In our backyard we have a beautiful tree and Michael has recently realized that he can not only store his football and basketball up in the branches but he can also hang from the trees. We did it OVER AND OVER again but it was so cute seeing how happy he was about it as he held on and then let go and landed on his feet. 
We were supposed to drive up to the white mountains for Adam's annual wrestling tournament but my grandpa was in the hospital and really sick so we wanted to stay close to home. The kids wanted to see the snow so badly though that we decided to take a little day trip up to Flagstaff. My mom, the kids and I left Friday morning and hung out in the snow for a few hours and had some lunch then we drove back home. It was a great trip! The kids were easy to handle cause they were in our new mini van with a DVD player! They were in heaven and no trouble at all. :-) Emma was ok with the snow at first but when she realized how cold it was she was not a fan any longer..... she is so her fathers daughter. haha! Michael however takes after me and LOVED every second! We had to drag him away. He threw snow balls, made snow men, snow angels, and ate every bit of snow he could get his hands on! His lips were so blue when we left! It was a great time though and I can't wait to do it again! We were SO grateful to have the cute hats that Grandma Weeden made for the kids. They worked perfectly and kept the kids nice and warm as well as very cute! Thanks Grandma Weeden!! :-)
Emma is getting so big and growing more adorable everyday (already 8 months old)! She smiles at EVERYTHING! She is such a happy girl! She even lets her big brother wrestle with her and throw her around on the couch and she LOVES it! You would think she would be crying but instead she is laughing hysterically and if he puts her down she crawls over to him and pulls his hair until he falls down on top of her, which Michael thinks is so much great! She is crawling and standing on her own. She walks holding on to my hands but hasn't quite nailed down the balance to do it on her own....she is getting closer everyday and we expect her to be an early walker. She has to be in order to keep up with her brother. She is already climbing the stairs (while I have a heart attack!)
(Just hangin' out)
(Christmas dress. Both of us were so sick!)
(Coolin' off in the sink)
(Playin' with a braclet)
At the end of last year Adam's little brother Brandon left for college at BYUI. We are all SO excited for him and proud of him and pray for him often. I know he is having a great time up there but of course we miss him terribly. Michael and Emma just adore him and he was great to come over the day before he left for some special time with Michael and Emma to say goodbye until he comes home for his next break (which for a kid seems like FOREVER). WE MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU BRANDON! GOOD LUCK UP THERE!!! :-)
At Christmas time my family has a tradition of roasting almonds. They are SOOOO good!!! We love to give them away as gifts to people at the holidays. Some of my favorite memories are sitting around the table with my aunts and uncles and slipping the skins off the almonds. We have all perfected the aim of shooting the almonds at one another as they slip out of the skins. We try not to waste too many of the almonds on that but it is a blast and has been known to send us into stitches laughing! This year we tired out Emma and my uncle Devon and they were sound asleep for some cute pictures. :-)
For my Grandpa's birthday we decided to bake him his favorite raisin filled cookies. My mom (affectionately known as 'boompa', cause that's how Michael pronounces "Grandma")stayed the night and we worked on them for hours (truly a labor of love). Michael of course LOVES to help cook so we put him to work. He sat on the counter and was in charge of pouring flour all over the counter (and himself), he helped to roll out the dough, and he was a master of the circle cookie cutter! He had a blast!!! He had the hardest time going to bed but it was so adorable to see him having so much fun.
