Boarding

For Christmas all three of my boys got new snowboards - X games here we come! They were so excited to get out and learn and what a better teacher then Erek to teach them. So they headed up to Snowbird for a day of riding in the new powder. Since we just got a foot of snow the day before they weren't the only ones heading to the slopes. It took them an hour and half to get up the canyon. Once they got there they said it wasn't too crowded, they just stayed on the small beginner lift. They did awesome. Lots of crashes, but lots of good rides too.
They had a great time but it was pretty cold. Then they made the great trip home. Again the drive took about an hour and half to get down the canyon do to a wreck and the walls of snow piled up everywhere. Pretty soon Erek realized he was running out of gas. Luckily, he was able to coast down the mountain at the snail pace of traffic but he made it to the park and ride lot at the bottom. Good thing because do to all the snow there was no where to pull off the road. He called up my brother Josh and he drove up there to give him some gas. Definitely, a memorable first ride out!

Christmas

Oh Christmas Morning! It is so exciting. I couldn't sleep myself, but the kids were up bright and early and super excited. It was so fun. This is the best part of Christmas, seeing the joy and excitement in my kids eyes. We all must have been very good this year, no coal and lots and lots of presents!

We hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and enjoyed your families as much as we did.

Eve

On Christmas Eve we had a wonderful family dinner with my parents, Julie, Bryon and kids, Ryan, Aimee and their kids and Josh and Anne. It was yummy. After wards we exchanged a few gifts to those we wont see the next day. Then we went down to do our own little family Christmas tradition where the kids get to open a present - new pajamas and a Christmas story. We love to read Christmas stories all month long and we always get a new one on Christmas Eve.
After that the kids were pretty pumped to head to bed. They we so excited they were jumping all over the place. Bella is so cute she was so excited to have Santa come, we would ask her what she wanted him to bring and she would jump up and down screaming "PRESENTS!" I love this age! The boys were way pumped too, I love the special spirit of Christmas to children it makes all the work and stress of it so worth it.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Lights

One of our Family tradions this time of year is to go Down to Temple Square and see the Holiday lights. We love braving the cold and the crowds to get down there and see the beautiful lights. A few weeks ago , Erek had Friday night off and so we thought it would be a great night to go. I knew it would be crazy with the big events going on down there so we all piled in to the car and headed down early. It was so crazy busy on Temple square. So we headed over to the Gateway on the Trax train. The kids love riding the train. We walked over to the Plaza to see the fountains, which my kids thought about running through. I had to let them know it was out of the question when it is 20 degrees out side. I love the huge lighted Christmas tree the have there and how the colors change on it. We stood by the fires to get warm before heading back to the train.




We walked around Temple Square for a little while before heading in to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to get some Hot chocolate and desert. It was nice to get warm again, because it was so cold out. It was a fun night out. Afterward, they dropped me off at work and headed home. It was so crowded getting out of the Church parking lot that they were stuck in the parking garage for almost an hour. Luckily, they eventually made it home.

Sledding

Last weekend, we were so lucky, Erek was off all weekend and we spent tons of family time together. On Saturday morning, we all went out sledding. We went over to Murray Park to ride down the big hills. There was a bunch of other people there with the same idea, but there is plenty of room to ride. On our way there we stopped and picked up a sledding snowboard because the kids really want to learn how to board. This is the big item on their Christmas list! They did awesome! Logan was loving it he would go again and again. I even gave it a try. It was fun for us all.

Football

Here in Utah over the Thanksgiving weekend there are 3 really big days. Thanksgiving, Black Friday and then Game Day! It has been a tradition for years and years, Which is sadly going to end with these year. So there was a lot on the line for this Football game this year. Like most years we had a game party at the house. The Vestors were in town this year and so they joined our party and we had tons of fun. A lot of smack talk, maybe too much. And a lot of crazy nerves through out the game. The Blue was up most all of the game but the Red fought there way back. And like so many games over the years it had to come down to the very last play, the very last field goal attempt that would either win it for the Blue or Red. With a blocked field goal the Utah Utes win again. It was so intense, but a really good game either way.

Josh . Bella

Sammy (she is a Ute fan even if her mama doesn't believe it)

Best friends
Jaycob . Drew

Best friends
Jerrod . Logan

Some how it always results in the the kids all wrestling Adam and Erek

Gideon. Drew.Bella.Logan.Sammy.Jaycob.Jerrod

Erek . Adam

Amber . Lisa

Thanksgiving

I know this post is pretty late but what a busy time of year it is. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were able to spend time with both sides of the family and had some delicious food. First we eat with my family and then a few hours later we eat again with Erek's family. And of course we didn't want to did appoint anyone so we fully stuffed our selves.
Our newest little ones. This is Nora.

And this is Bella holding Garrett

Grandpa O.

Tyler . Jaycob . Jeremy

Grandpa W and Jaycob

Logan

And Bella eating a bowl full of whipping cream!

We are so grateful to have such a wonderful family and friends. We love you all so much.
Here is what the kids are grateful for...
Jaycob - Family, the world, to have a house, animals, snow and weather.
Logan - Family, our house, Heavenly Father, video games, the TV, the pantry (so true!), water and food.
Isabella - Christmas, Daddy, Mommy, and sometimes brothers, blankie, and doggies.