Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Snow Day Shenanigans

We got our first snow storm (really our fist snow fall) of the year last night and it was a doozy!  We had to have gotten at least a foot of snow and some pretty impressive drifts.   The kids were thrilled, but after a couple hours of shoveling us and our two neighbor ladies out, Dave wasn't quite as excited as them.  We watched our neighbor across the street, who does not own a snow blower, open up his garage and just sort of stand there in disbelief.  Dave had to head to work so he lent him our snow blower to save him from having to shovel.  My dad went and bought a new snow blower yesterday and thank goodness he did; he said he had gone through 3 tanks of gas this morning blowing neighbors out.  It was quite a storm.  The kids were ready to go out before 8am but I made them hold of until about 9 I think.  They had fun and are ready for round two later on this afternoon.  (I know there is an overload of Wyatt pictures-it's his first time really getting to play in the snow)
 Warming up with some Lego building

 Wyatt has the right idea.
 Madi, you're shoveling the wrong way...shovel away from the driveway:)
 Madi got Grace in the face.
 One happy boy

 Our winter baby


 That one's a little too small Gracie
 Wyatt got Madi:)
 A true snow angel
Bear loves the snow.  He is getting old and it takes a lot for him to even stand up some days, but he's like a puppy when it snows. 
 

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Oconto Christmas Lights

Tonight we drove to Oconto to go through their park Christmas display and have dinner at Wayne's Family Restaurant.  Years ago we did this for the first time, right around my birthday.  My dad was gone at work when we went so my mom and sister came along.  After we drove through the park to see the lights, we ate at the same restaurant we did tonight and did a bit of shopping at Pamida (now Shopko). Since that first year we went, which might have been even before Grace was born, it's been somewhat of a tradition and mom always looked forward to it.  Tonight we all met at the restaurant for dinner, drove through the lights, and then went and shopped for a while at Shopko.  Such a nice night, and the perfect way to honor her memory. 
 Dinner with the crew
 This tree was just beautiful

 My favorite part of this display was the crown; the perfect touch.
 Of course we had to take a picture of the tree done by the Reed family:) 

 It started snowing very heavily on our way home and when we passed the Chase Stone Barn it looked so pretty.  Dave pulled in and we snapped a couple pictures from the car. 

 

Gift Giving

Gift giving has always been my favorite part of Christmas.  I got that from my mom.  She was so good at giving thoughtful gifts and remembering small details and things that people said throughout the year to come up with wonderful gifts.  This was my favorite gift that I gave this year.  I put these '12 Dates of Christmas' gifts together for Doug & Sarah and Kaci & Brian.  I started putting them together this summer and had a lot of fun doing it.  It doesn't look as pretty and professional as I was planning; I wanted to print up cute little tags for all the envelopes, etc. but it's the thought that counts right;) 


 

Christmas 2015

We did it.  We made it through.  I love the Christmas season and always hate to see it go, but this year, getting through the last two days was all I could think about. Last night as we crawled into bed, I just felt relief.  We did it.  We made through our first Christmas without my mom.  It's not that we didn't have a good Christmas, it was just so different and so, so hard.  We visited her both days and tried to send off lanterns at the cemetery on Thursday night but the wind and cold didn't cooperate.   The kids were very happy with all their gifts and we got to spend time with family and extended family which was wonderful.  Here are a few pictures of the fun. 
 The girls sang in the choir for the 4:00 Christmas Eve mass.  Our church was PACKED and they said they were anticipating 1200 people minimum!
 Present time at Papa's house.  The twins were helping Wyatt open his new trike from Papa!
 Stamping kit from Uncle Doug & Auntie Sarah
 The girls got Kindle Fire's from Papa.  This was Grace's face when she realized what she had gotten:)
 Thank you Papa!  That was the extend of the picture taking at the Hoverson Christmas because it was mass chaos with three 2-year olds trying to open everything:)
 Wyatt waking up Christmas morning
 Santa came!

 Skateboard, helmet, and Under Armor shoes for Madi 
 Grace got a camper for her American Girl doll and a campfire set with sticks and marshmallows to roast
 Little man got a train table!
 She didn't understand why she got a fish tank if we had no fish.  I explained that part of the gift was getting a fish.  Silly girl.
 Really mom?  Big boy undies?
 Madi got her cowgirl boots!
 Wy and Daddy checking out his new train
 Wyatt unwrapping his new bed set for his big bed-action shot
 We were all pretty excited about the kid's new University of Wyoming gear from the George family!  Dave just got me a new Wyoming Cowboys shirt and sweatshirt for my birthday so now we can all match!
 The aftermath
 Welter family Christmas fun!  The kids playing ping pong and the adults playing cards
 Wyatt and Ceanu-ping pong partners
 Grandma & Aunt Wendy serious about cards:)
 Rylee in action!
 Two tables of card playing
Wyatt was the referee because nobody wanted him on their side:)