This has been a great snow year for Utah. We have gotten A LOT, which is fantastic because we're in a continual drought and last years snow fall stunk. (Not being negative, just stating facts) We got an especially great snow storm a few weeks ago so we decided to make a family of snowmen. Our neighbors next door came out to play and made their own. After I posted this picture some friends mistook our Erik snowman for a new baby announcement. I hadn't even thought of that, but it made sense. I let them know my baby factory was closed. :)
Adam started making a snowman base but it got so big he decided to leave it where it was and name it "Bobby". He loved Bobby and kept adding to him until he succomed to the elements.
The eyes and mouths were made of suckers so they were the targets of numerous tastes. I even caught a little one out there a couple days later helping himself to the goods.
It is June of 2019 and I'm trying to get ready to have this year's blog book published. When I usually blog I only add the "big pictures", but in my old age ;) I've come to appreciate the small, little events that make up our days.
Mike was subbing in nursery so he brought his new BB8 toy to entertain the "kids". (He wasn't fooling anyone)
Some fun at the Children's museum.
This is what happens when you leave the dads in charge. ;)
Sleeping beauty
Sarah and I used to go to a mother/daughter book club. She outgrew it, but we had a lot of fun.
A few years ago I gained a wonderful sister in law named Aimee. She is a genuinely happy, kind person and we love having her in the family. For her 30th birthday Andy wanted to throw her a surprise party and invite a "Little Sebastian" look alike. He was hoping she would see it and start crying with excitement and she did. It was great. The kids were all excited because they love Aimee AND they got to take the miniature horse on a walk and ride the pony.
In January we found out that Mike won CGO (Company Grade Officer) of the quarter for his group. (There was also CGO of maintenance, intelligence, etc) Although he tried to make light of it, it was kind of a big deal. We got to attend a dressy awards banquet where he was presented with the award and I got some flowers. Any excuse to get dressed up is a win in my book.
Although he didn't get CGO of the year for the whole base, he did earn it for the Operations Group which is the pilots. He's pretty cool in my book.
I asked Mike for the certificate above and saw the one below. He earned it for serving in the Middle East last year.
One of the families we grew closest to during our time in Mississippi is the Isgett Family. We would trade off babysitting with them and we also carpooled with them. We spent a lot of time together. They brought the kids out for a ski vacation on the 26th so we got to spend a whole week with them. It was fantastic! The girls slept in Sarah's room and Nicholas mainly slept in Steven's. I took these first two pictures on the 27th, and that is kind of what the week was like. The girls had structured girl time and the boys were boys. :)
The Isgett's are from the south, so they don't have a lot of experience in the snow. We helped remedy the situation by going sledding. The main hill we went to was sledded out, but we found a great bowl to sled on. It was pretty icy and treatcherous. Steven made Laurie a $20 bet that she couldn't go down a particular path with a jump and not get hurt and we made him pay up when she did it.
Here's a cute video of the kids sledding. It was so cold we cracked three or four of our sleds
Rachel came to visit, which was a treat for Lindsey and me.
On the 28th we went to see the lights at Temple Square. We didn't make it last year so we were glad the Isgett's gave us an excuse to go this year. It was beautiful as always.
I like to think that all the red is a tribute to the University of Utah ;)
On New Years eve we went skiing and it was CRAZY! So...Many...People! I probably won't go on that day again although I've heard it's streaky on whether or not it's busy. I took Adam on the bunny hill but because of the crowds and lines he was not in the mood so we ended up leaving shortly after lunch. The Isgett's got quite a bit of skiing in during their visit.
Mike and I have a GREAT New Years Eve tradition we've done for pretty much our whole marriage. We put the kids to bed at their regular bedtime and are in bed by ten or eleven and sleep through the new year. It's worked swell for us. The kids wouldn't let that happen this year. The insisted they be allowed to party until midnight. We let them watch a movie and some of them passed out. Steven told me he wanted to go to bed and have me wake him up at midnight. I let him know he could stay up or go to bed, but I wouldn't wake anyone up. :) Here are the dads and boys after the movie and our midnight toast.
This picture doesn't really do his eye justice. Their first night here Steven and Nicolas were having a snowball fight and Steven's had some ice in it. Nicolas came in with it bleeding and it turned into a nice black eye. :)
We're hoping they liked it enough to make this a regular thing. Thanks for the visit Isgetts!
On the 29th the kids and I visited Tracy Aviary. I'm guessing because it's sometimes free during the winter months. We got to feed the conures, which the kids loved. The spots fill up fast during the summer, but there wasn't a lot of competition during the winter.
It's only January 9th as I write this, so I'm not too far behind. (yes I am, I'd drowning in potential blog posts) ;) We had a wonderful Christmas this year. (It's now February 4th, so I'd better finish up and publish this)
We started a new family tradition of being bell ringers for the Salvation Army. I didn't know who was allowed to volunteer, or what needed to be done to do it, but there was an article in the Deseret News saying they were short volunteers, so we contacted them. We brought candy canes to pass out to everyone that entered the store and I think it helped. The donations came in abundance until we ran out of candy canes. I tried to buy more, but the store had already sold out.
Children's Nativity at our ward's Christmas Party
We ran into Mr. and Mrs. Claus while looking at lights
As I've mentioned in numerous posts before, I should never be the designated picture taker on holidays. I looked through our Christmas morning pictures and I failed to get one of each of the kids. Well, just one kid. My baby. :( At least he won't see this for a few years and when he does, he'll forgive my absentmindedness. I did however get quite a few of Mike and his Christmas toys.
My baby sister Ashley acquired a beautiful set of china for me, so I finally got to set my table all fancy shmancy. I loved it. We decorated the kids table as well, although Sarah wanted to eat on the fine china. I can't blame her.
I should have taken pictures of the kids with Mike's parents but I didn't, because I stink at this, so next year. NEXT YEAR! Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful time with your family and loved ones. I did.
