Relaxing Sundays, New Years Eve

Church was canceled today due to the snow and ridiculous cold temperatures. We, of course, missed going to church, but at the same time it was nice to sleep in and not have a busy day full of responsibilities.
For New Years Eve we made our traditional fondue. It was so yummy. I don't know why we don't have it more often! We also made some Italian sodas. It was the kids first time having one and they really liked them. We let them stay up a little past 10 to watch another Star Wars movie. I am loving all this family time!

Winter Storms

The winter storm came last night and left 6 inches of snow this morning. It was beautiful to wake up to. And I'm so grateful that Brad is home to shovel it all! Our nice neighbor across the street has a snow blower and he ended up coming over to help so that was nice! We've stayed busy inside playing and watching movies. I am loving our new entertainment shelves downstairs. It sure make it cozy! We are lucky to have a warm cozy house to be in since taking the little ones outside isn't really an option right now!

Snowy Days

It is bone chillingly cold here! It hardly goes above 0 degrees and at night it gets down to -20 degrees or less. We have a huge storm coming in tonight that could give us 12 inches of new snow. It is crazy. Most the time so far I've felt that we live in a winter wonderland, but lately it seems more like a frozen wasteland. It's hard to go out and enjoy the beautiful snow when it is so cold! The kids did try to go out and play in the snow with their friend today, but they only lasted about 20 minutes. The wind chill makes it freezing!
Luckily we had plenty to do in the house today and no need to leave. It's so nice having Brad, Kade, and Tenley home all day. We are loving all the family time. The kids helped us deep clean which was so nice. With all the Christmas decor down it seems so bare in our house now, but it does feel a lot cleaner. And then we watched more Star Wars tonight. The kids love it!

Awesome Piano Teachers

We made it home yesterday from Utah even though it was hard to leave. Ryder wasn't happy about it at all! At random times during the drive home he'd pout and say that he wanted to go back to Grandpa's house. But I think he was happy to be back in his own bed tonight. All the kids slept so well and slept in! It was nice to catch up on some sleep.

We spent the day taking Christmas decorations down (although Ryder wasn't happy about that either! He'd say, "But mom! I love Christmas!"), doing laundry, and heading to the grocery store to stock up before the big storm comes. Brad kept busy building my new Ikea shelves for the basement. He's amazing and they look so good!

I did take Kade and Tenley out to meet their new piano teacher. She is amazing!! I'm so so excited for the kids to start taking lessons from her. She's happy, positive, talented, does group lessons, has multiple recitals throughout the year, I can't say enough good things! She gave them both a mini lesson while we were there and it went great. Right when we got home Tenley wanted to practice the piano. I loved seeing her enthusiasm about it. I'm so excited for them both to learn more about the piano and from such a great teacher. I feel so lucky that we found out about her.

Grandparents, Dates

Our kids have been having so much fun with my parents. Earlier this month when I told Kade we'd be going to Utah twice in just a few weeks he said, "Sweet! I get to see Grandma and Grandpa twice this month!" We've been having a great Christmas break here.

My brother gifted Brad and I some tickets to the new Hale Center theater to see Aida tonight. The theater was amazing and the show was really good! It was fun to have a date night out with Brad, especially when I knew my kids couldn't be happier with their 'babysitters', aka, their grandparents. They always spoil them.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was magical! The kids were so excited!! They actually slept until about 8, but once they were awake, they were so anxious to go downstairs. We sent Ryder down first, then Tenley, then Kade. They were all pretty excited about what Santa had left them.
We had our yummy traditional breakfast of orange cinnamon rolls and Brad's omelet. It was all so yummy.
Tracie and Jason and their families came over again and we all opened presents together. It was so nice to have us all here together. Brad surprised me with a trip to Arizona in a few months! I'm so excited. I've been hinting that I want to go on a little getaway before this baby was born and my hints worked! We'll be going with Chad and Lesa and their kids will be watching ours. I love that he planned this for me. Although it's crazy to learn how good he is at being sneaky!
We had more good food, played more games, and then tonight we decided to finally introduced Kade to Star Wars. It's silly we've waited so long and he loves it!
I was also able to go and visit my sweet Grandma who is at a care center. I went with my parents and Tenley wanted to come with us. Tenley is such a sweet natured girl and anytime I'm doing something for others, she wants to be there with me and help! I love it. My Grandma seemed to be in good spirits and it was nice to have a visit with her.

Christmas Eve

We started off the day going to church this morning with my parents. I love going to church the day before Christmas. It's a great spiritual reminder about what the holiday is all about. There were beautiful musical numbers and wonderful talks.
When we got home from church Tenley and Grandpa made cookies together! She's been wanting to help my Dad make cookies for a while now and they had fun together.
Tracie and her family and Jason and his family came over in the afternoon. We played games, ate yummy food, and watched some Christmas movies. When it got dark we went and saw some pretty Christmas lights and Draper park. It was beautiful! And even though it's still about 30 degrees here at night, it actually feels warm to me coming from the frigid Montana nights!
The kids opened their Christmas pajamas when we got home, tracked Santa, left out some cookies and carrots, and went to bed so excited for tomorrow!