Snow!

Yeah, I am a little bit late on this post- blame the newborn.

So last weekend we got tons! of snow.  I mean that literally- if you measured it all, I'm sure it would amount to tons.  And also feet if you want to count depth.  At some places in my backyard the snow was up to my knees!  Growing up in Portland, where 2 inches of snow was a miracle, and then in Hawaii where people had only seen snow in pictures, that much snow was truly incredible.  I loved it!  I also loved that I was inside and warm and free to watch the snow come down.  I didn't love so much that my husband had to drive to work in it when it seemed like everyone else was staying home (Dave did end up leaving work before one on Friday so that was pretty awesome). 

Anyway, the point is- we got an awesome amount of snow and we had so much fun playing in it! Dave was the champion of the weekend- he knew just what to do- he dug out pathways throughout the backyard so the boys could actually get around and then he even built a sled run!  It was a lot of fun for everyone.  I also learned why it is called "powder" (before you scoff, see the above paragraph where I describe my prior snow experience).  I was out playing with the boys and I jumped on the sled (which was do-able in Portland) in order to start sledding down a little incline.  Instead I ended up sinking into the snow and sending up a cloud of snow into my face/jacket (visualize someone jumping into a mound of flour for all of you non-utahns).  Yeah, it was a surprise- the boys thought it was hilarious. 

It was a great weekend overall.  Unfortunately the weather has since gotten absolutely frigid!  We had a few below zero nights and days where the high was in the low teens. Suck! If it weren't for the boys I would have just stayed in bed all day (correction- if it weren't for the older boys, I'm sure Zeke would have been content to snuggle with me all day in bed).  Really, there have been moments where it's just been painful to try to go outside... so I haven't. :)

Anyway, check out these pix! Some of them are really fun!

Day one of the storm- our tree is covered in snow!

Ethan leaning on one of the snow banks created by our shoveling the driveway

Emery was so excited about the snow he just ran up and down the driveway (thus the blurry picture).

Snow!

Emery's idea of sledding

At work in the backyard...

Dave about to toss Ethan in the snow

Probably my favorite picture from the weekend... :) Good Timing Huh?

Ethan in the deep snow, after being tossed by Dave

Building the sled run

Dave's first run...

Ethan shoveling the driveway

Ethan's first run

Loving it!

Such a cutie yeah?

Em gets a turn too...

Look at those branches sagging under the weight of that snow..

That's how much snow we got...

And while we were outside, Zeke was fat and happy (and warm) inside...

2013!

Well, we survived the Mayan end of the world... I guess I should have mentioned that in my last post. We didn't make it to midnight on New Year's Eve- almost, but not quite.  I tried valiantly but ended up passing out in front of the TV before dragging myself into bed at 11:45 PM.  Good bye 2012, hello 2013!
I've been celebrating 2013 by rearranging most of my house and cleaning out the stuff we don't need or use anymore. I wonder how busy the DI is right now? We took all of our old toys there... I bet a lot of people are doing something similar as well. I moved the boy's toys up to the extra room upstairs (was Zeke's room, but I decided I didn't want him to have his own room).  So that freed up a lot of room downstairs and will hopefully keep the main floor of the house a little bit cleaner. 
I've also started working out again- or well, trying to get into it slowly.  The first day I sat down to work out I couldn't find my exercise DVD, so that was a little frustrating.  So I found a pilates DVD and tried that only to find that it was scratched to the point of being basically unusable after the first 10 minutes.  More frustrating.  Then I decided to go it on my own- only to have Em try to climb all over me, Zeke fuss, and Ethan try to do the exercises with me (which would have been fun if he knew the concept of personal space).  So new plan is try to work out after the kids are in bed at night. 
Anyway-now it is back to our regular routine.  I'm okay with that and the boys are doing great with it.  We've been getting Zeke into bed with the other boys (which has been nice for Dave and I), and the other boys have actually been asleep by 8 PM lately.  It's awesome! We used to sit and sing to the boys until they fell asleep (yeah, I'm a softy), but with the beginning of the new year we changed the routine- the boys now get 2 songs and then they have to stay in bed (we don't sit with them anymore).  The first few nights were rocky, but now the boys have got the hang of it.  It's great! I feel like (and I do get) an extra hour each evening.  And bed time is less stressful on Dave and I. 
Dave starts school tomorrow.  We have been debating whether or not he should go back now that Zeke is here and after a lot of discussion Dave actually found a few classes that he was really interested in.  The classes are taking him in a little bit of a different direction than what he was taking last semester, but hopefully it continues to help him get an idea of what he wants to do. 
As for me- well, my cell phone died yesterday.  I have had the worst of luck with my mytouch 4g slide.  I've had it replaced 4 times (by tmobile) because it wasn't working correctly for one reason or another.  I had charged my phone overnight on Friday night and Saturday afternoon I noticed my battery was super hot, then my phone shut off.  When I turned it back on it said the battery was at 5% (and I hadn't used it at all!) and it was also saying that it was 1970.  Stupid phone.  Dave called Tmobile and got me a new phone (he does better dealing with that stuff than I do).  I had been debating what kind of phone to get.  It kind of seemed like the choice in phone was a reflection of what kind of parenting philosophy I wanted... less time on my phone = more time with the kids and my kids want to play with whatever I have.  I have been thinking of going back down to a dumb phone- after all, I'm home all day- do I need to be able to check facebook, my email, and the news from my phone when the computer or ipad is right there? Also, Emery is totally addicted to anything electronic which has been making me look at my habits when it comes to electronics.  Em sees me on the computer, the ipad, and/or my phone a lot.  So its been making me think about trying to scale back where I can.  Also, I'm cheap and wouldn't mind saving a few bucks by getting rid of the data package on my cell phone plan.  Anyway- we ordered a smart phone, but I think I am going to treat it like a dumb phone (no fb, news, email, etc) and I'm going to try to cut the data on it as well. ? We'll see how it turns out. 
And now on to another week.  I'm glad that I am home on maternity leave.  It has been ridiculously cold outside.  I feel so bad for anyone that has to spend any amount of time outside in this weather.  I don't want to get out of bed and I have a million blankets and my bed is inside a nicely insulated and heated home. I am truly blessed.  I can't imagine the hardship for the people that have to spend the night or day using whatever means possible to stay warm. 
Oh yeah! It was Zeke's first day of church today! Ethan is also a sunbeam!  He is going to big boy church as he calls it.  He loves singing time as well (he kept trying to conduct the singing part).  I peaked in at him a few times and he was so adorable- sitting on the edge of his seat and paying such close attention to the singing time teacher.  Emery went to nursery all alone for the first time and he did just fine. And Zeke hung out with me in Young Women's.  The young women all thought he was adorable and everyone was amazed at how fat he was getting (yes, Zeke is getting quite fat!).  I swear I can see Zeke gaining weight as he eats. 

This is Ethan & Zeke playing together- Zeke is driving a "race car" and Ethan is the passenger. 

Ethan's imagination is really taking off. 

I really wanted a family picture of all of us before church.  Em was super grumpy and refused to sit for a picture and we just couldn't get everyone together for a picture.  Oh well.