Christmas

We were so excited to be able to head to the cabin for 2 weeks of winter wonderland at Christmas.  We had Thunder's family flying in from California and envisioned lots of frolicking around in lots of cold white stuff.  Too bad there was barely any snow!

Thunder and his bro did manage to get higher up the mountain in the snowmobiles.  We are literally right next door to some of the most beautiful snowmobile spots in the country.

Christmas morning was buzzing with happy little children!  They were so excited to come upstairs and see what Santa had left.  Sunshine got a scooter...

Sunrise was in heaven in his little car...

cousin R2 got a fun spiderman toy...

Cloudburst got an iPod...

Tornado got a giant cardboard house that he can color...

and cousin R1 got a kid's laptop.

I was grinning all day thinking of plans for my new 88-key synthesizer!

Uncle R got just what he needed- tongue scrapers.

Karaoke is becoming a tradition for family get-togethers.

Nana and Aunt V. had lots of fun with new Christmas projects.

We did end up with a bit more snow and had a great time sledding down the road.  If you look close, you can see Sunshine's tongue sticking out.  Maybe it made him more aerodynamic?

Thunder took his dad out for a spin on the snowmobiles, and they came back with a few bumps and bruises.  His dad had completely rolled end over end down a hill.  It tore off the windshield, the drive shaft, and his dad's helmet!  Everyone was fine and they were actually able to fix the snowmobile to get back home.

We planned and prepared many months for this wonderful time.  We enjoyed every minute with our family.  It may have been cold outside, but we were all very warm and cozy inside the cabin.

May the force be with you!

Christmas Choir concert

Both Sunshine and Cloudburst were in the winter choir this year. Cloudburst won the distinguished solo part of "Red Bird" and actually had a lot of lines to memorize. She did great. Sunshine was very entertaining also. Seriously! He made all sorts of goofy faces and really got into the dancing numbers. Definitely not a shy kid. And Sunrise didn't want to be left out of the action.  On the third picture, you can see how we wiggled up front and snuck into part of the play.

Thunder's Easy Breezy Birthday

Thunder is now one year older (and wiser??).  To celebrate, the kids and I worked on an idea I found on Pinterest called Dad's Backrub T-shirt.  I did the outline of the city in pencil, then in black puffy paint.  After letting that dry overnight, the kids colored in the buildings on the back.  When he wears it, he can lay down, and let Sunrise drive on the roads with a car.  I also cleaned out his nasty bathroom drawer.  There was some sort of toxic combination of toothpaste, listerine and hair gel in there but now it is sparkly and beautiful.

Now where was Thunder while we were doing all these fun things?  Well the BYU football team had invited him to come as a guest to a football game. IN HAWAII!!  He was there for a week, basking in the sun and enjoying the breeze.  We did have a warm winter, but not THAT warm.  He visited the temple, roamed around Pearl Harbor, caught a women's basketball game and of course cheered at the football game. 

Not a bad birthday if you ask me!  We love you Thunder! You deserved it all!

Chicken Dance

We sponsor a scholarship for a ladies basketball player. Her name is Kim Parker, and she's so awesome people call her "Kimmer" (remember Jimmer??). We went to watch a game and children were invited down at half time to do the chicken dance. Cloudburst, Sunshine and Tornado had a blast.

UP House

Did you see the movie UP? A home-builder here in Utah decided to build a real live version of the iconic house. They painstakingly watched the intro portion of the movie hundreds of times and drew up plans. They replicated every piece of furniture shown, even having many pieces hand-made to match the movie. Other rooms were made to match the rest of the house. They had it open for public viewing (for free) for a few months, and we were able to go visit in early December. What a treat! The kids were in awe and I loved seeing what the home builder's imagination come to life. They did add a garage and the basement had the movie intro playing.  In January they sold the house to a California family.