Hangin' in Preston with the Cousins

This past summer we spent lots of time in Preston, Idaho, which has become one of Ava's and Christian's favorite places to go. There's always something fun to do, from going to parades to swimming in the backyard. Their favorite pastime, however, is playing with their cousins.

Girls vs. Boys: Round 2

Back by popular demand is round two of Girls vs. Boys. The first round went to the girls, but we have a feeling things may get evened up this time around (Ava's "Girls Rule" socks notwithstanding). However, we'll let you, our faithful and loyal blog readers, be the judge. Leave a comment and tell us who you think wins this round of the competition.

Daddy & Christian's Adventure

In September, Larry flew to Pennsylvania to attend his grandfather's funeral. He decided at the last moment to bring along Christian (despite Krista's extreme concern that Larry would never be able to handle him on his own). It did turn out to be quite the undertaking as Larry had to single-handedly wrangle Christian through airport security and keep him entertained for six hours of flight time, two takeoffs, two landings, a layover, and two hours of driving; only to have to turn around two days later and do the whole trip again in reverse. As if that were not enough, they missed their return flight after being stuck in traffic for three hours and had to travel back to Larry's parents' house until they could catch a later flight (adding another five hours of driving to an already long trip). By the time they finally boarded their flight home, Christian had already spent more than eight hours in a car and it was fast approaching his bedtime. All things considered, Christian really hung in there and proved to be a pretty happy and resilient little guy. Here's a quick slide show of their adventure (omitted are all the pictures of Christian crying and frantically trying to escape from his father's grasp to roam the airplane aisle).

Despite the long hours of traveling, Christian was in great spirits and was happy to see his Grandma and Grandpa Furr.

Here is Larry's father with his siblings Teri, Randy, and Cheri, immediately following the funeral.

Later that day the family got together to visit. Christian had a lot of fun playing with his cousin Abby and Larry's cousin Annie.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa Furr's house, Christian and Abby got in some quality time together.

They especially enjoyed playing on the piano together.

Here are the cousins playing a duet.

Although it was a strenuous trip, Larry and Christian are very happy that they made the trip to Pennsylvania to visit with family and honor the memory of Great Grandpa Furr.

Betsy & Owen's Wedding Dinner

On February 5, we attended the wedding dinner for Betsy and Owen. It was held at the Skyroom Restaurant at BYU. Here are Owen, Betsy, and Betsy's close friend Dede.

For a very active two-year-old, Ava did very well sitting still during the dinner. However, she did take a few trips to neighboring tables to visit with aunts, uncles, cousins, and other family members.

Ava was very excited when she saw the BYU imprinted china plates.

This is Krista with her little sister Lauren, the next bride-to-be from the Olsen family (that is if we can find her a worthy mate—she's quite the catch).

The following is a slide show of several other friends and family who were in attendance.

Stay tuned for pictures from the wedding day.

Santa Claus Is Gullible

Since my parents have become such lazy bloggers, I figured I had better get on here and catch everyone up on our December before ringing in the new year. A few weeks ago we went to see Santa Claus. I wasn't really that interested, but these girls waiting next to me in line seemed to be very excited.

I eventually made it to the front of the line and my parents placed me on Santa's lap. I didn't really want to go through with it until I noticed that Santa was holding a candy cane. If you recall from last year, I wrote about how Santa Claus was mean because he wouldn't give me his candy cane.

So this time around I decided to just take it from him.

Once I was certain the candy cane was mine, I was out of there.

I thought I was finally done with Santa until next year. Then on Christmas Eve, I was at Granny O's house minding my own business and playing with my cousins when he showed up out of nowhere! Once again my parents wanted me to sit on his lap, but at least this time he came bearing gifts.

Then my parents wanted a picture with Santa also. However, by that time he was out of presents, so I really didn't see what the point was and decided to look for an escape route.

Everyone else seemed to think Santa was the bee's knees though. Here's a slide show of everyone's picture with Santa.

So, I've decided that Santa is a little gullible. All you have to do is sit on the guy's lap for a bit and he gives you stuff. If only my parents were this easy.

Two Little Mermaids Turn Two

On December 13th, we hosted a Little Mermaid-themed birthday party for Ava and her cousin Annissa, both of whom turned two this month. Here's Ava in her mermaid dress anxiously waiting for the party to get started.

Soon everyone arrived and the festivities began as we gathered "under the sea" (i.e. in the basement). Ava was quite entertained by the party favors.

The main event of the party was a show performed by The Balloon Guy. Prior to the party, he made two life-size Little Mermaid balloon sculptures for the birthday girls. Ava (who loves anything having to do with Ariel) was absolutely ecstatic.

Here's The Balloon Guy in action twisting a balloon puppy for Ava.

This is a slide show of everyone with their balloon character.

Once everyone had their own balloon character, we opened presents. Here's Ava opening a Little Mermaid doll. Very appropriate considering the theme and all.

Annissa was quite excited about this present. Wow!

We concluded by heading up to the kitchen for mermaid cake and fish-shaped cookies.

Thanks to everyone who celebrated Ava and Annissa's birthdays. They both had a great time.