The Sloan Family Christmas...WoW!!!

This year for Christmas the Sloan clan (or at least most of the Sloan clan) decided to go up to the family cabin for a rustic Christmas. We all got together Christmas Eve and stayed until the day after Christmas. The cabin is small...a 3 bedroom with 9 beds or so. It has a wood burning stove, a kitchen and bathroom. The kicker is though that in the winter there is NO running water. So it makes things a little tricky, especially when your a pregnant lady who's peeing a ton. Like I said not ALL the Sloans came but there were still 19 out of the 28 of us. So yes...it was a little cramped.

 It was so quiet though...outside and the view was unforgettable.

 The guys had cut down a tree outside and made homemade decorations (paper and popcorn garlands with lights)  

 Papa Dude had made ice lanterns before heading up there. I had heard of these but had never seen them in person let alone made one. We'll have to try it out next time.

I am convinced that Papa Dude wanted it to be very memorable for the kids, I was seriously impressed. He lit a paper lantern each night we were there...you know like the ones from "Tangled". They were pretty cool!

 Made for a very neat evening.

Kadi LOVED all her big cousins snow toys!!! She was SUPER excited when she found someones mini snowboard. I was pretty impressed with how well she did. I guess she biffed it a few times before I got there but she was pretty good while I was there.

 I swear she understood when she needed to bend her knees to turn and all.

 I don't know why I'm so surprised at all she wants and knows how to do...she is a genius after all.

 Such concentration!!!

 A little video so you get the idea.

This is a side view of the cabin... seriously not much of the cabin is out of the shot.

 I LOVE the views here at Ashley Lake!!! It's only about an 1.5 hrs from Polson so we come up as much as we can in the summer and water ski.

This is where Trav and I came for our Honeymoon almost 11 yrs ago...crazy!!!!

Trav and Kadi found the OLD swing set and decided to swing in the snow. He said he honestly doesn't know how old that thing is...it looks at least 20+ yrs old.  

 Lucy in the background...she's a year older than Kadi. They had fun getting to know each other.

 Did I mention the view is INCREDIBLE!!!

So the day we left Uncle Brian wanted to take people, those who wanted to, ice fishing. 

 It really wasn't as cold as I thought it would be neither was it quite as boring as I thought. Though I think that was mainly cause we have an awesome family. 

 I was expecting to see a ton of shacks of something and it was mainly just people sitting in lawn chairs like us.

Kadi liked being in charge of the shovel.

 She did use the fishing pole for a little while but she got bored pretty fast.

We didn't stay as long as others cause kadi wanted to nap really bad. No one caught anything though. So we headed back to Polson for another day or so.

As we were running to town we saw this CRAZY person paddle boarding it across the bay in a snow storm. What's wrong with people?!?!?!

We had an awesome visit, not nearly long enough but we are planning on coming back this next week for a New Year's visit. Trav had to come back for holiday PT...which is totally and absolutely dumb by the way...oh well.

Our drive home was slow cause it was snowing like crazy!!!! There was several moments of white out conditions but we got home safe and sound.

My Gorgeous Ballerina!!!

Every Tuesday the base Library has a story time for kiddos and has a craft to go along with the theme that they are doing that week. We try to go every week however sometimes Kadi would rather stay home and play. I'm glad we made it this week though cause we didn't make it to the kids christmas party for the clinic.

They had a special visitor this week. Kadi is still a little hesitant when around people dressed up. She has finally gotten relaxed around mascots and people at Halloween don't bother her too bad, but Santa Claus look out!!!

She was fine watching the other kids go and say hi but wasn't interested until I said he had a surprise treat for her. Then she walked up and gave him five, took the bag of candy, and ran back to me! 

Silly girl!!! 

She loves doing the craft at then end of each week. I am pretty sure she will be an artist as she gets older. The different colors fascinate her.

Wednesday was the BIG night!!! Time to get dressed up in costume and hit the stage. The amount of excitement she had is indescribable!

I love the fact that she can hold still and pose with most of her body but there's always one part of her that is moving and blurry.

I love this beautiful ballerina so much!!!

The youngest class was the first to perform. The entire night was Frozen themed (big surprise). They had a slide show at the beginning while playing "Let it Go". Kadi was belting the entire song...I was having a hard time not crying. When did my baby girl become so grown up?

You can find us pretty easy...I'm the huge pregnant lady!!!

Kadi LOVES this song (it's to "Do You Want to Build a Snowman"). I wanted Kadi to do as much as she could remember so that's why I'm not helping as much as the other moms, but remember she is one of the oldest too.

Words can not describe how proud of her I was!!!

The only thing missing was her grandparents...don't worry we'll be doing the dance for them sometime soon.

Random picture of the Week

So yesterday we went to a wrestling tournament to see uncle Sean who is the coach for Belgrade MT. Kadi loved watching the guys wrestling, she was very upset when she was told that she couldn't wrestle with them cause she's too little. Uncle Sean told her that he would teach her how when she get s a bit bigger.

As for the picture daddy took her to the bathroom to go potty and they found a small door. Who knows where it goes but they thought it was pretty funny. 

Now for the Pre-Christmas craziness!!!

An evening view from the Clinic as Trav was heading home one evening.

I would have to say we have a pretty good view...

It was a full week this week. 

Travis and I have been crazy busy online to order the Christmas presents for each other and family. It has been so much easier to do our shopping this year. Normally I like taking the time to go to the store and take the time. This year has been a little crazy though with being in a new area and all.

On top of that and making sure our schedules are all synced with all the parties to go to. 

Wow we've been busy!!!

As you can tell!!!

Kadi has been getting ready for her FIRST dance recital as well.

When I told her she even got to get pictures taken she was SO very excited!!!

Kadi is in the youngest group of dancers, 18 mos-3 yrs, so we were the first group for pictures.

She did such an awesome job being patient as we waited. Sadly it wasn't the case for the other kids...and even sadder still is that the parents were the worst. I later found out that the photographer was treated horribly and that I was one of the three parents that actually treated her with respect. We were horrified that people let alone military members could be so ungrateful and disrespectful.

Sadly that seems to be the common attitude here...people seem to think they are more privileged than others. So sad!

Our Teacher wanted to try to get a group picture of the youngest class...

As you can tell it wasn't going very well. Kadi looked so confused with a million voices telling her what to do...I was very proud of her for not throwing a fit and trying to make everyone happy.

She is one of the oldest and tallest in class and probably the most obedient.

Kadi was perfect for her pictures though and looked BEAUtiful!!!!

I am so proud of my girl...I hope she remembers all the good manners we try to teach her.

She is growing up TOO fast!!!

Is it really DECEMBER?!?!?!

All the cold temperatures and me getting used to the ever bigger belly that is growing.

We're still working on potty training so Kadi is typically pants-less. She's getting better at the whole idea, I just need to stay positive and patient. 

 Kadi really has grown to like her Dr Seuss books...the alphabet book she calls the "silly book".

Along with reading in her pop-up tent I find her reading on her potties too...so cute!!!

This last Wednesday Trav and our friend Alex decided to take a welding class here in base. Most bases have a Arts and Crafts building and Auto Shop that all active duty military can use. This one here in Great Falls has classes so you can use their BIG equipment. Travis has always found welding fascinating and has wanted to get better at it. It was great to see him excited about another hobby. I'm so impressed with all that Trav knows how to do...he's truly amazing!!!

 Yesterday we got to see Papa Dude real quick. Kadi was SO excited!!!

Rob is a member of the Montana Shamrockers which are a Irish Folk band. They travel all over Montana and even into Idaho at times. They were performing at the Louise and Clark Interruptive Center here in Great Falls and we wanted to say hi while we could.  I LOVE how Kadi was so excited to see her Papa and the rest of the guys. 

It was a fun week...kinda mild but still fun. 

We love our family near and far.

What a FUN week!!!

They made it!!!!

It was such a fun week!! Filled with cooking, stories, and lots of laughs!!!

I am seriously so blessed to have such an amazing mom!!! She and I have become such wonderful friends as I became an adult. I liked her as a teen but as I grew up our relationship as really grown. She is such a blessing and a wonderful support through all our family changes.

My mom's best friend Diane Earnshaw also came along with my family for the holiday. I've know her forever and have watched her kids grow. She is a hoot and you can always count on her to bring the laughs!

My youngest sister Amelia is a freshman in HS...when did that happen?! She is on the drill team and needed to practice her Christmas parade routine...the garage was a semi warm spectator area.

Gotta love the crazy lady taking pictures while your trying to concentrate...heheh.

She truly is growing into a talented young lady...and an AWESOME aunt!!!

So the meal was a success...I didn't get a picture of the full spread. But here is the line up of the pies...the stack of tupperware is where all the leftovers are.

Saturday was a perfect day for the first sledding of the season. We got dumped on and we had to enjoy the snow even though the temp was somewhere in the negatives. 

It took me a while to get everyone out the door to watch the sledding...mom HATES being cold.

But Kadi and daddy were full of smiles.

Crazy Milly!!

A girl in motion....

She giggled the entire trip! 

She went down several times and was fine until she got snow in the face and then she was VERY done!!

I HAD to document the fact my mom was out in the cold...proof to my brother that my mom was out in the snow!!!

A very happy Papa Chris...he loves snow!!! He said it was a bit cold though...no kidding I think it was at least -10!!!

Why she has to roll through the snow is beyond me!

It cracks me up that my tiny mama has a grandbaby that is already almost as tall as she is. Kadi is over 3 ft tall and my mom is only 5 ft!!!

The sledding was done so time for snow angels!!

It was a AWESOME week and we can't wait until everyone comes back...hopefully before the baby comes. We want to see them again before then.