Jo Jo got baptized Saturday, on his 8th birthday! It was so fun to have family over for dinner afterward. We had soups, salad, and three birthday cakes. Jo Jo opened birthday gifts later that evening after everyone was gone. He got scriptures with Jo Jo Ottosen printed on them. His comment was "I've wanted these my whole life!" He also got a scout shirt, badges, and a wolf book. He's ready to start scouts. We are so proud of him. Thanks to all his family that supported him, it was very humbling.

We went to the Ice Castles in Midway on Saturday. It's in a bigger area then last year, so there's more room to walk around. Although I did like how they were all so close last year. None the less, super amazing, and so beautiful.

The walk through areas were the girls favorites.

We left and went and got something to eat, and then came back after dark. It was snowing and super cold, but I think the ice castles were even more spectacular at night!

They claim that by the end of February they will double in size! We might head back if anybody wants to come.

Juliann - posted by Grandma G

Oh My! I just had to post this pic that CL sent me. Hope this is okay with her. Amazing shot. Looks like she's not going to make it. Do you wonder if she's still with us? Who took this? SCARY! (don't forget you can click on it to enlarge to the screen - scarier than ever)

But ... I went to college ...

Dear Family,

Last year Lance and I bought a new van.  We've LOVED our new van, silver with black interior, time that is easy to change every six months, and plug and play iPod connections.  Last year, with all the problems I've had, my car was a bright spot in my life.  Even if I couldn't walk, I could still drive.  Every time I saw my totally awesome license plate (3P14159 in case you forgot) I felt everything is still essentially right in the world.  Ok, so I couldn't open the gas tank or actually pump gas for awhile, but that's what my husband was for.

But as much as I loved my van, it had one small problem.  The windshield wiper fluid never worked.  By the time we realized, it was too far to drive back to Bountiful to have it fixed.  The back fluid always worked but it was quite annoying that the front would not spray.

I looked at it several times, popping the hood, jiggling the hoses, and tapping the fluid tank.  Lance looked at it several times .... hopefully doing more than I did, but we could  never get it to work.  When Wade was in town (our family mechanic), I'd make a mental note to ask him about it, but I'd always forget.  It became one of the problems that I just couldn't get to ... something that would have to be done later.

Well, now it's an entire year later and it still doesn't work.  We, however, got a recall notice in the mail that the dealership in Bountiful needed to fix some other part, and if we made an appointment, they'd fix the recall part for free.  I figured this was the opportunity I needed to get the fluid fixed also.

After waiting 90 minutes, the nice mechanic said my recall part had been successfully replaced and that "some salt" had been scraped out of the windshield wiper fluid and it worked just fine now.

In the back of my mind I thought, "Some salt?  Salt?  Really, salt has caused this problem for 12 months?"  But I was grateful, took my keys, and got in my car.  And guess what? ... the fluid still didn't work.  Nothing. Not a drop of fluid.  Not even a noise to suggest it was trying to spray.  I  embarrassed because it was obvious they had used the fluid to clean the windshield.  I considered driving home and dealing with the problem later, but I was clear in Bountiful and I really needed the fluid to work.

So I went back to the nice guy and politely told him my fluid still didn't work.  He winked .. (ok, he didn't wink ... but he probably had the right too), he gently took my keys and he walked me back to my van where he opened the door and slid the seat back and got in and deftly pulled the fluid handle forward.

Wait ... forward?  Forward?  FORWARD!?!

I've been pushing the handle UP not forward.  Why would it pull forward?  As he walked back to the parts department, I stood and stuttered "but ... but ... but ..." in the snow absolutely caught off guard by such a simple solution.

So there you go.  The fluid has always worked.  They say you gain wisdom as you get older so I guess this week I gained some life wisdom.  My name is now "Jena the More Wise Than Last Week".  At least when it comes to windshield wiper fluid.

This One Goes Out to Nyla

Here is a video of Sophie in her bouncer thingy.

These are the pictures of the quiet book I made for Ellie for Christmas, (although Mya and Afton love it too).

The petals come off the buttons

The Zipper opens and has several animals that come out. Plus the fish and the butterfly velcro on, so they can come off too.

Frogs come off, and dots on ladybug as well.

Counting 1-10.

Finger puppets.

Tick-tack-toe

The end. I hope to add more pages later, but that's all I got done in time for Christmas.

The Boston Dream Team!!!

PLEASE read this letter about my Boston Dream and ANY support would be so MUCH appreciated!

Dear Family and Friends,

I have a little story to share with you.

There once were three women who liked to run. They didn’t just like to run a mile or two, they liked to run a loonnnggg way. These three women enjoyed running together whenever they could (which wasn’t very often, because one lived in Utah, one lived in Washington, and one lived in California) and one day, they got the idea to run a looonnnggg way in Boston, Massachusetts. They made a pact to train hard, so that each of them would run fast enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon (26.2 miles), and then they would meet there and enjoy the “biggest of distance running events” together.

Well, it all went as planned. The three women trained and trained and trained…and there were a few “bumps” along the road (a gallbladder had to be removed, a bout of pancreatitis had to be endured, several toes suffered fractures, a knee needed rehab, and a baby was born!) but the women were determined. So determined that each one made their dream a reality and succeeded in qualifying on her own to run in Boston! They had done it!

The three women rejoiced. They thanked their husbands and children for supporting them throughout the sweaty miles and the hours on the trails, roads and treadmills. And they began to look forward to registering for the Boston Marathon in October, and start the training again, but this time the three of them would be running the same race and their dream would come true.

Little did these three women know that thousands and thousands of other determined runners were also looking forward to registering for Boston. Thousands and thousands and thousands sat at their computers that Monday morning in mid-October, and as soon as the registration opened, they were ready to sign up! The marathon reached capacity in 8 hours! A record! Never had the organizers anticipated that the marathon would fill up in less than a day…so this meant that all of the runners who waited until they got home from work that day to go online and register, were out of luck.

Just like one of the three women in our story.

I told you these women were determined, correct? Even though two of them were entered in the Boston Marathon, it was not enough. Well, they have now formed a team – The Boston Dream Team –and they are all committed to raising funds for The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, which in return, has granted the last one of them an entry to Boston! Their dream is going to come true after all… all three are going to Boston! AND, they are raising money for an important, life-saving charity along the way!

Please help them with their journey by donating to this very worthy cause. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is moving forward toward a world free of MS. Eighty-five (85) percent of the money raised funds vital MS education, support, advocacy, and research. More than 400,000 Americans live with MS, and your support can and will help them move forward in their lives.

Please help by making a donation - large or small - to create a world free of MS. Whatever you can give will help! As you have guessed, I am one of these three determined women and would greatly appreciate your support.

Visit our team page, where you can make a secure, online donation:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/bostondreamteam2011

Or, mail a check to

National MS Society

P.O. Box 845945

Boston, MA 02284-5945 (Be sure to include “Donation for The Boston Dream Team” on the memo line.)

Thank you so much!

We went up to the cabin after Christmas. We knew it was suppose to be a very cold and snowy week, so we decided to leave a day earlier then originally planned, so we wouldn't have to travel on bad snowy roads. We got there Tuesday night. It snowed all night Tuesday and all day Wednesday, and all day Thursday and Thursday night. You have to park your car on the road and snowmobile in to the cabin. The snow plows are obviously out doing there job on the road if it's snowing, so we just planned on having to 'dig' our car out. Doug went out on Wednesday afternoon and dug the car out in hopes that Friday when we left it wouldn't be such a big job. This is what our car looked like on Friday morning. Ya, I don't think digging out on Wednesday really did us any good. This is the side next to the road, the snow plows buried us.




This is the side against the mountain. It snowed so much it covered the tires. Crazy!!!

So, 6 men and 6 shovels later, we drove away. In case you were wondering, it snowed a lot.