Happy New Year! We made it through the holidays with lots of fun, family activities, and family traditions!

Here are some fun stories about 4 yr old Joseph...

Yesterday at church during fast and testimony meeting, Joseph decided he wanted to go up and bear his testimony for the first time. He was very reverent and did a nice job, with mom's help. I sometimes wonder if he knows what's going on during sacrament meeting because he's still so little and seems to like to fill the hour with coloring and requesting back scratches and head massages from his mom and sisters. It's good to know he has an idea of what we're there for!

We drove to Farmington to stay with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Dave during the Thanksgiving break for Sarah and KC's wedding. One night while all the adults were out to dinner and the older girls were watching the younger kids, Lexi followed Joseph who snuck into the bathroom and closed the door - almost all the way. She saw him get down on his knees and pray to Heavenly Father that He would take the girl baby out of my stomach and put in a boy baby so he could have a little brother. What a sweet little conversation to overhear! I wonder how many other private talks he has had with his Father in Heaven that I don't know about...!

A Weekend at the Beach

I just spent a FABULOUS weekend at Cannon Beach, OR with all my best girlfriends! We all brought our laptops and had three days learning about digital scrapbooking. I have to hope I learned something...

My flight back home on Sunday was a little late. It took me about 20 hours to get back home to Portland. I'm currently 5 months pregnant, and when I got home my legs and feet were about twice normal size. Scary! They look better this week.

We found out we're having a girl last week, as well. We took all the kids to the ultrasound with us. After about 1/2 hour of NOT being able to tell what we're having...4 yr old impatient Joseph piped up, "Dad, if it's wearing PINK underwear it's a GIRL! If it's wearing BLUE underwear it's a BOY! JUST TELL HER TO LOOK!!!"

An attempt at blogging

Hey, family and friends! Last week, I attended a conference at BYU. A woman and her daughter did a presentation on digital scrapbooking. They also talked about slurping your blog. I really wanted to slurp my blog, but I didn't have one. So, here it is!

We have been out of town for 28 days this summer on 5 different trips. I am exhausted, worn out from doing laundry, and ready to cook nutritious foods for my family after eating on the road so much. It's good to be home.

trip #1. Basketball camp at BYU for Lexi and Katie. Joseph, Hannah and I stayed at my parents house and participated in "paint grandpa's shed" contest. Katie and Lexi completed their murals after b-ball camp ended THursday. Katie went on with Emily Heap and her family to New Mexico until the end of the following week

trip#2. Salmon Idaho for the fourth of July. We visited Greg and Holly Holbrook, dental school friends, for 3 days. We stayed in a rustic cabin (with a wood stove and beds) the first night, then went and dug up some pretty good sized crystals at Crystal Mountain. We cam eback to the cabin and went swimming at the hot springs. Next 2 nights, we stayed at the Holbrooks, went floating down the Salmon River, had a big 4th party, went to church, then drove home.

trip #3. San Diego, CA. Eric's youngest sister, Lis, got married to a fabulous guy named Brian. Their wedding was beautiful, and we were so glad to be a part of it. They are off to Amsterdam for a year. We survived, even through the delayed plane ride there, the hotel cancelling our rooms at the last minute, replacing thm with two smoking rooms, no rental car until the next morning, etc. We went to the beach the last day. We all got sunburned through 20 layers of clouds!

trip #4. Sandpoint, ID. We visited my brother Rick and his family, along with Heather and her family. It was a playin hard kind of weekend! We spent a few days on the lake and swimming in Heather and Keith's pool at their bungalow. Eric suprised me and took me to a Lodge resort the night of our 16th anniversary. The girls and I made up a little song for him to the tunes from Sound of Music;

We are 16, going on 17, we've had a lot to gain,
Children and weight, but not enough dates
so busy we're both insane

We are 16 going on 17, can you believe it's true?
We've had 4 kids, dogs, fish, snakes and more,
what keeps us gron going cuckoo
(kids in a line behind me pop out to say)
cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.....

tune changes...
There's a strange sort of beeping from the clock in our room,
and I can't seem to make it stop.
You're sitting in the bathroom and I can't find the switch,
I think that I will go cuckoo
(kids) cuckoo.....cuckoo...

(tune to The Hills are Alive)
Our love is alive, but our kids are screaming,
We try to ignore their incessant cries,
Late nights cleaning up... pee and poop and vomit,
Has bound us in ways that we can't explain.

Long drives spitting gum at the sky,
Riding horses in the sand, it's so grand!
Watching movies, holding hands, taking walks, making plans
as our lives go on by.

Filling stockings, wrapping presents, going camping
in the, triathlons, swimming too.
Taking hikes, Monson Falls, buying flowers, painting walls,
Oh my dear, I love you
(quiet echo) cuckoo..cuckoo...

And...
(change tune)
We are 16 going on 17
I'll...keep lo...vin you!

Okay, it was cute to sing to him! I don't know if it sounds expecially good on screen, but it was fun to write and think of all the memories we've made together.

trip #5 Annual LDS Dental Conference. This is always a great weekend. A lot of our dental school buddies and families come to this event every year. The dentists go to their CE courses, us wives go to our spouses conference (our own mini education week!), and the kids go with their BYU counselors and have fun both days...Seven Peaks, Lagoon, and more. If you are a dentist, you really need to block out the second weekend in August and go every year. It is amazing. We drove home from the conference and finally laid our heads down at about 4am, just in time for church the next morning. Eric's bichopric meetings started at 8:30.

So, check out Alison Woods and Ann Kerr's blog at http://www.digitalhotspot.blogspot.com/. I haven't had time yet, but I AM starting up my new blog site. Hopefully there will be pictures soon!

LOVE you all!

Wendy