Spring Break Trip to Florida

Things we loved about our family vacation:

#1 The Hyatt Grand Cypress in Orlando.

-Huge swimming pools, water slides, hot tubs

-Outdoor activities: biking, golfing, paddle boats, rock climbing

-The Hyatt Regency club: Free Breakfast & Dinner. What a time & money saver!

- Newly remodeled room with a beautiful view. We were the first guests to stay in the room.

#2 Magic Kingdom

We started the day early and hit all the "must do" rides (Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, etc.) then returned to the hotel for naps and a movie. After an early dinner we were back at the park about 7 pm and found the lines much smaller. We couldn't believe it but we didn't leave the park until almost 1 a.m. Abby even got to see her High School band perform. The highlight of the evening was Quinn getting to drive the boat on the Safari Cruise and they even gave him a "driver's license" to bring home.

#3 Epcot

-Soarin' was amazing (and worth the marriage testing argument we had over getting the fast pass tickets).

-Abby loved the British Invasion band. Quinn's favorite was the Kim Impossible mystery that he solved using a cool cell phone. He loved it so much that asked to do it in three different countries. The Japanese drummers were Kip's favorite. Emma enjoyed the ride in the "golf ball" that used cool photos and computer technology. A great day!

#4 Kip and the Mouse Ears

-He was a great sport and let Abby take his picture with every Mickey hat we saw. The slide show made us laugh so hard we hurt!

#5 LEGOLAND

Quinn was in heaven with all the Lego models. We had a good time picking out his cup of assorted parts and a lego tractor set.

#6 The Orlando Temple

#7 Great time together.

Kip's latest Adventure

Kip was routed through Beijing on his way to Hong Kong this week. All he saw was the airport but he can add a new country to his list. He looks exhausted.

Similiar Siblings

I've never noticed how much Quinn (age 5) and Abby (age 17) look alike until recently. They are also similar in their easy going and pleasant personalities. Two of my greatest blessings.

Table Decor

I was asked to do the table decorations for our recent Relief Society Conference. Here is the finished product. A lovely hint of spring.

Bob & Mary

Kip's Parents were featured in a newspaper article. This is one of the photos that ran with the story. I think it is a very nice shot of both of them. They are great people who have recently had some difficult health issues yet remain very optimistic and strongly self sufficient. We are lucky to have them a part of our lives.

New Family Room

We have a friend who is a master craftsman and he built this shelving unit around our fireplace. Wow! What a change to the room. It makes the whole space seem larger. With a new TV & Home Theatre system plus a different furniture arrangement and wall color it feels like a brand new room!.

I continue to add pieces to the room. Both of these were IKEA purchases with many alterations. I took apart the original slip cover to the chair and created this new one from a great paisley fabric that ties together all the colors in the room. The cabinet makes a perfect sofa table and storage for cookbooks. It was originally black but is now a red focal point. I'm planning some new window treatments and pillows. What a fun project!

Wood Badge

Kip earned his wood badge and was awarded it this month. There were 4 others in our stake who also received theirs at the same time.

His ticket was an BSA to LDS translation dictionary.

His hope is that it will improve the level of communications with Boy Scout council leaders and LDS leaders.

Kip in Perth

These are pictures from Kip's trip to Perth, Australia. In addition to work, he had a chance to do some site seeing and even went to the beach. The high temperature that day was 108 degrees.

Those of us at home were experiencing extremely cold weather and they even cancelled school two

days because of low temps. The outside thermometer doesn't go to -25 degrees (-45 with wind chill) Yes, that is 133 degrees temperature difference between Perth and Home.

Kip had a very busy travel month--a drive to Utah with Krista, North Carolina, Buffalo, Perth, Hong Kong and other work assignments meant he slept in his bed a total of 8 nights during January.

Christmas Highlights

The highlights from our Christmas holiday include:
-Grandma and Grandpa's visit
-Lots of weird weather; snow, extreme cold, freezing rain, heavy fog, warm rain, flooding
-Krista getting stuck in the airport and taking 24 hours (and three plane transfers to make it home)
-Our annual Christmas party with adult friends. Lots of laughter and visiting. A new yummy recipe for Chicken Wellington.
-Kip gets a new car-- an Infiniti G35x and Krista inherits his old one. She is thrilled that she doesn't have to rely on other people to do her grocery shopping now.

Christmas Countdown

What a great month it was for our five year old boy!

Quinn loves Legos. He spends hours building every day. So I bought a Lego Advent Calendar and it turned out to be one of our favorite things in the month of December. The box had numbered doors that contained a new lego figure or an accessory for each day. One day was a fire fighter which was followed by a tree with a cat and a tall ladder to reach the cat. My favorite was the scuba guy and all his gear. Emma's was either the snowmobile or the cook. When I asked Quinn what his favorite was he said, "All of them."

After the first couple of days we had to make rule. He couldn't opened a door until the clock said, "Seven-dot-dot-zero-zero. It was almost like Christmas morning every day.