Kelly's Potty Training

So, we bought a kiddie toilet and stand, all-in-one type deal, and Kelly loves it! She wouldn't let the thing out of her sight for the first few days we had it. She is now on her way, by her own choice, to being potty trained!

Kelly being Kelly

Lots has Happened

Well, like writing in a journal, lots has happened over the past few months and I haven't kept up with our posts! So, the easiest, quickest way to update everyone on what's been going on, I'm going to post a bunch of pictures and short blurbs about each picture. For those of you who want more details, post a comment and I'll see what I can do to get you all the details about a story or picture! In the meantime, hope you enjoy!

Nice Weather Setting In

So the nicer weather has started to set in (even though it actually snowed today and a little yesterday). With Rachel's work schedule, I get to spend more time with Kelly during the day. That means, we get to go to the park more! Of course, we never leave Rachel out if she can come. And, as you can tell by the pictures, we always have a fun time!

One Spoiled Child

Just thought I'd post another picture of Kelly having breakfast in bed...again!

Most Recent Adventure

With me in school, working, and in the bishopric, we don't get out too often. So, when dad came into town we all went up to visit Kim and Nick over a weekend. We decided to go sledding with everyone, and Kelly loved it! She kept asking to go again and again. So, after carrying her up the hill over and over again, we decided to send her down herself. No, we didn't climb to the top and let her go by herself, but she did go down about half the hill multiple times alone. And of course, she loved it! She actually went pretty fast! She laughed every time she went down. This is Kelly below.

Starting Young

Thanks to Uncle Zach, we thought we'd get Kelly snowboarding early in life. The sooner she learns, the better!

SKANSKA and ASHRAE

For those of who you have no idea what the above names refer to, SKANSKA is on the world's largest construction companies. They're based out of Sweden and are currently the number 1 builder of health care facilities in the U.S. ASHRAE is a national association for HVAC engineers. I recently received scholarships from both. SKANSKA hosted a national research competition in which my team took top honors (that's the picture of the judges and the BYU teams that participated). ASHRAE's Utah chapter opened up a scholarship to students in the area, and I was fortunate enough to receive one of the 3 that were offered. SO, a little hard work has paid off this year for us! Rachel, of course, is the one sacrificing the most in all this since she gives up time with me to let me do these things. She's really the one who has earned the honors!

Our Christmas Vacation

Well, we finally took a break from the apartments and school. This year we traveled home to spend the holiday with Rachel's family. The night we left was extremely snowy, but for the most part the roads were good for our trip. We spent time visiting everyone in the family and got there a couple days before Christmas Eve. That night, Santa made a surprise visit and gave everyone an early Christmas present. All the kids were really excited! Kelly didn't really know what was going on, but when her name was called she knew that the guy in the big, red suit had something for her because she instantly put out her hands and starting asking for whatever it was she was going to get. It was really cute! Christmas day was a blast! Kelly woke up that morning and we took her out into the living room. She instantly focused on the tree and all the presents and started picking up presents in hopes of opening them. It really was a lot of fun this year with Kelly. The rest of our trip consisted of helping Mike and Gretchen with the house they are building and playing with all the cousins. We went out on the frozen lake one day with the 4-wheeler and I pulled Rachel and Kelly behind me on a sled. Kelly loved going over all the bumps out on the lake! She laughed the whole time! Kelly also went sledding by herself for the first time and loved that just as much! Of course, Rachel's parents really enjoyed having us there (actually, really enjoyed having baby Kelly there at home). The best part of the trip was that Rachel's sister, Kelly, came home with her new baby and we were able to bless him. That truly was a great experience together.
Well, we wish everyone a happy new year! We are looking forward to everything that's going to happen this year and can't wait to hear from everyone whenever you have a chance!!

"Uncle" Kevin

Our most recent surprise visitor was Kevin. He was driving into town on his way to see his brother and dad nearby. Kevin used to live with us (last year from January to June) and was there during most of Rachel's pregnancy. He used to have quite the beard then. But anyway, he stopped in to say hello and to see Kelly. At first she didn't really "take" to him (probably because she hadn't seen him without some kind of facial hair). But Kelly quickly warmed up to him and had a blast playing with him!

Traveling with Kelly

Now, Kelly fits quite well into your luggage. We found that out when Zach packed her up into his bag and she wasn't ready to get out very quickly!
Zach was getting ready to head home for the Christmas break. Little does he know what it's really like to travel with Kelly. This year, we are headed to spend the break with Rachel's family, and boy, oh boy, Kelly sure does require a lot of things to travel! I think this will be one of the last few vacations we travel for for a long time!

Kelly, Breakfast in Bed

Kelly is only slightly spoiled. I mean, she gets breakfast in bed more than anyone else in our house! I guess we need to work on that a little. She is taking too quickly to this kind of treatment!

New Camera, therefore New Pictures

So, we were given a new camera for Christmas and decided to post new pictures that we have taken with it. Hope you enjoy looking at them!

Kelly's First Snow! (this year)

It snowed today for the first time this year, and Kelly LOVED it! I showed her how to eat snow and that's about about all she wanted to do. She also helped me snowplow the apartments for a few minutes. She liked the ride on the 4-wheeler but wanted to steer it and not just ride it. We'll have those pictures up later.