Sledding

We got the van running, so now we're back to running all over the place again. Brandon took the girls to a production of "The Cat in the Hat" (which I'm thankful for, because although I love the books, that play is super annoying!) They also went to the zoo -- Brandon's first time there. I signed up the girls up to go to the Discovery Space Center (Chloe has informed me she is no longer interested in space stuff), and we also went to "The Big River" down at Hale Center Theatre in Orem. That was our first time at that theater. It sure is different from their WVC location, but they did just as good a job.

Chloe has been called to be the Beehive class secretary. She was the 2nd counselor when we lived in Lehi, so it's not her first calling, but I hope she'll have a little more responsibility this time around.

We just returned from a mini-vacation to my parents. Back when Chloe was upset that we don't live in Alaska (which means we didn't get 8 feet of snow), I think she said some stuff to my parents about wishing she could live with them. They like to rub in how much snow they have (I'm not jealous), but it gets Chloe excited. So, then she got the idea in her head that we could only go sledding in Afton. I told her we could try to go in March (my dad assured me they would still have plenty of snow), but as it got closer Chloe started panicking. She has 4 different weather apps on her Nexus, and she monitors them often. She was sure the warmer temps were melting all their snow. A few days before we were scheduled to go my dad emailed me a picture of their sled hill. Chloe was not impressed. We still went. I think as we drove into the valley she was humbled a bit (but not enough to admit it out loud). There was PLENTY of good snow.

We got up early on Monday morning so we could get there while there was still a crust. Brandon tried out a little snowboarding.

Some spots were so slick you didn't even need a sled. You should have seen her slide all the way down on her butt.

I just wanted a picture -- she wanted to pose.

Group Shot

Trading places -- I love how we produced a rainbow.

We had planned to go to another spot later that afternoon (after a break), but we were worn out! Chloe had the choice to go sledding again or go close up the shop with grandma -- she chose grandma. I think Grandpa wishes we had done more, but we got what we needed. That night they took us out to dinner (the girls said they always get to go to Subway when they go to Afton), and then they did a puzzle while G&G watched TV. I was proud that every time my mom asked if they knew a song or musician they said "no."

Tonight we are off to see "Fiddler on the Roof" put on by the Bluffdale City Arts Council. Should be a good time. Brandon just received tracking info on his fruit trees -- they are on their way! He has the holes all dug, ready for them. Tomorrow I have a fun date planned with Chloe. We've got a busy month ahead of us, but I'll be back to report on that later.

February

Time for a report on February. We started off with a great FHE lesson from Chloe. She planned an egg drop, and then likened it to how we need to spiritually protect ourselves. She did a great job. She and Brandon worked as a team, and Sophie and I were a team. We were given the same materials to work with. I didn't catch the first drop on video (didn't have my camera ready), but you can see Brandon cleaning it up at the beginning :) And you'll hear Sophie very concerned that we are about out of eggs. She did not like wasting them. Luckily the second one didn't go to waste.

After FHE, my parents showed up. They needed a bed for the night. They were able to take Chloe with them on a quick trip to St. George and back. Sophie wasn't able to go because of an orthodontist appointment :( so she and I took our own holiday. After her appointment we went out to lunch and then went bowling. Just as we were leaving the bowling alley I got a phone call from my mom. She had texted me this picture (see below) to let me know that they stopped off in Fillmore to tour the territorial statehouse. They wanted to make sure I knew that Chloe was learning some stuff, so to be fair Chloe wanted to make sure Sophie didn't get an entire day off. Their original plan was to only go to Cedar City, but my grandma who was meeting them there wasn't able to make it in time, so they went on to St. George. That set them back a couple hours, so they weren't able to take us out to dinner that night as planned -- so Brandon and I took Sophie to The Olive Garden. She got completely spoiled that day -- and so did Chloe.

Chloe accompanied me to RootsTech (a huge genealogy conference). They had a special youth track, but those tickets were all gone by the time we signed up. The only advantage to it (from Chloe's perspective) was that they got into a special session with the cast of Studio C. We were still able to stop by the Studio C booth and get this photo. I felt so bad for the Granite Flats guy who was right next door, and basically ignored. Plus, Granite Flats is a much better show! Anyway, we learned some family history stuff, but mostly just had a good time hanging out together. We were getting ready to leave near the end of the Studio C session, so we stopped by the room and peeked in. We just stood in the back for a while, so she still got to watch them a little.

But then we really got an awesome opportunity. They have been filming season 4 over the last several weeks. You have to enter a lottery to get tickets to their tapings, but with 19,000 entries each time we haven't had any luck. They did invite us to come to a technical rehearsal, though. So, I hauled the girls to Provo, we had to stand in line for an hour before they came and distributed wristbands to those in line, and then after another hour they let us in to take our seats. I think this was way better than going to a taping. Sophie was able to come (you have to be 12 to go to a taping), it was very relaxed, the cast members would come into the audience, they'd take questions whenever they weren't needed on stage, and we got to see like 14 skits! If you go to a taping they break it up into 2 sessions, and you can only get into one of them. I know they girls had a great time, and hopefully they learned something as well so we can call it an educational day. We had to make a stop at the creamery before heading home. I just grabbed a carton so we could bring it home and share with Brandon, who had been so patient waiting for us to come get him.

For Valentine's Day I took Sophie to a little party. They had a poetry recital, so I thought it would be a fun reward if she would work on a poem. She did great, and she and I had a good time working on our valentines for several days in advance. Our kitchen table was overrun with them, so we were grateful when we got it back, but we survived.

Saturday Brandon went out to work on the car again. He's tried a few times with no success, but it decided to be kind to him. It just started on the first try. We think it just finally warmed up enough. My car hates the cold as much as I do. We'll see how long this lasts. I don't think my dream of being a one-car family is going to happen, because Brandon needs a large vehicle for hauling things and camping trips when we take so much gear. Oh well, it's been fun while it lasted. But on a positive note, Brandon went and looked at bikes on Saturday. It's getting to a point where he can start riding his bike to work! Today he is off helping a neighbor with some programming, but when he gets home maybe we can enjoy our holiday.

Slow Start

Something about this time of year makes me rethink the purpose of this blog. I had decided I was going to try to do something different this year, but I haven't made that happen so I'm headed down the same road as usual -- one really, super long post to sum up the month. At least I have lots of pictures to go along with it.

I decided I need an assistant on my photo shoots. Chloe has always loved taking pictures, so I made her my apprentice. After this shoot I took her out and shot a couple pictures of her. This is Chloe after her first job.



I love that she loves to shovel my driveway. I had to get a picture of her doing it in her Sunday best.



The girls in their Christmas dresses. We celebrated a quiet Christmas in our new home this year. Lots of neighbors brought us gifts. I need to get back into that habit.



And since I was taking a picture in the living room I thought I should turn around and shoot the other angle. I've never taken the photos of my house I promised. Lark already came to visit, and got the grand tour, so I feel off the hook. At least you can see what we did to the living room.



Brandon helped the girls build a snow tree. They had a lot of fun. They added a little snowman on the top. We were surprised how long it lasted. It must be cold out there! But Chloe doesn't need a coat.



One-on-one dates: Chloe wanted a turn to go to Color Me Mine. Sophie's been there twice, and Lark has also told her how fun it is, so she needed to go. I don't think she thought it was as great as they did, but she was happy in the end. We get to go pick up her plate later this week.




For our MLK holiday we went to the ice castles in Midway. Their website said Saturday evenings are the busiest time, with a wait time of 20-30 minutes. We didn't know what to expect going on a holiday, but it wasn't good. We were in line for about an hour! When we were on the east side, it wasn't so bad in the sun, but then the line turned and it got cold fast. Sophie put Brandon's hat on to stay warm, but I'm the one who ended up with it for the majority of the time.



While standing in the massive line, I told Chloe I bet that we would see someone we know. She took the bet, and told me she would clean all my baseboards if we did. Lucky me! We ran into our next door neighbors. Chloe is already an awesome cleaner, so I'm not sure I won that much. In the evening when she doesn't want to go to sleep she'll come and ask for jobs to do. Here we are inside the castle.




Olaf was a big hit. It was hard to get a picture of him because he was so popular.






I'm including this picture to show what it was really like. The ice was pretty to look at, if you could get past all the people. Sophie was so cold by the time we got in that we didn't stay all that long. We haven't had a fun family outing for quite a while, though, so I'm still really glad we went. Grandma, thanks for the blankets they were able to wrap up in as soon as we got back to the car.



One more for the road: this is just a picture I snapped of Chloe tonight. She was just hanging out, waiting to go to Young Women's.



Brandon and the girls have been busy picking out seeds. Our garden is on its way! They ordered a whole bunch of stuff last night, and tonight they are getting some trees. I love how excited they are to grow their own food.

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.