Snow Cabin

 We looked forward all winter to a snowmobile trip to grandpa's cabin. Here they are waiting for their ride in. (They did not actually ride the sled in, but rode in the big black tub.)  On the drive from grandmas house, to the cabin, we blew a tire on the snowmobile trailer. It took much longer to get there than planned, but after a trip to Wendy's and a bit of a wait, we did finally make it.

 Saturday morning was beautiful. It wasn't too cold so we spent some time outside sledding. Grandpa would pull Pinkie and Junior up to the top of the cabin road, and then they would sled down. There was several inches of powder, so it took a few slides down to get slippery.

 G3 had fun riding on the snowmobile and in the big black tub. Poor guy doesn't have any sunglasses of his own yet, so he had to borrow Pinkie's.

 I love how rosy Junior's cheeks get when he is cold. Happens in the heat too.

 The cabin is built on the edge of a mild cliff. My dad thought it would make for a good sledding hill. Here he and Pinkie are scoping it out.

 Being the brave man that he is he volunteered to ride on the front of the sled with Pinkie and Junior in the back..

 This is how it ended. Face first in the snow for my dad. I could not stop laughing. Husband did not think it was so funny when he had to pull the three of them back up the cliff.

 Pinkie gave climbing up a pretty good shot, but the powder was just too deep.

We ended up pulling them up one by one on the sled.

I think this kid is a future snowmobiler. He did not stop grinning the entire time!

Christmas 2012

I know, you thought I forgot about my blog. Me too. Life seems so hectic all of the time. It is nice to have a few days to relax and play with the kids. And blog.

I think the favorite present of Christmas this year was G3's dagger. He played with that thing for hours at Grandma K's. He did all sorts of jumps, jabs, and fighting faces that had everyone rolling with laughter.

 We started Christmas weekend at my parents. on Saturday we drove to the base of Woodland Hills and  pulled the kids behind the snowmobile. G3 cried and didn't want to get in. After the kids rode a few rounds, I just put him in the sled and told them to drive off. Of course he loved it after that, and cried when we made him get out.

 The highlights of Christmas at my mom's were: playing with cousins, opening presents, candy bar trains, carmel dipped pretzels, carmel itself, lots of yummy food, mom forgetting to plug in the roaster with the prime rib in it, running to the grocery store for last minute main course, husband and I making meatballs and wings last minute, dad's story about asking for an air freshener for mom's car that smelled like horse ****, sleeping in the new basement, seeing grandma Z, and sledding of course.

 Junior gets a big haul with a birthday and Christmas in December. He and his little bro have loved the Ninja Turtle combat gear. What can I say, we are a violent group. Husband even got a weapon for Christmas.

 Pinkie has been dreaming about Pony Royal for months. They are cute horses with interchangeable hair, and accessories. She has hardly moved away from them in two days.

Here are the three of them with Gpa B. Wishing I took more photos with my grandparents, but my camera battery died...

I am grateful that we had a peaceful and safe holiday!

Summer: From End to Beginning

Wow. I didn't post all summer. We have had a great time. My goal was to spend a lot of time with my kids, and have fun!  

We had a super fun ward party at The Little Bear Bottoms.  They have these fun slip and slides that go down a pretty steep hill.  The kids loved it.  My favorite was Junior and his buddies. They always made a train.

 Here is Pinkie in all her cuteness. She took a little longer to warm up to the slide.

We had a great time at the cabin. I think I pushed Pinkie for 10 hours on the swing.

 I found an arrow out in the trees, and my dad my Junior a bow out of a stick and some string.  He had fun shooting it to the top and then rock climbing up to get it.

 All that G3 wanted to do was ride the wheeler.

 Husband and Junior went on a fun camping trip to the sinks Wood and Branick. They took a jeep ride over to Old Ephraims grave. My kids love that place.

 We had about a bazillion water fights. Almost every time we irrigated this what would happen.

 We spent the 24th at my moms and my Grandmas with my cousins and their kids.

 G3 took a liking to Grandpa Bob. They played together for quite a while.

 Junior loves blackberries. He guards over them and makes sure there is enough for jam. We had plenty this year. Everyone got their fill.

 We spend a lot of time playing outside while dad mows.  G3 wanted in on the action.

 We love to eat out on our patio. Burgers and corn on the cob...yum.

 We washed the car, which of course turned into a water fight.

We took a mini vacation to Star Valley and stayed with my sister Abbey. One night we drove over to Jackson to see the Bar J wranglers. My kids loved it!  They are dying to do that again!

 Abbey's family have chickens. Pinkie loved to harvest  the eggs, and feed the chickens.  If they didn't poop so much, we would get some of our own.

 We hiked to periodic springs. The kids did awesome walking the whole way!

 We played outside in the water with friends!

 I used to love to paint rocks as a kid, so we did that!

 The kids took swimming lessons.  They did awesome, and were glad to get goggles.

 We had races in the backyard.

 Played baseball, of course. That is our favorite.

 Started a sewing project with Pinkie and Junior that we still need to finish.

 Hiked to the "B" almost, with the Young Women, and the HW's.

 G3 fell asleep, so cute.

I love this kid. He managed to get a shoulder ride from our friend Flint most of the way.

There you have it.  Most of our summer.

Little Pagoda

 Pinkie did amazing as a Twinkling Lantern in her ballet studios production of "Little Pagoda" (based on the children's book, The Empty Pot.) Not to sound silly, but she really did twinkle.  She had the biggest smile of the night I think!  Skipping up and down the aisles holding a Chinese lantern would probably be fun for most 8 year old girls.

We are so lucky to have Pinkie in our family.  She is beautiful inside and out!

Pinkie's Last Day of Second Grade

 Second grade was a big learning experience for Pinkie and I both.  We are both ready for a fun and relaxing summer together, and fresh start next year. Here is Pinkie and her sweet teacher, Mrs. Kidd.

Pinkie wears her school t-shirt faithfully every Friday!  I love her school spirit!

Playing ball in the yard

If you know us very well then you know we love to play baseball at our house.  Usually we like to practice batting, but Junior has gotten too big to hit in the yard.  We spend half our time searching for balls in the neighbors bushes. And so, we have moved on to playing catch.

Is 2, too young to get a mitt for your birthday?  No way! Not in our family.  G3 has used his several times already.  You gotta be able to hang with the big dawgs around here.

 Pinkie was so surprised that she caught the ball.  She actually has some talent, but she is pretty timid.

Junior eats up playing with his dad.  He takes all pointers and applies them.  Only sometimes does he whine and pout. :)

Junior's Fishing Day and Graduation

 I can't say enough how much I love the preschool Pinkie and Junior have gone to!  At the end of the year they take a field trip to a trout farm where they get to catch a fish!  Of course Junior has been real fishing lots with dad and grandpa, but it is still fun to catch one at the trout farm!

 Here he is on graduation day!  I made him change out of his bright red basketball shorts for the program.  (We are going to have to set some dress code rules for Kindergarten.)  Junior's class this year was unique because there were 23 boys and only 2 girls!

 After the program, Junior was not ready to go home.  He wanted play time and a snack.  We went into the preschool room and took some photos.  Here he is on the rug!  What a handsome guy he is!

He even insisted on a photo with his teachers.  They are so fabulous!  I wish I could send my kids here right up through their senior year!