MY DAD

I was going through some pictures on my computer today and I wanted to post them. These are of my dad blacksmithing back in October. He is very dedicated to letting people experience history like blacksmithing, even if it is a very hot day. It is hard work! I've been able to blacksmith with him and it is fun to learn about it. I think he is a great teacher. I remember when I was studying something I would ask him a question and instead of giving me a simple answer, he would go downstairs and get me a pile of books to find it myself. I learned that finding the answers for myself is much more rewarding. I'm grateful my dad created an atmosphere in our home with books to read. Just a few days ago he found a book Chelsea really liked. She's been reading a lot lately. We are glad everyone in our family is so amazing!

Friends

We got together with Dontrell, Dane, and his wife Taryn last week. Dane is going to
be a part of the Air Force tomorrow. I was glad to see him before he left. He is a fellow missionary from my mission, we've always been good friends. He just got married to Taryn and she is just as awesome. Dontrell is also a friend from Houston who is going to
school now here in Salt Lake. We had a great time playing games and singing. We hope that we can get together soon. Since Dane and Taryn will be traveling around the world we'll just have to go where they are!

Our Photo Shoot :)

We had a ton of fun getting our pictures taken! We went with Travis and Cami
around the valley searching out cool locations for pictures. They got some great
shots, and we're glad we have updated photos of us! Thanks guys!

Mike and Mari are engaged!

We had fun sneaking around to get these pictures of Mike proposing to Mari at the Oquirrh Mountain temple! We're excited for you guys:)

We love to see the temples

We really like this picture of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. There were some flurries that night and allowed us to capture the lights shining on Moroni. We've printed several 11 x 14's for Chelsea's family this Christmas. We're glad they liked it!
Chelsea and I in front of the Salt Lake Temple
The lights on Temple Square a so awesome! We love to see them each year. After walking around in the freezing cold though, we are glad to be home in our warm house!

Piano fun:)

A few years ago I bought a Christmas book by Jason Tonioli, it's one of my favorites. I was excited to play a duet with him at Riverton music. He is such a great guy. I'll have to practice up to play with him again. His Duet was more difficult than I expected! I got another one of his books because Chelsea likes the Called To Serve song in it. So here is a picture of Jason Tonioli and me playing the duet:)
The most exciting news for us this year was our new piano. It is a Yamaha Clavinova CVP-405. It is an awesome piano! If I would have bought an acoustic it would have been a Young Chang, because they make great upright pianos. With our apartment, a grand piano was out of the question. In the end, what I wanted was something that I could record on as well.
I am so happy to have a piano! I've played it every day. We plan on teaching our kids on this piano. All the family has come over to sing with the Karaoke songs it has and play with the sounds. Chelsea's grandpa, Fred, offered to help us pay for this piano. Thanks Fred!! He is a great person. Chelsea's family has been so awesome. I have Chelsea and Two awesome families! It's been great spending time with our family. We are so blessed to be surrounded by great people!

Christmas!

Our tradition of spending Christmas Eve at the Reimschiissel's was a blast! Here is a picture of Chelsea and I holding the oranges we got from Santa Claus! :)
We had to get a picture in front of the tree too!Sledding was the most fun we've ever had on Christmas Eve! We were able to use a sled made from the hood of a truck. It had a bar welded onto the front for a handle, and we threw in some padding to keep it a bit more comfortable.
I got the last ride of the night and I was flyin'
Jessie sat on the back of the four wheeler to get more traction in spinning me around. The funnest was sliding sideways, going in circles. YEAH BABY! Snow covered fields of fun! It was a great Christmas! I'm already excited for next year:)