Bird Watching

We bundled up an set off to find the resident bald eagle that makes his winter home in a large tree near our home. We were really lucky not only to find the bald eagle, but our renegade goose too. She abandoned our flock and made herself at home in the neighbor's creek. We are slightly offended that she would leave our most excellent fowl accomodations, but the neighbor says she is fine there until spring when we can reunite her with the flock. We also got to see numerous hawks and some tiny little chickadees that fill a small tree. They are all magnificent, beautiful creatures.

Winter Wonderland

I was fortunate to photograph a beautiful family today at the park. We waded through knee-deep snow and got some great images. When the family left, I couldn't resist hanging around for a while in this awesome wonderland and take some more pictures. It was exquisite and serene with the white blanketing everything in sight. There had been no one at the park and I was the first to break trail. The late afternoon light was a pastel amber. Despite absolutely frozen fingers I captured some beautiful images that only barely begin to depict how amazing it really was.

A-Man

Here's my favorite 4 year-old boy! He has been such a delight to have through the holidays. It made our season so special and one that we will remember always. A-Man lives in Portland, so he isn't familiar with snow and very much dislikes being cold. We finally convinced him to come out and play. He loved it...for about 3 minutes! That's OK, it was just enough time for me to capture some great shots.

A Marshmallow World

Late Christmas day we got blasted with an amazing snowstorm. It blew and blew and dumped about 5 inches in just over an hour. The result was magnificent. The next morning we started digging out at 8 a.m. under glorious blue skies. Hubby plowed and shoveled until after 3:00 in the afternoon.

Holly Jolly Christmas!

We had such a marvelous Christmas! What a beautiful time of year to celebrate the birth of our Savior and the love of family. Merry Christmas and love to all!

Being Together is the Best Place to Be

We are so blessed to have oodles of friends and family hanging around this time of year. Of course, Grammy is here from Germany. (Yipee!) This year we also have my brother's 4-year old son staying with us. He is so delightful! His smile lights up the room. Our good friends came over from Wyoming last night. We enjoy their visits so much. This year they made Ragu, their son's special recipe from his mission to Italy. It is spaghetti sauce with big chunks of sausage, mushrooms, olives, zuchini and carrots. We ate soooo much! We always have tons of chocolate treats and this year was no exception. One of my favorites is a cookie that Grammy brings from Germany. It is called Lebkuchen and it has no flour in it. It is made entirely of ground nuts with lots of spices. I eat it for breakfast with a mug of hot cider or cocoa. Sehr Gut! Our Wyoming friend brought homemade chocolates that were to die for...especially the almond joy. I think I am overdosing on food!

Stuff the Santa

We have had a favorite game for years called "Stuff the Santa". It is one I take to the kids' class parties each year. It is a hit every time. We blow up lots of balloons and someone puts on the Santa suit. The kids stuff as many balloons into Santa as they can. Of course, they usually giggle so hard that Santa falls over, then can't get up. We always bring home the balloons and my kids get stuffed for days. The grownups have it all wrong. We stuff ourselves with chocolate. The kids use balloons then take off the suit and the rolls go away. We carry our lumps and bumps around for years after! Ours just aren't as cute as theirs either!

Snowing and a Blowing

OH how we love snow!!! Hubby has an unusual fettish for plowing snow. He just can't get enough of it. He was saying in September that he should get the plow put on the Bronco. This works out in the neighbors best interest. He goes all over plowing and plowing. The only thing is the Bronco puts off some nasty exhaust so he comes home really stinky! The kids love to ride with him too, especially #2, who as most of you know is Dad's sidekick anyway. This is our Chevy Dog's first real snow. She is in heaven! She runs and slides with her face down in the snow. It is a delight to watch. I'm wondering if this might convince our San Diego friends that they need to come to Utah for Christmas. We got all of this snow in about a 5 hour period of time. We're hoping for more!!!

4 Little Monkeys

I told my kiddos the only thing I wanted for Christmas was a nice wall portrait of them. Well, I tried. They didn't. Obviously they don't care about mom's Christmas wish. I didn't help that I have laryngitis and couldn't yell at the little darlings. They are totally taking advantage of Mom being without a voice. They just do not take me seriously. Maybe I should just hire a photographer. Or, maybe I should hang one of these on my wall. I know! Let's vote. Please leave a comment with your vote of which image I should enlarge.

Oh, the things I do!!!

My little Bro ask me to make a special, fun, creative treat for him to take to work. He knows I am so gullible. I stressed an stewed and schemed and came up with this brilliant creation. It was so darling, until it began to melt, just minutes after I assembled the little guy. It was something I did not have time for and as I was frantically building my cheeseball masterpiece, I was thinking of what a waste of time it was. No one would care what it looked like and he would only be devoured. So, before he was totally melted I hurried and snapped a picture.

HO! HO! HO!

We kicked off the season with a visit to Santa. Only 3 of my 5 "kids" would sit on the big guy's lap. It was great to get to see him and begin our Christmas magic.

Over the Edge

After dinner on Thanksgiving day, my brother took us rapelling. Yep. We went over the edge of a cliff and then did it again it was so much fun! The kids were naturals! I realize it is much easier for a little person to maneuver their body weight down a rock wall than some us big people. We would all like to do it again and would brave a larger face next time. This excursion was at the Hobbit Caves in Logan Canyon. It's a great way to burn off those extra turkey calories!

Turkey Time!!

We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at home this year. We had a lovely feast...except that the candied yams caught on fire!!!

We are truly blessed with many things...the best of all are friends and family!