he is growing up so much...

Wow where have we been - busy, busy, busy. The last few months we have had so much going on at our house. We decided to finish our basement...well the one room that wasn't complete. That has taken up our lives for the last few months...more to come on that. Besides the basement project Jake has been busy with work and the Young Men. I have been busy with processing loans, working a couple nights at the pediatric office, my Relief Society calling, Enrichment activities, and keeping up with Walker. He is getting so big! He is talking so much and wants to be outside all the time. We are so lucky to live in such a great neighborhood where there are so many kids his age. He loves to play with his friends. My neighborhood does a playgroup every Wednesday and it is so much fun! I really love taking Walker out to fun places to explore and see his reaction. He is in Kindermusik and he loves it. He sings the songs all day and has me do the actions with him. Here are a few pictures of some recent activities.

Walker and Colter at the Dinosaur Museum. Walker loved it there...he couldn't get enough of the "sores" What a great place this is!

still at the museum...playing on the dinosaur scale

Walker and our neighbor Shiloh. He love Shiloh or as he says "shisho"

Walker and Carmen playing around. He loves her too - he calls her "carnen"

Playing at Disovery Gateway. That water table and the balls section are GREAT! i love that place! We went there with some friends and he loved it.

Go Jazz!!

My cute friend Lindsey, she is SO NICE! She knows me to well - she invited me to the Jazz vs Celtics game last week. OF COURSE I WILL GO:) I always get nervous when the Jazz play a really great team - it's either going to be a blow out and we lose or a really close game. Luckily for me - it was a close game WITH A WIN. Lindsey and I had such a great time. We both needed a GNO and this was the way to do it. Watching the Jazz, both in our jerseys, both enjoying Red Mango, and both drinking Diet Coke. We both left with scratchy throats but it was well worth it... And we made it on the jumbotron - twice! Thanks Lindsey. Lets do the GNO again:)

Ski Day!

We had an exciting day up at Alta Ski Resort last Saturday. My grandpa Jack, who was well known for his skiing abilities, passed away January 2008. On Saturday my dad and aunt Judy hosted the 1st Annual Memorial Ski Day at his favorite resort, Alta. Family flew in from out of state to ski and then enjoy dinner at my parents home. If there is one thing I remember most about Grandpa Jack, it was his skiing. He has skied his entire life. He was even skiing into his late 80's and early 90's. I had the opportunity to ski with him on the last day he skied (dr's orders) back in 2005. He was into ski jumping, racing, and when the 2002 Winter Olympics were here Sports Illustrated did a story on him. Also, when I was going to the "U" I had a film class and the teacher was doing a movie on Alf Engan (the guy who founded Alta) and he was telling us how he wanted to get in touch with old time skiers who had skied at Alta. He mentioned one day he was wanting to get in contact with Jack Walker - and I was like "hey that's my grandpa". So he was in a movie too!! It was so great to get everyone together to remember him for what he loved most. We decided to take Walker skiing for the first time, on Jake's back of course. (next year we will try the real thing). I didn't ski because I wasn't sure how Walker would do on the hill, so I waited in the lodge with my Mom, sisters and brother-in-law. Jake is a great skier, so he took Walker up to Supreme in a backpack. The day was cold, lite snow and a bit windy. Plus, Walker HATES wearing hats and gloves. So I was nervous he was going to get cold. The chairlift ride up Walker didn't like much, the wind was right in his face. But the ride down he kept saying "wee, wee." I was excited that he liked it.

In the end - he liked it. He just went once and then we played in the snow for a bit and walked around the Lodge while the others skied a few more runs. We had lunch and then Walker was ready for a nap. Overall, the whole family enjoyed the day of skiing and and it was great to remember my Grandpa. The dinner at my parents was great and it was really fun to see cousins we don't get to see everyday.Thanks Dad and Judy for putting this together - See ya next year!!

Jake and Walker. Walker couldn't wait to get that hat off.

Walker and I hanging out in the lodge. So cute in his bibs!

We will miss you Grandpa!

December...

wow we have had a busy December and into the New Year. I can't believe it is already more than half way through January. Where does the time go? Here is a little recap of December.

A week before Christmas my little sister went on a cruise with her husband and his work, so we were lucky enough to watch her little girl for a few days. Walker loved having her here - a constant friend! They are only 5 months apart so it is so fun to see them play together! Of course sharing was an issue at times, but other than that they had a ball. I came into the living room one day and this is what I found - them laying down watching Tigger and Pooh.

Also, the first few weeks of December I enrolled Walker in a parent taught swim class. He loved it! He learned to kick in the water, blow bubbles, jump off the side of the pool, and go under the water! The pictures I got are a little blurry...

Christmas was so much fun! I was excited to see Walker's reaction to Santa coming to our house. The entire month we were teaching him about Santa and he learned how to say "ho, ho, ho". It was hilarious. He woke up Christmas morning and when we came out to the living room he kinda stared at his toys and then said "ho, ho, ho" By mid day he finally understood opening presents and he was all over it! Santa brought him some great toys. Jake and I also received lots of great stuff! Thanks everyone. The next day when Walker woke up and I got him out of his crib the first thing he said was "ho, ho, ho" - I had to explain to him that Santa only comes once a year. Cute kid!

Christmas Eve at Grandma Mauss'. It's tradition - we enjoy a dinner up there and then a $10.00 gift exchange with all of Jake's cousins. So much fun! Walker loved the lion rug that Great Grandma Mauss gave him. For the first few days he would carry it around the house, say "roar", and then lay on it. Great gift!!

Walker Christmas morning. He was all over his train set and the piano. He didn't know which toy to play with first - so might as well do both! This is also him saying "ho, ho, ho"

Well, we hope everyone had a great Christmas and is enjoying the New Year! I still find myself thinking how crazy it is that 2009 is here. I hope this is going to be a great year and I am trying to stick to my New Year's resolutions (that's a whole other post - soon to come)

Merry Christmas!

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

"The Santa Visit"

Each year we get all the grandkids together on the Mauss side and visit Santa. Walker did really great last year - but he was only 6 months old - so I was a little bit nervous for this year. We have been talking about Santa and he even says "ho ho ho". Well from the picture below - we didn't do so well. When I set him on Santa's lap he was fine for a second, but once everyone was crying he lost it. But really - it's a classic picture. They will appreciate it when they get older:)

The older kids did great. Poor Luke really wanted off Santa's lap. I think we are going to take Walker and try again....

Family Pictures 2008

Thanks to our great friends Kim and Tim they have taken our family pictures for - what seems like forever! I really think like the last 5 years. They do such a great job!!! I keep telling them they should start a business and do pictures. They always know the perfect time to snap the picture. We went to Draper park and just took some quick pictures. Thanks again Kim and Tim you are the best!! If you need someone who can take great pictures or make cute Christmas cards - let me know and I can get you her email!!

TWILIGHT!!

Oh yeah! Twilight is finally out and I went and saw it Friday morning 12:10 am. I really liked the movie! It definatley lacked on the love story (which is why the book is so good)- but I was happy to see the movie! I wasn't so sure about Robert Pattinson playing the perfect man Edward but now I love him! Thanks to all the gals who came - and who wore the I Heart Edward shirts - keep them for the next one! Can't wait to see "New Moon"

Happy Halloween

Can you believe Halloween is already over?? I was excited this year to dress up Walker, especially now that he can walk! Before he was born I saw this cute chicken costume at Old Navy and I wanted to buy it. But I didn't. Luckily my sister-in-law Jill did! So I borrowed it from her. Walker looked so cute in it. It was so funny to watch him walk - he is still a little wobbley so it added that perfect touch to the costume. We did pictures with the Mauss grandkids at Enghs Gardens. Great place. Halloween day was crazy, but we went to Jake's work, with my older sister to trick-or-treat at Jordan School District (highly recommend- Great candy there), to my parents, to our neighbors for a great soup dinner, then finally out to do some trick-or-treating. Walker only lasted a few houses and he was done wearing his costume (can you blame him?) But it was fun. I love handing out candy and seeing all the creative costumes. Here are a few pictures:

This is the best picture I got of all the kids. How Cute!! Annie was Hannah Montana. I loved the wig. Jackson was the red powerranger, Walker the chicken, Bowen a dog, and Luke a monkey. Cute bunch of kids!

Just chillin in his chicken costume!

Going Domestic!

I had a great opportunity last week to can applesauce. I have never canned anything before so I was really looking forward to it. My cute neighbor, Tricia, has a red delicious apple tree in her front yard. So she provided the apples and jars and I provided the kitchen. We had such a great time. It took us from 9:30 to 4:00. We ended up getting 28 jars done. I really felt like a pioneer - canning my own food for my food storage! Walker loves applesauce so I am excited for him to eat it. It is all natural. She dosen't spray her tree for worms and we didn't add anything to the mixture. Thanks to Denise for coming upstairs and helping us. You saved us so much time!

Here is the process:

Cut up apples - we cut up two tubs of apples. You just cut them into quarters. You can even leave the core it will be discarded later.

Boil the apples - dump the cut up apples into a big pot and put it on the stove. You only want the water about 1/4 the way up the pot you don't want it to cover the apples. Cook the apples until they are soft to the touch - the softer the better.

Smash the apples- Tricia has this really cool masher. You put the apples in the top and shove them down with a mallet while the other person turns the handle. As you turn the handle the machine separates the core from the good stuff. and then you have applesauce!

Can the applesauce - make sure your cans are VERY clean. We even put them in the oven while we made the applesauce so they would stay warm and not collect any bacteria. Fill the jars, put them in the big pot - shut the lid - boil them for 20 minutes so they seal and WA LA - you have applesauce!!

Denise and Tricia cutting the apples. There were a ton of them! The first batch of apples waiting to get soft!

The finished product. Yummy! Can't wait to do it next year!!