The day after Christmas ...

We woke up to 8+ more inches of the cold white stuff ... and Ryan gratefully went out with the snowblower to clear it away. (Dennis got sick on Monday when he was out for over 3 hours clearing peoples drive ways -- so we are doubly grateful for Ryan's help)

Now look at the snow cave ... it is almost covered over.

The sidewalk keeps getting covered over ... look out, that is slick!!

WE got a WII!!!!

Here's Alisa and Ryan showing us how to play tennis ... Go Alisa!!

This is an action shot ... because it is a very physical activity!!! (And Alisa is a good sport about the way she really gets in to the games!!) We all laughed so hard Christmas night ... getting to try the new TOY!!! Some of us are not as co-ordinated as we wish we were (ME for sure!!!) At least we can laugh at it, right?

The surprise was that Wendy didn't know we were getting it ... and a few little white lies had to be told in order to throw her off the idea. She was totally surprised, and has enjoyed the activities as well. (Actually she is the #1 bowler in the family so far!!)

Christmas Eve --- and Christmas Day!!

Christmas Eve is always a busy time ... and we had lots of helpers. Here's Wendy, Alisa and Ryan helping in the kitchen.

The tree - with all the presents under it. (Notice the train track and the train on the right? It is a Disney train ... new this year ... I have always wanted one!!! It is cute)

After Santa came.

Wendy - with her pile to open.

Ryan and Alisa ... beginning to open their presents as well.

Dennis and I - we ended up with quite a haul ... somehow we didn't keep very good track of what we were buying!!! Oh well ... it was all needed!

After the family arrived ... Wendy, Jodi and Talmage. Waiting for more presents!!

Ryan and Alisa ... with Peyton.

David with Carter, Dallin and Peyton ... and Seth's head!

Michelle, Sydney and Bailey.

Carter showing off his Cars vest ... and Amy ... with her cute pregnant tummy!! (she has 5 more weeks until son #2 will be born)

Grandma Day!!!

One of the activities we did this year was to decorate Rice Crispy candy houses. (It was from a mold I got at the store). The kids had a great time and created some pretty amazing houses. Fun things you can do with a little icing and candies!!

They also wrapped presents for their moms and dads ... (little things that they can give to their mom and dad and them not know about it). Brenna and Abby (Deb's girls) and Claire (Janna and Jason's) were invited as well - honorary grandchildren!!

Here is the whole group ... minus Seth who was running around ...l to r Tanner, Bailey, Claire, Dallin, Brenna, Talmage, Abby and Peyton. In front: Sydney, Carter and McKay.

After the inside stuff was done, Dennis and Ryan got the 4-wheelers out and the fun began!! They pulled toboggans behind the quads and the kids got rides around the block - and they had a ball!! (Even the neighbors joined in)

Big kids can ride too - Ryan and Alisa had several good runs. (Tanner was jumping on for a bit of a ride -- it didn't last long)

Dennis took them on the calmer, slower ride ... which the younger kids enjoyed.

Mike was on my machine ... and he took them through the deeper snow piles ... got them very wet, and often tipped them off ... but they kept coming back for more. He was a good sport to take them on so many trips around the block!! (The neighbors commented that we were sure having a fun Christmas eve!!)

Here's a few of them riding and waiting for their turn ... what a lot of kids. Thank goodness for Dennis' good rope tying and the ability to take many at a time.

We even had a viewing audience, complete with chairs!! Dennis, Sandie and Matthew were watching all the fun ... Abby and Brenna are waiting for another turn!!

Here's Karen Davis, our neighbor, and her kids enjoying the festivities. What a fun way to end a fun day. They all had a great time - and the weather was quite nice ... considering.

See their AMAZING creations!!

They made some cute houses ... and had very little help!! Way to go kids!!
In case you can't read their names, starting at the top we have:
Talmage, Dallin, McKay, Sydney
Carter, Bailey, Peyton, Tanner
Claire (Janna) Abby, Brenna (Deb) and Talmage

Did I mention we have snow????

Yes, we have snow!!! Most of these were actually taken on the morning of Dec. 24th - Christmas eve morning. It was really quite a nice day and so after Grandma Day ... which will be posted next, Dennis and Ryan got the 4-wheelers out and they all went sledding ... AND they decided to build a snow cave. It was a fun day.

A view of the partially completed cave!!

Another view of them preparing the huge mountain. All of the kids had a good time shoveling and packing the snow.

I had to show our back steps. The next picture shows what we thought was a lot of snow ... a few days ago ... and then this is what we found this morning. It is probably 10-12" deep in places. Where are the steps??

Isn't snow pretty when you are snug and warm? It really is!!

No, this is not our Christmas tree ... it is the top of the one Dennis cut down by the front of our house. He saved it and hoped he would be able to find someone who could use it. On the 23rd some kids from our BYU Ward called and they had found a family who didn't have a tree ... so Dennis made a stand for it and they came and got it. We are glad it had a home for Christmas. Look at the pine cones ... it was a pretty tree!!

Arizona Trip ~ Dec. 10th 2008

Dennis and I decided we needed to take a road trip ... and we wanted to visit Don and Carol in Prescott, Arizona, so we headed south. Much of the time we were on roads I had never been on, which made it very interesting. Our first stop was to get a picture of this little restaurant (which is closed in the winter) in Hatch, Utah. When we were on our quad trip this summer this place was a welcome break ... we hadn't had anything to eat except trail food for 2 days and we had an amazing lunch here ... at The Adobe restaurant. We highly recommend it. (I'm not sure if the food was so wonderful ... or if we were just starving ... but we have good memories of here!)

We traveled down highway 89 through Kanab (a very pretty place, I might add) and then over to Paige, AZ. Just outside of Paige is this huge dam (It is the Glen Canyon Dam) ... and I was very intrigued by it.

All the red rock made it quite a pretty sight. I even hiked down a steep rock trail to get this picture. (Dennis said I had better not fall because he couldn't come and get me!
~ he has a fear of heights, and this was a bit high!)

This is just another pretty shot of Arizona. It usually gets a bad report because it is so dry ... but we found some very pretty places. This is near Flagstaff ... which is also a beautiful city ... with lots of pine trees!!

We took a little detour out of Flagstaff and went through Sedona, a tourist city right up next to the mountains. It was such a pretty place, and it was all decked out for Christmas. We stopped for a few minutes and found some Indian Jewelry that caught our eye!!

Their Christmas tree was beautiful as well. It was a little chilly while we were there -- it is up pretty high. They get a little snow ... once a year of so ... enough to take pictures of the white stuff on the red rocks and then it melts.

Now this is where the trip got all messed up ... at least from a bloggers point of view. We got to Don and Carol's home in Prescott, AZ ... and didn't get the camera out of the car!!! What were we thinking?!?!?!? Not one picture of their beautiful home all decorated for Christmas ... or them ... or ANYTHING!!! I am ashamed of us!!! Carol had taco soup all ready for us ... and had meals planned out for the time we were there. (One of them included a trip to In n Out ... which we were looking forward to ... AND STILL NO PICTURE!!!) We were able to help them get ready for Christmas by getting Christmas lights up on their house - and their tree set up and decorated. It was fun to get to spend time with them and help as we could. (They are having all of their kids and grandkids there for Christmas ... should be a busy/happy time for them all)

We left there early on Friday morning and headed for Las Vegas ... along another road I had not traveled. This one took us in the L.V. via Hoover Dam .... Yes, another Dam for me to get excited about photographing. (Funny that I remembered to take a picture here ... but forgot when it really mattered!!!)

There is such history in this dam. Because of recent terrorist threats, now everyone must pass through a security check point in order to cross the dam. They are actually in the process of building a huge bridge (seen in the top left of the picture) so people will no longer have to travel over the dam. It is going to be quite the HIGH bridge!! This too was an amazing place to visit.

As we entered Las Vegas ... we used our GPS (which we have come to LOVE) ... and found a Trader Joe's ... a favorite store we don't have in Utah ... and we bought some almonds, cashews, brown rice, and snacks. When we came out of the store ... Dennis discovered: I HAD A FLAT TIRE!! (These are brand new tires ... but some where we picked up a screw!) We were driving my Santa Fe ... and since we haven't ever had a flat in it, we didn't even know where the jack was ... tore the car apart and couldn't find it!!! Standing in the parking lot I turned to a man walking out of the store and asked: "You wouldn't, by any chance, have a portable air compressor, would you?" (What were the chances ... I could of asked 100 people and not one would of had one ...) BUT HE DID!!! Dennis and I couldn't believe it!! What a tender mercy!!! (1st to have the flat happen in the parking lot and not on the 150 miles of nothing road we had just come over ... and second, He HAD a portable compressor!!) We got the tire pumped up and drove to Costco (GPS said it was just up the street, and it was!!) ... and got the tire fixed ... and we were on our way. (I will not blog about the poor service we got at Costco ... we will only focus on the blessings we knew were ours ... they were not helpful at all!!!)

From there we drove to St. George and stopped and visited Dennis' Mom and step-dad Vern, who have recently moved there from Dessert Hot Springs, CA. They are living in a very nice 3 bedroom condo right in the middle of the city ... so they can walk everywhere, if they want. (Once again I am kicking myself ... no pictures!!! I have got to get back into the swing of this!!)

We had planned to stay the night with them, but a huge storm was heading our way and we didn't want to get caught in the middle of it ... so we journeyed home late that night. (The storm did come, and we were glad to be home safe)

Getting the House ready for Christmas!!

Here are some random pictures of the house all decked out for the holidays. As you enter the front door, this is what you see. We bought this tree/basket years ago in California and it has been a big part of decorating ever since. (It is Dennis' favorite!)

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without Mickey ... and then, of course, we still have our Disney tree (which isn't pictured in this post .. maybe next time!!)

Santa has a prominent spot in the family room - displayed as he has for 38 Christmases now!! He even got some 'touch-up' painting this year as his coat was fading a bit and turning orange ... it was fun to give him a new look. (Another Grandma Babe memory!)

This nativity was made years ago, but now has a wonderful place under the TV that is mounted above it on the wall. It is fun to bring the nativity and Santa into the same room ... all apart of the special day.

Our tree - in the living room. It is covered with ornaments, as usual, but that seems to add to its uniqueness and beauty. I continue to receive compliments on it ... which is fun. It is not your typical 'formal looking' tree, but we love it!!

I decided to put snowmen on the sidebar this year ... Talmage was over the other night and wanted to know where the village was!!! He is very observant!! I promised him I would put it up again next year, and said I would come and see his which he helped his mom arrange.

This is the table centerpiece I created this afternoon. I saw one at a friends and borrowed hers for ideas ... with the help of my box of 'odds and ends ~ picks and things, got it done. The sleigh had been with Dennis' tree, but didn't show up very well, so this is better use of it, and I needed something for the table! It is fun to create from what I have on hand.

Thanksgiving Dinner ~ November 27, 2008

The Family Room all set ready for the meal.

One of our place settings. Janna made cute pilgrim hats (totally edible) for each of us to enjoy.

Table #1: Dennis, Amy, Seth, Dave, Wendy, Debra, Diane and Ruthie (taking the picture). Proof we ate "family style" ~ the family in California asked how we ate ... it is always nicer, but a little more work.

Table #2: Matthew, Sandie, Michelle, David, Jason, (Claire and Janna ... missing at the moment!!)