The First Great Kindness of 2011

I don't have a cute picture to go along with it, but I had to put in this ground breaking event at our house. Last Monday, Civil Rights Day, I took two of the kids out shopping with me. When we stopped at the video game store for Dallin to get some virtual pokemon something-or-other, Jason noticed a video game that Miles had wanted for Christmas but did not receive. Jason had been saving for a bird for forever, and ended up with much more than he needed (especially since the bird ended up being on sale.) So, he wanted to buy the game for his brother. "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure." He spent every last penny of his savings, and was so excited to give it to Miles when we got home. Not once since then has Jason expressed any regret for having spent all of his money. Dallin dubbed it "The First Great Kindness of 2011," and I agree.

See, I do have 5 kids - 21 January 2011

Okay, so it only looks like 4 here, but that't not the point. We managed to get pictures of some of our other kids sledding. It was a gloriously sunny day with no school (morning snow) so we hit the slopes with our friends the Huffs. I wish we had a family photographer, because it is just too difficult to capture gorgeous pictures and manage 5 kids all at the same time (even with Shayne along too!). So, as my Mother-in-law says, you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit.

The First Blizzard of the Year - 12 January 2011

The forecasts said 100% chance of snow, but we went to bed with no snow falling and no school cancelled. We awoke to find a startling amount of snow outside and, thankfully, no school!



Getting snow out of Dixie's fur is a nightmare, so we added a couple more pieces to her usual snow ensemble. She was not thrilled about it, and even less thrilled when she saw the snow.





The towel did not last long, but the socks worked quite well.



Everyone was mesmerized by the snow falling.



This is the trench I dug for Dallin and I to go to a neighbor's house. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, but I wasn't about to trudge through that snow in my sneakers.







This is our house and driveway at midnight, when Shayne and I finally finished clearing a path for the car to get out of the garage. It took a few hours the next day to finish the walk and the turn around. It feels good to have accomplished something that I thought completely insurmountable, but not quite good enough to justify my aching muscles! I think we need to look into getting a snowblower, soon.

Marin's First Sledding Day - 8 January 2011

Yes, I do realize that I have more than one child, and all of them were sledding together, but I was so excited for Marin go sledding for the first time, that I didn't take a single picture of anyone else. I didn't even realize what I had done until I uploaded the pictures from the camera. I'm sure we'll go sledding again and I'll post all sorts of cute pictures of my darling boys. Until then, here is my Marin. She had a blast, except for when the snow would fly up in her face. No matter how much she cried, though, she kept asking to go again. That's my girl!

Bye Bye Gingerbread Houses - 2 January 2011

We usually eat our gingerbread houses on New Year's Eve, but we ran out of time and ate them a couple of days later. Since we made them a lot later this year, I think they tasted much better.

New Year's Day 2010

To start the year off right, Dallin and I went for a run. Well, more of a walk, but we did run for a little while. I love that my boys like to go running with me. When we got home, we found everyone else in the middle of a big snowball fight. We didn't get a White Christmas this year, but it snowed the day after Christmas, so there was plenty for snowballs, and snowmen.











Asher's very little snowman with the froggy eyes.


Jason's sweet little snow man.


Miles' snow monster. Notice the tanks attacking, the snowmen on the ground, and the snowmen in the monster's hands.


Dallin's snowman with the sculptural face.

New Year's Eve 2010

We had our friends the Huffs and the Browers over for dinner and games on New Year's Eve, but they all left at about 11. The actual coming of the New Year was very quiet, as you can see by the pictures. Marin was sure cute, but neither she nor Asher made it until midnight.