Let It Snow

I LOVE having seasons in our little state of Utah. I really love the air when I can feel and smell that a new season is on it's way... I get so excited! So here we are in the midst of our long, cold winter so I thought I 'd  list the advantages to all of our beautiful snow:

*SNOWBOARDING- LOVE it! Me and my friend, Jessica decided in high school that we were going to learn how to snowboard- even though I had skied since I was little. It is so much fun- and I never skied downhill again.  Now it seems like I'm either pregnant or have a newborn that can't be left for a whole day, so I go entire winters without snowboarding- this winter being one of them. :(  Hopefully we'll teach our boys and I'll go with them someday too.

*CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING- This will always be in my blood since I have a little Finnish Mom...

*SNOWSHOEING- Hiking in the winter? It's as beautiful as hiking in the summer and you actually stay really warm. 

*SLEDDING- Our backyard has a perfect little slope and you can do a short run or a long run. Elliott is into it this year and maybe next year Ollie will get the hang of it.

*SNOWMEN-  So fun to create your own little snow person and see him watching for you when you've been out running errands. And then see how long it takes for him to melt...

*SHOVELING SNOW- Sometimes it's a drag, but most of the time I think it's a great workout.

*BUILDING TUNNELS AND FORTS- I can see the possibilities in this, although I haven't done it too much. I can see many years of building to come in our family, so I'd better hop on board.

*ICICLES- So pretty. My boys point out every icicle in every shape we see around town. They like to hold them if they can reach to take them off (like a car or mailbox.) And Ollie likes to watch them shatter on the ground as he throws them.

*TASTING FRESH POWDER- I don't really do this anymore, but I distinctly remember doing it when I was little. I always see my boys doing it now, so I had to educate them on "snow eating manners."

*HOT CHOCOLATE- I don't ever drink hot chocolate in the warmer months, but we find every excuse to have it during the snowy days, especially if we have been outside playing. And usually all those neighbor gifts keep us stocked through the whole winter! ;)

*CUTE MITTENS, HATS and SCARVES- I love having the excuse to bundle up in these!

*CHRISTMAS LIGHTS- I love when Christmas lights are accessorized with the snow- they both complement each other so well. 

*NO YARD WORK- I love working in my yard, but I think I would go crazy if I had to do it the entire year. It's good to have a break and just look at the beautiful snow... and not worry about weeds and watering.

*MAKING FOOTPRINTS IN FRESH SNOW- Need I say more? 

So there's my list. I think we have so much to do in our winters here in Utah. I am the first to admit that it should all be gone by March (in time for Spring of course!)  but I need to take advantage of all of the fun things winter brings too. Here are some fun pictures of my boys playing to their hearts' content. Let it Snow!

Snow Tunnels

Rolling a Snowman

Ollie's version of a snowball---the bigger the chunk he finds the better---and he likes to throw them at me and laugh his head off.

Snowman with the neighbor kids. We always call him Frosty.  And of course Ollie is again done. I do see a pattern in a lot of the pics I take of him... reminds me of a little boy named Eric sometimes. ;)
I forgot to post these pictures from Christmas night at my Mom's house. When I told Elliott we were going over, he asked if he could ski again this year. And he was the one who insisted after dinner that Grandma help him get his special boots and skis on. I didn't bring his snow clothes and it was "slushing" (snow and rain mixed??) but he went out anyway and made tracks all over her huge backyard.  Then he continued to ask Grandma if he could borrow this set for the winter so he could ski at our house too. Funny boy. 

His pants and coat are soaked and he didn't even care!

Our funny cat Suki will sometimes beg to go out and will jump on our railing so she won't have to put her pretty little paws in the snow. She only lasts out there for a minute, but I love when she catches snowflakes with her black fur.

Holly Jolly Christmas

Ahhhh Christmastime. It went by so fast this year- but it was so fun! Our boys are the perfect ages to be so excited and everyday is magical and exciting. Everyday we opened a door on the chocolate advent calendar, cut a paper ring off our Christmas chain, and read a story about Jesus. The boys were so excited to remind me everyday. Throughout the day I would find them  looking at our Christmas tree, playing with the decorations and choosing which candy cane was theirs. They would pick up their presents to each other (the only ones we put out) to wonder at what was inside, and showed them to us many times a day. I love the wonder and excitement little kids bring to Christmas... it's the best! 

So I couldn't pick only a couple of pictures since this is supposed to be my memory book now... So these pics start on Christmas Eve...

We found little elf footprints out the back door!!! It's hard to tell how little they are, but the boys were excited that an elf was checking on them to see if they were sleeping yet...
We were a little tired of cookies, so we made Santa a cupcake instead. The boys HAD to put the spider decoration in it. They thought Santa would like that. And carrots for the reindeer of course.

CHRISTMAS MORNING-
This is Ollie discovering his stocking and all the goodies tucked inside. 



I love this picture of Elliott. He had such a hard time going to sleep the night before (and the night before that...) He was just so excited for this day.
I love that Santa put underwear in their stockings!!! (Even in Ollie's- who isn't potty trained yet.) Hilarious sense of humor that guy...

Ready to open the presents...

Elliott wanted a remote control dinosaur (no pic??!?) and a treasure box. We also got Rock Band from Adam's mom.

Ollie only wanted a remote controlled monster truck. Santa was kind enough to bring the race car track too.


Hootenannies with strawberries and whipped cream- our traditional Christmas breakfast.


It was so nice to be able to stay home and play most of the day. Usually we go to both of our parents house- but this year Adam's parents are in Indiana with his sister. We had Christmas with them last week (more pics to come later.) In the afternoon we headed over to my mom's to hang out, and the power went out for a few HOURS!!! It was crazy- but we had candles and played games. The boys have been playing all day, everyday with all of their fun toys. And we have also had a VERY white Christmas in Utah- so they have been enjoying the snow too. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

I left my heart in San Francisco...

Last week Adam and I went to San Francisco to visit my brother, Eric and his wife, Tagen one last time before they move  back to Utah. It was Erkki's graduation from Chiropractic school on Saturday, so we went on Wednesday to do a little sight seeing. The last two years we took our boys with us, but this year we left them to play at Grammy and Grandpa's house. We had lots of fun visiting!

Tagen and Eric at his school, Life Chiropractic College West. He spent the last 3 plus years studying here to get his Doctorate of Chiropractic!
Adam's favorite part of the whole trip was all of the stocked music stores. Let's just say he did all of his own Christmas shopping this year. Nothing compares to Amoeba and Rasputin according to him...

A night in Berkeley.

Eating at 'Crepes a Go Go'- another yearly favorite for us. Yummy- I want one right now!!
So we learned this from our friends' blog, Jesse and Lindy. We decided to spice up some of our dull pics with the blowfish face. Adam had so many good ones. My non-lips could only do so much...
Me and Tags with our full H&M bags after a long day of shopping in downtown San Francisco. We are due a day apart and she doesn't even have a belly yet!! 
It was Erkki's 33 birthday while we were there, so we went to his favorite restaurant which happened to be a german one. It was SO good! I think I'm going to have to find one in Utah. Love their blowfish faces- seriously- if you haven't tried this yet- you need to! I want to see it on everybody's blogs with their millions of Christmas pics...Go ahead, try it!

Christmas in San Fran.

This is tumbled glass from my favorite store in Half Moon Bay. They have this outside section where all the paths are covered in glass. It is so beautiful!! I wish I could have a place in my yard to have paths like this.

You can buy the glass by the pound too. Adam posed in this picture for me. 

Erkki's graduation day! My Mom, Erkki, Linds and Me.

Erkki and Tagen

Bridger, Jamie- Tagen's sister, Mary Jo- Tagen's mom, Tagen, Eric, Sini, Adam, Linds and Leena.

Sisters in San Fran.

On the plane.

At the Salt Lake airport there were Christmas trees made of poinsettias- they looked pretty cool.
We were so excited to see the boysies after 5 days! Grammy and Grandpa sent them home with this awesome gingerbread house from their neighbors. Even the windows light up! They have to work for the candy because the frosting is so hard. :)

The fab 5 minus 1

We had our annual Christmas get together on Saturday in Ange's beautifully remodeled house. Love these girls! Me, Ange, Jill and Tam (We missed you Steph!) I love how Ollie is always around in all the pics- he was glued to my leg that night...
Brady, Ange, Baby Alex, Adam, Sini, Ollie, Jana, Jill, Tam and Dave (The rest of the kiddies were playing in the fun basement.)

Rock Band Boys

Jill, Jenny (Jill's little sis) and me. We are all due within a month of each other.
Sorry Jillie- I had to post this!! :) You know those pregnant bellies catch all the spills...