Gordon B. Hinckley

It seems like all the thoughts on Pres. Hinckley have been stolen from my mind and shared by so many others. I, too, have always thought that the Prophet made me feel like a close friend even though I've never met him. I, too, have thought about the awesome reunion that happened in Heaven when he passed away. Pres. Hinckley's love for his wife was evident just by how he stood by her or walked by her. Sometimes I get teary just thinking about them! Another thing that has come to mind is that I'm grateful for a church that is so organized and run by divine inspiration. It is a peaceful feeling to know that the next president of the LDS Church will be wonderful and inspired. I love Pres. Hinckley and I will love the next Prophet, too. The passing of a great man has made me feel like becoming a stronger friend, mom, daughter, sister, wife...now that is a powerful man.

Oh, What Do We Do in the Wintertime...

Do I have to rub it in? Can Las Vegas be the best place to live in the winter? It's not uncommon for me to call my sister, Jill, in SLC and tease her that we are at the park in just long sleeve shirts. The great outdoors has become even greater for the Bryan's as we have added a new family hobby- mountain biking. So far we have spent most of our time in the mountains by Blue Diamond. This is a nice little town out by Red Rock that we have come to enjoy. It is about a 15 minute drive through our beautiful outdoor playground. Ethan got a gear bike for Christmas and Blake is happy with his current bike. Darren and I share a bike and take turns being with Keaton. Ethan is the cautious kid- he is trying to get used to riding with his brakes on the handlebars. He seems to enjoy the twisting flat courses. Blake is a bit more care-free. When I was following behind him on our last trip out he was fish-tailing down a hill and still pedaling! He kept saying "this is fun!". It's fun to join our friends and look forward to our hot chocolate treasure that is waiting for us at the end of our trail.

My Son the Pack Rat

Blake is a certified, home grown, 100% pack rat. That kid seriously rummages through drawers all day if we don't keep him occupied doing something else. He loves to collect little trinkets and stick them in his personal drawer that is next to his bed. He has everything from a Disneyland Autopia driver's license to watches (notice plural) to gum to chapstick to necklaces (bro jewelry) to... I can't tell you how many times I've found my cell phone in there. It's not that things are just placed in there, either. There are plenty of bags and holders for everything. His most recent collector's item is a ring holder. You know what I'm talking about- the ones that have a hinge on the back so you can open and close it without the lid coming all the way off. His is extra special, though, as it is in the shape of a cowboy hat- black velvet with a multicolored trim. He decided that it was cooler than his MP3 player and took it for show and tell the other day with his new CTR ring in it. The other morning I was leaving for a run but couldn't find my ipod so I used Darren's instead. Low and behold, I come home and guess who's listening to Black Eye Peas on the couch at 7:00 in the morning?! You guessed it. I tried to lecture him but he couldn't hear me over the Phunk It song (his personal favorite). It has gotten to the point that when we see him wander away we will follow him and 10 out of 10 times he is heading to a drawer to seek more treasure.
Another thing that Blake does that keeps me laughing is collecting. He currently has several collections for our viewing pleasure. One is located on top of his treasure drawer night stand. It has all his hot wheel cars. Another is his (mostly Ethan's) trophies. And the other is a group of lego structures that he has built. They all have their place and if you move them then you had better run for cover. It's funny to go in and see how he has rearranged them. Sometimes they are at an angle, sometimes they are straight, and then other times they are grouped in all four corners of the table. Just writing this is making me crack up. He is such a cute boy.

Note for the pictures: if you look closely at the picture of the open drawer you can see my "missing" cell phone. Also, the hot wheel collection was moved to the other dresser on the day of the picture. It is usually on the smaller night stand. Notice the transformer collection on the bottom by the snow globe that he decided was his. If you look on the back left corner of the big dresser you can see his little lego structures. Oh my gosh, I just noticed my favorite collection was included on this particular day- look closely at the front left corner of the small night stand. Chapstick Museum. My fave...

Snow Much Fun...

The kids loved spending time in the snow while we visited SLC over Christmas break. Ethan was always trying to rope someone to going outside for a snowball fight. The snow was so powdery our balls wouldn't really form. That also made it hard to make a snowman. We settled for finding big clumps of ice/snow out of the snow plowed mounds on the side of the road. Those clumps made for a crazy looking snowman. On our last day there we had to follow through with our promises and break out the sleds. Uncle Justin and Jackson joined us for some good clean sleddin' fun. The best part is that it was snowing a little while we were outside. We went to a nearby school playground and I learned that sledding can be a dangerous sport- we were dodging tether ball poles and the school wall! Uncle Justin was teasing me for not using my breaks because Ethan and I ran into the building. We decided that maybe going to the top of the hill gave us a bit too much speed. Once we clued in to just going half way up the boys all started going down solo. Good memories...