Sundance Film Festival 2008

Ellen and I worked at Sundance again this year. Her friend has an empty house in Park City where we stayed for most of the time. Our friends Mike and Gina stayed with us and it was such a blast. We saw some great movies and heard some great music. We saw Ingrid Michaelson and AM (our new friend) at the Music Cafe. We also saw Patti Smith play at a party! Of course, lots of celebrities were wandering around. Addison was most impressed that I saw Alan Rickman (Snape), who really was pretty scary.


Stephanie, Ellen, Raven, Gina



Stephanie, Mary, Ellen, Gina



Tom Hanks

January Rain Storm

At the beginning of January, we had a week of really severe rainstorms. It knocked out power and closed schools. On the worst day of the storm, both Addison and I had our schools cancelled. Addison spent a lot of time playing Guitar Hero II (ok... so did I) and we spent the later afternoon reading. Tom gave Addison a headlamp which he kept on faithfully because the power kept flickering on and off.

Eric and Addison's Snow Day

Addison was so excited to be back in the snow and there was plenty of it. The only problem was that it was really powdery. The boys had big ideas about building a snowman, but couldn't get the snow to stick together. Instead, they tracked out a little city in the snow and labeled each of their buildings with green colored water from a squirt bottle.
Of course, no snow day would be complete without snow angels.

Christmas 2007

So, I'm finally posting my Christmas pictures. I was waiting for my new computer (which finally arrived, yeah!!) so that I didn't have to deal with my old one. We had a lot of fun in Utah. Believe it or not, I was actually happy to see the snow.

Addison made quite a haul this Christmas. Some of his favorites were Guitar Hero II, a Clue board game, a Queen CD, his Pirates bike helmet, his CamelBack, and a Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix video game.




Bears and kids in Christmas jammies!



Addison got a Mandala coloring book for Christmas that all of the kids went crazy for. They spent hours in the basement coloring during the Christmas break.



Tom gave Addison a CamelBack for Christmas. It came in handy - it can be hard to stay hydrated while watching cartoons.

Arizona's Temple Square

While we were in Arizona, we went to the Mesa Temple to see the lights. It was, believe it or not, cold that night, but it was pretty and lots of fun. It was really something different to see orange trees and palm trees decorated with Christmas lights.

Eric's Birthday Trip to Build a Bear

We acquired a new addition to our family while we were in Arizona. For Eric's birthday, he took his cousins to Build a Bear Workshop. It was Addison's first time. He chose a bear that he named Daniel (you know, after Daniel Laruso - the Karate Kid). He is Addison's constant companaion - after a few near losses. He has to sleep with him every night... Even when he is left over and Dean and Amy's and mom is too tired to go get him. Good thing Aunt Amy is nicer than mom and brought him over to Grandma's. Thanks Aunt Amy!

Addison watches his bear get stuffed.



Tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff...



The kids each got a beating heart to put inside their bear. They touched it to their head so it would always be smart, their heart so it would always feel loved, their tummy so it would never be hungry...



The bears got all dressed up for a night on the town.

Thanksgiving

Over the Thanksgiving break we went to Arizona. Dean and Amy and kids, Mom, and Linda and Brei were all there. It was great to see everyone and the kids had a blast playing together.

We got there a few days before everyone else so we were able to hog Charlie for a little while.




Addison and Eric are so excited to see each other!



Is there another bunch of kids as cute?



The kids all crashed on Jen's living room floor. I guess Addison just couldn't let go of Emma (notice his hand).

Kayaking November 2007

We tried kayaking for the first time in November. I was scared to death because my only experience rowing anything was when Jen and I were in some little boat stuck in some little body of water going around and around in circles because we couldn't figure out how to row. I was sure this was going to be worse - it's the ocean... there are waves. Thankfully, it was easier than I thought and it turned out to be a really fun day!

While Tom got the kayaks ready...


Addison played on a big pile of sand that had been made after they cleaned up the beach.




I was a in a single kayak and Addison and Tom were in a double kayak. Addison was a little nervous before we started, too. After Tom had pushed my kayak out to sea, Addison said to him, "What does horrified mean?" Tom explained the word. Addison said, "Right. I'm horrified about this." Once they got out on the water, though, Addison had a great time. We saw a sea otter and her pup. We saw about a hundred sea lions. And we paddled through hundreds of jellyfish.

Addison and Jaden

Addison has loved playing with his friend Jaden. I visit teach his mom, Cheryl, and it has been great getting to know them. Cheryl is great and Addison and Jaden have so much fun together. These pictures are of them at the skate park, skim boarding at the beach, and at My Museum. My Museum is a little children's museum. The kids put on plays (Addison is the bumblebee!), ran a pizza shop, and steered a big ship. We're still finding lots of fun things to do here and we're happy to have met good friends to do them with!