here just to be at the program.