I've Been Tagged

While I love blogging about my kids or our travels, I am not very fond of writing about myself. I have been tagged a couple times, and I enjoy reading these on other peoples blogs, so I guess I will comply . They way you play is to answer the following 10 questions and then tag 4 others to do the same....

1. Best thing you cooked last week? Well, this answer is a little embarrassing...I didn't cook anything last week (besides Mac and Cheese for the kids). We have been staying with Bret's parents so we have been eating Grandma Nicholson's yummy cooking and eating out a lot. We are enjoying eating at our favorite restaurants that we missed while we were gone. The best thing I ate last week was Mexican Food at La Cocina.

2. If money, time and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with whom? This is a hard question, because there are so many places I would love to see. But I have to choose one vacation, I would go with Bret on a Cruise to the Greek Isles.

3. When was the last time you cried? I cried a little when I found out that President Hinckley had passed away. I am very happy for him, but it came as a shock, and I will miss hearing him speak.

4. Five things you were doing 10 years ago: I was attending Southern Utah University, living with my sister Heather and my best friend Joni, working for the SUU post office, having study groups and Denny's, and making the decision to go on a mission.

5. Five things you were doing 5 years ago: I was living in Provo, working on fixing up our house, working for the Department of Workforce Services, anxiously awaiting the birth of our first child in March and serving in the primary presidency in our ward.

6. Five things you were doing 1 year ago: 1 year ago I was adjusting to life in France, having fun being a stay at home Mom to my 2 kids, traveling as much as possible, meeting lots of new people and serving as a primary teacher to the Sunbeam/CTR 5 class.

7. Seven of your favorite hobbies: I love digital scrapbooking and, almost as much as that, I love searching the web for free digital scrapbooking supplies. I love to read books to myself and I also love to read to my kids. I really enjoy playing board games or cards. I enjoy blogging and reading other peoples blogs. A few years ago Bret and I got certified in SCUBA Diving and that was a lot of fun. I think now that we are going to live near the Bonneville Seabase, we will start diving again and try to get some advanced certifications.

8. Five favorite foods: Raclette (a swiss cheese and potatoes meal that is super yummy), Tacos, enchiladas, Cafe Rio tostada salad (any Mexican food really but those are my favorites), and last but not least, Bret makes this wonderful Thai soup that is so good.

9. Five places you've been: We were able to travel and see a lot in Europe. For obvious reasons Switzerland is by far my favorite country in Europe, the swiss alps are beautiful, and my favorite place to visit is Chillon Castle. France is my second favorite country, then Germany, then Italy and every city we went to on the Mediterranean.

10. Five Favorite Memories: My mission, my wedding day and honeymoon, birth of Max and Maddie, living in France.

People I am tagging: Bret, Angela, Jodi, Kim

Snow Fun

We have been getting so a lot of snow in Utah this month. We finally got Max his own snow suit so he doesn't have to wear a pink one anymore . Grandma and Grandpa Nicholson have a big backyard with a lot of snow. With that much snow Bret figured they could make a huge snow cave. Max got really excited about making something out of snow. But instead of a cave he wanted to make a snow castle. Here is a before picture of the backyard. Max was the first to go out, the snow was so deep he could barely walk in it.


They started piling up snow into a big pile and Max decided that he wanted to get buried in the snow.


Maddie was having so much fun watching them from the upstairs window.


The castle is still a work in progress. They have a huge mound they Bret has been having the kids play on to pack it down before they dig out the tunnels.

New Job!

It's official. Bret accepted a position as a mechanical engineer for GE Healthcare in Salt Lake City. He is very excited to be able to work for such a great company. Now comes the house hunting, yeah! We are so pleased to be able to in Utah so close to most of our family and many of our friends.

Coming Home

I am finally getting back to our blog. I thought I would update you on what we have been up to this past month. In the middle of December we had to pack our bags, say good bye to our friends and close out our lives in France. It was a very hectic few days as we prepared to leave. We already miss the wonderful Metz ward and the many members we grew close to during our time there. We were also very sad to leave Vaux, we had wonderful friends and neighbors. Max really misses school and talks about his "school friends" often. On Dec 17th we flew to Utah. As you can see, it was an exhausting trip .


Since we have been home we have been going back and forth spending time with family and friends. It has been so good to see everyone again. Max is loving all these cousins he has to play with. We spent Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Nicholson's House.


I think Max had just as much fun passing out presents as he did opening them.


Maddie's favorite part of Christmas was the candy .


Max's favorite present was his Cars Leapster game.


After Christmas we spent some time in Manti. It snowed a lot and Max was having a blast playing in it. Uncle Andy and Uncle James took Max and his cousin Gracie sledding, they pull them around on sleds hooked to the back of the 4 wheeler. Max loved it! Disclaimer: Because we have not been around snow for 2 years Max had no snow clothes so he borrowed some from his cousins, that is why he is dressed in pink.



Last Monday night we went swimming with my sister Heather and her family. It was fun to see how good Max has gotten at swimming. It was Maddie's first time in a pool and she liked it but it was a bit too cold for her.



Here are some other pictures we took in Manti:
This is a picture of our new car, it works really good in the snow and we have had a lot of snow here in Utah!


This is a picture of the Manti temple during one of the snow storms.


Maddie and her cute cousin Rosie.