Last night I conquered one of my fears – singing in front of other people!  Yes, I had been the chorister in Primary for quite some time & have sung in front of people plenty, but this was different.  To celebrate the Relief Society’s “birthday”, our ward put on a musical production called “The Ten Virgins”.  Ten sisters from our ward were in it and we each had to sing an entire song as a solo.  There was also a narrator and some songs we sang all together.  It was one of the most beautiful productions I have ever attended and the spirit was there very strongly.  The night before the program, we had a special practice in which we ran through the whole thing with our families as an audience.  Nate and the girls came to support me & I was very grateful!  Nate has been so encouraging through the whole thing, happily watching the girls when I had rehearsals, letting me practice my song over and over for him and always cheering me on through my nerves.  He probably has my song memorized for how many times he listened to me sing it!  Thanks so much for your support Nate! 

For the love of hiking

Have I mentioned yet that Oregon is beautiful?  Wow!  I think we have a new addiction – hiking.  In the past 10 days we’ve done 3 hikes; Spencer’s Butte, Shotgun Creek and Mt. Pisgah.  Each one has been unique and exhilarating.  The girls have become quite accustomed to their backpacks & Kenna serenades us most of the time, which is adorable.  I think I am in love.

Shotgun Creek

Mt. Pisgah

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The girls got a visit from Lucky the Leprechaun today!!  He left a fun scavenger hunt complete with green footprints on our mirror.  I don’t know if Makenna understood any of the clues, but she sure had fun running around searching for treats!  Unfortunately both girls were sick today, hence the very pale, flushed look on Makenna’s face.  Although you’d never guess she wasn’t feeling great judging by the amount of candy she ate!  We decorated cookies and she was as perky as ever.  It was a fantastic St. Patty’s Day!

Spencer's Butte

Today we hiked Spencer’s Butte for the first time!  It is a beautiful hike only about 20 minutes from our house.  It was definitely a challenge, especially carrying Makenna & Sage, but we made it to the top.  Nate & I decided if we did that hike once a week, we wouldn’t need P90X anymore!  I’m hoping I’ll be able to walk tomorrow!  It was also a perfect opportunity to try out our new hiking backpack for Sage.  We got one from my parents for Christmas and then found another one on Craig’s List that worked perfectly for her.  I can’t wait to use them a bunch this year!!  Both girls did great in their packs – of course it helped that Sage fell asleep just as we started hiking.  Oregon is absolutely beautiful and we are so excited to explore it.  This place was meant for us!  

Family Night!

Last night was family movie night!  It has turned out to be one of the girls’ favorite family activities – most likely because it involves popcorn!  We usually end up watching something like Tinkerbell or Winnie the Pooh (and probably only make it 20 minutes into the movie…if we’re lucky!), but we have a blast. Of course what is not to love about movie night? The girls get to stay up late, we let them eat popcorn and we do it all together as a family.  Doesn’t get better than that for an almost 2 year-old! 

 Attempting to take our own family picture - notice Sage going for the popcorn!