The "blizzard" of the decade

Many of you probably heard that Utah was supposed to get the blizzard of the decade last night. While they didn't forecast a lot of snow in the valley, the winds were going to be 50 mph. Afternoon school activities were canceled and many were let out early and because the storm was supposed to roll in at about 5pm, many businesses closed early. Brittney and I needed to run to the grocery store at about 3:30 to do some quick grocery shopping. Brittney's car was out of gas so we stopped to get some gas, the gas station was packed with cars filling up as well as people filling up gas cans. When we got to the store, it was worse than the Orem Wal-Mart on a Saturday night. No carts, no room in the aisles, incredibly long lines to check out. Exactly my idea of fun :)! Anyway, the storm finally rolled in and we survived. In fact, the storm was really weak. We got maybe 2" of snow and the winds were not even close to 50mph. There were some strong gusts, but it was not Armageddon like the news had made it out to be. The temperatures are cold, it was about 7 degrees this morning and it is about 19 right now. We decided to let Mercedes go out in the snow this morning. Her pants were way too big and her gloves were not warm enough. Let's just say her first experience wasn't exactly one to remember. As soon as she face planted it into the snow, she had had enough.

Rachel's Birthday

Today is Rachel's birthday! We got up early to make her breakfast and blew up a lot of balloons. I think Mercedes thought they were for her. We spent half hour this morning just running through them.

Here is the birthday girl!


I tried out my cake decorating skills on Rachel


Mercedes loved eating the scraps.

Family Pictures

This last week we had family pictures taken. Family pictures are always fun and stressful at the same time. Ours was more stressful this year because it rained for most of the day. Well after sitting in the car for almost a half hour the rain slowed down enough for us to take pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Mercedes Happenings

Mercedes has now learned how to open doors. You can only imagine how much more interesting this makes life (let's just say that Mercedes doesn't want you to get lonely while using the bathroom).

She also thinks it's hilarious to put her jacket on her head and run around.

Mercedes misses her cousins and wishes that she had some nearby. This video was taken when we stopped at the Dallas Trayner's home on our way home from Georgia. This one is for you mom.

Interesting Quote

Brittney and I were organizing our collection of books last night and I came across a paper that I had inserted into The Chosen. I read the book when I first got home from my mission and loved it. Apparently, I liked a quote from the book so much that I wrote it down on a piece of paper and placed it at the front of the book. Hope you enjoy.

Human beings do not live forever, Reuven. We live less than the time it takes to blink an eye, if we measure our lives against eternity. So it may be asked what value is there to a human life. There is so much pain in the world. What does it mean to have to suffer so much if our lives are nothing more than the blink of an eye? I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man that lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant . . . . A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life. It is hard work to fill one's life with meaning . . . . A life filled with meaning is worthy of rest.

Summer Fun

This past summer has been so fun. We spent two and a half months in Georgia while Josh was working with the Georgia Court of Appeals. Luckily my parents let us bum with them. It was really fun to see my family and let Mercedes get to know them a little. We decided that if we had to drive to Georgia we might as well make it fun so we stopped and did things along the way. Too bad that Mercedes wont remember any of it. For those who don't know yet we are living in Josh's parents house while they are on a mission. We are all settled now and I think that the dog has adjusted to us.

Here are some fun pics of the last few months

Playing dress up! She is a natural diva.






The joy of spaghetti


Us at arches.


Fun at Nate and Megan's house.


Walking in Memphis.


Having fun with cousin Jane.


Every girl needs one of these.


Emery's third birthday. My sister made the cutest cake!


Mercedes first birthday. She shares a birthday with uncle Dallin so they each got an inchworm cake.


At the pool with cousins.


My brother Parkers high school graduation.


Looking cute in my suit.

Some Pictures

I thought I would just upload some pictures really quick. This summer has been very busy. Hopefully, we can get a full update soon. For now, enjoy the Mercedes show, because we know that's all you really want to see anyway.

Mercedes enjoying the view from the St. Louis Arch

At the Kansas City Zoo

Enjoying ALL her bows!

Having a good time learning how to stand (this was taken at Christmas -- She is nearly walking now)

Arches National Park

Typical happy Mercedes

Famous Route 66 ice cream at Ted Drewes (they hold your ice cream upside down when they give it to you to show how thick it is)

Jealous of the lions...

sleeping

How big is Mercedes?

More to come later!

Crawling

Yes it is true...Mercedes is finally crawling.

Parents receive mission call!

For those who don't know yet, my parents have been called to serve as Mission Presidente and companion. We are excited for them. They will be reporting to the MTC around July 1. We will miss them, but wish them the best.

Starting New Hobbies

So a few months ago we moved into a new ward and the RS asked me what some of my hobbies are. I realized that I don't have many hobbies so I took up painting. This is something that I have always wanted to do but I am not good at all. I told my sister Astyn that I would post pictures of my first two paintings. These are just Acrylic paints so it is really cheap top do. I did not know that you could use acrylic paints until I got on the internet and watched this clip of an artist who only uses acrylic paints. If you are looking for a new hobbies I highly recommend painting!

I made this one for Mercedes room.


This one looks really dark in the picture and I am not sure why?

Party!

Well we finally made it back home after 2 and a half weeks of vacation. This Christmas was full of family fun and we loved every minute of it. Our first week we spent in Florida with my family and the second we spent with the Trayner's on a cruise in the Caribbean. So here are a few highlights of each week.

As you can see we made a Crab on the beach in Mexico
It was really fun!


Here is Josh and Nate with the babies standing in front
of the Mayan ruins.


This is in Mexico and the Giant turtle that was supposed
to be in the picture swam away.


Here is proof that we all made it to the top of the
Mayan temple. The stairs are a lot steeper than they look.


Look how cute Mercedes looks Christmas Morning
with all the presents that Santa brought to the Shaw's.


This is on the beach in Honduras. As you can tell Mercedes
is very tired.


While we were on vacation Mercedes has become quite
the chatter box. She is constantly making noise now. Here she
is caught in the act.


Here we are on the bus going to the beach. as you can see
we were all excited to go!


We also discovered that Mercedes hair is very curly.
Once we got in the humidity it curled right up. This
picture is not the best but it gives you an idea.


This is my cute nephew Clark. He is all dressed
up for our anual Christmas pageant and he is looking
fabulous as a Shepard.


Eean played the part of the sheep while Emery was also a great shephard.
As you can see the twins made great angels!



Here we are standing in front of the big Christmas tree
in the middle of Sea World!




This clip was taken on formal night on the cruise. In the background there was
a crowd of older people that were just watching her. Every time she smiles you can
hear the crowd of Grandmas get all excited. Mercedes does not know
what to do with all the attention!