A Sunday Drive

One of the awesome parts about going to temple dedication today, other than the dedication itself, is that we were all done with church by 10:30am.  We decided that we would take a family field trip to the Nebo Loop with the extra time today.  The Nebo Loop is absolutely beautiful in the Fall!  I love it. :)  Also, I've wanted to get a new picture of our family for our blog and the view from the loop provides a beautiful backdrop.

We packed a lunch, the kids, and the camera, had a family prayer, and headed out.  We were not disappointed, the views were breathtaking.  Soon we found ourselves at an amazing overlook and we decided to make that the backdrop for our picture.  It took a few tries, but we soon got a picture that Dan and I both liked, despite the fact that both James and Alice decided to close their eyes.   We hung out there for a little while longer, then we continued our journey.

We continued to drive down the windy, hilly roads, thoroughly enjoying the beautiful colors.  It was a beautiful trip and I was loving every minute.  We turned a corner and my heart stopped.  Right in front of us was an SUV, driving way too fast, trying to pass a little black truck on a curve with a double yellow line.  We had no where to go.  There was a mountain to the right and the truck to the left.  Dan hit the brakes as I held my breath.  Luckily the car got out of our lane just in time.  I let out my breath as I promptly started to chew out the driver of the SUV. (Not a great example for my kids, I know...)  Dan and I couldn't believe how close we had come to what could have been a bad car accident.

As I began to calm down, I began to feel very grateful that the car didn't hit us and for my sweet husband who kept his calm and helped to keep us safe.  I thought about how we had just taken our family photo and how close we came to possibly not ever being able to share it.  I am very grateful that we were blessed at that moment and that we were kept safe.

Anyway, since we are safe and sound, we have lots of pretty pictures!  Check them out here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4772698879301.2193037.1350390237&type=1&l=2d2e98511c

Baby Alice

Well, I've been trying to get Dan to write a post about Alice for a while now...but he's pretty busy these days so I guess I'll do it. :)

Alice Alofa Christiansen joined our family a little over 3 weeks ago.  She weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and, like her older brother, was 19 and a half inches long. :)  She is beautiful and we all love her.  James particularly likes to play with his little sister.  We were doing some yard work on Saturday and James decided that he wanted to share his bulldozer with Alice, so he threw it in the pack n play and nailed her on the forehead.  She is ok, though she let us know very loudly that she did not like that at all. :)  One of James' favorite things to do is to hold his little sister.  He'll lay down on the couch and I'll lay her on his chest.  He grins and giggles and gets mad when I take her away.  Time for pictures!!!