Time flies.....and they grow so fast.

So this is little Miss Brianna, when she was about 3 or so. With her 'mad' face on. We had gone to the Dinosaur park in Ogden, but it was the 'haunted' time of year, and she was freaked out! She wanted to go home, NOW! But the real purpose of digging these pics out was to see how fast they grow... makes me a little sad. And dang it, this is the earliest that I have digital pictures. The rest are all on film. Need to scan me a few.

Brianna, a 6 year old Conner, and a blond me. Yip, I'm a blond. Like that should be a surprise to anyone... don't I have enough blond moments to convince you? But I actually think I should be a redhead, like I am now.

Conner playing in the park. He was never a small boy, but he was once a bit smaller than he is now.
Now we jump ahead about 3 years. Brianna is in kindergarten in this pic. She's so stinking cute!

Conner and Brianna at Temple square, during Christmas of course. Still 2003.

Jump ahead a year or so, now summer 2005. Brianna is dancing in the Strawberry Days parade, and she danced the whole route. Although she did get a little red, she made it.

Conner is totally going to shoot me when he sees this pic. But I think it's cute. And he actually had the winning run that won the championship game. So there.

I know. No way is this the same girl. But yes, it is. Her first professional photo session. Should have know by how cute she is at 8, that she will be a true knock out one day.

Lets see. This is Halloween about 2006. Everywhere we went for a year or so, people would ask Conner if he was Harry Potter. So I thought, hey, how about an Hermoine as well! They did make great Hogwarts students.

Conner right after the test to get his green belt in Karate. He was quite proud of himself. He misses Karate sometimes, but has so many other interests he wants to pursue, we have to pick and choose.

This is Conner right before his Karate presentation down at UVU. His dojo combined with several other great dojo's, all in different disciplines to do a show on martial arts. He was on a special show team called Team Xtreme.

A fun family trip to Jackson Hole in 2007. Conner is just sooo cool.

Brianna and Conner riding the tram to the top of the mountain. We had a family pic taken at the top. It was very cool.
Brianna and my dad. Notice how she is sharing her cool hat with her grandpa, and he is enjoying every minute of it! You've never looked better Papa!

And now we are in 2008. My kids are getting so darn grown up. I guess I realize it, but looking back over the years at these pictures, it makes it seem really fast.

I love this picture. Probably because although Conner and Brianna are really pretty close, they do tend to fight. A bit. Sometimes, like on a daily basis it seems. So I like to have actual photo proof that they can get along, and have fun at the same time!

Quilt runaway

A friend and I spent a few days down in Cedar City at a quilt retreat this past week. It was a three day event, with classes, prizes, show and tells, and other fun things. I had signed up for a few different classes, thinking they were going to be sooo hard. Look at the quilt above for example. It's made with a technique called paper piecing. I was really nervous to try it. But as this next pic shows, I did it! I actually understood it, and if I do say so myself, my first block looks pretty darn good. When I finish it, hopefully soon, I will show and tell!

There are 16 blocks in the quilt, and they will all be in shades of red, pink, cream or tan and brown. It it so detailed, but I'm excited to get it finished. One day, maybe.

This is my friend Tanya showing off her piecing skills. This was another class we took, called the Hunter Star. If I had thought about it before now, I would have taken pictures of some other peoples blocks as well. There were so many different color combinations, and all looked so different.

And last, but not least, this is my Hunter Star. I've almost got it done. This was a fun, fairly easy pattern to do. I think one of the funiest things about this retreat was meeting all the different people. Mostly women, a few men, but all different ages. Of course, Tanya and I were about the youngest there! But no matter what the age was, we had quilting in common, and some of those older ladies were hilarious. Especially during the 'all night' sew, which only went to about 1 a.m. Again, 'older' women just don't last as long as they used too. So, I'm excited to run away again next time!

So you think you can dance.....

Okay, if any of you watch the tv show So you think you can dance might recognize this cute guy. Thayne made it to the final 12 of the show this last season, and went on tour with them, and Brianna and some friends were able to go to the show. He is an amazing dancer, living and working in LA, but happens to be from Orem. Actually, of the 12 finalists, I believe 4 or so where from Utah. It amazes me the talent around here. Anyway, several of the teachers at Brianna's dance studio know him, and invited him to come do a special workshop. He has actually had many invites from different studios, and usually turns them down. But he decided to come and visit some of his friends. And the girls LOVED him. He is funny, talented and really has some great moves! He taught them a short combo, and then they did it over, and over, and over... you get the idea. It was great watching Brianna. She was the youngest there, (she always is), but she had so much fun. And she kept right up with those older girls. She gets nervous sometimes, but classes like this that are laid back and fun are great for her.

After the class was over, she asked Thayne for his autograph, and a picture. He was more than happy to do so. And he certainly has one more fan for life!

Snow Angel

My most amazingly talented sister-in-law came to visit over the holidays, and was able to come to the Christmas recital, and see Brianna dance. After seeing her in the gorgeous solo costume, she had a thought to have her dance in the snow for pictures. Barefoot, in a dance costume, in the snow. But Brianna is a great sport, and loves Jeri to death, so she was all for it. I actually had a blanket and coat and warm stuff off to the side, so she really didn't freeze, much.
Here is one of the great shots of her. Jeri is still working on some more, and also some great ones of Conner. But for some reason, this one is so beautiful, it makes me get teary. I guess because it shows Brianna's beauty and grace, and her incredible dancing skill, something that I get to see every day, but not everyone does. She is truly my snow angel!