April Fools!

So this goes down as my most successful April Fools day ever! This is what I sent out at work this morning, and the best part is, a TON of people believed it! (the hyper link below the picture went to a big April Fools page on the company's intranet.) It was awesome. Happy April Fools everyone!

From: Kendra Fox Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 7:23 AM To: *TechSupport Subject: What's a Bieber?

You know how Vivint always does things bigger and better than anyone else? Well, we’ve done it again!! Justin Bieber is coming to the Summer Sales Kick Off Party on April 11th! Justin Bieber, the Canadian super star and little brother of Usher, will be singing his signature songs such as “Baby” and “Never Say Never” and showing off his mad dance skills, all while causing teenage girls to go into hysterics and weep in happiness. The Biebs has been wanting to come visit Provo for some time to reveal in the atmosphere of Park City and to enjoy the best skiing Utah has to offer and to see the Jimmer. He will be donating his time and talents to entertain us here at Vivint. It is rumored that Justin will be leading the ride up to the Unitas with Travis Pastrana and Todd Peterson on June 18^th as well!! Expect him in his full leather regalia with tassels and chaps. On the 11^th, Justin will be signing autographs for all you that caught the Bieber Fever! Remember, this will be a community event so if you want to get close to Justin without getting trampled by 13 year old girls, sign up to volunteer and you will get a free signed autograph and get to meet Justin yourself!!

Sign up here today, April 1^st, to be part of Justin’s Utah Entourage!

Happy birthday, Aunt Marilyn!!!

Today is Aunt Marilyn's birthday! She is being swarmed by well-wishes on Facebook. We'll send some more birthday happiness through the family blog!

We hope you have a very happy birthday, Aunt Marilyn!

Today makes me think of the Marilyn Birthday story when her big brother went to school and told everyone he had a brand new baby sister -- and no one believed him. :)

Aunt Marcia's special day!

Today is Aunt Marcia's birthday! We hope you have a great day with lots of children and grandchildren nearby to enjoy your happy company. Thank you for always having a hug and a smile for us. You are loved!!!

Happy birthday, Nathan!

To our awesome brother-in-law, tamer of toddlers, braver of basements, wunderkind of Wisconsin...we hope you had a wonderful birthday!!!

To a special couple...Happy anniversary!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Chuck & Kara!!!

A flash from the past! I was looking through my pictures and I couldn't find one from Kara & Chuck's wedding (11 years ago today! Pre-digital, so not much on my computer). This shot will "sub in" until we can get one of just Kara & Chuck. Awww, look how tiny our children were back in 2006. We were going to a concert with Uncle Mark and Bea that night. We were all so young! :)

We hope your day together is really great. We're so glad Chuck is in our family. We're so glad we have Corbin and Kayden out of this deal, too! :D Thanks for making us some awesome cousins, you two!

"Twin" Girls

Laura and cousin Annie playing at our house this morning. Laura is wearing "princess pants" (2nd outfit of the morning) and holding her "Wion". Too bad you can't see her "pwitty toes!"

Friday's news 3.11.11

#1 Big news for Kirk & Lindsay!

Baby is on the way! Due in October. We are so happy for your family!!!

The Great Snow Day

I almost put quotation marks around "Great" in the title, since the amount of snow wasn't enough to last more than a day, but school was canceled and we had our first snow adventure in our new home.

There were dozens of families gathered at this hill by the middle school track, and it was a fun free-for-all of sleds, sharing, snowman-making, new-friend-bonding, and mommy socializing. I rode down a few times with the kids. Jared made a cute friend who was more than happy to share her sled with him any time he asked.

I only caught 2 photos before my battery died (it was the backup camera...) but here they are! Our 2 Lauras and a happy little Jared.


Our favorite thing about Washington winters so far: our snow lasts just the right length of time. The novelty remains, and it was a huge deal to the older kids in town to FINALLY have a snow day.

Tough Momma

Big news! Mom is now a 2nd Degree Blackbelt! She tested this week and passed, with a backward side kick, breaking boards, fending off 6 "attacks", and being awesome.

We still can't beat her in push-ups. She is the one to beat at her dojo. Dad said, "That's pretty sad if all the other blackbelts have the goal to beat a grandma in pushups..."

Way to go, Mom! Congratulations!

Back on track!

Tragedy: my nice Canon EOS broke inexplicably (placed on the counter, then never turned on again) back in November. Not having an easy camera to work with has put a damper on our picture taking, and picture uploading. But good news! I just spent a few hours uploading what we DID take on my clunky old camera, so we can now share some of our latest adventures with you.

And I'll cross my fingers that our camera can be fixed...This is the reason we are not "early adopters" of technology. To spend so much on something special, only to have it break a month after its 1-year warranty is expired is cruel and quite heartbreaking (can you tell I am frustrated that my special saved-for gift turned out to be a waste?). All we want is to have more quality family pictures to sort and make into Shutterfly books! Is that too much to ask of a pricey camera?! I should have gone with the Nikon...after all that compare and contrast decision-making. Sigh.

Anyway, here is Jared practicing his cello this evening. He loved that I took pictures of his good bowhold (look at that awesome pinky!) and happy smile. He is proud of himself and makes new discoveries every time he plays. He needed something special that belongs only to him - not his sister, his friends, his cousins, or any other kid he knows nearby. So far, so good. Here is the Skeleton Horse he earned for the first 2 weeks of consecutive practice on his new 2011 chart. His sights are locked on the next piece of the Lego set he's earning with longer chunks of practice - a Skeleton Soldier. This is what he'd talk about if you were to come over to our house today.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day tomorrow, everyone!

P.S. I love that you can see his favorite blanket tucked under his chair. Fuzzy on one side, silky on the other = green blanket perfection.