Christmas 2012

Despite my protests, this year has just flown by. Our babies are both a little older, a whole lot bigger and full of sass! We are especially grateful this time of year for the many blessings Jesus has given us.

Zoie: On December 21st our baby girl will turn 8. She is in second grade and loves every second of school. She loves to learn (she is smart of course!) read, write, and draw. She really enjoys girl scouts, gymnastics and refusing to eat anything healthy. Seriously, she eats like a bird! She has grown to be an amazing big sister to Kai. No doubt they have their moments, but generally she is nurturing and protective of him. We are very thankful for that in this tough world.

Kai: Our little man turned 4 in September and grew about a foot! He adores his preschool teacher (Miss Molly), who was also Zoie's kindergarten and first grade teacher. She has been an huge blessing to our family. He loves all things boy: transformers, super heros, tractors, and trucks. You can find him most days playing some sort of imaginary super hero fight. He has a very tender heart and starts most of his days snuggling with me while daddy gets ready for work. One of the best parts of my day, especially since I know it is short lived.

Ryan and I: We are both still plugging away at work, which we love. Ryan is the middle school principal, along with wearing a few other hats as well. My office practice is wonderful and the biggest blessing of the past few years for me has been to find a great balance of work life and home life. We both still love to run and together we completed three half-marathons this year. Our next is in April so we have our fingers crossed for warm weather.

Last, and perhaps most important, we have been blessed with good health, happy memories and loving family and friends this past year. Our blessings wouldn't be complete without acknowledging my Gramps, who went to be with Jesus in July. Christmas will be a different without him this year, but we know he is loving his healthy, pain-free body in heaven. No doubt he is building something or fixing something--utilizing the skills God gifted to him. We wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Go Mustangs!!

Today is homecoming for the DC Mustangs.  The kids have a fun-filled day with the parade and game tonight. Zoie is riding in the car with one of the Queen candidates and she thinks she is hot stuff! Kai's daycare provider is courageous enough to take the little ones to watch too.

The cheerleaders stopped by this week to paint our driveway to show our Mustang spirit. Kai decided to help--ignore the winter p.j.'s he is wearing in mid-day. They were new from Grandma AND had baseballs on them so we couldn't get him out of them.

I started my homecoming day with football flowers from Ryan on my desk. Pretty fun start to the day! Good luck tonight to the Mustang football team!

Let the Celebrations Begin!

Our little man is turning 4 next Monday! The only benefit to having family so spread apart is that birthday celebrations tend to be a month long event--which is always fun! Kai started his this weekend with a party thrown by Grandpa Dick, Grandma Linda and Uncle Brennen, complete with jumping hay bales, Incredible Pizza, driving a tractor and cake!  Then Labor Day brought Grandpa Rex and Grandma Mary and a special guest, Iron Man. 

My baby boy is growing fast--a little too fast for my taste. Today was also his first day of preschool. He was so excited to go. His teacher sent me a text to say he did great and fell in love with her bottle calf. Go figure....tractors, hay bales, trucks, farm equipment and super heros make up his entire day. Why should the first day of preschool be any different?

The celebrations aren't over yet so I will try to keep pictures posted. If you see Kai make sure to wish him a big Happy Birthday!

Davis County youth track 2012

We spent the day at the Davis County youth track meet which was our first time participating. Man, we have been missing out! What an incredible event for the kiddos. Grandpa Rex and Grandma Mary graciously got up before dawn to drive 3 hours to watch Zo in her long jump and both in various races. We have overly tired kids (and a handful of ribbons) at the moment but well worth it. Thanks to all who helped put this event on! 

Forgive me for the lack of posts the last few months. Spring time has brought with it a very busy schedule for the Woods crew. We did, however, find time to spend with our friend and photographer, Leslie Cook. She is amazing! As always, she did a wonderful job and I have yet to actually order pictures because I can't pick--they all turned out so great. Here are three that really seem to hit the kid and their personalities right on the money.  Zo--quiet, reserved and a thirst for knowledge. She is constantly asking me questions that require me to think and find the answers she is looking for. I love that about her.  Then Kai.....he is exactly as he is in the picture. 100% boy, 100% of the time. He does find time to start his day by crawling in bed with me to snuggle for a few minutes each morning, although this particular morning he made me move over so he could have my "hot spot" as he puts it. All is well here and hopefully we can find time to post a few more pics and details about what is going on. Until then, enjoy the beautiful weather! 

Relaxing.....

Everyone needs to take a break every now and then!

To be 7 again.....

Seriously, my hubadub does make an incredible effort each year to make my birthday amazing. And he usually succeeds. Zoie has had such a fun, exciting week that I almost want to be a kid again--just for the parties!! We started out at Incredible Pizza where Uncle Brennen earns his gas money on the weekends. He served at her party, which Zo thought was pretty cool. Together with a few friends and family we rode go-carts, played mini-golf, were blown away in the hurricane machine and so many other fun things. Then this morning she had breakfast on her special birthday plate (thanks Nana Janet!), Dizzy the Clown surprised her class with face painting and at lunch time they all had a pizza party. Whew.....busy day 'round here.

Just in case you can't tell, her face painting in a princess crown with a diamond in the middle. Dizzy rocks. :) Happy 7th birthday to my sweet, baby girl. We love you so.