Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

Quinton graduated from nursery this year and is now officially a Sunbeam. His first week there was a little traumatizing and he cried quite a bit. (Mommy was a little traumatized, too.) But he made it through and with some convincing went back again this last Sunday. He seemed a lot happier by the end this time and not quite as many tears were shed (by Quinton, at least). Our little boy is growing up!

Christmas 2010

We went to Oakley for Christmas this year and had a wonderful time. Barry's sisters Amy and Sarah were there with their families as well as Michael's family. It must have truly been a vacation because we were relaxing too much to get the camera out very often, but we did go caroling on Christmas Eve, played games and went sledding a couple days after.

We also went back New Year's Day for a surprise retirement party Barry and his siblings threw for Grandma Jenks. She drove school bus for 31 years! She's a hardworking lady and she deserved a good shindig.

All of the Jenks Siblings

Quinton and Elisha

Clara's First Haircut

She went two years without getting it cut, but Mommy finally gave in and attempted to trim all the "whispies" for Clara's first haircut. It was pretty terrifying for both of us, but she survived without too much of a hack job. Might have to pass that torch to a professional as she gets older, though.

Before (I know, I should have taken a picture of the back)

In between, distracting her with any means necessary.

After (Luckily her hair is a little curly, which saved the day!)

Clara turns 2!

Clara turned 2 on Sunday. It's hard to believe she has gone from our spunky baby to our sassy princess. We didn't do a lot for her birthday, but there we played with her new dress up clothes, played games, went to the ward Christmas party, and ate lots of sugar to celebrate.

Birthday breakfast - crepes, of course!

Daddy did a great job on her princess cake!

Quinton had a hard time letting Clara have all the attention on her birthday, but he did like being involved in all the activities.

Clara is such a sweetheart and very special to us. The day we brought her home from the hospital the nurse there told us that Clara was definitely a "spunky baby." Her prediction has held true over the past couple of years. She adores Quinton and wants to be doing everything he does. She loves to make messes, but is also good at helping to clean them up. When she wants something, nothing stops her. She'll push, climb, run, and fight for whatever it is. Or she'll ask loudly over and over and over. She says so many words that it's hard to keep up with her sometimes. Just recently she learned to say I love you (with a lot of tongue to emphasize it). She's a heart-melter and I think we'll keep her around for many more birthdays.

Thanksgiving 2010

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Rigby with Grandma and Grandpa Packer and Aunt Shari and Aunt Jeni and their families. We had wonderful food and did some crazy shopping. Daddy went home Monday morning and we stayed the rest of the week until Uncle Bryce came. We were able to go the holiday parade in Rigby and Santa even came to visit one morning when we opened gifts together!

Waiting for the parade to start.

They even had candy!

Christmas Tree Hunting

In keeping with Jenks' tradition, we set out the weekend before Thanksgiving to find a Christmas tree this year (since we would be gone until the week after). We got a permit and decided to try up by Idaho City. It was the first time we had gone up there and it was beautiful! Which was a good thing because we were driving around admiring the scenery for a long time until we found a good place to get a tree. By then it was kind of late so we didn't look for too long, but our tree was fairly respectable. Quinton loved trekking all over the mountain and slip sliding around, but Clara had to be held the whole time because she thought it was scary. The worst part was when the camera fell out of Mommy's pocket into the snow and we thought it was lost forever. Thankfully, Daddy found it right next to the tree we ended up picking out. It was our own little Christmas miracle!

Our little mountain man. He likes playing in the snow better than playing outside in the summer. He could stay out there for hours!

Our little marshmallow. She is starting like snow a little bit better now. Too bad it rains here all the time. 

Quinton Turns 3!

 My little guy turned 3 last month. It is hard to believe, but easier to accept since he sure acts like a 3-year-old. Our home wouldn't be the same without him and we're so grateful for his caring, free spirit. We played hard on his happy day and were all exhausted by the end to prove it. Mostly we just had family time and tried to do what he wanted, which is a special thing for him. 

Turning 3 means earning your right to manhood, doesn't it?

Crepes with blueberry syrup and whipped cream for breakfast. I think he ate at least 12.

Clara wasn't about to be left out.

Playing madly in a pile of leaves.

His new blue snake that still rarely leaves his side.

The grand finale. Daddy made the cake and did a very impressive job with the materials on hand. 

We also went to a primary activity where Quinton got to chase chickens, make butter, and grind wheat. He thought that was pretty awesome. He got a Thomas set, a few other toys, and some fish for his birthday. 

Quinton has more energy than I ever thought a little person could, but he also has the sweetest spirit. His brain works almost as fast as his body and he's always thinking of new things and asking new questions. He loves his sister (whether they're playing, fighting, or laughing together) and wrestling with Daddy is probably his favorite thing to do. He's very excited to be 3 and it should be a very fun year!

Bruneau Sand Dunes

 We took advantage of what was probably the last warm Saturday of the year and went to check out the Bruneau sand dunes. Quinton amazingly climbed all the way up the big dune a few times by himself and it took an ice cream cone bribe to get him to come down and go home. They had a pretty lake there, too.

  

Meet the Flintstones

We thought Quinton and Clara would be cute as Pebbles and Bam-Bam for Halloween this year. So I made them costumes and then somebody lent us their Fred and Wilma costumes, too. We just went to our ward trunk or treat on Saturday, but the kids sure loved getting candy there. Most of Mountain Home went trick or treating on Sunday and even though we didn't go, Quinton LOVED handing out candy to the kids at our door.