SNOW!

Since there had been a fairly decent snowfall up north this week we decided to take the boys up on Christmas Eve. The day was overcast and a little windy which made for some chilly temperatures, but it was a great way to star off the holiday and give our little guy his first look at the snow. Easton recently watched a movie where the made a snowman and ever since he's been wanting to go to the snow and make one. He says we needed to have a hat, a scarf, and buttons so the snowman won't be cold (also from the movie). So first thing we did was build a snowman complete with buttons. No scarf and though, sorry Mr. Snowman hopefully you aren't too cold out there without them! Here are a few of the pictures we took while we were out.

The snowman begins to take shape!



No snowman is complete without a little facial hair.

Meet Nebuchadnezzar, the snowman (which incidently is the name of our next child according to big brother).

Mom and Asher didn't get to help much, but had fun posing with Easton and Daddy's creation. Well, at least I did. The baby was pretty much exhausted at this point and not long after we had to head back to the car to warm up a little before braving the elements again.

A goodbye kiss!

My big boy all bundled up and ready to play!

We decided Asher looked like the Michelin tire man. He couldn't really put his arms down with all those layers, but soooooo cute!

A few more family pictures!

A long day of playing and driving, but one of many great memories we've enjoyed together as a family. Can't wait till next year when the littlest one can help build the snowman too!

December Fun!

December is a long month, and it's not even over yet! But here's just a look at some of the fun things we've been doing so far. This doesn't even come close to including everything we've been up to. But with fun like this you can see why I can't seem to blog more than once a month. I really need to be better about it though because I miss it, and love seeing everyone else's!

We deocorated our tree at the beginning of the month. As soon as we opened the box of decorations Easton says "Mom I really like Christmas!"



He put about 3 ornaments on, all in the same area. Then he decided it was just more fun to unwrap them all and hand them to me to put on. That works!

Asher was very fascinated with the lights. He really wanted to eat them. He was completely covered in drool in just about every picture. Most of them didn't even turn out of him because the seat he's in bounces. So he was in action 90% of the time.

Just look at those lashes! :)

Unloading the box was the best part!

Then the fun part became wrapping himself up in the ribbon.

Asher just chillin!

My handsome boys!

Next stop in our December of fun was the ice skating rink! Easton went skating for the first time when we took the young people's group earlier this month. As our official mascott he tags along most of the time.

He loved it and had a great time. By the end he had gotten some pretty good balance, but kept a good hold on daddy.

Here he is with dad and Uncle Nathan. So adorable!!

Finally our last stop in December fun was the Christmas light display at the Mormon temple. Beautiful lights, a short outdoor concert, and of course some invites to future church services. I didn't get talked to by anyone, but a few from our group did. The opening prayer to begin the concert included thanksgiving for the chance to live eternally with our families. Other than that it could've been said by any number of people I know. Even though I don't agree with their church I have to give them credit for coming up with a great community outreach and not being afraid to witness.

Didn't get a lot of pictures here (for which you're probably thankful!) It was very crowded and stopping for even a few seconds for pictures blocked narrow sidewalks. Or got you separated from your group pretty quickly. But here are a few of them.

Really cool camel light display.

A small view of the garden.

My cuties! Easton had been in the stroller for about a minute at this point and already wanted OUT! He had to endure it at least till we got out of the parking lot and had somewhat of an idea where we were going.

This was Asher's favorite spot of the night!

It's been a busy busy month and Christmas is still a week away. We've got things to do every night until then, but it's a wonderful time of year to spend with friends and family. I'm incredibly thankful for each one. I am SO blessed!

The Periscope

This is a project we did awhile ago and am just now getting around to posting pictures. Grandad gave us a leftover kit from one of the kid's workshops they do. So we got to break out the tools and transform our kitchen into a workshop and make our very own periscope!



First things first, read the directions...some people may skip that but this mom needs them!



Next make sure you have all your materials.



Yes, I let a 2 year old use a hammer by himself :)




Getting the nails put in correctly. There were guide holes so he could do this step on his own.

More hammering!

Checking out how everything works.

Now time to add some personal touches.

This project was great because it involved glue, nails, hammers and markers. Who wouldn't have fun with a supply list like that??

Sooo Tired

So I recently joined "The 30 Day Shred" bandwagon. And no I am NOT going to post before and after pictures of my body. For one, the before is way way way too scary. Two, the after may not be all that impressive and then it wouldn't do any favors to the marketing of this DVD. And I could go on with the many reasons I do not want to do that, but those are probably sufficient. Although I have found several people who have bravely shown pictures of themselves along the 30 day journey. I was pretty impressed with some of them, which is why I decided to give it a try. So this morning I finished day 10. I've done it everyday except for Sunday. I'm giving myself that day off. Everyone needs a day of rest right?

Well, anyway there are 3 levels to this thing and I've only ever attempted level 1 so far. Tomorrow I brave level 2. I decided I would try and do each level for 10 days, but I'm not sure if that's going to work for me or not. Level 1 alone has been a good workout for me. It's doable, but I'm definitely tired when I'm done. It's only a 20 minute workout they say, but if you go from the warm up all the way through the cool down it's more like 26 minutes (but who's counting right???) So far I have yet to see any amazing body transformations, but I will say I think my rear is jiggling a little less than it was when I first started :) Ah, small victories!!

I've been wanting to start working out again for awhile now. I know I need to take better care of myself and set a better example that way for my kids. I don't want them to have the mom who doesn't want to go outside with them or do any kind of physical activity at all. I'll have to leave the actual sports up to daddy, he's the athlete in the family. I'm completely inept at things that require hand eye coordination. But I can kick a soccer ball around in the backyard or play tag. But if I continue on the sedentary path I've settled into lately I won't even be able to do that. So, 30 Day Shred I'm counting on you to motivate me to keep it up by transforming my body...ok ok I will settle for just improving it!

My Baby is Growing Up!

It seems like only just a few days ago this was my little boy.



Then before I know it, this is the face I see looking back at me. How did that happen so fast?!



Now that our new nephew has arrived I see just how big my baby is getting. He's still just a little guy, but seems huge next to his latest cousin. It doesn't seem like that much time could've gone by since he was born, but it obviously has. Even though he's had his fussy moments he's starting to get such a great personality. He laughs out loud now, and it's so fun to make him giggle.

Looking forward to what the future holds for this boy as he grows. He's growing so fast with his big brother leading the way! When they're both walking something tells me this mom will need eyes in the back of her head and lightning quick speed to keep up with those two.

Green Eggs and Ham

Easton has been bugging me for awhile to make him green eggs and ham. Whenever I ask him what he wants for breakfast or lunch he says "Ummm green eggs and ham." So this morning when he asked for it I decided why not? So here is his breakfast of green eggs and ham. Except it's actually green eggs and turkey since we don't have any ham, but close enough!



The green plate and green eggs looks even grosser, but he thought it was really cool.


Tastes pretty good!



And another big bite!

This kid is already quite the Dr. Seuss fan. His favorites are Green Eggs an Ham and Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? He loves to say "Boom boom boom Mr. Brown is a wonder. Boom boom boom Mr. Brown makes thunder." Wonder if we can figure out how to make thunder for breakfast?

Words of Wisdom Dinner

Tonight we had an awesome young peoples activity, our first Words of Wisdom dinner. We invited some of the members of our local to share a meal and some of their advice with our youth group and it was awesome. I don't know what everyone else got out of it, but I loved it. It gave some of our youngest and some of our most seasoned a chance to visit and share their life experiences with each other.

We talked about the future of our local and our church, good decisions we've made, and shared some mistakes and how they might be avoided. We discussed things that have shaped our lives, and ways we've grown spiritually. Tonight made me appreciate even more the wealth of knowledge we have available to us and how blessed we are to be part of this amazing group of people from the youngest to the oldest.

Some of the words of wisdom I heard shared tonight:

Allow God to direct your life. He may have something in store you never considered, but is best for you.

Look for ways to be of service. Make yourself available for work that needs to be done. Starting in small ways can prepare you for greater responsibilities in the future.

Choose you friends wisely they greatly influence who you are.

Think globally, how do the choices we make as a church and as individuals affect the spreading of the gospel. Focus outside of yourself. Realize the impact your actions have on others they can be much more far reaching than you think.

A successful life requires hard work.

Don't allow entertainment to be your number one focus. Distractions come in many forms that take our hearts away from the things that matter most.

I hope some of these are words of wisdom you can use as well. This will definitely be a dinner we do again!