snowcat sledding

The kids and I headed to Moab for some Christmas fun with the fam. Little did we know, we were in for the BEST SLEDDING OF OUR LIVES! I have never seen Moab snow like it did this year. So, on one of the most blizzard stricken days, we headed out for SNOWCAT SLEDDING. While others were headed down the mountain because the roads were snowpacked and visibility was low, we were headed up. Grandpa Todd had loaded up his snowcat for sledding at Gyser pass. At our house we always get the 4-wheeler out to haul the kids up and down the hills to make life easier on us. That just seems like such a silly idea now after experiencing this. First of all Grandpa packs the snow down for you with the cat so that when you sled it's lightening fast. Second , he hauls you and your sleds to the top (we had seating for 7 people). Third, he meets you at the bottom of the hill for a heated ride back to the top. It is also convenient if you have a child that decided that he wants to take a break (like Ethan did) because he can stay nice and warm inside the cat with Grandpa while the others continue to enjoy the day. The only not so great part of the day was that it was snowing so hard that you felt like a million needles were piercing your eyes when you went down the hill. So, we ended up blind sledding (eyes closed) most of the day which just made it more thrilling! The combination of having the whole mountainside to ourselves and the snowcat made it a GREAT DAY! On the way home Hailey and Ethan both asked when we were going to buy our snowcat. (Sorry kids the answer is probably never!) It was a fun Christmas weekend and the kids really had fun. Just to make it even better I left my camera there(on accident). The reason why it made it better was because when we got it back it had some classic pictures taken by Josh. They were a great laugh, we love Uncle Josh!

Christmas

Christmas this year was a hit! Staying at home with the kids is always so nice. Like usual, the kids were up and ready to go at the wee hours of the morning. Well Hailey and Ethan were up and Ady slept in! They each got an essential.. a new booster seat which they were thrilled about. Especially Ethan because this was his move into the BIG BOY seat! The best part of Christmas was giving the kids their tickets to Disneyland! They kind of already knew because I had hinted to them that we were going to not get a lot if toys this year but something that we could do as a family. They wanted to leave that instant, but of course that was not the plan! Ethan also got a couple of transformers which thought were really awesome. Hailey was surprised with a new four wheeler. We wanted to get her one and this one came about through a friend so we hid it by the back door and made her find it. Her face was classic! As always, we made crepes with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast. Thank you Stubbs family for giving us that tradition! They are soo yummy! Finally Adalyn woke up to open her presents!! The little princess slept in until almost 9:00! She wanted to open the wrapping paper as did Hailey and Ethan. So she got a little extra help from her siblings which she was a good sport about! A silky blanket and some new toys were on her list. But of course her favorite thing to play with was the wrapping paper. A day spent at home with our little family was well worth it. I love dedicating that day to each other with no obligation for anything else. They are so interested in their new stuff and how it works and how to play with it and I am happy to have that time to get to play with them. Although the day was great things quickly turned that evening with Hailey. She started getting a cough and had a mild fever. Ethan had croup earlier that week, so our fears started to set in. As croup is a fast moving virus by 10 p.m. she was having a really difficult time moving air. By 11 we were headed to the E.R. with a sick little girl! What a gift for her on Christmas day! After a quick dose of steroids, oxygen and some antibiotics we were headed home to finally settle in for the evening. Even with the not so great ending, Christmas was still Christmas!

Christmas Eve

With kids that are getting older and wiser, it has been a lot of fun to do more and more at Christmas time that develops family traditions. This year we of course baked cookies for Santa. The kids had so much fun with it. Hailey thought Santa's would want extra chocolate chips. Ethan thought extra sugar would be just perfect. We also sprinkled reindeer food on the porch to attract Santa's sleigh. The kids really thought that was awesome. Good thing we live in Wyoming and the wind blows enough that by morning it was all gone. (Of course taken by the reindeer!) We also tracked Santa on the internet to see if he was getting close to us. It was a great motivator for the kids to get to bed quick! Last of course we read the Christmas story straight form the scriptures. I love that my children are so willing to learn about this special time of the year and about the birth of our savior. Dan and I stayed up late getting gifts ready and preparing for the perfect Christmas morning.

Locks of Love

My sweet little Hailey sat in the chair to get her hair cut with quite a decision to make today. She has wanted to get her hair cut shorter for quite some time now and I have been reluctant to let her because I love her long pretty hair. She thought that something to her shoulders would be nice and I agreed that we could do that. We waited long enough though that her hair met the minimum standard for donation for locks of love, barely. In order for her to be able to donate, she would have to get her hair cut right to the base of her neck. YIKES! I left the decision up to her and we both agreed that if she left the front long enough to tuck behind her ears that it would be fine. She then said, "mom it is fine with me if we cut it short so that another little girl can have hair to. Kelly go ahead and cut as much as you need." (Kelly is our close friend that cuts Hailey's hair.) Little tears filled up my eyes as I watched my innocent 5 year old give up something of hers that she loves so very much. (I know that it is just hair, but it really is abig deal for a little girl!) But she really did it without hesitation. After ten inches of hair we were done, she said to me with a big smile, "mom I like even more short than I would if I had left it long." I think that it turned out absolutely adorable. It is short in the back, but well worth it. I think that Hailey has a little bit of that unselfish giving holiday spirit that we all need.

Ethan goes to the dogdr

Ethan had been sick for a few days and I took him to see the doctor. Hailey was at home with Dan. When we got back she had written him a special note all by herself. She told me that Dan had not helped her at all and she had sounded out the words herself. This is what she accomplished:

Interpretation: Ethan have to go to the dogdr.

Merry Christmas!

As I previously posted almost 2 months ago, I have had difficulty with my blog. But thankfully,things are up and running again. There will be many posts to come in the next couple of days updating our lives! I just thought that I would say Merry Christmas to all of you and let you view our Christmas Card. I ordered it almost 3 weeks ago and I still haven't gotten them! So, you may see one in the mail, but not until after Christmas!

Ethan's Joyschool Christmas Program

Ethan's joyschool group has been working on a Christmas program for 3 weeks during school. They learned a variety of songs including Jingle Bells and We wish you a Merry Christmas. Last Monday they put on a performance for all of the families that included a reenactment of the Nativity. Ethan played an innkeeper and a shepherd. He was a little disappointed with the costume because he was concerned that the shepherd hat might mess up his spikey hair. These kids are so cute at 3 and 4 years old trying to memorize songs and lines for a performance. They all did such a wonderful job. I included 2 videos of Ethan during Jingle Bells and during the play when he was the innkeeper.
Ethan as the Shepherd with Mary and Joseph
Ethan as the Shepherd
Mary and Joseph
Ethan as the Innkeeper
Ethan and the other kids singing In a little Stable

Ethan and the other kids singing Jingle BellsEthan's 15 second of fame telling Mary and Joseph that there is no room in the inn.