Happy Duck Song

Earlier this week Jack called us up to his room after he had gone to bed and was just streaming tears. Apparently he was sad because he wanted to sing Happy Song before bed. Every night since we've made sure to sing it and it just cracks me up. Not wanting to embarrass anyone I'll just say Jack gets his singing ability from one of his parents.

Midway Happenings

(this photo taken today also serves as an "our air is cleaner than your air" in your face.)

Big news in Midway this month. We got a store of our own, cleverly named The Store. I know it's crazy, next thing you know they will put in a round-about to handle the heavy commuter traffic. Wait they jumped the gun and did that already. It is an important part of the master plan to lessen Midway's dependence on rival Heber City.

I'm very excited for The Store, in fact I'm blogging from there right now. Not only is the Wi-Fi fast, it is also quiet. Seems most other hot spots like to blast crappy music making it impossible to make or take phone calls. The Store is one of those half-size markets but I cannot for the life of me figure out what they don't have. They have had everything I've been sent to get including skim milk, 2% milk, chocolate milk, and milk of magnesia. There is a bakery, deli, salad and salsa bar, espn, and two underrated but important aspects of any store, speed and cleanliness.

The Store also brought Midway's first Red Box. Now I no longer have to sit on the couch at night and calculate whether it is worth returning a movie or paying another $1 to keep it a night. It was a very detailed calculation factoring in the average cost of gas, which car and miles per gallon, outside temperature, number of kids involved, likelihood of crying, opportunity cost, wind direction, the time value of money, movie rating, and chance of running into the Bishop. It was a hassle but I'm happy to share the Excel Spreadsheet with those interested.

Recap: December

A whirlwind tour of December . . .We put the kids to work clearing the snow.Toured the grounds and saw the lights at Temple Square.
Took the kids to see Santa with their cousins. Lily was terrified but was overheard saying it was "totally worth it" after getting the sucker.
Greg and I took all the kids sledding at Wasatch State Park. Greg was able to capture one of the few moments where Jack wasn't complaining about the sun being in his eyes. This also was one of the last rides taken on our trusty Torpedo, before it broke. That night Jack said "maybe us tell Santa to bring a new sled. That's an idea." We then called Santa (listed under Brian Cell in my phone if you need his number) to inform him of the idea. Santa didn't come through on Christmas with a new sled but Brian made up for it by making a sledding course at my parents house after Christmas.Christmas eve at Grandma and Grandpa McEuens. Her shirt says snow cute.One of the few photos in any month of all four of us.
Christmas morning. We spent the night at the Heber House so the kids could be with their cousins. I think we let them down the stairs sometime before 7:00 am.
Lily was by far the loudest entering the room with presents and I'm pretty sure she had no idea why she was excited. There was just so many people. Here they are waiting for their turns.
Jack with the Millenium Falcon. This was the toy Santa tweeted about and was way excited to give Jack but almost didn't because he wasn't sure Jack would fully appreciate it. Well in true Christmas miracle fashion Empire Strikes Back was on TNT Christmas Eve and I had Jack watch it for a minute. He was hooked, didn't want to stop watching. I knew he would love it and it has barely left his side in the three weeks since he got it.
What a little girl.
Christmas day we drove to Logan for the extended Emmett and Smith parties. We spent a couple days hanging out, hitting the movies (Sherlock Holmes), Brian and I went skiing. This photo has a couple interesting points. Notice the gang sign Jack is flashing. You might also notice Jack is dressed as a shepherd but has a thin halo in his hair. He decided he couldn't fully commit to being a shepherd or an Angel so he just picked the parts he liked best. The last couple years we started using a Nativity story that starts a couple years before Christ's birth with Samuel the Lamanite prophesying. My dad filled the role to acclaim.

Recap: November

Looking back at the 19 photos we took in the month of November was no help jogging my memory of what went on, especially since 6 of them were similar to this one. Made you look. I know that I turned one year older but couldn't for the life of me remember what we did. Then I looked in my BlackBerry and was reminded I spent it in Denver for a couple days work. But I didn't fly out until after taking the family out for a luxury breakfast with all foods starting with Mc. That night I did go out with some friends from work and they bought my dinner at one of those expensive and delicious restaurants that make you stop at Walgreens afterward for Peanut Butter Twix and E.L Fudge just so you can get full.

November also brings Thanksgiving which for the first time I think ever we spent in Logan with extended family. Which was great but at the same time depressing to be reminded my parents no longer live in California. The food was amazing and Beth and I somehow ended up sitting at the adult table and able to enjoy it. It was like everyone brought a dish and because they only had the one dish put all the love and magic into it and the end result was dozens of the very most magical dishes. Lily did come join us later as can be seen in one of the photos I stole off other blogs.


In other news these two really started becoming good friends. It has been so fun to watch them play and interact together. Lily has always loved her brother but just in the last couple months has Jack been excited to include her in all things he does. He has a ton of patience. Lily also hit 18 months meaning she could go to Nursery with Jack. The first week he just grabbed her hand and walked her in and started showing her the ropes. We were so proud. He still does the same thing every Sunday and also when they get dropped at the "kids" gym.

Lily FINALLY got more than just her four front teeth.She also FINALLY has just long enough hair to put in tails. She is such girl, loves when people take notice of her hair, shoes, or outfit.
Oh and of course the month couldn't have ended better than with a BYU overtime thrilla victory versus the Utes. Actually it could have been better if Max Hall would have just kept his trap shut and not ruined the taste of victory by running his mouth, oh well.