Another snowy morning...

This seems to be part of our Monday morning routine as of late. We woke up with snow again this morning and Eliza was very excited!We had a little more this time and it wasn't as wet so we decided to sled instead of make snowmen.Eliza wanted to pull Talia around!My two girls in the snow...and now it's melting like crazy.

Snowy morning...

We had snow this morning. And since we know it usually doesn't last long in the Tri Cities we made our way outside.Poor Talia could only crawl around in all her crazy snow gear. Walking in boots is just a little too challenging right now.Eliza swinging in the snow.Once there was a snowman...

Eliza wanted to snack on raisins and carrots for the rest of the day. I'll build a snowman with her any day if she will always want healthy snacks!Talia wasn't thrilled to be in the house while we finished the last minute touches on the snowman. And when you're done playing in the snow with your sister...then you share snacks together. Here's to a little snow in February!

Sweet Caleb...

Our dear, sweet nephew Caleb passed away on February 10th. He was born with a special little body and doctors didn't think he would live more than a few days.But Caleb defied the odds and blessed us with his presence for 7 years! He was born with one eye which his family believes was a tender mercy from heaven...for he was winking "I love you" each and every day. His amazing family loved and cherished him in every moment. (Notice they are all winking in this picture!)We can't believe how quickly time passed. But we know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. Caleb's time on earth was short but the lives he touched are innumerable. We were fortunate to be able to spend the weekend with his family as we gathered to say goodbye.Some of the cousins ready to release balloons in Caleb's honor.Caleb's funeral was one of the most beautiful, joyful, and peaceful funerals we have ever taken part in.Our Moody family together. (Only missing Dustin and Megan and their families in the picture.) It was an emotional weekend but one that filled our souls to full. We love you Caleb. And we love you April, Dallan, Josh, Matthew, and Mitch. Our hearts and prayers will be with them these next couple of months. If you want to read more about our beautiful nephew his mom has done an amazing job of recording his life http://winkfromheaven.blogspot.com/

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had our traditional Valentine's dinner on February 14th.Eliza with her princess Valentine from mom and dad.It's not every day you sit at the dinner table with candy all over it...Talia didn't waste a second.Daddy with his cute valentines.To finish the evening Eliza had to show Grandpa how her hula skills had improved. (We missed Grandma who was home sick and Nana and Papa who were in the temple that night.)

Love to all and Happy Valentine's Day!

Eliza's perspective...

We took Eliza's camera to Hawaii with us. I was hoping she would really get into taking pictures with it...she didn't. But here is what I did find on her camera...obviously she is in some of them so they all weren't taken by her but they were all worth sharing.

Last day in Hawaii!

We used our last day in Maui to the max!We spent the morning playing at the beach......and in the pools.And then we went whale watching! Which was AMAZING!!!!! We had seen them every day just from our hotel but wanted a closer look. We went to a lookout where mom and dad had watched them before and saw quite a few.But then we decided to check out the boats that go out and see the humpback whales and boy did we get closer!Right off the bat we had a baby, mom, and "escort" whale come so close to our boat that we had to just stop and wait for them to go by.We saw tons of spouting, whales playing with each other, diving down and showing us their tails, and even breaching! As we were headed back to the marina we saw a baby breach, and then two adults breach simultaneously, and then the baby breach again! It was just outstanding! Of course all of that is not very easy to capture on camera so this is what we got!Sadly our time in Hawaii had come to a end. We had such a wonderful time.And we will return someday!

Thank you mom and dad for letting us tag along! What a blessing to have spent that week with you! (There were even whales playing in the water behind us while we took this picture...incredible!)

Day #7 Hawaii

Our resort in Maui was so much fun! The girls just couldn't get enough of the beaches and the pools.Daddy and Talia having fun in the pool.

She loved the slides that went from one pool to the next. (Eliza did too...she just wouldn't cooperate with pictures at this time.) Talia is actually laughing and screaming as they are going down the slide...contrary to how her face may look!Eliza and Mommy on our way to dinner.By this point we were loving the warm weather and the sun too much...going home was going to be tough!

Day #6 Hawaii

Talia's skin may not have appreciated her time in the sun and sand but that didn't stop her. She loved just sitting in the sand and playing with it all around her.

Life is hard...playing at the beach, eating Cheetos, being waited on all day...sigh.Part of dad's conference was a sand sculpting competition for a fund raiser. Our group made a giant turtle.And we added a baby turtle...it was Eliza and Talia's contribution!A beautiful sunset!

Everyone at dinner.