February Foto Feast

Fasten up for our fascinating February foto feast!

On February 5th we took Annika to the Taylorsville Temple to participate in temple baptisms and confirmations on behalf of the deceased for the very first time.  It was so special to attend as a family!  Eli was able to serve as a baptizer for the first time since being ordained as a priest, baptizing both Talia and Jason.  Annika couldn't get in the baptismal font because of post-transplant restrictions, but still got to witness the baptisms and serve as proxy for confirmations.  Just nine more months and Brooklyn can join us too!

Annika and I went out to eat at this cute little Boulangerie afterward.  The French onion soup and beet salad were so tasty.

That night we also went to a Utah Jazz game in February with our great friends, Stephen and Julie James.  With fantastic seats right in the bowl and a victory at the buzzer, it was tremendous fun!  Plus, I never knew about all of the great food available for the VIPs.  The whole downstairs is a giant fancy buffet.  Kind of nice to experience how the other side lives once in a while.

Being the outstanding sport fans that we are, we also decorated for the Superbowl, even if we didn't watch it.  Turns out Taylor's Boyfriend's Team didn't do so well.

So remember that awesome Jazz game?  There was a big downside to all the screaming and celebrating in a crowded basketball arena.  Poor Jason picked up influenza A and got sooo sick.  I was worried about Annika getting sick too, so we hopped in the car and escaped to Hyde Park.  Aunt Christy was visiting as well, so it was great fun.

Here we are listening to Grandma Susie perform Broadway with the American Festival Chorus.  Can you see Simba singing the Circle of Life?  Excllent entertainment!

Checking out the Suisse's goats.

Annika loves the farm animals but feels a little sad when she remembers that she can't own chickens anymore (salmonella risk.)

Baking bread with our favorite baker of all time. Except maybe pies--Grandma Susie gets to keep that delectable title.

Dinner fit for queens and a king.

The next day we drove up to Rupert, Idaho to see Grandma Hansen.  It was a bit outside of Annika's two-hour range, but when the person you love is 99, it's best not to wait too long.

Grandma Hansen recently moved into an Assisted Living facility.  Annika really liked the bird.

Gathering for lunch with four generations.

Back to Grandma Hansen's apartment for some more conversation and fun.

Back at home, we all felt grateful when Jason got feeling better, in part due to a course of Tamiflu.  (Annika also got to take Tamiflu to keep her from getting sick.  Twice, in fact!  Later in the month Eli tested positive for Influenza B so she got another round.)

Looks like Zion wants to join in the fun.

Here's a special moment: the big reveal.  This is where Eli discovered that Aunt Christy and Uncle Ben would love to travel with him this summer.  If the political situation is stable enough, their hope is to explore Israel.  What an amazing opportunity!

Speaking of amazing, here is the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square rehearsing for their upcoming tour to Peru.  Sure wish I could have traveled with them!

On a less optimal note, this is what our home looked like on February 14th.  A water main broke and the city was outside jackhammering until well after midnight.  The vibrations were so intense that I worried about our home's foundation.  The intense washout eroded our grass, our new sprinkler system got cut, and part of our yard still looks a mess.  Still, I'm grateful to all the workers who worked in the rain for hours on Valentine's Day to get it fixed.  I'm sure they would have preferred to be home with their sweethearts.

As for our Valentine's Day, I blogged a little bit about it here.  The real festivities didn't come until a few days after when we celebrated Cupid's Crazy Cafe with NomiAnn and Papa Kay.  Cupid's Crazy Cafe is such a long-standing tradition in our family--I can't believe we skipped it last year!  Today I went back and searched the blog for blurbs about the cafe in years past. It was such a rich ride down memory lane!  If you have a little time, I hope you have fun looking at these gems: 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2018 (Part 2) 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Now for Cupid's Cafe 2025 with NomiAnn and Papa Kay!

This was Zion's debut year with the cafe as well.

Brooklyn, we missed you!  We placed a chapa in your honor.

In fact, our menu was themed around Hermana Wheeler!  We served peanut butter on a spoon as one of our dishes since Brooklyn has little access to this delicacy.  As with many things in life, you don't fully appreciate PB until it's gone.  Brooklyn never knew how great straight peanut butter can taste until she got to Spain.

Other dishes in Brooklyn's honor: fresh fruit drizzled with sweetened condensed milk (common in Spain), root beer floats (because Brooklyn loves them), and tortilla de patatas.

Brooklyn, te queremos!

February was a special month for Anders too.  This good looking chap turned eight years old!  He's growing so fast that the Pokemon jammies I bought him were definitely too small.

Pokemon party or bust!

But truly, the most special moment was Anders's baptism (February 22, 2025).  

Here's Papa Kay sharing some important remarks.  Anders is listening so intently.

Anders was baptized by his cousin Eli.  These two may be eight years apart, but they are still besties.

Adam and Callie join the photo.

So proud of you Anders, and all the great choices you make.  We love you!

Afterward, we all went to Seven Brothers at City Creek to celebrate.  

With fried onion rings and grilled pineapple adorning their burgers, we promise you won't go hungry!

Next up, we have a stake youth winter camp.  The mountains were showing off on the way there.

Someone with a super spacious cabin hosted all the youth.  Plenty of room to gather!  While the "camp" was short, Talia and Eli had a good time.  Annika would have liked to join as well, but she was too immunosuppressed to do so safely.

Outdoors, Eli and some friends built a small quinzee.  Here he is trying to collapse it.

Success!  Eli, Aven and Tak look pretty proud of their sunken structure.

A fonal important news flash: this beautiful girl is BYU bound next year!  The U of U tried super hard to court her, offering their Presidential Scholarship, but Talia's blood runs blue.  Her Cougar heart was unswayed (plus BYU also offered her a great scholarship and they have great study abroad programs and Brooklyn will be there.)  We are so excited for our Tally Wally Doodle!  She has worked so hard these past years in school and will thrive wherever she goes.

Only one question remains: how will the rest of us survive her being gone?