Little Bambino turns 6 months old!!

I can't believe that Graham is already 6 months old.

It seems like yesterday that we were at the

hospital for only 18 minutes before he arrived.

(That was awesome by the way)

He is an extremely happy baby.

That is the first thing that everyone always says about him.

He has huge dimples.

I cannot get enough of them.

Seriously.

He loves Benson and is always laughing at him.

He can roll over both ways.

Has been sitting up for almost a month now.

Sleeps...occasionally. We are working on that one.

(Both the boys have had croup twice this month)

Started rice cereal this week and LOVES it.

I can't believe how well he eats from a spoon.

He is a big baby.

His 6 month stats...

Height: 28 inches (95%)

Weight: 17 lbs.

The kid is huge.

Happy 6 month birthday!!!

We love you kiddo!!!

What was I thinking??!!!

Preparing for our race. We didn't get the memo for gloves, hats, water bottles, etc.

I look too excited to be going on a race...Kent...well, he's Kent.

This year I thought it would be fun to do a
5K Cross Country Ski Race at the Winter Festival.
Come on. Really Anna?Me again, excited. Kent trying to tell me our game plan.
But I didn't want to do it alone
so the hubster said that he would tag along with me. Practicing.In other words, trying to remember how to X-C ski.:)
He literally tagged along with me.
First of all, I was already dehydrated,
and I only had 4 bites of my granola and yogurt
before we had to go stand in line for the race.
As soon as we started, I could tell that
my boots were rubbing
and that I was extremely thirsty.
Running a 5K is one thing
but cross country skiing one...
especially when you haven't been in a few years. :) Almost to the FINISH!!!
I had a great time out there with Kent though
and he's a stud for going and hanging out with me.
When we got back to the hotel,
I tried showering but I was in pain.
I got two huge blisters that were already worn off.
The picture doesn't even do them justice.
Thanks again race!!Ouch!!!
After the race, we packed the car ASAP
and had lunch so that we could get on the road.
Kent and I were also both dehydrated
because we had severe headaches
and I was nauseous. We headed back throughZion and went on to Primm
where we got to use our CDL's
to get our hotel for $14.95.
That's right. $14.95!!!!
Booyah!!!!
Another advantage for driving buses in Alaska.What a great day and weekend in Bryce!!

Snoeshoeing. It can be romantic when you bring your kids...right?!!

(Graham- chillin in the hotel before church)

We started the day out by going to church in Tropic.

If you have never been to church here,
it should definitely be on your bucket list.
After church, a man that had beads in his beard
left the church parking lot on his decked out four-wheeler.
A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!
I am still trying to convince Kent
that we should we move here.When we got back, we decided to go snow shoeing to
Paria View.(Graham slept the entire time...and I definitely did not get cold!!)
It was beautiful with all of the snow.(Kent would toss Benson in the air and he would get stuck
in the snow when he landed. All he could keep saying
between his laughs was "Again...Again...")
We went with Jeff and Colleen since Shane and Joanna
decided that they weren't leaving the hotel that day.
Can't blame them.
Grandma had both of their kids for the entire weekend.(Benson struggling to climb up this hill...kinda funny to watch)
I tried to take Benson to the pool that night,
but we both froze once we got in.
The poor kid was shivering and could barely talk
but didn't want to get out. Crazy kid:)
Oh yeah...and Happy Valentines Day honey!!

Hiking Navajo Loop Trail

There are a lot of pics on this one...I had too many to choose from.
We decided to hike Navajo Loop trail this morning.
It starts out as a series of switchbacks
which drop 520' in less than a mile.With all of the snow and babies in tow,
it was a lot of fun trying to
navigate down this area.
Some chose to slide down the snow even,
Kent and Shane to name a few.And yes. Benson is still inside the carrier.
The sky was amazingly blue against
the snow and the red rock.It felt so good to be out with everyone hiking.Of course, there was a lot of laughter
with the Wests and Vests.The hike was great until we had to
pack our kids out of the canyon as well.
I felt like I had an extra 200lbs.
on me while I was sitting in a furnace.At least I had Graham. Sorry hun.
You get the bigger kid. We came back later
in the afternoon so that Colleen
could go teach her western dance class
for the first time at the Winter Festival.There was a huge turnout and everyone
was raving about it.
Of course they would though.
Colleen's fantastic!!
Then it was off to bed with the kiddos for us.

St. George, Zion, and ... BRYCE CANYON!!

We arrived in St. George and visited

with Kent's mom for awhile. This morning we ate at
Twentyfive Main.
Our 2nd time...amazing...delicious...could not ask for more.
We only have 2.5 hours of driving today to get to Bryce.
So we decided to go the scenic route.Then off to Zion National Park. In the winter.Park is still the same. Just in case you were wondering.
We drove through the east entrance where all the snow was.
Completely different from the scorching
hot weather that usually accompanies
us in Zion. Bryce Canyon was only
1.5 hours from Zion so that was a quick trip.
We arrived in Bryce with lots of snow.Can you guess who loved it??!!!(Benson would laugh so hard every time Kent
landed on the snow next to him. Probably my favorite pic of the day.)
That means our winter festival would be a
winter festival after all.
The boys were definitely excited to stretch their legs.
They were both amazing as usual in the car.
How did we get so lucky to have 2 laid back kids?We met up with Kent's parents and sister Jessica
to go watch the sunset at
Sunset Point.It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L with all the snow.
Shane and Joanna Vest (Kent went to school with him in Hawaii)
showed up that evening. It is always a good time with them.
We sat around and talked for while before
we were off to bed to get some rest
for our weekend in Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon...Here we come!!

We are starting our 10.5 hour journey to go to
Bryce Canyon
for the Winter Festival that they have there every year.
Kent has been going since he was young
and I started when we were dating.
You start to recognize the same people every year
so it may seem like an over sized family reunion.
Kent is working in the car today
and we will drive to St. George.


Another road trip under our belt!! Whoooeeee.
Bryce...Here come the Wests!!!

Boys are great!!

So last week Benson sang his first song to Graham last Tuesday, January 26. It went something like this.

"Itsy, itsy, itsy... down, down, WASHED... sun, itsy, itsy"
LOVED IT!!!

Benson also said his first prayer all by himself at lunch last Wednesday, January 27.
It went something like this.

"Father,
thank you...dad, mom, bam (that is Graham)
Jesus,..Amen"

He was so excited that he said it all by himself. I was too.
Graham is still smiling like crazy and getting better
holding his neck up. Whenever he sees Benson,
he will just watch and smile at him
the ENTIRE time. It is so cute to watch them.