Boots With the Fur

This sweet girl looked so pretty in her Christmas dress...

Except she was just not havin' the gold mary jane shoes I bought to go with this little dress.

She would only wear her favorite cozy pink boots - the ones she always wears - the ones that are always a bit dirty.

It reminded me of when a girl gets a beautiful dress for the prom and then wears Birkenstocks to "complete" the look...or when a bride wears flip flops...just kinda ruins the overall look.

But you can't blame a girl for wanting to be comfortable.

See Sam Ski

One of the best parts of the holiday break was seeing Sam ski for the very first time. We couldn't believe that he liked so much - and that he actually made some progress while we were there. Not bad for a 3 1/2 year old.

And here he is with cousin Sadie (in the blue coat) who was also learning to ski - and doing quite well.

Kate was there...taking notes.

Those Eyes

Incase you're wondering where Kate gets her pretty blue eyes...

It's practically like Hanukkah

Between our own little family Christmas, and then Christmases with the Grandmas and Grandpas - I think we celebrated (read: opened gifts) about 8 different times. It was pretty fun, though, to watch the gift opening with the kids.

Sam was elated to receive anything with wheels.

These little kiddos sure are lucky to have a Great-Grandma AND a Great-Grandpa in their lives!

It was such a nice, relaxing, family-filled break. We hope you experienced the same!

Like ridin' a bike

I couldn't believe that we talked my mom into going skiing with us (I was snowboarding - since I'm still too dangerous of a skiier). She hadn't gone skiing in 20 YEARS! But she did great - no injuries and we both actually had a great time! :) Here we are-pretending like we are about to go down something that isn't green or blue.

Christmas Eve

I believe this is the only photo I have of the two of them in their Christmas clothes. They looked so nice...but could hardly stand still for a photo!

Future Pastor?

So far Sam has told me that when he grows up he either wants to be a mailman (because he loves mail, of course) or work in a jail (where he hopes to "help people get out"). But, when we were in Montana, he saw his Grandpa Alan give the welcome to the congregation during the Christmas Eve service at their little church. And the next morning (Sunday) Sam asked if he could give the "welcome to the people in the church" with Grandpa Alan. We told him he could, but didn't think he'd go through with it once he got up there and saw all the people. But we were wrong - he did great! He even spoke directly into the mic at one point so everyone could hear him!

And incase you didn't notice - check out this view:

Best pew-view I've ever seen!

New Addition to the Family

Christmas came a little early in our house (like, a week before hand) when my husband presented me with this lovely thing:

I was totally surprised because I had never even mentioned that I wanted one. I didn't think I "needed" one...but oh how I was wrong.

It is fantastic.