This Baby Girl...

..isn't feeling so hot.

So I have to snuggle her a little. And rock her to sleep.

To tell you the truth...

I kind of like it.

Snow Play!

We were so lucky to be able to spend some time up north with friends during Christmas break. The end/begining of the year is a little busy in the insurance world that Wendell lives in, so he wasn't really able to take time off work. We kind of like having him around so we took advantage of having Christmas Day off. We headed up to Pinetop after a super short meal with the Proffitt fam.

We personally own a small assortment of snow clothes. The rest we relied on the cabin to magically supply. They had a great supply of clothes ranging from this awesome one piece that made Kindyl look like a 70's goddess


to an arrangement of moon boots. They were stocked with everything we didn't have.




We bundled everyone up including marshmallow babies that could barely walk in all of the snow parafernalia
and the four year olds who weren't much better. But they were at least a little more mobile.
We used the sleds for fort building
and sledding. (Farrah Fawcett catching some air)
Sometimes behind four wheelers.
We even switched it up a little with a snowboard behind the fourwheelers
(Mitchell boarding)

(Kindyl)
I think the kids liked that part best. It's almost like wakeboarding that way. Without the challenge of getting up. And a little less wet;)

Rach is getting so old...
The next day we went to find a more challenging hill, and it was my turn to sport the awesome green snow pants.
You're jealous of the outfit. Admit it;)
Here's a fun pictorial I like to call "Bren and Dad wipe out". Yes, that is a little jump at the end of the run.




And it's a happy ending! Dad and Bren are both smiling. That's always good.

It was the perfect little mini vacation. The days were fun and busy which meant an early bedtime for the kids. Early bedtime for the kids meant we could play a few games in the evening with our friends.

Even though this little girl got a little silly by the second day. When she woke up she went right to the window to look outside. At seeing the snow outside she looked dejected and said, "Oh no. It's still winter!"


Of course that didn't stop her from playing in it all day!

My House Burned Down This Morning...

(the house I grew up in)
And it kind of feels like a friend died. What, over dramatic? Maybe.

But I have years and years of memories there.

I grew up here. And we were best friends with the neighbors. We celebrated my 12th birthday out by the pool.


The YW hung a banner in front of this house for my 16th:



I got ready for dances there,

High School graduation:

and even my wedding.

(front yard of this house)

We opened Christmas presents in the downstairs family room.

and had Family Home Evenings.(check out my dad's gnarly vid cam)

My mom and Mama Ginger helped me hang wall paper in my bedroom when I went through my peach and blue phase at the age of 12.
My dad helped me paint that same room when I was 15. I wish I could remember the colors. Red and something I think. He listened to Les Miserables, Nirvana, and Garth Brooks with me to try and understand me better while we painted.

This is what that bedroom looks like now:





Notice the entire top floor is gone.



The only thing that remains up there is the lonely office window. The office is gone. So is the master bedroom w/ balcony that we used to jump off of into the pool, the bathroom, the library, and the big walk in closet. They are literally toast.


Mostly it is the memories of my older kids there that I miss. Wendell and I lived in Payson the first few years we were married, and we stayed at that house when we came into town.


We celebrated Christmas there with the kids.


And Easter.



We had Rachael and Kindyl's first few birthday parties and swim parties there.

(Rachael's 1st)

(Kindyl's 2nd)



We took family Halloween pictures out front.


And big cousin pictures with the grandparents in the living room.




I truly miss it.


The people we sold it to defaulted a couple of years ago, and it was on the market. Now I kind of wish we would have bought it. Now that we have 5 kids, those seven bedrooms and four baths would surely come in handy. Not to mention the 1/4 acre it sat on.

Hindsight is truly 20/20.

(though Wendell says he still wouldn't want to pay all the extra we would have to pay with the electric bill. Always the realist...)