New State, New Schools, New Teachers...

That's a lot to conquer..

Madison - Kindergarten (again!)

Tanner - 7th grade (first year in middle school)

Alex - 3rd grade

   

But hopefully with all these new fun neighborhood friends, you will survive!

Finally...

After nearly 7 months of living in uncertainty and apart, we finally got our family back together under one roof!

(Now the question is, can we get all our junk back under one roof?)

Before the onslaught of boxes!

And the chaos begins!

Looks like our Saturday's will be a bit more busy than with our AZ desert landscaping!

But the best part is...it's only a bike ride away!  Come visit!

How Time Flies

It's been almost 4 months since we left Arizona. In some ways it seems like just yesterday and in other ways eons ago! Here is a little glimpse of what we've been up to:









 Moving Day...amazingly all 23K lbs fit into the 18-wheeler!  We were getting a little worried towards the end!



 Hello California! Even if it was only for a week in HB (thanks Uncle Lon & Aunt Grace!)...next up Utah!  The kids are quite certain we are vagabonds!

 Spent some time with cousins and second cousins!

More time with Tueller cousins - on the Heber Creeper (and it definitely creeped!)

 Good times with G&G Glazier at the Hogle Zoo

 Said goodbye to Aunt Bev and Uncle Dave ...El Salvador will Love you!

Did some Alpine sliding in Park City - glad to have our Dad join us for the weekend!

Welcomed home Aunt Carol and Uncle Mike from 3 years in Chile!

Hiked with Grandma Chris to Ensign Peak

And finally found this circus tent to move into!

Hello CALIFORNIA!



Going Private!

Let me know if you want access...no promises on how often I'll post, but hopefully more than once every 2 years!

I heart SF

They're Done...

For six long, I mean short weeks!

Madison's preschool graduation with Ms. Nicole

Alex with Ms. Lowe (Kindergarten)

and apparently 4th graders are just too cool to have their Mom's come in for a pic with the teacher - maybe I'll have to sneak in next year Tanner!

Keeping Tradition

Every year that I can remember, my paternal grandparents and now my parents have always made a big batch of Bratceli's just in time for the holidays. They are a thin Swiss cookie made from lots of butter, sugar cinnamon and a hint of lemon...hmm, no wonder they are so good! The recipe comes straight from Switzerland and has been passed down from generation to generation. After serving a mission in England, my dad was able to travel to Switzerland before returning home. During his travels, he found a bratceli iron and brought it home to his mother who had also spent many years making these with her family.

In years past, I had helped here and there rolling the dough into small balls, but had mostly just enjoyed sampling the finished product. But this year, I knew it was something that I wanted to make sure I knew how to do from start to finish. I wanted to learn the "tricks of the trade" so that I could pass this tradition on to my children. Especially since my parents have been able to secure a few more irons in their travels and with the help of a good Swiss friend. And I'm hoping that I might inherit one of them! (hint, hint - and I promise I'll be a good girl!) Here are some photos of our attempt - and yes, I conned everyone into helping! Unfortunatley during our fun cooking adventure we lost track of Madison and cousin Josh! They apparently didn't think it was their thing and decided to check out Grandma Chris' bedroom and take a peek at all of her beautifully wrapped Christmas presents! Grandma Chris wasn't too happy! I think eventually she decided to laugh about it! :-)

Everyone rolling tiny balls

According to Grandma Tueller you have to give them a little curl - no flat bratcelis around here!

The aftermath of Madison and Josh - two days BEFORE Christmas!