The Webb Family

9 Years Old!

2012-01-24T21:19:00.013-07:00

Our little girl turned 9 this week! It is hard to believe she is getting so old.

We love having her in our family.

Hannah made up a game- Pin the Wings on the Fairy.

She made lots of wings so each kid could have a few turns.

Hannah loved having her family there to celebrate!

Hannah wanted a Pixie Hollow cake.

She and I put our heads together and this is what we came up with.

Happy birthday Hannah girl!

Eli Beat Mario Galaxy 2

2012-01-12T10:09:00.003-07:00

Eli got Mario Galaxy 2 for Christmas and last Saturday he beat it. Less than 2 weeks after Christmas! Granted he got a lot of playing time the week after Christmas because he was sick, but still... this guy is amazing :)

Is it Spring Yet?

2012-01-08T22:02:00.004-07:00

The kids got a trampoline for Christmas. We told them that we would set it up in the spring because there is too much snow in the winter. Well, it's been an incredibly mild winter (thus far) so we decided to enjoy the weather and set it up.

I guess if it snows next week you'll know who to blame!

Christmas is finally here!!!

2011-12-29T19:52:00.014-07:00

The kids were excited to leave cookies and milk for Santa.

Christmas morning finally came. Since it was on Sunday this year, and we have church at 9:30, we told the kids we would open stockings before church, and then open presents after church. The kids did really well with this plan (I was a little concerned). They opened stockings and played with the big toys that Santa left unwrapped. Then they ate the little boxes of cereal from their stockings and got ready for church (in their new clothes from Santa).

Jonas got his two lawn mowers that he had been dreaming about for the past two months.

Hannah got her vanity. We took it upstairs the day after Christmas and it looks really cute.

Brady wanted to try out all of the kids new stuff too :)

One of our family Christmas traditions is to wear our jammies all day long. This year was a little different, so we told the kids they could change back into their pajamas after church if they wanted. First I grabbed a few pictures in their Christmas Sunday clothes. Everyone changed back except for Eli.

Here's Eli with the Kiddie Zoom camera he wanted.

It even has video and lots of games to play.

The kids had fun putting on shows throughout the day.

More Christmas Miscellaneous

2011-12-29T17:34:00.021-07:00

Everyone was excited to get the Christmas decorations out.

I guess Eli was especially excited to unpack this elf he made last year :)

Jonas found a new home for his puppies.

It was Hannah's turn to put the star on the tree.

The kids painted wreaths to hang around the house.

We got to meet Cameron finally! He is too adorable for words.

We love when Luke and Ashley and their kids come to stay.

The kids have a ball just playing together.

Carlie and Conner came to stay with us for a few days.

We had so much fun with them.

My heart melted every time Conner called me Bebee.

It snowed while they were here, so we ventured outside.

Carlie has extremely good aim for a four year old.

We did a little nativity play for family home evening one week.

Hannah was Mary (she is riding a donkey in this picture), Eli was Joseph,

Jonas was an angry shepherd (his interpretation),

Brady was a wise man, and I was an angel.

I like to have the kids use their leftover Halloween candy to make gingerbread houses.

It's a win-win situation. I was impressed with the kids' use of imagination

in constructing and decorating their houses this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Grandma Skidmore Christmas Party

2011-12-29T17:17:00.011-07:00

We look forward to Grandma Skidmore's Christmas party each year. There's always lots of good food, family, and fun. We had a blast. The kids love the piñata (grandma is a pro at filling a piñata!) The kids talk about the party for weeks before and after.

Happy Anniversary

2011-12-29T16:51:00.006-07:00

Brady and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this month. It's hard to believe it has been that long, and then it's hard to remember not being together. I couldn't be happier :)

Family Christmas Party in SLC

2011-12-29T14:33:00.024-07:00

We went to Salt Lake the first weekend of December for a Webb family party. We left Friday morning and went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway when we got there.

Jonas loves anything with construction, so he loved this display.

We went to see the lights at temple square on Friday night. They were so beautiful, as always, but we were cold, so we didn't stay long.

On Saturday, our family went downtown. We got to ride TRAX, which was one of the main purposes of going downtown. The kids loved it.

We went to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building while we were there.

We saw an amazing art exhibit there focusing on Christ.

On Saturday night, we had the family Christmas party.

The cousins were singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town in this picture.

Grandma Lori brought Minute to Win It games for everyone to play. Here are Hannah and Brooklyn pushing balloons with their noses.

Here's Jonas with his buddy Kyle.

Jonas is wearing the glasses that came with the present that he got from his cousin.

Grandma gave all of the kids pajamas for Christmas.

On Sunday morning, we went to see Music and the Spoken Word at the conference center. Hannah is old enough to come now. It was amazing.

Eli played one of the Minute to Win It games. He was supposed to shake the little balloons out of the tissue box that was taped to his back. He's got some great moves, so we knew he would do well.

Festival of Trees

2011-12-29T14:05:00.005-07:00

We love the festival of trees. Hannah's dance class performs there each year. It's fun that her cousin Malory is in her class this year and we can watch them both perform. It seems like it kicks off the Christmas season. There are beautiful Christmas trees to look at, and it's the first time that the kids see Santa. Hannah asked him to bring her a vanity, Jonas asked for two lawn mowers, and Eli asked for a kiddie zoom camera.

(Eli is still a little scraped up from when he fell at school

running for the bus.)

YMCA Basketball for Eli

2011-12-29T13:43:00.006-07:00

Eli participated in basketball at the YMCA this fall. There were seven boys on his team. His coach was Lonnie Pyper (he used to be Brady's neighbor when they were boys).

When I asked Eli what he liked about playing basketball he said:

"It was fun when I got the shots. I liked the passing. And I liked it when grandma watched. And I did like practicing at the very beginning and shooting baskets without anyone guarding."

Here's an action shot of Eli. He was one of the best dribblers on the team.

Veteran's Day

2011-12-29T13:27:00.005-07:00

Brady had Veteran's Day off. The weather was beautiful in Idaho Falls that day, so he decided to put up the outside Christmas lights. I was happy that there was no snow on the roof. Eli decided that he wanted to go up on the roof too. I'm sure Brady will have the kids helping with the lights in a few years.

Halloween

2011-12-28T20:31:00.013-07:00

Halloween is always a busy time of year. First we had our ward Halloween party (about 10 days before Halloween). There was a dinner and then trunk or treat after. Hannah and Eli both had Halloween parties at school that they got to dress up for. Hannah and Jonas both had parties in their Dance Tech classes. And then, of course, we went trick or treating on Halloween night.

Hannah dressed up as Princess Daisy, Eli was Mario, and Jonas was a fireman.

Eli saved his Mario mustache for Halloween night and then decided that he did not like it, so we penciled one on.

Here are some super cute trick or treaters that came to our house.

(Malory, Gavin, and Cooper- for those of you who can't recognize them.)

After trick or treating, we went to a super awesome Halloween House. Their decorations were amazing. They had a ring toss game where people could win prizes and a snack shack with free popcorn.

Who knew that a holiday that used to be just one evening a year could be celebrated for 10 days? We survived this year, can't wait to see what next year brings.

Las Vegas Baby

2011-12-28T20:16:00.005-07:00

My good friend Monica, from college, got married in Las Vegas in October. We decided that we should go. Unfortunately, we didn't decide when the flights were reasonably priced, so we drove down. We got to attend the sealing in the temple, then the reception that night. Monica looked beautiful and so happy. I am glad that we were able to be there. We also got to see another one of my college roommates, Terrie, and her husband Jerome. We spent the day with them on Saturday. A highlight was a delicious buffet at Caesar's Palace.

The weekend was not all sunshine and happiness, though. Our car stayed in Vegas and we brought a new one home. Usually buying a new car is a happy occasion, but when unplanned, it's not as exciting. (Side note: now that it is December, we are used to the idea of a new car and are enjoying it more.)

State Fair and Spud Days

2011-12-28T18:11:00.010-07:00

We went to the fair in Blackfoot again. I think the kids are starting to anticipate it each year now. We happened to be going the same time as Jarvis and Miranda's family, so we met up with them for a while. The kids had a lot of fun seeing the animals and going on rides with their cousins.

Yummy tiger's ear! Love it.

I was surprised Jonas wanted to try the roller coaster. He had a blast... so did Hannah, Eli, Malory, Gavin and the dads.

Here's a cute picture of Malory and Hannah. (Gavin and Jonas are riding in the back.)

We went to Spud Days in Shelley for the first time this year. It was okay. There were a ton of people and everything seemed overpriced (except for the free potatoes that we almost missed).

Here are Hannah and Eli sliding down an enormous slide.

Back to School

2011-12-28T16:45:00.012-07:00

Summer is gone :( The kids were excited to start school and meet their new teachers. Hannah is in the third grade in Miss Willison's class. She is a new (young) teacher and seems very excited to be teaching.

Her classroom is in a trailer. It is right above her head in this picture.

Eli started kindergarten this year. His teacher is Mrs Dompier. On the first day of school, Mommy went with him and did a scavenger hunt around the school and his classroom to familiarize him with his new surroundings. It didn't feel like school to him, so the second day was more exciting.

The kids have been looking forward to riding the bus together for a long time. I was a little nervous, but everything worked out fine. Hannah made sure Eli was able to find his class line when they got to school.

Jonas started school this year too. Some moms in our neighborhood are combining efforts to provide a preschool for our 3 to 4 year olds. There are seven kids, so I don't have to teach very often. It's nice to have a few hours to run errands.

More Summer Fun

2011-12-28T13:44:00.019-07:00

We love summer! We had a great one this year. We had tons of fun with company and also had some adventures on our own. Here are some more of our summer activities (in no particular order)....

Hannah enjoyed attending princess dance camp at Dance Tech Academy again this year. She loved having her cousin Malory in her class. On the last day the girls danced for the parents and then were presented to the audience. Eli was her escort and did a great job.

We went to the fire station with the cub scouts.

(I was the Wolf den mother.)

Brady and I got to slip away to Salt Lake for a long weekend.

We enjoyed doing a session in the temple and remembering the day we were married there.

The kids had fun playing together.

Can you guess who is buried here?

We had fun visiting the zoo.

The kids enjoyed feeding the ducks and swans.

We went down to the river for the duck race for the first time this year.

Unfortunately, our duck did not win- so no new car for us...

there's always next year.

We went down to the river for the Roaring Youth Jam

and the kids got to do TONS of art projects.

In the picture below you can see the huge xylophone they had set up.

The kids could paint it and also play it.

The kids enjoyed participating in the library's summer reading program.

They were motivated to read by the prizes the library offered.

They got to attend a party too. Pirate themed, obviously :)

And last, but not least, here's Jonas helping daddy mow the lawn.

(One of his favorite summer activities!)

Summer Company

2011-12-28T12:16:00.007-07:00

Amy, Hannah, and baby Mary

Our kids with their cousins Isabelle and Wendell

Our kids with their buddies Abbey, Luke, and Lea Risenmay

Us with Jeff and Alison Risenmay

We love having people come visit us during the summer. This year, we had my sister Michelle and her family, my brother David and his family, my sister Amy and her family, Brady's brother Luke and his family, and our good friends the Risenmays. I don't have good pictures of everyone to post, but we do have good memories of playing in the backyard, going to the river to feed the ducks and listen to music, swimming at the aquatic center, and going to Rigby Lake.

Princess Vicki got married!

2011-12-27T17:43:00.004-07:00

Our sweet Vicki got married to her longtime sweetheart, Kyle, in July. We are so happy for them. Kyle is one lucky guy. We are excited for them as they start their new lives together.

All of her brothers adore her. (Kyle apparently passed the brothers' test.)

The whole family was able to be there to support the new couple.

Shipp Family Reunion 2011

2011-12-27T17:20:00.006-07:00

The Shipp side of our family got together in southern Utah for a family reunion in July. All of my siblings and their families were there except for Amy's family.

We spent a lot of time hiking and exploring the beautiful surroundings. We also enjoyed swimming at the condo. There weren't a lot of other families there, so we usually had the pool all to ourselves.

Each night we had a family devotional and spent time playing games, sharing talents, doing silly skits, and just being together. The cousins did secret gifts for their assigned cousin. They loved being sneaky. At the end of our stay, they revealed who they had. We are already looking forward to another reunion next summer!

Forth of July 2011

2011-12-27T16:52:00.008-07:00

Idaho Falls knows how to celebrate the Forth of July!

In the morning we go to a parade. The kids love it and they collect lots of candy.

We got a great spot for watching the fireworks. We love listening to the program that is played along with the show. Great words of inspiration and patriotic music.

We can't imagine celebrating the 4th anywhere else. We love it here!

Jonas is the big 3

2011-12-26T21:43:00.008-07:00

Here's the birthday boy! He started the party in clothes, but after getting two outfits wet in the pool, we opted for the swimming suit.

Jonas was excited to have cousins over to celebrate and to try out the new pool. What a fun day!

That night our family went to the drive-in to see Cars 2. It was a lot of fun!

Happy birthday Jonas, we love you bunches!

End of the School Year 2011

2011-11-13T22:11:00.010-07:00

The end of the year is almost here, so it's time to update the blog... and fast :)

Eli graduated from Miss Karla's preschool.

There was singing and signing and much celebrating :)

Hannah had her final dance recital and did a great job!

Here are Eli and Jonas (and their cousin Gavin) at their end of the year tumbling class. They all got medals. My boys are the ones wearing shorts.

Here's Jonas demonstrating some skills :)

Hannah loves the year end dance party. She loves adding new trophies to her trophy shelf.

So those were our end of the school year activities. Lots of fun... now to find out what we did during the summer.

Field Trip to Reed's Dairy

2011-05-22T22:10:00.007-06:00

Eli's preschool class went on a field trip to Reed's Dairy. It was so much fun! We saw cows, pigs, chickens, and horses.

This sweet little calf was only one day old.

We ended the trip off with some yummy ice cream :)

Hannah's School Fundraiser

2011-05-22T21:25:00.005-06:00

Hannah's school did an awesome fundraiser this year. The children got pledges and then they ran their little hearts out for fifty minutes at school. Each lap was a third of a mile. Hannah reached her goal and ran 10 laps! The kids and I went to cheer her on, and Brady came from work too. Brady, Eli, and I each took a turn to run with her. (Jonas wanted a turn, but I thought he would just slow her down.)

Here she is finishing lap #10. Eli ran the final lap with her and Jonas and I met her at the end.

Kindergarten Roundup

2011-05-16T20:42:00.005-06:00

Eli starts kindergarten in the fall and was excited to attend the kindergarten roundup this month. The kids were split into two groups. They went to the kindergarten rooms while the moms stayed in the library to receive information. Eli had fun listening to a story and working on some worksheets. It's going to be a long summer... he's so excited for school to start!

Eli starring in The Three Billy Goats Gruff :)

2011-05-15T22:43:00.004-06:00

Eli was the biggest billy goat Gruff in his preschool play. He was sick the day of the actual performance, so this is the encore performance that Jonas and I got to see. He's the one in the blue Mario shirt.

Little Artists

2011-05-15T22:11:00.006-06:00

Hannah's artwork was one of two chosen from her class to be displayed at the Idaho Falls Art Museum. She describes it as a sunset at the beach.

After we looked at the artwork, the kids made some art of their own.
They were each very thoughtful and meticulous with their creations.

Happy Easter 2011

2011-05-15T21:06:00.007-06:00

We had a beautiful Easter celebration this year. We spent the week leading up to Easter to discuss the Savior and the events preceding the resurrection. We are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and for his life and resurrection.

We also spent time with friends and family.
We never know what kind of weather we are going to get here in Idaho.
It was sunny and warm this year.
We were able to join some neighbors for a fun Easter egg hunt.

Easter morning was fun. The kids found eggs that were hidden around the house. We went to church and the choir did an awesome job singing an Easter medley (I'm the choir director).

After church we went to grandma's house to have dinner and an Easter egg hunt with cousins.
It was fun to be with family. Here's a picture of the kids lining up in age order before the hunt.

Hannah and Malory looked so cute in their matching shirts.

We had a great Easter this year!

Las Vegas Trip

2011-05-08T21:14:00.010-06:00

We went to Las Vegas last month for a little family trip. We were able to meet my sister Michelle's family there and had a lot of fun. I kept forgetting to take my camera on our adventures, so this post will be filled with pictures that I took with my phone :) Woops!

We went to the chocolate factory and looked at the cactus garden outside. The factory was kind of lame, but the gardens were pretty. The cousins were having a lot of fun together and didn't even seem to notice that they were not making chocolate in the factory... only walking around in white lab coats.

We also went bowling and the kids had so much fun. Jonas was a little frustrated that he needed help. The bumpers were up, and the kids did surprisingly well. Maybe Wii bowling helped :)

We also went to the children's museum. It was huge and had a lot to do and see. I wish we had one here in Idaho.

The kids really enjoyed the light and laser show at Sam's Town too. We went during the day and they wanted to go back at night to see it again with the lasers.

At the condo, the kids had fun playing together and putting on shows for the adults. We also went swimming and Eli and Hannah were brave enough to go down the water slides.

After the Moores left on Saturday, we went to a yummy buffet, then to see the temple. Later that night we went to see the Bellagio gardens. They were gorgeous! They had a greenhouse full of live butterflies that we could walk through. We saw the fountains afterward-- my favorite thing to do in Vegas.

So, even though it was a short trip, we packed it full of fun!

Spring Break 2011

2011-04-12T09:03:00.005-06:00

Monday morning, the first day of Spring Break, we woke up to SNOW! So I put my brave face on and pretended that I was excited. We put on our snow clothes (luckily not packed away yet) and went out. The kids thought it was fun throwing snowballs at mom (especially Jonas). Then we made a snow bunny together. He turned out cute. By the end of the week it was warm enough to go to the park.

We made a fort and read books inside.
It was a big hit, and not too big of a mess :)

Spring Break ended with General Conference. The kids did really well listening this year. We set up three tables so they each had their own space to do their conference packets and eat their yummy treats.

Maybe next year Spring Break will be a little later in the month and it will actually feel like Spring.

Hannah's Busy Month

2011-03-29T11:01:00.004-06:00

It's the time of year when Hannah gets to show off everything that she has been working hard to learn since September. She performed at Grandma Lori's big dance competition. She has fun getting dressed up and gets to wear make-up too. She looked beautiful and did a great job performing! (Hannah's the cutie that's looking at the camera, if you can't tell.)

Hannah also had her piano recital this month. She played "Going Downtown" and did a great job. She does well remembering to practice and she is learning so much.

Green Bay Packers- Super Bowl Champs 2011

2011-02-21T21:17:00.003-07:00

The Packers won the Super Bowl. It was a very exciting night at our house. The game was intense, which made the win even better. I wish I had video of the celebration that took place at the end of the game. There were some major happy dances going on. The kids really got into the game too.

Grandma and Grandpa Shipp were here visiting for Hannah's baptism so they joined in the fun.

Hannah turned 8

2011-02-21T20:51:00.004-07:00

Happy birthday Hannah! Hannah had fun having her cousin Malory spend the night for her birthday. We had a party the next day.

Hannah had been looking forward to her 8th birthday for a long time. She was very excited to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has a sweet testimony and we are happy for her.

Haircuts

2011-02-21T20:38:00.003-07:00

This is so family can see the cute haircuts that me and mom got :)
It was a lot of fun to get new looks together.

Christmas Celebrations

2011-02-06T21:59:00.017-07:00

December is always such a busy month. We love the holiday season-- it's packed full of fun activities. This year we saw Santa... a few times.
The first time was actually in November at the Festival of Trees benefit where Hannah danced. Jonas was not excited to meet Santa until after the picture when he received a sucker. For the rest of the season he was always excited to see Santa and get more treats.

The Skidmore Christmas party is always a lot of fun. There was a lot of family to see, delicious food to eat, and crazy games to play.
We played some Minute to Win It games. Brady won this puzzle contest, but Eli (and Brady's Uncle Bruce) were not far behind.

Hitting the pinata is a highlight for the kids.

We made graham cracker houses and used up some of the candy that accompanies this time of year.

The kids helped make sugar cookies.
They decorated some special ones for Santa.

Christmas Eve jammies!

Grandma Lori and Vicki joined in some Christmas Eve fun.

Christmas morning- playing with new toys.
(Even Grandma Lori joined in the fun.)

We had a wonderful Christmas this year.
We made a lot of fun memories together :)

Jonas' first time at the dentist 2010

2011-02-06T21:32:00.004-07:00

Jonas went to the dentist for the first time in December. It was so cute, I just have to share :)

Disneyland

2011-02-01T20:52:00.006-07:00

We went to Disneyland with Grandma and Grandpa Shipp while we were in California. It was soooooo much fun. Not too many people, and perfect weather. It was fun to be together at the happiest place on earth :)

The longest line that I waited in was with Hannah so that she could meet the princesses (45 minutes). I think she would say that it was worth the wait :) I just asked Brady what he thought the longest wait he had was and he replied "fifteen minutes maybe"-- like I said, it was the perfect day to go.

We went the week following Thanksgiving, so all of the Christmas decorations were up. There was a huge Christmas tree by the entrance, Christmas decorations everywhere, and It's a Small World had extra decorations and songs for Christmas. The fireworks at the end of the day were fun to watch- and at the end of the show it started snowing on Main Street. It was pretty cool.

Here's a pic of the kids on It's a Small World. There was so much to see! They had Christmas songs in different languages during the ride too.

If you look closely you'll see me and the tops of the boys heads in the Dumbo behind Hannah and Brady :) I love the Dumbo ride!

End of a wonderful day :) We are so glad that we were able to go make these fun memories together!

Fun With Cousins

2011-01-10T21:25:00.006-07:00

We had so much fun seeing family in Salt Lake over Thanksgiving break. Our kids loved spending time with their cousins.
We hope to get together again soon.

Fun at Temple Square.

Jeremiah, Quinn, and Eli

Makaylee, Brenna, and Hannah

Grandmother Leila

2011-01-01T14:29:00.005-07:00

My grandmother Leila passed away the Saturday before Thanksgiving. We were able to go to Salt Lake for her viewing and funeral. It was wonderful to see so much family that we hadn't seen in years. It was nice remembering her life and we are so grateful to have the knowledge that she is now with my grandfather and other family members. It was a joyous time. A couple of years ago my grandmother learned how to send emails to all of her posterity at once. We loved receiving those and reading of her life as a child and frequently she shared her testimony. She was a wonderful example.

All of my siblings were able to be there. It was awesome to see Amy, it had been over two years since the last time we saw her.

This is almost all of the Shipp side. (Brenna and Richard are not pictured). It was an impromptu family reunion. We thought that we were going to have Thanksgiving at home, but ended up being with so many loved ones- it was great.

Halloween 2010

2010-12-29T21:26:00.009-07:00

Halloween was fun here in Idaho. The kids went trick or treating on Saturday night (even though it fell on Sunday). We only came across one house that had a sign on their door saying that they were not handing out candy because it was not actually Halloween-- we thought it was funny.

This year Hannah was a fairy, Eli was a pirate, and Jonas was Tigger. Jonas enjoyed making Tigger noises and Hannah spent half of the night reaching back and flapping her wings.

We found a good deal on pumpkins so everyone got to carve a big pumpkin.

Eli's preschool went to a pumpkin patch for a field trip. They rode on a train, did a hay maze, and got to choose a little pumpkin to take home.

Jonas got to go on the field trip too. He had fun tagging along with Eli.

Eli's Birthday (October 2)

2010-12-28T21:53:00.005-07:00

Eli turned 5 in October. He had lots of cousins and family there to wish him a happy day and year. Eli, we love you sooooooooo much (even though it has taken me 3 months to blog about your birthday)!

I think he is making a wish in the picture above.

He was having some difficulty aiming his blows, so dad stepped in to assist him. HAHAHA... it was really funny.

Catching Up

2010-12-26T22:04:00.016-07:00

I have not posted in so long, and the longer I put it off, the more daunting it seems (as life, and post-worthy events, keep happening).... So, hopefully this will get caught up in the next few days. I'll blog while Brady plays the Wii!

Here are three posts combined into one:

We decided to go camping as a family for our last summer event. It was a lot of fun. We went up to Heise. We made it easy and ate hot dogs, chips, soda and s'mores before bed.

Jonas had his first s'more and loved it. We knew he would!

Eli's a pro. He and Hannah showed Jonas the ropes.

Brady and I slept on an air mattress. We laid down in between the kids while they fell asleep, then moved so that we could sleep too.

All of the kids had so much fun.

The pool by the campsite didn't open until ten, so we went on a nice drive and nature walk together.

Jonas LOVED the hot mineral pool. Here are the boys just soaking it in.

After camping, it was time for school to start. Hannah started the second grade and Eli is doing preschool again this year (he missed the cutoff by a month). Here they are in some new school clothes that they picked out.

Here's Hannah on the first day of second grade. It rained on her first day last year too! She decided to show school spirit and wear her Edgemont t-shirt on the first day.

This is a picture of Eli and his preschool teacher Miss Karla. Hannah went to her school a few years ago. Eli is excited to be going too.

We celebrated my birthday at the end of September. The kids and Brady made it a special day. Brady surprised me and came home early from work. Then he sent me on my way to a mandatory shopping spree while he watched the kids.

The festivities continued when I returned home to my favorite cookies, a cute birthday banner and more presents. Brady also took me out to eat while his mom watched our kids. It was a great day!

Fun With Company This Summer

2010-09-19T21:35:00.018-06:00

We had a lot of company this summer. We had a lot of fun... So much fun that I didn't take very many pictures. (Especially not of the adults-- kids are so much cuter anyway!)

Our first visitors were the Moores. Our kids got along so well! They just played the whole time. It was so great to see them having so much fun. The kids really enjoyed riding bikes together. We also went to Blast Off to play.

We were excited to have Grandma and Grandpa Shipp come visit too! We packed in a lot of fun. We went to Riot Zone for the first time while they were here. We are asking ourselves why we haven't been there before- mini golf, inflatables, paddle boats.... We're excited to go back. We also had a fun time at the zoo, temple visitor center, and the Melaleuca Store ;)

All of the kids had so much fun on the inflatables!

We all got dressed on Sunday, then realized that we were all wearing lavender- hahaha. Had to get a pic!

We got to meet sweet little Elliott when David and Jamee came with their kids. Vivian and Elliott are so cute! This is a picture of her after we ate yummy chocolate ice cream. We also had fun swimming and feeding ducks at the river.

I could not get enough of this sweet little guy! Such an adorable boy. I tried to convince David and Jamee to move to Idaho.

Our last visitors of the summer... The Smiths! We had a lot of fun even though they were only here a few days. Highlights included: The Roaring Youth Jam, swimming, and Blast Off.

4th of July

2010-08-31T22:35:00.005-06:00

4th of July was a little different for us this year. Every year since we moved to Idaho Falls our friends the Risenmays have come up from Arizona and stayed with us. This year we were on our own, but the kids still kept asking when Lea and Luke were going to get here.

Let me just say, if you've never spent a 4th of July in Idaho Falls, you haven't really celebrated properly. It's a big deal here. We have a great parade in the morning and a spectacular firework show (set to music) at night. The kids always have so much fun, it's probably the biggest holiday outside of Christmas.

Jonas is 2!

2010-08-28T21:55:00.006-06:00

We took most of the summer off from blogging so we will be posting some of the highlights

Jonas turned 2 on June 25th. We had a lot of fun having family over to celebrate.

We love having Jonas in our family. He has his own cute personality and he is always making us laugh.

Soccer 2010

2010-08-18T21:36:00.007-06:00

It seems like so long ago that our kids were in soccer. Oh wait, that's because it was so long ago.... But they were so cute, I want to post some pics anyway. It was Hannah and Eli's first year playing. It was so fun to watch them play, they did a great job. They both ended up with purple uniforms (Hannah's was actually lavender). And they both sported the number 3.

Grandpa's Motorcycle

2010-05-24T22:23:00.003-06:00

The kids have always been a little afraid of the motorcycle until this year. I think it all changed when we went to Phoenix and they saw Lea and Lucas Risenmay riding with their dad. So when I took dad's bike out Eli wanted a ride. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and has asked every day for the last two weeks. Hannah took a little more convincing, but once we started going and she decided it was okay, she started laughing and couldn't stop. Jonas is a little motorhead too...every time we see a motorcycle on the road he'll start yelling "mocyco! mocyco!" then he'll scream when he can't see it anymore.

Grandpa would be so proud.

Spring Break, Part 3 - Cruise!

2010-04-25T11:40:00.011-06:00

The Moores were kind enough to keep our kids for three days so we could go on a cruise. We have always wanted to do this and we decided that since we will have our 10th anniversary this year we should go for it. Since we wanted to do plenty of other things with the kids on our trip, we decided to just do a short one over the weekend. The cruise left from Long Beach Friday afternoon.

On Saturday we were docked in Ensenada, Mexico. It was such a beautiful day. We went on a horseback ride in the foothills above Ensenada in the morning. Everything was green and there were wildflowers all along the trail. We got to see some amazing views of the city and the ocean.

We got back to town then walked around for a couple hours shopping and enjoying the day. We got some fun souvenirs for the kids.

Here is Debbie showing off her sweet new "Gucci" sunglasses. Four dollars!

Saturday night was the formal night on the ship. It was a lot of fun getting dressed up.

Sunday was our day at sea. We played several games on the ship because we really wanted one of these trophies. After several failures, we found a sports trivia contest. It was an easy win.

The cruise was so much fun! We will definitely do it again someday. Of course the best part was the great food...at any time of the day. Each night at dinner we would order 3 or 4 different desserts to share between us. Someone gave us the idea to weigh ourselves at the beginning and end of the cruise...Brady gained 5 lbs and Debbie gained 4.5!

Monday morning we started our journey home...stayed in St George halfway and got home Tuesday evening.

In all, we drove 2590 miles in 12 days. It was a blast and we would do it all again right now if we could!

Spring Break, Part 2 - California

2010-04-15T21:15:00.011-06:00

After just two short days in Phoenix, we continued on our journey to California.

We got there Monday afternoon and went straight to the beach.

Hannah and Makaylee enjoying the sun

There is an aquarium right by Cabrillo Beach that the kids love. The touch tanks were open so we could feel the starfish and anemones and such.

On Tuesday we went to Adventure City! If you've never heard of it, this is the place to go if you have young kids. It is a small amusement park with only kid rides. It only costs $14 each and there are never any lines! In this picture are our kids, the Moore family, Grandpa and Vivian.

The little guy next to me is Eli. This ride is called the "Drop Zone" Hannah and Makaylee rode this one 17 consecutive times without getting off. (like I said, no lines!)

They even have a little petting zoo with some very patient animals.

Wednesday night we stayed with David and Jamee in their cute new house in San Pedro. Hannah loved Wii bowling.

On Thursday we headed to Apple Valley to the Moore's (Debbie's sister Michelle and family) They took us on a fun hike in the rocks and the cousins played in a park.

Jonas' new best friend, Leila

I meant for this video to be on top but couldn't figure out how to move it up...oh well.

Spring Break, Part 1- Arizona

2010-04-10T21:53:00.008-06:00

It's always fun to reunite with our friends the Risenmays. The kids are such great friends that they seem to be able to just pick up from where we left off on the last visit.

We enjoyed playing Beatles Rockband... every night :)

So happy!

Everyone joined in on the fun!

It was tricky getting a picture of all the kids, so here are two of the best shots.

Eli's Deep Thoughts

2010-04-10T21:49:00.000-06:00

Christmas-time thoughts from the past few weeks:

Eli singing loudly: "You'll go down in hissstory!"
E: Whose story, mom?
M: What do you mean?
E: It says his story.
M: Oh, no it says history.
E: What's history? .........

E: "Why is snow cold?"

This next one was out of the blue and took me by surprise:
E: What's a soul mean?
M: A soul?
E: Yeah, a soul.
M: Where did you hear it?
E: The song
M: OH, don't you tell a single soul.... (relief)

E: "Why did they laugh and call him names?"

E: "What's holly jolly?"

It Was So Tragic How They Hopped On Pop....

2010-02-28T21:27:00.003-07:00

We love daddy! Look at him smiling as all of the children
pile on top of him.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Hannah Dear!

2010-02-12T21:24:00.010-07:00

Our little Hannah girl turned 7!
We celebrated with the family this year :)

Hannah wanted to go to Leo's for dinner and playing...

Then Hannah chose to go to Bowl-ero. Eli and Hannah
demonstrated some outstanding techniques
(see the videos at the bottom of the post).

We had family over for cake and ice cream... and dress-up.

All in all it was a fun weekend. We love our Hannah, she will always be our little girl.

Christmas Post... Finally ;)

2010-01-17T21:27:00.019-07:00

I have been procrastinating this post because so many wonderful things happen during the holiday season, that there's a lot to share.

We love Santa. Jonas loves him from a distance :)

This year was our first attempt to act out the nativity story. Hannah was an angel, Eli a shepherd and Jonas a wise man.

Eli's preschool class acted out the nativity. Eli was Joseph and did an awesome job!

Gotta love the party with the Skidmores. Our kids look forward to it every year. Good food, good people, and lots to do. Notice the look of concentration on Brady's face...hahaha!

Go Eli!

Hannah's old enough for the blindfold, but still got a few good hits in.

Fun with cousins at grandma Lori's party. Jonas and Gavin playing together.

This toy is great... it kept Jonas occupied so mom and dad could have some fun.

Eli was soooooo excited about getting Elefun. Lots of fun!

Can't go wrong with princesses... Hannah's favorite.

All the grandkids in their new jammies.

Christmas Eve. We decided Santa would probably come through the stove.

Christmas morning. We had Brady's brother Luke and family visiting. That explains the two extra, adorable girls. I didn't get many pictures of the kids on Christmas morning, but there is a cute little video at the bottom of the post.

Brady, Luke, and Bruce (some brothers) playing Monopoly.

Here's our service Christmas tree. Each night we each got to decorate an ornament and put it on the tree as we shared an act of service that we provided that day. It was a fun activity that we all enjoyed and will probably continue in the future.

Getting ready for Christmas

2009-12-17T22:43:00.004-07:00

Here's what we've been up to the last few weeks...

Debbie found this beautiful piano on Craigslist. We have always wanted to get a piano, especially since Hannah has been taking lessons. We are very fortunate to know someone in the piano business who was willing to transport it for us!

For the first time in our marriage (eight Thanksgivings now) we had Thanksgiving at our home. It was only our little family plus Mom, Matt, and Vicki, so it wasn't all that stressful and it turned out really well. We're so thankful to have a beautiful new home with plenty of room in the kitchen and dining room!

It was Eli's turn to put the star on the tree this year.

I've been looking forward to decorating the house all year. I even bought our own ladder this year instead of borrowing Mom's.

Happy Halloween

2009-11-16T20:49:00.010-07:00

Halloween was great this year... not too drawn out. The kids had a blast at trunk or treat and their various parties at school and Dance Tech. On Halloween, Brady and I decided to dress up (at the last minute) for a party at a friend's house. We all had a fun time.

The kids had a great time eating...
playing...
and decorating :)
Jonas was just happy to have a holiday totally dedicated to eating candy.

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

2009-11-16T20:27:00.004-07:00

Last month we had a nice time with grandma and grandpa Shipp who were visiting from California. We even had our first snow while they were here... hahaha... lucky for them it didn't stick for long. We love when they come to visit, and miss them when they leave. (Hope to see you again soon!)

Eli's FOUR!!!

2009-11-07T09:50:00.007-07:00

Eli celebrated his fourth birthday last month. He is growing up so fast! He had a fun party with lots of cousins.

I think this next picture is hilarious. Leila wanted to be sure Eli got to blow out his candles. So sweet!

Day at the Fair

2009-10-30T21:25:00.013-06:00

I just downloaded about two hundred pictures from my camera and decided that it is time to update our blog a bit.
(I don't take many pictures, so 200 is A LOT for me.)
Anyway, we went to the Idaho State Fair last month, so here are some pictures from that fun day....

Jonas loved the petting zoo.
He followed the goats around to pet them.
They were very tolerant of him... they must be used to it.

If dogs stayed this cute and cuddly, I would probably want one, but I am not that disillusioned!

Each year the kids ride the barrel train that's pulled by a four wheeler.
They love it.

Here's a pic of Eli and Jonas.
We were glad that Jonas had a pillow behind him... it was kind of bumpy!

Hannah LOVES the carousel.
She enjoys naming the horse that she rides.

Here's Eli with a little friend that he made. She was adorable (her mom asked me if her little girl could ride with Eli). They were having trouble getting the ride going so the two of them were just sitting and chatting for a few minutes. I would love to know what they said :)

After the fair, we stopped at a park for a picnic on the way home.

Here's the last picture of the kids after a long day of playing hard.
Yes, their faces are very dirty... another sign of a good day.

Hannah took this one of me and Brady :)
After a long day of ... hardly playing!?!
Just kidding, I think that we had as much fun as the kids!

First Day of School

2009-09-01T21:13:00.007-06:00

Waiting for the bus.
(Notice the huge backpack that I stuffed everything into so that
she would not leave anything on the bus.)

Climbing onto the bus :)

Meeting the bus driver!

Summer's over... school's in... our little girl is growing up! I don't know why but sending Hannah to first grade has been so much harder than sending her to kindergarten. Maybe it's because a huge bus carried her away to first grade. It was quite entertaining watching her climb onto the bus though. Anyway, Hannah seems to like her new school and her new teacher.

Family Reunion 2009

2009-07-29T21:51:00.015-06:00

Happy 40th mom and dad. This was the beginning of a wonderful family reunion. We had so much fun seeing family. We made a lot of fun memories and the kids are still talking about it :)

Jonas and Vivian getting to know each other.

Fun at Lagoon!

Jonas' favorite ride- Bulgy the Whale

All wet, and cold

Dinosaur Museum

One of my favorite pics.

Temple open house.

Children's Museum

Brady and his BFF, just kidding, this is the picture I took right before Brady knocked him out.

Princess Hannah

All partied out on the ride home.

We have been slacking on blogging because we have been having so much fun. But things are slowing down now so we can share some of our fun pics.

Princess Hannah

2009-06-21T22:37:00.003-06:00

Hannah loves dancing with Grandma Lori!

Presenting: Princess Malory and Princess Hannah

Hannah got to go to Princess Camp at Grandma Lori's studio. She was very excited that her cousin Malory was there too. She loves to pretend to be a princess, and enjoys dressing up, so she was in heaven. She had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the program that they preformed on the last day. We love our little princess.

Walking Jonas

2009-06-14T22:46:00.003-06:00

Our friends the Risenmays posted video of Jonas's buddy Abbey taking her first steps a week or so ago, so we have been practicing with Jonas. He has the standing part down really well but he would fall after taking only two or three steps. But today at Grandma Lori's house he decided that he could do this and just took off on his own a few times. I think he'll have it by his birthday on the 25th.

Duck, duck, goose with a twist

2009-06-07T23:05:00.006-06:00

We played duck, duck, goose for the FHE game a few weeks ago and it got kinda crazy. We decided to play with a little bucket of water, and whoever was chosen as the goose would get the bucket dumped on their head before the chase ensued. Anyway, it turned into a fun family water fight that almost everyone enjoyed (poor Jonas!)

P.S. Jonas didn't get the bucket of water dumped over his head, he was just being a little sensitive.

Hannah's dance recital & Last day of dance class

2009-06-07T22:14:00.006-06:00

Hannah outside the Colonial Theater where the recital was.

Hannah receiving her trophy from her teacher (grandma Lori)

Hannah participating in the drill down. She got third place this year!

Hannah had her dance recital a few weeks ago and danced beautifully. Her class did their ballet and tap dances. She loved the costume this year and wanted to wear it to the last day of dance class too.

I blame myself....

2009-06-07T21:57:00.003-06:00

What a naughty, happy baby. He was so cute I had to grab my camera before I cleaned him up. When does the 'put everything imaginable in my mouth' phase end?

Mother's Day Tea

2009-06-05T11:49:00.004-06:00

Hannah's kindergarten class had a Mother's Day tea party the Friday before Mother's Day. It was a lot of fun. Her class did a medley of songs, each child presented a picture of their mother, and we had cookies and ice cream. Hannah did a great job!

Still Learning

2009-05-11T10:04:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I'm still learning about blogging. The next post is in reverse order, so if you want to read it the way I intended, scroll down to the bottom and start there. :)

Fun with the Risenmays

2009-05-10T21:15:00.009-06:00

We let the kids take a picture of the four of us. It was hard to look at the right camera simultaneously, but this one turned out pretty good.

The snow had almost all melted by the time we got home from church.

Jeff was the only one who braved the cold to help the kids make a snowman.

Snowball fight!

Here is Luke looking adorable. You can see Eli in the background doing his favorite activity when it snows... eating!

Lea and Hannah wanted to have matching hair for church. Here are the before and after pics.

Here's Jonas with his BFF Abbey.

We had our good friends Jeff and Alison visit (from Arizona) two weeks ago, and had a blast. Our kids love their kids and it's always fun when they come to visit. On Sunday morning we were all surprised to wake up to SNOW! All of the kids (including Jeff) were excited to go play outside :)

Easter Day

2009-05-05T15:17:00.002-06:00

Here's a picture from the actual day.

Easter Pictures

2009-05-05T15:03:00.006-06:00

I forgot to put Jonas down to find an egg, so Hannah put one of hers in the grass for him to find. What a sweet sister!

Eli's in the red t-shirt.

Our "busy weekend" kicked off a busy few weeks it seems like. We just downloaded some pictures from our camera so I thought I'd post a few. We had a beautiful Easter. No snow :) Our flowers were just beginning to bloom too. I love this time of year. These pictures were taken at an Easter egg hunt at a friends house.

Busy Weekend

2009-04-18T21:58:00.003-06:00

We had another awesome weekend. On Friday we accepted an offer on our house. We were very excited about it, but also felt some urgency to find our next home. We have been looking at homes for a few months, but had not yet found "the one". Anyway, we went to look at some homes on Friday evening and fell in love with one. Perfect timing! We made an offer on Saturday morning and came to an agreement with the sellers on Saturday night. This has possibly felt like the longest weekend ever!

Here is a link to the virtual tour: http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?t=1637052

Hannah's first piano recital

2009-04-05T22:00:00.002-06:00

Hannah had her first piano recital last month. We are so proud of her. She played "Fuzzy Baby Bird". She worked very hard to memorize it and practiced a lot so that she played it very well.

What should we do this weekend?

2009-03-29T22:43:00.002-06:00

Brady got off work a little early Friday afternoon and we drove around for a while pondering what we could do for fun. On the spur of the moment we decided to book a hotel room and drive to Salt Lake for the weekend. We found a great deal on a hotel with a pool and free breakfast in West Valley and never looked back. Saturday morning we went to Hogle Zoo. It was a little chilly in the morning but by noon it was perfect. After the zoo we had lunch in a park downtown, then went back to the hotel for swimming. Then dinner at the Training Table (one of Brady's favorite Utah restaurants), and that night we found a drive-in movie theater close to the hotel so we watched Monsters vs. Aliens. It was the kids' first experience with the drive-in and they loved it! We chose the right day because we drove home in an nasty smowstorm on Sunday. But it was a great weekend and a great way to blow a portion of our tax return!

Jonas' first sucker

2009-03-17T21:14:00.003-06:00

I promised Eli a bath and a sucker if he let me cut his hair. He was a good sport and earned his reward. After Jonas' haircut, Eli insisted that his brother deserved the same.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T20:53:00.003-06:00

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day by making sugar cookies. Unfortunately, we do not own any festive cookie cutters for this "holiday". We have at least a hundred cookie cutters, but I guess this is the forgotten holiday. Anyway, Hannah and Eli were more than happy to chose other designs including a bear, heart, flower, train, truck, star, and the letters H and E. A fun time was had by all.

Eli's deep thoughts

2009-03-02T22:54:00.002-07:00

Lately Eli has been asking interesting questions. Sometimes you can see the wheels turning in his head and we are amazed at the questions he comes up with. So we have added a special section to our blog entitled "Eli's deep thoughts" so we can share some of his thought provoking ideas.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2009-02-14T15:18:00.004-07:00

Hannah and Eli were excited to choose their presents for daddy. Eli picked beef jerky (eat your heart out Makaylee) and Hannah chose beautiful flowers. Happy 30th Brady, we love you!!!

Grandpa's Visit

2009-02-14T12:29:00.004-07:00

Even though it was a short visit, we had a lot of fun with grandpa!

Summer Days

2009-02-04T21:58:00.004-07:00

We (Debbie and the kids mainly) have been feeling some cabin fever as the winter drags on (stupid groundhog), so I thought it would be fun to post some pics from last summer. Debbie can use the reminder of why Idaho Falls is a great place to live.

Eli and his cousin Malory at Grandma's house

Hannah and Eli in front of our house

Our view from the Red Lion Inn for the fireworks on the 4th of July

At the state fair

Hannah's first day of kindergarten

Princess Party

2009-01-28T19:34:00.002-07:00

Well as you may know, Hannah had her 6th birthday on Jan. 22nd. We had her birthday party all planned out for Saturday but she woke up the night before with a bad cough and fever, and when we gave her some medicine, it came right back up and she asked "is my party canceled?" So we had to call the friends she invited and see if they could come Tuesday instead because Brady had the day off.

She wanted it to be a princess party, so she asked everyone to dress up and we attempted a castle cake.

She even made sure that Mom and Dad were dressed up.
Happy birthday to our princess! She is growing up so fast and we are so proud of her.

Kid Tag

2009-01-24T19:35:00.003-07:00

The Moores tagged us to see how the kids would answer a few questions. We interviewed them separately so they wouldn't be influenced by the other. Here is how it went down...

Q1: What is something your mom always says?

Hannah: I love you
Eli: I don't know

Q:2. How old is your Dad?

Hannah: 15
Eli: 27

Q:3. How old is your Mom?

Hannah: 49
Eli: 10

Q:4. How big is the ocean?

Hannah: Huge
Eli: Held up his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart

Q:5. How are you and your Mom the same?

Hannah: With brown hair and brown hair
Eli: I don't know

Q:6 How are you and your Dad the same?

Hannah: The ears are the same size
Eli: We both have short hair [he got a haircut this week]

Q:7. Where does money come from?

Hannah: Zions Bank
Eli: Zions Bank

Q:8. What are hot dogs made of?

Hannah: A dog
Eli: Corn dogs

Q:9. Where do you live?

Hannah: In Idaho Falls on Terry Drive
Eli: Idaho Falls

Q:10. What do you think your Mom and Dad do when you are not around?

Hannah: Cry
Eli: Look for me

That was fun! We tag the Risencrazy's

Eli's musical talent

2009-01-19T00:15:00.003-07:00

Hannah's not the only one in the family with musical talent. Eli got a recorder from Grandma Lori at the family Christmas party. In this video you can see some of his sweet moves. It's difficult to see the flying spittle, but if you look at his aunt Miranda's reaction you can see her fear of being sprayed.

Piano Practice

2009-01-14T21:23:00.005-07:00

This one is for Grandma Shipp, who teaches piano. Hannah has started taking piano lessons this year and we have been amazed at how fast she is picking it up. She loves her teacher, Miss Kendra. Although it is sometimes hard to get her to practice and Debbie has one more thing that she has to get the kids all bundled up and drive across town for, we are glad she wants to do it and are grateful to Lori for basically paying for it (Kendra's daughter dances with her as a trade).

92!!!

2009-01-09T22:05:00.002-07:00

Jonas had his six month doctors appointment this week and weighed in at 20 lbs 15 oz. which is the 92nd percentile for his age! So while he's not quite up to par with his cousin Aubrey (aka 96), we are proud of him. It's a little different for us to have such a big boy because Hannah is very small for her age and Eli is a little below average as well. He is wearing clothes that Eli didn't wear until after he was a year old.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-03T22:35:00.004-07:00

We had our own little family party here at home. Hannah wanted it to be a "princess party" so she and Eli made crowns for each of us. We rang in the new year at 8:00 (they didn't know the difference) with some noise makers and confetti.

Hannah also had a shiny gold dollar waiting under her pillow January 1. Dad pulled on the tooth before bed on Dec 30 and it hurt so Hannah decided she didn't want to keep trying. Then when she got a drink the next morning, it popped right out. Luckily, she didn't swallow it. She has now lost all four front teeth before her sixth birthday.

2008-12-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Our Christmas

2008-12-27T21:58:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Idaho Falls. Santa made it here through all the snow and Hannah and Eli both got what they asked for. (Sleeping Beauty and Diego toys) Jonas was very excited about his first toothbrush as well.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

We took the family picture at home in front of our fireplace by using the timer on our camera. It only took about 25 tries, several breaks, and bribes to get this one.

2008-11-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Hannah carving her pumpkin all by herself

First Blog Post

2008-11-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

We decided that since we are now a family of five, we will probably have enough info to share on a blog. Although typing this first post is a bit intimidating.

Who knows how much we will write, but at least this will be a way to show pictures and keep in touch with our loved ones.