Family Pix 2009

Natasha & Yuri!!!

This is Natasha & Yuri just last week! We're so excited to see them, we're seriously going nuts!

(that's the hat Nate sent back for Yuri - we love that he's wearing it!)

A couple of years ago, and the first picture we saw of him.

Natasha's arrival, October 17, 2009. Thanks to Ryan for interpreting!

Reunited with her best friend, Shelby/Ira!!

The beautiful halloween girls! Natasha, Kayla, Shelby

Shaun's 40th Birthday Party & Our Weekend in So. Cal.

Noah, Kayla and Nate (and Kayla and Nate learned how to surf! Noah already knew how...)!

Our friends the Hathaway's and our Monson cousins

Rodney and Leslie, Shaun, Mira and Perri

Kayla's even beautiful draped in seaweed

It's becoming a tradition for us to visit our dear friends Bob and Ladorna on our California trips. I love these two so much and miss seeing them often.

Yes, we've got chickens...

Matt has worked so hard on this coop, chicken run and chicken yard. Kayla and I painted it like a barn - we love it and so do the chickens. We wanted them to feel like this is their home and they definitely do!
Matt built a fence and sectioned off a corner of our backyard for the chicken yard so that they can free range.

Matt named this one Breakfast... and no, he's not eating her for breakfast, ever.

These are our pets.
This is Ruby - she's so friendly. All of our chickens will let you hold them and most of them will come right up to you if they know you.

Kayla and (I think) Santa.

Mango and Cupcake

Breakfast again. She's the 1st in the pecking order and is very cute and protective. The first night they were all at their new home, Breakfast literally spread out her wings and the 5 others huddled under them. Three of the chickens came from a different farm so this was so sweet that she took them in and helped them feel safe. They are hilarious, silly things to watch.

The black one is Princess Leia.

(Matt says, "get it... Princess "lay"-a...")

Kona & Sadie

Need I say more? These dogs are beloved in our house. Kona is 4 and our recent adoptee, and Sadie is 2, and loves her new "brother."

Our 2009 Garden

So our first garden in 2007 failed miserably. Since then I've done a ton of homework and this year our garden took off! It's been a blast and Matt and the kids are wonderfully helpful. We are harvesting tomatoes, canteloupe, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, crook neck squash, watermelon, pumpkins, gourds, parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano and spearmint. We are harvesting about 10 pounds of tomatoes a day at this point, and we can't keep up! But we love it! Needless to say, we've had lots of homemade marinara sauce, cream of tomato soup, etc.

May 2009 in Washington, DC

We do love that we get to go back to DC each spring, and it's wonderful to reconnect with friends!

Alex & Camille, Kory, Cher & Matt, Brooke & Mark, Tatiana, Jessie

Arlington National Cemetary

One of my favorite pictures!

Our DEAR dear friends, the Piantanida's

Jill, Caroline, Margaret and me at the fave restaurant, Carlyle

My introduction to Georgetown Cupcake... thanks, Caroline!

Family Reunion 2009

Noah

Kayla and Asher

Mira Jade

Noah, Mira, Kayla

Noah and Kayla

Mira

This summer my family gathered in St. George with my mother's side of the family. I only have a few pictures but I will add others when they get emailed to me. We had a great time, though!

Nate's Snowmobiling Video - His 1st Cornice!!

Shaun and Emily in Town, February '09

Mira and her grandpa on a ski lift.
Mira did an AWESOME job on skis for the first time! Go Mira!

Mira, you have the best dad in the world - he even helped ME a lot as I was learning to ski!

Very cute cousins.

Favorite man in my life, and a close second!

Shaun and Nate charging Solitude.

Shaun, MJ, Dad, Cher, Nate, Matt, Kayla

Mira and Shaun on a snowmobile up at Daniel's Summit!

And that would be Matt...who else would take a jump and be able to look at the camera at the same time (okay, maybe Nate).

PG-13 snowmobile-style.

Not that you can tell, but this is Kayla, Shaun, Nate, Emily and Mira.

Cher and Emily - LOVE you, Emily!

Mira and Kayla - crazy Mira and Kayla.

And with helmets off - Kayla, Matt, Nate, Cher, Emily, Shaun, Mira

Nate goes large. Yes, the kid is 10...and on a 450 lb. snowmobile. Oh my...