Then came the snow...

She cried the whole way down. That's ok though, I figured she was 3 and needed to experience sledding just once. We'll try again next year

After our warm temperatures and severe thunderstorms, we were shocked to wake up to 5 inches of snow on the 5th. Funny enough, they cancel school when a couple snowflakes fall but not several inches. So we kissed Keith goodbye, and the girls and I headed out with some friends to sled down our hill out back and then joined them for Hot Chocolate afterward. It was such a fun day and I'm glad we had one good snowstorm this year!

First came the Tornadoes...

On Friday the 2nd, there was an outbreak of Torndaoes across the country with the worst hitting just 20 miles North of us. Schools were released and while I was glad to have Keith home, we spent the time glued to the news watching as the most severe parts of the storm moved right toward us. My stomach was in knots all afternoon as we debated whether to seek shelter in someone's basement. Looking back, we really should have, but we've had plenty of tornado warnings the last 3 years, and never experienced anything bad. We were so extremely lucky as the storm decided to move North of Louisville. It is horrifying to see the damage and hear the reports of the deaths in Henryville and Marysville, Indiana and our prayers and thoughts remain with them. I read an article on Yahoo that said  there were 140 reported twisters, 76 confirmed landings and 39 deaths that day. To see some of the video, check out these links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvDdHajEPS0&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkTTlw86Yqw&feature=relmfu

And this story about a mother who lost her legs protecting her children made me cry.

Splish Splash

It started with a little boy throwing his ball in the puddle and then daring Mackenzie to get it. After a few moments of giggling and dipping toes in the water, a full sand slinging/splash party was underway.

Mackenzie in February

Still sportin' the Princess dresses everywhere

Flat Stanley came for a visit

Still a great big sister most of the time. She asked to hold her here and Clara loved it

Clara in February

She hates tummy time and will still only roll from her back to her stomach.

She started sitting up on her own right about the 5 month mark. I love this milestone because she can play more easily with Kenz

She was a little cheerleader at daddy's basketball game

January

In January....

A princess dress had to be worn EVERY day

Clara started enjoying her jumper

We did all 8 of these puzzles over and over and over...

Clara got some use out of her swing

Kenz let me give her princess braids

I finally took a picture of the chairs I covered 8 months ago

Kenz enjoyed playing the piano and we got a hymn book

She fell in love with Angelina Ballerina and loved to dress up like one

We had a pillow fight, built a fort and stayed up late to eat popcorn, chocolate covered raisins and watch American Idol while Keith studied

Clara started enjoying the Bumbo chair and Kenz enjoyed accessorizing her

Keith continued to put in long hours studying but still found time to play with the girls

Christmas: Week Three

While in Idaho, we had to stop by BYU-I and check out the updates.

We also stopped by the Fennel's. I wish we lived by them! Kaylee and Kenzie are just a week apart and played so well together. Kaylee is the sweetest girl and was so willing to share her new toys

I had to go back on Meagan's blog to find this picture of Kenzie (left) and Kaylee when they were just a few months old.

We bribed them with a movie so we could play a few rounds of dominoes like old times.

We spent a night at Kirk and Joy's and I peeked in on the girls and saw Sophie doing Kenzie's hair. She doesn't let anyone touch her hair so I thought it was really sweet.

We snuggled a lot in Grandma Lovell's old bedroom

 We threw a surprise party for Keith's mom while we were still in Utah. It was a day early so I think she was genuinely surprised. The kids couldn't wait for Grandma to show up

Surprise!

Keith flew home a day before me so I was really anxious about flying home by myself. Kenzie was having a really hard time going to the bathroom (because they scared her) on the trip out so I didn't know what I was going to do with a tantruming toddler and a baby on my hip. Joan walked through security with me in SLC and took Kenzie potty so that flight went great except for Clara's half hour crying spurt. When we got to the Denver airport for our layover, I happened to see an old friend from High School who was on my flight to Louisville to interview for PT school. He was gracious enough to hold Clara for me so I could take multiple bathroom trips with Kenzie until she would go. Talk about tender mercies, he made the 2 hours go by fast as we caught up and talked about old friends and families. 

In the end, we made it home safe and were glad to be back in our own beds. We had a great trip and have really felt the loss of having the constant companionship of family members. Hopefully, we will end up out West so we can be closer to our families!