Reg. Update of the Family

We had a fun weekend to close out the end of April and welcome May. On Friday evening we went and saw Sarah's hometown friend Randall Mcgee and Groark perform at Ogden's Treehouse Museum. Our kids were non-stop laughing at the show, and Teya's wish list of pets increased to include dragons (Groark).

Saturday started with Cara scoring three of her team's four goals in a 4-1 win in 4th grade soccer. We then headed on over to the Scout-O-Rama where the kids built paper rockets, rock climbed, learned to use a wheelchair, and at lots of candy.

Randall, the kids, and Groark.

Groark in action.

"You're salsa is made in New York City?!?!?

Fun at the Scout-O-Rama

We enjoy the parks around our house.

Ohhh. . . .We've got to build one of these.

The Snow is still Great in Utah!

After climbing the mountain, we sled down.

Scootles -- Our New Pet

Sarah finally caved in and let Teya get a pet. Teya saved up her money to buy a Zhu Zhu pet.

We welcome Scootles and his new home.

Sarah's New Hairdo - Kids Can be Brutally Honest

At first Sarah didn't want the following pictures posted, but she told the story multiple times over the weekend that people wanted to see the pictures themselves.

Sarah got her haircut last Friday while I was out with the kids on the bike ride. Her hairstylist wanted to do something special for Sarah's concert that night. However, when the kids got back from the bike ride, their comment was, "What happened to your hair?" I don't see what was wrong with the style and I think the kids overreacted. Needless to say, she hasn't fixed her hair that way since. I took a couple of pictures so we could remember the moment. The fun didn't stop there. A couple of days later, I downloaded the photos to the computer, and as I was looking at them, Tadd was also watching. When Sarah's new picture came up, he cried "No! Scary." and looked away from the screen.

Skiing

Skiing!
(Sarah wants to know why Tadd doesn't think this photo is scary)

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There was an amazing view at the top of one of the mountains.

We had a blast on Friday at the nation's #1 ranked ski resort, Deer Valley, but we didn't come away unscathed. Jeremie learned that sunscreen is not just a summer consideration, and Sarah returned home sore similar to her old high school sport glory days. We had won two free day passes, free equipment rental, and four-hour ski lessons (about a $500 value) from a Ski Utah Promotion. Our ski instructor commented that out of the 25 years he had been an instructor, we were only the 6th group he had taught that live local.
In the video below, Sarah felt like she was "racing down the mountain on the verge of losing control". I'm not so sure others saw it that way. You be the judge.

Woo-hoo!!!

WhY Are We sO hAppY GrAndPA PoOpeD?

Yesterday, Jeremie took the kids on a 10.2-mile bike ride along the Jordan River Parkway Trail. We stopped at a couple of the parks along the trail for breaks, but by the end of the ride, Teya's legs were "mush". She was the only one who didn't have a 10-speed bike, and while everyone else could pedal at a casual pace, Teya's legs were non-stop turning. Jeremie enjoyed the trip as Teya was full of questions:

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"Do kids have to move out of the house when they grow up?"

(A: Yes)

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"Why?"

(A: So they can start their own families)

"Hey, Dad. . .When you grow up are you going to get a dog?"

(A: I am grown up)

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"Dad. . . Why were we so happy when Grandpa pooped?"

(A: ____________[fill in the blank with your own smart answer])

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At a park along the Jordan River Trail.

Yes, it's a mountain bike with a carrier seat.

Kyle's Baptism & Cara's BB Game

March was a fun month for the Snowders. On Saturday, March 6, we welcomed everyone in town for Kyle's baptism. It was a special day and we enjoyed all of the relatives who were there to celebrate the special occasion.

Jeremie has two more tries to find a baptism jumpsuit that fits.

Kyle also earned his Bobcat rank in Cub Scouts. Way to go Kyle!

March was also Cara's and Sarah's (coach) last basketball game. Our team only had four players, and when the game started, the opponent's coach put in only four players and kept about another four on the bench. However, after a couple of trips down the court, a fifth girl in was rushed in. The should have put all eight in. The following video is an example of how the game went. Cara's team is in blue, and Cara is the one bringing the ball down the side of the court and taking the first shot.

Cara has her parent's no-mercy genes. Though they didn't score on this trip down the floor, if it were a competitive game, the score was 38 - 4. However, as Cara's team ran up the score, they started to get only one point per basket rather than 2, so the scoreboard was a more respectable 28 - 4, or something like that.

I'll See You Tomorrow At Church

Last night, as I (Jeremie) tucked Teya into bed, I commented that I would see her tomorrow at church. She responded with a smile, "Dad! . . .We're family! (meaning that we don't have to wait until church to see each other)." I just meant that since I leave for church at 6:30 a.m. and that she would still be asleep, that I wouldn't see her until she came to church. Anyway, I love the 9:00 a.m. church so that I can come home at a decent time. However, I think that it is tough on Sarah as she gets herself and the kids up in the morning to try to come on time.

WhY Can'T I GeT ThiS OuT of my PANTS!!!!

I have to tell you of a little disturbance in sacrament meeting this morning. It started when Tadd discovered that the insides of his pant pockets are made of a different material than the outside of his pants. His attention focused on pulling the white lining out of his pockets, but he didn't understand that the lining is sewn into the pants. Maybe you can imagine his frustration growing as he pulled his pockets inside out but couldn't detach the "white material" from his pants. The family quietly (and reverently as this is happening during sacrement meeting) tried to explain to him that the material can't completely come out, with Kyle also turning his pockets inside out to show the white lining. However, Tadd was beyond reason. Sarah had to finally take him out into the foyer to calm him down and push his pockets back into his pants.

Kyle's Birthday

For Kyle's birthday we went to the moon. Unfortunately, we forgot our good camera but we did have our cell phone camera. We had to post our adventure once we got back to Terra.

January & February

We've continued to have fun in 2010 and enjoyed the snow. Jeremie and the kids went skiing a couple of times. We also won day passes to Deer Valley Resort (the #1 ranked ski resort in the U.S.) but have yet to use our passes. Although we are BYU fans, we attended a couple of Utah Women's Basketball games (one of the games they were playing BYU, which we rooted for). Teya turned 5, and received an upgrade to her makeshift dog shelter for her birthday.

Fun in the snow.

Fun at a Utah Basketball Game

(The kids better grow up to be Cougars)

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A video of Teya's original dog house. . .

which lead to the inspiration for her birhday gift. . .

An "animal shelter" that her mom could live with.

All in all, we'd have to say that we are pretty happy as noted by the song below that Teya and Tadd put together.

If You're Happy and You Know It!

December & Christmas

Our family has had a blast in December. We continued our tradition of riding the TRAX train to downtown to see the Christmas lights. It was a freezing cold night, but everyone had a great time. We even brought hot chocolate in a thermos to enjoy midway through the night.

Riding TRAX

We love to see the temple.

Warming up inside the visitor center at Temple Square.

Visiting temple square is definitely a family favorite.

Christmas Eve . . .

Grandma & Grandpa Lewis & Gr. Grandma & Gr. Grandpa Johnson came up on Christmas Eve, and we enjoyed dinner together and participated in a Christmas program the kids prepared.

Excerpt of Christmas program.

Christmas . . .

All of the kids but Tadd were awake on Christmas morning at 6:15 a.m. They were patient and waited until 6:45 a.m. before their parents woke up. They just couldn't hold off opening their presents any longer. We started opening presents without Tadd, who we thought might end up having his own private little Christmas this year, but he eventually woke up while we were still opening gifts. His last present was an electronic dog that Teya gave him. You'll have to watch the video of Teya's excitement when the gift was open, and Tadd's expression when Teya was faster than him to grab the dog to show him rather then letting him take the dog out of the box. Although it didn't show, he really was excited, but probably just wasn't sure quite what was going on.

Christmas morning (6:45 a.m.)

Tadd wakes up with a bear hug.

Tadd (Teya) opening Tadd's gift

We spent the rest of Christmas day enjoying our gifts. Cara & Teya played with their Webkins; Kyle played with an R/C helicopter and a car that drives up walls. Jeremie took the kid's sledding. We also had fun with the web camera Grandma & Grandpa sent for video conferencing.

Kyle and his helicopter.

Kyle's car really does drive on walls.

We're having way to much fun with the web camera. Why would anyone want to use the regular setting when the "Fisheye" setting is so fun?

Enjoying the outdoors on Christmas day. . .

Holly abandoned her snowboard for us to sell. Cara and Kyle made sure it worked.

Day After Christmas. . .

On Saturday after Christmas, we had a fun day at Hogle Zoo. We basically had the entire zoo to ourselves. Though many animals were unviewable inside heated rooms, the animals that were out seemed to be more active than what we've seen at other times of the year.

We learned our hand isn't even close to the size of a gorilla's.

(Do you know why gorilla's have long fingers? . . . . Because they have big noses.)

Up close with the animals in an uncrowded zoo.

Geoffrey the giraffe snuck into one of our pictures. . . What a joker.

Enjoying our hot chocolate, a regular on our cold outings.

We finished the night going out to eat, giving mom a break from preparing dinner.

Teya and Tadd shared a Kid's meal.

Goings on

Recent events with the Snowders:

Tadd gave Jeremie a black eye.

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Teya being Teya

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Tadd is excited about dinner

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We completed a 999-piece puzzle.

(It was supposed to be 1000 pieces. . . We blame Tadd)

Halloween Fun

The kids visited Jeremie's work.

Yes, those are real nunchucks that Tadd has from one of Jeremie's co-workers.

Trick or treat!!

Kyle and Sarah had fun playing a scary Halloween game on the computer.

If you haven't played it. We'll have to send it to ya.

Tadd's Birthday

Tadd is 2!!!

Ask Sarah why his candle says "6".

Tadd enjoying Grandma & Grandpa Snowder's gift

(wearing Eric & Tracie's shirt)

Video of blowing out the candle.

Monday Halloween Activity

We just had a fun evening at Farnsworth Farm & Cider Mill. We enjoyed hay rides, bounce house, carnival games, outdoor movie (It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown), and won a gallon of fresh apple cider.

Arrgh!!!!

Happy Halloween

14-sec video of bounce house

Tadd Hot-Tubbing After a Long Day

Oct 17 Weekend

Finally, a relaxing weekend. . .

Cara and Teya had their last soccer games for the fall season. Cara's team finished undefeated, with Cara scoring 2 goals in the last game's win at 3-1. Cara was scared because her team was down 0-1 at the half. She has a good knack for the game, and made some very good passes and defense plays.

Teya was all smiles as she ran around during her game. She had some pretty good kicks and blocks, but was most proud that it was her turn to bring treats to the game for her teammates.

With soccer season over, that leaves Kyle as the only active one. He is on the pre-comp swim team and is loving it. When we finally got him a racing swimsuit, he couldn't believe how much drag was eliminated.

We've been a little worried about Tadd's limited vocabulary. He turns 2 in a couple of weeks but can only say a few words: Mom, Dad, I, milk, Wii, apple, please, no, yes, dog, play, hi, bye, and uh-oh. However, last night, he said his first sentence, "Mom, I play Wii?" Even though it is not our first choice in what we want his first sentence to be, we were happy to finally hear him talk. Nevertheless, the answer was "no".

On Sunday, it was a joy to attend Stake Conference. It was one of the broadcast sessions where we were able to hear from the prophet, Elder Hales, Elder Costa, Sis. Matsumori, and the local temple presidents. With four temples in the valley, we were encouraged to attend the temple weekly. Where else but along the Wasatch Front would that even be possible?

Anyway, we are doing well at the Snowder home. Again, much thanks to everyone helping out lately.

House Update (Ready for Appraisal)

We've completed enough of our house for the appraisal, and will spend the next few years finishing everything else. We owe a special thanks to Grandpa & Grandma Lewis for a lot of work they put in the last few weeks to finish it. We received a lot of help from several people. Tiff & Terry helped design it, paint the interior, and build the food storage shelving. Eric and Tracy Snowder helped lay the sod. THANKS EVERYBODY!!!!!!

Sarah made a video of the interior on Friday but recorded it on HDTV quality (to big to post). Besides, I don't think that Grandma wants to be seen crashed on our couch or wandering sleep deprived through our house. Since then, the kids have run amok with toys scattered all over. We'll make another video to post, and then we can be done talking about our house forever!!! Until then, we find the "before" and "after" pictures of the exterior pretty fun.

March 2009 (Before)

October 2009 (After)