Resting on Turtle Creek

In January I stole away for a few days with just my parents for a quick trip to Colorado. We went to scatter my Grandpa's ashes in one of his favorite places in the world - Loveland Ski area.  My grandpa LOVED to ski. I have vivid memories of him taking me and my siblings up skiing a few times. When he got tired he'd send us off in a group and wait for us at the bottom in the lodge. I remember one time when Harrison and I deciding to take one of the harder runs down the lift grandpa had told us to ride. It was super steep and ungroomed so the moguls were nearly as tall as Harrison. I'm honestly surprised we made it down. When we told grandpa what took us so long, he wasn't angry a bit - he was proud of us!  Skiiing with grandpa was the best because he always bought us hot chocolate.

One of the amazing treasures my grandpa left me before he passed awas a memory stick full of photos and videos he had digitized over the years. Here are a few of his skiing pictures with captions he wrote. I'm so thankful he took the time to preserve these memories. Apparently in his younger years he was a speed demon! He made his goal of skiing until he was old enough to get in for free. 

Our day at Loveland was perfect! The weather, in true Loveland fashion, was cold and overcast. Every memory I have of skiing Loveland growing up involves freezing but loving it. It was especially exciting for me because I haven't skiied in 8 years. That's too long! 

Luckily, it came back quickly, and I was still able to keep up with this crazy guy. My Dad is an amazing skiier (and he'll be the first one to tell you that too!)

Harrison joined us for part of the day. Somehow he and my Dad convinced me to ski The Ridge with them (right on the Continental Divide at 13,000 ft). It was so cold up there!

See the end of the chair lift way, way up there?

A view of the same lift on my Grandpa's files!

At the top of The Ridge

I made it down in one piece in time to meet up with more family that came to honor Grandpa. I don't have pictures of half of our group. Many of my cousins were there and several had their kids with them as well. He would have loved to see his great-grandkids out there skiing too!

Part of Grandpa is now forever resting on his favorite run - Turtle Creek. While we're sad he's gone, it was such a great celebration of him and his incredible life. Thanks for teaching us all to ski Grandpa. We love you!!

Lots to Love about Lenora!

This beautiful, kind little girls just turned 6! There are lots of things we LOVE about our "Lenora Girl" (as Grandpa Tony likes to call her). 

Lenora is a positive thinker. She often looks for the good in situations and finds joy in life. She is happy the vast majority of her days. Even when she gets hurt, she will fight off tears and pick herself right back up. 

Lenora is quick to notice when others are feeling down. She loves to try and comfort others especially when they're sick or hurt. 

Lenora is brave and independent! 

Lenora is silly! She has a silly tradition right now. Every night she stuffs as many of her stuffed animals as she can fit down her shirt and sleeps like that - all night.

Lenora has the sweetest smile.

Lenora also has a gap from losing her first two teeth! I think it's so adorable on her.

 Lenora has an amazing mind for puzzles and building things. I've never seen someone her age who is able to follow Lego directions or do puzzles like she does.

 Lenora continues to be a peacemaker in our home. She is quick to compromise and share so others can be happy. She is extremely selfless.

Lenora is just plain fun! I love her excited, silly voice when she yells out, "Mommy! Look!"

Leonra is an awesome sister. She's happy to play with the little boys and goes along with the older girls games.

Lenora loves to learn. She is picking up reading so well and competes her schoolwork quickly each day. She says math is her favorite part of school!

Lenora, we LOVE you so much! You are sometimes a bit of a mystery to us because you're not one to come out and speak your mind. But your quiet, consistent life of love, peace-making, and service certainly doesn't go unnoticed. Thanks for bringing joy and harmony to our home! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Christmas Day

Tradition in our house says you can open your stocking as soon as you wake up! I love it so much better then having to wait forever like when I was a kid. Lenora got Taco Bell hot sauce and seasoning mixes, and I think it was her favorite gift of the day!

None of my kids really knew what to ask Santa for this year (which I thought was so sweet!) He surprised Orson with a fishing pole, Conrad with a "choo choo boy bay" Lego set, and the girls with hammocks!

 From us, the kids got a larger bow and real arrows and a BB gun. 4H shooting sports here they come! The girls were SO excited about the arrows.

Just as we finished opening presents, it started snowing big, beautiful flakes of snow. Christmas magic! 

Hazel hit the target twice the first time out! 

We spent the rest of the day eating, relaxing, and playing games. The kids convinced us to go sledding even though the snow was already starting to melt.

Later, my dear friend Cindy stopped by for a visit. It was a wonderful, beautiful day!

Prince of Peace

Sometimes blog posts (like this one) sit half-finished in my drafts folder for over a month. I titled this post and picked out the picture in hopes of capturing the Spirit of Christmas we enjoyed this year. It just feels incomplete to post about Christmas Day without also writing about the wonderful things that invited the true reason for Christmas in to our home and family. But, it sits and sits and sits, because sometimes it is so hard to put these feelings in to words. 

This year the kids sang a beautiful song called "Prince of Peace" at our ward Christmas Party early in December. It got me thinking of that incredible title for our Savior. What greater gift is there than the true peace that only Christ can bring? 

Every year our advent calendar includes a scripture each day. In the past we've studies titles of Christ, prophesies about Him, events from His life, reference to Him in the Book of Mormon, etc. This year, we read through The Living Christ. It was beautiful to study around Christmas.

On Christmas Eve the kids did a lovely nativity. Hazel took it upon herself to direct the production. She and Eliza pieced together costumes and planned how it present the story. Their hard work paid off because it was very sweet. Orson as Joseph pulling Brenna as Mary on the "donkey" was adorable. They ended by singing "Prince of Peace" again.

The evening before Christmas Eve we took Jamie on a "date" to see the Temple Square lights. We also got to experience the Giving Machines for the first time. Instead of giving gifts to each other this year, the kids purchased three chickens and soccer equipment for others. It was probably my favorite part of the month. 

I'm thankful for these small moments that added up to make a December full of the Spirit of Christ. What I've written is definitely inadequate to express the joy and especially the peace He brings to our lives.