A Blizzard and Some Animals

We decided that for a mid-January activity we would visit the zoo. We checked the weather and it said it would be sunny and a balmy 50 degrees. As we headed up the canyon the light rain turned to light snow.

The boys had fun making pine cone bird feeders while we waited for their cousin to catch up to us.

It was a little more chilly and wet than we expected but we still had a great time...

Mostly, Lana had a little bit of a hard time til after we ate some lunch.

A cute little monkey we happened upon:

Mom pushing an empty stroller- the little thing in the brown coat up ahead is Lana.

Dad having a good time.

And a happy Lana running loose.

Caden Carving It Up

In January we decided to take the plunge and finally teach Caden how to ski. We are so spoiled, Branson's parents are ski patrollers up at Wolf Mountain so we get free lift passes. And they helped us entertain the little ones in the lodge all afternoon.

Here he is with the skis just put on, ready to hit the slopes!

I was surprised at how quickly he caught on. He loved every second on the hill.

Branson taught Caden all morning. I did it this once and Caden would go so fast it terrified me, so I let Dad back at it. I think the rope gave Caden a lot of confidence just knowing someone had hold of him.

Brans and I snuck off for a run on our own.

Riding the lift with Grandpa!

Thanks so much G&G we had such an awesome day and can't wait to go again this weekend. We were so proud of Caden. We'll see if we can get him to go down the mountain without the rope this weekend.

j

Christmas Day

We all woke up at 7:30 on Christmas morning and headed downstairs to see if Santa had come. I love how magical and exciting it is seeing all of the presents stacked beneath the tree.

Lana and Branson were both feeling much better! (me not so much)

Caden checking out what Brecken got. I love these little best buddies brothers!

I love this pic because Brecken looks so tiny and the tree looks so big.

Lana got a new baby and a stroller. She's a great little mommy.

The boys got a whole lot of Zhu Zhu tunnels and da da da... the Battle Arena. Caden was really excited for that.

Again, we were blessed to be able to enjoy the best parts of Christmas. After breakfast I went and passed out and spent the rest of the day in and out of consciousness with high fevers. Branson was awesome taking care of everyone but we are still hoping for a healthy Christmas next year!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, let's just say we survived this one. I made a quick trip to the store in the morning. Then we had a little lunch and Brans lied down for a nap. He was in full blown flu at this point. I decided to make our holiday pies. The boys (only healthy ones this day) were full of energy and getting into all kinds of trouble. I tried sending them outside but they kept coming in. I was coming down with the flu and didn't know it yet. I had made the pie crusts but that was all. I sat down on the couch and started to cry. I just couldn't see how I could do it all with Brans out sick and myself feeling so crummy. My super hubby came out from his sick bed and took care of the crazy kids. I was able to make one pumpkin pie and then threw the rest of the dough in the garbage because there was no way I was going to have the time or energy to make any more.

I think we were blessed after that and were able to all enjoy our Christmas Eve traditions. We had our special Bethlehem Supper, delivered our secret santa gift, and headed downstairs to open the first gifts.

First we opened our PJ's. Lana had a ton of jammies so she actually got socks.

Poor baby, you can see in this picture how sick she was.

We all changed into our jammies. Caden was soooo excited about everything that he was literally rolling around on the floor.

Next we opened up our new ornaments and hung them on the tree.

Finally, we acted out the Nativity. I was the narrator, Daddy the donkey, and Brecken Joseph. We were so excited to have such a cute little Mary this year.

Caden played the parts of Inn Keeper and Shepherd.

This Mary was really loving her baby Jesus.

Then we wrote letters to Santa, layed out the stocking and off to bed!

I was so glad the night worked out and we were able to enjoy it despite illness.