Christmas Legos!

As soon as we were back in Oregon, William begged to have Daddy help him build his Lego cargo plane. It took some work, but they got it done.

Funny things the kids have said this month (January 2009):

Sunday afternoon Kip and the kids were in the family room while I finished feeding Becca in the kitchen. William asked Kip, "What do you want to do, Dad?" He replied tiredly, "I want to run away." William's face lit up and he said, "OK, Dad, I'll chase you!" and proceeded to run toward him and tag him. We all burst out laughing and he looked at us wondering why.

After a visit to the dentist last Monday, Anna went through her take-home baggie in the family room. She pulled out a tube of Kid's Crest and, in her sweetest soft, high-pitched princess voice, said, "I got toothpaste, too! Isn't that just AWESOME!"

Kaysville Cousins

All the Parker-parents' grandkids got together on the first of January. Here's a pic of all the kids - Quinn Barnett holding Enoch Parker, William and Anna Killpack, Zach Barnett holding Sarah Parker, Elizabeth Barnett holding Rebecca Killpack.

Christmas in Utah - Children's Museums

We visited the Gateway Children's Museum with Kip's family on the 29th and the Treehouse in Ogden on the 2nd. The kids really liked both places.

Becca in the ball area.


We built an arch-just like at OMSI but smaller and easier to do.


We found this little Leopard crawling around.


Princess Anna found a knight loyal and true.

Christmas in Utah - Temple Square

We all went to see the lights at Temple Square on the 28th. It was insanely cold. I've been softened by these mild Portland winters, I guess. The kids dealt with it better than I did. As long as they had Aunts, Uncles, and cousins to play with, they could have stayed out forever. I got cold and wanted to head home. But the temple grounds really were beautiful. I am glad we went.

Christmas in Utah - Sledding

Our kids got their first taste of sledding on the 27th of December. We packed them into warm clothes and hiked up the hill behind Jenny and Tyler's house. I had forgotten how much work it is to get up the hill you want to sled down. I tried to pull Anna up on the sled, but that was too scary for her, so we both had to walk it and reached the top a little winded. From there, Anna consented once to go down the hill with me and then refused to have anything to do with sleds. William, on the other hand, had a blast with his cousins. He loved racing down the slope with them. Becca was a good sport and dealt with our attempts to have her slide down the slopes with us. She was a little upset, though, that I deserted her a few times to go down myself. I had forgotten how much fun it is!

Christmas in Utah - Getting There

Christmas day we flew to Utah. After all the snow here, we feared we wouldn't get out of Portland, but flights were heading out by Christmas morning and our hopes were high. We got to the airport, checked our bags, and went to the play area near our gate to wait for our flight. Everything went fine. We boarded the plane and headed to Utah. We even made better-than-expected time and neared Utah early. Then, things turned sour. The storms that had caused so much trouble in Portland had reached Salt Lake and the airport was having trouble. We had to circle for 45 minutes before a runway could be cleared for us to land. At least they didn't head us somewhere else! I was scared for a while. Instead, all of us except William ended up napping during the 45 minute circle-time. In the end, Grandma and Uncle Cory were there to pick us up and drive us home through the snow.

Christmas Cutie

Becca got up a little later than everyone else Christmas morning but she was really excited about her presents. I couldn't pass up posting this picture of her toothy grin.