Walking on ICE

    This winter has been very dry. We haven't had much snowfall at all! It has been cold though, and cold enough that the lake behind my house is frozen about 4 inches to 6 inches thick! From my house on the shore, we can hear this deep moan. It sounds like a whale or an Alien ship from movies. It is the sound of the ice expanding and cracking from the lake. Since there is no snow, the ice is clear and smooth. My family has taken a few walks out on the ice. It is a spectacular experience! Especially when the ice cracks and moans right next to us!

Here we all are out laying on the ice!

It looks like pure glass..

The ice is so clear that along the shores you can see the plants, rocks, and fish swimming underneath! It is like looking through a window to the water!

 That plant is UNDERNEATH the ice!

    Our dog Gus, was terrified of walking across the ice. He would hear it crack and wouldn't follow after us but turn around and go farther out on the ice. Eventually we had to carry him back to the shore. Since then he won't step his paw on the ice anymore. Poor Pooch! Ha
    This is just another example of God's incredible creations. What a neat opportunity to encounter in our own backyard. I love when I drive down the free way and I see the billboard signs of a little boy holding a xbox controller and then in the picture on the side holding a turtle. The sign reads one word, "Unplug." I love that! I find it so important to unplug from all the technology around us and find moments like these to enjoy God's wonders and creations.

beautiful

Squinty eyes! It is SO bright when the sun reflects off the snow!

    The lake behind my parents' house never ceases to amaze me.. There is ALWAYS something to do or explore and I have to say that it is one of my favorite places to go to when I'm at my parents' house (side note-switching to calling the house I grew up in "my parents' house" has been really difficult for me. I love where I am from and so to not simply call it "my house" has actually been a tough change!).
   In the spring it is so nice to go down by the lake and watch the snow melt and trickle from all different areas into the lake. The water is usually at its highest point and it is absolutely stunning! It is very peaceful because there are no boaters or other people to interrupt the peace and beauty. In the summer there is kayaking, boating, spear fishing and swimming as well as sleeping out on the beach. It is equally as beautifully as spring since everything is so green. In the fall (which is always my favorite) the colors of the trees are reflected in the ripples of the last boaters of the season and the water begins to recede, exposing more beach as the water is released from the dam. It is fun to explore all the meadows and land that the water hides as well as play mud football or have camp fires on the beach. Winter brings her own kind of beauty to the lake. The water freezes to ice and on a clear crisp morning it is just breath taking.

View outside my bedroom window!

    We love to go sledding on the beach hills and sometimes snow mobile out on the lake, but my absolute favorite is when the ice is thick enough to walk out on. Every year God blesses us with new beauty on the ice. Two years ago we had a really neat experience walking on the ice HERE where it was cold enough for the water to freeze but we didn't have any snow so it left the ice clear so we could see beneath the water. This year it was these tiny crystal snow flowers that turned to powder to the touch. We had never seen these before.

It was fun to skate through the snow flowers because they would just puff up like powdered sugar!

I am so grateful that I get to experience such beauty in my own backyard!

Anna Soon to be Larson

Anna Kendell Larson

Ya that's right! This is my wife!

    So it's my turn to talk about Anna.... where to begin.  Anna is.... well... Anna is... indescribable!  She's amazing!  All the good things I could say about her would not be enough.

    Anna was born on September 16, 1991 to her parents Mark and Valerie Kendell. Her oldest sister Camille is married to Ben Garrison and they have a beautiful daughter named Claire. (She's pretty much Claire's favorite Aunt!) Then is Raquel who just graduated from WSU with Honors in Elementary Education. Then proceeds Anna and after her James who is a sophomore at Weber High and on the swim team there where he pretty much is the next Michael Phelps. Last but not least is the sports star Brooke, or Sasquatch is what the family calls her due to her huge feet and small and skinny body. Altogether they make up a pretty awesome family that I'm excited to join in on!

    Anyway, Anna is a sophomore at Utah State studying FCHD, don't ask me what that is.  She's incredibly smart, gotten straight A's her whole life, and continuing that tradition in college.  Anna is a what you call a talker, she could talk to anyone about anything for as long as you let her.  I learned that the first day I met her.  We were driving to Lava hot springs which was nearly a two hour drive, and I think she talked the entire drive (Well maybe I got in 4-5 words).  She's a lot like my mom in that regard, loves to talk to everyone.  That's one reason why everyone is drawn to Anna though... she'll talk to you and make you feel wonderful.  Anna loves to give compliments while she talks.  When we went to general conference together, that was a way for her to start conversations with people.  "I love your necklace, where did you get it?" she'd say and then five minutes later she's made a new friend.  Valerie, Anna's mom, told me she's always been like that.  If Anna ever got lost as a little girl, she could be found talking to some random person about anything and everything.

    Anna likes to do anything out of the ordinary.  She's loves everything from night hikes, to swimming in freezing bear lake, to dressing up as the abominable snowman and scaring her neighbors.  It's never dull with her.  If something not happening, she'll make it happen!  Initially that's why I asked her out for a second date.  I thought, any girl who will let me throw her into Bear Lake is worth asking out again.  Then for our second date, I took her Ice blocking.... I figured, if she enjoys ice blocking then I'll take her on a third date.  Well needless to say we've done lots of extraordinary things since then. 

    Anna likes to dance and sing.  In high school she was always in the school plays, dancing and singing.  Now, due to her chronic laryngitis, she is unable to sing as she used to.  It's no fun to see her unable to do what she loves.  But we make up for it... Anna and I go swing dancing nearly every week.  It's our thing!  She makes me feel masculine, because it's easy to lift such a thin girl!   She's a star on the dance floor as she spins, twirls and flips.  You'll have to watch us sometime!  The only problem is that she is accident prone.  She somehow manages to get hurt (don't worry I've never dropped her).  We'll be dancing, doing backflips, and everything's great!  Then when it's over as we're walking to the car, she'll slip on the ice. 

    Most importantly, Anna has a strong testimony of the Savior.  She'll jump at any opportunity to share it with others.  Anna will make sure I hold to the rod my whole life.  I'm blessed to have Anna in my life! 

 

Day 75! All About Anna!

Anna Larson.. *Cough *Cough I mean.. Kendell (Soon to be Larson)

Ya that's right! This is my future wife!

    So it's my turn to talk about Anna.... where to begin.  Anna is.... well... Anna is... indescribable!  She's amazing!  All the good things I could say about her would not be enough.

    Anna was born on September 16, 1991 to her parents Mark and Valerie Kendell. Her oldest sister Camille is married to Ben Garrison and they have a beautiful daughter named Claire. (She's pretty much Claire's favorite Aunt!) Then is Raquel who just graduated from WSU with Honors in Elementary Education. Then proceeds Anna and after her James who is a sophomore at Weber High and on the swim team there where he pretty much is the next Michael Phelps. Last but not least is the sports star Brooke, or Sasquatch is what the family calls her due to her huge feet and small and skinny body. Altogether they make up a pretty awesome family that I'm excited to join in on!

    Anyway, Anna is a sophomore at Utah State studying FCHD, don't ask me what that is.  She's incredibly smart, gotten straight A's her whole life, and continuing that tradition in college.  Anna is a what you call a talker, she could talk to anyone about anything for as long as you let her.  I learned that the first day I met her.  We were driving to Lava hot springs which was nearly a two hour drive, and I think she talked the entire drive (Well maybe I got in 4-5 words).  She's a lot like my mom in that regard, loves to talk to everyone.  That's one reason why everyone is drawn to Anna though... she'll talk to you and make you feel wonderful.  Anna loves to give compliments while she talks.  When we went to general conference together, that was a way for her to start conversations with people.  "I love your necklace, where did you get it?" she'd say and then five minutes later she's made a new friend.  Valerie, Anna's mom, told me she's always been like that.  If Anna ever got lost as a little girl, she could be found talking to some random person about anything and everything.

    Anna likes to do anything out of the ordinary.  She's loves everything from night hikes, to swimming in freezing bear lake, to dressing up as the abominable snowman and scaring her neighbors.  It's never dull with her.  If something not happening, she'll make it happen!  Initially that's why I asked her out for a second date.  I thought, any girl who will let me throw her into Bear Lake is worth asking out again.  Then for our second date, I took her Ice blocking.... I figured, if she enjoys ice blocking then I'll take her on a third date.  Well needless to say we've done lots of extraordinary things since then. 

    Anna likes to dance and sing.  In high school she was always in the school plays, dancing and singing.  Now, due to her chronic laryngitis, she is unable to sing as she used to.  It's no fun to see her unable to do what she loves.  But we make up for it... Anna and I go swing dancing nearly every week.  It's our thing!  She makes me feel masculine, because it's easy to lift such a thin girl!   She's a star on the dance floor as she spins, twirls and flips.  You'll have to watch us sometime!  The only problem is that she is accident prone.  She somehow manages to get hurt (don't worry I've never dropped her).  We'll be dancing, doing backflips, and everything's great!  Then when it's over as we're walking to the car, she'll slip on the ice. 

    Most importantly, Anna has a strong testimony of the Savior.  She'll jump at any opportunity to share it with others.  Anna will make sure I hold to the rod my whole life.  I'm blessed to have Anna in my life! 

 

Spring is here!

    The snow is melting, the ice cracking, the birds are flying back, and I'm already unpacking my flip flops! We took an afternoon walk to one of the forest preserves in Illinois-- Independence Grove. There are several large ponds here and one is solid ice while the other is filled with seagulls, swans and pelicans taking a bath. Ah it feels so great to have the sun out! Welcome Springtime!

Lydia at 5 Months

This girl.

She makes my heart happy.

Every new thing she discovers these days gets me so excited. I love seeing the world through her eyes. The wonder she feels when she hears something crinkly or touches something soft or squishy. I love watching her learn and use her 5 senses.

She loves to blow raspberries and will stick her tongue out and make the sounds all day long. Her shirt is usually soaked in slobber but she doesn't seem to mind it. If we blow some back she gets so excited and giggly and it will continue on in a little spit war. (I know, I'm teaching her great things) By the end of the day, I am usually covered in spit.

    Her toes are her next fascination. I could take a daily picture of her like this. Every time she is in her bumbo now she goes for that left foot. And when she is laying on her back, those toes are tangled in her fingers.
    I guess I caused the fascination just a little bit by painting her toenails. I couldn't help it. I needed a bit of sunshine from this crazy cold.

       And once.. this happened-- she grabbed my glasses and they fell right on her face. I died laughing and of course had to snap a picture.
     Valentine's day was special this year because I had 2 Valentines! It's nice to sit back and enjoy myself this year with my two loves-last year the morning sickness was hitting about this time and so I was looking forward to not feeling like I was floating through every day of nausea. Lydia and I gave Brian one of my favorite books, "Guess How Much I love You" that we found in a fun pop-up version. Brian likes to read it to Lydia at night and it's fun to see her focus on the pictures and pop-ups. I also gave Brian some ice skates so we can get out and about in this cold!

    I don't know if she is teething or not yet because she has always loved sucking on her fingers, but she certainly is chomping down hard on all her fingers-and ours! If we put our hands within reach, she will drag those babies into her mouth before we have time to react.

    The first thing people comment on are her large blue eyes. They are giant on her little face-especially when she is around other babies and I see normal-sized eyes, it makes me realize just how big hers are. But we love them. They are so expressive and bright. She has always seemed much more alert to me because of them.

    There have been a few times when she pulls her bow down and falls asleep this way. Baha.. It kills me. ha

And then of course.. I cut my hair-which has been nice due to her Lydia not pulling on it at all. And Brian tells me that I can just grow my hair back out along with Lydia growing hers. So it works! 

Lydia loves to look at the cat, though the cat would prefer to have nothing to do with her. As soon as the baby goes down to sleep-the cat comes out to get her "neglected" attention. Though every not and then she will come play which involves Brian letting Lydia "pet" (or grab handfuls of) Minnie's hair. Poor kitty. Don't worry, we give Minnie plenty of attention-just not as much as she used to get.

     She loves all foods so far, and she has tried a plethora of them. We let her sample whatever we are eating-whether it is turkey, salads, toast, or even ice cream. She gladly eats anything. I always thought I would be a stickler mom when it comes to food and feeding her solids. But we have really enjoyed feeding her and she still eats like a champ (minus thrush problems), so I'm not worried. I'm hoping it will help her not to be picky as she grows because she will have tried so many different things. I guess we will see.

        Thrush has been a battle. If you don't know what it is-it's a fungi infection in the mouth that looks like a bunch of white canker sores all over. It makes it super painful to eat and suck anything-from nursing to her binky. If it wasn't all over her mouth, it was on me and we played ping pong with it passing it back and forth all month until the doctor finally gave us stronger medicine. It is definitely clearing up now, but it hasn't been fun.
     Lydia didn't gain as much as she was supposed to this month (she dropped from 60% percentile to the 40% in one month) and so they want us to take her in bimonthly to see if she will gain any more weight once the thrush is gone.
    I can already tell a difference with the new medicine in her eating so that's excellent. She already seems much happier and is sleeping better through the night. (For a couple weeks she was getting up in the middle of the night twice to eat because she didn't seem to be getting as much during the day because it was painful to suck). But now, we see the light at the end of the tunnel!

     Everyone keeps telling us that she looks like a mini mama.. So to test that out, here is a pic of me at 5 months and one of her at 5 months. Obviously.. she didn't inherit my chubby cheeks.

     I am hoping this month doesn't fly by as fast as the last one-though if it means the sunshine will shine through and we can get out and about then maybe I'll allow her to be one month older-but only one. We love our moose!