Our Journey Through the Desert

Miracle of miracles, for the first time in two years (that's right, since before Stella was born), we took a May family vacation a couple of weeks ago. Having been a new hire at Utah County for six months and then a new hire at Salt Lake County for six months, Tad had not been able to take a single vacation day for a year -- until this month! It's hard to say who was most excited about our trip to St. George, Tad and Lisa or Emerson. Emerson was convinced that we were actually moving to his "grandma's condo in the desert" where he would see snakes, frogs, and lizards running wild everywhere. When he realized our relocation was not permanent, he melted down.
Inexplicably, both kids were absolute champs on the drive, a remarkable fact considering that a thirty-minute drive around town is often enough to get them whining in the car. They watched dvds, stared at countless cows in the rolling pastures on either side of the road, and invented a game in which they take turns patting each other's head and saying "guggie". And once we arrived, the good behavior continued. Stella and Emerson shared a room by choice and actually stayed in their beds, went to sleep easily, and didn't wake each other up. There is hope for an eventual permanent room share!
The only kink in our trip happened moments after our arrival when Lisa leaned down to plug in the kids' night light and smacked her head on the edge of a piano. She sent the kids into a panic when they saw the blood coming from her eyebrow. Luckily, Grandpa Baker had equipped the condo with a great first aid kit, including butterfly closures, enabling Lisa to avoid InstaCare.
Otherwise, this was our most wonderful trip to St. George ever. We swam at the splash pool (both kids discovered the virtues of weightlessness when one wears a life jacket), visited a dinosaur dig site, ate some great food, and hiked multiple times each day. In the final wildlife tally, we encountered three lizards, lots of cool birds, and a scorpion at a proximity far too intimate for Lisa's liking. As Emerson was reaching for a hand hold on some red, craggy rocks, the little scorpion shot out from the very rock he was grabbing and Tad pulled Emerson back just in time.
After a quick, uneventful drive home, we moved on to celebrating Easter. We took it fairly easy, letting the Easter Bunny do most of the work. He hid lots of candy-filled eggs for the kids in our front room and even stocked their baskets with back-up candies. And just as Tad and Lisa were certain that candy was the only significant aspect of Easter making any impression on the kids, Emerson proved them wrong. While substituting for a great class in the Primary on Easter Sunday, Lisa sat behind Emerson in sharing time. When the leader asked if Easter was about candy, Emerson shouted out "NO!" Then, when the leader asked what resurrection meant, Emerson's hand shot up and he replied, "when we die and come back to life again, like Jesus." It's great to know some things are sinking in.
And on that note, we just wanted all of you to know that we are truly grateful for the redeeming power of Christ's sacrifice for us, no matter who we are, where we are from, or what we suffer as long as we believe in him. Happy Easter to all of you!

Spring's Around the Corner

It appears we're finally leaving the deep depths of winter behind as it now rains rather than snows every couple of days. Emerson joyfully keeps track of all of the birds he hears and sees and each crocus peeking its head our from the muddy ground, squealing with delight that spring is on its way. Our back yard is finally emerging from its snow blanket for the first time in months. Unfortunately this means the projects we need to conquer this spring are also revealing themselves.
These past several weeks we've had a new little friend spend a couple of days with us each week. Olive is a few weeks younger than Stella, is the daughter of some close friends, is as cute as her name, and brings a lot of fun. Emerson and Stella ask each day if it's an "Olive day" or not. They think of her as another sister and virtually dissolve in tears each time she leaves.
Which brings us to another reason to dissolve in tears: Tad was called to the high council for our stake (major calling for a Mormon) this past Sunday. Actually, we're really excited about it. Tad will have the chance to share his superior speaking skills while serving Heavenly Father and helping people in our stake. The only down side is that Tad now will be in the ranks of the usually much older men in the church, the High Priests, and will therefore not be able to attend meetings with the men in his same life situation. But Grandpa Lynn, Tad's 97-year-old grandpa, is flying in from Portland area to officially ordain Tad to the position of High Priest, so there are definite perks already!
In news for the less squeamish, Stella decided that at age 20 months, she's done with diapers. She insisted on using the potty for the necessary bodily functions starting two weeks ago and has already transitioned over to underpants, all on her own terms. We're so proud of her and know that she sees it as another opportunity to be like her favorite person, her big brother. Who are we to complain? There are plenty of less than desirable behaviors that have already rubbed off on this younger sib, so we're delighted to have some positive behaviors passing on. In addition, Stella has decided that the usual vocabulary for a girl her age simply won't suffice and continues to speak with such clarity and grammatical completion that we find our mouths hanging open in amazement on a daily basis.
Now if you'd like to have your mouth hang open in awe of our boy's cuteness, we urge you to watch him on Fox 13 news. Follow this link to see Emerson explore the Utah Museum of Natural History with his preschool pals, Luke and Jacob:
http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/ContentDetail?contentid=5870564
Emerson's friend Luke's dad is a reporter for Fox 13, so he asked to use Emerson in a story about free/cheap places to take kids in Utah. It basically ended up being a feature on our boy, and you can click on the related links to see the other half of the story which also has some good Emerson (and a little Stella) clips.
We hope you all are well and wish you a happy spring!

Entering the Lap of Luxury

Well, if there was ever any doubt that Utah has real winters, skeptics only need check out this one to resolve their doubts. Today we're having the second snow storm of the week, with two more expected by Sunday. Now if this were an aberration this winter, we wouldn't have much to talk about. But it just so happens that the entire winter has been like this. This past Monday, for example, a storm blew in so quickly that there was sunshine one minute and fifteen minutes later tree branches were strewn on the ground on top of two inches of new snow. Of course Lisa happened to be on the way to the University to pick Emerson up from preschool at the time.

Which brings us to the next big piece of news (no, no new babies to report -- phew!). Last week we were able to replace our valiant, noble steed -- the 1997 Dodge Caravan which had served our family well until the last few months -- with a smokin' new ride. Now we realize that a 2003 Toyota Sienna minivan may not be what all of you lie awake at night fantasizing about (and at other points in our lives perhaps we wouldn't either), but Lisa truly dreamed of having this luxurious minivan. And now it's a reality! Please join us in welcoming "Dark Blue Rocket" (Emerson's official name for it) to the family. Lisa happened to be driving Dark Blue Rocket during the aforementioned snow storm and it performed like a champ!

And our final piece of what constitutes news in the depths of winter when children battle a seemingly never-ending series of colds and we consequently seldom leave the confines of our house: Tad grew a beard. No, not some pathetic attempt at a beard, an actual weeks-long successful man beard. In fact, it was a little too successful. Tad found himself stroking the beard constantly and loving it so much that he feared it might become his own "precious." He foresaw a life of church service that involved only scout master callings and he trembled with fear. So Tad's manly facial fur bit the dust earlier this month.

Wonderful White Christmas

This Christmas felt like a magical dream; a soft, powdery Utah snow fell on Christmas Eve, we had our first Christmas snuggled in our cozy home, and we were surrounded by loved ones and family.

Tad and Lisa were able to approach their Christmas preparations with muscles kneaded to supple, stress-free perfection after their anniversary celebration of a couple's massage. The Japanese spa was a perfect zen experience involving a steam room, a warming room, scented lotions, and some serious pampering. So Santa was especially jolly this year.

Of course the kids had weeks of Christmas preparation that we won't recount in too much detail. Suffice it to say that they made the cutest Family Home Evening Joseph and Mary (with Crosby playing a restless sheep/donkey) we've ever seen and they positively stuffed themselves with various treats dropped off by neighbors and loved ones.

The true festivities kicked off on Christmas Eve at Grandma May's house with a wonderful dinner and our traditional celebration. We read the special Christmas book that Tad and his siblings grew up reading each year, sang some Christmas carols, and opened one present each. Tad even got the fire going to bring the special warmth we so enjoyed.

Magically, Emerson and Stella somehow even avoided the usual Christmas morning overload grumpies. They both slept really late, waking so hungry that they actually enjoyed a big breakfast before tearing into the gifts. Emerson's first priority was opening Crosby's gifts. Over the weeks, Emerson had been closely monitoring the status of each family member's stocking and immediately noticed a giant bone Santa had brought in Crosby's. Grandma May joined us for the gluttonous gift-opening, a truly ridiculous bestowal of presents on two kids we can't help but spoil. Then we leisurely headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Baker's house for a delicious feast, some excellent visiting with family, and even more gift opening. In the final analysis, the toy tally was too great to recount in total, so we'll just mention a couple of highlights. Stella received the first "girl" toys in our house -- three baby dolls, a purse, and a grocery cart with groceries. Emerson raked in a lot of loot -- a roaring/walking dinosaur, two remote-controlled tarantulas, and a giant train set.

We thoroughly enjoyed all of the updates we received from our friends and loved ones over the holidays. So many of you are doing such amazing things and raising such beautiful families. We feel so blessed to know you and hope you have enjoyed the spirit of the Lord this season as we have.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

After a parched fall, we've really gotten pummeled with some great snow storms this December. It's crazy to shovel the walks at our own house and we're loving building snowmen and various nefarious snow creatures in our own back yard as Crosby, the ultimate snow dog, bounds like a deer through the snow drifts.
One of our favorite snow activities, however, has been taking Crosby to "Dog Mountain," Emerson and Stella's name for Tanner Park's off-leash area. It is truly magical to walk down a tunnel of snow-covered branches as our kids giggle in delight at Crosby and his canine friends bolting back and forth.
Another truly special event was bringing our first Christmas tree home to our own house. At the tree lot, Emerson was the consummate professional, critiquing and evaluating each specimen until we found the perfect tree. And amazingly, we actually got the perfect tree for once! It looks just beautiful, but it has also actually stayed alive really well. And, as you can see, the kids had a lot of fun decorating it (something they continue to re-do each day).
Tonight Tad and Lisa celebrate their seventh anniversary with what we're calling "Japanese Night." Lisa's parents are taking Emerson and Stella overnight (something the kids CAN'T WAIT for) while Tad and Lisa head out for some delectable delights at Kyoto Japanese restaurant. Then we'll engage in the truly indulgent as we partake in our first real massage, an HOUR-LONG couple's massage at Kura Door Japanese spa. It'll be interesting to see if we can really handle such pampering.
We hope all of you have a peaceful and beautiful Christmas with your loved ones!