New Mexico!

We always have a great time in New Mexico. This year was a little disappointing because though it snowed, it rained and got warmer so there wasn't much snow and the ponds weren't frozen to do our traditional ice fishing. But we made the most of it. We did some 4 -wheeling around the house and the went up to Cumbres to go snowmobiling and sledding. Seriously, these pics do not do this sledding hill justice. It was sooooo big and steep. It was a little scary! We would have to hitch a ride on the snowmobile to the top and then at the top you had to throw yourself of with the tube while the snowmobile slowed down. And I don't think anyone made it down the hill without crashing because it was just too steep! But we had a blast!
This was what the valley looked like on the way down from the mountain. It looked so amazing!
Ethan loved riding the snowmobile! I couldn't get him off of it! He would tell me "go that way mom" "go faster" "follow those people" "race those people" "go up that hill". He was so funny! I had a little bit of caution because when I was younger, I actually got into a pretty bad wreck on a snowmobile in this exact location when I hit a snow drift and flew through the windshield.
My dad and Tanner.
That is Jay mid-air, rolling down the mountain. And me following closely behind. Good form.
I pulled Ethan part way up the hill and took him down, which he loved, but the mountain was a bit intense so we definitely didn't take him to the top!
Jay, after a successful roll down the mountain.
Yet another crash.
Tanner after a particularly bad roll down the mountain.
Not even sure who this is! But pretty representative of most of the trips down the mountain!

Yes that is me, after being tipped off of the snowmobile. My brother is seriously a crazy snowmobiler. He is amazingly good but it is so scary to ride with him and this time I couldn't quite hold on!

First Snow of the Year!

As you can see from the minimal amount of snow, I have a low threshold of how much snow is necessary to sled! We got one good snow before we left for Christmas and we had some friends over to come sled with us. It was so much fun. The first thing Ethan did was drop and do some snow angels. And we had a blast sledding. I keep hoping for more snow, but no luck as of yet. Looks like we won't have a repeat of Snowmageddon like we had last year!

Pre Christmas Festivities

Ethan had a great time decorating the tree, though we had a few problems this year. Our tree kept tipping over! After the 3rd tip over (while the tree was fully decorated) I was about to throw in the towell! But we finally got it stable.

Since we were going to New Mexico for Christmas to see my parents, we opened our few presents at home before we left. We had it all planned to open them on this day, but Ethan got a little impatient. He kept asking and asking. I kept telling him to wait until the evening and we would all do it together. Avery was napping and I was actually taking a little nap myself and Ethan comes upstairs and said "Mom - come see what I got!" I said "Ethan you didn't open the presents did you?" and he says "Ummm....no." And I said "Ethan did you?". He says "I was just joking" and tries to run back downstairs. We all go down and he had opened all of his presents! I was pretty sad, but couldn't help but laugh. He is a smart one though, because he didn't open anyone else's presents, just his. Crazy kid!




The gingerbread house was a hit! Ethan helped decorate and Avery tried to stuff as much candy as she could in her mouth.

Bethlehem Walk

This was our 2nd year doing the Bethlehem Walk. It is such a neat activity. This church has completely decorated the church to look like Bethlehem and the people are all dressed as they would have in Bethlehem - there are Roman soldiers, craftsmen, kids in Seminary, people handing out food like bread and soup. It is just really neat. And along the way you hear people talking about a child that was born in a manger. At the very end you come outside and there is a live manger scene with animals. It is really neat and the kids love it and brings the story of Christ's birth to life. This will definitely be a yearly tradition.

Fall Friends!

This was a fun park day before the winter cold really hit. We had such a fun time. It was however, a sad say because it was our last play date with Ethan's good friend, Trey and my awesome pal Courtney:( They moved to Colorado and are sorely missed. I actually met Courtney for the first time back when we were both working at Bel Aire Assisted Living in Orem, UT while we were both at BYU. We lost contact and 2 years ago when I walked into my first Sunday in our new ward after a move, Courtney recognized me and we have been great friends ever since! Trey and Ethan have so much fun together and her younger son Cody isn't too much older than Avery. I was so sad to see them leave, but am excited to visit when I go home to see my parents in New Mexico because it isn't too far of a a drive.


This was a music class that I did with Avery that was organized by a friend. This was the Halloween music class. Avery had fun, but was a little shy.
This is Ethan's good pal Joey. One day she was over playing and when they were really quite I went to investigate and found them both lying in Avery's crib "resting". They are so funny!

Joey and Ethan go to preschool together, so this was their first ride on a real school bus when we went on their field trip to "Pumpkinville". Shortly after we went to Pumpkinville I was talking to Ethan and he started asking me about what Heaven is like. I told him it is the most beautiful, wonderful place you can imagine. He says "Like Pumpkinville?" It was really cute.

Halloween 2010!

I feel like this Halloween came so fast! We had a great Halloween, going Trick or Treating at a local shopping center and then going to our ward's Trunk or Treat party. Ethan was the coolest Spiderman I ever saw and he loved this costume! He was so excited to be Spiderman and besides wearing it for Halloween, wore it around our house one night doing super cool Spiderman moves and tricking mom and dad by transforming back and forth from Spiderman to Ethan. It was really funny! And Avery was just about the cutest little bunny I have ever seen! She had so much fun at the ward party, wandering around stealing candy and other fun things from all over the place. She is just so cute right now! I just love watching her walk around because she seems too small to even be walking! I actually dressed up, even though it was your basic witch, but pretty good for me! I never dress up! And Jay was back in his standard baseball player costume - practically a Halloween tradition at this point! But he looked great! It was a great Halloween!

Family Photo Shoot 2010!

So my friend Jill, who took our pictures last year also, is an amazing photographer and we had her do some family pictures this year again. Despite being a pretty windy and cold day (we must have bad luck because last year it rained on our photo day), the pictures turned out awesome! It was a lot of fun and the kids look adorable!!