Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Latest Grace Videos
Here are several entertaining videos of Grace taken in January and February of this year. Hope you enjoy!
I had been asking Grace to say a few new phrases (which she can say, but didn't want to), when all of a sudden she proclaimed...
"I WANNA WATCH THE BABY (ME)!"
It was so funny I had to get her to say it again!
(It's hard to capture her doing anything in videos these days because she is FAR more interested in watching the videos than in having them taken of her--hence the "stop filming me please so I can watch the video already!".)
The funniest thing about this video is how much Grace laughs when she watches it (every time! She thinks she's pretty funny stuff!)
We recently learned that Grace has basically memorized her favorite books, and can often finish the pages for us (especially if they're rhyming), so we captured her doing that in the next two videos:
Travis and Grace reading a book called "Moo Baa la la la":
Travis and Grace reading a book called "I love you as much":
We love our smart, funny girl!
I had been asking Grace to say a few new phrases (which she can say, but didn't want to), when all of a sudden she proclaimed...
"I WANNA WATCH THE BABY (ME)!"
It was so funny I had to get her to say it again!
(It's hard to capture her doing anything in videos these days because she is FAR more interested in watching the videos than in having them taken of her--hence the "stop filming me please so I can watch the video already!".)
The funniest thing about this video is how much Grace laughs when she watches it (every time! She thinks she's pretty funny stuff!)
We recently learned that Grace has basically memorized her favorite books, and can often finish the pages for us (especially if they're rhyming), so we captured her doing that in the next two videos:
Travis and Grace reading a book called "Moo Baa la la la":
Travis and Grace reading a book called "I love you as much":
We love our smart, funny girl!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Chili Bowl 5k
Although I'd done a family 5k with Travis and his siblings in the summer, I thought it'd be fun to do an "official" one as well (and that training for it would be a great way to stay in shape). So today, Rachel and I (with Travis and Grace along for support) headed to Tower 230 in downtown Cleveland for our first "official" 5k!
The front of Tower 230 was our start/finish line (they were the sponsors for this event):
Crystal Carlson (a friend from Church) met us there to join in the fun. Here we all are before the race (with race numbers on and "chips" on our shoes):
It was a COLD and WINDY morning to race, but the sky was sunny and clear, and the course was picturesque, running along some downtown streets, then by the Brown's stadium and along Lake Erie (it was a really neat view of the city, to see it by foot).
The race officials warmed us up afterwards with steaming bowls of Tower 230 chili (which was pretty good!).
Rachel and I with our chili:
My main goal for the race was to beat my previous time of 40 minutes, and my "dream goal" was to run it in 35 minutes. So, I was VERY happy when I crossed the finish line at 35:12! Never having considered myself a runner, I got a big sense of accomplishment in finishing my first official race!
The front of Tower 230 was our start/finish line (they were the sponsors for this event):
Crystal Carlson (a friend from Church) met us there to join in the fun. Here we all are before the race (with race numbers on and "chips" on our shoes):
It was a COLD and WINDY morning to race, but the sky was sunny and clear, and the course was picturesque, running along some downtown streets, then by the Brown's stadium and along Lake Erie (it was a really neat view of the city, to see it by foot).
The race officials warmed us up afterwards with steaming bowls of Tower 230 chili (which was pretty good!).
Rachel and I with our chili:
My main goal for the race was to beat my previous time of 40 minutes, and my "dream goal" was to run it in 35 minutes. So, I was VERY happy when I crossed the finish line at 35:12! Never having considered myself a runner, I got a big sense of accomplishment in finishing my first official race!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Grace's first snow experience
Today was Grace's first REAL experience IN the snow (complete with hat, gloves, boots, and sledding).
Strutting her stuff in her snow gear:
Can I just say how much I LOVE her kitty hat?! I just think she's so adorable in it!
Looking good!
Checking out the snow...
WHOOPS! And falling into it...
Then brushing herself off and moving on to more fun:
Checking out uncle Brandon's snow cave ("What is this?")
Uncle Brandon was sweet enough to give her a ride in the sled around their yard. Though VERY interested, Grace started off a little unsure...
Here we go!
But in the end, she thought sledding was pretty great!
Sweet daddy taking her for another turn:
More smiles:
Needless to say, she had a great "first" time in the snow!
Strutting her stuff in her snow gear:
Can I just say how much I LOVE her kitty hat?! I just think she's so adorable in it!
Looking good!
Checking out the snow...
WHOOPS! And falling into it...
Then brushing herself off and moving on to more fun:
Checking out uncle Brandon's snow cave ("What is this?")
Uncle Brandon was sweet enough to give her a ride in the sled around their yard. Though VERY interested, Grace started off a little unsure...
Here we go!
But in the end, she thought sledding was pretty great!
Sweet daddy taking her for another turn:
More smiles:
Needless to say, she had a great "first" time in the snow!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Christmas 2010
Since we were going to Idaho to visit Travis' family for Christmas, we put our decorations up early so we could enjoy them for as long as possible:
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Every year we do a gingerbread house, and this year was no different (we thought it turned out pretty well :) ):
After all the anticipation, here we are at the airport, getting ready to leave on a jet plane (for our 2 week vacation in Idaho):
We spent the first couple of days in Rexburg: going to the new BYUI Auditorium dedication & touring the new parts of campus; having lunch with Tyler and Tia at Bajios; visiting more family and friends (aunt Terri and uncle Jarom, grandma and grandpa Larsen, and our friend Mary from Great Harvest), and getting some yummy Great Harvest bread. It was SO nice to be on our old stomping grounds, and see our friends and loved ones from Idaho again!
Here we are at the auditorium dedication:
Santa came a little early to our house (since Chelsi's girls were going to spend Christmas with their dad in Washington this year).
Grace was a little awestruck:
Chelsi and her girls with Santa:
We went to the mall one day for a little last minute shopping, and Grace had fun riding the toys and seeing Santa (who she kept waving to and smiling at, very excitedly!):
My Aunt Carol and Cousins Elysia and Audrey (and her daughter Abby) were sweet enough to come over from Twin Falls to visit with us for a few hours one day. It was SO nice to see them again and catch up!!
And Grace and Abby turned out to be pretty good buds :)
Grandma reading Grace "The Night Before Christmas" (where Grace learned that Santa says "ho ho ho"--pretty cute to hear!):
Grace lovin on her new cousin Carson:
It's a Holloway tradition to act out the Christmas story (as well as sing Christmas songs), and our Christmas Eve wouldn't have been complete without it! (My niece and nephew Megan and Gavin were Mary and Joseph, and Tyler and Travis were the shepherds.)
We were SO excited for Christmas morning with Grace, to see her reactions as she opened her presents. :)
We discovered that she's a big fan of stockings...
Hooray for fruit!
A new baby doll was Grace's big Christmas present, and we were so pleased when it turned out to be a success!
Also a hit was her alphabet letter magnet set:
Grace also had fun playing with aunt Cassie's jewlery...
...and her cousins new toys...
...and watching Signing Time (of course)!
Our last night there, we drove down to Salt Lake with Mom, Dad, Chelsi and her girls, Tyler, and Tia, to see the lights in Temple Square. After we got to our hotel, we hit up the awesome pool (complete with an indoor/outdoor waterslide), had a pizza party in the party room, then hit the town to see the lights.
Here we are in the Temple Square visitor's center:
Then out into the chilly night to see the lights:
They were SO beautiful!
They had put all of these neat nativities displays around the Square:
It was truly a winter wonderland!
After the lights, we went back to the hotel, put the kiddos to bed, then stayed up late having an early New Year's Eve party, complete with munchies and lots of Phase 10.
And in the morning, we said goodbye to our loved ones, then caught our early flight home.
We had SUCH a wonderful Christmas, and came home feeling very blessed for the family we have and all that we've been given. Merry Christmas everyone!
u
Every year we do a gingerbread house, and this year was no different (we thought it turned out pretty well :) ):
After all the anticipation, here we are at the airport, getting ready to leave on a jet plane (for our 2 week vacation in Idaho):
We spent the first couple of days in Rexburg: going to the new BYUI Auditorium dedication & touring the new parts of campus; having lunch with Tyler and Tia at Bajios; visiting more family and friends (aunt Terri and uncle Jarom, grandma and grandpa Larsen, and our friend Mary from Great Harvest), and getting some yummy Great Harvest bread. It was SO nice to be on our old stomping grounds, and see our friends and loved ones from Idaho again!
Here we are at the auditorium dedication:
Santa came a little early to our house (since Chelsi's girls were going to spend Christmas with their dad in Washington this year).
Grace was a little awestruck:
Chelsi and her girls with Santa:
We went to the mall one day for a little last minute shopping, and Grace had fun riding the toys and seeing Santa (who she kept waving to and smiling at, very excitedly!):
My Aunt Carol and Cousins Elysia and Audrey (and her daughter Abby) were sweet enough to come over from Twin Falls to visit with us for a few hours one day. It was SO nice to see them again and catch up!!
And Grace and Abby turned out to be pretty good buds :)
Grandma reading Grace "The Night Before Christmas" (where Grace learned that Santa says "ho ho ho"--pretty cute to hear!):
Grace lovin on her new cousin Carson:
It's a Holloway tradition to act out the Christmas story (as well as sing Christmas songs), and our Christmas Eve wouldn't have been complete without it! (My niece and nephew Megan and Gavin were Mary and Joseph, and Tyler and Travis were the shepherds.)
We were SO excited for Christmas morning with Grace, to see her reactions as she opened her presents. :)
We discovered that she's a big fan of stockings...
Hooray for fruit!
A new baby doll was Grace's big Christmas present, and we were so pleased when it turned out to be a success!
Also a hit was her alphabet letter magnet set:
Grace also had fun playing with aunt Cassie's jewlery...
...and her cousins new toys...
...and watching Signing Time (of course)!
Our last night there, we drove down to Salt Lake with Mom, Dad, Chelsi and her girls, Tyler, and Tia, to see the lights in Temple Square. After we got to our hotel, we hit up the awesome pool (complete with an indoor/outdoor waterslide), had a pizza party in the party room, then hit the town to see the lights.
Here we are in the Temple Square visitor's center:
Then out into the chilly night to see the lights:
They were SO beautiful!
They had put all of these neat nativities displays around the Square:
It was truly a winter wonderland!
After the lights, we went back to the hotel, put the kiddos to bed, then stayed up late having an early New Year's Eve party, complete with munchies and lots of Phase 10.
And in the morning, we said goodbye to our loved ones, then caught our early flight home.
We had SUCH a wonderful Christmas, and came home feeling very blessed for the family we have and all that we've been given. Merry Christmas everyone!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Letter
Dear loved ones,
Another year has passed--how quickly they go by! And in case you haven't been following us on our blog, here's an update of what we were up to in 2010.
Travis completed his first year of Podiatry school in July (with a 4.0 GPA), and the first semester of his second year of school in December (with a 3.9 GPA). We are SO proud of him for all of the hard work he puts in to his future career! Travis continues to enjoy serving as a counselor in the Young Men's Presidency in our Ward, and is a great example to the boys he works with. When he's not studying or serving, he enjoys running (he hopes to run a 50K next year), spending time with his family, watching sports, and playing our new Wii.
Jenny continues her "work" as a stay at home mom to Grace, and loves it more every day. We feel very blessed that she's able to stay home and do this important work. She also serves in our Ward as both the Compassionate Service Leader and Ward Choir director, and is grateful for the ways in which these callings help her grow. When she's not serving in these capacities, she enjoys reading, crafting, and spending time with her family and the other women in the Ward.
Grace is now 20 months old, and is a great joy in our lives. She is currently very interested in colors and numbers, and can now recognize most of the colors and the numbers 1-10. She is a great talker and signer, and impresses us every day with her growing vocabulary, and we enjoy having more interaction with her. She is now in the Nursury class in our Ward, and is starting to enjoy playing with the other kids there. We're so grateful for how Grace makes us laugh everyday, and how she helps us become better people.
We enjoyed several vacations as a family as well as visits from family this year. In March, Jenny and Grace traveled to Louisiana to attend the baby blessing of our nephew Sean. In July, we enjoyed a visit from Jenny's parents, during which we all traveled to Palmyra, NY to attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant and see the Church History sites there. Also in July, we celebrated our 3 year anniversary. =) In August, we were blessed to have much of Travis' family visit, and enjoyed seeing the sites of Cleveland and the Church History sites around here with them. And in December, we flew out to Idaho to spend Christmas with Travis' family, and had a wonderful visit there. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with our loved ones this year, and to get to have family living nearby (Travis' brother and sister-in-law) while we're far away from "home." We're also grateful to have such a wonderful friends here (especially in our Ward), that help make our home here truly feel like "home." Indeed, we have been, and feel very blessed with the life God has given us.
With love and best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and yours,
Jenny, Travis, and Grace Holloway
Another year has passed--how quickly they go by! And in case you haven't been following us on our blog, here's an update of what we were up to in 2010.
Travis completed his first year of Podiatry school in July (with a 4.0 GPA), and the first semester of his second year of school in December (with a 3.9 GPA). We are SO proud of him for all of the hard work he puts in to his future career! Travis continues to enjoy serving as a counselor in the Young Men's Presidency in our Ward, and is a great example to the boys he works with. When he's not studying or serving, he enjoys running (he hopes to run a 50K next year), spending time with his family, watching sports, and playing our new Wii.
Jenny continues her "work" as a stay at home mom to Grace, and loves it more every day. We feel very blessed that she's able to stay home and do this important work. She also serves in our Ward as both the Compassionate Service Leader and Ward Choir director, and is grateful for the ways in which these callings help her grow. When she's not serving in these capacities, she enjoys reading, crafting, and spending time with her family and the other women in the Ward.
Grace is now 20 months old, and is a great joy in our lives. She is currently very interested in colors and numbers, and can now recognize most of the colors and the numbers 1-10. She is a great talker and signer, and impresses us every day with her growing vocabulary, and we enjoy having more interaction with her. She is now in the Nursury class in our Ward, and is starting to enjoy playing with the other kids there. We're so grateful for how Grace makes us laugh everyday, and how she helps us become better people.
We enjoyed several vacations as a family as well as visits from family this year. In March, Jenny and Grace traveled to Louisiana to attend the baby blessing of our nephew Sean. In July, we enjoyed a visit from Jenny's parents, during which we all traveled to Palmyra, NY to attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant and see the Church History sites there. Also in July, we celebrated our 3 year anniversary. =) In August, we were blessed to have much of Travis' family visit, and enjoyed seeing the sites of Cleveland and the Church History sites around here with them. And in December, we flew out to Idaho to spend Christmas with Travis' family, and had a wonderful visit there. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with our loved ones this year, and to get to have family living nearby (Travis' brother and sister-in-law) while we're far away from "home." We're also grateful to have such a wonderful friends here (especially in our Ward), that help make our home here truly feel like "home." Indeed, we have been, and feel very blessed with the life God has given us.
With love and best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and yours,
Jenny, Travis, and Grace Holloway
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Colors of the Rainbow
One of Grace's favorite things to talk about/identify these days is COLORS. So, here's a video of her talking about a few of her favorite things. =)
P.S. She's getting upset because she wants me to stop recording so she can see the video of herself...funny girl!
P.S. She's getting upset because she wants me to stop recording so she can see the video of herself...funny girl!
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