Snow

We have to get one snowman made at our house this year. The kids are getting older and know just what to do. Then they come inside and warm up with hot chocolate!

Ice Skating

 My parents took us ice skating at the 7 peaks arena. They had little walkers to help the kids learn how and all three were able to skate without them by the end. Derrick's a little disappointed since there is no picture of him without the walker. He did skate the majority of the time without one.

 Samantha was the first one brave enough to skate by herself. She enjoyed the rest of the time by learning how to go faster and watching other skaters do some tricks. She was the last one off the rink.

 Kevin and I were finally able to hold hands when no child needed our help. We like to skate together.

KayDee was so funny to watch. She would push her walker and then skate fast to catch it in front of her. We convinced her to give her walker to another little kid and she didn't want to leave the rink since she loved skating by herself so much. She did have a couple of hard falls since she virtually had no fear and she ended up with a terrible blister on her ankle but these will not deter her from skating again.
All of us had a great time!

That's Hail not Snow

It hailed HARD and sounded like someone was disabling our chimney and working at it for at least an hour. Normally the hail only lasts about 15-20 minutes so this was quite the storm. After it hailed and filled up the yard it calmed a bit and started to melt and then the BIG (as big as this area gets) ones started to fall. They weren't quite so numerous but this is definitely the largest I've seen since we have lived here. I know I take a lot of pictures of the weather but you would too if you lived in our climate!

Snow

We woke up to 4 inches of snow Sunday morning Feb 20. It was Stake Conference which required us to drive 15 miles to the stake center, so we decided to not be on the snow covered roads with all those inexperienced southern Utah drivers. The kids enjoyed the perfect packing snow. I think this is the last snow. It usually snows big one last time in March so we'll see.

Happy Breakfast

We were so happy that the camera worked still I took pictures of the kids and Kevin at breakfast and then Kevin took one of me. I made warm cereal (aka oatmeal) and surprised them with hot chocolate. The slow eaters picked up the pace as I handed it to the fast eaters. This was a great way to end our Thanksgiving holiday.

Surprise Snow

We got snow Saturday night unexpectedly. We had just finished the leaves and the weather was nice and calm without any sign of precipitation on Saturday. Samantha ran up the stairs to our room and said "IT SNOWED!" It was the beautiful kind of snow that falls gently without blustery wind. The kids put on their warm clothes and headed out, reassuring us that they can change into church clothes after. We just smiled...
Then I wanted to take a picture but...I took pictures the night before of the leaves and left the camera on the trampoline. Right when we figured that out, Samantha was opening the door holding it and telling us the same thing! We dried it off and it was working once the fog cleared off the inner lenses, YEAH! The kids made sure they were thoroughly cold and then came inside to warm up. Snow is fun here!
Then we went to church and everyone we talked to hates snow! How can this be? It's not like it sticks and you have to shovel your walks and driveway. There is only one day to drive slowly and carefully. All you do is make a snowman and then watch it melt over the next couple of days, what's the big deal?
Anyways, isn't it beautiful? We like it and we are grateful for the few snow falls we get.

Stormy Clouds

We had rain, hail and snow off and on yesterday. On our way back from the bus stop I had to take a picture of the sky. It is just so beautiful.

January Sun

This is why we love where we live! We have absolutely gorgeous days to play outside without the chill. We know there will be more snow later so we will soak up the sun until the weather changes its mind.

2 SNOW DAYS!

...So it totally snowed and we sooo love it! Samantha's bus was canceled and two days later the school district had no school from all the snow. Our friends got 3 inches but we got well over a foot! I took the picture of the table to show how much snow had been falling but that was before it was finished. Unlike our previous snow days here, the snow is still here... days later and wonderful!

When the bus was canceled, they invited all the kids from town to go to the Town Hall to watch "The Polar Express". They popped popcorn and had hot chocolate. It was super fun and an excellent idea from the other mom's in town.

Since we never have this I made the most of the snow. I drove around the rodeo grounds with the kids and did doughnuts, we made a snowman, and of course we found a piece of cardboard to go sledding.

Sledding was a blast! The cardboard was perfect size and we found a short steep hill for my little ones. They took turns going down by themselves and also with each other and me. KayDee just giggled and giggled as she turned in circles on the sled by herself down the hill. I was the heaviest, so of course I had to make the track and then the trick was to keep the kids from walking all over it. It was so fun watch them being happy together and being excited to pick each other to go on the sled together. It was really sweet.

While making the snowman, Derrick came up with the bucket for the hat and the sticks for arms. Samantha was amazing at finding rocks for the buttons, eyes, and mouth in the deep snow. They requested a carrot for his nose and of course I had to since this might be the only snowman they make this year! KayDee finally decided that it was fun to play in the snow when we figured out how to dress her so the snow hardly touched her.

Say Cheese

Hold the camera out and take a picture of the group. The kids wanted a picture so of course I said okay.

Were you sick all Winter?

It sure seems like we have been sick all winter. All January was one cold or flu after another with only a couple of days inbetween. Samantha had a fever of 104 at 3am in which we had to give her a lukewarm bath to bring it down or go to the hopsital. It went down 4 degrees and the motrin helped keep it down until she got well. Kevin and KayDee were sick over the same weekend so we got a picture of them suffering together. If you get that super bad cold that makes you gag when you cough, eat and get sleep or it never goes away!