Don't touch the tree...

We opened ornaments today - everyone was pretty excited for their own ornament.  Jacob got a basketball, Claire got a piano, Liam got a cozy coupe, and Kate got an Ariel ornament.

Once the ornaments were up, Kate and Liam spent lots of time examining the tree - often at a very close distance - all the while being reminded not to touch the tree.  Sometimes it took a lot of will power.  

Liam would fold his arms to help him.

Fortunately, we have a nativity that both Kate and Liam loved playing with.  They carried the pieces all over the house - the stable rarely actually had baby Jesus inside it.

Unfortunately, we have other things that Kate and Liam also thought were decorations they could play with!

Hilarious ... or frightening!

Just dance!

Sometimes, the entire family plays Just Dance together.  It is funny to watch Kate and Liam try to keep up!

New Beds!!!

After weeks of Kate and Liam getting out of bed dozens of times per night (often for 2 hours or more after we have put them in bed), we were finally able to go look at beds.  We decided that the new beds would wind up being the girls beds, so we decided to look at white. Fortunately, most stores that sell kids furniture have entertainment.

The new beds arrived on Tuesday.  Jared lugged the boxes up the stairs with the help of our neighbor (there was a 100 lb box and a 200 lb box!!!).  Dani was at orchestra, so the kids all decided to help and "help."

Claire and Jacob helped read stories to get them in their beds.

The first night, after Liam exited his bed over and over (just as he had with his crib), he wound up sleeping in a pack and play we set up in the middle of his room.  He didn't get out of it once we put him in it.  Of the first 6 nights in his new bed, 4 required a parent to stay next to him, and the other 2 have had him sleeping either in a crib or pack and play.  Hopefully we start to see some improvement.

Claire and Jacob got to have the new mattresses we bought (we moved their mattresses to Kate and Liam's beds), so they took advantage and swapped bunk beds!

Wisconsin trip

BYU played against Wisconsin this week, and I got to go with a few co-workers out to the game.  We visited NGL, who hosted us for the trip, on Friday, then experienced a University of Wisconsin gameday.  The night before, we went the the BYU fireside, where we enjoyed music by the offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, and running backs coach, Mark Atuaia, as well as messages by Bronson Kafusi and Bronco Mendenhall.  It was a great experience!

The next morning, I rented a bike to ride from to the capitol.  We stayed right outside of the stadium, right next to this bike rental station.  The bike rentals are cool - and free for the 30 minutes I rode!

I rode down to Lake Monona, past a bunch of people getting ready to tailgate for the next few hours before the game.

I met Matt Christensen and the group he came with at the capitol building and enjoyed some spicy cheese bread from the farmers market.

We made our way up State Street towards the Memorial Union on Wisconsin's campus.  It was a beautiful morning and lots of people were out and about.

I wound up back at the hotel with my co-workers and our hosts from NGL.  A bagpipe band, which we had seen an hour and a half earlier at State Street Brats, came in and played a few songs for their cause.

I saw Taylor and Hayley, and we enjoyed brats and cheese curds (again!).

Our seats were right on the 50 yard-line - awesome!  We were a tiny dot of blue in a sea of red.

Even though the game didn't quite end up like I would've liked, it was a great trip and a fantastic experience!

Bubble Bath!

Bubble baths are so much fun!!!