A long, long time and post

I know it has been about a month since I last posted. A lot has been going on with our life, and now that we are finally settled again, I am ready to jump on the blog wagon. I think?
As most of you know, we headed to Southern Utah in October to get away from some girls who had been being really mean to Ellie at school. The sad thing is that they were girls from our ward as well. Ellie was having a hard time dealing with this, and so we decided to try life in Southern Utah. We unfortunately only lasted a couple of months. It was really hard living away from Ray, and Ellie was not doing as well in school as what we had hoped. So, at the beginning of December we decided to come back home. We decided that we would just keep a closer eye on Ellie. It is probably what we should have done in the first place, but when you have a child that is in need you do anything and everything you can to protect them. So, here we are back in Northern Utah, and loving being a whole family again. I have tried to keep a closer eye on Ellie, and the (mean girls) and hope that these girls will soon grow out of their cruel ways. I am so proud of her and her willingness to forgive those who have been so mean to her.

Ellie was placed at the top of her class in reading, and loves to read a book from beginning to end all in the same day. I was hoping this day would come, and am glad that her glasses have helped her as much as they have. She was excited for the new year to be hear so that she could do cartwheels again. After she broke her arm the The Dr. told her to wait until the new year before trying any so that her arm would have time to heal completely. I think she tried one on the first day of 09' and has been getting better everyday.

Jake was glad to be back in his old school, and has quickly moved back to being the best singer on the bus. :) We are hoping he will be ready for Kindergarten in the fall, and are working with him everyday to be the best Jake we know he can be. He will soon be turning 5, and reminds us everyday that he is almost a big, big boy. He is such a tease to anyone who is around him, but is also one of the most loving kids you will ever meet. He loves to snuggle, and smooch anytime he can.

As for Ray, I think he is happy to have us home. I do think he got kind of used to having the house to himself, but he acts happy to have us here, and we sure are happy to be home again.

I didn't do a Christmas Card this year, or letter or even pictures. I apologize for not sending them out. I guess I got overwhelmed with just being, so please forgive me. I promise to do better next year.

We got a new cat, his name is Skeeter. Jake proudly named him, and we think it fits perfectly. I know we said after our cat Fred passed away that we would not do it again, but we found that our house was lonely without the purring of a cat around. So, when Stephanie had a kitty show up at her door without a home, we decided we would keep him. I think he is one of the best cats we have had so far. Fred was a good cat for Ray, but this cat is good for us all. He loves to spend time with all of us (not just Ray) and that is what we love most.

We have had lots of snow this winter, and have even had a few bugs that have left us home in our pajamas for a day or two. We have had fun building a few snow men and women, and have also watched them melt as days have gotten warm. We had watched almost all of our snow melt when we were hit with a snow storm the other day that left us with enough snow to build a little snow boy for Jake's school assignment. Below are some random pictures that I have taken over the last little while.

Skeeter loves playing in boxes, and sat in this shoe box for probably 30 minutes before finally getting out.Here is a picture of Jake and Ellie with Jake's little snowman.An up close picture of our handsome kitty cat Skeeter.Aren't these girls beautiful. I am so proud of them and their accomplishments in life.My kids posing in their new PJ's Grandpa and Grandma Oliphant bought them.I think Ellie is Skeeters favorite person in the whole wide world. He loves to snuggle with her.Jake's snowman he built for a school assignment. He did it almost all by himself. CUTE HUH?Can you find the smiley bug in the leaves?

Here's Jake posing with his very own "REAL COOL, & TOUGH" snowman.