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.