A Snowman...the Miniature Variety

About ten days ago we had another series of major snowstorms. Here's a picture of the snow accumulation on the picnic table out front. I realized, as I was shoveling snow during our last storm, that I spend all my time, when outside...shoveling. I haven't played outside with my kids this winter, since by the time I am done shoveling my kids are done playing, or McKenna is crying for me. So this day I finished and McKenna was still napping, so Taylor and I tried to build a snowman. The sad part was that the snow was not the snowman type. We couldn't pack it enough to roll a ball, so we made a miniature version of a snowman.I'm glad it was a small dude since I only had baby carrots in the fridge. :)

We later gave him hair implants. Taylor said "he looks weird."

McKenna Baby...I mean...Toddler? :(

McKenna took her first step on December 12th (10 months and one week old) and look at her now (11 months old):

She still prefers crawling and will only take a few steps here and there, but she is still by far our earliest walker. She's growing up way too fast!! It makes me too sad to watch my babies walk. It suddenly makes them a toddler and no longer a baby. (And yes, that is a dirty diaper that Dave is enticing her with. Hey, she really wanted it! And no, it was not a stinky one.)

The After-Christmas "Party"

Every year, the Saturday after Christmas, my extended family (i.e. grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc) gets together for a Christmas party. When there is enough snow we all go sledding at a nearby golf course. There have been several years that we didn't have snow and missed out. This year had enough snow for sledding and we were all excited and geared up to go. However, the freeway was frozen over with ice and snow and when the lead cars of our caravan reached the base of the canyon between Brigham City and Logan, they found that the roads were too slick to drive on. My sister even called 511 for road conditions and the recording told us that 4 wheel drive or snow chains was required. So we all turned around and headed back home over the dangerous freeway. But apparently everyone else made it just fine! We missed out on a great party. Dang!! If you want to see pictures of the sledding fun, then check out my cousin Gayle's blog. We were all so sad that our cars are pooty in the snow...that's right, I said "pooty".

Anyway...my sister, Camille, was one of those that did make it up the canyon and they brought our presents back to us. Here are the photos of our "party". :(
My grandma still makes handmade gifts for all the kids.

Thank you, Grandma!! We are so sorry that we missed out on the party.

Christmas Weekend

Why does the Christmas season have to be so stressful? I tried to start projects well in advance, but I still had too much on my plate. We are still in charge of snow removal for our apartment complex and the week before Christmas it dumped over a foot of total snow. I shouldn't complain, because we are grateful for the extra income, but I was not prepared to spend that much time shoveling snow. I needed to finish my projects for Christmas!! So when Christmas came I was very ready for the relaxation.

Our Christmas morning started at 8:00 am. The boys haven't figured out that you can get up early on Christmas morning and get away with it. :) They were excited about each gift, even socks and underwear. :) I didn't think McKenna would even understand what was going on, but she gave out a squeal every once in a while. It was so fun watching the kids open their presents and sharing in their excitement. We opened presents as quickly as we could, since a major snow storm was supposed to hit that morning and we had planned to travel to my parents' house. The storm ended up arriving later that evening, so all that rushing for nothing. Oh well. We spent the rest of the weekend with my family in Centerville. Everyone was in town except my brother, Scott and his family. It wasn't the same without them.My parents

The days were filled with shopping, opening presents, sledding, eating, and chatting with family while the kids played downstairs. :) It all went by way too fast.

My sister, Stephanie, and her son, Landon.
My sister, Laurel, and her daughter, Madeleine.My sister, Camille, and her daughter, Sarah.
My niece, Katherine.My niece, Lizzie.

My brother, Jeff, planned a game of Jeopardy for my sisters and parents. He came up with trivia questions about memories of our childhood. It was a lot of fun and gave us a good laugh.

Leon (brother-in-law), Taylor, Jayden (nephew), Cameron (nephew), and Dallin (nephew).

The Wii became an addiction in the house. Leon, Dave, and I stayed up late into the night playing Mario Kart. I'm trying to convince Dave that we want one. (I never thought I would say that.)

We want to wish all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Tree

I think we are one of the few that still buy a natural tree each year. It seems that the majority of the population have gone to artificial. I can understand the draw to artificial...it's low maintenance. Yes, we have to go out in the cold and purchase it, and yes, we have to cut the trunk, and yes, we do have to water it several times a day, and yes, we have to vacuum the needles...but we still love the smell and look of a real tree.

Dave and I have a little compromise going. I was raised with solid white lights and he was raised with flashing color lights. So we've decided to alternate every other year. This year was color lights, but I still got them to be solid and not blinking. :) Here are a few of my favorite ornaments: (for anyone that really cares.)

This was always a favorite from my childhood. (Shh...don't tell my siblings that I have it...oh wait, they read this blog...dang.)
Um...no explanation needed!

Dave gave me this ornament on our first Christmas together. I actually wanted to buy one for him, but never did, so I was even that more excited when I opened one from him!! It says "Our First Christmas 2000".

My sister, Laurel, brought two sets of these ornaments from Korea. They are Chinese Cloisonne ornaments. Each one is different and I love them all!

And some of you might be wondering why our tree is on top of our end table....here's the reason:

Why We Need A Second Bathroom