Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  We hope that you have had a wonderful year filled with happiness and fun.  We have had a great year with lots of fun and some big changes. 

Lee finished the Leadership Development Program he was in at Raytheon.  With the completion of the program, he got to choose a permanent position with the company.  He ended up choosing to stay here in Tucson.  Since we are going to be here long term, we bought a house.  We are really happy and excited about the house we found.  It has lots of room for us to grow into and I have enjoyed buying new things to fill it up. 

Mariann is now a big 2 and half year old.  She loves to read and learn new things.  It is amazing to me how good her memory is.  She has learned all her colors and shapes and we are working on numbers and letters.  She loves to sing and dance and her favorite game is tag. 

Peter is now 15 months old and growing like crazy.  He loves to run around chasing his sister and playing with his cars and trucks.  He has just started saying a few words and can now say Mama, Dada, this, and up.  His favorite food is yogurt which he would just eat all day if we let him. 

I decided last year around this time that I wanted to do a triathlon.  I completed a sprint triathlon in April and have since run in 3 more 8-mile races.  I have really begun to enjoy running, which is something I thought would never happen.  I’m planning on doing the Tough Mudder in January.  We have also joined the minivan club recently.  I’m excited to not have to bike my kids around everywhere, although it was great exercise.

Overall, we have had a fun year filled with trips to see the Grandparents and a summer vacation to the Grand Canyon.  We are having a great time and we hope you are too.  We love all of you and wish you the best this Christmas Season and throughout the upcoming year.

Love,

Lee, Alexis, Mariann, and Peter Savoie

(2011)

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with Lee's family in Ft. Worth.  We had lots of fun playing with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins.  We were also able to do a little bit of sight seeing. 

One of the days we went to the Ft. Worth Water Gardens and to the Botanical Gardens.  The water gardens were beautiful.  There was a cascading water fall with steps down to the bottom.

Thd kids loved this reflecting pond.  It was a great place to splash in the water and climb on the tree roots that came out of the ground.

When we got to the botanical gardens, Mariann wanted to smell every flower.  She soon had Peter trying to smel them too.  He would run up to one, sniff really hard, and run away.  As we approached the rose garden, you could smell the flowers 20 feet away.  It was awesome!

They had a really cool elevated wooden walk way.  There were educational games and activities for kids along the way.  There were also the tubes to talk through to people further along the path.  Mariann would run down to try and talk to Lee through the tubes.

At the end of the wooden path there was this big log for the kids to play in.

Another morning we went to a trail were Lee used to play as a kid.  A branch of the Trinity River is really close to where his house was up to about age 12.  It was neat to share something that he enjoyed as a kid our kids and to see the home were he grew up.

Mariann and Peter enjoyed touching and splashing in the water.

 

We also took the chance this Thanksgiving to be grateful for all the wonderful things that we have been given.  We thank the Lord for two wonderful heathly kids, a nice house, and Lee's good job.  We are also grateful to all of our friends and family that love and support us.

PS The first week on November we were able to move into our new home with the help of both wards.  I have been enjoying buying new things on Craigslist ever since.  We entered the minivan van club in early December. 

Halloween 2011

I have always loved family theme costumes.  I remember one year as a kid my bother and sister and I were ghosts and my parents were ghost busters.  I know as my kids get older they'll probably want to pick there own costumes and not follow my theme, so I decided to take advantage of them being to young to choose and having all of us dress in a theme. 

We went with the Cat in the Hat since that is one of Mariann's favorite books and cartoons.  I was the Cat in the Hat, Lee was the Fish, and Mariann and Peter were Thing 1 and Thing 2. 

Mariann would NOT let me spray her hair blue and I didn't want to traumatize her, so we just went with the blue head band instead.

We even carved our pumpkin like a cat.  Mariann loved helping to draw the face on it but she wasn't a big fan of getting the seeds out.  She thought it was "too yucky."  Peter on the other hand loves all messes and enjoyed throwing the seeds around.

One of the nice things about Halloween in Arizona is you don't have to wear your coat over your costume.  Also, a lot if the people sit outside on in their driveway, so they can see everyone.  It really creates a festival type atmosphere that I enjoyed.  Both Mariann and Peter caught on to the idea of trick or treating really quickly.  When someone would bring out there bowl of candy to get some candy for them, Peter would really quickly stick his hand in the bowl and grab a whole handful before they could give him just one piece.

Mariann ended up with so much candy she could hardly lift her pumpkin by the end of the night.

A Wedding in Dallas

The week before Halloween, we were in Dallas for the wedding of Lee's brother, Stephen.  It was so fun to get to visit and see everyone.  The wedding was beautiful and Mariann was on of the flower girls.  Her Grandma made her this beautiful dress to where and her new aunt Becky made the wand for the girls to hold.  Mariann loved the dress and has wanted to wear it to church every week since.



We were lucky that my Mom had planned to take my Grandmas to Texas at the same time so we were able to visit with her and to leave the kids with her during the sealing. 

Peter and Lee wore matching suits and ties.

I made this skirt for the wedding.  It was the first item of clothing I had ever sown!!  It was suprisingly fun to make and I think I did a really good job.  It turned out a little big, and I had to get a little help with the button but for my first try I thnk I did awesome.

Mariann wasn't real keen on getting her picture take and wouldn't look up. However, Becky looked stunning in her wedding dress.

Getting all the grandsons together for a picture with the groom was next to impossible.  Toddlers just have minds of there owns and sitting still is not a top priority for them.

I also made the cake for the reception that night.  It didn't turn out exactly like I imagined in my head (they never do) but I thought it was very elegant and it tasted great.

Overall, we had a grat time and we were glad to be able to share this special day with Stephen and Becky.  Congratulations to the both of you! We love you!

Pumpkin Patch

Every year before Halloween we go to a pumpkin patch.  This year we tried out the Agua Linda Farm outside of the city.  It was a lot of fun We went on a hayride, walked through the pumpkin patch, saw all the aminals, and even got lost in the hay bail maze.  It was a great way to get into the spirit of fall (especially since it was still so warm out) and to have enjoy the changing seasons.

Daddy and Peter walking through the pumpkin patch.

Mariann picked out this little pumpkin to take home.  On the way home she was playing with her pumpkin and asked, "Did you see that, Punk?"  Both Lee and I cracked up and the pumpkin had a new name.

Maiann and Peter loved climbing on all the different pumpkins.

Mariann was a little shy of the animals at first.  Peter not so much.

The maze consisted of two hay bails stacked on top of each other.  Mariann would run down the bath and then wait behind the corner.  Peter found a chicken in the maze and just wanted to play with it.

They had a few games like sack races, tire swings, and a hay bail slide.

Mariann favorite thing was definately the pony ride!!  I wasn't sure she would want to get on since she is usually a little scared of animals, but she hopped right on and had a huge grin the entire time.  At the end she was only holding on with one hand and the lady running the ride said, "Look at her holding on like a pro."



Turning One!

It's hard to believe it but my little boy is now a year old.  It has been a fun year and I have enjoyed watching him grow and learn new things.  He can now walk, throw a ball, and point at things while saying "this."  He loves playing with cars and wrestling.  He adores his big sister and follows her around everywhere.  He is also very opinionated and only has one really loud screechy cry that breaks your heart in a second.  (Basically, he's really good at getting what he wants.)  I love him so much and we are grateful to have him in our family.

To celebrate his birthday, we had some friends over to watch the BYU/Utah game, eat some delicious BBQ, and have some cake and ice cream.  It was a great time, especially for us Utah fans.  (Too bad I was the only one.) To go along with the game, I made Peter a sports cake. 

 

He liked the cake but he really LOVED the ice cream.   

 

We opened his presents the next day since that is his actual birthday.  He caught on really fast and was an expert wrapping paper remover.

He loved this car that he got from Grandma.




When he opened his new church shoes, he picked one up by the laces, looked at it for a moment, dropped it back in the box, and moved the box so he could open another present.  He already thinks clothes are a terrible gift.




Peter got this pump that sprays water in the bath tub, since he always thinks he needs to have the water running.  Mariann loves it. (Peter does too, but I'm not sure who likes it moew.)




Peter next decided he should stand on his presents while opening them.  Lucky it was just blocks and nothing breakable.





After opening the blocks, we couldn't get him interesting in opening anything else.  He had had enough of opening presents, getting his picture taken, etc. He just wanted to build something with his new blocks, so Mariann opened the rest of his presents for him.




Happy Birthday, Peter!  It's hard to believe you are getting so big already. 
We love you!!