Tubing on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we were invited to join some friends to go tubing. I haven't been tubing since my college days. I had an absolute blast! If it is going to be this cold, at least we have friends who hook us up with a REALLY good time! It was a beautiful sunny day, still very nippy, but I'll take the sun ANYTIME! Dave and Lori have a truck and they pull huge tractor tubes behind it. They put a smaller tube inside the large tube and then you climb on and off you go. They had invited us and 2 other families to come along, the Parks and the Walkers. I really like all of the families they invited. Don't know them very well, but really comfortable to be with.

Lori and Lindsey (the moms) each took a tube of kids first. I was holding Tanner and I wasn't sure if there was enough room for anyone else on the tubes. The dads stayed behind to wait for round 2.

The next time around those that didn't get on tubes rode in the back of the truck. It was hilarious to watch the kids faces. Nathan had the funniest expression on his face. It was this huge grin that spread across his face but looked like he was in a lot of pain. I couldn't stop laughing. I tried to get it on camera, but it just didn't do it justice. The snow was coming up over the front of the tube so all of the kids turned into Lori for cover and the poor lady was lost under all four of the kids. She's such a great lady!

Next, Nathaniel and I took our girls on one tube while the other tube held several of the guys. We were having such a fun time and I was laughing and telling the girls, "We didn't get to do things like this in Tucson." Then all of a sudden the big outer tube popped and we only had the little tube for the four of us. It was SO funny! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Bryan was in the tube behind us and he hollered at the truck to stop since no one in the back of the truck saw what was going on. So, no one got hurt and we all had a REALLY good laugh. I hope we get to do that again this winter, at least it adds a fun element to the snow. I loved it when Lori said, "We're so white trash to do this." We may be, but at least we have each other and have fun doing things like this together.

This is after the one tube popped and they were just towing it back to the vehicles. There were a couple of guys on it but they were afraid it would pop so 2 got off and walked. Nathaniel had to ride it back because he couldn't feel his toes anymore so he was not big on the idea of trekking back through the snow. He only wore ankle socks...silly boy, we're not in Arizona anymore!

Winter Odds 'n Ends

We go to the library regularly to get books and movies and stop by to see Daddy at work after. The courthouse and library are right next door to each other which is really handy. Daddy let the girls use his umbrella on Friday since it was snowing. My camera didn't work very well in the dark as you can see.
Nathan always sleeps naked lately. We always put him in warm clothes and then put him to bed. Well he always strips down to his diaper and throws his clothes on the floor by his bed. I decided to make him pajama pants thinking that if he really liked them he might wear clothes to bed. The first two night he kept on just the pants, then went back to sleeping naked. Little stinker, the house is only 65 degrees. You make me freeze just looking at you. He is also into this really cheesey grin which I find hilarious in pictures.

Kate had pretzels for a snack and came up with this...

funny how it is Eliza's name and not her own. I think she sees Eliza's name written so much now that Liza is in school. I usually let Kate choose what she wears and she made me laugh the other day when I walked into my room and she had put together this...

necklace and all! My girls love skirts so much but since it is too cold for them alone I always make them wear pants under. Kate has actually put together some cute outfits.

Snow Day!

Today is technically the first day of winter, but it sure doesn't feel like it is just beginning. It has been snowing here since Sunday night and didn't stop until today (Tuesday) around mid-morning. It was record snowfall for Ely and we got a foot or so of snow. I'd say more, but supposedly not. School was canceled today and I was very happy. Yesterday when I went to go pick up Eliza the car was not moving forward up the hill to school it was standing still at best, sometimes we were not even standing still but going backwards.

Nathaniel and I both shoveled yesterday and you can't even tell. I went out this morning and shoveled for at least 45 minutes to find the steps and my car (which I did drive yesterday like I said, you just can't tell from all of the snow coverage). The girls had fun playing in it for about 20 minutes. That's about as long as it took us to get ready to go out to play in the snow. Nathan stayed out with me the whole time and kept falling over like the kid in the Christmas Story and couldn't get himself back up. So funny! I know he is wearing a girl hat by the way. His Buzz Lightyear hat was in the van and the door was frozen shut.

See how high the snow comes on Eliza? Kate refused to wear her snowpants and then took one step in the snow and it took her breath away. She wanted me to carry her. I told her too bad, maybe next time she'll wear the pants.

Nathan gave up playing as he waited for me and just lay down in the snow. It was so cute. He got inside and started crying because his fingers were so frozen. Poor kid.

Tanner's Haircut

(I'm not sure what he is doing in this picture)
Tanner got to join the "I get a lollipop because I'm getting my hair cut" club. I hate the mess of lollipops and so I only give them to my kids when I need to bribe them or get them to hold still. He thought he was in heaven!

Whoops, wrong end. We may have gone a wee bit too short, but when it stands on end, the shorter the better, right Ben? This is the 4th time we have cut his hair and he is only 11 months old. I wish Kate's hair grew that fast.

"Aunt Laurel's" Car Mat

(Just for the record, the plaid is a different blanket under it.)

I got the idea to make a personalized car mat from my sister-in-law Tricia. At Thanksgiving she mentioned she had drawn one for her son and put things and places on there that he would know, like grandma's house and aunts and uncles houses. I loved the idea and got a little carried away. It isn't perfect, but I am happy with it and I hope my kids will be too. I have had to work on it when they are around sometimes and so I told them it was for Aunt Laurel's boys. I have put a lot of sweat and even a little blood into this, but the only tears I have shed were those of joy...I'm done!

I had to add McDonald's because my kids love it. I also put Grandma's house with her orchards and Nana's house with the pool. There is also a police station, zoo, school with playground, church (or temple as Liza calls it), library, campground, barn, hospital, and gas station.

Frozen Thanksgiving

We had planned to go to Washington to my grandma/mom's house for Thanksgiving. Our plan was to leave Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday early in the morning. Well, this storm came through on Tuesday and the forecast wasn't much better for Wed. so I went to the store and loaded up on all we would need to have a cozy Thanksgiving at home.

Daddy had to leave work a little early because the snow was coming down so hard I couldn't even see across the street. So, he made up some hot chocolate at home and shared the cool whip with the kids. Even the little guy got in on the action.

Tanner did this superman thing all of the time that I thought was so cute.

We all went to bed on Wed. night and woke up to this...

about 6 inches of ice on the inside of our windows. (Have I mentioned how much I do not enjoy the cold?) Our furnace had stopped working and it was so cold in our house we were literally freezing. It was a record cold for this time of year...-19 degrees...as in below zero. You could see your breath as you walked around the house. It was at most in the 40's in our house. The thermostat is a dial and it was as low as it goes. We tried turning on the one space heater we have in our room and warming up the rice socks I made and then the electricity went out in more than half of the house.
Daddy snuggled the girls in to read to them while we waited to hear from our Landlord.

It was taking a while so we ended up packing, throwing our half cooked turkey in our cooler and driving to Grandma's. I wasn't sticking around to literally freeze my behind off. By then the roads were fine. The kids did a pretty good job on the 13 + hour drive and they actually fell asleep (which they never do in the car). Tanner cried for a few hours on the way up, but on the way back he did great. The only things we missed out on were Thanksgiving dinner and seeing old friends. We had McDonald's for dinner which just doesn't come close. Oh well. We had such a great time at Grandma's and ate tons of pie to make up for what we missed.

Time with our Grandmas

We got to go and spend Thanksgiving weekend with our grandmas and grandpa and other fun relatives. Since my grandpa passed away my parents have moved in with my grandma. Now it is not only my grandma's house, it is also my kids' grandma's house. I enjoy sharing my memories with them and watching them enjoy the same things I did as a child. We drove in at 2 or so in the morning on Friday. Nathaniel and I put the boys to bed and my mom put my girls to bed with Chad's family downstairs by the ping pong table (not under it though. That is a childhood memory for all of us grandchildren.) My girls were so chatty that my mom ended up sleeping the night on the floor by them to keep them settled down. What a lady! I didn't even know that happened until the next morning when my dad was looking for her. I love my mom! Having Chad's family there was such a blast, and a blessing. He is hilarious, his wife is a saint that every women aspires to be like, and his kids are so good and so fun to be around. They were so helpful. I was worried about how hard it would be at grandma's to keep my kids out of trouble, but with Chad's kids to help it was so nice. I was actually able to relax and laugh and have a REALLY GREAT vacation! My cousin Olivia and her husband Dave were there as well. I LOVED spending time with her. I don't get to do it very often at all. We spent a lot of time together as kids and I absolutely love her. Our personalities and sense of humor are quite similar.
Nathan instantly took to Emily and was her shadow from then on. Here he is taking a turn on Camille and Emily's vibrating machine. He thought it looked fun so Tricia let him and my other kids have a go at it.

Camille and Eliza

The Nathans. My nephew kept thinking I was scolding him all weekend since they have the same name...well, shortened name for my little guy. "Nathan sit down. Nathan come here. Nathan be careful down these stairs." You get the idea.

Kate and Camille or Camillia as Kate called her. When my kids were done playing with the equipment then Emily and Camille did their treatments. They have Cystic Fibrosis. One of the things they have to do is a breathing treatment. It is this thing you put in your mouth and steam /smoke stuff comes out the end. Kate was watching my niece do that part of the treatment and said, "Can I smoke that after you?" I guess we know how Kate's going to hold up with peer pressure.

Nate and Eliza watching a movie on his ipod. So cute. Like I said, Chad's kids were soooo helpful and fun.

Nathan enjoying a game I played as a kid. Chad would put a ball in the hole and Nathan would crouch down on the floor to see it rolling under the table to the front.

Emily with her shadow. Kids just love her. Tanner doesn't really go to people well, but Emily wasn't going to accept that. She made sure she and Tanner were friends by the time the weekend was over. Love her! There is something about Emily that you just have to love. She is a ray of sunshine and so sweet. Always has been.

Dave, Livy, Tanner, Em, and Nathan. I think Dave is a great guy. Livy did really well for herself. His sense of humor was right up my alley.

Tanner and Great-Grandma. My grandma is so amazing. I admire her so much. She is and always has been such a positive lady. It's no wonder my mom turned out so great.

Tanner and Grandma. This was their first time meeting. This was a big reason I wanted to get up there. The boy needed to know his grandmas.

We went to go to the cemetery where my grandpa, Aunt Ruth, Cousin Samuel and my brother Trent are buried. Nathaniel has never been to Washington with me so I wanted to show him as much as I could. We didn't even make a dent in my list. We'll have to go again. I didn't even get a chance to see any of my childhood friends. I sure love you guys!

Still not loving the cold.

My mom bought all kinds of cute things in preparation of us coming. She bought little toys, puzzles, these antlers, and crafts for the kids. She was so cute with the kids. Very involved, helpful, and cute.

We gave Tanner a turn and Nathan was sad we took them from him.

Eliza was so wiped out one day that she climbed up on my grandma's lap and almost fell asleep. She has done this only one other time. My heart melted to see my daughter snuggle with my sweet grandma that way.

Four generations. I have wanted a picture like this for almost ten years. Eliza was a little tired so we took another one with Kate.

Eliza with her craft. She put as many eyeballs on as she could.

Mom crafting it up with the kids.

Camille's creations. She made a family.

You can see Tanner took right to Chad. So funny! Chad loves to play with the little babies and Tanner wasn't having it. He arched his back and kept his hands as far away as he could. Maybe someday they'll be buddies.

Time with grandpa. We didn't get much since Dad had to make an unscheduled trip to Billings. I will take any amount of time I can get though. What a great man.

Kate in the cubby I used to hide in as a kid...and a teenager...and again the year before I got married. I love the memories in this house.

Is my grandma stylin' in those pajama pants or what? I wonder if she will pass them down to me someday. I love them. She is such a classy lady.

My mom and dad do this birthday money grab thing when you go visit. Since they can't be there for everyone's birthdays they have this basked of coins (mostly silver) and have you reach in and grab as much as you can in one hand and that is you birthday money. Nathan was a cheatbag and he grabbed two handfuls. Mom let it slide. Maybe she shouldn't have, he got almost as much as Liza.

Kate looks a little concerned. Maybe we should have practiced with her first to get her hands nice and ready.

Eliza holding up her spoils...he scored over 5 bucks!

We were going to head home on Sunday but the roads and the fog were bad so we stayed an extra day. It was very nice. And on the way home the roads were great so I think we made the right decision. The pass was a little snowy, but very pretty.

I hope we can do that again VERY soon. I had a fabulous time!