Wednesday, December 21, 2011

winter wonderland=photos overload

We went up to Show Low for a little pre-Christmas getaway. We got to see lots of family & Joe Frost was even there. We hadn't seen him since Cooper's funeral.

Sunday night we went to Lucy & Jeff’s for dinner and activities. Lucy had everyone write down what their gift to Jesus was. Clayton wrote: to be nice to my bro, Porter wrote: I can help people and for Marlee I wrote: To be nice to her brothers-haha.

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Lucy made all the kids aprons for their Christmas present- they turned out so great.

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Raegan was too little for an apron so she got a bib.

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Marlee loves Christmas trees & her Grandma Lucy.

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Lucy made yummy Mexican food & fruit pies.

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Laun took Marlee out in the snow & she loved it!

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On Monday we went out for a drive to check out all the snow-so pretty.

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Laun got out to get the kids some snow-they love to eat it.

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Then we went to Springville for lunch & fun. Laun cut down trees for fire wood-that is our Christmas present to Ryan’s family this year. Sure wish we had a wood stove. While he cut down trees the kids & I played in the snow.

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Saying that I LOVE snow pictures might be an under statement.

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The kids were so excited to finally get out of the truck & play in the snow.

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Marlee was a huge fan of sledding.

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three in a row

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Not going anywhere?

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The boys were pretty much professionals at building a snowman.

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Marlee giving the snowman kisses…then it fell over and luckily i saved her from getting smashed.

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Clayton loved throwing snowballs (Porter didn’t love being hit by those snowballs).

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Here they are sledding down while Clayton throws snowballs at them.

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They were all smiles & even carried the sleds back up themselves.

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Sometimes Marlee needed help pulling the sleds up- they are pretty big compared to her.

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That is a smashed snowball you see on Porter’s beanie.

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Marlee chilaxin”

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Porter getting hit with another snowball…brotherly love, I guess.

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Marlee played for a long time until she decided she was too cold & headed back for the truck.

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Laun was fast & had cut down lots of wood.

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Laun is getting Ryan 2 truck loads of wood & then will cut it up at Ryan’s house.

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The boys did some more sledding & started building an igloo.

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Clayton had the camera so I was being obnoxious.

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I. love. my. man.

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Clayton was sickened out when he took this kissing picture.

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It was so cold but so beautiful.

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On the way back on the dirt road Laun took the boys for a ride. They sat on the sled & got pulled by the truck. They are so lucky their dad knows how to have a fun time. They loved it.

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While the boys were getting covered in snow Marlee was snacking & pretending to be asleep (she loves doing that for some reason- she likes to tease).

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sold out

We sold all of the birds on craigslist: quail & ducks- all gone. The boys have mixed emotions. They miss the birds but I don’t think they miss feeding them.

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Hallefreakinglujah!!!!

Another semester has come and gone for me. I finished 3 classes-8 credits (Math, Science & Marriage classes) through BYU Idaho online. And by some HUGE miracle I got all A’s! Now one of those A’s might have been a 90.7 % (curse you Science), but I was just so excited to have straight A’s that I really didn’t care. This semester I made the goal to read the scriptures daily for 15-30 minutes- I needed all the help I could get. I am thankful for all the help I receive from my Heavenly Father. I know all things are possible with his help, even hard things like going to school as a wife and mom. I am just 2 semesters-5 classes away from earning my associates! I just need to hang in there till the end. I am thankful for the support from my husband and kids- I couldn’t reach this goal without them. I know I have lots of homework when Marlee imitates me & tells me she is doing her homework or when she tells me to eat my lunch at the table and not at my homework (desk). I am so happy to have a homework free holiday with my family.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Winter Pageant

The boys school does a little winter pageant each year with the K-3 grades.

Porter was in the character counts-

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And he was in Jingle Bells-

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At the end they sang a song about peace on earth- they did a great job. Marlee loved the music.

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

boys day out

Laun took the boys out for a drive and to skip stones while I studied for my math finals-love him!

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Friday, December 9, 2011

spelling bee

Porter was in the school spelling bee this year & he was so excited!

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Marlee loves Clayton & is so excited to see him at school.

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Porter was so happy to make it in the top 20. Now he competes in January to see who gets to move on.

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Thursday, December 8, 2011

three’s a crowd

The kiddos crammed in decorating gingerbread cookies.

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Saturday, December 3, 2011

Patagonia….

The Allen’s joined us for one of our random drives. We love to go on drives up mountains for the great views. We saw some great fall colors and even got some snow- I’m talking sprinkles of snow.

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View from the passenger seat:

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Marlee loves Avery. I will ask Marlee often who loves her and she will always respond with, “Avery does.”

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We drove up the mountain side- loved the view...

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We saw these crazy big telescopes…

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The kids played in the “snow”…

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I love these colors…

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I thought Jamie’s shirt was pretty funny- Rachel got it for him.

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On the way home we stopped by a casino to eat at the buffet. My kids always love buffets because they get pop and dessert.

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