What to do over Christmas Vacation?

First we watch him stand.
Then we'd watch him fall.

After we're all done laughing...he cuddles with Daddy.

He's getting to be such a big boy!

~Christmas Eve~

We have a family tradition. On Christmas Eve day we go bowling as a family. This is the first year that the girls have really enjoyed it. Although they only lasted about 5 frames. They had fun until they got hungry, tired, and wanted to go into the room that had a tv and arcade games.

I like this butt shot!

There it goes. And stopped. 3/4 of the way down the alley.

Lily could barely pick up her ball...and it was the lightest one they had. But she was bound and determined to do it herself. So she did it!

Lincoln had fun hangin' out and then fell asleep.

Santa actually made it! Lily asked for ponies and a bike. Chloe asked for mermaids and a mermaid playground. Santa brought Mommy and Daddy the new Rock Band! I didn't take any pictures of us opening presents. Daddy got some video and I just enjoyed it! This year I made the turkey, stuffing, (the real stuff) spinach casserole, bacon dressing salad, and corn. My friend Kim made a ham, funeral potatoes, jello salad, rolls, and a to die for mint chocolate chip desert. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with friends! So yummy! Sorry. I forgot to take pictures. We then played Rock Band for the rest of the evening. Fun!


Then a few days later....

Lincoln ready to get on the road already!
Sledding.....here we come!

No snow yet.

There's some snow!
Some cool rock formations.

There is snow in Vegas! You just have to go up into the mountains to get it. We decided to take the family up onto Mount Charleston for a sledding adventure. We just couldn't have Christmas without snow!

"WOO-HOO! REAL SNOW!"

They couldn't wait to make snow angels....even though this snow was a little too packed down to really make a dent. They didn't care!

Sheba was so happy to be part of this family outing. She became Lily's preferred way to travel.
"Moosh, Sheba, moosh!"

Prepping for the first slide down the hill!

Pure happiness!

She had to bail out before hitting a tree!

Daddy, Lily, and Sheba bonding time!

Lincoln didn't like the fact that he couldn't move much. But he liked breathing in the cool air and watching all the fun his sisters were having. He kept saying, "Ha!"

Gettin' a little tired.

Definitely not upstate New York temps or snow...but it was beautiful!
At home the temp was 55 degrees. Up here, it was 29 degrees. I never even put my gloves on...it's just a different kind of cold.

This is not a good picture....but a good story! After coming down the hill, Chloe was just standing, in the way, minding her own business, when, slam! She gets pegged by this couple riding down on a sled together. In slow motion, I watched her get run into, fly up into the air, and then land right on top of these strange people. They caught her and held onto her until they stopped. I've never seen Chloe move so fast to get up and off of a sled! It was quite comical.

The Sheebster mode of transportation needed some help every once in awhile!
Daddy got a work out too.

(Sheba has been sleeping since we got home at 3:30)!

Majestic.

"Go! Run! Moosh!"

Good times!

Retention

I'm happy to say that my kids are retaining some of what we are teaching them during our Family Home Evening lessons and scripture study time. The following is a conversation between the girls and I just the other day.

C: Mom, what's that guys' name again?

Mom: What guy?

C: The one that told Him to turn rocks into bread and to jump off the building?

Mom: Huh?........ Oh, you're talking about Satan tempting Jesus?

C: Yeah, that guy. He wanted to be selfish.

L: He's the one that told me to steal the gum.

Mom: He's always trying to get people to do things they shouldn't do.

L: Yup. I stoled the gum and you made me take it back.

Mom: Yup. You can't just take things that don't belong to you. We have to pay for them first.

C: Yeah. That wasn't a good day.

I'm 6 months old!

I can make many funny faces including scowling and confusion.

I can roll over and push myself up.
I like to eat my toys.

I love looking in the mirror.

There's no one better than Mommy when I'm hungry.

I can drool with the best of them!

I love my sisters and my Daddy.

Even when my sister tries to take over my bed and monopolizes my mobile.

I kind of like wearing Daddy's hat.

I really just like time with Daddy!

Going Home For Jennie's Wedding

Please forgive me...these pictures are all in reverse order of the day. Jennie's wedding was a blast! We are all very happy that she has found someone who will love, honor, and cherish her. We love Sam and wish them every happiness in this life and the next!

Jennie and Chloe shakin' things up on the dance floor!

I wish I had better pictures of the two of them to share with you all. Their photographer was pretty good at monopolizing that field. Meanwhile, I found it very difficult to take pictures while being the maid of honor, chasing after the kids, and attempting to feed the baby! But I did manage to snap a few here and there!

Owen and Jared

Uncle Jamie got Linc to pass out!

Jason dancing with Grandma

Carrie, Coralee, and Sharleen reconnecting on the dance floor.

My three...maybe this should be our Christmas pic this year!

The bridal party

She loves her little brother!

Hayden and Griffin

Jennie and Woody

Isn't this cake gorgeous!?...Of course Jennie's gorgeous too!

" What's that on your shoulder Nanna"?

Chloe not wanting Uncle Jordan to ever let her go.

I love this dress! And I think Jason looked pretty darn good in his dress blues!

Linc hangin' with Uncle Jamie!

This is Andrew. Lily loves her new cousin! (So does Chloe)!

Linc hangin' with Uncle Justin!

Uncle Jerry and his wife Lois

Nanna Davis....Woody's mom

Grandma

Jamie, Jason, and Joe

Me and the girls

In front of Bellhurst Castle...

It was too cold for Lincoln!

Sharon and Woody



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On another note....

Before we left Vegas this is what was going on in our backyard. Yes! We now have grass! The hardest part?....Sheba is not allowed to pee or poop on it...she thinks I've gone mad. Whenever she tries to do her duty on my 3 nice circles of grass, I run out of the house acting like a crazy person flailing my arms and yelling at her not to do that on my grass! What can I say? Grass is expensive out here...a valued commodity! She's got to learn to do her duty on the stones!

That white area is the original dirt that is like concrete dust. It's the nastiest dirt on the earth and very difficult to clean once it's tracked all over your house. If it gets wet it is seriously as hard as concrete. That is where the pool, if we ever get one, will go. I just don't think we'll ever have the money or get the money back out when it's time for us to leave this place. But who knows~maybe we'll get lucky at a casino~ha-ha-ha! The only time we go to a casino is eat at a buffet, see a movie, or see a show. (Which is only when we have friends come to visit).
So who's coming next?!!!