Snow Fun and Shoveling

We received so much snow the day before Christmas through Christmas day. We had so much snow shoveling to do so we could get our van out of the garage for our AZ trip. This is our driveway.Brady thinking this is a lot of snow to shovel.

Kasey received this snowblaster for Christmas. It makes snowballs and shoots them.This is Braxley shooting the snowball at the back of Brady's head.

Then there was a snowball fight.

Braxley doesn't look thrilled.
Kasey somehow wedged himself inside the snow and made a snow bed.

And then it fell on him.
He loved it.

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Santa Claus Came To Our House

Christmas morning came early. The little boys woke us up around 6:30 am. We awoke to a very White Christmas even though the sky was still dark. It had snowed on Christmas Eve and it continued all through Christmas day and the day after Christmas. There was so much snow! Santa was good to everyone and we were blessed to be able to get the kids some much needed gifts...warm clothes! We also got some fun family stuff and a Wii Fit.

The smile showed up on Brady's face when he received his cell phone back. It had been taken away for awhile. The gift came with a contract and an understanding about grades, etc...

But the real treat came after all the presents were opened. We told the kids we had one more present they needed to open. This is what they found inside:

A math problem: 27+15+20+89+17+101+60 = 4033.

Brady added the numbers in his head and said that the answer was not 4033. So Brad said that we would come back to the math problem later.

There were also five short poems in the box. Which were clues and they kids had to figure out the answers.

You'll find me thinly sandwiched

between the covers of a book,

covered with words and pictures

everywhere you look.

Answer: Page

Humphrey Dumphrey sat on a peak.

A glimpse of his kingdon was what he did seek.

And what which he treasured down deep in his soul,

was a beautiful banner attached to a pole.

Answer: Flagstaff

Along a little river

the Spanish name for green,

with tents and stoves and sleeping bags,

a setting so pristine.

Answer: Camp Verde

A bird of ancient legend

who never really dies.

A flaming restoration

and once again he flies.

Answer: Phoenix

Ship of the desert

covered by dirt.

Don't fall off the hump

or you're sure to get hurt.

Answer: Camelback Mountain

Flat as a table

down the middle is salt.

A bit more to the south

is a good place to halt.

Answer: Mesa then Gilbert

The kids did figure out all the clues. Actually, Braxley came up with three of them on his own - Camp Verde, Phoenix and Camelback Mountain - way smart! All of these clues were the places we would drive through as we drove to AZ for Christmas break. "But what about the math problem?" they asked. When you take the answer 4033 and turn the 4 and the 3's, you come up with

h o m e. The kids shouted for joy and Brady cried. This meant a lot to him. He was so happy.

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Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is my favorite of all nights. We started by having our Christmas Eve dinner complete with spiral ham, Cheesy Potatoes, Stuffing, Vegetables, Rolls, Christmas Jello and a Santa Cake. Our table isn't fancy, but we use Christmas dishes and it's fun and yummy.Afterwards I read the story, "The Tale of Three Trees." I felt like this would be an appropriate story of giving and receiving, before we give out our family gifts and the traditional giving of Christmas jammies. Each year we draw names of another family member. I think everyone did a great job in their gift giving this year.

Dad made Brinkley a bracelet that has her birthstone color (sapphire) which is also the school color at Bingham High School. There is a French Horn charm on the bracelet as well. I designed the bracelet but Brad put it together...seriously!Kolby got Kasey a long sleeved white shirt with a basketball logo on the front, lotion and Starburst candy, because Kolby knows that Kasey loves Basketball and always puts lotion on in the mornings. I had Kolby and I got him a Dinosaur book that shows the skeleton and the anatomy of a Dinasaur for great learning. He likes learning about Dinosaurs. I also made him his own stationary complete with labels and envelopes. Each page says "From the Desk of Kolby Lester" and has graphics such as sports, scouts, outdoor fun, etc... Kolby and his friend Tanner, from his school in AZ send letters back and forth, so I thought this would be perfect for Kolby.

Brinkley got Braxley this tie that he metioned he wanted. Of course it's green which is his favorite color. He also got some pokemon cards and green gum.

Braxley got Brady these fun Wii boxer shorts and one of his favorite candy Hot Tamales. Brady got me some warm fuzzy flip flop slippers. He knows I always wore flip flops in AZ, but I can't do that here in Utah! So this was a great idea. Kasey got dad a razor.

Afterwards the kids opened up their Christmas jammies and slippers. Then we got in the car and drove around to look at Christmas lights.

Don't they look great?

After we looked at the Christmas lights we gathered for some hot cocoa and the viewing of our traditional Luke II video put to music. It's my favorite thing to do at Christmastime.

Then if was off to bed for the anticpated arrival of Santa Claus!

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Merry Christmas

Our gift this Christmas is the viewing of this beautiful video "Oh Holy Night"

Please visit here to view our Lester Family Christmas Letter.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Temple Lights

For Family Home Evening we went to Temple Square to enjoy the Christmas Lights. We were all bundled up and walked around and enjoyed this visit to the Salt Lake Temple.

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Snowballs and Sleds

Well, it's not just beginning to look a lot like Christmas...the white Christmas weather has arrived in full force. We woke up early to take Brady to his ACT test and then we ran a couple of errands at Target and the Mall. When we left the mall, we walked outside to a winter wonderland. The ground was completely covered with snow and the flakes were coming down very fast. It was a little scary driving home. Brad had planned ahead and said we would be driving the truck today. We drove in 4-wheel drive mode and made it home safely.

The kids were so excited to play outside in the snow.

They got all bundled up and so did Dad. He totally ambushed them and the snowball fight began.

Look at those eyes. Ooh!

Brad putting Braxley into the snow.

Braxley doesn't look thrilled.

Now it's pay back time!

Oh no! It's the Christmas Story movie all over again!

Now it was time to break out the snow sleds. We found the perfect spot in our neighborhood to go sledding.

They used the sled as a snow board too.

Kasey would get a running start...

...then he would slide fast!

Brad was the best belly whopper in the world! (Frosty the Snowman)

The kids had such a fun day and even said that this was the longest time they had ever played in the snow. When we lived in AZ we would usually go play in the snow during the school's winter break, but we wouldn't even be able to stay an hour before we all froze! But now, there will be many more fun snow days like this to enjoy for these happy faces!

Can we go again?

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