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!

Tooth Fairy

The tooth fairy visited our house for the very first time last week! On Thursday while we were eating dinner Crew said his loose tooth was making it hard to eat. I wiggled it a little and thought it probably had a few more days. He walked into the bathroom and I figured he was just going to look at it in the mirror. He walked out a minute later and said "I pulled it out". He was so calm! I couldn't believe he just pulled it out himself! He said it was making it too hard to eat! So cute! And I can't believe our little Crew is already big enough to be losing teeth!

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!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. Full of family, friends, and neighbors. We made tons of goodies and delivered 50 goody plates! Crew and Drake did a great job of running them to the doors while I stayed in my heated car! They were good sports. We made a quick trip to Utah. And we spent Christmas day playing with new toys and being lazy around the house. It was nice. We did actually leave the house once, to go visit a neighbor, but we were still in our jammies. It was just nice to let the kids relax and do whatever they wanted. This year we opened a Christmas book every night in December. It was fun to be surprised and then get to read a story as a family. We got to Skype with family we didn't get to see. It makes me so grateful for technology! I love this time of year because we remember to tell people we love and care about how much they mean to us! And we hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas!

This is Crew's part in the Christmas Program at his school. He did a good job with his little reindeer antlers! 

Christmas Morning Presents.

Playing with some of the new presents!

Visit with Santa! Drake looked like he was going to start crying any minute!

This is getting our Christmas Tree this year. It was a funny story. We drove way up in the mountains. And then spotted a tree only 50 yards from the truck. The boys were already crying about being cold on the super short, closest to the truck tree we will ever find! It made me wonder what we were thinking investing in snowboards for the boys when they couldn't even last 10 minutes. But that story will be continued tomorrow. Needless to say, we ended up with a super cute and almost perfect Christmas Tree. I would bet it's the nicest one we have cut yet!

My Mom and Papa Kurt sent us a great Christmas package. It included these hats that the antlers move and light up and sings "Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer". This is Drake doing a silly dance in the hate. He is so funny! Makes me giggle all the time! Guess how much Rett likes the noisy hats!

We spent Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday in Utah. We got to visit Grandma Teresa (Rett's Mom), Ron, TJ, Megan, Seth, Jess, Grandma Cook, Tiff, Brian, Maggie, Sam, Gabe, Michael, Josh, and Jolene. It was way too short, but lot's of fun to see everyone. Saturday we ran some last minute shopping errands, and Saturday evening had dinner with the family at TJ and Megan's. Then Teresa and I got to go watch the Nutcracker, while Megan played her violin in the orchestra. It was a lot of fun and beautifully done, both the ballet and the orchestra! The boys all hung out together while we were there. Sunday morning we had breakfast at Tiffiny and Brian's. And the cousins got to do some great playing. The trip was much too short, and I wish we had more time with everyone, but it was so great to see them all!

Christmas Eve we went to Grandpa Kip and Debbie's for dinner, gifts, and snow fun. It was great. I will post pictures from the snow tomorrow. We got to hang out with Debbie's daughter Summer and her family. They have super cute and fun kids. And TJ and Megan made the trip up too. It was tons of good food and lot's of fun to be with everyone. 

Puppy Sitting

We love puppies. This is Cruse. Before you start thinking we have enough dogs or why would you name your dog that when your kids name is Crew...He's not ours. We're socializing him for Mark and Gail. And he's a fun little guy.

Drake's Pledge of Allegiance

I know that the preschool says the pledge but I had no idea Drake could say it all by himself. So cute!

Hallloween

The boys had a great Halloween. The school did all of their parties on Friday before Halloween, which was probably better for them, because they didn't have to deal with all the candy and craziness the next day, but it was kind of lame to send kids to school on Halloween without costumes. Our grade school also does a really fun Halloween Carnival that was Friday night. Drake was a bat and Crew was Captain America. 

We carved pumpkins Monday night for Family Home Evening. It was fun and messy. And the boys were excited to put their pumpkins out on the porch.

I help at focus groups in Crew's classroom on Fridays, and the teacher asked me to plan their Halloween Party. I got a few other moms and we planned some games and crafts. I did a cookie decorating table. It was fun and super messy. And I think all the kids loved it. Although, they did ask why they missed recess. We tried explaining that they'd been playing the whole time, but some were pretty disappointed. 

Then at the Trunk or Treat on Wednesday night, Crew decided that he was going to be a cowboy instead of Captain America. Imagine that. Crew, wanting to be a cowboy! It drives Dad crazy. But, it's also just a silly holiday, where kids get to dress up, so why not let them dress up in what makes them happy. Trying to make it more ok, Crew told us "This costume doesn't even cost anything, because I already have everything for it!" Which would be great, had his Captain America costume not been bought specifically for him this year!!!! But really, it makes him happy to be a cowboy, so I think that's great.

Noffin!

When asked what Drake had eaten, he simply said "Noffin" (Nothing). It made me giggle. Obviously he had eaten something! And upon more research, I found out that he had eaten spoonfuls of nestle chocolate quick powder! Super yummy! I guess I was too slow at getting his chocolate milk that day! When I told him that I knew he'd eaten something, he asked me how I knew. I told him to look in the mirror. And he came back giggling! I obviously don't encourage story telling or lying, but sometimes it is pretty funny what kids think they might get away with.

Did you know

That Drake can brush his teeth with his toes? It actually looks like more effort to me but at least we're getting the job done. He really is the silliest boy ever! He does that kind of thing all the time. We love his sense of humor and we are so grateful when he makes us laugh!