Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas, family and friends, from the "Logan Laceys!"

What?! Aren't we the "Las Vegas Laceys?" Not anymore!  In June, we moved from our desert home of seven years to beautiful Cache Valley, Utah.  We are house-sitting for Amy's parents, who are on a two-year LDS Church mission.  We were sad to say good-bye to our wonderful Las Vegas friends, but have been blessed to meet amazing new people here.  It's been fun to enjoy the changing seasons.

Here's a little bit about our family.

Paul continues to work at IBM as a Product Manager for their Smarter Buildings solutions.  One of the perks of this role is that he can work remotely, which made it possible for us to make this move to Logan.  He works from a home office that we all helped redecorate in July.  He loves being able to see the kids when they get home and having a five-step commute to and from work each day.

With this position comes occasional travel.  He recently visited Boston, New York, and Silicone Valley in California.  He's excited for Christmas vacation with his family, enjoying the warm fireplace and all of the awesome Utah snow.

Amy had a busy summer getting three kids registered for new schools, sports, and music lessons.  Since her parents planted a huge garden before they left, she also tried to un-curse her black thumb and not kill everything.  She was very successful and now knows forty-three recipes that use zucchini!

Before we left Las Vegas, Amy helped co-write fifty-two songs for a new online preschool called Miss Humblebee's Academy, which was unveiled in June.  She also had fun working on a few original songs to pitch to TV commercials.  We're still waiting to hear back!

Aaron (12) is in 7th Grade at Mount Logan Middle School.  He loves playing football, ping-pong, and his cello.  He has adjusted very well to our new home and takes advantage of the huge back yard to throw the football and run around with our dog, Shiloh.

He keeps us all laughing with his funny quotes from movies and his favorite show, Studio C.  He had a blast this summer with his new scout troop as they camped and floated down the Green River in Wyoming.

He's become quite the virtuoso on his cello, and was rewarded nicely by being placed in a quartet with three beautiful girls.  He never seems to mind the extra practice required!

In the LDS Church, when a young man turns twelve, he is able to be ordained a deacon and pass the sacrament.  We are proud of Aaron for making the choice to take this step last March.

Jacob (9) is a budding naturalist with a current fascination with birds of prey.  He loves looking for and studying the hawks, eagles, and other birds that frequent our neighbor's huge pine trees.

Prior to the "bird phase," Jacob was totally into sports cars.  He says when he grows up he wants to be a teacher, but drive a Lamborghini.  We wish him well in fusing these two dreams!

Jacob played flag football in a community league and looks forward to playing Junior Jazz starting in January.  Jacob also started playing viola this year with the Wilson Elementary Beginning Orchestra.  Amy's happy to have another violist in the family!

Anna Sophia (7) had a MASSIVE birthday party in September.  Since each of our children were given the option to have a getting-to-know-you party when we first moved in, Anna combined this with her seventh birthday, and the result was a glamorous cowgirl party with over 25 people.

Anna is taking dance lessons from Cache Valley School of Ballet and loved attending the production of the Nutcracker this year.  Her goal is to dance in the Nutcracker one day.

She's a great reader and student, and enjoys her second grade class at Wilson Elementary.  Because Amy is helping in the elementary orchestra, Anna has been able to join them twice a week on her tiny violin.  We thought she might just audit the class, but she's been determined to keep up with the big kids, and even performed in the Christmas concert.

During the summer, Anna is the one who really kept the garden alive with her natural knack for growing things.  She's not afraid to dig in and get dirty!

At this Christmas time, we're so thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas season and a very happy New Year.  We love you all!

Please keep in touch!