Snow day!!!

On Saturday, Jan. 23rd, we took a drive down Pinedale Road to look for a good sledding spot. It took us a while to find just the right place...notice the lovely brown "paint" on the Suburban. It was the perfect size for the kids...not to steep so they wouldn't go too fast, and not too long so they didn't get worn out climbing back up the hill. The top left is Kirstie's face plant wipe out. She's such an adrenaline junkie...I think that was the most fun she had the entire time. Poor Stevie's snow boot wouldn't stay on him, so he ended up having to go sit in the Suburban to warm up his little froze toes. Jennah was happy as long as she stayed upright. It doesn't get much better than this!!

Once there was a snowman...

This is what Steve did with the kids (way back in January), while I was at work. I came home just in time to see their finished masterpiece.

Yet another one...

Jennah made the Superintendents list again...you go girl!!! I chose this picture, because the teacher that handed the award to her (even though you can't see her face) was MY 4th grade teacher. How cool is that?

A little Sunday afternoon project

While blog-surfing last week, I saw a cute, fun, and easy idea for storing my girls flower clips. I already had the frame, paint, ribbon, and staple gun, so as soon as I had enough time to complete my little project, I jumped on it.

Here is the "before" picture. I just took the backing and the glass out of an old frame that I wasn't using. The frame I got the idea from was spray-painted turquoise...not one of my favorite colors. I tend to like an antique, or more rustic look, so I spray painted it a shiny silver, let it dry, painted over it with white paint, and then wiped it gently with a paper towel. After it dried (again), I had Steve help me staple the ribbon onto the back of the frame.

Here is the finished product....I just love doing stuff like this...especially when it comes together so quickly!

It's snow fun

Get it?!? Ya, I know, I'm not very good at funny.

On New Years Eve, we desperately wanted to have some family fun time that was free, so we headed up to the ranch in Pinedale. Steve was able to scrounge up some "sleds"...which consisted of two large restaurant serving trays, and a folded tarp that he found in the garage. Like I said...FREE!! They worked great, and the kids had lots of fun :) Stevie's poor hands were so frozen. We couldn't find his good mittens, so he had to use some little knit ones. I was hoping they would have lasted a little longer. Maybe now he learned his lesson, and will take better care of his good gloves.

I just love their expressions!!

WIPE OUT!!!! (Stevie)

After Kirstie's wipe out...she couldn't get up

Sadly, we had to cut our fun short. One of the neighbors that lives just down the road came to talk to Steve and I. She informed us that there was, what she called a "big cat", (aka- mountain lion) that would come down almost every day around 4:30pm to get a drink from the pond. We decided we didn't want to cross his path, so we left promptly at 4. If we would have been thinking, we would have parked the car close by the pond, and been able to see it close up...safari-style. Well, maybe next time!

Christmas with the Self's

We had a small, but good Christmas this year. Santa gave the girls "Littlest Pets", and Stevie got the Transformer he wanted. Jennah FINALLY got the desk she has been begging for, you can see it in the backround of the shot of Kirstie and Stevie (Steve and I worked to fix up a desk I got for $10 at a 2nd hand store), I gave Kirstie my old MP3 with some extra music on it just for her, and Stevie got Kirstie's old bike, fixed up and painted just for him! Steve, of course, got tools, and I got a Cricut...best scrapbooking invention EVER!!

I think one of my favorite things about Christmas is watching my kids being so concerned about what they are going to get or do for others. I hope it is something that they will carry into their everyday lives...not just at Christmas time.

The Nativity

We had a small group this year, just the Lunt's and the Self's (and my parents, of course). Matti was Mary, Jennah was Joseph (we were short on boys), Noelle was a donkey, Kirstie was a angel, Owen and Stevie were Wise Men, my sister Lynnette had to fill in as a shepherd, because Stevie changed his mind and wanted to be a wise man instead. Paisley was just Paisley...she loved the little baby Jesus, and just wanted to hold him. (Baby Jesus was a "Little Ricky" doll that my mom got when she was a little girl).

Christmas Jammies!!!

We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house. Our family tradition is to open one gift that night, (which is always P.J.'s), and then followed by a pajama parade. I had to include a picture of my niece Paisley in this...she is just over one year, and is just so adorable! Stevie insisted on getting a cross-eyed picture...what is it with my kids and their funny faces?!?

One decade...

I can hardly believe Jennah is now 10 years old!

Here are 10 fun facts about our beautiful girl...

1. She LOVES to read. She tells us all the time that she just can't go to sleep unless she reads first. Sometimes it becomes quite an obsession for her, and we have to tell her to cut back a little...something I never thought I'd have to tell one of my children.

2. I've probably said this before, but when she was born (via C-section), the doctor that reached in to pull her out said (almost yelling), "this baby is breach!!". Well, it turns out, it was just her incredibly chubby cheeks that he grabbed, thinking it was her little behind. After the Dr's and nurses realized what happened, they all burst into laughter. She came into this world at a mere 10 lbs. 6 oz. One of the nurses told me "you just gave birth to a 3 month old".

3. She is a very caring and compassionate little lady. One example is when she came out of the movie "Up" she was in tears because of all the sad things that happened in the movie.

4. Her passion for writing is equal to her reading. If she's not reading, she probably has her notebook out, creating another unique little story.

5. She has basically taught herself to play the piano. As anyone who has tried to teach piano to their own children knows, it's next to impossible to teach them. Because we can't afford to pay for a teacher, I have shown her the basics, and she has taken it from there. Something I was never motivated to do at her age.

6. She is really into "The Littlest Pets". That's about the only thing she asks for lately. (I'm just glad they take up such little space!)

7. She makes friends easily, and all of them are her "best" friend, even the one's she has had to move away from. Another example of her compassion...she loves them all equally!

8. She is very artistic and creative. She loves to draw pictures to go with her stories, and also loves to make things for her friends, such as friendship bracelets.

9. She loves to laugh, and make others laugh (notice the cross-eyed picture above). She'll try to come up with her own jokes to tell, just to get someone to smile...even if her joke doesn't make any sense...if you laugh, regardless the reason, then her mission was accomplished!

10. She doesn't like cake, candy or most anything sweet. If you notice in the picture, it's cheesecake...the only cake she'll eat. The only candy I've seen her enjoy are Tootsie Rolls, and Sour gummy worms, even then, she'll only eat 1 or 2 at a time. (I wish I had that "problem")

We love Jennah and all the love and creativity she brings into our home!