March

Once a year we make sugar cookies. We only do it once a year because it takes forever, but it is a ton of fun. We usually do it in three phases.
Phase 1: Make the dough, cut out the cookies, cook the cookies, and snitch along the way.
Phase 2: Make the frosting and mix in the food coloring, and snitch along the way.
Phase 3: Frost the cookies and snitch along the way.
The following picture is at the tail end of phase 3. Nathan and Clara had a blast.

Daddy and the kids love playing pirates. We turn on pirate music and fight pirates, or are pirates ourselves. Those hats serve as both pirate hats and good sailor hats. Captain Nathan does a fine job leading our voyages.

Grandma Boren has gotten our kids hooked on the Mercy Watson books by Kate DiCamillo. Mercy Watson is a "porcine wonder" pig that lives with Mr. and Mrs. Watson. Mercy Watson loves toast with a great deal of butter. Consequently, our kids now love toast with a great deal of butter (Actually we use margarine because it's a lot cheaper.).

This picture is from about a month and a half ago when the cousins were up for Aunt Mel's play. The Chase girls had to make sure to train Nathan in the finer ways of domesticity.

Ultrasound

We went to an ultrasound for bambino #3 today and the little one looks healthy! We are really excited to be having another little boy! If you have any ideas for names, let us know. Since Sherrie does all of the work, she gets the ultimate say on names, which is too bad, because she has vetoed some of David's favorites (Ralphus, Bifford, Fred, Ralph, and several other wonderful names). When the technician told us that it would be a boy, we told Nathan and Clara that they would be having a brother (they were in the room with us). Clara said, "It's not a little boy, it's a little girl!" The technician was able to demonstrate very clearly that it was a boy, but Clara would have none of it. So much for anatomy. Anyway, we're really excited and feel very blessed.

Our Sweet Kids

Nathan and Clara are like an old couple that has been married for 50 years. They know each others' buttons and push them often, but they also love each other a lot. Mommy and daddy love them a lot too and have to remind themselves of that fact often. They are both excited for the new baby coming in July.

This picture represents our experience with cars over the past month or two. The van had a bad battery so it kept dying, and the Toyota had worn out battery cables and terminals, so it didn't always work to jump the van with it. We were trying to jump start the van, and hooked up the jumper cables wrong. Both cars started smoking, and the jumper cables melted. A few weeks later, we were jumping the van again, and David went to the trunk to get a tool. The key broke off in the keyhole. When he finally got the trunk open, it wouldn't shut again, so he spent another 15 minutes fixing that. Last week, we were taking the van in to get the brakes fixed and it wouldn't start. When we went to pick it up a few days later, it wouldn't start so we finally bought a new battery. David installed it in the parking lot of the mechanic's shop. Then the Toyota wouldn't start, so David finally replaced the battery cables and terminals. As soon as he walked in the door, he noticed that our water heater was leaking, so he spent the rest of the evening replacing a valve on it. We're wondering what will break next.Usually, Nathan and Clara do not sit next to each other so peacefully. I've never seen them do this before. They were exhausted after a trip to Lowes to buy parts for our water heater.

In the past couple weeks, the kids have realized how fun it is to play dress-up. Nathan loves his "Indiana Jones" hat. Clara usually prefers to wrap herself in dish towels and dance around the room.
Last week, we attended the openhouse of the new Draper Temple. We thought it would be a wonderful experience for the kids. They yelled and ran all over the place, in spite of our best efforts to keep them reverent. We were so embarrassed, and felt bad for all the people nearby who were trying to enjoy their tour. David's mom told us about taking David to the openhouse of the Jordan River Temple when he was Nathan's age. He acted about the same, and ended up sitting in a corner and refusing to move. She pulled him by the arm to get him to move, and his arm came out of its socket. Needless to say, they didn't finish their tour. She never returned to that temple until our wedding day. David was much better behaved that time. When I think of all the stories I've heard about David's childhood, it gives me hope that Nathan will turn out to be a well-mannered, respectable adult. I just hope I can survive until then.

Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Grandma Boren had "fun" with the grandkids in the hot tub. Clara cried every time we put her in , claiming the water was too hot. Once she was in we had a hard time getting her out. We had a great time in Sandpoint and are grateful that Lord protected us on the snowy drive.
Sherrie is an accomplished cross-country skier. We enjoyed beautiful snowy weather up in Idaho. It snow more than a foot after we took this picture.

After Christmas we headed up to Sandpoint, Idaho, where David's folks live. Sherrie shot this picture during the first hour on the 13 hour drive up. Though the kids were not smiling and holding hands the entire trip, they did exceptionally well.


This was a special Christmas present to Nathan and Clara from mommy and daddy. The piece of paper informs them that they will be getting a younger sibling sometime this summer (June or July). Nathan seemed excited enough, but Clara was instantly jealous. She immediately stated, "Mommy no like that baby!" We'll work on the idea with her. Needless to say, mommy and daddy are excited.


Although Clara was not super excited about mommy and daddy having another baby, she was excited to get a stroller for Christmas for her babies. She has been walking her babies and putting them to bed ever since.
We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas at Sherrie's folks' house in Taylorsville. Nobody got any coal in their stocking. Nathan was feeling a little sick Christmas morning and actually only made it halfway through his stocking before he threw up. We had beautiful snow, good food, too many treats, and a lot of good family time. Nathan is Joseph and Clara is Mary.

Snow & Santa

Yesterday we got about six inches of snow! It was nice heavy snow, perfect for making a snowman. Nathan and Clara helped me shovel and then we went to the park and went sledding. We especially enjoyed going down the slides at the park when they were covered with snow! They are really fast. I think the kids' favorite part of the entire endeavor was going inside and having hot chocolate afterwards. It was a lot of fun!


What can we say! Clara is a wild woman. She loves jumping from the arm of the couch to the cushions. She's discovered that if she takes off the cushions that she has a further fall! What fun! She giggles the whole time she does it.


Last year Nathan and Clara both cried when they sat on Santa's lap. This year was an improvement. It seems to help that Santa was giving out candy canes. Nathan didn't cry at all and actually stayed on Santa's lap long enough to tell Santa that he wanted a football for Christmas. Clara grabbed the candy cane, arched her back, and was out of there. We'll see what she gets in her stocking.

Thanksgiving Break

We enjoyed a great trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving break! Marian and Ryan were nice enough to let us invade their home. Nathan and Clara had way too much fun with cousins. It was really good to catch up with a lot of the cousins and aunts and uncles. We are truly blessed with a wonderful family. We have really enjoyed the citrus that Uncle Cameron gave us!

Clara turned 2 while we were in Arizona and Aunt Mares threw a great party...pizza along with cake and ice cream.

We enjoyed a trip to the Phoenix Zoo while in Arizona. It is a fantastic zoo and the kids all had a great time. The highlight was probably the merry-go-round!


Emmy and Nathan are best buds now. They really had a lot of fun together. In fact, they had so much fun that they forget to go to the potty in the bathroom. They seemed to be having a competition to see who could go through the most pairs of clothing. We're not sure who won, but they really had a great time together.

Congratulations to Grandma and Grandpa Hansen for enjoying 50 years of marriage. We are so grateful for their great lives and examples. We went to their 50th wedding anniversary in Preston, Idaho in mid-November.