When we got there on Wednesday my sister-in-law Kori and her three kids, my sister Michelle and her daughter, and my parents and Ava and I drove to Midway to see the ice castles there. It was pretty impressive to see what can be created out of ice. The kids LOVED it to say the least!
Harris (sneaking in on the left), Jetta, Lily and Grant under a MAMMOTH ice castle. The sculptures were starting to melt so you got a shower if you stood under them!
My sister Michelle (doesn't she look FABULOUS for being 2 days away from giving birth?) and her daughter Jetta
My cute nephew Grant and I in a little ice "window"
My mom and four of her grandkids
Lily and Jetta are the cutest little friends
Kori and her kids
My Dad and Ava all bundled up
My nieces and nephews absolutely adore Ava. They were always giving her hugs and kisses, tickling her and asking to hold her.
On March 4th, 2011 Laurel Ann Barber entered this world at 11:45am. She weighed 8 lbs. 6 ounces and is perfectly healthy and beautiful. I was able to babysit Jetta while Michelle was in the hospital and we had a blast. It was really neat to get to take Jetta to the hospital to meet her baby sister for the first time.
The whole Barber Family
Michelle took this picture (gotta give credit where credit is due) when Laurel was 4 days old.
Isn't she perfect?
I had to include this picture to show that I have somewhat successfully completed something crafty and domestic. I just LOVE the booties that my friend knitted for Ava so I thought it would be nice to make some for Michelle's baby. I've never knitted in my life but I did learn to crochet way back in the day so I thought it couldn't be THAT hard, right? Wrong. I found a pattern online that was labled "easy/beginner" and bought my supplies. I had no idea what I was getting into. Let's just say that after several attempts at following the pattern I just made it up and I ended up getting a left bootie when I followed the right pattern and vice-versa. Needless to say the booties turned out a bit wonky but as you can see in the above picture, they do fit on a baby's foot and for that I will call my newfound craftyness a success!
On Saturday I left Ava with my mom and went on a hike with my brother, Dallin and my Dad. We hiked up Adam's Canyon which is only about a 2 minute drive from my parents' house.
Me and my "little" bro
My amazing hiker-dad. This man seriously goes on 2-3 hikes per week, year round! He has such a love for nature and has taught me so much about enjoying God's beautiful creations. Needless to say I was working hard to keep up with him!
The trail basically follows a river up the mountain until you get to this waterfall at the top. It is sooooo worth the sweat to get up there! I've hiked this trail at least a dozen times but I never get tired of it.
The three mighty hikers
Me and my Daddy-O
The Barber Family stopped by my parents' house on the way home from the hospital on Sunday - very brave!
Little Laurel was an instant celebrity - of course
My nieces and nephews adore my little brother Austin. When he's around he's pretty much always surrounded by little kids!
On Tuesday night we had a little pizza party at Michelle's house.
Grant and Jetta holding Ava
My Mom bought all of the grandkids matching orange shirts and so we just had to take a picture with them all together. Getting 6 kids ages 5 and under to sit still, put their hands in their laps, smile, AND look at the camera turned out to be an impossible task but we did get a few cute shots. I sure do love these kiddos!
We had a beautiful snow storm while we were there. My parents' house is surrounded by trees and they were so beautiful that I just had to take a picture or two.
It was such a fun week and I was once again reminded of how grateful I am for such a great family. I sure do love spending time with them - they're just so darn much fun! Even though we had such a wonderful time, after a week of being away we were pretty excited to get back home to see Drew! Until next time Utah!
