Winter Weather

I absolutely love living on the east coast! What a tremendous blessing it has been for our family to live in this beautiful part of our country. I'll be driving along some evenings and see such glorious sunsets and my heart just fills up with gratitude for the great beauty of this earth.

And this storm rolling in...isn't it amazing?

Yes, I'm a total nerd but I love capturing these breathtaking moments of winter because my gratitude for this particular season is not always at a high. These pictures remind me to be grateful that I have a warm home, suitable clothing, and a heated car to get me around when I actually need to venture out in the freezing cold.

Even my kitties bask in the sun when it's out!

One of the few things I dislike about living in the east is how long the winters last. I don't mind the cold and dreariness of the weather through Christmas because that kind of weather is fitting for the holiday season. But then comes January...and February...and March...and they are long, cold months shrouded in gray and white.

My silly Googie, posing for a picture!

The kids absolutely love winter because they thoroughly enjoy playing in the snow, even if it's just a few inches.

One tired girl - she was out sledding all day!

And then come the snow storms that aren't just a few inches but a ton of inches...the kids love those the best!

My snow cuties!

Yes, it's definitely a love/hate relationship for me!

Pinewood Derby 2015

In past years Xander has not had much success with the Pinewood Derby. The first year he refused to participate and then the next two years found Xander's car floundering in last place in most of the races. Some of you might recall the extremely sourpuss face that was displayed in most of the pictures from last year's Pinewood Derby.  This year I kinda gave David a hard time about Xander's string of losses and since this was his last year doing the derby it might be nice if he had a better car. David started researching tips and tricks to a better Pinewood Derby car and then he and Xander got to work!  
And here we go - Pinewood Derby 2015!

Xander's sleek silver car.

Noah also made a car, with David's help, for the siblings races. It needed a few final touches.

A car that fits Noah - a dragon van!

Savannah's 49ers car served her well last year so she brought it out again.

Xander had a big part to play in the Derby this year - he helped keep track of the races...

and carried the race results to the computer.

A full house,

with lots of excitement in the air!

My favorite part of the Derby was listening to Xander announce the races. He really got into his role, elongating names and adding a little humor to the event.

Towards the end of the Derby we realized that Xander had won all his races and his car was headed in to the finals. To determine the ultimate winner they took the top 3 cars and raced them against each other three times; in each race the cars were placed in different slots to ensure that all was fair. In this picture Xander's car is in the 2nd slot. Go Xander!!

Xander's reaction when his car went undefeated!! Love the pure joy! And the best thing was that the car was all his - he cut it, painted it, attached everything, and implemented all of David's hints that he had found. We were so proud of him!

Next up were the siblings' cars. Go Noah and his Dragon car!

What a cute group of little kids.  They were just as into the races as their older brothers had been!

Unfortunately Noah's car didn't do so well but Savannah's 49ers car rocked it once again!

The winners of the 2015 Pinewood Derby.

The siblings winners!

A proud dad!

Way to go out in style, Xander! No grumpy expressions this year.

ABBY Time!

It took a couple months but Noah finally earned that award he had been working for since the start of the school year - the ABBY behavior award. David and I headed to the school in January to cheer on our No!

I love his teacher's face in this picture!

A congratulatory handshake from the principal.

I tried to get him to at least try to look presentable for today's award ceremony but he opted to wear his Steve Smith, falling apart, old team, Carolina Panthers jersey. He presents such a stark contrast to the cute little girl from his class who knew how to dress for the occasion. Oh, well, we can't have everything - if he can't dress at least he knows how to behave.

Noah and his teacher, Ms. Koehler; he adores her!

I always have a little worry in the back of my mind about how Noah, my ever-so-exuberant child, is behaving at school. Awards like this help ease those concerns. We are definitely proud of our Noah!

His picture in the school's front hallway.

88 Years Young!

My sweet friend Audrey turned 88 in January! To celebrate this fun occasion I invited a bunch of ladies from church to surprise her with a big birthday lunch bash. Audrey had been telling me for several weeks that she was in the mood for a big hamburger and, since she had been so sick for a couple of months and hadn't been eating well, this was great news.  When someone wants good ole' fashioned hamburgers, you head to Red Robin!
Ann, Audrey, and Phoebe. Joyce brought the Birthday Cake and Candle hat which we insisted Audrey wear!

It was quite the celebration!

Love this lady!!

One Last Party

One of the hardest things about the ward split was losing a bunch of our wonderful Young Women to the new ward. So, we decided to have one last hurrah! Bring on the party!!

Not only did we hang out, talk, and laugh but we had pizza and treats...

and played games.

Our Beehives: Sydney, Savannah, Carolyn, Catie, Natalie, Emma, Elizabeth, Ashton, Sami, and Bekah.

our Mia Maids: June, Sydney, Eda, Anna, Mary, Emma, Kamaria, Carrie, and Natalie.

our Laurels: Girl from other ward, Inaeja, Kendal, Rachel, Rachel, and Alex.

and the leaders: Elinor, Nichole, Heidi, me, Melissa, Catherine, and Debbie.

Had to throw in a silly one!

I lost all of my Mia Maids to the new ward, just when we were really starting to gel and develop a great relationship with each other. I miss those girls every week!!