An Interesting Observation

The other day our family was watching the Discovery Channel's show "Life." We were watching the segment on Mammals and they did a short segment on Cheetahs. Kaylee immediately said,"I hate cheetahs!"

I have always thought they were beautiful animals, especially when they run!! BEAUTIFUL!

Kaylee proceeded to tell me that she thinks Cheetahs look RIDICULOUS. They look like they are wearing awful makeup. Their mascara is running down their face like they have been crying and it looks like they are wearing DARK black lipstick. IT IS JUST WRONG!!

So now this is what I see every time I look at a Cheetah - a sad little face with Mascara running down it.

Farrish - Winter Wonderland

I absolutely love this Ward Activity - Farrish - "Winter Wonderland." Farrish is an area up in the mountains with sledding, ice skating, snow shoeing, and lots of fun. We went up the night before, spent the night with some ward members, and ate lots of delicious food. The Olympics were on and luckily one of the rooms had good reception so I could watch Apolo Ohno race in the 500 meter race.

The weather was perfect this year. Cold enough to enjoy the snow, but warm enough to stay outside for a LONG time.


The girls were pretty fascinated with the lake because it snowed before the lake froze, so you could see about 1-2 feet down. You could see fish, frozen bubbles, and plants. It was very strange to walk on this clear ice - but the girls LOVED it.

Taylor got alittle nervous the first time she walked on the ice, but after awhile she was pretending to swim on the ice, and eating the shaved ice from the top of the lake.


Nicole was fascinated with the frozen lake and wanted to show everyone what she saw, including our Bishop.



You can always count on Kaylee to dive into the snow. She loves the snow and loved throwing it at people. For the first time, she was in a small snowball fight this year with some other kids and made the perfect hiding spot.

Kaylee has been begging to take ice skating lessons, so we decided to let her try ice skating and pretty soon a lot of other children wanted to join in the fun. We loaded up the truck and drove up to the office to rent some ice skates. Warren HAD to frighten us by driving on the ice for a short time - but after me screaming, he decided to stop.


Kaylee loved ice skating and skated around the ice for about 3 hours. She LOVED it.

Nicole also tried and gave 100%. She tried so hard, but needed a lot of help with her balance. She is so much like her mommy. To this day, I still can not ice skate.


While Kaylee ice skated, Warren took the girls sledding on the lake and the girls laughed and laughed. Warren would spin them around and around. Nicole is such a sweet sister, she took Taylor on numerous rides around the lake.

I JUST LOVE THESE PICTURES OF MY GIRLS!!

Kaylee built a snow fort with Brandon full of doors, a bed, tunnels, and shelves.


Warren's favorite thing of the day was playing hockey with the men and Young Men. He has such a great time and was so sore the next day.

This is such a fun ward activity and a couple of weeks ago our ward was split. SO SAD!! My neighborhood was split right down the middle. Ward changes are always hard, but it means the church is growing. I was so worried that we would be kicked out of the ward (no more Farrish), but we were on the side of the subdivision that stayed with the original ward. SO, next year we will get to go to Farrish, but alot of families will be missed.

Taylor...now known as "Mermaid"

(This picture was taken at our ward activity up in the mountains - Taylor was fascinated with the frozen lake)

The other day I asked Taylor some questions. I learned a few things...

1) How old are you?
"2, no 3"

2) What is your name?
"Mermaid"
(Really...Anywhere we go, Taylor is wearing a Princess Dress and depending on her mood, will only answer to "Mermaid.")

3) What color are your eyes?
"Umm...Brown"

4) What color is your hair?
"Red, like Mermaid" (Smile)

5) What is your favorite food?
"Cereal...no Candy"

6) What is your favorite candy?
"CHOCOLATE!!"

7) What is your favorite color?
"Purple"

8) What is your favorite movie?
"Snow White..."(she has never even seen this movie) "Ummm....maybe Einsteins"

9) What do you like?
"Ummm...Dora, NO. I like Mermaid. "

10) What is your favorite thing?
"To get dressed, and Cocoa"

11) What is your least favorite thing?
"Ummm....To go potty"

10) What don't you like?
"Mom! I'm on the phone." (And than a couple seconds later) "When Colie hits me"

11) What is your favorite thing to drink?
"Juice...apple"

12) What do you like to wear?
"Dress.... I not wear summer dress. No church dress. Dress...Princess"

13) What should we do today?
"Get dressed and color"

14) What is Daddy doing in the basement? (Warren is finishing our basement)
"Building me a castle"

15) Why do you have to wear shoes to bed?
"To go to the ball"

16) Who is your best friend?
"Jake"

17) What do you like to play?
"Umm...Dora, Umm...Cocoa,Umm...pockets (polly pockets), and Driving"

18) Do you like your music soft or loud?
"LOUD cause I can sing Loud"

19) Why do you like princesses?
"Umm, cause I don't like boys. I like girls. And they twirl."

20) Why do you read to your princesses at night?
"A-cause they can't go to sleep until I read"


"Mommy needs hair down, like Princess." I always have my hair in a bun or pony tail and apparently Taylor does not like it. She will sneak over to me, pull out my rubber band, throw it, and sneak off. I don't even notice until my hair falls in my face. I than search for the rubber band Taylor has thrown somewhere.

This little girl definitely keeps on our toes...

Skiing with the Family

The weekend after Kaylee's baptism, our family went with Grandma Johnson to Frisco for a ski vacation. IT WAS WONDERFUL!! The first day, Pat and I went shopping at the fantastic outlets and than we spent the next 2 days skiing. Pat, Warren, and Kaylee would ski in the morning and than we would trade in the afternoon so I could ski with Nicole and Warren. It snowed a ton while we were there, which made it so nice.

Kaylee had such a fun time skiing with Grandma. It is so nice that Kaylee is getting more independent with her skiing. Warren would ski the powder, while Kaylee and Pat hung out on different runs.

Kaylee worked on her technique and making quick turns. I still do a snow plow the entire way down, but Kaylee has good technique - which is so FUN to watch.

THIS TRIP WAS A TURNING POINT FOR LITTLE NICOLE. SHE DID SO GREAT!!

Nicole is so laid back...it is hilarious to watch. She doesn't get frustrated too easily which is great because while she was putting on her ski pants, she must have fallen over a dozen times....laughing the entire time.

LOVE THIS SMILE

Ready to ski....this was the first time Nicole skied by herself without Warren helping her with the ropes. She stills needs the edgy wedgy at the ends of her skies, BUT I was so proud of her. She is quite the trooper and loves being outside. It was freezing cold, and Nicole never complained.

It was alot of fun for me to be up skiing with Warren and Nicole. It was the first time I went skiing without feeling completely out of control. I still get extremely nervous every time I get off the lift, BUT I don't scream going down the mountain anymore.


Warren loves skiing with the girls and watching them progress. His favorite thing to do is ask them silly questions while they go up on the lift.

- IT SNOWED A TON -

My LITTLE skier!

- Me and my wonderful SNOWPLOW -

SOOOO tired at the end of the day. Nicole was asleep, but heard me get the camera. She had to wake up and quickly give me a smile.

My girls loved this condo. The upstairs was a loft with 3 beds and a pull out bed from the couch. I remember when I was young I always thought there was something magical about sleeping somewhere else. My girls must feel the same way. They WANTED to make their beds, WANTED to rest, WANTED to play in the loft, and WANTED to go to bed at night.

Taylor and her BOOKS. She must have books and her Mermaid Barbie when she goes to sleep.

Nicole and Pink Baby. Pink Baby was Kaylee's, but over time Nicole has slowly taken it away from Kaylee. No matter how many babies Nicole has...Pink Baby is her absolute favorite, and I think it was about $5.

Kaylee LOVED this screen. She kept telling me it was like what Princesses use when they change their outfits. Yes, Kaylee has "outfits" NOT just clothes.

We spent alot of time coloring, playing games, and eating popcorn. YUM!




All of the girls had to sit and eat on the Moose chairs. Taylor wanted to be with the BIG girls, but always stands on her chair, so...she got the tiny chair to stand on. This is one of my favorite things to hear Taylor say, if she stands on her chair and thinks she might falls, "I gonna break my teeth Mamma. No-I don't do that."

My parents got a Time Share deal at one of the places in Breckenridge, so we decided to use it for the swimming pool. The girls LOVED it!!


Kaylee loved going from the inside to the outside pool. It was snowing outside and it was pretty MAGICAL to her.

She loved catching the snowflakes.

Taylor actually got in the water. She normally walks around the pool with a mischievous look, just thinking about getting in. This year - she actually wanted to get in.

I thought this was a funny picture. Kaylee is caught in the middle of 2 worlds - she has her IPOD, but still needs her PIGGY and BLANKIE.

I am so glad Pat came to spend the weekend with us. It is always fun to go shopping, skiing, and just spend time with her. My girls miss her when she goes back home...

I love this picture of Taylor because she looks so lovable and "kissable."

The day we left was Valentine's day and I made the girls a bunch of Valentines and put them all over the floor in the loft. The girls than picked the words they thought described them. Kaylee picked words like: Friend, Graceful, Gorgeous, Musical, Smart, Sunshine, Athletic, Goofy
Taylor picked: Kissable, Snuggle Bug, Feisty, Beautiful, Angel, Silly, Dancer
Nicole picked: Good Friend, Hilarious, Sweetheart, Stunning, Delightful, Lovable, Hugable
They all got - Daughter of God, Best Friends, and Great Sisters

Nicole is definitely HILARIOUS!!