Tree Burning Tradition

Paul's parents have a tradition of burning the Christmas trees and going on a hike each year. Here are some pictures from the adventure. We all had a great time and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Check out this view!!

Matix was showing Paul the way on the map... :) Not really, he is just really into pointing.

Matix had fun exploring, but he was pretty slow, so he spent most of the time on Paul's shoulders or with Stacy.

How cute are these 2?!

My noisy boy... Having fun exploring and walking with Paul. So cute. :)

This year these are the people who went:

Lee(Paul's Dad) Colleen (Paul's sister) Chuck (my Dad) Paul Matix Me Della (Paul's Grandma) Hawken and Stacy (Paul's Mom)... Dale (Paul's Grandpa) also came with, but didn't do the hiking part.

Here it the tree burning. Yikes that's a big fire, right?!

Della took a picture of all of us with the fire and we took a picture of her. :)

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset. We also had a quick dinner before Matix pooped out on us and was ready for bed. :)

He still goes to bed at 6pm, no matter how much we try to get him to stay up a bit longer.

We miss you Daddy!

Paul left for the island yesterday. :( We miss him already!

Matix Hawken and I NEED our Paul/Daddy time. :) Here are some cute pics of Paul and Matix playing before he left.

This is Paul fixing his board, and Matix helping.

Matix had his OWN toolbox. :)

Matix was very interested in this fun new toy...

And yes, Paul really did take his 1 year old on his skateboard. Matix LOVED it!

We are so glad Paul could come for a few weeks. We (the boys and I) are planning on being back in Dominica at the end of the month... hooray hooray!

Grandpa's Chair

While my Dad was here I put him to work. :) Matix found this chair a while ago at a yard sale and fell in love. I was planning on giving it to him for Christmas, but I never finished painting it. It HAD to be repainted because it had these ugly little rose bud looking things all over it... No thank you.

I started painting it, but only got the first two sides of one leg done (yellow and orange polka dots on one and red rectangles on the other). My Mom painted a few of the base colors for me when she was here, which helped, but I still didn't ever get it done. (Thanks, by the way, Mom) Many other people offered to help me too, but I thought I would finish. When my Dad was here (after New Year, and LONG after Christmas)... I decided I should really just let someone else do it. Plus since my Dad is QUITE the artist, it turned out great, and he had fun doing it.

He did this all in a day and a half. Impressive, huh?

Matix really loves it and drags it around everywhere. My Dad, being the teacher and principal for so long, also wanted it to be educational, so he put on 1 bee, 2 balloons, 3 stars, 4 bugs, and 5 pennies... He also added the alphabet and numbers 1-10 on the back. :) I think it is SO cute. Thanks Dad!

Baby Blessing

Hawken's baby blessing was on Sunday. Hawken wore the outfit Paul wore when he was blessed. It was pretty big on Hawken, and we didn't get any pictures of him in it. Maybe we will pose one later on.

Paul's Grandparents came down from Utah. My Dad came from Wisconsin. Paul's Aunt Liana, Uncle Arch, and Uncle Bill also came. We also had some friends come. Paul's Mom made a yummy dinner for all of us. It was so nice to see everyone and spend some time together.

Grandpa Chuck with Matix. Matix LOVES to give Grandpa hugs and snuggles, it was really cute to watch.

Great Grandma Berg with her newest great grand baby (#12, I think). She held him every chance she got. :)

Great Grandpa Berg with Hawken. Thanks for driving down from Utah for this little guy.

Matix had a great time playing with his friend Tanner who he hadn't seen in a long time.

Tanner loves to "cheese" for the camera.

What a cutie.

New Family pic.

Proud big brother.

4 generations picture: Dale (Hawken's Great Grandfather) Lee (Hawken's Grandpa) Paul (Hawken's Daddy) and of course, the little man of the hour... Hawken.

The blessing was so sweet. Paul (again) did a great job blessing his baby with the things he will need throughout his life. I wish everyone could have heard it. We feel so lucky to have this little guy with us. He is so calm and has the ability to make everyone around him calm and relaxed too. He is already a month old, I can hardly believe it. We are very happy he is ours.

Baby Bath!

Hawken had his first real bath... I have lots more to catch up on, so you will have to take it as it comes... :)

Here is a video of the event.

What a good baby (and what a helpful big brother)!!!

Buzzy Bee

My friend Ashley brought Matix this Buzzy Bee toy from New Zealand. Thanks Ash!

At first he didn't get how to use it, but now, he LOVES it. :) This morning he dragged it around for about a half an hour.

SO busy...

Then he joined me on the couch for a snuggle. When Hawken fussed, Matix decided the ottoman would be a better spot for a rest. :)

New Year Party!!

We had a giant party! We are the giants and all the food is miniature. :) SO FUN! Here is Paul with some mini pizza and mini quiche.

Stacy with mini watermelon... :) CUTE!

My Dad is here visiting from Wisconsin. He came out for the baby blessing tomorrow. Here he is with Neil, one of the neighbors and family friend of Lee and Stacy.

Matix stayed up past his bed time to watch the other kids (and Paul) play Rock Band. They had so much fun.

Matix crashed out after about an hour though... 7pm was TOO late for him.

The adults were busy playing games too. We all really had a blast.

Here are our mini champagne flutes (filled with sparkling grape juice)... :)

Happy New Year!!!

Cute Baby

What a cute baby, huh?

He is 4 weeks old now and such a good baby. My Dad came out for a visit and Paul's Grandparents will be here soon too for the baby blessing. It is this Sunday at 3pm in the Buckeye 2nd ward. Email me if you want to come, but need directions. :) jesskent@gmail.com