Snow Trip #2

Well, the kids couldn't get enough of the snow so the next day we headed back to our great spot with our friends the Whitmores. More snow, more sledding, and more fun. We had the sun shining the day before, but today we actually had snow falling. I asked myself why I went back for another chilly, wet adventure. Well, if you're with good friends it's worth it!

Snow Trip #1

Every year the kids always ask to go visit the snow. This year we headed up towards Butte Meadows with our friends the Keables and Petersens. The day was sunny, the snow was cold, and the kids found a great sledding hill. I'm not a real lover of the snow unless I'm inside where it's dry and warm, but the beauty of this "winter wonderland" was worth a little bit of my warmth.

Holidays

The Holidays are always a busy time of year, but we always seem to find the time to enjoy the season. Here is a quick recap of the good times we had during the month.

I'm very lucky to live close to both of my moms. So, when it comes to holiday dinners, we're always invited over. The only downside is that we never get to enjoy leftovers from a Christmas feast. This year I went ahead and made our own turkey dinner and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal and leftovers.



Kiana's 4th grade class learned about California missions. Here she is showing off her great creation. We were able to go to her classroom a view all of the missions that the students completed. They all looked awesome!




I thought this day would never come. I love sleeping in, but my kids never seemed to like it. Well, they are growing up and this vacation we ALL enjoyed some extra sleep and less structured days of vacation. I love this picture. I snapped it quick before they woke up. Hey, they are still asleep . . . why aren't I still in bed???



Yes, another year OLDER! My only request this year was to keep it simple and to enjoy donuts for dessert.



Christmas Eve!



Christmas Morning!

Hot Breakfast!

Andrea has enjoyed having a Hot Pocket for breakfast before she heads off to early morning seminary. Each "Pocket" comes with a small bit of advice. Here are just a few:

* Having a hot breakfast is proven to increase the snappiness of your comebacks. (Based on a hunch)

* People who eat a hot breakfast smile 3 times more often than those who don't. (Based on imaginary research)

This Next one is dedicated to our friends the Wrights. If only we could have given this to them before their trip! :)

* People who eat a Hot breakfast are more likely to win big in Vegas. (According to totally made-up survey results)

Stay tuned for more inspiring quotes to help you throughout your day!

Halloween

It doesn't matter how old you get, Halloween can still be a lot of fun! Pumpkin carving, dressing up, and trick or treating are a few of the ways we celebrate the holiday.



For the past couple of years we've participated in a church carnival and a trunk or treat. This year our kids enjoyed the night by helping out their favorite youngsters enjoy the festivities. Can you guess who everyone is???

Butterfly or Bug Catcher?

Banker or Mobster?

Dracula's Bride or Princess?

Family Pictures

It's been officially 3 years since we've had our family pictures taken. Some of the family are not as equally as excited as I am to dress alike and smile in various poses and locations. This year I let Andrea choose our attire and we convinced an awesome family photographer to put up with the smug attitudes that existed at various times during our photo shoot. She found several great areas in the Paradise area to take our family pictures. Overall, I was VERY happy with the results. However, I did let the family know that I'll let a couple of years pass before I torture them again with taking our "traditional family pictures"!

Here are a few pics that we didn't choose for our Christmas card this year.



Here are some of my favorites.









And the winners are . . .

YW Photos

For one of our YW activities we took the girls to Bidwell Park and took their pictures. They had a great time posing for pictures and enjoying the park. We were then able to use some of the pictures for our Young Women in Excellence mtg. We have a beautiful group of girls!

Days of October

We've had a lot of fun during the days of October. It started with a field trip for Kiana to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento.



Then Kiana went to an authentic Trapper's Camp in Red Bluff. She was able to learn all about the trappers and their experiences here in California.



We can't forget about "Crazy Hair Day"! If you have crazy hair a crazy face is a must!





I was able to go with Aaron, Andrea, & Seth to the Oakland temple. It was wonderful to all be in the temple together!



We ended the month with Kiana's 4th grade class building and performing their own trapper camp. Kiana was a part of the Valley Indians.

Father Daughter Campout

Our YW presidency decided to invite the Activity Day girls to our young women father daughter camp out. This year we camped at Lake Almanor and our theme for the weekend was "You Can Be My Hero". It was a lot of fun to have the extra Dads and girls with us this year since we only have six young women.

We had good food, funny skits, lots of camp songs and of course a warm fire complete with smores. The next morning we listened to the dads tell about their favorite hero in the scriptures, took pictures with each girl and their dad, made cute picture frames, and went on a bike ride to the lake.

The weather was great, the girls got along, and the dads were a big help to have around.

Braces Off & Staples Out!

After 2 sets of braces and 4 years later Seth has finally ended his braces career.



Now smile and show us your pearly whites!



The orthodontist office gave Seth a fun treat of balloons, popcorn, sparkling cider, and a chocolate bar. Enjoy!

(Seth is now looking forward to eating apples whole without having to slice them.)



It was finally time to get the staples removed from Seth's leg. It was a little more painful having them removed than he thought and they weren't completely healed so he has to leave strips of Bandaides on for another week.



It's amazing how the body heals itself!

18 years!

WOW! Where has the time gone?!
Every year it just gets better and better!
Here's to another 18 years!

New Pet

We have a new pet! Yes, I know we're not a very animal loving family, but this creature made herself at home in our backyard. She doesn't take up much space, never makes any noise, we never have to feed her, and she even helps scare away pesty insects. We nicknamed her "Charlotte" because her webs are amazing!





P.S. I HATE SPIDERS! However, this amazing creature's web had me marveling in awe at her creative talent. It also got me thinking, hmmm, . . . aren't I paying for pest control every month? What a sneaky and beautiful spider you are Charlotte!

Galleons

Kiana's 4th grade class started learning about Galleons and for a school project they were able to make their very own. Then all of the 4th graders at Neal Dow took a field trip to One Mile to sail their boats. (They were required to test their boats ahead of time to make sure there would be no sinking boats.)

Aaron and I took our lunch break and went to see all of the different boats which were made out of wood, popsicle sticks, cardboard, empty soda bottles, milk cartons, etc. Kiana's was painted white and pink with clear jewel accents. She was very proud of her galleon, which she named Kiana Marie.

Almanor

Once again our dinner group families went cabining at Lake Almanor during Labor Day weekend. It has been a lot of fun seeing the kids grow up together these past few years and spend the weekend with friends. This year Andrea brought her friend Julia along with us.







On Saturday we decided to travel to Lassen Park and take the kids on a simple hike to see three lakes. (Terrace Lake, Shadow Lake, & Cliff Lake) We weren't able to make it to the last lake--the kids had finally had enough of hiking and just wanted to stop and enjoy the lake water.

During the weekend we enjoyed games, food, and laughter. We continued the tradition of family Olympics with some new events this year. (Hula hooping, Cheezit stacking, water bottle balancing, melt the ice cube, and nylon ball swinging)



On Sunday we took a drive to Soda Springs. We filled our water bottles with carbonated water from a natural spring and added some crystal light--YUM! (Well, it wasn't that tasty, but it was very interesting to see.)