Snow!!

This week the kids were so excited to have had snow. We got about 8-9 inches the beginning of the week. Both kids were congested and not feeling well, so it took us until Wednesday to get out and enjoy the snow. They have been anxious to make snow angels, catch flakes on their tongues, make snowballs, and just play in it.

Michelle's favorite part of the snow was eating it. I don't know why!!

Charles running down our neighbor's hill in the front yard.

Snow angels!

The funniest thing about the kids' snow angels is that they would just drop anywhere there was snow and start the process of making angels. It didn't matter if the snow had already been trampled or if it was untouched. They just fell over and started moving their arms and legs.

We had a snowball contest to see who could make the biggest snowball. The one rule was that the snowballs could not be thrown at anyone. I think both kids won and did a great job!

Today the snow is almost gone. The kids are disappointed and full of anticipation for the next snow storm. After watching the weather forecast Charles and Michelle went to bed happy. It is supposed to snow tomorrow and maybe Monday. Here's hoping for the kids' sake!

Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, as we hope everyone else did too. We left on Wednesday, late morning, for Salt Lake City, Utah. It was about 8 1/2 hours of driving. The kids traveled so well and were so patient. We stayed with my great aunt, Carol. The kids love going to her house because she lives across the street from the State Capitol building. Charles favortie thing to do is sit in the chair by her front window and watch the capitol. We were surprised that my mom and sister Ronna joined us from Alamosa, Colorado.

Thursday found us with family. We spent some time playing at the capitol.

Rolling down the hill!

Climbing the walls at the memorials!

There was Aunt Carol, my mom and sister Ronna, my brother Ryan and his wife Meghan, my sister Resa and her husband Brad, my brother Roy and his wife Angie and their four kids. It was great to be together. Everyone brought something to add to the dinner. Not just one person got stuck doing all of the cooking.

After dinner, there were games, games, games. Charles learned how to play Uno. He was so cute. Whenever he would play a card, then he would pull out the next card he was going to play. His face was disappointed when he had to pick another card. His face would light up when he had a "good" card to play. The day ended at 1:30 in the morning.

Friday and Saturday found us hanging out and enjoying family. We are so blessed to live in a land where we can travel to see our family. We are blessed to be close to them. We are thankful for Aunt Carol and all she does for our family.

The lions at the Capitol!

A Tradition: the Lights at Temple Square. My brother Ryan, who the kids call Biggie Bones, went with us. They think he is so awesome. We had a wonderful time with him and all the other hundreds of people at Temple Square.

Gabe, Ryan, Charles, and Michelle climbed to the top of the Conference Center. I stayed down below to take pictures. They are not the best, but we know who it is and that we were there.

Preschool Thanksgiving Program

Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we attended Charles' Thanksgiving program at preschool. It was so cute. There are six kids in the class with four boys and two girls. The boys were dressed like Indians and the girls were pilgrams.

Running Wolf

As a parent, this was so fun and also very sad. It was fun to see the kids singing songs about Thanksgiving and turkeys. The sad part was seeing how grown up our little boy is. Each child took a turn telling what they brought for the Thanksgiving feast and what they were thankful for. Three songs were sung and a poem about the first Thanksgiving. Our favorite song was one in Indian.

"I am thankful for flowers."

Christmas Tree Lighting

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, we decided to go with the Bakers to the big Christmas tree lighting at the Castle Rock Outlet Mall. We were very disappointed with the lack of things to do. There were five tables set up by the tree. That was all of the fun things they had to do. If we hadn't been in such great company, it would have been a waste.

Taking a break for a carmel apple.

Fun with glow in the dark necklaces.

Cute girls!

We wondered around and shopped a little. There was a musical group that performed half a song before the tree lighting. The sound was poor so you couldn't really hear. We stood in line for a little bit so the kids could see Santa. Even though there weren't many activities, we had a good time.

A Zoo Day!

Since the weather was so beautiful on Wednesday, Crystal and I decided to take the kids to the zoo. They were so excited to see the animals and be out in the sunshine. All of the animals were very active. We had a scary experience with one of the apes running up and smacking on the glass. Everyone was wanting a turn in the stroller towards the end of the day as we walked and walked and walked. I don't know how the pioneers walked for thousands of miles. I was exhausted after a day walking around the zoo.

Checking out the meerkats.

The kids were so good to stay right with us and take turns in the stroller. Each of them had a map in hand pointing out where we were and where we needed to go. Michelle and Ciara were so cute walking along holding hands. It was just a really fun and enjoyable day!

Each time we saw an animal statue, all of the kids had to climb on it, hang on it, and pose for a picture. What else are they for?

Ethan, Charles, Michelle, and Ciara all liked the crocodile. "He has lots of big teeth".

Checking out the crocodile!

Charles favorite animal was the elephants. He thought it was pretty cool to watch them take a bath by getting sprayed with the hose. I know what he will be doing this spring when we hook up the hoses. Watch out Michelle!!

What a terrific day we had. Beautiful spring weather in November and great friends!!

A morning with Michelle!

While Charles was at preschool and with the weather so nice, Michelle and I decided to go for a walk. When you go for a walk with Michelle, you go at her pace: SLOW. It is so nice and different from the daily routine. She chattered about the birds, the clouds, the sky, the trees without leaves, the dead grass, and how the flowers had died. We checked out cracks in the sidewalk. We listened to every little noise. It was so much fun. The one thing I thought was true of boys is also true of girls: they are fascinated with sticks. Michelle found this stick at the park. She played with it and walked home with it. She even threw a fit when I told her it could not go in the house. After having a wonderful walk, we came home and had a tea party. Michelle got these new dishes from us for her birthday and we hadn't tried them out yet. We had a tea party that lasted about 45 minutes. We again talked about everything. Oh to be young again and not have to worry about anything but having fun.

It is mornings like these that remind me why I love being a stay at home mom. Who would my kids walk with or have tea parties with? Thank you Michelle for a wonderful morning full of Michelle and mom time!!

Michelle's Birthday Party!

Saturday was Michelle's Birthday party. She decided to go with a "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" party. We did a super sleuth theme. When the kids came in we gave them each a super sleuth badge. Michelle had decided she wanted two games. Why two I don't know.

The first game I took a pan and put about 10 objects on it. I had the kids look at all the objects. Then we covered the objects and I took one off. We then uncovered the objects and the kids had to tell which object was missing.

The second game we played was, of course, a scavenger hunt. Since Michelle and some of the other kids can't read, I used pictures of places in the house as the clues. This is one of the kids favorite games. Even after cake and presents the kids were hiding the clues for each other and still playing.

Michelle and her friends!

Michelle had a great party. It was fun to have all the kids together. She received many nice gifts. For that we are grateful to you all!!

Chuck E. Cheese's

I think we are the craziest parents! Michelle has been having a hard time staying in her own bed at night. At 12:20 every night she would come climb in bed with us. Part of the problem was my fault. It was easier to just put her in bed with us then get up and fight with her to go back in her bed. We finally had enough! To help brake her of the habit we made a chart for her to sleep in her own bed. She got a sticker for her chart each night she slept in her own bed. When her chart was full, the prize was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's. On Friday, Jack and Charlene came up and we went.

The kids are always so excited. They just run without looking where they are going. It is amazing how a place like this turns good kids into kids with no manners. Thankfully it was not really busy. We had fun!

Even the big kids had fun!