January

January came and went - almost in a blink. We have had an unusual winter without a lot of snow and warmer than normal weather. I miss my photo of the day challenge.  Hardly a day goes by when I don't find myself thinking what a great shot that would be. This morning the early morning light on the Wellsvilles was beautiful.  I didn't have the time to drive out closer to them for photos but I went up on the hill by the temple to enjoy a few quiet moments.

 The one "storm" this month that delivered snow...and not just rain.

 See you next year, January.

A Visit to Delta

Every once in awhile Mark will cover a shift in the ER at the hospital in Delta.  I decided to come along for the ride this time - I had never been to Delta before and I thought it sounded like an adventure and a quiet weekend to get some handwork done and to study for a final I have next week.

He wasn't kidding when he told me there was not much to do there and it was kind of out in the middle of nowhere.  But I have to say...I sure do LOVE small towns!  LOVE them!!

  The sun certainly knows how to put on a show here...my cell phone barely captured the 

magnificent sunset tonight.  The colors were beautiful and it seemed to last forever!

Last night we enjoyed dinner at a nice little Mexican Restaurant - sorry no photos but the people's interaction

was just as great as our meal was.  Everyone knows everyone here and going out is such a social experience. It's so much fun to people watch!

 Tonight Mark said we had to go to Rancher's Motel/Cafe.  It is pretty much the only sit-down 

restaurant in town and it is where everyone in town suggests you go for dinner.

Look at that tiny little moon in the sky.

As we were walking in this van caught our eye.  Hey, isn't this the guy that was in the news not too long ago? The one who had like 500 reptiles in his house in West Valley?

Mark is very intrigued with this sign and decides he would like one for each of
our cars...maybe it would help keep the RIF-raf away :)

So we are seated, make our selections from the menu and enjoy looking around the cafe. Don't you just love them? Our waitress brought us some warm rolls from the oven - the kind of rolls that are so soft and fluffy but also quite weighty in your hand...oh the love of homemade bread - and two containers full of homemade jam.  "Snap" went the camera.  "Uh  - are you taking photos of your food?" She asks. I humbly answer yes and she throws her laugh out into the room!  "Oh, that's awesome!" she says and starts to tell us about a cruise she just recently took with her mother and how she loves taking pictures of her food, too. Then she goes on to tell us about how she has these little toy animals that look just like her cat and dog.  She takes them everywhere with her and  loves to include them in her photos when she travels. We really got a kick out of her stories.  She got in trouble for posing them in a photo when she was in Greece.  The officials told absolutely  no toys in any photo.  Well I almost got thrown in jail one day myself when I snapped a photo in a fancy deli owned by the mafia in Providence RI - (well not exactly but I did run for my life when I got the look and the guy signaled someone in the back!)

Here comes dinner.  Special of the night - Ribs.  We got the last two portions and boy did they ever pile on the meat.  Best $9.99 dinner we have ever seen....and it included a trip to the salad bar!

Well, before we knew it, this cute lady and our new friend, with her awesome tie-dye shirt, on delivered her two little toy animals to our table....and of course I posed them in a photo.

Meet Blitz and Blue

Yes, she just happened to have them in her purse!  We got chatting with her again and asked her about the van out front with the reptile rescue signs on it.  Sure enough, the owner was there (sitting at the bar when we walked in) and they had just recently moved to Delta.  You can read about it here. She told us several crazy stories that he had shared with her earlier and we looked at each other in disbelief.  These small towns are awesome!

 And if they have homemade pie on the premises...you can bet we usually save a little room for it!

Cococut Cream Pie - a slice divided for two! Thanks cute server lady!  You were a delight!

Are you smiling yet? Don't you just love small towns?

Earlier in the day this little place with the flowers painted on the building caught my eye.

Turns out it is a bakery called, "Eat Dessert First"

We had take out from their earlier in the day - two yummy sandwiches

A Rueben and a French Dip.

I love this window and the paint peeling off the bricks.  If you look closely at the chalkboard inside it says:

"Grandma always said, Eat Dessert First!" and there is a cute photo of the owners Grandma!

So right before dinner we snagged up a box of yummy treats and took them over to the hospital so all those cute nurses could eat dessert first.  (We also brought home a yummy piece of carrot cake for us ;)

Delta is a sweet little place....out in the middle of nowhere.

Welcome Little Owen James

 Heaven sent...to a sweet little family!

Owen James Christensen

Weighing in at 8 lbs

January 12, 2012

He is such a handsome little guy.  We love everything about him.  He is just

perfect.  Molly is such a sweet big sister.  She calls him Wunna...a cute twist on his

his name.  We are so happy everything is going well for baby and mommy.

We got to take Molly home for a couple of nights so dad and mom could

have some quiet time with baby and so she could recover a few more days from her cold.
She was a delight and is so excited to have her little brother here.  What a magical & tiring but oh so sweet time for Lindsey and Jake.

x o x o

 

 "O" for Owen...

Nana got to spend a few days helping with baby Owen and Molly.
What an amazing time and what a cute little family! A baby and a two year
old - can it get better than that?  Molly is just a riot to be with and such a
sweet big sister and holding that tiny little babe.

100% Pure Joy.

 

 Molly and Nana spent one morning at the Aquarium.

She loved those cute little Penguins.

x o x o

Molly Turns 2

 

Molly, 

We had such a great time celebrating with you! You are at such a fun age and such a delight to be with!

We hope this year will be perfect for you.   It is such a blessing to watch you grow up. We love your little crossed fingers - "I'm 2"  :) You are adorable!

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Papa and Nana

A New Year!

We had one more week of fun family time before Brady, Danielle, Liam and Elsie had to go back home.  We made the most of every day. We always try to get some photos with the great grand parents and you would think it would be easier as the kids get bigger...not so much!





Between the camera/photographer not focusing and the wiggling kiddos it makes for a pretty comical time!  But we won't give up on the photo sessions.  They are pretty priceless no matter the outcome.

Visiting our neighbors...

Liam you were too fond of the chickens :) They "freaked you out" but you both loved the goats very
much! You saved apple slices to share with them.  I think they were pleased.

I'll never have too many hugs or snuggle time with these cute kids!

One night we enjoyed a quiet dinner with the adults 

at Element's...but missed Camber who had to work.

 

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes for breakfast with that pure maple syrup..and yes onemorning we 

even had cupcakes for breakfast!  It's something you can get away with at Papa and Nana's!

 

For our New Years Eve Dinner we had Raclette. We LOVE everything about this Swiss meal.

(Ok...the cheese is stinky, VERY stinky but very delicious!  How does that work?

And for dessert....Chocolate Fondue!

 It was a huge hit with the kids! They loved everything about it.

Here's to bright New Year!

Happy 2012!