Dog Park!!!

So Jack loved Phoenix, partly because of the HUGE dog park they had.  He loved playing with the bigger dogs and swimming in the lake.  It was a little muddy because it had actually rained a few days while we were there, but Jack didn't care.  I wish we had a place like this near our house because Jack LOVED it!  

There were three parts to the park. One part had the lake in it and one with out it.  The third part was for "timid or shy" dogs - definitely NOT Jack!  

Arts and Crafts

Ok, so I am going to start putting our Phoenix pictures up, but it will take a few posts and I might not get them all done right away,  but eventually they will all be here.  These pictures are of cool crafts and stuff.  This post is for the girls.  

This first picture is of a couple of things my friend Crystal has made.  In the background there is the three squares that spell out JOY.  She used wood, Mod Podge, wrapping paper, and letters.  Isn't it cute!  

The next two pictures are of decorations that Crystal and I made while on our trip.  Aren't they awesome!  They were so easy to make too!  We used a board, Mod Podge, black craft paint, scrapbook paper, a wooden letter, and a picture frame.  We got everything at JoAnn's Fabric and Home Depot.  Enjoy!

Jack's New Haircut

Okay so this picture is not from too recently (November 25th), but isn't Jack so cute!  He needs to get at least a trim on his face and feet, but we are waiting a little while.  It is kinda cold outside!  We love how he looks after he gets his hair cut and they always put these cute bandannas on him.  

Way Home From Phoenix

So we went to Phoenix for Thanksgiving.  I promise to add those pictures soon.  These two pictures were taken with one of our phones while we were driving home.  Jack slept on my lap for the majority of the trip there and back, while Brent drove.  Look how cute Jack is cuddling with one of his favorite squeaky toys.  In case you are wondering, we keep his harness on so we can always keep a good hold on him in case something happens, and so he can't jump out the window when it is down.  

Isn't he adorable!!!!

Rubber Lizards

So I got these little rubber lizards for a project I was doing, but they didn't work out.  I decided to see what Jack would do with them.  So I gave him one.  He LOVES them!  These videos are from Dec. 4, but it was not his first experience with them.  He goes CRAZY when he plays with him.  This first video kinda shows the fun he has with them, but he gets camera shy and would run circles or do his full scale attack on the lizard.  You can get the idea though.  Letting him play with them works out well though when we have something we have to get done, but Jack wants to play.  He won't let you play with the lizard with him.  He snatches it from you and runs away and plays by himself.  If you come close to him, he runs away.  That is why in the second video he is hiding under the table.  

This video is a little calmer just because he is trying to hide from me.  

Snow, Snow, Snow, and Guess what, More Snow!!!

So it has been snowing a ton here!  These pictures were taken on December 16th.  The snow hasn't been too bad this year, probably because it started snowing later, and we don't have to shovel.  That makes life WAY easier.  This first picture is a look from our front door before the snow had been shoveled or plowed that day. 

This next picture is of Jack in the snow.  He is wearing his new coat by itself.  Now when it is really cold, we put another coat over this one.  Jack LOVES to eat the snow.  

Brent and Jack about to leave on a walk.  Look how bundled up they are!

They plowed soon after this picture was taken.  It looks so pretty outside when the suns starts to go down, even if the sun goes down too early. 

Beautiful picture.  You can see the mountains in the background.  

Below is a video of Brent and Jack playing in the snow.  Brent likes to throw snowballs at Jack, who will than attack or get annoyed.  

Christmas Eve

Okay, so I know these are out of order, but I wanted to make sure I got some Christmas pictures up first.  I am now going backwards in time, to try and update as much as I can.  I guess it is good because as you read down, you are reading in order.  Here are some pictures that Brent took on Christmas Eve.  You can see how much snow we have had, and yes it has snowed more since than.  Right now there is a nice little layer of ice too. 

This picture is of Jack ready to leave for a walk.  He wears two coats because it is so cold and it helps him from getting too wet.  In this picture he has his back leg sleeves on too, but we normally leave those off.  Doesn't he look adorable?  

These next two pictures Brent took from our bedroom window upstairs.  This is not the same neighborhood as ours, but our house faces it.  It is called Pemberly and they are in our ward.  You can see the snow falling in these pictures.  

This is a picture of our house, from the front.  At least we don't have to shovel the snow!!! 

The next two pictures are of snow creations that some of our neighbors made.  This is an igloo that one family made.  It is still standing too! 

This is a snowman family that another family made.  There is a snowman for each person in their family.  In this picture you can only see three of them, but there are six all together.  The others are a lot smaller and the smallest two you almost can't see anymore because of all the snow we have had!  Oh! The first snowman is a little taller than me.

Jack on Christmas Morning!

Ok so Jack LOVED Christmas! I don't think he actually fully understood what was going on, but boy was he excited!  He couldn't wait for daddy to wake up and get out of bed.  He was running and jumping in circles.  Jack knew that there were presents under the tree for him (we had kept them up so that he couldn't smell them and get into them before Christmas).  Here is a video of him waiting not so patiently for the festivities to begin.  

As you can tell, Jack was too excited to wait for Daddy to get the Christmas music playing.  This next video is of Jack opening his first present (with Daddy's help).  

Needless to say, Jack had a WONDERFUL Christmas.  

Christmas!

As most of you know, we stayed in Utah for Christmas this year.  Also it was Jack's first Christmas!!! We loved all the presents we got and we had fun spending the time together with our little family.  Here are some of the highlights of our day. 

This first picture is of our Christmas tree on Christmas Day! Jack was really good and left the tree and presents alone.  

Brent handed out the presents so he got to wear the Santa hat.  

So we had presents just for Jack.  Jack had  a blast opening them, ripping the wrapping paper up, and playing/eating his presents! Below is Jack helping Angela open one of his presents.  This one in particular is treats for him.  

This picture is of Jack being impatient while I tried to get the treats open. 

This next picture is of all the presents we received! Thanks to everyone!

We hope everyone had a Merry Merry Christmas!!! 

I don't mean to brag, but....

I aced the Praxis II exam!!!! For those of you who don't know what this is, it is the first Praxis test that elementary teachers take as part of becoming certified.  It is the general content knowledge section.  I can't believe how well I did!  I have always been good at taking tests, but I wasn't expecting to do as well as I did.  I was tired and more worried about teaching than about the test.  But I was able to still kick butt!!!! I score a 195 out of 200!!! Can you believe it!!!!  

Sorry I haven't added any pictures in a while, but that is coming...this just warranted a post before I try and catch up on everything else!!!!! 

Winter is Here!

Hello All!  I know, I know, it has been forever since my last post.  Things got busy in the month of November and still have not calmed down!  I am hoping to catch the blog up during this winter break.  Finals are over this Thursday and I will have lots of free time since we are staying in Utah for the holidays.  

While I am here though, I thought I would tell everyone that it SNOWED!!!! Yes, even I was excited.  It doesn't seem like Christmas in Utah if it doesn't snow.  This year has been nice for Brent and I because it stayed warmer than normal up until now.  Hopefully we will have a white Christmas!!