Our Newest Little Ski Bunny

Spencer learned to ski this year, and absolutely had a blast. I never new it would be such a success. He has been with his grandpa Mark every time. He skis between his legs and is still working on just getting confident on the hill (which is obviously not going to be a problem). While we were up in Snowbird Spence woke up every morning and asked for grandpa, and wanted to put on his "big shoes" and "go keeing" as he so eloquently put it. His grandpa is his new favorite ski partner.

I am so EXCITED to get out on the hill!!!

Grandpa is teaching Spencer how to balance on skis. He told him to hold out his arms like an airplane

Spence couldn't figure out the lift at first. But he loved to laugh at the people falling on the hill. He would say, "Bawmpa, blue down!" when he saw someone in a blue coat fall, and then he would laugh hysterically. He got some great practice at his colors.

They went out on a really snowy day. We thought Spence would be intimidated by the snow, or get super cold. He loved the snow. He was bundled up like a little snow bunny and he loved that the snow covered his skis. What a trooper!!

Grandpa is having the time of his life

All tuckered out after a long day of skiing

Snowbird 2008

This year marked 20 years of the Reichman family Christmas Snowbird tradition (WOW...what a mouth full). It was a great Christmas vacation. We were able to see a lot of our extended family, including our cousins from Illinois who actually drove here this year. We played a lot, swam, skied, and most importantly lounged in our PJ's (except for Spencer who has decided that being naked is his new full time attire) and spent much needed quality time with the fam!!


Jake and Spencer enjoying the heated pooling in a huge snow storm

Seriously Spence....what the???

Mom and Spence

Yes.....that is my grandpa in a bunny suit! (There is actually quite a funny story that goes along with the outfit)

Spencer, Stella, Allie, and I tried to make a snowman out on the patio

Sadly, the snow was really hard to pack. So, it turned into a very cute snow blob!!

Warming up by the heater (Stella, Spencer, and Allie)

A Very Merry Christmas

All decked out in his new gear from "gwampa mawk" (translation: grandpa Mark)

Spencer's new Harley from grandpa....definitely the the biggest hit this Christmas.

Our little Batman....looking out over Gotham City

Our family up and dad's house on Christmas Eve
(L to R: Heather, Bryce, Heidi, Jake, Erika, Mark, Dawndi, Karly
In front: Megan and Spencer)

Spencer discovered a real love for ripping the wrapping paper off presents. He didn't even care what was in them!!

Zoe, as usual, enjoyed unwrapping her present!

Grandma Cathy brought back the 80's (and we all really enjoyed it), by giving Spence the Teddy Ruxpin

Jake's Christmas wish this year was a real, working wood burning fireplace. So...he got his wish. We hired a chimney sweep to come over and clean out the chimney, and discovered that it probably had not been used for about 45 years. We had to have the cap replaced on top of the chimney and a damper installed, so the fireplace can be closed off when it is not being used. It ended up being a lot larger project than we imagined, but it has payed off. We have used the fireplace quite a bit this winter, and it makes our little home pretty cozy. It looked really cute with all the Christmas decorations!!

Jensen Family Christmas Party

Jake's brother Jared with Ethan and Braden (in their new superhero jammies from grandma and grandpa). Spence got batman pj's. I don't know if you can tell in the background, but he is wearing them under his other pj's (Lightning McQueen) that he got form aunt Andrea. He was so excited about both that he put them both on!!

Zach and Shane with his new game he got in the white elephant. I don't know if you can see what it is...but for all of you who remember the game Girl Talk, you know he is in for hours of fun!!

Spence with grandpa Jensen

Every year on Christmas eve the whole Jensen family gets together to celebrate. Food, games, white elephant exchange, kids running wild. This year we had the party at our tiny little house and it was SO much fun. I think it was a huge success. I just hope everyone else felt the same. We had a big turkey dinner potluck. I cooked the turkey, and I was very proud of my cooking skills I must say. We soaked the turkey in brine over night, and it turned out soooo tasty!! If anyone is ever in need of great tips on cooking a thanksgiving meal www.foodnetwork.com is the place to go. It was great!! I was very amazed that we were able to fit about 30 people in our house successfully, and it didn't even seem too cramped. Jake decorated the outside of our house with icicle lights, and it was so cute. It looked just like a little gingerbread house. All of the kids got new jammies for Christmas. And we were blessed to have wonderful musical performances from Jake and our niece, Brittany (she composed and performed an amazing piano piece....so talented).

BYU vs. Utah

GO UTES!! Nothing Like a good rivalry game to divide a family!!

This just proves love is more than just a game!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE & SPENCER

The Birthday cake

The birthday boys

Grandpa got Spence some skis...watch out Snowbird here comes Spencer

Disney On Ice

I can't believe I have a big boy!! My baby is 2 years old and in only 5 months he is going to be a big brother and teaching his little brother the ropes!! Grandma took us all to Disney On Ice for Spencer's birthday. It was a blast!! Spencer was in heaven. I don't think he blinked the whole time. He pointed out all his favorite Disney characters in his cute little 2 year old voice - Nemo, Dori, Simba, Pumba, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck....and so many more. I can't believe how many words he can say. He LOVES to talk. We can't make him stop. The next day was Jake's birthday. We had a train cake ("Choo-choo's" are his favorite thing right now). Happy Birthday to my 2 favorite boys!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Super Spencer with Aunt Megan (Heather and Megan had the idea to put a large ziplock bag in his chest, that was filled with air - to make him look buff!!)

Spencer with the McIntosh's

Karly performing "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog"

So I am kind of a slacker. It has taken me a while to get my Halloween pictures uploaded. But better late than never right? We had such a fun Halloween. Heidi and Bryce were in town for the weekend and we went to lunch at Cuncun Cafe (our favorite). We also got to see Karly perform in her Halloween dance performance. She was brilliant as always. Spencer got to go trick-or-treating for the first time. He was kind of angry about the whole situation at first because we wouldn't let him eat the candy immediately. But after a while he figured out it was pretty fun to put the treats in his pumpkin bucket. He tried very hard to get a way with taking handfuls of candy!!

IT'S A BOY

SO....if anyone knows me well they know I am very impatient. So, if the opportunity arises that I can find out the sex of our baby I will do it as soon as possible. We went to Fetal Studios in Southtowne Mall last week and had an ultrasound done. I found out with Spencer that he was a boy at 15 weeks, so I kept the tradition. We love Fetal Studios. My friend Michelle introduced us to it when we were having Spence. The guy that works there is wonderful. He is an OB/GYN from Lithuania, and he is extremely knowledgeable. He did measurements, showed us the chambers of the heart and the lobes in the brain. Jake wasn't able to get off work in time for the appointment, so Michelle came with us. Spencer was soooo sweet. He sat next to me on the bed, and right when the picture of the baby came up on the monitor he looked at me and said, "Baby!" And he laid his head down on me the rest of the appointment, so interested in the whole thing. It was pretty apparent that he was a boy, he was not shy about showing off. We have our ultrasound at the hospital on November 20th, so we can get a little bit better picture when he is bigger. But this was definately fun to find out so early!!!

Congratulations Katie and Todd

Noah Nathaniel Leavitt

Welcome to our new nephew (and cousin) Noah!!! We are so excited you are part of our family!!

Day at the Zoo

Spencer was able to go to the zoo with his favorite neighbor friends, Leilani and Makaio. They were so awesome to let him tag along and he had an absolutely amazing time. They are so good to him. Thanks McIntosh family for a fun day!!!

BYU football game

Dave Neff took Jake and Spencer to the 1st BYU game of the season down at the LaVell Edwards stadium. Jake + BYU football + meeting players and hanging out down on the field = a major success. They got to meet coach LaVell and some of the former players and they were able to get down on the field during warm up before the game. They had a blast!!