Beauty is a DUTY!

Wesley is now riding a two wheeler!

Mary's Graduation and Seth's Big Day

Kyle's sister Mary just graduated from pharmacy school and we went down to Phoenix for the delicious celebration dinner. Kyle's brother Seth was ordained an Elder and is about to enter the U.S. Air Force Academy. He shaved his head to get ready for basic training. We also took advantage of Aunt Sara's pool and she kindly gave the boys some swimming lessons. Here are some photos from that trip:

Baby Girl

The Lord gives the most wonderful gifts. April 23rd marked our tenth wedding anniversary. Twenty-three days before our anniversary we received a wonderful new addition to our family - Annalise Maren Ellsworth. We had to forego our dream of a tenth anniversary celebration in some exotic place. We didn't even go out to dinner (due to a busy night at Cub Scouts). But we wouldn't have it any other way.

Annalise Maren weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. She is, according to her mother, perfect in every way.

War has been declared on the mice

One thing certain in Flagstaff and now Bellemont, we have mice. I had a competition last year with my office mate over who could catch the most mice. He won, but then his house was newer! A co-worker said the first summer he moved into his house in Bellemont he caught about 40 mice. So far we've only caught 2 and the mice ate the box of poison on my tray.

Red Rock Adventure

We love living close to Sedona, especially in the wintertime. It means we can take the boys on a forty-five minute drive from the cold and snow to warmth and sunshine. It's the best of both worlds. We got a lot of looks and advice from the die-hard Sedona mountain bikers on this trip. They didn't think the boys could make it on this trail. They were wrong.

Martin Luther King Day - Lowell Observatory



On MLK Day the boys and Elise got a chance to visit Lowell Observatory. The observatory is where Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, which recently was downgraded from a "planet" to "dwarf planet." Nonetheless, in Flagstaff we still count it as the ninth planet.

How are we going to fit one more child into our house?

We were wondering with Elise expecting a new baby how we would fit all the 5 children in our 3 bedroom house. It looks like the boys have figured it out! They made a quadruple bunk bed out of one of their closets. They are very clever.

Sledding at Oak Hill

We discovered this great spot to go sledding with the boys that is close to our house and not completely overrun by people from warmer climates. The boys and Kyle went off some pretty cool jumps and even Elise in her six months pregnant state went down a number of runs. One of the highlights was watching some teenagers go down the entire hill (it is really steep) in an inflatable, rubber raft.

Christmas 2008

We had a really nice, relaxing Christmas this year. We had traditional Swedish meatballs for dinner on Christmas Eve and acted out the Christmas story. Then we each opened one gift. The most special part of this Christmas was being able to give some gifts to Jesus as he gave us the opportunity to do some service for others. Christmas morning we enjoyed lots of snow and read our favorite Christmas story - The Other Wise Man. We also enjoyed opening presents and the boys did a treasure hunt for their big surprise gift - you'll have to ask them what they received. Poor Warren had a rather traumatic Christmas Eve as he spilled boiling water on his feet. However, after ER and physical therapy visits and many prayers his feet appear to be getting back to normal. Another gift from the Lord during this Christmas season. We are so grateful for His many gifts to us and especially the wonderful gift of the Atonement. We can never repay but are very grateful indeed.

And then came the snow...

We had a huge winter storm that began the week before Christmas break and lasted until after Christmas. These unexpected snow days were a bit of a trial for Mom (who was trying to finish the seeming hundreds of little preparations for Christmas). However, the boys avoided cabin fever with frequent excursions outside. They built a magnificent snow fort (see above) and had fun sledding with the neighborhood children.

Last Hike of 2008

This year we had a warm fall. Even in December the weather was still warm enough that Warren, Wesley and Elise took a hike to Keyhold Sink in Parks, AZ. We cut straw for baby Jesus' manger and just moseyed along examining (it seemed) almost every rock and stick from the beginning of the trail to Keyhole Sink where we had a little picnic. Precious Day.

Ethan's Baptism

Ethan was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on November 8, 2008. He was baptized by his Dad. We enjoyed having many family members come to visit for the baptism including Grandpa and Grandma Winter, Grandpa and Grandma Ellsworth, Curtis and Mary Oscarson (and Millie), and Lowell and Sara Griffin (and Jonathan, Samantha, Harrison, and Trentten). We are very proud of Ethan for this decision. His goal was to read in the Book of Mormon to Alma by his baptism. He finished to Alma on the day of his baptism. Speakers were Grandma Winter and Curtis Oscarson. Music was by Grandma Ellsworth and Sara Griffin. Prayer was offered by Grandpa Winter.