You know you're in Utah when...

You see this van parked outside.



Since we've been back I've been chuckling at so many things (especially billboard and advertisements and such) that so obviously target the Utah, and often, Mormon market. Sometimes I find myself laughing at how different it is from anywhere else. This one made me stare long enough to go get my camera!

By the way, people keep asking who is posting in this family. Nick got us started. But since I got MY new camera, and I don't let him touch it with a ten foot pole (just kidding,)...usually, it's me, Alyssa who is posting. Oh--- one more thing...

For all my family who I was so sad that I missed seeing today at Kenzie's Bridal shower, here's a picture of the little one who's brow I was wiping after each sprint to the bathroom, or heave over the pan, and who's temperature I was doing my best to keep down. The bell- by the way- you guessed it, is my old classroom sargeant. Jace loved ringing it everytime he needed me.



And here's the picture of the little bouncing girl who was feeling just fine today and wanted me to read "Katie Did It" twenty-two times in between my helping Jace.



I missed seeing you all today!

Hanging Out...

We've been back in Utah now for about 3 weeks. I've been enjoying all the old "stuff" that we used to do. Utah has a lot to offer young families. We've lived in a lot of places so I've really had a chance to compare. Another place that similarily offered much was Norman, Oklahoma. Nick and I have always looked back to Oklahoma with good memories as well.
So this past week, Utah has had some spring weather and we took advantage of the nice weather and enjoyed some parks. One has this actual "wetland" with a boardwalk that you can walk on to see it all.
The kids have always enjoyed BYU's Games Center, so we headed over there as well one day. I mostly just enjoyed trying to capture the expressions on their faces- for good or bad! Jace was totally competitive, constantly comparing both his and Ella's scores. I stopped myself from reminding him that he was playing with bumpers so it really didn't matter anyway!



Balance beam.


Old snow. Eww! That girl can't stop tasting snow.

Sledding

Last Saturday Nick and I took the kids sledding in Rock Canyon. I'll admit I was afraid I would be the wimp who was freezing and ready to go home! But I learned a trick that morning that I'll have to remember next month when we go skiing! I realized that I had this great Adidas thin, but warm jacket, -thanks to ISP- that when worn underneath my ski coat, along with these awesome super warm and stretchy pants underneath my snow boarding pants, I was actually not cold at all! I am used to always being kind of cold in the winter, so this was awesome! :)
The kids also never complained, and I was expecting them to. We actually all had a really great time, and are looking forward to going again! Jace and Ella both went sliding down the hill on their own, Individually they both hit some jumps. Ella hitting the jump was particularly hilarious and surprising to us all. While she didn't cry or get mad, she did just lie there afterward for a minute, and then decided that she just wanted to sit and eat snow from then on.
All Jace wanted to do was find the fastest routes down the hill so that he could beat mom and Dad.
Nick and Jace had an entertaining snowball fight before the day was over. Finally, we sat a a picnic table and drank hot chocolate from our Coleman Thermos. That, in my opinion was the best idea of the day. I'm amazed how hot it kept it.
Funny, we had gone to the store right before and had bought ice cream. Not wanting to waste time traveling back home to put it in the freezer, we just buried it in the snow next to our car while we went sledding. It was just funny to me to return to burning hot chocolate and frozen ice cream waiting for us! The kids and I sooooo enjoyed having this day hanging out with Nick! Pics below...

New Contact Info

We wanted to update you all on our new contact info. We will arrive in Utah on Monday, the 9th.

Nick's New Cell: 801-636-5410

Alyssa's cell is still 801-636-6459.

If you need our new mailing address, email us at alyssawelsch@gmail.com or nickwelsch@gmail.com.