Snow Fun

The kids love to play in the snow, unfortunately out here there are only a few winter days when it is actually warm enough to tolerate being outside. We try to get out and play whenever there is fresh snow and the temps are at least in the 30's. The kids have done a little sledding down the hill in our backyard, but we have not taken them "real" sledding this year...and they constantly remind us of that. We haven't had any free weekends with decent weather and since I am large with child and I would have to carry a 2 year old around I haven't wanted to take them after school. :) Unfortunately the end of winter is still not in sight, so the kids keep hoping for the chance to sled on the "big" hill and if not there is always next year! Here are a few fun pictures of the kids outside.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve was pretty chill for us. We had Adam's sister and her family over for games and snacks. We always have a good time when we are with them. We celebrated with New York because the kids (and parents) were just too tired to stay up any later. The kids rang in the new year by banging on pots and pans. I remember that being so fun as a kid, but now it just seems kida lame... they seemed to enjoy it though.

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids slept in until after 7 and everyone was happy with what they received. We felt so blessed and recognize that we are very fortunate to be able to afford what the kids wanted most. Lochlan got a large wooden block set and Anika and Celtin both got a DSI. As always we received many wonderful gifts from our far away family and the kids made out like bandits. We spent the whole day lounging around and playing with our new stuff! We missed all of our family, but were able to talk to many of them. Later we had a delicious Christmas Day dinner with Adam's sister and her family and another friend and her daughters from the ward. The kids had fun decorating a gingerbread house, although I think half of the candy went directly into their mouths.

Christmas Eve

We attended the annual Christmas Eve dinner thrown by our friends. It includes a bunch of friends from our ward, who all live out here away from most of their family. The group has gotten so big that we had to move it to the church so that we could all fit. The food was so yummy and very plentiful and the people are awesome. It is so nice to have people around that we can get together with and just have a great time. If I can't make it to the the family dinners in Utah, this is the next best thing. We had a book exchange for the kids and a white elephant exchange for the adults.








When it got late we headed home to find the Elf gifts on the couch. I love getting new pj's...probably the only time of year I personally get new ones. After a quick change of clothes, some pictures and of course setting out cookies and a note for Santa the kids were off to bed.

Small but Mighty

Lochlan loves to chase and wrestle, and he doesn't seem to realize that he is smaller than his opponents. He will take on Anika and Celtin at the same time! Because they are so nice and they let him catch and take them down he is under the impression that he is sooo strong. I love watching the kids all play together, especially when there is no real fighting going on.

Trimming the tree

I love Christmas, it is one of my favorite times of the year. Adam only likes the tree up in the month of December, so the kids and I try to get it set up as soon after the 1st as we can and leave it up until the very end of the month. I love watching the kids look through their old ornaments and reminisce about the "old days". Every year they get a new ornament that reflects what they are most into at that time. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Happy Birthday Little Man

I can't believe my little man has already turned 7...where does the time go? On December 3rd we had a little family celebration. He requested a cake of the St Louis Arch (we just went there in November), so I did my best-he was happy and that is all that matters. He got Lego's, walkie talkies, bakugans and a marshmallow gun.










Celtin is such a blessing to have in our family. He is the most kindhearted kid. I love that his mind is always going a million miles a minute and he could talk for hours. Although, at bedtime after the 5th call to us to share a random thought or question I really just want him to go to bed. :) Occasionally Adam will sit in Celtin's room with him after they lay down and just listen to him talk, ask questions and explain things for an hour. He has a great imagination and loves to build with Lego's and is very good at video games. He enjoys sports and has done quite well at all the different ones he has tried...he might actually stick with basketball for a while.

Thanksgiving

We headed out of town for Thanksgiving to visit Adam's brother Nathan and his family in Texas. On the way we stopped at the St. Louis arch. It was a fun little stop and the kids enjoyed riding up to the top and looking through the museum.


We had such a great time while in Texas. It was so good to see Nathan and Michelle and their boys...it had been way too long. The kids warmed up to each other quickly and got along great. Lochlan bonded with his uncle Nathan and after a day or so he couldn't get enough of their dog, Rocket. The weather was so wonderful (in the 70's) so they played outside a lot, we went to the park and even spent a day at the zoo. It know the kids had fun reconnecting with their cousins and we hope it won't be quite as long before we see them again. They were so generous; letting us invade their home and cooking us delicious food. Hopefully they will come out this way so we can repay the favor.