Kangaroo Zoo

Since my friend, Brynn, moved and had twins, we haven't seen much of her, and we've been missing her and her sweet kids! So she and Traci planned a play date for a bunch of us to meet up at Kangaroo Zoo in North Salt Lake. I really wanted to spend time with my friends, but I was hesitant to go when I found out it would be $8 for Emily and $5 for Jonathan, and I didn't want to pay that much and then have one or both of them not like it. I called my friend, Kathy, in St. Louis because I knew she had taken her kids to Kangaroo Zoo when they used to live here. She told me if I went, I would be so glad that I did. And man, was she right! This place was awesome and worth every penny with inflatable bounce houses and slides that the kids went nuts over!

Jon, Emily, and Holden all geared up to go down the slide.

Jon's always been my little monkey. I think he learned to climb when he was 6 months old. ;) He was pretty much in heaven climbing up and down everything that day!Here's Emily just before she climbed to the top of the 3 story slide. She was so brave! I even freaked out when I went down it with Jon!

Salote, Emily, and Sammie all found another slide, a little less intimidating, but still fun.

Wahoo!

What a fun day! We can't wait to go back!

Healthy Lifestyle Changes

I continue to be inspired each time I watch The Biggest Loser. It's one of the things that keeps me going with the healthy lifestyle changes I've made. I recorded last night's show and after I watched it this afternoon, I thought it would be fun to give you an update on how I've been doing with those changes.

Here's me when I was 11 years-old. I have always struggled with my weight, and as much as I love this picture of my dad and me, it also makes me sad remembering being that chubby, freckle-faced red head. My mom said I had a "cute shape," and always told me how beautiful I was. Because of her, I developed some self-confidence, but it was still easy to compare myself to other girls and feel insecure at times. I'm sure some of you had a similar experience.

Here's a "before" picture of me in 2006
My goal was to lose 20 lbs by Dec. 2007. I surpassed my goal and lost 36 lbs and have kept every stinkin' pound off for the last year!!! That feels awesome to say. I'm still working out 3-4 times a week, drinking lots of water, watching portion control, and just eating healthier in general. I'll run my 3rd 5K this spring and want to run a 10K in the fall. I would love to hear your stories, too!

I have a Sunbeam?

I have been serving in the primary in our ward for 3 1/2 years, since about 2 seconds after we moved to Salt Lake, when I was still pregnant with Emily. And now she's a Sunbeam in Primary. Holy cow, I can't even believe I have a Sunbeam! My little girl is growing up!
I don't know if anyone told her that she wouldn't have toys and snacks in Primary like she did in Nursery, but for some reason, she did NOT want to go to Primary on Sunday. I led the singing with her by my side during most of opening exercises, but then she seemed to enjoy her class and was more comfortable with singing and sharing time after class. In Nursery, Jon kept asking, "Where's Emmy?" It was really cute. They're seriously the best playmates, and I think he missed her, but I feel lucky she gets to hang out with me now. I even spent extra time making my poster, knowing I was now teaching Emily the new song, too. It was really fun watching her sing along. I just can't believe how big both my kids are getting!

College Married Ward Party

Wade and I organized a reunion for our old college married ward on Saturday, December 27. Whenever we're in St. George, we only get to visit a few friends each time, so we organized this party so we could see a bunch of our friends all at once. It was so much fun! Wade and I prepared BBQ pork sandwiches for 40+ people and Brandi, Jodi, Kayla, Kelly, Sister Frei, and Sister Campbell all brought a side dish to ease my stress. The party was held at Bishop Nick Frei's home, which was a beautiful atmostphere.

There were still some who couldn't make it, and we missed you guys! But thanks to those who came and helped make the party a success. It was awesome!

Christmas

Since Emily and Jonathan had a doll house and build-a-bears waiting at home for them from Santa, we only brought one toy for them to share from us. It was great, because then they really appreciated their one toy from my parents on Christmas morning, a baby doll for Emily and Mega Bloks for Jon. They were so happy, they didn't need anything more.

Emily was in love with her baby doll and carried her around all day long.

My friend, Michelle, had just given me a hand-me-down Aquadoodle Train Set, so we saved it for Christmas and gave it to both kids. They thought it was so cool.

Randy and Andrea, who had our family for Christmas, gave the kids new outfits. It was especially cute when Jon tucked his new shirt under his chin to show it off because he's never done that before. They gave me a Lia Sophia necklace, a shirt, and a classy white dress coat, which I love! They gave Wade a dress shirt and tie. My parents gave us food storage, a large water storage container, a wheat grinder, and money for each of us to buy a new coat. Thank you so much Randy and Andrea and mom and dad for your fun surprises! We're really grateful!

The best part about Christmas this year was that Grandpa Callister was able to spend the day with us! He had really been looking forward to it, since he's been in a rehab center recovering from surgery. He was so happy just watching Jon and Emily's excitement. It was awesome. He told my mom it was the best day he had in a long time.
Every day that we were in St. George, I went to see Grandpa in the rehab center, whether I was with my mom, Wade and the kids, or by myself. We had a lot of good talks. I admire that man so much.

Here's Jon and Emily snuggling in bed with Grandpa.

Wade's mom and step-dad spent their Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma Maughan in St. George, so we were able to spend time with them as well. They took us all out for dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate Wade being done with school. Thanks Mom and Keith! It was wonderful.

After dinner that night, we went to Celeste's house for a fun party with my high school friends. I even brought Katie some EL Fudge cookies so she could bite the heads off, just like we used to. ;) It was seriously such a blast hanging out with these guys! I'm glad we all still keep in touch.

Here's Wade and Emily putting a puzzle together at the party and Emily checking out the fish with Elise, Jake and Jamie's daughter. The next night, I planned a huge party for our old college married ward, which was also a blast. I'll post about it later this week, so stay tuned!

Monday, we hung out with my brother, Nick, and his family at their house. You can already tell Jonathan and Preston are going to be good buddies when they get older. They're a lot alike! Then we went to see our friends, Jared and Brandi Wilcox. I think EJ has a crush on Emily, but you better not tell his mommy that! ;)
This is what happens when Brandi and I get to talking...our kids disappear and destroy the house. Yikes!Tuesday, I spent time with my friend, Kayla Gubler. Here's Ems playing with Myah's train set and Myah wondering when she can have her toy back. haha They really did play well together.

That afternoon, Wade and I stopped by the Talent Sprouts studio in Santa Clara to see my friend, Lyndy Butler. She has done an amazing job creating a fun learning environment for kids there. They teach preschool as well as Performing Arts. Lyndy is living my dream! Talent Sprouts is definitely something I would be interested in starting here in Salt Lake, someday.

Tuesday night, we had a surprise visit from my cousin, David Callister, and his family. They had driven all the way from Howe, Idaho to St. George just so they could see Grandpa. Steve and Stacie also arrived that night from California. And Nick and Summer came over, too. I made my famous pork tacos for the whole family, all 23 of us!

We played Apples to Apples for hours and couldn't stop laughing. It was great!

My cute dad wanted to read Cinderella to his granddaughters. Boy was he surprised to find out that smart little Katrina could read it to him!

Here's Ems snuggling under a blanket with Amanda. And the next morning, Jon took Lizzie's pink toy piano and she wasn't so sure she was happy with the switch. haha

Emily, Katrina, and Ali jumping away

my sweet boy, covered in dirt and happy as can be!

After playing outside, what's better than making cookies? I'll tell you...having Uncle Steve juggle the balls of cookie dough, that's what! PS) special thanks to Nestle Toll House for preparing the cookie dough for us, so we could get straight to the fun: eating and playing with the cookie dough!

New Years Eve, we went out to the movies as a family to see Bedtime Stories. It was hilarious, but I think I enjoyed it even more because I sat next to Katrina and Jace, who were busting up laughing throughout the entire movie!

Here's the fam! (well, at least half of us) What a good-looking group, eh?

After the movies, I dropped Wade off on top of the black hill to set up fireworks with his buddy and old mission companion, Ryan Gubler, for the First Night New Year's celebration. He said it was such a cool experience to set up the fireworks and then light them off.

This was such a wonderful Christmas break for us, and I feel so fortunate to have been with family and friends for every day of it! Besides Jonny throwing up in the car on the way home, these 9 days could not have been better. I hope you all had a great Christmas, too!