Carlson's January

The kids were off-track for most of January. They just went back to school for the last week. It was nice to have a more relaxed schedule and to get to spend so much time together. We did some play dates with friends we don't get to see very often, and visited a few museums, including one that is just a couple blocks from out house called the Gale Center. It focuses on the history of South Jordan, which I just learned used to be called Gale because of the strong winds. It was very interesting.

We also went swimming, and we went to see Meet the Mormons at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. While we were down town we visited a belgian waffle and fries shop that Kristi had told us about. They were the best fries I've ever had, and the best waffles, and I'm sure they had the calories to prove it. Scott loved how authentic they were, and was brought back to the days when he would by fries from the street stands on his mission.

Scott's nephew Skyler came home from his mission in the Ft. Worth TX mission. It was a few months early because of some health issues. It was so fun to welcome him home at the airport, and we are hoping and praying that he'll be able to get the help he needs and recover.

On New Year's Day, we went to see Kathleen and RaNae, which is always fun. RaNae is recovering from some awful wounds on her legs, so we feel really bad for her. From there, we went to see Aunt Linda and Uncle Roger, and Amy and her family who were visiting. It's always fun for me to get to spend time with them.

This is at the Museum of Natural Curiosity.

Peter is getting big! At 7 months, he weighed 17 pounds, 1 ounce, and was 28 inches long. He sits up, rolls all over, turns around, eats solids, and occasionally waves and claps. I'm still working on getting him to sleep more at night, so I'm still exhausted. And he has started screaming a very high pitched awful scream whenever he isn't getting what he wants. We hope that will be a short phase.

Doesn't she look cute in those big boots?

Anna is still an adorable trouble maker. She is so sweet and fun to be around, but makes cleaning up after her a full-time job. She LOVES Fisher-Price Little People. She calls them her tiny people, and would happily play "tiny people" all day long if she could convince anyone to play with her.

Mary is really progressing in reading, and still loves school and homework. She also loves to bake and help in the kitchen.

Daniel got a Lego Star Wars game for Christmas, and would happily play it all day long if I would let him. He also loves building with Legos and reading Lego Star Wars books. And when he's not doing one of those things, he is usually thinking or talking about Legos or Star Wars.

Scott and I are trying to stay hopeful and faithful as the job search drags on so much longer than we expected. It's hard to get our hopes up that things will be different and better the next time around, only to have those hopes shattered again and again. But I know Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for us, and am trying to embrace the idea of loving whatever He has in store for us.

Also, I wanted to let you know that Peter is having surgery on Monday, February 9 to correct an abnormality he was born with, similar to the one Daniel had when he was a baby. We have a wonderful surgeon, who says it should be a simple procedure, but I'm still a little anxious about it. Your prayers and good thoughts would be appreciated.