Some pictures from today.

Willard through the windshield.

Grandma and all the kids. Unfortunately, my camera had fogged up outside.
Elena loves Grandma's cats.
She especially loved the cats' footprints in the snow. She dragged me outside to look at them. It was cute.

Ana's 12!

Ana loves Oreos and double-layer cakes, so I thought this cake was perfect.
Perhaps it wouldn't win any awards for decorating, but trust me, it was delicious.
We went to Leo's advisor house for a bbq that night. (My *favorite part* was when Elena wrecked the 1000 piece puzzle that was mostly finished on her coffee table.)
We waited till we got home to open presents though.
I think she guessed what was in this package.

And I think she liked her presents!! Love that :)

Around the house

Elena growing like a giraffe.

Ana and Sebastian hanging out.
Isabel fell asleep reading.
The kids enjoyed the little bit of snow we got a while ago for all of 20 mins.
Isabel actually stayed outside quite a bit longer than Elena.
Too cold for me. I'm looking forward to Texas for that reason.

Basketball

Ana played Junior Jazz this year and LOVED it!
She told us her new goal was to play on BYU's women's basketball team.
And then play for the WNBA.
We told she'll be lucky to hit 5'3" and that the shortest girl on the BYU basketball team is 5'9".
Mean parents, aren't we?

But I'm glad she's enjoying it now.
She's done really pretty well too.
Good times.

What's New

Our new house. It's a rental, but it's all ours. That thought just makes me happy.
The backyard.
Our master bedroom. It has a weird sitting area. Totally un-useful to Leo and I, except for maybe the baby's crib the first little bit after he or she is born.
The kitchen. I detest tile and am not in love with galley kitchens. However, I LOVE that it has double ovens and that it has tons of cupboards and space!!!!! Happy day!
Another happy thing--don't you love, love, love the bookshelves? I do. :) And it's right in our price range; has 4 bedrooms; is 6 mins walking distance to Elena's elementary, 1 mile to Ana's school, 1 mile to the stake center/our ward building, and 35 mins from the temple. Perfectly perfect.
And our other new thing. You know, sometimes, I should be careful what I wish for. I was telling Leo the other day how much I hate cars that all look the same and blend together--the gray, silver, black, etc. ones. Anyway, we found this car, and it certainly doesn't blend.

Yeah, Leo and I really aren't in love with the spoilers on the back or the scoop on the hood. But it was a fabulous deal. Maybe it was like Pinky, the price was good because no one wanted a pink car? Anyway, it's only has 38,000 miles and is a 2007 and it's selling for $900 dollars less than what KBB recommends because it's so ugly (my opinion anyway). Okay that was a bit too harsh. I actually like the car and the yellow color. Just not the spoilers. In Leo's opinion, "It looks ghetto." The guy was actually selling it because it had been his daughter's car and he didn't like the color. And Ana really likes it, which is good. We had a conversation that went like this:

Ana

"So it's going to be my car when I'm 16?"

Me

"No, you'll get to drive it if your grades are good, you obey curfew, you're attending church and completing your YW in Recognition. Then you'll get to drive it."

Ana (with slight pout)

"Oh....but I'll get to buy it from you when I go to college?"

Me

"Sure, when you're attending university full-time and serious about it."

*Actually, we're more planning on just giving it to her when she goes to university. But the key factor there is when she's attending university, not just working or anything else after high school. I can't believe that's only 6 years away. Craziness.

Anyway, we're naming our car Amarillo. Then we can sing to it this song:

And feel completely Texified, albeit completely inappropriate due to the car not being at all country-westernish.

The end.

Sebastian's Birthday

Sebastian immediately recognized it as Thomas the Train, and insisted on watching me decorate the whole thing. (I wasn't really going for Thomas the Train, besides the same blue color.)

I love birthdays--it's so fun seeing the birthday kid SO excited.

Like this--that's excited for Sebastian.

Opening presents is a very serious business.

Unfortunately, Elena wasn't enjoying the festivities, she didn't even eat some cake.

She had a temp of 102-103 for most of the day. And the day before that.

Ana liked the cake though.

And Isabel--she and I came down with the high temp today. Hopefully Sebastian doesn't catch it.

And this was Sebastian's present! He loved it!! He's so cute too, because he always makes the train noise as he pushes it around.

A birthday success. :)

Elena the Artist

Elena never used to be interested in coloring. Isabel actually colored more than she did. All Elena liked to do was cut up paper. But lately she loves coloring and crafts. This one above is Christ--see how he's glowing?
And I put this one in the scanner crooked, but it's Lehi and Nephi and the Tree of Life.
And this one is a lion. Obviously. I love kids' drawings. It's so fun to see what they think up.

So if you had 9,000,000 lying around......

Would you buy this place???? Leo and I were looking at houses to rent in Houston, and I got sidetracked and started looking at Spanish/Mediterranean style homes, because well, I like them.

I don't know that this really qualifies at Spanish or Mediterranean, but it was one of the houses that first popped up (you know because they always list the most expensive first.)
Dude, Kayli, Leo just needs to become a rich oil exec, and I wouldn't need to visit Morocco, I could just basically live there. Hee. Hee. I just don't understand why they put in the fancy chandeliers that don't look Moroccan at all, when obviously they could have afforded some cool ones from Morocco. (It breaks the atmosphere.)
Like these ones they have in the hallway.

Umm, yeah. I really can't even imagine living in a place like this. Not even slightly. Here's the description from the realtor.

A Morocaan style, over the top, jaw-dropping North African fantasy in the Memorial area. Designed by the international Moroccan architectural firm Arabesque Moresque & built by The Black Stone Builder, Inc. In addition to 8 bedrooms there are 2 free-standing 2-story guest houses w/ 3 bedrooms & 2.5 bathrooms. 3 Kitchens. Oversized pool. 2 cabanas & a petting zoo.

Of course, a petting zoo. Who wouldn't have a petting zoo?!?!

I love courtyards. But I would have gone with a red and blue color scheme.
So how many sinks do you need, when you have 8 bathrooms altogether, plus 2 half baths? But this is what really kills me. If you're going for a Moroccan themed house, doesn't everyone think to put in a formal French dining room and living room?Yeah, I thought so. Because Northern African and Louis XV just scream to be mixed.

Craziness.