God Bless America... Land that I Love.

Yesterday, I went for a walk with my sis in laws to try to avoid eating 6 more of Jeanne's homemade sugar cookies...(AMAZING) As we walked down the streets, there were flags everywhere. I thought about all the things that we enjoy because of the simple fact that we are U.S. Citizens. I am so thankful to live where I live and to have the option of choosing my religion, my place of residence, the person I want to spend eternity with....So many blessings are ours. I love my life and the freedoms I enjoy. Now if I could only tackle my lack of will power!

Snowin' on Ladybug Saddle

So when it got really cold and the weather was crap, we had the great idea to go play in the snow with the kids on MLK day. We got some donuts and hot cocoa and headed up the mountain. Ryan has only seen snow 2 times, once was in the back of Micah Woods truck. So all the kids were stoked. I hate to be cold but it ended up being a blast. When we first got out at Ladybug Saddle, we all were so cold that no one was sledding. Next thing we know, Jeanne, Nathan's mom, is at the top of the hill and headed down. You can't see her very well in the pics but she was the first one down the hill and went down every hill after that. She keeps us young and having fun! I love her to death. It was SO cold and it took my butt a while to unthaw. But was totally worth it. Mom even made homemade stew for dinner. YUMMY!I only got 3 pictures cuz it made my hands so cold to get the camera out!

Just getting started...

My sis in law Jenni and I spent an afternoon a couple of weeks ago canning chicken. We checked out the Central Ward Pressure Canner and have dubbed it "The Beast!" It is so heavy but we canned 32 pints of chicken in one go round. It was awesome. We had to do it on a camp stove in Jenni's garage but it was fun. I have big plans to have an amazing garden down here and possibly can some of the harvest. Maybe this chicken is just the beginning...

Nice Rack Babe!

You didn't think this was gonna be a post about Nathan huh! I'm a good tricker. :) I had to post these pictures on here because I am always complaining about not having a bike rack for the kids. So the bikes spend their lives in the walking distance between the house and the car. Nathan looked online for racks...for the bikes...and the cheapest one was like $200. A few more searches and a stop at the local hardware store and we end up with this...





Ethan assisted Nathan the whole time, measuring and marking the pvc so Nathan could cut it. It was awesome! The kids love it and mom is happy!

Keeping the road hot...

Ethan just participated in the Central Ward Pinewood Derby. He chose the "model" car he wanted and told Nathan that he wanted me to paint flames on the car. I am not the best artist, but Ethan was happy with the turn out. At the race, all the boys kept saying "that flame car hasn't lost yet!" Ethan had his hands in his pockets and sauntered down to get his car after every race...looked exactly like his dad. Only difference...that huge smile on his face. He was super proud of his car and even covered his face for some of the races cuz he couldn't take the suspense. He ended up coming in 2nd place. Way to go E!




Ryan was super proud of him and they hung the ribbon from their fan in their room! AWESOME!!