Christmas Card

Derek – “I love my bike and my commute” He loves the change in commuting time which was about an hour, one-way in Atlanta and is now about 15 minutes by bike! He has successfully adjusted to working in Salt Lake City. One thing is for certain though; public accounting is just plain busy, whether you are in a big city or a smaller one.

Sidsie- “Moving is a lot of work Where did all this stuff come from” We moved twice during 2011. The first move, in April, was from Atlanta, Georgia to Salt Lake City, Utah a distance of about 2,000 miles. This was because Derek transferred with PwC to the Salt Lake office. The second move, in December, was a distance of less than half a mile. This was because we found a home that fits our family’s needs better.

Jensen- “I go to school a LONG time. How much longer will I have to go when I am in 2^nd grade?” He was thankful to find out six hours was it. Jensen finished kindergarten and has successfully completed almost half of first grade. He enjoyed playing soccer again and has also found a new love - Karate.

Siesa- “I will not forget to draw on the paper only” Siesa is our budding little artist and author. She draws and writes letters everyday most of the time on paper but often the wall, couch, books, mail, clothes, herself, her sister… you get the idea. She has also enjoyed her preschool class and learning all about writing and letters.

Elsie- “Elsie not done screaming yet” Elsie is full of energy. She is our boisterous little two-year old. She is always right in the middle of the action and is so concerned about what everyone else is doing at all times.

Family photo 2011

There were so many that I loved. I just had to include them all. Thank you Liybie!

All I want for Christmas in my two front teeth

According to Jensen "you couldn't actually give me my teeth if you wanted to because you are not a dentist"

My adventure with out kids

I went to Boston for a long weekend to visit my sister and her husband. I had a fabulous time!

I watched the sun set by the river and then Teppo took me on a tour of MIT. All I have to say is there are some pretty crazy buildings there.

Thursday Maria and I rented a car and drove to Concord and Lexington. We went to the Alcott home where Louisa May Alcott wrote “Little Women.” We also went to a museum about the area and all the people from there, visited the bridge where the revolutionary war started and the spot about the famous quote “the shot heard around the world” . We also visited Walden pond (much bigger than I envisioned, it really should be called Walden lake) and the sleepy hollow cemetery.
That night we went to the Union Oyster house which is the oldest restaurant in the United States. The building has been around since the seventeen hundreds and it became a restaurant in 1826. We feasted on sea food and Boston cream pie Yum.

Friday we walked the Freedom trail. It started at Boston common (a big park) and is a 2 ½ mile walk through Boston and ends at Bunker Hill. There were lots of things to see along the way like Paul Revere's house, the old north church (where the lanterns were hung to single if the British were coming by land or by sea and then started his famous ride) the USS constitution (one of the first battle ships built by the united states), and much more. It was very interesting to see all the historical places and understand the timing of everything that happened. I have a much better appreciation for our founding fathers and for our great country.

Sunday we went to church and then walked around Boston and looked at old churches and the Boston library. My flight home was very uneventful which is always nice. I came home to sleeping children and a very clean house. I am so blessed to have a husband that is such a good father and housekeeper.