A DAY AT THE MOUNTAIN

One of my favorite things in this world is watching my kids be active. I LOVE watching them run, play ball, swim, but most of all I LOVE watching them snowboard. , . Today we rounded up the kidos and headed to Targhee for a little R&R. Good times, good times.

CAN I DO THAT MOM?

(here a few pics I stole from Cortney & Ash's blog this is Cort in his cliff jumping days. Targhee)

We got a visit from Cortney (Brother) and kids yesterday and man was it a blast. We LOVE getting visitors so we brewed up some yummy Carmel bars, played doctor to a few stitches, and got out the sleds/snowboards for some fun in the fluff. Cortney is like a LITTLE kid stuck in a big boys body. He built a jump for all the little dudes to sled and snowboard off, and built him a larger jump. This jump included climbing on a ladder to the steepest point of my home and snowboarding off. YES, I said snowboarding off my house. Now Cortney has a past with snowboarding and let me tell you it involves injury after injury, and cliff after cliff.

(Cort gaping the road......is it a bird.....is it a plane......no it's super Cort)

It took him a few tries before he nailed the landing, and glad to report "NO INJURIES". Now all Carson and Kelton have to say is "Can I do that mom?" I will get some photos from Cortney. I took some sweet shots of him doing his dangerous/crazy stunt. Brian has a day off from work tomorrow so we are heading to the mountain for a little snowboarding. My buddy Natalie volunteered her niceness to watch little Coop. Thanks Natalie......You ROCK.

DO YOU BELIEVE?

Merry Christmas to you all. What a CRAZY day it has been. It started off at 2:00am, 4:00am, and of course 6:00am - Carson kept saying that Santa had come and it was time to WAKE up. It had snowed all night and into Christmas morning. What a wonderful morning it was waking up to a fresh blanket of 12" of white powder. Truly Beautiful.

Carson had been questioning if Santa Clause was real or not. We sent off their Christmas letters in the mail about two weeks before Christmas. A couple days before the big Santa showed up Carson and Kelton received a letter in the mail from the "North Pole".

(Carson talking to Santa at the Christmas Eve party)

Dear Carson and Kelton
I got the letters telling me what you want for Christmas. I have heard you have been pretty good boys. So Santa will try to bring you what you want. Remember to be very good. Help your mother and father and take good care of Cooper. I hope you are good at school and do all of your homework, and study hard. Be sure and keep your room neat and help your mother around the house. I will probably be hungry when I get to Ashton. Some mike and chocolate cookies would be nice.
Love, Santa

As soon as Carson got done reading the letter he had an irreplaceable smile on his face. Priceless! He hopped into the car and said "I believe, I believe."

(visit http://bertaboice.blogspot.com/2008/12/merry-christmas.html to see Christmas Eve)

Christmas morning Carson seemed a bit sad. He said that Santa didn't bring him the only thing he really wanted (X Box 360). Usually Santa leaves his gifts unwrapped and out for the kids to see first thing, but one gift he did wrap. As he was opening it tears rolled down his cheeks and he started laughing hysterically. He was laughcrying. I can not even begin to tell you how dang funny it was. These are the moments you wish for every year. Priceless!

Kelton got some paintball clothes, Cooper got a basketball hoop, I got sweet Nano, and Brian got his GUN that he has been drooling over for the past 3 years. We feel truly blessed not by the gifts we received, but by the "Spirit" of Christmas this year.

Brian headed out about 9:00am to snowplow and we didn't see much of him until late that evening. This was the first year that we were unable to make it to Rexburg for Christmas due to the large amounts of snowfall. Me and the boys hung out while Brian slaved away. I definitely missed seeing my family for Christmas, but was happy to know I have a warm home to hang out in, with great kids and a hard working, loving husband.

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season.

ROCK STAR

photo by the great Carson Williams
So tonight was the ward Christmas party. I really don't THRIVE on ward parties because they tend to have long lines and nasty food - no offense because I usually bring the nasty side dish. The only reason I really wanted to go is to see Mr. Clause and give him my LONG Christmas list. Well, not really my kidos wanted to see the big SANTA and see if he was the REAL deal. I called my neighbor Kelly to see what time the party started and by the end of our conversation I was playing the guitar with her in approximately 1 hour. What in the WORLD did I just commit to? I haven't played the guitar in YEARS. Well, we played and let me tell you we ROCKED the house. Kelly has some serious kahonies to get up and sing in front of that many people. I just kept my head down and concentrated on not screwing completely up. We had a great time!

I remember playing the guitar with my mom when I was a little tike. We played for ward talent nights and yup, we also ROCKED the house. Good times...........good times.

Santa finally showed up and Carson was NOT convinced that he was the man. Kelton didn't want to talk to him but took plenty of pictures to show his friends that he saw the REAL Santa.

So tonight I am going home and guess what....I am "PRACTICING MY GUITAR" because when I grow up I want to be a ROCK STAR.