San Diego Baby!

Brent has had a few business trips to San Diego lately and this time instead of leaving us home to miss him terribly we all decided to go and play. We drove down on Thursday evening and came home Monday after Brent was done with all his meetings. As usual we packed way more into those few days than any rational person with two kids should. The trip was not sooo relaxing but it was really fun to build so many memories with the girls. All said and done they did really well considering the lack of sleep they got and we did really well considering the lack of sleep they got (and us :) ). Friday we went to Sea World. Saturday we checked out the San Diego Zoo and looked for a light house. We never exactly got to the lighthouse but toured around a very nice ocean side neighborhood despite stopping for directions. Sunday we checked out a local church, the San Diego LDS temple, and rode on a train in the Wild Animal Park. Monday the girls went shopping while Daddy worked and we headed home. As we were driving we became aware how desperately we need to replace our car DVD player and how much Taryn really likes Dora the Explorer and how insanely catching the tune on Dora is...It is finally fading a little from our memories after a week. Cami really loved the hotel and was so excited to check out every nook and cranny. Taryn slept in a sleeping bag for the first time and only got out once-not sure if that was because of the very serious way we told her "no way get back in" or because she was really excited to be a big girl out of the pack and play and have a princess sleeping bag. Anyway, it was really fun just to spend a couple of days with each other especially since Brent has been putting in some loooong days at work. Every day we realize how lucky we are to have our funny girls and to have each other.

Sea World

What they were watching

What I was watching

Taryn's favorite of the day...petting the rays and getting seriously splashed

Cami busting out dance moves all over sea world and singing songs about what a beautiful day and season it is....

If you know our children you know they are not big fans of loud noises or being scared. At first they liked looking then the next picture is Cami running from the Polar Bear exhibit after hearing a recording of Polar Bears growling....

So do you really think that removable fence thing is going to hold up against the hoof of a clidsdale? That is what was going through my mind as the guy told us to smile for our picture....

Zoo

There is nothing remarkable about this silly picture except they have these picture backboards set up all over all three parks we went to and the girls really wanted to take pictures in every single one...so to spare you all the pics I just added one...

The Zebra Exhibit (and the Elephants) won out for the coolest animals at the zoo...

By the end if the second day of animal immersion our tentative child was willing to touch goats...Amazing what a little exposure will do for a kid...

Cami busting out in random song and dance again but this time she was thankful the the beautiful beautiful animals...

One last favorite at the Zoo

Balboa Park

The Carousel and train were big hits despite the wind and rain...at least for Cami....Taryn was nervous at first but was yelling YE-HAW by the end so overall it was a success.

Wild Animal Kingdom

Unfortunately the camera was out of battery power by the time we got here....no surprise after all these pictures.....

We Caved

So last summer while visiting my mom my cousin invited us to a dance recital for her kids. Knowing that Cami would probably get a kick out of it I agreed to go and took her. Little did I know I wouldn't be able to get her to stop dancing. So after a year of dancing in the living room, the kitchen, the grocery store, the church, most restaraunts, the petting zoo and anywhere she felt the urge, I caved and signed her up for dance classes. Who would have ever thought my girls would be soooo girly? Oh well! They are happy and Brent reminds me I should not try to make them hate certain things just because I do. I should support and encourage them in whatever talents they seek to build even if it is girly....But seriously....dance classes?! YIKES! Yes Taryn is involved too as she felt left out when Cami got all geared up and they had a BIG discount for siblings and she has learned some moves from Cami all year...Cami is most excited to dance up on the big stage in May. So if any of you are around on May 31 Cami and Taryn will be performing on the big stage and would love you to cheer super loud for them....What did I get myself into?!

These pictures were taken right before we left for their first big day of dance class...

The Innocence of Children

I just can't help but post this.

Cami has been really cute lately as she begins to really question things to gain a better understanding.

Tonight for family scripture study Taryn picked a story about the birth of Jesus. We have read this story a hundred times.

Anyway, we get done with it and Cami asked, "What about the foolish men? Did they visit Jesus too?". Amy and I just looked at each other with a question and then we both started laughing (as silently as possible). Amy then made up a great excuse about the foolish men were still building their houses on the sand.

Lets just say Amy didn't make it through family prayer without some chuckles.

Repentance

So Cami must be learning something from church despite both Brent and I feeling like we have a weekly date with WWF wrestling every Sunday. Today I heard Taryn screaming and saying "no no Cami!" and "I called hey what is going on in there?" Much to my surprise Cami called out "I hitted Taryn but it's ok because I all ready repented." To which I said "What?!" She said I said "I hit Tar but I said a little prayer to tell Jesus sorry then I told Taryn sorry and gave her a smooch to make it all better...." And Taryn had apparently forgiven her by then...So how can you argue with that...Let's just not make it a habit (the hitting part)....End of story...:)

Cami did give her first talk in primary two weeks ago and her first scripture yesterday. She did really great both times. She was a little nervous about using a microphone but she sucked it up and told the story of Noah and how people wished they had listened when they saw the rain...I love my funny girl!

BDay

As hard to believe as it is, we now officially have a four year old. She is such a joy to be around and we feel blessed everyday to get to have her in our family. We try to make birthdays a big day in our family and the anticipation this year started months ago. She counted down from Halloween to Thanksgiving then Christmas then my birthday! So in the morning we went to get her picture taken at Sears. She really likes to have her picture taken so, despite the sloooooow picture taking lady and Taryn bee lining it the the door several times, she had fun. And for those of you who have seen the picture no she is not wearing lipstick. She just has really red lips sometimes. We are not a Jon Benet Ramsey family...Then we hurried to Wal-Mart to ride Dumbo as many times as she wanted. I offered this open endedly because I figured the excitement of not going anywhere would wear off after a minute or two. No such luck. After going through at least twelve dollars (I lost count after that) and breaking the dumbo (he hadn't seen that much action for awhile from the looks of him) and moving on to the Lion King guy I convinced her that we needed to go home so Taryn could take a nap. After nap time we made fruit loop necklaces and had the Thompsons and Grandmas over for a BBQ. Cami wanted Ravioli so she had that while everyone else got burgers. Then we had a princess birthday cake and opened presents. She got her first big girl bike (with training wheels) and tested it out in the kitchen immediately. The next day she took it for a road test and did really well. She also was obviously into the accessories that came with the bike. It is way more exciting to get a bike for a January birthday when you live in St George rather than Michigan.

Hold on tight! He might take off.

Cami loving her new friend.

Lookin' Good Cami! Lookin' Good!
It was really tricky to pedal without accidentally using the pedal breaks. She is still working on this.
Thumbs up for a bike ride and Hannah Flat Stanley.

Hiking in January-Man you've got to love it!

So now that we live in St George people actually come to visit us! It is so much fun. In January Carolyn and Fred and cousins came then in February Grandma and Papa came. The Fergusons also came in February and that was tons of fun too. In January it was in the 50s so we decided to go hiking. First we hiked out to a little known arch out side of Snow Canyon State Park. The girls did really great but of course wanted snacks the whole way. Later we hiked on the Red Hill. (For those of you not familiar with St George there is a big mesa made out of really red rock on the north side of town) There were tons of people there because it was such a nice day. We then went and had a picnic at a park in the historical part of St George. There was some splashing in the water feature but mostly the cousins played freeze tag. It was a really fun weekend and here are a few of the pictures.

Mommy holding on the the girls for dear life on a steeper part of the Red Hill.


Johnson's Arch with the sun shining through.


The midway snack attack. You've got to love those granola bars after a rigorous mile!

Taryn being her independent little self and refusing help over some of the rocky terrain.

Cami cheering Taryn on and Taryn deciding she could make it.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year too!

Merry Christmas friends and family!!! Yes we are really slow at sending this out...As every one's holiday, ours was really packed and really fun, necessitating our really late Christmas card. To condense the year we made a top ten list of our highlights. So ho ho ho here we go!

Weight Family Top Ten and then some of 2007

10. New Job-Brent took a job with DxNA, a start up with lots of cool potential and fun work experiences
9. New Location-We moved to St George, UT in October. It is closer to family and still warm 10 months of the year.
8. Taryn talking more or less and sometimes we can understand what she wants.
7. Cami started and loves preschool. She really misses her teacher in Las Vegas but she likes her one here too.
6. Cami slid down a tube slide and eventually laughed while doing it.
5. Taryn mastered jumping with both feet off the ground, singing, getting naked but more importantly completely dressing herself, and climbing into the crib by herself.
4. Brent and Amy hiked Mt Timpanogus and survived with only minor aches and pain.
3. We get to buy a new car. (Since I didn't post this very timely we just got our truck and it is definitly a manly man's truck!)
2. We are all alive to enjoy 2008
1. Free massages post every physical therapy appointment and now we are hooked!
then some. Great friends and family to help us post accident and Peri-moving
then some more. Cami’s first big girl hair cut and first stitches-she is still our beautiful princess!
and more. Although this past year has thrown us for some loops we are really thankful for all the blessings we have received. We are truly blessed to know all of you and to have a really beautiful fun family. We love everyday we get to spend with each other.

Now on to some fun pictures of the season....

Taryn was not so sure about this sitting on Santa's lap business. It was very short lived-not short enough for her taste though. Cami however totally surprised us this year by telling us she didn't need to write Santa a letter this year. She just wanted to tell him want she wanted when she sat on his lap. She even went back two different times although in all fairness she wasn't being greedy. She was just making sure he knew where to find the cookies and how to get in because we don't have a chimney any more.




We also decorated cookies to get in the spirit. I think most of the "toppings" were eaten before they were sprinkled on-eaten or spread all over the table and floors...Nothing like food for making the mood merry and light.

The girls frequently were found looking out the window waiting for Santa Clause but Dad driving up was also pretty exciting too.

Taryn decorated the bottom of the tree-several times actually. Cami got to put the angle on top.

The girls were so excited to put up the decorations we couldn't contain them. Cami danced around a lot and Taryn wandered around checking everything out and giving A LOT of kisses.

Christmas morning was so fun. We had our own family Christmas morning then went to Grandma's for the tradition Christmas morning waffles and strawberries. Taryn was sooo excited to get a BYU Cougar shirt from Uncle John that she stripped of her shirt on put it on right away. It is so great to see your children growing up in the way they should! :)

Cami was so into opening presents that she got to open just one on Christmas eve before bed. We did this because we thought she would wear a little excitement off and be able to sleep faster but it just wet her taste buds instead....

Cami was all about efficiency.

After Christmas Brent had a couple days off work so we decided to go see his family in Heber City. BRRR! IT WAS COLD!!! It reminded us how nice it is to live in a place without slush or gray skies or temperatures below zero or even freezing. BUT the girls did have a blast in the snow. At least Cami had a blast. Taryn went from total dislike to mild tolerance of the snow. We went sledding and then Brent pulled the sled behind the 4 wheeler and made Cami scream (in a scared then a fun nice way). It was great! We made snow angles-at least Cami and mommy did. Taryn chose to lay in the snow and cry...:)

When we left both girls cried because they were so sad to leave grandma and papa's and all their cousins. They have really enjoyed being close to family. And of course a trip to grandma and papa's couldn't be complete without a trip to the dinosaur museum and a picture on the beast.

We hope this finds you all healthy and happy. We miss all of our friends and think of you often. Please keep in touch and come visit if you ever get a chance!

On a lighter note...unless you are Taryn...

So those of you in the Rice family are familiar with Herschel the dog and the haircutting incident. While I never thought it was "that bad" I do admit he was embarrassed to go walking in the neighborhood until his hair/tail grew out again. And if you remember what he looked like after his trim you would definitely restrict my scissor use from people hair. Well my kids have never seen my "skills" so they do let me trim up their hair...Well you know Taryn is still sort of bald and I was thinking her hair might grow if I trim it and shave the underneath part...(Yes I did this to Cami and she had to have her first professional haircut to correct my trim) ....Anyway, to make a long story shorter she now resembles Herschel a little bit. Her back end is a little balder than intended....When she walked into the room Brent was in, Brent looked up and said "Uh, Amy why does our little girl look like a little boy now." I think he realizes his job of protecting his family just extended into haircuts. I am officially banning myself from ever trimming again...I hope it grows out faster than it has grown in so far or she might not want to go to kindergarten....Poor Taryn... No pictures of this...It is too embarrassing.