Yesterday afternoon, wonderful Niki came over and took some family pictures for us. We hadn’t had my entire side of the family all together in a couple years before Grandpa’s funeral earlier this month, and we didn’t get a chance to take any pictures that time, so it was another reason we were happy that Flavio and Niki came back early from Detroit. It was a quick little photo shoot — just long enough for us to pose and smile while Niki clicked the camera ten times or so — but in true Niki fashion, the pictures turned out great. It added a little more perfection to an already-perfect day.

The Sniders in all their "glory"

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a day full of family and good food. We were lucky enough to have all of Jeffy’s siblings and parents here this year. Lindsay has had a blast playing with her older cousin, Emmy, and I have hardly seen her the past couple of days. We can hear them giggling and playing all day and long into the night. The first night they didn’t go to bed until about 10:30pm and last night it was about 9:30pm. And Grandma says they wake up pretty early and play in the room until it’s 7. I like watching them play together because I didn’t have very many cousin experiences like that so I’m so glad they each other. Logan is having a good time playing with them too, when he can keep up.

All of us but Jeffy went up to Temple Square yesterday afternoon to see all there is to see up there. I love visiting the Salt Lake Temple because it represents so much of what I love. I am so thankful for the pioneers and early saints of the church who sacrificed so much and worked so hard to get the gospel to where it is today. I love watching my kids look at all the pictures on the walls at the Visitors Center and asking to know more about them. I love teaching my kids about the gospel because it is so pure and easy.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I am so thankful for my family, they support me in everything! I am so thankful for Jeffy and for the wonderful husband and best friend that he is. I am thankful that he has a job that provides for our family and that he loves. I am so thankful for my kids and for how they help me to be a better person. I love them all so much! I am so thankful for all my wonderful friends! Friends make life more fun! I have had a wonderful Thanksgiving and this year (and we still haven’t had pie yet, so there still more fun to come!). I started it out with a 5K, which I ended up really enjoying. When I finished I found out that it was more like 4 1/2 miles instead of 3 so that made me feel even better about myself, because I ran about 4 miles of it. Not too shabby for a person who hasn’t run more than a mile in the last 5 years!! I was really sore for about 2 hours then I took some Aleve, took a nap and now I feel pretty good. Jeffy played in a Turkey Bowl and had a really enjoyable time. Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy Thanksgiving! Love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

How many of YOU have a 20 month old who puts himself in time out? Because I do and it’s totally awesome! It just started two days ago and I still can’t believe that that’s what he’s actually doing! Let me remind you that I have tried and tried to get that kid to sit in time out when he has caused problems, but all he has ever done is scream and scream and bang on the door to come out. So, this is shocking.
The other day he was yelling at me and being mean to Lindsay and since time out hasn’t been very effective in the past, I decided to try to ignore it. So, I go into the other room to help Lindsay with something and I notice that he’s stopped screaming and then I hear a door shut. So I go back into the kitchen and see that the laundry room door is shut so I peek under the door and see him sitting on the mat, which is what I have been trying to get him to do while he’s in time out. So, after a quiet little chuckle to myself, I asked him, “Are you in time out?” and he said, “Yep.”

Note to self: Logan likes to do things HIS way. Silly boy!

Oh, where do I begin! Logan is crazy, loud, fast, curious, adventurous, learning, mama’s boy, sweet, emotional, obsessed, a rambler, and a follower of Lindsay. I’m so glad that Logan joined our family 20 1/2 months ago! In some ways it has been easy, in other ways, he has opened my eyes to things I had never experienced before with just Lindsay.

Logan is fascinated with anything with wheels. His favorite thing to do is play with his trucks and cars and he always seems to have to have a certain number of them at a time. One just isn’t good enough. He will lay on the floor and just roll them back and forth forever! Whenever we are in the car, we always know when there is a truck, tractor or bus anywhere near us because Logan has awesome vision and can spot those things from miles away. I should also mention that he yells “TRUCK!” or “BUS” just in case we didn’t see them.

Logan is loud. I had always heard that boys were louder than girls and now I’m a true believer. Everything Logan says is in yelling form. We never have to ask him, “What?” It’s awesome.

Logan is a rambler. After we leave his room at bedtime, he will continue to talk and talk and talk for up to an hour sometimes before he goes to sleep. Sometimes you can hear him cracking himself up, like he just told a joke to his kitty and doggy. When he moves around you can actually hear him naming things off, like a checklist or something, just to make sure he has everything he needs, now that he has changed positions.

Logan is obsessed with his blankie. I secretly hope he always is because it’s so cute. I love how it is the thing that gives him comfort when he is in an unfamiliar situation. Sometimes he’ll even talk to it like it’s a real person or something.

I sometimes don’t think there are any words to describe how much Logan loves Lindsay. Love almost doesn’t do justice for the way Logan feels for Lindsay. He has to do everything that Lindsay does, even if he physically can’t yet, by golly, he’s going to anyway! (This is where Lindsay is my second set of eyes. She tells me when he’s about to do something that may put him in the emergency room.) When Lindsay talks, he talks. When Lindsay eats, he eats. When Lindsay cries, he cries. He CANNOT go to bed without first giving Lindsay loves, and most nights he needs to give her more than one. He thinks she’s hilarious and for the most part they play really well together.

Logan is learning how to count. This is how he counts to ten: one, two, three, two, five, seven, eight, nine, ten! And anytime he hears ANY number, he counts to ten. Like I said before, he’s a rambler and can say a lot of words and phrases and our current favorite one is, “Uh, yeah!!”

Logan is my favorite boy and I love him dearly! He is definitely a mama’s boy and has been since the day he was born. He didn’t even really like Jeffy until he was about 7 months old. If I am in the room, and something needs to be done, I am always his first choice. He gives my patience a run for it’s money, but it is always worth it. I can’t imagine our little family without him. I love you Logan!

I just wanted to take a few minutes and write a post about each of my kids. Lindsay is adventurous, fearless, loving, empathetic, moody, loud, quiet, and smart all rolled into one beautiful little package. She so desperately wants to understand the world but just can’t quite wrap her mind around it all. She was an easy baby and is now an expressive four year old. An example. The other day I was on the phone with Jeff and while talking I could tell Lindsay was trying to get my attention, but I told her she would need to wait until after I was off the phone. Once I was off, I asked her what she needed and after slapping her knee she said, “It just makes me SO MAD when you talk on the phone!!” I had no words. Did this really just come out of her sweet little mouth? And earlier that day she had hit her head on a bench at the doctors and she again, slapped her knee, and said, “That just makes me MAD when I hit my head!” It’s really so cute but at the same time I just don’t know where all of this aggression is coming from.

She gets rather attached to things and people quickly and if her turn is over or that person leaves, she says things like, “But it’s my favorite toy!” or “But I just want them to stay because they’re my best friends.” She can make herself cry in seconds. She needs to become an actress.

She loves trying new things and we never have to urge her to do anything. She just does it. I love this about her.

She loves her little brother so much. She’s my extra set of eyes when watching Logan and together we keep him safe (most of the time). She doesn’t like when he’s throwing a fit and is holding his breath. Among the silence you will hear Lindsay yelling, “BREATHE!!” and because it was so intense for her she starts crying. She loves playing with him and running back and forth between the front door and the couch. She thinks it’s neat that someday Logan will probably be taller than her.

I’m so happy to have my Lindsay Lou. She reminds me when I’ve made a mistake and still loves me anyway. She freely gives hugs and kisses and constantly wants more at bedtime. I love you Lindsay!!

First of all, that last post was pretty funny and I loved all of your comments! And just to clear myself, I just read a book and watch Lindsay swim during her swimming lessons! Really! She started her lessons at the Lehi Center on Monday and they’ll last for 2 weeks. She LOVES them! She’s only gone two days and after her lesson yesterday she was jumping off the side under the water, swimming by herself and just acting she’s known how to do this forever. It’s been so fun to watch her learn because I could tell she’s wanted to for a long time, but it’s hard when I have Logan to watch, too. I think we might sign her up again for classes in January or February for something to do in the dead of winter.

Lindsay and her teacher, Callie.

Blowing bubbles under water.

My dad was called as a bishop a couple months after I left on my mission. A couple months after that, I got to call home for Christmas. In that phone call, I found out a few things:

1) My grandma was in the hospital (she died a month later).
2) My brother had just gotten engaged.
3) Our dog had just died.
4) My girlfriend had a boyfriend (who she married a few months later).

A few months ago, my dad was once again called as a bishop. As you know, my grandpa died last week. And I have a brother with a serious girlfriend. And this afternoon, my mom came home from work to find her 19-year-old chihuahua dead on the floor.

All I’m saying is, if Beth gets a boyfriend, I’m gonna be ticked and freaked out at the same time.

Lindsay and Logan’s cousin, Emmy, came to play on Saturday while we were in California and they all have fun playing together, especially Lindsay and Emmy. Poor Logan can hardly keep up with those crazy girls! We wanted to get a picture of the three of them before Emmy left so we hurried and got them on the couch and told them to say CHEESE and they did! For a LONG time! There were about 4 cameras all at once so that’s why they are never looking at the same place. It was too cute! Aren’t cousins fun?

I found these two pictures, one of Lindsay and one of Logan, both the same age, doing the same thing.
Lindsay, 20 months

Logan, 20 months

They’re both playing in the bathroom sink at Grandma Snider’s house, which they both would/will do for long periods of time. I love seeing these kinds of pictures because in a lot of ways they are the same! And both so stinkin’ cute!

As most of you know, Lindsay is about as sweet as little girls come, and this week was no exception. We went down to California for Jeffy’s grandpa’s funeral and it was wonderful spending time with his family and being there for each other. It was definitely a happy funeral, as happy as funerals can be I guess, in that he was old, had lived his life, and was ready to go. I enjoyed my mother-in-laws eulogy of him because I learned so much about him. He was a wonderful man who loved to serve. Anyway, we attended the viewing before the funeral and Lindsay went up about 4 or 5 times, very respectfully, and looked at him. She told Jeffy that he was in a deep sleep just like Sleeping Beauty. Another time she told Laney that he didn’t really look like President Hinckley, seeing as his viewing is the only other one she has ever been to. Another time she asked Jeffy if he was going to be an angel now, just sweet as can be! Well, later that night for her bedtime prayer, this is what she said:

“And please bless Grandpa Field (Merrifield) that his Spirit will come back to his body so he can be alive again.”

I know you’re all just thinking it so I’ll just say it for you. AWWWW!!! I guess there are still some things about death that she doesn’t understand.

Grandma has two chihuahua dogs, one of which is super old. I think Jeffy said he’s about 20 and some previous owners of his had beat him up pretty bad so he wasn’t a very nice doggy and had arthritis and was just in a lot of pain. After spending several days with Pee Wee, Lindsay heard us talking about him and how he was in pain and why and stuff and so on Friday night, Lindsay prayed that Pee Wee would feel all better. Jeffy and I were on a date that night so I missed that one but I can just imagine how sweet it was. I love listening to her prayers each night and wondering what she is going to say because sometimes it’s a surprise but other times it is stuff like this that just reminds me how lucky Jeffy and I are to have her as a daughter.