Sofia and Aunt Diane

I love this picture of Sofia and Aunt Diane. Sofia loves to be held and Aunt Diane loves to hold her...quite a win-win I'd say!

Me and Uncle Russ

If this little girl only knew how many people love and adore her...It's probley a good thing. The last thing I need on my hands is a little diva. These were a few cute ones of her and Uncle Russ when he came to visit.

Niagara Falls

Grandpa, Sofia and I headed to Niagara Falls and even crossed the border into Canada to see if from the Canadian side. We did get a bit wet, but it was alot of fun to really get into the falls. I thought both Sofia and I would roast like turkeys underneath the blue plastic ponchos they give you, but thank goodness they do! Depending on where you stood on the boat, you were either soaked...or super soaked!

Snow Family Reunion

Sofia and I were able to head to Kirkland to go to the Snow Family Reunion. I had a wonderful time meeting so many relatives and really seeing some of the Church Historical Sites that I have not seen before. We went to Palmyra and even headed up to Niagara Falls, crossing over to the Canadian side to get another stamp in Sofia's passport. Here are a few pics of the house that Lorenzo and Eliza grew up in. We were able to get a tour from the present owners (who are not LDS) and had a wonderful time hearing the history of the home.

Fourth of July

We went out to watch the annual 4th of July parade that conveniently goes right in front of our apartments. Sofia roasted (poor kid!) as it was sooo hot even at 10AM. She was a good sport though and donned her patriotic Red, White and Blue respectively.

Summer fun with cousins

These were from July when Dave, Krystal and fam came down for the weekend to Utah. It was fun to see all the kids together and we had a great time on Temple Square and up at the Hansen's house.

Baby in the Balloons

Aunt Liane took these at my Birthday BBQ this summer. I just loved the way they turned out. Thanks Aunt Liane!

England and Scotland

These two were bonus places to visit on our way back. Since we traveled on skymiles, we had the option of one layover on the way home. When I got Dad's (Gpa Pederson) choice of England secured for a few days his next request was, "Now let's see how much it would be to go to Ireland or Scotland." Well Scotland was half the price during the timeframe we wanted so to Scotland it was. We had a great tim visiting the castles and I had fun learning to drive on the wrong side of the road. I had a few mishaps along the way and I could see Grandpa's white knuckles from my rear view mirror, but I was able to cross another thing off my wishlist! We were able to stay at the temple in London and save quite a few pounds that way. The temple grounds were beautiful and Artyom had his first experience on a double decker bus while we took a tour of the city.

Antalya, Turkey

Next we went to Turkey for 5 days. It was actually for work, but it we managed to get some fun in there as well. We literally went from snow and cold, hovering at about 40 degrees to sun, warmth and 80 degrees. It was crazy.

Sofia had her first dip in the very chilly Meditteranean and did not like it one bit. She also had some great one-on-one time with Grandpa Pederson while Artyom and I were earning a living. Which, I heard was an experience in itself. The employees at the all inclusive hotel we stayed adored Sofia and every time we entered a room you would hear at least 3-5 of the employees almost "singing" her name, "So-fia!" "So-fia!" she was definitely a hit.

Trip to the Motherland

So I found this memory card the other day and went to get a CD because I could not remember what was on it. Well over 550 pictures later, I discovered it was our whirlwind 3 week trip to Russia, Turkey, England and Scotland with Grandpa Pederson. So here are a few from that trip. There are from Russia with Artyom's parents and his sister and her family. Artyom's Dad RARELY put Sofia down. He fell in love with her the second he held her. Notice how many layers of clothes she is wearing. It was so cold and snowing in MAY!

Love at first... "sight"

This was the first time that Artyom's Dad got to "see" Sofia. I say "see" because his Dad is legally blind but that did not stop him from saying how beautiful she was. Sofia had been crying up until we walked in the door and he demanded to see her. She literally stopped crying and just stared up at her Grandpa Martushev. It was a pretty special moment.

Halloween

Here we are all dressed up. Ryan is a mechanic in case you are wondering.
We went to a fun pumpkin patch while my grandma was here. I think fall activities are so much fun.

These are some squash that grow to look like ducks. Ryan rarely gets excited about things like this however he thought these were quite cool and we ended up bringing one home.
McKena dashing through the maze of hay bales.
Mason using all of his strength to lift two pumpkins. His muscles surely have grown since turning four.
I love this picture of our little Spencer the skunk. Not only is the costume cute but it also is a rare moment when he is smiling for the camera.

mason's #4

Our Mason turned four this last week. We actually celebrated about a week ago so that my grandma could help me with his party. Mason invited three of his little friends over and we had a spiderman party. The boys had a really fun time creating a spider web with the chairs. Too bad they couldn't really play in it.

One of Mason's gifts was a tee ball set. He really enjoys any sport and has taken quite the liking to baseball. After only his second time at the park he was able to hit the ball quite far. I recognize that it is a plastic ball and bat but I was a proud mom nonetheless.
Mason blowing out his candles. Ryan always makes fun of my birthday cakes. They are never cute or fun and half of the time the writing looks pretty bad. Last year's cake was really cute and I cannot even take credit because Ryan did it all. I give up. At least it tastes good.

Happy Halloween!

Our little Chinese family! I actually got Artyom to dress up this year ( I think it was the sword he got to carry). I already had my Chinese outfit that I picked up in Hawaii. Then when we were there last summer and pregnant with Sofia, we picked up another one-hoping it would fit her. Artyom's I got in Chinatown while in San Francisco for work about a month ago. They were a hit at the Ward Halloween Party. Artyom kept on going up to people, bowing and saying "Nee-how". I think he had a good time. Now the question is....What can I con him into wearing next year?!