Bye Kye

Kjell's younger brother Kye (19) arrived from Oregon on Tuesday and stayed with us for one night en route to the Missionary Training Center in Provo. In November Kye received his mission call to the Minneapolis Minnesota Mission (parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada) where he'll speak English (it is not uncommon for a missionary to learn a foreign language even if they are called to serve in the United States).

Tuesday evening we gave Kye a tour of our home and he was able to have a video chat with older brother Per via Skype. Wednesday morning Joshua, Shawn, and Vanessa (Shawn's wife) came over for a pancake breakfast. We had Swedish pancakes and German pancakes and enjoyed real maple syrup. Kye leaned over to Marcus and said "this comes from trees [refering to the syrup]." Marcus replied "German pancakes don't live in trees!"

Kjell and Kye ate lunch together before Kjell dropped off Kye at the MTC Wednesday afternoon. Since Kye will be serving a mission for 2 years, Wether will be 3 by the time he returns! Also, both Emma-kate (due any day!) and Julie are pregnant, so Kye will have more nephews (perhaps a niece?) to return home to.

Shirts with Pictures on Them

The other day Marcus declared "I want shirts with pictures on them like Joseph!" Joseph is Marcus' friend who has a penchant for wearing over-sized t-shirts with action figures on them. I tried to convince Marcus that his shirts did have pictures - see the little man on the little horse with a stick? See the tiny alligator? Didn't work. Sooo, we headed to D.I. and found these gems.

Mommy & Daddy Time

We love having Wether all to ourselves for a few minutes each night. At his 1 year appointment he measured 50th percentile for height and head circumference and 35th percentile for weight.

Discovery Park

With slightly warmer weather we're getting out more, including Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove.

My Funny Valentines

Happy Valentines Day! Here are some shots of the boys with their valentines from Uncle Greg, Aunt Molly and Hallie, Kjell and I on our date last night, and flowers and dessert a la Kjell. The biggest surprise? A new camera that actually works!

WWI

No, it's not World War I but William Wetherill is 1 today! And yes, expect to see a post a year from today entitled "WWII" and you'll know that WW is 2 years old.

So Far this Year

So far this year:

Wether stands on his own

Holden goes to preschool and swim lessons

Marcus uses the computer and takes swim lessons

Olivia went on an organizational spree

Kjell continues to improve and build his companies

Facial Hair

Kjell's company is doing a "moustache bash". Until judging day, he'll be sporting a goatee. The boys are subconsiously imitating their father with chocolate (except Wether who got tricked into eating broccoli).

Florida

Even though I was absent-minded enough to FORGET my camera, I'm still going to document my trip to Florida. You'll just have to trust me that it was AWESOME without any visual proof.

Anyway, I went to South Florida for 4 full days in January sans children. Not even one. Just me and a book on the 5-hour flight while Kjell manned the homefront. What a blissful, serene, relaxing, quiet, stressless flight that was...well I better move past the actual travel time or this will be a long blog.

Day 1 - I stayed at Uncle Greg and Aunt Molly's lovely home in Boynton Beach (insert imaginary picure here) where I enjoyed such delicacies as Key Lime Pie ice cream, pumpkin bread pudding, fajitas, gourmet burgers, pound cake, fruit, and other yummies thanks to Aunt Molly's propensity to use "Southern Living" recipes with the best ingredients. I didn't have to cook. Not once. Highlight of the day - My mom and her cousins (Bonnie Jo, Cissie and her husband Bill) came to Uncle Greg's house for a barbeque. It was fun to hear them all catch up (frequently referring to family members as "mother" "daddy" and "kid brother") while I had no diapers to change. There was an actual picture taken that evening on someone else's camera that might end up on the blog someday.

Day 2 - Uncle Greg and I arise early for some garage saling! I do come by it honestly. Best find - a beautiful framed oil of sailboats. Cost: $20. Coast to ship to Utah: $200. Whoops. Mom and I visit her old friend Kathy Mattingly in Palm Beach, where she makes us a yummy lunch and we reminisce about when I would stay with them at their house in the Keys when I was a kid. Next we head to Singer Island to visit with my Aunt Darcy, Richard, cousin Tom and his girlfriend Marianne. The ladies enjoy the afternoon going to thrift shops (where I buy Kjell the best Christmas sweater ever) and then out to dinner at a fantastic seafood restaurant. So good to see everyone!

Day 3 - Two words. Flea Market. This was QUITE the experience. The parking lot of a 13-screen drive-in movie was filled with booths selling, well, everything! What did I buy you ask? The most ridiculous thing I could find of course - a beautiful stained-glass pool table light for $25. Cost to ship: don't ask. Literally, when I brought it into the UPS store, the lady just shook her head. At this point I made a conscious decision to stop buying big, ridiculous things that are impossible to ship. Still, Uncle Greg and Aunt Molly helped wrap the light so I could check it as a piece of luggage. It was in many pieces when I opened the box in Utah. Fixable, but very damaged. Now my light is sitting in storage waiting for me to fork over $400 to get it fixed (note - a new light is between $500 and $600). Lesson learned. I also bought sunglasses for $1 - much more savvy.

Day 4 - Sunny Florida is sunny! The day is spent at the beach with my mom. We're later joined my Erin and Eden (friends of the family). Eden is 4 and has never seen snow, so we hope she and her mom will come visit soon. Of couse I leave the beach with a sunburn (when I get home, Marcus says "Mommy, why are you orange?"). Uncle Greg and I go to Goodwill that evening and we all enjoy dinner at Hurricane Alley.

It was so sweet to have Kjell pick me up at the airport with 3 cute little boys in the backseat who I missed so much! Still, it was nice to have a break, but next time I'm bringing Kjell.