Another Vacation to Utah!

Well, we had another wonderful trip out to Utah. This time we spent all of it in the Salt Lake area. We were able to see a lot of family and a bunch of friends too. We started out with a cameo from Snow White. I think Disney owns the Orlando airport!

Jane was very excited and willing to get her picture taken with Snow White.

The first full day we were in Utah we took Trax from Sandy into Salt Lake and walked around temple square. Jane is with Grandma Terry in the background. Alice was just excited to be out of her stroller.

We got to see the Tabernacle. It was a chilly day, but doable.

Jane with her hand on the doorknob of the Salt Lake temple. She was very excited to see the temple and climb the stairs.

On Thursday morning we got to go through the Draper temple open house. It was beautiful. Kevin thinks Jane's outfit looks like a clown outfit. I however, thought it was cute. This picture was taken in the church next to the temple. They had the gym all decorated and had great desserts for all the guests.

Jane wanted to try her hand at being the camera man. Not too bad! "Smile Daddy"

Here's the Draper Temple. I had to hold the Camera at an angle so I wouldn't get any of the bus I was riding in in the picture.

After the temple we headed over to the Hogle zoo with Kara, Trista, and Carter. It was a bit chilly, but luckily the sun was out.

They have elephants. The Brevard zoo does not. Jane however didn't want her picture taken. Big surprise!

It is also very hilly. The Brevard zoo is not! They were coming up the hill after watching the penguins get fed and cleaned. It was pretty fun. Jane is all excited to show me how the penguins walked. Too cute.

Then we got to ride the carousel. That was fun.

Thanks Trista for being a great photographer.

Friday we spent the day in Provo and Salem. I have a great hairstylist in Provo so whenever I'm out there I take advantage of it. Thanks Shep! I also have some great friends in Provo. This is my mission companion that I loved and had the great privilege of serving with. Lindsay, her husband Josh and their adorable little girl Ella were nice enough to let us stop by and hangout for a few hours. Thanks, Lindsay. It was so good to see you and meet Josh and Ella! We also had a wonderful dinner with Brother and Sister Whaley and Mesha. Thank you for great company and great food. It was great to see you.

Saturday, which was my birthday, was a pretty good day. Kevin took me out to breakfast while the girls stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. Then we had a little family reunion up in Ogden. It was fun to see all of the cousins. This is Jane with Great-Grandma Belnap. After that we went back to Kevin's parents' house and hung out with all of his siblings. It was good to see you all. Congrats again Kara and Brett on the little baby girl arriving in June.

Alice trying out her skills as a concert pianist.

Disney 1/2 Marathon weekend!

This past weekend we had the chance again to cheer Kevin on in the Disney 1/2 Marathon. Each year we have stayed at a different hotel. This year we were forced to splurge (no availability) and then the room at that hotel wasn't ready, so they upgraded us to the Yacht Club. It was a lot of fun. Jane has been talking about how Daddy was going to run through Cinderella's castle for a week now. Well, when we showed up at the hotel, what was coming up the drive, but Cinderella's coach pulled by 6 white horses (ponies). Jane was ecstatic.

Then as we sat there and watched, a bride came out and got in the carriage.

Jane, as you can see, was so happy. "It's Cinderella!"

We got to have a fun towel oragami in the shape of Mickey.

The room wasn't anything spectacular, but Jane and Alice both got a Mickey Mouse doll and we got a lot of free food. The upgrade included the concierge level of the hotel.

As soon as we checked in and got all our stuff up to the room, we headed down to the pool. The best part was that it felt like the beach. Jane and Alice both had a blast, despite the chill in the air. I think it was in the high 60's or low 70's that day. There were also ducks floating by occasionally.

Alice was a little cold and purple, but happy.

Race Day

The runners had to be at the starting place by 5am, so we caught the bus at 4am, needless to say we were all pretty tired. I love Jane's face in this picture. It just says, "Why am I up this early in the cold and now you want me to smile for a picture, I don't think so!"

The only thing that kept Jane going was the promise to see Cinderella's castle. We waited for Daddy on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom.

Jane and the castle

She was also very excited about all the train (monorail) rides. That's the sunrise.

Waiting for the next train

Here's the sign we made the day before to cheer on Daddy

There's Kevin running toward the finish line. He beat his time last year by 20 someodd minutes. Training pays off! He ran it in 2 hrs and 6 minutes. Not bad!!!

He's the runner in white and black on the left with the finish line in sight. There were over 45,000 participants this year with all the races.

Then it was nap time. Jane, Kevin, and Alice (not in the picture) crashed after the race while I packed us up to head home. It was a great weekend. Kevin, you did a wonderful job and I'm so glad we were able to come and cheer you on!

6 month check up!

Alice is about 6 1/2 months old right now, but her appointment was on Tuesday. She is definitely a healthy little baby. She weighs 19 lbs 12 oz and was 28 in long. Those put her in the 95% for weight and over 95% for height. She was sitting next to a 9 month old today and they were about the same. She's a cutie though! Here's some great videos of her crawling the other night. As with other pictures you've seen of Jane, clothes are optional! She's a mover, although right now she's not feeling so hot from all her shots.

Christmas Traditions!

Thanks to my sister Kim, we have now started the tradition of putting on the Nativity pageant each Christmas Eve. Alice got to be the angel this year. Jane did not want to participate, except to give the baby Jesus a kiss.

Above, the angel appears to Mary(Mikayla). Joseph(Joshua) just happened to be in the scene too.

Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus

We also have the tradition of opening Auntie Beth's presents on Christmas Eve because she gives all the nieces and nephews a book and pj's. Thus they get to wear their new pj's to bed to await the arrival of Santa Claus.

Alice says, "Thank you Beth and Cody!"

Christmas morning we open our stockings first. Kevin got a tie from Jane (Santa slipped some of our gifts in the stockings too).

Alice enjoying her stocking stuffers and Jane's too!

Jane showing off her loot. She loves those ducks and Pooh.


Granpa Terry made Alice a rattle, which she loves to chew on. Thank you! This is her relaxing on Christmas day. She took a little nap during the opening of gifts. After we had our tree we headed over to my mom's house for Grandma's gifts. Yes, we got a karoake machine for Christmas. I'm sure at least once we will post a video of our fun with that! Thanks again to all of our family for the wonderful gifts and family traditions.