#3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO COUGARS!

ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Ohio State (17)	27-2	760
2	Kansas (14)	27-2	756
3	Brigham Young	27-2	690
4	Duke	26-3	671
5	Pittsburgh	25-4	622
6	Purdue	24-5	612
7	Notre Dame	23-5	584
8	Texas	24-5	574
9	San Diego State	27-2	542
10	Wisconsin	22-6	500
11	Louisville	22-7	457
12	Syracuse	24-6	391
13	North Carolina	22-6	367
14	Florida	22-6	337
15	St. John's	19-9	284
16	Connecticut	21-7	274
17	Georgetown	21-8	272
18	Arizona	23-6	213
19	Villanova	21-8	194
20	Vanderbilt	21-7	183
21	Utah State	26-3	178
22	Texas A&M	22-6	133
23	Kentucky	20-8	131
24	Missouri	22-7	109
25	George Mason	25-5	70

New Year's Goals

I've been noodling on this for, well...since January. Two-months into 2011 I think I've settled on my vision for the year:

1. Increase the frequency and duration of the Spirit's companionship. The two methods I'd like to incorporate are fasting and pondering/meditation.
2. Complete our one-year food storage.
3. Exercise for 30 minutes 2-3 times a week. I'm amazed at how sedentary I have become over the past year.
4. Study for, and take, the GRE.
5. If necessary, enroll at local University to take necessary prerequisite courses, or refresher courses, for a Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program.

Not Much Going On

Well, I suppose life is going on of the mundane sort. I work. When I'm not working I'm looking at job applications and the family budget. I also think I've got a good plan in place to start studying for the GRE and applying for those continuing school credits. Oriah works. When she's not at work she's at lacrosse practice or tournaments. We sleep. We eat. I think that's about as exciting as it has gotten during the past two weeks (since Valentine's). Oh, and we took our taxes in to the accountant's office this week. Oriah's hoping for a refund. I'm hoping we'll break even. Yep, I think that's about all for now.

My Valentine

Michael surprised me with a date last night. We went to Jason's Deli (I love that place) and then went and saw Secretariat at the dollar theater. I had a great time!

Thank you Michael, I love you!

Secretariat

Oriah has wanted to see the movie Secretariat for a while. Last night we finally checked it out. I had my reservations. A movie about a horse...didn't seem that exciting...
My, oh, my how I still haven't learned not to judge a book by its cover. Admittedly, up until last night I never knew the full story of the horse. The movie was based on fact. I knew in the end the horse would win...there wasn't much suspension in that sense. But as the last race unfurled and how everything came together for the story...my jaw just dropped. The way this horse "ran its race" was astonishing. All-in-all it was extremely inspiring. I admit, I was moved by a story about a horse. It was a great ending to a fun day with Oriah, my Valentine! :)

Colorado!

Colorado was a blast. The only thing that could have made it better was if Michael was able to come. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of Andrew is his baptism suit, or any of us after the baptism (Tyson has those on his camera). But I did get plenty of pictures of the fun activities we did the couple of days we were there. Celeste bought books for everyone. The kids LOVE reading. Here are some pictures:

Andrew

Jerusha reading to Katelyn

Niki reading to Emilee
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We also love our horsie rides. Here are a couple of those pictures. Please note Katelyn's amazing outfit in the first picture:

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Then we had a nurf fight. Andrew went with Alyson to the store for his birthday. He bought a HUGE nurf missile gun thing. Here are some pictures:

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Then Katelyn taught Niki how to dance:

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This one has a story to go with it. I believe Andrew also bought this when he went to the store on Saturday. He put it together and then hardly let it out of his sight the rest of the time I was there. On our way home from Church on Sunday Andrew said to Niki (who is his favorite of my siblings by far), "I wish some of my uncles were here." Niki asked him why and it was because he wanted some uncles to play with his nurf guns, but also with his other cool manly toys. He was surrounded by girls all weekend, poor boy.

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Maren and Andrew have recently started taking some music lessons. Maren is learning how to play the guitar and Andrew is learning how to play the violin. They have only had two lessons and they were actually very good! They gave us a mini concert:

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And last, but not least, here are pictures I took of each of the family members living out there:

Tyson and Tina

Andrew

Maren

Emilee

Katelyn

Nathan

Megan

I had a great time with family!

Andrew Neil Harding

I'm headed to Colorado tonight to attend my oldest nephew's baptism. I'm sad Michael will not be able to go with me, but my sisters, parents, and aunt will all be going out. I am really excited to spend time with family and I'm grateful I have the opportunity to be there for Andrew! I'll post pictures when I get back!