2010 has been a great year for our family! One of the highlights of our year was our cross-country road trip. Wewere so blessed to visit many family and friends along the way, and took time to explore in Nauvoo and Washington D.C. It was quite an adventure! The kids are all in school now and loving it. Nick still enjoys cartooning and working at DMBA, and I'm enjoying more free time at home. We truly have the best kids in the world; wonderul, unique and full of personality and character...

Sadie - I am in Kindergarten because I'm FIVE! I love food experiments at school and I can read lots of words. Fancy Nancy is the best book. And I am great at being nice to everyone, so I've got a bunch of friends. I like to eat candy and I am good at playing games. I love to play dress ups with my friends and have tea parties. I am good at playing with my brothers and cleaning my room. My favorite food is watermelon and my favorite color is PINK!

Nathan - I am eleven years old and very good at video games, my favorite being Pikmin. I recently won an award for my art at school and I love to draw. I hit a growth spurt this year and grew 3 inches! But I am still the smallest kid in my class. I do a paper route for the Davis County Clipper. It is the smallest route in the county, but I still get good money for it. Calvin and Hobbes remains my favorite book.

Brandon - I am eight years old! I am in third grade. I'm good at video games and puzzles. I like to draw and read Spiderwick books. I almost have my Wolf badge in Cub Scouts. In school I like learning about art and health, and I love science. My mom says I have perfect cursive handwriting and I know my times tables. My favorite foods are ice cream and pizza.

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and a peaceful 2011! Wishing you lots of love from the Perkins family!

New Portraits!

My wonderful, multi-talented father took these fabulous pictures of my kids! I'm having 8x10s made to go on my wall. Each picture really shows personality and character. Thanks Dad!

Nathan - Age 10

Sadie - Age 5

Brandon - Age 8

Timpanogos Cave

Last Saturday, our family hiked up to Timpanogos Cave. We left early in the morning and were able to finish before it got too hot.























The cave was amazing and the guides did a great job keeping the attention of even the little kids. The entire hike, including going up, inside the cave and going down, was about 3.5 miles. It was pretty steep in parts, so we all got a good workout.

The view from the mountain was breath-taking, especially with the fall leaves just starting to turn colors.














The other kids in the pictures are my niece and nephew.

Overall, it was a great day. I'm so glad we got to go!

First Day of School

Wow! Another school year has begun... Once again we are changing our methods. Sadie and Brandon are both going to public school, Brandon is now in third grade and Sadie has begun kindergarten. We are fortunate to have the elementary work with us in arranging Nate's schedule. He'll be home-schooled in the morning, for Math and Language Arts, and will attend public school in the afternoon.

It's only been one day, but so far things are going smoothly for all. Hurray for great teachers!

Lagoon!

We were so happy when Nick's employer, DMBA, offered us all-day passes to Lagoon for only $5 a person! We all went for the afternoon and had a great time. Then at dinner time, Nick and I dropped the kids off at a sitter's and went back to do the big rides. This was a fabulous way to end the summer. :o)

Fun Summer Project

I've had a great time being creative and making our office/school room into a cute pink girly bedroom for Sadie. Here are some pictures of what I've done so far. We went to Deseret Industries and got some inexpensive wooden stuff to paint, including the cradle, doll chair, the window picture frame and some shelves. It's been really fun. The paint designs and colors have been inspired mostly by the beautiful bedspread from Sadie's grandma. When I'm done I'll post pics of the whole room.

Sadie's Birthday

Sadie is 5! She had a fabulous birthday and here are some pictures of her "Ballerina Princess" birthday party.

Wedding Pictures

My brother Scott was recently wed to Nicole, Hurray!!! Here are a few pictures taken that day.

Brandon's Baptism

We are so proud of Brandon! He made the wonderful decision to be baptized. Brandon is very patient and loving, always watching out for other kids. He loves to try new foods and surprise everyone by making their bed for them. His smile is contagious. I love you Brandon!

More Pictures of our Trip

These are some of the pictures from my phone, so they're definitely not as big or clear, but I wanted to post them anyway. The first two are from our ride on the metro (the Washington DC subway system).







The kids had a great time at the Lincoln Memorial, it was one of their favorite stops!
Then there's one of a happy moment in the car and one of the boys on the wagon ride in Nauvoo.



































The next few are of the botanical garden in Asheville. The kids had so much fun running around, I had a hard time getting the boys to hold still for a photo! :o)





These are some pictures taken at the Biltmore Estate, again in Asheville.