Winter Whatever

Winter seems long because the kids are cooped up inside.  Here are a few snapshots of our life right now.

This is Holden's "I'm being naughty, but if I smile really cute Mom won't be mad" face.  He has it down to perfection and knows when to use it!

Laundry baskets are fun toys!

Nimbus (aka Nimrod) is really hoping Logan doesn't turn on the faucet.  Stupid cat that I'm not supposed to be allergic to, but I'm pretty sure I am, LOVES to sneak in the house whenever possible.

And last, but not least....

...I have no words.

Skiing (Times Two)

Well, with all those new skis in the house, did you really think we wouldn't go skiing?  Of course we went skiing-twice while the kids were out of school.

First stop was Wolf Mountain.  Ally was excited to have her new poles and helmet she got for Christmas.

Josh and I took turns on the "magic carpet" with Jensen.  He was doing so good after a while, we took him to the regular bunny hill and he was making it down without crashing by the end!  Funny story:  I was on the magic carpet and turned around to talk to Josh-and tipped over and fell off of it!!  They had to stop it and some stranger came and pulled me back up!  I was laughing hysterically because anyone who has ever been on a magic carpet, knows how ridiculously slow they are.  It takes real "talent" to fall off of one!

Ally, Lorne (my kid's new cousin-Tiffany's husband), Logan, Jensen and Josh are ready to head down the hill!

Our next stop was Powder Mountain.  It was a ton of fun and we were all doing great!  I only had one little run in with a tree the whole night.  I only started skiing last year, so I was pretty proud of myself for making it down the hill as well as I did.  I didn't even cry. :)

Ally, Lorne, Jensen and Josh.  It's official now.  All the kids are better skiers than me!  Jensen was doing so good and Ally and Logan were already better than me.  Josh got me my own skis last spring so I have a feeling now that we are all outfitted we will be skiing a lot more....if it ever snows!!!

It's official, I'm a snow-bunny!  Me, some girl photo-bombing in the background, Ally, Logan and Ally's friend Kylie.  It was a super fun night and we're all excited for next time!

Christmas!!!!

The kids asked us what time was the earliest we would get up on Christmas morning and we told them six.  The little boogers all set their alarms for six!  Oh, well.  I think I was just as excited as they were and I was awake anyway!

Logan and his new skis from Santa.

I think Jensen's a little proud of his new skis!

Holden got an awesome John Deere tractor!  He really had fun opening presents this year, but he totally did NOT get the whole Santa thing!  I think he just didn't like him, so he didn't want to think about him coming to our house or something.  There's always next year!

Ally got a new bedspread and some curtains from Santa, but I don't have a picture.  I'll have to take one of her room later because it turned out cute.  Grandma June gave her some coordinating stuff to go with it, too.

Because Christmas was on Sunday, and church was at nine, we decided to play things by ear.  We let the kids look at their Santa stuff and then made them get ready for church.  We said they could open presents until 8:30 once they were ready for church.  They got ready SO fast and they ended up waiting on me to get ready!  Anyway, going to church was really enjoyable and reminded us about what the day is really all about.  I almost wish Christmas was on Sunday every year.  Ally and I played in the bell choir and sang in the choir as well.  (Yes, Ally sang!  She has finally come around to enjoying singing!)  And I had my own Christmas miracle that morning.  I had been fighting a cold for a week and didn't think I would be able to sing.  I decided since I was already playing the bells, and we had family visiting from out of state, I might as well sit with the choir and pretend to sing.  I was disappointed when I didn't have a voice for the opening and Sacrament songs, but when we started our program my voice came back!  I was seriously shocked!  It wasn't the best voice (it never is) but at least I felt like I was participating and my efforts paid off.  Thanks Heavenly Father!

Opening presents.  Josh and I got each other snow shoes-funny!  He also went to the mall and got me one of those flat irons that work really good, but are over priced.  It was a fun surprise.

Jensen and his stuff.  He picked an awkward place to display his stuff so it's hard to see anything.

Logan and his stuff.  I think he was pretty happy with everything this year.

Fun times for Ally.  Decorating stuff and food making stuff!  She's growing up...sigh.

Holden loved his haul, but it was scattered everywhere and he wouldn't let me gather it all together for a picture.  It was such a fun morning followed by lunch at my Mom's and then the family White Elephant Party at our house.  It was Ally's first year to participate and we all ended up with great gifts this year (Smith & Edwards gift card for me, Cookbooks and a Wal-Mart gift card for Ally and a season of MASH for Josh).  Our gift of a real (hollowed out) grenade went over well!  It was a great Christmas!

Secret Santas

We started a new tradition in our family this year.  We had the kids draw names and then they all became "Secret Santas" for each other.  They were supposed to do secret acts of service for their person and then get them a present.  It was a lot of fun to watch them do little things for each other.  There was a lot of secret bed making going on!  It was also fun to watch them try to figure out who their "secret santa" was.

I took them shopping at different times to pick out gifts and they each used their own money (except Holden) to buy their gifts.  It was funny because three of them each picked out Pee Wee Pillow Pets for their person!  I was giggling on the inside by the time the third one picked their present!

So Ally, Jensen and Logan all got Pillow Pets and Holden got something he truly loves: a Phineas and Ferb video with some hotwheel cars!

Here he is on Mom and Dad's bed on Christmas Eve watching "Finny Ferb".  It was a fun night and I hope we continue the tradition.

Braegger Caroling

This is another one of our favorite Christmas traditions.  On the Sunday before Christmas, the Braeggers all meet for caroling.  Everyone brings goodies and we make up plates to take to the elderly in the neighborhood.  We all pile on a trailer and sing our little hearts out.  We are not the best singers, but we have fun anyway!

It was SO cold this year!  Logan didn't seem to mind though.

Jensen was having fun, too.  They all love to run the plates up to the doors!

Ally and Kylah love to be together!  Cousins are the best!

Holden was cold so he rode in the pick-up with Josh (I think it was really Josh that was cold) and this is what happened.  Bundle a kid up enough and you can cook him to sleep!  We thought he would wake up when we got back to Grandma's to eat chili, but....

...he didn't even move after we got back!  So funny!  He just sat there and sawed logs amid all the hustle and bustle of the evening. It was a fun night as usual.

Hartley Party

We had our annual Hartley Christmas Party and it was just like every year.  And that's a good thing!

We had our dinner of Ham and Funeral Pototoes, played Christmas Bingo for dollar gifts and then had a visit from Santa.  Short and sweet!

This is what Holden looked like when I asked him if he wanted to go see Santa. He was obviously not really into meeting him.

 

I didn't think Ally would actually sit on his lap (she said she wasn't going to), but she wanted one of his treat bags.  She wants some decorations for her room from Santa this year.

 

Jensen and Logan both want skis from Santa this year.  After they sat on his lap they helped with the songs. But Holden was far, far away from the man in red!