Snow and Celebrating: Happy New Year!

We have a tradition of bundling the kids up and driving north once a year to find the snow.  Mitch and I have great sledding/snowman-building/cocoa-drinking memories from our childhoods, and we want the same for our kids.  This time we decided to combine our snow day with our New Year's celebration.

It was so fun!  Even though it was too cold to build snowmen, we had two days of fun in the snow.  Here are some pictures from our fun in the frozen north.

On the last day of the year we found a beautiful place to play and we were the only ones there.

We were also the first ones to sled here after the recent snowfall, so that meant the boys had to blaze sledding trails down the hill.  It was very cold and there was so much snow, which meant lots of work!

But before long they were flying down the hill and having fun, though at the bottom of this run, Brandt turned and screamed up the hill as loudly as he could.  He'd been blasted in the face with powder at the bottom of the hill and it was quite a shock for him.

Another exhilarating moment for Brandt on this day was his first experience creating yellow snow.  Yeah, that is exciting for little boys.

Adam wanted to make a snow angel.

We saw this sign as we were leaving.  Apparently there is a frozen pond under all that snow and ice at the base of the hill.  Oops. We'd steer clear next time.

That night I decorated our hotel room because I'm a nerd like that.  We celebrated by watching movies, playing a ton of games, and eating snacks.  I had a package for the kids to open on every hour starting at 7:00 pm, with something fun inside: poppers, noise makers, a time capsule sheet, special treats (Tim Tam Slams!),  etc.  Just before midnight we switched on the TV to watch the ball drop in NYC. Then the kids pulled our balloon-drop ripcord, we toasted with sparkling strawberry soda, and lit sparklers in the frozen night on our balcony.

New Years Day we played with fluffy stuff in the hotel room, thereafter employing the vacuum.  The kids played with this happily for over an hour.

In the afternoon we went back to our awesome sledding site.  Though still very cold, it was sunny with no wind, and a beautiful day for sledding.  And since we had made our sledding paths the day before, it was smooth sailing.

  

Since then, Brandt has prayed almost daily, "...and thankful for me to play in the snow."
Bright blessings and happy new year to you all!

Thankful

After our feast of Thanksgiving we went on a hike in the Superstition wilderness.
The air was mild, the sunlight, golden.  And it sure felt good to get up and move after such a busy morning cooking and a full-belly feast.

While we walked in the desert splendor, and as I watched those sunlit heads bobbing ahead of me I was momentarily choked with gratitude to my Heavenly Father for my life.  For those boys, and their strong, handsome dad leading us.  For the sun, the air, the path under my feet, and my healthy body.  For everything.

And then Brandt wanted his picture taken, I swallowed the lump in my throat, and life continued.  

But I cherish moments of communion like that like little gems.

One thing my boys like to do is throw rocks, and at home I have to say, "Put that rock down.  No throwing rocks!"  I love going hiking with the boys because they can throw rocks to their heart's content.  And play with sticks.  And climb.

And climb some more.  

And just 

be boys.

They need that.  

On the way back home Brandt fell asleep in the warmth of his car seat and had to be awakened for pie.  Boy, were we all ready for that pie.  And though I was worried because I baked my mom's Apple Slices Pie for the first time, there was no need to be.  Mmmm.

It was a beautiful day.  And I hope your's was too.

Mt. Lemmon in Autumn

Recently we took off after Saturday soccer games and drove down to Tucson for the weekend.  Mitch wanted to go see Mount Lemmon, since we've lived here all these years and we've never been there.

It could not have been more beautiful.  The weather was in full cooperation too, and we relished the chilly breeze as we picnicked near the summit.  What a view of the desert floor and rolling brown hills below!  And the leaves!  Each fall I speak of these great plans for getting away to "see the leaves."  See, not many leaves (read: none) turn brilliant colors in my neighborhood and I really miss that part of fall.  So when I saw the gold and red as we flashed by on our way to the summit, I was so excited!

The only bad part was that I forgot the camera!  I wanted to record some of the beauty around us but all I had was my phone.  Here are some of those pics.

It was a beautiful day, and I'm glad my kids got to see those leaves.  They were like gold.  Each boy chose one favorite leaf to bring home and I have them pressed into a book to help them remember.

Oceanside

We spent a few days in Oceanside over Fall Break.  Mitch's parents came with us and we had a lovely trip. We spent most of our time on the beach.  Here are a few favorite pictures.

As soon as we got there the kids got busy digging in the sand, making pits, castles, sand turtle.

Mitch, Caleb and I worked together on this guy.  

Yes, we hauled this shovel to Oceanside in the back of our minivan.  Yes, it was worth it.   It was the best thing for finding sand crabs.

Brand thought this shovel was alright too.  He loved playing in the sand but he was pretty nervous about all  of those foaming waves that kept coming at him.  

Brandt kept a pretty close eye on those waves, and ran away every time...

 

...even when his big, strong dad was sitting right next to him.

Adam loved playing in the waves,

but he spent most of the time digging, and scooping, and digging some more.  

The ocean inspires contemplation.

Or maybe it was just fun to watch those surfers out there. 

Mitch bought a couple of boogie boards, which were a hit.

  Sea fort

Leaning

One morning we went to La Jolla.  When we arrived it was cool and misty, which is pretty much opposite normal conditions at home.  I think Adam's and Brandt's favorite part of that trip was chasing the seagulls in the mist.   

Grandma and Grandpa after the mist burned off.

We went to La Jolla in hopes of seeing sea lions and seals, which we did.  But the Dallin thought the best part of all was walking down near this "sea cave" and being splashed by the spray. 

Back at Oceanside, things got pretty silly before we left.

It was a great trip!