SNoW!

It's being called "The Blizzard of 2010" By this time next week someone will be manufacturing sweatshirts that say, "I survived The Blizzard of 2010". We will be among those who did. It was quite a fight! Growing up in Utah exposed me to snow. It also exposed me to things like tractors (with a scraper to remove snow), or 4-Wheelers (complete with a winch for attaching a blade to the front). What I didn't learn in my youth, was how to shovel snow...I mean REALLY shovel snow. (thanks for that Dad and Grandpa..I took you for granted all those years) Consider my lesson learned today as we woke up to a foot and a half of snow! It kept coming until around 5:00 P.M. Our grand total is being broadcast as 30 inches. It felt like 300 :)

This was the first time we dug ourselves out. Around 6:30 on Friday night.

Also Friday, before it all began.

Jonas enjoyed being out with us for approximately seven minutes. Then he was done. Can't say I blame him. Look at the back of his sweatshirt (his High Brass Sweatshirt from Grandma and Grandpa Ray) the wind was blowing and filled his hoodie!

He was glad to be inside where it was warm. And apparently he was tired too!

Friday night. Pre MAJOR snow.

...SATURDAY...

Yep. That's our car buried under there!

Our fence! And this was BEFORE noon. So it got higher!

We literally had to dig ourselves out! We couldn't even open the door. The wind blew in some great big drifts. I will be days digging out my recycling bin. Good thing that's not until Thursday.

It was a sight to see. And now that we've seen it, I hope we don't see it again for a very long time.

HaPPY BiRTHDaY!

It's Devin's Birthday today. Since I NEVER blog about him....here's a few reasons why we keep him around:

• He loves me and he loves Jonas. Let's be honest-sometimes that can be hard!
• He works hard. He's always been a hard worker and made sure I had what I thought I needed and wanted. He works hard at everything he is asked to do...except cleaning the bathrooms. He hates that :)
• He is EXTREMELY patient. Since I am not, this works out well for our family.
• He's a great Dad. No one can wrestle, chase, or tickle quite like him. (At least that's what Jonas tells me...I wouldn't know :))
• He is Jonas' very Best Friend. Jonas loves me, I know that....but he ADORES Devin. It's pretty cute.
• He is a strong conviction of the gospel, and is such a great example of the Savior. He reminds me (daily) that we all need to strive to be a little better and try a little harder.

There isn't a day goes by that I don't realize how lucky I am to have him and how thankful I am that he gave "us" a chance! He's a wonderful husband, father, brother, and friend. We love you so much Devin!!

Today is also Jonas' 18 month Birthday. I welcome it, yet I hate it. I hate that he is growing up so fast. I hate that his baby stages are over. I hate that before I know it he will be smarter than me and teaching me even more. I REALLY hate that he knows he is getting big. I do love that he is getting more and more fun. I love his jibber-jabber that has no meaning or reference, but is adorable. I love that he gets to go to Nursery this week :). I love that he is ours and that every night when I check on him I am reminded that he is mine. That I am a Mom and that dreams do come true!

HaPPY BiRTHDaY JoNaS!

{Jonas}

While we were in Utah we had Jonas' 18 month pictures taken (a bit early...)

A friend that my mom works with took them and she was so cute with J. She took over 200 pictures! He was a good boy and even smiled for a couple of them. Here are a few of our favs.

Why do my eyes disappear? My "little" brother was with us and we got stuck posing for a few together.


This picture of Jonas and his favorite "Uncle Captain" is one of my favorites. We were outside and it was cold so neither one of them were very cooperative.

{Christmas Continued}

We spent a wild and crazy week in Idaho with Devin's parents, and his brother and his family. It was lots of fun to see his kids. We lived by them when we were first married and enjoyed having them close. We have a lot of funny stories from the past and lots of fun memories with them and their cute kids.

Jace, Samantha, Jonas, and I played in the snow one afternoon. Jace and Sammie loved it...Jonas...hates the cold!!

We took the kids to the mall to run around and play in the kids area one afternoon. They loved it and Aimee and I got some browsing and girl time in. It worked well because all the kids slept like babies that night...well...maybe not Alexa-she's not much of a sleeper :)

We drove to Rexburg to see the new temple, visit Grandma's old house, and see all the building Uncle Val and his crew are up to. We stopped to have a piece of pie at Frontier Pies on the way home.

Then we returned to Utah, ate a whole lot more, laughed a little, and cried a little. Before we know it, it was time to start packing our bags. We took four suitcases (checked in), two carry-ons, and one backpack. THEY WERE FILLED TO THE BRIM!!!!

We wore our Jonas Boy out. He had more people to play with, more toys to test out, grandpa's glasses to break, grandma's Oreo's and graham crackers with chocolate frosting to eat, and lots, and lots of kisses to give. He had a ball and was such a good boy the whole trip.

We had a great time with our families and are counting the days until we see them again. We love you all!!

{ChRiStMaS '09}

Christmas has come and gone for most, but we are still celebrating. It's hard to say goodbye to such a fun time of year! Here are a few high-lights, and there will be more to come as we are headed to Idaho to see more family and have more fun!

Grandpa Ray bought Jonas Camo jammies :)

Grandma and Jonas "opening" a present. JoJo wasn't so into it. He opened his trains and then that was all he cared about!

Christmas Morning-opening presents with Dad's help.

The girls' and our Christmas Jammies :) (we are so much fun!)

Jonas got to play in the snow, but wasn't so sure about it. Let's face it, it's hard for anyone to walk when they are dressed like a marshmellow!

Holding on to the Candy Canes for support.

Jonas has spent A LOT of time playing on these stairs. They are big enough for him to go up and down without getting hurt, and he LOVES them!

We've spent a lot of time around the piano listening to his mad skills. (He even takes requests)

It took some time, but Jonas figured out that he and Grandpa have a lot in common. They both like to nap, and they can both snore louder than a freight train-just ask anyone in Relief Society!

And who doesn't love to snuggle with Grandma's?

Merry (late) Christmas!

ICE!

Devin works with the best people. We feel very fortunate to have made friends with so many thoughtful friends. Ruthie (whom Devin works with), was nice enough to tell Devin about the ICE show going on at the National Harbor. We invited our friends and their little boy and the six of us (ok 8 if you can't the little ones Aleese is carrying for another few weeks) had a BLAST!!! It was so much fun! Basically it was a big outdoor room filled with Ice Sculptures. It was the coolest thing ever! I loaded the pictures wrong, so we will go from the end to the beginning instead. After we went to ICE, we walked through the Gaylord Resort Hotel Atrium. They had a fountain show and then it snowed...

First it was just a little snow...

and then there was a bit more...and Jonas LOVED it!! It was really tiny bubbles, but he didn't care. He was crazy!

We laughed and laughed and laughed and so did he!

Reach Buddy!

He was having so much fun (so was Barrick in the background)

Here we are-right next to the fountain-just as the show was starting...

and here we are in the middle of the show. Jonas was SO wet, but he LOVED it, so we just stayed there and got wet, wet, wet. It was worth it!

..ICE..

Mom, Jonas, and a Nutcracker.

Mom and Jonas on the slide. Maybe I liked it a bit more than he did :).

We had to wear these big parka's. They provided them and its a good thing because they have to keep the tent at a whopping 9 degrees!! Needless to say our noses and our toes were frozen!

All that cold didn't stop Jonas from wanting to eat all the ice sculptures. This was really not allowed, but we couldn't resist! He loved the Penguins. I think he thought they were giant popsicles.

A tree (all made of ice...ornaments too)

Fireplace

Family Piano

This was a pond with Polar Bears playing on the frozen ice. We couldn't take the strollers up the stairs, but it was cute even from below.

This fence was amazing! It was so realistic and actually looked more like glass.

More of the fence..

Jonas' Parka was a little bit too big...but he was a good sport and kept it on. He must have been freezing too!

The Parka's are way heavy!!

I forgot my camera, like a dummy. I was SOOO mad!! Thank Goodness Aleese remembered hers. I just took these with Devin's phone. I will update with the other pictures later. We had a lot of fun and look forward to going next year!!

***UPDATE***

Scott brought the pictures to me :) Thanks!!

Jonas smashing his face against the ice wall.

More Penguin Popsicles :)

The whole Gang!

Jonas and Barrick in the Horse Drawn Sleigh

Little Jonas in a BIG Parka

The Glass Tree at the Atrium

The Gang with the Penguins

Jonas "calming" the snow

All of us in the Ice tunnel

(OK Aleese took the picture..so not all of us)

Even the tunnel had ice in it!!