The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We were able to kick off the new year with a short snowmobiling trip. It was the first time of the season so we were unsure how the snowmobiles were going to run. I wasn't the smoothest running trip but it worked out ok and we had a lot of fun. We had to drive a little bit farther cause the snowmobiles aren't registered and we have a little bit of private property up Nephi canyon but there was tons of snow so it was worth it. Needles to say, Kyle is itching to get in another trip soon. Too bad there haven't been many snow storms this year. I don't really mind it though cause I'm pretty ready for warm weather again.

It was Nate and Katie's first time snowmobiling.

Running into the Proper-T. It was hard to get the snowmobile in because there was so much powder. Eventually we made it in but the first time we had to hike it. All the new powder made everything really pretty.

Kyle getting one of the snowmobiles unstuck at our gate and Katie standing by the "Big Pine". I think that tree is really cool so I was trying to take a picture of it to show how big it is.

Tubing is seriously my favorite thing to do outside in the winter!

And yet another hobby...

My Dad LOVES guns and has gotten into reloading and shooting a lot lately. I think it is a good hobby for him to have. He gets so excited about everything and wants all of his kids to get guns too. So this year he helped me find a .22 for Kyle for Christmas. It was a combined gift from Mom and Dad to both of us and then from me to Kyle. It was a great idea cause Kyle loves it. All he has wanted to do since is go shooting and bunny hunting.

Here are a couple pictures of Kyle trying it out for the first time the day after Christmas.

It was freezing but they loved it.

Dad also got a new gun for Christmas from Grandpa. It was pretty fun to shoot. He also got the ear muffs I was wearing. They are the coolest things. I want to get them for Kyle now. It amplifies all the quite sounds but then when you shoot a gun you can hardly hear it. Its awesome!

Eric, Dad, Kyson, Kyle, and Jake

Jake loading his mussel loader. The face explains it all.

Christmas

We were really blessed this year. Christmas was so wonderful. We got to spend lots of time together and with our family and friends. Kyle had lots of extra time off to take at work or he would lose it so he was home enjoying life a lot more then I was. I was pretty jealous but its ok.

All growing up we never woke up super early for Christmas. My parents wouldn't let us wake up any of the kids. They had to wake up on their own and there was always a baby so it seemed like forever until they would wake up. It was always at least after 7 when my parents would start getting the camera ready. We had to stay upstairs until everybody was up and they had the camera ready. This always caused anxiety for me as a kid cause I was so excited I couldn't handle it but now it works out perfect. I am the only kid that isn't still living at home so Kyle and I like to get up Christmas morning and have our own little Christmas together and then head down to Spanish Fork to be with my siblings for their Christmas Morning also. It is fun to be there with them. After presents we visit Grandparents a little bit and then head over to Kyle's family Christmas party. It works out perfect. We love spending time with all our family.

Kyle with all his presents. He was so cute, he had to show everybody his new toys so he filled up his back pack and took everything with him on Christmas.

Kyle spoiled me for sure. I should have only received the picture but he couldn't understand how a picture is a good gift so he got me some clothes and a couple other things. You can't have Christmas without new clothes so I loved his thoughtfulness.

My new picture!! It looks perfect over the fireplace. The cool thing about this picture is that it is a double frame. There is a second picture of the Salt Lake Temple at Christmas time so I can just switch them at Christmas time and it is a whole new picture. I love it!

Kaden in his new football chair from Santa. He was so excited. It was way cute. He said it was the best Christmas ever.

Kyle with Jacee's bird. Every year Jacee asks for a puppy and never gets one but this year she got smarter and asked for a bird. We wanted one also so we got a bird the same time as Jacee and kept them a secret at our house until Christmas. Jacee's bird is definatley cooler then ours at this point. We need to work on our training skills I guess.

Secert Tunnels

You know how when you were little and you always dreamed of having tunnels in your house when you grow up? Well my boss does and they were WAY fun! They have a set of tunnels in between the main floor and basement in their house. They are still painting it but it has windows and really nice carpet and lights. When I build a house I would love to have something like this.

We went to his house for our work Christmas party but anytime we weren't eating or playing games we were army crawling in the tunnels. It was a pretty good workout.

To go into the tunnels you would have to dive head first into one of the openings in the living room. There is enough room for a little kid to crawl and turn around in it but for us we had to go in the way we wanted to face so we had to dive in and then we would have to army crawl everywhere.

They had a basket from IKEA that they cut a hole in the bottom to cover up the tunnel entrance. If you didn't know that there was a hole in the floor those pictures would look pretty weird.

Jake standing in the tunnel

Kyle in the tunnels. You can see some of the windows on the side. If you were downstairs in the game room you could see the people in the tunnels crawling along the ceiling.

Me coming to one of the openings in the tunnel.

Kyle and I in a mini room that was were two of the tunnels met together. It was almost big enough for us to sit up. We were in the "attic" of a closet.

Jake getting ready to see the other half of the tunnels and Kyson coming from a different tunnel.

Another way to get in and out of the tunnels is through a hole in the wall on the stairs. It was pretty cool.

There was a step up at one point that was probably only best for the kids to use but we had to try it out. I could make it through just fine but there were only a couple guys that could fit. Its only about 2 feet long until it opens back up again but it was just a little too long for Kyle. He was able to squish through if he breathed out all of his air and then had somebody pull or push him though. We was stuck for a second in this picture. haha



Video of the tunnels. Its a little shaky cause Kyle was army crawling through but you can see it a little bit. Jake and I are at one end waiting for them to go and Kyson is at the other.

One Year Older

I really should be posting about Kyle's birthday but next on my list is Jenae's birthday and I forgot to take pictures on Kyle's birthday last Friday so I can do them both together.

I can't believe Kyle is 23 now. I know that its not really that old but it is another step to getting old and I personally would like to stay young so its a little scary. He still acts young though...check out the picture of Kyle from Jenae's birthday.

Typical Kyle face

I also can't believe how big Jenae is getting. She had her 14th birthday in November.

I didn't notice until now but most of the pictures we took for Jenae's birthday were with our grandparents. They are the best grandparents ever.

Kaden with Grandma Elaine

Grandma Sally and Kyle

Kyson with Grandpa Bob trying to pull the GQ pose. haha not really but that would have been super funny.

Me and Grandpa Doug

All But Ice Fishing

I'll start from were I left off in my last posts....

For anybody that knows us even a little bit knows that Kyle LOVES fishing. I think these pictures help prove my point. Doesn't it look crazy freezing? As you could guess I chose the warmer option and stayed home this trip to scrapbook but Jake, Kyson, Kyle and Dad had fun.

I love the fog that is covering the lake. It definatly makes for some cool pictures.

Kyle with his catch! The boys are smarter then you think... That propane heater in the back actually kept them pretty warm from what I hear.

Kyson with his catch

And this winner is... Ok so I don't really know if this picture is from the same trip cause I'm pretty sure it started raining when they came home but its a fish worth showing off so I added it still the same.

Ok Ok

Just a heads up that I am working on getting things updated so stay tuned. Things might be a little updated and from the wrong season but it is coming.....

The perfect one...

It took over a month of looking and we almost gave up a couple times but it finally paid off. We found the perfect truck! It is more then we were ever imagining. We are really grateful that we didn't settle on something that we only half-way wanted cause we were seriously thinking about it a couple times. We got a super good deal so we are really really happy about that. We are still really excited so we thought we would share our good news...

We got our truck from an auction in California so we hadn't seen it at all until we went to the dealership to pick it up. It was a little scary but fun. I thought it would be fun to catch Kyle's reaction the first time he saw the truck. He is still on cloud 9. I think is it cute.

Here it is!! I have 2 favorite things about it. First is the color!! It is exactly what we wanted plus some. The Charcoal Gray was our first pick and then we would have been ok with any dark color. Mostly the dark color was me cause a truck is suppose to look mean and strong and I thought dark colors were "mean". haha This color is really hard to find. It has a brownish tint to it and the color on the bottom isn't the normal tan it is a creamish color. Needless to say we love it.

Kyle was worried about the upgrades the previous owner added but they will be good for now. The grill is super nice but the wheels I think are going to be way too expensive of an up keep so we will see what happens when that day comes.

My second favorite thing are the heated seats! It is wonderful! Girls...need I say more? Kyle wanted the bucket seats in the front but I wasn't too sure about it. The heated seats are quickly changing my mind.

A Little Late I know

This is how our Halloween went this year. For some reason I had a really hard time getting into the spirit of Halloween so it snuck up on us and we weren't ready for the Alvey Halloween Party. Mandi was awesome and let me barrow her cute witch costume and Kyle went as a Huka Warrior. I thought he looked super cool.

Jake did all of the drawing for us. Good thing cause I have the drawing skills of a 4 year old. Its sad.

Jake and Anni

Jack loves Star Wars. I thought his costume was the cutest ever.

On Halloween we decided to dress up as dead Cheerleaders. I was pretty excited to still fit into my old uniforms and Kyle was able to wear my old Drill Jumpsuit. I thought is was pretty funny.

The Wind Talks Back

The first time I read this post I felt like it was talking right to me. It was helping me know that things aren't as rough as I think they are and that I am so SO blessed. It helped me see trials in a true perspective. I have never been good with words so just read it. You will love it. She is amazing.