SNOW DAY

About a month ago a huge storm came in up north and they got a ton of snow. All the roads were closed for a few days or you had to have chains and there were accidents galore!! The kids have been literally dying to go play in the snow....especially Ty:) He remembers our frigid cold snowy winters in Iowa and has missed playing in the powder! As soon as it was clear we packed up the van and went on a drive. It took us a couple hours to find the good snow and it was worth it. As soon as we saw Four Peaks I had to take a pic. This may not seem like a lot of snow but if you can see it from our side of the mountain that is pretty good!! It only means there is so much more on the inside and we couldn't wait!

We found our own little spot off the side of the road and put all our gear on....that in itself wore me out! Ty couldn't get enough of it all and had a blast. Ashlynn went down a couple times and then turned into a little snow bunny. All she cared about was eating that yummy fresh snow! It was pretty good:)

There were spots where the kids did snow angels and they dug themselves in so deep Dave had to pull them out!

It was an absolute GORGEOUS day and we loved every minute of it!

I'm half way there......and New Year's Eve

Well......I'm half way along in my pregnancy now and so happy to say that I'm feeling much better. I came out of my cave as we like to call it a month ago and doing great. We found out that this little bambino is a BOY and I was in disbelief for a little bit because I swore it was a girl. But he is healthy and strong and doing great! Ashlynn took it the hardest, she REALLY wanted a little sister but now she's over it and happy for her brother to come. She always comes up to my belly and talks to the baby and kisses my belly....it's cute. I bought my first little outfit for him the other day and that helped it sink in. We are all so excited and grateful that this little one is doing well. He moves like crazy especially at night when I'm trying to relax....looks like he already has his schedule backwards:)

For New Years we went over to Dave's parents house and had a Fondue Party with lots of yummy goodness!! We have some close friends in Utah that always throw a huge fondue night every year and since we can't be there with them we decided to have our own. It turned out really well and everyone was in food heaven. We even had our own bottles of famous Markham grape juice to toast the New Year with. We had two cheese fondues a chocolate fondue and hot oil to cook our meat in.....a to die for artichoke dip.....my friend Nicky's killer cheese ball.......we were basically eating ALL NIGHT LONG......it was wonderful.

Happy New Year everyone!!

Disneyland and Christmas

We finally bit the bullet and took our kids to the Happiest Place on Earth the weekend before Christmas. Thanks to our fabulous friends the Kitch's who got our booties out there:) We had such a great time even though it rained constantly pretty much the last two days. But we were determined to make the best of it rain or shine!! Thank goodness for ponchos and umbrellas!!

I had to save this picture because the sun was SO bright that we couldn't even open our eyes to take a picture. The sun went bye bye after that and never returned.

It took us a while to find Mickey and Minnie but we did it! They kept moving the characters around due to the rain. We waited in line then they moved them to Toontown so off we went! You can't go to Disney and not meet the most important people at the park.

We had such a wonderful time and can't wait to go back.....when it's DRY!!! It was our kids first time and they just were so excited to see and do everything. It was so much fun as parents to watch them at every moment! By the end of the trip Dave and I were ready to trade in our bodies for new ones! I can't even explain how bad our feet hurt from all that walking. Guess that's the price you pay for having fun:)

Here we are at my sweet Grandma Norma's house on Christmas Eve. We can't do the day before Christmas the right way until we've visited her. I just love her with all my heart! My parents adopted a Veteran's Family and we all chipped in to help. This family had a 18 month old and newborn twins! We all went over together to bring them Christmas. It was really a neat experience and something we hope to do every year.

We had Christmas Eve dinner with Dave's family. The kids did the Nativity while Dave read the story in Luke. I tried to play the piano and we sang some songs together. Ashlynn REALLY enjoyed being Mary.....Tyler wasn't so sure about being Joseph:) but they did a great job!

Christmas morning went pretty quick......as usual! Then we were off back to Dave's parent's to have our yummy one of a kind breakfast that we crave all year long!! Later in the day we went to my families house and had EVERYONE there this year. It was really nice and I'm kicking myself because I didn't take one single picture there of anyone! It was crazy as always with all our kids running around but the dinner was SO DELICIOUS and the company was even better. My dad makes the most killer ham it's making my mouth water just thinking about it!

I am half way through my pregnancy now and definitely have a belly! I'm feeling much better and happy to be past the hard first 4 months. We look forward to meeting this new little one in May. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

All the Bells on Earth Shall Ring

WOW the month of December has been one huge eventful month in our house!! I'm going to have to make a few different post after this for our Disneyland trip and for Christmas. We'll start off at the first of the month......we celebrated my 32ND birthday (woohoo).....Dave and Ashlynn had their big Christmas Concert with the EVMCO Choir that same weekend. Being apart of the organization has really been a blessing for our family especially Dave. Dave grew up singing and was in BYU Mens Chorus in school. It's been a huge commitment for him but he has really loved it so far. They have a large adult choir of almost 200 members.....a full orchestra.....and 4 youth/children choirs...totalling close to 500 members. Ashlynn is in the youngest one this year. They had two performances on a Saturday....I had to drop Ashlynn off at 2:30pm and I wasn't going to see her again until 9:30 that night! I was so nervous for her but I knew that Dave would be around a little to peak in on her. They performed in front of 3000 people...isn't that crazy. Ashlynn just LOVED it!! She loved being on that big stage singing for all those people! The concert was bell themed and was just beautiful! I was so proud of her and Dave! A great way to start off the month of December!

I LOVE this picture:)

Aunt Kirsten and Brian were able to come:)

......and so were Grammy and Grandpa. My brother Matt is also in the choir....so a lot of my side of the family was there too cheering in the crowd:) It was a great night!

Dave's Bday and a Future Trip

Turkey Day this year was not only a day of giving thanks and eating yummy food.....it also was Dave's 36Th Birthday! We were with Dave's family this year and had a nice relaxing day. Marilyn always decorates the table so nicely and had the house smelling delicious. We had a wonderful meal and took time as a family to remember what we were most grateful for.

The kids helped bring in Dave's present...he was so puzzled when he saw this big thing. I love it when I confuse him and make him curious!! He has got to be one of the most impatient human beings and he can make it hard sometimes to surprise. But this year I kept my mouth shut...told the kids nothing and left him wondering. It was so great!!

This was the best....he opened the package and literally couldn't believe it. He is about to say "shut up" in case you were wondering:) He has been wanting a guitar for years and has wanted to learn how to play for a long time. So I finally found one and he was so shocked. He looks pretty good holding that thing don't ya think??

Ty is at the stage where he is taking retarded pictures and hates to take them period. I'm lucky I got this one.

Soooooooooo we are finally doing it!! We had some friends of ours call us up a few weeks ago and somehow got us to commit to DISNEYLAND!!!! We have some other friends of ours that have been trying to get us to go with them on a Disney Cruise/Disneyworld for a couple years now and we just haven't been able to swing it. But driving 6 hours to the happiest place on earth and a huge price difference....we can swing this. The kids have never been and it's been 8 years since Dave and I have gone. We are over the moon excited and just can't wait to experience this with the kids. We are going the weekend before Christmas. I honestly still can't believe it! We made a countdown chart with the kids to help us along until we get there. We are grateful for all the things we had to celebrate in November and look forward to all the excitement in December!!!