January's Exciting Events

-jake completed a half-marathon...in under 2 hours no less

-erin circumcised 2 baby boys

(this is quite an accomplishment in a hospital with a predominately Hispanic population; I had zero opportunity for circumcisions my first month on newborn)

-we paid off our car

-we started paying back student loans

- jake preached: http://kaleohouston.com/mp3/Kingdom%20Demonstrations.mp3

-erin finally purchased a fancy new sewing machine, after looking and saving for 1 year +...and now that the material has also arrived, i hope to furiously sew jake a university of utah blanket in the next few days before i start a very busy rotation

-we were invited to sit courtside at a rockets game (for one quarter), and saw former Ute Andre Miller play up close

Hiking

Another winter adventure from our trip to Utah...hiking in Milcreek canyon with my family...pictures from the summit of our hike...sadly it was not a good day for viewing the city

the lovely inversion that gets trapped by the mountains and blankets the city in the winter

Hanging with the Allen's

What happens when there is a baby around...we apparently didn't take pictures of anyone but Elli at Christmas

This was among the first gifts she received with other clothes...but she decided she really like this outfit in particular and walked around with it for a long time. We finally had to hide it to get her to open anything else.

We finally got her to start opening other gifts...and as soon as she saw the picture of the baby on the box she became very excited.

Elli with her new baby

Hanging with the Umbriacos

Getting to meet Andy
Jonathan & Christina

Amy & Joe

Joel & Amy

Jake learning to hold a baby
the children
and a very rare picture of Joe & Maureen together

Elli with Santa

Another trip to Utah meant more time with the niece! We took her to meet Santa Clause. She didn't scream, but she really wasn't sure what to think :)

Christmas in Utah

I was among the lucky few residents who got time off for Christmas AND we were able to go home to Utah to spend time with family! One of the highlights for me was that I finally convinced Jake to try skiing! So Jake took a lesson and Josh & I hit the slopes of Brighton.

Joshie & I riding a lift
Jake skiing
My mom came along to hang out and take pictures. The day was complete with a fist fight between a teenager and a man approximately in his 40s in the lodge.
The best part is that Jake said he would go again!