True Sledding

All these years I thought that sledding meant walking up a hill and sliding down on your bum. Recently some friends took us up to a mountain air strip to experience TRUE SLEDDING! My kids are h.o.o.k.e.d.

Tyler LOVED the freedom of this powerful machine.
Chloe loved short fast rides and the rest of the time was happy playing in the snow and hanging out in the trailer.
Alysee and Birch cruised the snow covered airway like no ones business.
Alex was goo goo over EVERYTHING -- the speed, the independence, the helmet, the power...
When chilled we climbed into the heated trailer and warmed ourselves.
Chloe kept telling me to go faster when I took her out for a little ride.
Coop has always loved these racing helmets so even when he wasn't ridding on a snowmobile he could be seen wearing his cool helmet.
Alex went through withdrawals for the first few days following this expedition. Check out his jump!
We all enjoyed a hot dog roasted over the fire.
I liked pretending I was laying on lawn chair soaking up the warm Hawaiian sunshine.

Wanna see Alex and Tyler in all their glory? http://youtu.be/FJNH2sDt67M

Fly Me To The Moon

Today Birch crossed something off of his bucket list -- flying an airplane. This is something that he has always wanted to do! Last year for Christmas I gave him one flight lesson and then a few months later at a boy scout auction we bought another introductory flight lesson. I was really excited for him but also nervous. All year I've been telling myself that people fly little planes every day and live.

The flight instructor asked if I would like to come and be the backseat passenger. It took me about 15 minutes to decide if I was brave (or dumb) enough to come along. The instructor made sure that he let me know every safety precaution he was taking.

Top Gun shot

Giddy boy
Salivating
Holy Cow!! He's actually flying!!!
...and LOVING it!!!
Little bit nervous but finally relaxed -- it was crazy how we could be flying 100 mph and feel like we were just floating.
Two peas in a pod -- Birch and flight instructor Matt
I was thankful that Birch didn't jump out the window when we started to see all the mountains.
Feelin' pretty awesome!
Think this will be us in like thirty years with our little old plane flying around to visit all the grand kids?

Wish you could have been with us?

Having trouble viewing? Click on http://youtu.be/1ZBSEEhaE0g

The Ball

This past weekend the girls got to go to The Ball with their Daddy. It was a fundraiser put on by the high school DECA club. Honestly, I am not sure that Alysee or Chloe have ever been more excited about something.

Our friend Chelsy Wilson came over and shared her amazing talent as a hair dresser.
Chloe was pretty good considering that she had to sit still for longer than thirty seconds.
I think my favorite part of the night was just seeing how special the girls felt as they had a night being beauty queens. Everything was magical from the bright nail polish to the makeup to the fun dresses to the hair dos.
Thanks Chelsy for not only sharing your talent but also making these girls feel beautiful!
We added some little flowers to Chloe's hair when we realized that her crown wasn't going to stay on too well.
The updos
FINALLY Daddy came home from work and coaching Tyler's basketball practice and Birch quickly changed into the outfit Alysee had picked out for him. Birch has worn that shirt the day before and ate dinner she declared that it was "adorable" and must be worn the following day. I made the girls each a corsage out of fabric and attached it to a hair band. They now double up as hair clips.
Watch out -- these girls have super long eye lashes and they better stay far away from the fellows so they don't get tangled up.
I thought Chloe was going to explode if The Ball didn't come a second sooner.
Alysee borrowed her dress from a friend and felt like the princess from Princess Diaries.
Everyone had a great time at the ball! Daddy loved playing carnival games, eating ice cream, and dancing with the girls.EXHAUSTED!!! It was 9:30 pm when the three-some drove home and they were pooped. You would have thought they would have fallen right in bed but Chloe (especially) was so wound up that it was 11 pm before she finally shut her eyes and stopped singing and jumping on Alysee.

What a special night!!! Chloe has told me about 50 times how she just "loved the ball!"

This is certainly going to be a tradition at our house! While the girls were away the boys and I played games and watched a boy movie. The boys are all counting down until the Father/Son campout.

From the H.E.A.R.T.

I love it when the kids create something from their heart to give as gifts. This year Alysee drew Chloe's name for Christmas. She was so excited to finally pick a gift out for a girl. We went to the Dollar Store together to look at ideas. Alysee had remembered this super cute purse that she was just positive Chloe would love. It was no where to be found. I suggested that we sew a purse for Chloe. Alysee was delighted with this idea!

For Alysee's last birthday my parents gave her a sewing box filled with treasures. Unfortunately her mom isn't so hot about sewing and so her box hasn't gotten much use. Alysee (with a little help from her momma and Aunti Emi) turned in a hot pink $1 place mat into the cutest little girl's purse decorated with ribbon and a homemade felt flower.

Chloe LOVES her new purse. It goes with her everyone; as does her new pink princess umbrella from Santa.

Isn't she dang cute even when doing the potty dance??!!!

A Snowy Day

In November we had our first snow fall and the kids all were sure this was going to be a BIG WINTER. Much to their dismay we had a green Christmas and they had just about given up hope. Last week the heavens opened and the snow came down.

I shoveled two days last week and realized just how little shoveling I have done in my life. My neck was way sore the next day and I was exhausted. I'm sure that it didn't help that our driveway is huge. Some days we have been shoveling three to four times a day.

Alysee got bundled up for school the other day and was enjoying a bit of the sunshine.

Okay, so I am sure hoping that this isn't something Nate does on a regular basis. I was uploading photos that Birch took and I wasn't too happy to see this.

Angel Nate

Obviously he is pretty proud of himself!

The kids have had lots of fun sledding but I think we are all ready for the sun to come out and the snow to melt away!

15 Years toward Eternity

After a canceled anniversary trip due to the dreaded LARFING bug we finally got to enjoy a weekend in the Tri-cities KID-LESS! Thanks Emi and Ryan for watching the kids!

The evening started with going to the temple and doing sealings together. We do this every year around our anniversary -- it's such a wonderful reminder of promises we have made to each other and blessing we will receive if we are worthy.

Then we enjoyed a most tasty dinner at Olive Garden -- YUMMO!

Our hotel was quite lovely located on the Columbia River.

Saturday we enjoyed sleeping in and then a tasty brunch at Denny's. Next stop was the movie theatre. We really enjoyed the movie "We bought a zoo" -- though it had extra impact to us with the deaths that have hit close to home this year.

After we had fun doing a little shopping at the mall and even purchased two very handsome suits for Birch on a killer deal - $73/suit. He looks OH SO HANDSOME!

I'm not gonna lie -- it was hard to come home after a whole day and half of no dishes, no kids, no cleaning up and not having to share my hubby with anyone. What a lucky girl I am!