November 2016

In November we finished football and started basketball. Still busy. And still fun. Whit turned 3, crazy and exciting! And we had tons of family in town for Thanksgiving. That weekend Drake was also baptised a member of the Churxh of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Drake won 2nd place at our cubscout pinewood derby!

Crew caught a fish at cubscouts!

Uncle Brandon made a special visit to Utah.

Some of the family braved the cold weather to run the Erda Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning!

Cousin Emi from Arizona loved the little bit of snow we had.

Sledding, Friends, and Getting Ready For Christmas

We got our Christmas Tree up. It actually looks a little different now. The bottom half has no ornaments. Whit kept playing with them so they got moved up!!

The boys had fun with our one snow storm around Thanksgiving. We've had friends over and pulled sleds in the back with the rhino a few times. We went round and round till there was almost no snow left! And Whit even LOVED the sled rides. 

We got to see Santa at a ward Christmas Party. The big boys were excited. And we lost Whit on the way to the church, so he had no idea what he'd slept through.

And this is a project we've talked about for a while. A Christmas wreath from some of Rett's field trial ribbons. It turned out pretty cute! And for a field trialer it is pretty special!

Couple Time

Rett had Monday off this week but randomly the boys still had school on MLK. So I begged a friend to watch the boys before and after school and Rett and I headed up to the slopes. It was a lot of fun. Rett's way better than I am. So he took it slow for me and taught me a few things. It was a fun day date. I love alone time with Rett because it reminds me of how much fun we have together. We still have fun with the boys however at some point during the running kids around, cleaning house, making dinner, work, and all the other routine stuff you tend to forget to just enjoy. I'm always grateful to be reminded of the love we share. And the other bonus was that it was beautiful, clear, sunny, and warm!

Snow Fun

We had a super cold spell. It's been down to -16 °F. That's cold! We've had to find fun things to do to pass the time. We got lift passes to Beaver Mountain in Logan. We went for the first time last Saturday and then again today. It was lots of fun. We stayed on the magic carpet or bunny hill most of the first day. Rett and I made runs up the mountain and lived to tell about it. Actually we did great for not going in over ten years. I had a little mishap getting off the lift but I didn't hurt myself. Crew's doing great. He thinks he knows it all, doesn't want our our help and wants to go alone. We didn't let him go up anything else the first day but once he figured out how to slow himself down better we took him up. He did great. Drake is a little more cautious so isn't quite ready for anything else but he's learning. It's so fun for the family. We'll have two little shredders before the end of the season.

 And this is what the boys like to do in our field behind the house. They like sledding behind the four wheeler even in the bitter cold!

Snowboarding

Last spring, we decided to purchase season passes to Beaver Mountain Ski Resort in Logan. The winters up here can be a little long and cold. And Rett was missing his old time spent on the slopes. And, since we bought them so early, they were a lot less cheap. And bonus, kids under 5 are free with season pass holders. So we figured we'd see how the kids did. We looked all summer, and finally got two tiny snowboards, bindings, and boots off of KSL (A local Craigslist). After our trip to get the Christmas Tree, I was really worried about the boys freezing to death! So Christmas Eve, when we went up to Grandpa Kip's house in Lava, we took the snowboards to try it out. He has the best driveway every for sledding, and we have loved that through the years. But turns out it is great for snowboarding too! And we used a four wheeler to give rides back to the top, which made it so much easier! It only took a few runs before Crew had it all figured out! And by the end of the couple of hours he was going all the way down the driveway without falling. Drake is getting so close to figuring out how to steer and once he gets that, he'll be keeping up with his big brother. They absolutely loved it! They didn't complain about being cold at all! And they did not want to stop. In fact, we learned that our boys do not give up. Drake was so mad when it was getting dark and we told him he had to go inside. We haven't gone up to Beaver yet, and frankly, I'm scared for Rett and I. I haven't been for 12 years, and wasn't that good to begin with. It's been a while for Rett too, but at least he was really good back in the day! We'll see if we can get through the season without injuring ourselves too bad!

Our First Snow of the Year

The boys were so excited about the first snow of the season. We woke up on Tuesday to find a beautiful white blanket. The boys were up at 7:00 and wanted to go out to play before it was even light. It was so magical for them. I was glad they were excited.
There are actually a lot of things I like about winter time. I love the holidays. This year we are all planning to spend a lot of time snowboarding at Beaver Mountain. I also love being able to spend more time inside and keeping my house clean. I love having dinner ready when Rett gets home. I love working on sewing or crafting projects. But mostly I'm grateful for changes in the season. I am always ready for the next season to arrive and look forward to the changes it brings to life. Winter time is here!