A Day in Salt Lake

Yesterday we spent the entire day in Salt Lake with family. We went to Jumpin Jacks for Family Night. Afterwards we went to Bajio and had their delicious nachos...Mommy and Daddy's favorite. We had a fun day having no school for kids, no work for Daddy, and a day of fun with family.

Family Night

Last night we watched "Gordon B. Hinckley, A Giant Among Men" for family night. We were shocked at how much the kids liked the movie. He was truly an amazing Prophet. Watching this movie brought back a lot of memories that Jeremy and I have of him since he was our Prophet a good portion of our growing up years. President Hinckley visited Santiago, Chile when Jeremy was serving his mission. He had the privilege to hear him speak to all the missionaries and was able to participate in the celebration of President Hinckley's visit to Santiago. We really enjoyed watching this as a family.

Wildlife

Looking for wildlife and going spot lighting is one of the fun things we enjoy doing where we live. Last night when we came home from Salt Lake we came across about 40 deer and a half a dozen buck a couple minutes from our house. We could not believe how many there were.


Today we came across about 20 elk a couple minutes from where we live not to count a couple dozen deer. The elk spend most of the winter in this field. Now we will have to drive by every time we are out and about...which means a couple times a day.

Daddy's New Look

Daddy has a beard and we love it!
(Ashlynn took this picture...she is turning into our family photographer.)

Mommy's two handsome men!

Casey & Amanda's Birthday!

Tonight we celebrated Casey and Amanda's Birthday.
Jackson and Ashlynn had fun seeing all their cousins.

Soldier Hollow

On Friday all the Fairbanks went to Soldier Hollow to go sledding. Mommy and Daddy both had to work, but thanks to all the fam for taking Jackson and Ashlynn. They had a lot of fun. Thank you!

New Year's Day

New Year's Day! After a late night the kids still had tons of energy. They spent the afternoon sledding in the backyard. Uncle Jake and Uncle Tim built a jump. The kids were catching some major air. Jackson actually got the wind knocked out of him and hurt his back because he got turned around and went off the jump backwards. Everyone had a fun New Year's Day sledding, eating, and playing games with family.

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year's! We celebrated New Year's Eve with the Blackham's, Grandma, and Pa. We missed the Owen's and Jake and Kaily. It was a night of eating, games, and tons of fun. The kids and adults had a blast playing "Pit". All the kids made it til 12 and finally crashed around 1:30...it was a late night, but fun, fun,fun!

Christmas Day!

Christmas Day was tons of fun with a lot of snow. It snowed the entire day. The four of us went sledding in the backyard for 3 hours. Mommy and Daddy had fun being kids again. We had one very white Christmas.

The kids were so excited to wake up to a letter from Santa and lots of presents. They thought it was cool that he left them a letter, ate the cookies, and drank the milk. They both got a Nintendo DS, Adidas outfits, and lots of other fun stuff. We had such an enjoyable Christmas Day.

Chistmas Eve!

Christmas Eve was spent with all the Fairbanks family. We spent the day eating and playing in the snow. The kids had so much fun sledding with their cousins in Grandma and Pa's backyard. Uncle Jake took all the kids for sled rides behind the 4-wheeler.

We ended the day with opening presents from Grandma and Pa. All the grandkids got matching pajamas. The night ended so fast that we forgot to take pictures of all the kids in their pjs. Jackson was so excited that he got Mario Kart for the Wii. Ashlynn got fun little girly dolls and a Wii remote. They now have their own remote for the Wii...no more fighting. Jackson is having so much fun with the puppies. He loves holding them and taking care of them. He will be such a helper when we have another child.

Ashlynn's Dance Recital

Ashlynn dances with a group of five little girls. They will all go to school together next year. Ashlynn has so much fun dancing with them. They performed to a remix of a song from Alvin and the Chipmunks. Ashlynn was Simon. She had so much fun having culry hair and tons of make-up. Mommy loved putting mascara on her eyelashes...they are to die for.

First Day of Winter Vacation

Today was the first day of winter vacation and the kids were already bored until...Pa decided to plow the driveway and our neighbor came over with a sled so Pa could pull the kids behind the 4-wheeler. They were getting impatient waiting so I pulled them around on the sled. They were sliding all over and having fun. A couple times they almost fell off. Jackson said "you are the best mom"...if you only heard the sweet voice he used to say it. Then they were off with Pa on the 4-wheeler...down the street they went. I could not see them, but I could sure hear them laughing and screaming. They were having such a blast that I decided to jump on the 4-wheeler so I could see their expressions...they were hilarious. It was a fun afternoon. The snow saved the day!!!

Chistmas Card

Merry Christmas! We want to wish all our family and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

(Thank you Serena for the cute card you created for us.)

Family Pictures

Our friend Serena from Saint George was in town one weekend in November and took family pictures for us. She does such a great job. It got dark sooner than we expected, but what pictures she took were perfect. It was a very cold day, but the kids managed to smile along with daddy who was missing the BYU vs. Utah football game...ya I know it is the game of the year.

"Not another picture...we are freezing!"

Playing in the Snow

The kids had fun playing in the snow. We have not had snow since October, if I remember right. Ashlynn did not last long, but Jackson on the other hand could play out in it for hours especially if he is with his cousins or friends.

Early Christmas in Cali

We had an early Christmas in California at Grandma and Grandpa Dye's. This was our last night in Cali and the kids looked forward to this day all week. Jackson new that his Grandma would not turn him down seeing that she had a Wii that they played with back in October. The kid was so excited when he opened it (see picture with his arms in the air). Ashlynn loved the Hanna Montana stuff that see got. We had it out on the Hanna Montana guitar trying to see who the best player was...I think Mommy and Jackson tied (gotta LOL at the pictures). Thank you Mom and Dad for the fun time, wonderful dinners, great presents, and most of all your love.

Playing Basketball in Cali

Jackson has to play basketball on a daily basis so wherever we go the basketball goes. The kid just cannot get enough.

Disneyland

Mommy took Jackson and Ashlynn to Disneyland two days while Daddy was working. We had a lot of fun, but wished our Daddy could have gone with us. Ashlynn loved meeting the princesses and was such a trooper because Jackson had to ride most of the rides with Mommy. She went on Matterhorn two times in a row by herself...what 4 year old girl does that? She got to ride with another little girl on one ride and a worker on another. The kids enjoyed seeing Santa's reindeer and the "Real Santa Claus" as Jackson would say...Mommy did not know there was a fake one, but the line was too long to see him. The kids really enjoyed waiting only 10 minutes for all the rides and seeing it decorated for Christmas.

Bill Barber Park in Irvine California

We thought that we had a pretty awesome park in Saint George where we use to live. This park that we went to in Irvine, California where we stayed for the week was above and beyond awesome. The kids had so much fun and we just enjoyed the beauty and cleanliness of the park. You name it that park had it.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

A Night Without Mom and Dad...Better Yet a Night Without Kids! The first weekend in California we stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Dye before we checked into our hotel in Irvine for the week. Jackson and Ashlynn got to stay one night by themselves with them while Mommy and Daddy got to stay one night at the hotel without kids. They had fun decorating Grandma and Grandpa's tree while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a quiet evening without kids. It was nice to actually carry on a conversation without interruptions and going hours without hearing "dad, dad, dad, mom, mom, mom". Thank you Mom and Dad for keeping them for us.