Temple Visit

Today Brent's parents, Brent and I went to the Timpanogus Temple. It looked beautiful in the snow. It was even more beautiful inside.

This morning Brent made me drive the car in the snow. It was a little scary at first. The roads out of the neighborhood were fairly clear. However, the roads around the house had lots of snow on them. I didn't wreck the car, so I did pretty good.

Christmas Ties

Sunday, December 21st
This year all of the men in the house received their first Christmas tie to wear to church today.

Brent loves his snowman tie.

Grant is thrilled about his Christmas tie.
Mitchell couldn't put down his reindeer tie all day!
The boys are ready for church with their festive ties.
Brent and I ready for Christmas.

Snow Education

Today Brent and I headed up to Utah to spend Christmas with his family. I love visiting Alpine, Utah. It is right by Mount Timpanogus, many hiking trails, and a beautiful forest. Unfortunately, going up at Christmas time meant driving through a lot of snow. Here is what I learned.
This is Interstate 15 with one lane clear to drive on. This is a good thing. It is easier to stay on the road at about 50 mph.
I learned that even though it's freezing outside, the cows still roam looking for food. Why aren't they in a barn?
This is us driving on Interstate 15 when the snow was getting bad. The road was slick and icy. We couldn't go faster than 40 mph. It was super cool to stare at the large snowflakes flying toward us. Brent said that you can get hypnotized by them and drive off the road. Is that true?
Ahhh, we are safely in Alpine. Now the snow looks pretty on the trees. This is what I imagine snow is all about.
Look on the left of this picture. It is a local snowplow! It is much smaller than the ones I saw on Interstate 15. Have you ever seen a snowplow working? I hadn't. Brent thinks I have lived a sheltered life.
On the left side of this house, attached to the roof is a super long icicle. Yes, I learned a lot about the cold snowy winter of Utah. I am glad I am only visiting. I hope when we come home on Saturday, the weather is sunny!

Grant's Early Christmas Present!

Saturday, December 20th
For the last three years, Grant has been asking for a puppy. Over the last few months the request has been much more persistent. He even tells us that he will take care of everything for the dog. He even listed all the things he would be responsible for if he got a dog. So the #1 thing on his Christmas wish list was a dog.
So on Saturday we surprised him with a 10 week old Chihuahua. He was ecstatic! He loved on the little 2 pound puppy constantly. He said he already feels like he is a part of him. He named the dog Max. Later, when Brent asked him what his full name was, Grant replied that it was Max Cuddles Ward.

Grant's could hardly let go of Max the rest of Saturday. He wanted Max to sleep with him Saturday night; however, we want Max to be potty trained and kennel trained ASAP. Max is doing pretty good with his training. Grant took in as many opportunities as he could to snuggle with his puppy. It was hard to say good-bye to Max when he had to leave for Wisconsin.

Band Concert

Tonight was Grant's first band concert of 6th grade. He was VERY excited to perform. He loves playing the clarinet. The 6th grade band played the following songs: Hot cross Buns, Au Claire de la Lune, Donkey Round, Jingle Bells, Dreydl, Dreydl, Surprise, symphony, Frere Jaques, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, Holiday Sampler, and The Nutcracker. Grant is one of the few kids in the band that played an instrument last year.

This is Grant after his performance telling me how awesome he is. He knows no humility!

Grant now wants to learn how to play the flute. He is also learning to play the piano. He has a keyboard in his room and I recently purchased a book to learn how to play the piano. So now each evening, I go in his room and am learning to play the piano. I find it very challenging to read the notes. However, Grant tells me I'm doing a good job. He loves having someone else in the house that is attempting to play an instrument.

Mr. Talent!

Grant did this perspective drawing for his math class. I thought he did a great job. I am very impressed with the straight lines and the distance he created. What do you think?

Family Pictures!

My awesome cousin Brandon took pictures of my family while we were up in Kingman. He was so much fun to take pictures with. He ended up with some great shots!

Married 6 months and still in "la, la land!"

Grant is almost 12!

Mitchell still plans on conquering the world!

Modeling contract, maybe?

My men!