Circus Birthday Party

Peter and I were invited to one of his coworkers birthday party. Blake and Hannah Ungren turn 30 just a few weeks apart and so they held a Circus themed costume party. We had a great time! After much consideration we decided to go as the Bearded Lady and a Snake Charmer. The party was great! There were games: whirly ball (like skee ball), balloon dart game, and ring toss. They also had a raffle using rubber ducks (there is a picture of Peter holding ours) and a costume contest. We did not win but there were some great costumes there. They had some great food including hot dogs with all of the toppings even sauerkraut (Peter was thrilled). We left the boys with some friends and took Arabella with us. She wore her cute dress from Grandma Rabner that has a lollipop on it and we said she was a candy vendor. Peter did tie for top score in whirly ball and we won the movie Fever Pitch. We say thank you to the Ungren's for their hospitality and creativity.

Rainy President's Day Fun

Peter had the holiday off and we had planned on doing something fun. We wanted to spend some time in the yard and then maybe go hiking in Red Rock Canyon but it rained off and on all day and was quite cold. I know to pretty much anyone viewing this blog cold is a relative thing and we have no room to complain. We decided to go to a place called Springs Preserve and play. The boys had a great time seeing animals and bugs and playing in the different buildings. We went into a building focused on design and the employee there gave us some great information about gardens and landscaping. We are hoping to plant our garden the first weekend in March. Peter and I also booked our airline tickets for our trip to Nauvoo this summer with my family. We are really looking forward to this trip. We are spending the first part of the trip seeing church sites and then heading to Chicago to visit Kelsey and Anthony and Alexandra. We have a few more things to finalize but it will be so fun!

Smiles

My precious Arabella has figured out how to smile and is beginning to coo and make the cutest noises. If Jon hears her babbling he says that she is saying his name. It is really too cute! I had to share with all of you!

Valentine's

I hope that all of you had a great Valentine's day! My sweet Peter hid valentines all over the house, I am still finding them. He was going to buy me a rose bush and took me to the nursery to get it but Joey dumped Jon out of one of the wagons there. He ended up losing the enitre fingernail on his left pointer finger. Needless to say, we left and will buy a rose bush another day. Before that sad incident we had a great day! We went to IHOP for breakfast (the breakfast store as Joey calls it). It was delicious!! We then took the kids to see Thomas and Friends Live on Stage. They loved it, even Arabella seemed intrigued by the lights. Here are some pictures of Joey and Jon from that day.

Karate Kids

I thought this was a cute picture of Peter reading to the kids. Jon wanted to hold Arabella so she could see the pictures. Peter is in the middle of being the big bad shark and so he has a bit of a funny face.
We decided to try our boys in Tae Kwan Do (we call it karate class). They took 4 free classes to see if they might like it and if we felt it would work for them. We felt this would be a good way for them to use some energy and at the same time learn to listen and follow instructions from some besides mom and dad. Also, Joey is learning to hold still which can be very hard for him. Jon has been working really hard on paying attention and partcipating for the whole class. Their teacher is great and they are doing well.
Wednesday they wore their uniforms for the first time and because they did well for the whole class they earned their white belts. Friday they each earned their first stripe. After three stripes they will earn their yellow belt. Joey also earned his first star. They earn stars by saving up five of the report cards they earn each class. Jon is almost there, he had a class or two that he did not stay out on the floor long enough to earn a report card.

Jon did not really want to do any of his positions once we got home but he sure looks cut in his little uniform.

Joey is in his ready stance. They are part of the Tiny Tiger class and he almost has the whole oath down. We are proud parents what can we say.

Utah Trip

We had the chance to go to Utah last weekend. We wanted to visit Utah before I go back to work (this Saturday is my first shift back) and we took the boys to the Draper Temple Open House (Arabella hung out with Grandma Bird). The temple was beautiful. Joey says his favorite part was riding the bus, walking through the tunnels (tents at the beginning), and getting to walk all the way from the bottom to the top-so basically the whole thing. Jon loved all of the pictures of Jesus. In fact, that was the first thing he said when we walked is was that he wanted to find Jesus. Saturday Peter and the boys went with G and G Rabner to a train show at Thanksgiving Point. We then met my family at Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday celebration. The boys had a great time playing games and earning tickets. They put their tickets together to buy cotton candy (blue sticky sugar, yeah!). We also went and visited Great Grandmother Rabner. She is looking really good and is anxious to be discharged from the rehab center she is in. Sunday morning the boys were thrilled to help Grandpa Bird shovel snow. We had a fabulous time!

In other news, Joey is doing great in his speech therapy and we are all thrilled. Jon is doing fabulous with his potty training and has nearly earned his final reward a Go Diego Go movie that is all about bugs! Joey and Jon have gone to 4 free lessons a local karate school and seem to like it. Joey is doing really well and learning to listen, focus and hold still when he is supposed to . Jon is still just trying to do what he is asked like stay with the class. We are going to sign them up and give it a try for the next several months. I think they will both really enjoy it. Arabella had her two month check and was up to 12 lbs and 22 1/2 inches long. She got her shots and had a fever of 102.9 that first night, poor girl! I have made three trips to the Regional Justice Center for a court case I am involved in at work. The first day I sat in the hall for 3 hours waiting to testify and never did. But, on Monday I spent 1 3/4 hours on the stand, yuck is all I can say! I was told I was finished and then I was called back at 4:00 that afternoon and then sent home again at 5:00. Oh well! Peter is keeping busy with work and chuch of course. He is putting together a lesson on Scouting for a combined lesson on Sunday.

New Year and Baby Blessing

Happy New Year to one and all! I hope this year brings peace to all of us as we strive to face these uncertain times with the strength the gospel can brings.

We had a great new year. On New Year's Eve we took the kids to the Las Vegas Zoo! Las Vegas has a zoo you ask?! Well, it is more like an animal rescue and there are not a ton of animals but it is a zoo. The boys had a great time feeding the goats and the birds. Jon was chasing the chickens and pigeons and trying to catch them. Then he got a little too close to some baby chicks and the mother hen fluffed up her feathers, spread her wings and went after Jon. He did not want anything to do with the chickens after that. And if he tells you that the "big bird is mean", that is because an ostrich bit his finger. There is a reason that there is a sign that says don't feed the ostriches, too bad Jon can't read and we did not keep him farther from the fence with his cup of food. That night we went to the Mayo's house (a family in our ward) for a party. The kids had a great time running around and decorating and building a fort out of two couch boxes. We visited with people and played some games. Joey fell asleep while the kids were watching a movie. After Jon decided to sit himself in their bathroom sink without his pants on (we have been potty training), we decided it was time to go. Peter and Joey slept in the backyard in our tent. It was freezing but they had a great time. Arabella made sure I was awake for the stroke of midnight.

Friday my parents and Peter's family came down to spend the weekend and join us for Arabella's blessing. Lindsay and Brady came down on New Year's Eve so we played with them on the 1st. Friday, we ate dinner with everyone at our house. Saturday morning we all went to the Springs Preserve and I am a nerd and forgot the camera. We spent about 4 hours there and loved it. If any of you are ever in Las Vegas we recommend it. We have even found a way to get discount tickets because it is a bit expensive. We actually got a family pass for the year and look forward to a few more adventures there. (I will remember the camera one of those times.) Saturday night we watched movies and had pizza at our house. Sunday we ate a delicious lunch (Peter smoked a turkey, yum! and we had a seasoned roast from Cope's meat in Springville, yum!). We took pictures with Arabella in her gorgeous blessing dress (Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Rabner)! We took the dress off to get to churh and I am glad I did because she spit up so bad it was all over the car seat. Peter gave a beautiful blessing and Arabella cried through the almost the whole thing. She started crying about two sentences into it and stopped the second Peter said amen. It was kind of strange though because it almost sounded as if she were far away even with the microphone right by her. We are so grateful that we were able to share this special day with our family and appreciate them driving down.

It felt nice to get back to our routine today! But we loved having a break! Best Wishes to all!