Starting in the end of March Natalie started trading kids once a week wither her sister in law. I am not sure it is a fair trade for Nat Bird but my Nat loves to have her nephew, Jack. He is cute and the girls love him. If for no other reason, she likes to have Jack because it keeps the girls occupied. He is like a new toy for them.

This is Natalie and Bret trying to tube down a hill. The snow wasn't great and they ate it pretty good and rolled half way down the hill.
This is us just hanging out in the cabin.
This is me and Nat on our own little hike. After the tubing we decided that we wanted to follow a road towards the top. This is is from near the top overlooking Fairview, we think.
This is me on the hike in. Bret brought his 4 wheeler up to shuttle in the food and equipment. Since there wasn't room for the snowshoes I decided I would carry them until he came back and got the rest of the stuff. One problem, as you can see the weather was quite nice and Bret got stuck in the snow and just about completely buried the 4 wheeler. By the time we got up there, there was a hole about 5' deep and 6' in circumference. We helped him finally get out of the hole and as he was backing up he got stuck again so we had to do it all again. It was fun though.
This is Nat on the road up. Isn't she just dead sexy? I think so.

Later in March we went with some friends of ours snowshoeing. The problem is that for most of the hike in there wasn't much snow. We had a lot of fun though. When we got to the top where the cabin was there was enough snow to hike in and tube in. We spent the next two days playing nerts, scum, and eating a ton of junk food and watching movies. All this without any kids. It was great.

In March we had our full family b-day. We have 5 b-day' in my family alone so instead of celebrating them individually we just have one big party.

In February Natalie's Grandma died. It was a sad occasion for all but it was nice to be able to see so many of her family. There were also a ton of people who showed up to show their love and support for her and the fam. It was great to see all the people who's lives she was able to touch. She will be missed. On a lighter note, every time we talk about something sad or are upset about anything Maile picks up on it and always lowers her head and frowns like she is about to cry and says "Grandma Bean died." I guess that is the only reference she has for real sadness. She still says it. In fact she said it today.

It is about time!!

Apparently our blog has not been updated in the last 8 months or so. I guess Nat has really dropped the ball on that one so I guess I have to update you all on the happenings around here. so here goes, the last 8 months.

In December we bought a house in the ward just a few blocks from our old house. That is the main reason we haven't updated for so long and then we just got out of the habit. We closed on the 23rd and were able to work on it for the next 6 weeks before we had to move in. It was a lot of work but it was well worth the effort.This is what the basement looked like when we bought the house. Don't you just love the school floor and golden wallpaper? It looks a lot better now. This is actually the first room we finished. It was just the easiest one to finish. Yes, this picture below is the same room

We spent a few days just scraping off all the wallpaper throughout the whole house Luckily for me, Nat did most of the scraping. I was spending all my time patching, prepping, and installing crown, base and chair rail. Like I said it was a lot of work. This picture is the dining room. It is not real big but it is nice now as you can see in the next picture
This is the kitchen. Nat had Melinda come over and show her how to distress the cabinets. Nat's dad made fun of her for it. He asked her why she would take the time to paint them and then take the paint off. He is a painter. The picture below is the new and improved kitchen.This is the easiest part of the refinishing process. We wanted the floor to be a little bit darker than it was so I spent a few hours staining it, (after I spent about 9 hours sanding the whole thing, all the rooms upstairs are hardwood). They turned out okay. Nat insists that they look great but al I see are the flaws. I guess that is the fault of being the one who did it. Nat says that I am over critical.

This is our master bedroom. It is kind of tight with the log bed but it still looks nice and is a good place to get away from everything.

That is our new home and the reason that we stopped blogging. This just consumed all our time for a while.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas From:

Since I don't plan ahead well and I likely will not get a Christmas card out to everyone, I want to use this blog to wish everyone a very happy holiday. We have been so blessed this year and we are grateful for all we have been given. I know it has been a tough year in some respects, but we recognize the importance of counting our blessings. And that includes many of you, our friends and family.

So may this Christmas be the best yet. We love you all!

David, Natalie, Darci and Maile

Halloween Fun

Sometimes Halloween is actually a scary thing, as I am about to prove in this post. We celebrated this year with an adult only party at the Bagley's house. We had a great time and thanks to everyone who helped out and also everyone who came and had a great time! Here are a few highlights.

Lots of atmosphere. That is what we went for. I think we did a pretty good job. Thanks to Heather for all the props and to Lane and Katie for letting us use their home. You guys are the best!
The Christensen's totally rocked the party. Thanks for coming you guys.

Lots of scary people getting their groove on. Bet you can't tell which one is me?

Noreen and Alan's costumes rocked.

So did the Bushmans. FUNNY.

Can't forget the Millers. (I don't think I could forget Austin's get-up if I wanted to).

Shanna and Patti were cute as Sarah Palin.

Justin was a little less cute as John McCain. But Shanna makes up for it.

And in case it is not totally obvious who David and I are supposed to be I will fill you in. I am attempting to channel my inner Cher, and David has become one with the Cowbell!

I think Ben had the greatest costume of the night. Sometimes the ones with the least effort are by far the best! Nice job you guys.

And here is a shout-out to our hosts of the night Elton John and Madonna. Way to go! Thanks for the fun night. I think this is definitely going to have to be a tradition.

Here is one more shot of me and David without the fog machine blurring it up.

"Guess what?! I've got a fever! And the only prescription, is more COWBELL!"