Finally a Snow Day!!

We were starting to wonder if we were going to ever get the white stuff. We went all December with a few small flurries but nothing to get too excited about. Then, finally we got a decent snow storm. We pulled out the snow gear and played until almost bedtime. The kids didn't even want to come in for dinner they were having too much fun.

Carter was making these huge snowballs and he just wanted to push them around the yard. He wouldn't let us make a snowman with the giant balls so, Ashlynn and I had to make our own. Carter went on his way pushing around the big snowballs.

We then had to wait for Matt to get home from work to help stack the snowman because it was too heavy to lift. Matt had to be funny and get creative with our snowman. The poor thing didn't last long because it rained and it was knocked down. Good thing we got pictures of our winter creation.

Off Track from School

The kids are heading back to school this week after being off track from school. We have enjoyed the last 2 weeks with not having to get up so early and enjoying more time together. The first week after Christmas we played with our new toys, cleaned out the kids rooms, and the kids had to be patient with me due to working my normal night shifts at the hospital and having to sleep during the day a bit. They did such a good job being so good and getting along with each other that I rewarded them with a day out of fun the following week. The kids have been wanting to go to Hollywood Connection for some time, but I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to reward them. So they definitely earned it!

I had a plan to spend an afternoon there while all the other kids were in school so it wouldn't be mad crazy with other people. We showed up a 1:30p in the afternoon and nobody was there because they didn't open until 4:00p. (It didn't even cross my mind that they wouldn't be open during the day) Now, I have to mention that this place is about a 45 minutes drive from our house so we were all bummed that we drove all that way to find it not open yet. So, we went back to the car and I was thinking of all the ways we could handle this. Options were: 1. go home and come back another day (not sure when that would be and the kids were very sad), 2. sit in the car until it opened (this was Carter's idea and I was not willing to that). So, I pulled out the Entertainment book and was searching for things to do near by and I stumbled on option 3. Go ice skating until Hollywood Connection opens. I had a coupon for half off admission for all of us and it was only a 10 minute drive from where we were. It was perfect! It gets even better, it was a very slow day at the rink so we had the whole ice rink to ourselves. The kids could skate where ever they wanted and didn't have worry about people crashing into them. It was great!

We have been ice skating a few times so Carter was his experienced self on the ice. It took Ashlynn a few runs before she felt comfortable leaving the wall, but she got the hang of it again.

Then, finally we headed to our intended destination...Hollywood Connection! This place is so fun it has miniature golf, rides (even a roller coaster), arcade games, laser tag and roller skating. I was so excited to use my buy one wristband get one free coupon. (I always love a fun place that I don't have to pay full price for).
We had a good time at golf. Carter lost his ball once in the water and Ashlynn's ball got stuck in the lizards mouth and Carter had to stick his hand in to get it.
The games and rides were very fun and the kids liked riding them over and over. As we were getting our tokens from the machine we got a lucky silver coin that got us an extra 30 tokens. Score!! Carter kept winning a bunch of tickets on one game that he scored 450 tickets to claim for a prize. Ashlynn liked playing the ski-doo game and it didn't give her tickets so she didn't fare as well, but she scored some fun prizes to0.

Towards the end of our time there Carter and Ashlynn wanted to go roller skating. So we ended our night with roller skating. Ashlynn has never roller skated before and lets just say she is much better on the ice than on a roller rink. Poor girl only made it around the rink twice with me holding her up before she wanted her skates off. Carter took his roller blades and mixed in the crowd of skaters like a pro. What a day! The kids were slightly sore from all the skating we did, but they are still talking about what a blast they had.

Now it is back to school on Tuesday and trying to stick with a decent bedtime and getting up early again.

Welcome 2012!

Welcome 2012!! What an fun year our family had in 2011. We had several events take place from Carter being baptized, birthdays, visitors from Idaho, our first niece/cousin got married, new callings in our church, new friends we have made and one of our most memorable event was taking a trip to the East Coast to visit the New Hampshire Peterson's. The year just went by so fast.
We rang in 2012 with our friends at their annual party that we attended last year. We had so much fun last year that we couldn't miss it. We had a white elephant gift exchange with some very interesting and nice gifts. We also played some fun games and ate yummy treats. Then all of the kids were being watched in another house down the street by some trusted young girls in our ward. Then to set the tone right for the new year..we set up my new chocolate fountain and dipped several yummy foods into the fountain. It was such a yummy way to celebrate the first day of 2012. I hope this means nothing but sweet things for the new year.

Christmas

Our Christmas was once again a good one. We enjoyed cheese fondue at Craig and Gail's and then headed home to open gifts from the grandparents and open our new pj's. We also made cookies for Santa. Then it was off to bed...

We all went to bed at a decent time and awoke at a surprising late time of 9:00am. The kids were so excited when they went to bed that we thought for sure that they would be up early. The kids don't even sleep in that late on Saturday so we all must of been tired. We had to rush and see what Santa brought and then get ready for church by 11:00a. We made it to church on time and then headed back home to open more presents and played with our new toys.

We spent the rest of the day at our house enjoying our little family and ate a yummy roast dinner with Chocolate pie.

Buddy..Our Elf

Our 'elf' this year got quite creative in his spots around the house this year. He is our elf that keeps an watchful eye on us during the month of December and reports his observations to the big man Santa. He would land in a new spot every day and we got some good giggles on were he landed that day. Below are some shots of Buddy the elf in action.

We liked the one where he was in Ashlynn's Barbie car being held up by the army guys. Ashlynn also gave buddy some candy canes and then he would take them with him where ever he was in the house. Now that Christmas is over our elf has lost his magical power and now sits in his book box to rest and wait for the next Christmas.

Treats..

These were our treats that we handed out this year. The white chocolate covered Oreo snowmen were for the kids classes. The gingerbread and drizzled chocolate popcorn were neighbor gifts. We had fun making them all, which was alot.

Family night with the elves..

We have made this outing one of our family traditions. We find all the elves listed on the scavenger hunt list and turn our papers in to get an award. We also browse through all the shops decked out for Christmas. Then, we head to Archibald's to warm up on some yummy warm food. They have Ashlynn's favorite macaroni and cheese. The place is a hit in her book if the place has that dish.

We had fun finding all the funny things the elves were doing especially the elf that was actually snoring in the camper. This was the first time one of the elves made noise.