What a great holiday season we have had! Before taking off to Colorado and Utah we were able to go to the Philbrook Museum here in Tulsa and look at some pretty cool trees and really neat gingerbread houses. There is some really great art in the museum, and we discovered that there is a free day each month!
Festival of Trees at Philbrook Museum in Tulsa
In preparation for the holidays we realized we would need to be ready for possible torture on the road and plane since we would be driving to CO and then flying to UT from there. As it turns out, Hinckley wasn't torturous at all! He was is regular cute and semi-quiet self.
The sleep seat of the month
Amazing and huge gingerbread house at the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado Springs
Kassie at work on her exciting Christmas present (family watches on)
In Colorado we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas eve and Christmas day. Hinckley seemed to like it, though he often seemed more interested in the wrapping paper than in his many gifts! Kas was excited to get the family's first smart phone, and she is realizing more and more how she will never go back to life before the smart device in her pocket. I (Greg) spent much of my time reading and just enjoying the warmth and quiet. What a great break!
Proud Grammy on Christmas Morning
Dad and Hinckley Christmas Morning
The day after Christmas we flew to UT and were able to spend some time with Grandpa H before he went to some of my relative's home. He sure is full of joy and energy, and we are grateful for his example.
It was exciting to be back in UT after leaving way back in May for our new adventure. The mountains were gorgeous and the air was smoggy!
Family shot with Great-grandpa Halvorsen
We were encouraged to participate in a concert Bishop Blair's family was putting on (in conjunction with Mom and Lucy), and so we performed this song - masterminded by Lu herself.
Lucy's very tasty and massive yule "log"
On the way to "Sacred Gifts" at the BYU Museum of Art. Note the bell tower and beautiful Timp in the background!
When it was time to go we had to find a way to squeeze everyone in two cars along with all sorts of baggage because Mom, Dad, and Lucy were leaving the next day on the airplane too and we all decided to go up to Abi and Brian's place. Thus Hinckley had his first car ride with cousins. Sadie and Logan were excellent buddy riders, or so I am told - though Hinckley did steal Sadie's pink bear which brought some tears.
3 kids in a row.
Kassie and Hinckley: Airplane Passanger Experts
We had a very restful holiday, though such a thing is not very possible these days since we have a baby with us. Thanks to family and friends we had time to spend with one another and Hinckley enjoyed all the attention too!
I can't believe it has only been two months since Hinckley joined our family! It feels like a lot longer than that and he is growing so big way too fast! At his two month check-up today, he weighed 13 lb 12 oz and was 26 1/4 inches long. Apparently he is so tall that he is off the medical charts for his age. Hinckley is such a happy, easy-going baby. He smiles, laughs, and coos a lot. Having him in our family is so fun because he helps us realize the joy of everything once again. He smiles at bright colors or new sounds, enjoys kisses and cuddling, and squeals in delight at seeing nature when we take walks. Yesterday at church it was like he had a rubber neck; for about five minutes he just kept turning back and forth to take it all in--the sights, sounds, and smells. Today he had to get three shots at the doctor's office and even that didn't phase him for long. Oh he screamed and his face got redder than I have ever seen it. I held him and fed him afterwards and then ...
I will try to keep a fairly good record of our exploits and adventures here in the Nation's capital. It is exciting and I am particularly happy about the amazing opportunities there are for pictures! Our trip began at the bus stop outside of the Barlow Center. I took an exterior shot of the Center - the top 2.5 windows on the right are ours. Once on the bus we went past some of the "Occupy" folk which was interesting. And then we came to our stop just outside of Union Station (where I will also be getting off to work at the FJC). Our first grand site was the Capital. So here we are. Washington DC is very different for both Kass and I, but we are finding a way to call it home as quickly as we can. Our first full day in DC consisted of going to Safeway on the bus, eating a modest lunch, and then going to the the Mall for the second time. We began at the capital building and headed towards the Lincoln Memorial (2 miles) before walking home another 2 miles or so. Our first st...
It is that time of day when the house is quiet, the table is half covered in pots, pans, and tuber ware with food scattered across. The car isn’t in the garage and the dog lies sleeping on the blue blanket. The sun lies somewhere back there, behind the cloud over those mountains. It makes some nice gold colors on the rocky face of the mountains outside of the window. I guess it is so nice because at this time of year there is a lot of plants and flowers in the back yard so the gold makes it seem sort of dreamlike. Yeah, I’ll do em I guess. Call it being nice or being bored. Does it matter? Approaching the sink I am nipped by the denting smell. The eggshells, scraps of mango, carrot peel, and chunks of tofu drip in my fingers. Oh yes, the trash is under the sink these days. Drip once, drip twice on the floor. The water in the frying pan trembles, shaking the crusty flakes of burnt egg. Yogurt and peanu...
Your little family sure spread a lot of joy!
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