All together

They're here! Mom and Pop landed safely in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon, then endured a harrowing ride to Hyrum in our little go cart of a Honda Civic through a snowy canyon. On Sunday morning we had the obligatory breakfast at Angie's, then we came home and built a snowman and a snow dog with all the fresh white stuff. Brandon left for Florida this morning and I went to work, so Mom and Pop got to hang out with Gavin for several hours today without Mommy or Daddy backup. Seems like it went pretty well! Good thing, since they've got a few more days to spend together while I'm at work and Brandon's away.

Mooooooooooom.... Pop threw a snowball at me!

My Hero!

Hurray! After looking everywhere imaginable for the past two days, Pop found my lost car keys in a garbage can in the garage that he uses for sawdust and wood scraps. It was driving me crazy.

PONTIAC SOLSTICE

Papa's Got A Brand New Car And Is He Excited!!!!!!!

Winter Fun

There are two non meterological signs that signal winter - the laundry that piles up like mashed potatoes on a vegetarians plate at Thanksgiving and the muddy boot tracks on the kitchen floor. We always have three times as much laundry in the winter because the clothes are heavier and Chris wears three layers. The kids don't seem to be able to take their boots off before running through the house so the white tile is mostly gray all winter long. This year has been especially hard on our floors as their friend Liam, insists on wearing all his winter gear in the house. I start to sweat watching this little boy run throughout the house in winter coat, hat, gloves and boots.

The laundry has been piling up faster this year because we've been going out more. We had a lot of fun sledding last Friday with daddy. Sami decided that sledding down the hill on her belly was so last year. So this year she stands and uses the sled as a snowboard. She has gotten quite good at this and can make it all the way down. Chris is less experienced and falls off halfway down. Saturday we went to Blackwell forest preserve to go snowtubing. The kids were real troopers carry their inner tubes up the 800 foot hill 5 times. By that time we were all cold and it was getting pretty crowded. They had a small fire going at the bottom of the hill to help thaw us out. Once Sami figured out she had to lean all the way back in order to go down she had a great time. We waited to go with dad because mom wasn't sure she would be brave enough to go. But we all had a lot of fun.

Sami and Liam with help from mom and Chris used almost a half gallon of vinegar and a whole box of baking soda to make volcanoes in the snow. They decided the "lava" would show up better if they added food coloring so we now have a patch of green snow at the top of the driveway and a patch of red snow at the bottom. They used the mounds of snow we piled up clearing the driveway as the volcanoes.

Since yesterday turned out to much nicer than forecasted we went snowshoeing at the arboreteum. The sun kept us warmer than last time and we managed to go twice as far this time. The highlight of the trip for Chris was seeing what he thinks was a hawk. Sami and I had fun watching a squirrel play in the snow. He tunneled under the snow and we watched the little bumps he made as he raced underground. We ended up at Sports Authority to get Sami a ski mask, however she was more interested in picking out a snowboard. Should that ever happen we would need to increase our health insurance or prepare for poverty.

snow fun

We played in the snow last weekend...it was Evelyn's first time!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Naperville, Palatine, North Aurora and Hyrum.
There's joy in the air
Wherever you come from.

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given us
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
Our highest and our best!

We have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

Our wish, for us all, is for 2010 to be the best year ever.