Pinewood Derby

It was Blake's 1st derby this week!  Rite of passage. 

He and Brian spent lots of time working on it.  Blake sanded, and sanded.  He painted too.  We helped him put the stripes on, and Brian put on the spoiler and wheels. 

 It looked pretty cool!

Here is Blake, surprised and happy that it was fast.  He ended up winning, so he had fun. 

 

Julia.

 

Some thoughtful leaders brought coloring pages for the younger siblings.

 

Dallin had his best friends to play with: 

Big brother Kyle was so sweet, he cheered on his little brother, and was genuinely happy for him: 

And at the end, Dallin was allowed to send his own car down the track too!  He thinks he took 2nd place.  I am not going to correct him.  :)

Since we combined wards there were 34 cub scouts, plus brothers, sisters and parents.  It was a wild, crazy, loud and fun night.  

Priceless Masterpiece

Dallin painted me a picture:

 

He said it is the Grand Canyon, and I can totally see that!  I love the colors. 

Paint

Painting on paper is really cool and all but...

 

I guess her forehead had more to offer.  

Playful

Sledding

The kids have been out most every day enjoying the snow.  They especially love sledding. 

Julia is such a lucky little sis.  These big brothers of hers love her. 

The boys built a ramp at the bottom of the hill. 

Getting some air!

Soon they started standing up on their sleds.

 

So yes, you can have fun outside when it is only 5 degrees.  :)

Star Valley

Brian isn't usually up to traveling much on the weekends because of his long hours.  Mostly, he needs to catch up on sleep.  But since he had Friday off, we headed up to Wyoming. 
Julia was pretty good in the car.  Maybe the treats had something to do with that. 

When we were in the driveway, Brian let her drive. 

 Course the boys love the freedom there!

Giant pile o' cousins :)

It was ridiculously cold.  It was below zero all day.  I think around -10 for a high.  But staying busy kept the kids warm enough.  It was a fun day!

Ooo oh!

Baby Doll

We are getting used to having girl toys around the house.  Even though Julia is 20 months, she hasn't really had different toys yet than the boys.  But that is changing. 
For Christmas, she got a baby doll and stroller from Aunt Dixie. 

I loved watching her discover it.  "Baby" she said. 

Sweet expression.

 

She knew just what to do with the bottle. 

The rest of Christmas, she carried the baby around while she played with other toys.  It was sweet to watch. 

Band Recital

One of my favorite things, I got to see Kyle's band concert a couple weeks ago. 
Participating in the concert is a big deal to his grade so when he came down with a fever, I still made him go.  He told me he really didn't want to go, but it turns out that was mostly just him being nervous.  Once there, he did really great.  It was wonderful to watch. 
I forgot my camera and had to rely on my phone for pictures.  They are blurry, but it is better than nothing :)

 

For going when he had a sore throat, I bought him a jamba juice on the way home and let him take the next day off from school.  :)  This was the highlight of the week for sure! 

It was awesome to watch, I Loved it.  Kyle, you did so good!

Christmas 2015

I love the age the kids are now.  If I could freeze them, I would do it right now.  They are each so much fun.  Christmas was wonderful!  The kids of course got spoiled. 

 

 

 

Later in the day Aunt Dixie and Grandma Bonnie came.  We played the new fun game that Dallin got, Headbanz.  It was hilarious.  We tried to give age appropriate hints to the kids.  Blake got stuck on pineapple.  We told him it started with a P, and rhymed with 'apple.'  He sat and thought, and said, "Plapple?"  Ha ha! 

It was a beautiful day.  :)  Hope you had a Merry Christmas too.