The Forgotten Carols

Our gift from my parents this year was an evening to "The Forgotten Carols." I arranged for a group photo, which took about 5 times as long as it should to get one photo. I took someone's wedding photos once that I'm sure was less time than it took us to get organized, but I'm getting off the topic here. As you can see, we got our picture and then we got to go eat. We had plenty of time to eat, and then we went to the show. I took a lot of pictures of us eating because that's all I had to shoot. I couldn't take pictures of the show! So these are for my dear family -- mainly the patriarch who told me to put them on the blog. What else did he think I was going to do with them?

For Coldness Sake

After listening to Chloe bellyache for weeks about not having any snow, it finally came. And with it the cold. She was in heaven for a short time, but then when she realized that nobody wanted to play with her in the snow it wasn't as exciting anymore. Poor girl. My favorite part about her fascination with cold weather is that she is always happy to clear the driveway for me. I don't have to worry about that.

My car, on the other hand, hates cold as much as I do. Now that we don't have a garage to park it in, it's had a hard time starting. One day I got it to the library, only to have it abandon me there. At least I was at the library. I can't imagine being stranded at some other place. Brandon came to help me when he got off work, but even he couldn't get it started. It was so cold that we decided to just go home and get dinner, warm up, and then come back and try later. We came up with a plan, went back, and... no luck. We debated between calling a tow truck or a neighbor. Calling a tow truck is so much easier for me, but I decided to do the hard thing and let someone help me. I know people need opportunities to serve. At least I know how good it feels when I am able to help someone. So, I called my neighbor. She didn't even hesitate, just said her husband would be on his way. He showed up so fast, with two of his grandsons. His remark, "What else are friends and neighbors for?" They pulled me home where my car now sits skiwampus in my driveway. Brandon brought my battery inside to warm it up and charge it. Then we waited for a warmer day to give it another try. We found a warmer day, just not exactly warm. Still dead. So... I told Brandon after we moved here that I thought we should try being a one car family. I really don't think we need two cars, so it's just wasteful for my minimalist lifestyle. Guess I'm getting my opportunity.

Chloe asked me to take some pictures of her playing in the snow one day. This is her... happy to be cold.

Yesterday we forced ourselves out of the house to do our annual family pictures. The forecast did not live up to my optimistic meteorologists plans. He let me down, but we had already scheduled it. It was now or never. We didn't get many shots because we froze our butts off, and that doesn't make for pretty pictures. At least not cute smiles. Hopefully I can get a Christmas "card" put together to share them.

Give Thanks

We joined the clan in Bloomington again for Thanksgiving this year. Some of the Hodges were able to join us, which made for great entertainment. I always tell Sophie I don't have a clue where her humor comes from -- now I know. She must be related to Ned.

The kid table got converted into a "find a spot in a corner to eat."

Alondra borrowed Ned's sombrero. He picked it up on a recent trip to San Antonio, TX -- not to be confused with St. Anthony, ID. I can't wait to see the photos of it in Afghanistan. And I'm happy to know that my years of raising sheep are helping our country forge bonds with the enemy.

Mom and Dad wanted their picture taken in the buggy for their Christmas card. That turned into everyone needing a photo. I'm not using this for our Christmas card.

Chloe was a wee bit disappointed in the amount of snow in Bear Lake. She was counting on quite a bit more, but she was able to make a small friend.

After the buggy got put back there was time for some chit-chatting, and a slight snowball fight.

And Chloe used her special powers to make it snow, just for her.