DON'T EAT COLORED SNOW

Zoe has been asking to build a snowman all season. The snow is finally wet enough to pack well, so we made a new friend yesterday. Should I tell her it's rude to lick your friends?

Spray Bottle + Water + Food Coloring = Hours of Fun in the SNOW.

I MARRIED A GEOLOGIST

CHRISTMAS EVE

My sister-in-law Vikki invited us to her family Christmas Eve festivities. We had a wonderful dinner, talent show, nativity re-enactment, and even a visit from Santa himself. Zoe couldn't pass up the chance to sing into a microphone...even if it wasn't plugged into anything.

Zoe got to be an angel and appeared to the Shepard (Uncle Matt). We thought Ava could be a large baby Jesus, but she wasn't really cooperating.

Our family and Santa

Matt, Vikki, and Anika with Santa.

Thanks again for sharing such a wonderful Christmas Eve with our family.

SLEDDING

Zoe had been so excited to go up to Salt Lake and spend time with her Uncle Matt. Both my girls adore him, and sledding was especially fun. And...a great workout for Tyler and Matt.

DANCING GIRL

Zoe had her holiday dance recital recently. She loves to perform any chance she gets and looks forward to the recital for weeks. I can't believe how grown up she looks in her tutu.

She was so concerned with loosing her earrings that every time she moved across the stage she had to check and make sure they were still there. She did a great job...WAY CUTE ZOE!

SNOW CASTLE

It snowed today....a lot.

NUTCRACKER

My niece Sarah has been practicing for months with the St. George Ballet Company for their production of the Nutcracker. We were able to go and see her perfrm at the Saturday matinee as a party girl and angle. She did such a great job, and even gave us all a big smile every chance she got. We are so proud of all her hard work, she is a wonderful performer.

Zoe loved watching the dancing. She especially liked all the children, the bear and the princess ballerinas. It made it even more special to see the performance with her Grandma and cousins. Brittney, Sadie, Bailey and Zoe

Zoe and Ben

After the performance we went to dinner our Nutcracker star. Zoe was so excited to see her and to give her a big hug afterward. Thanks to the Hutchings for such a fun day. Too bad it took 4 hours to get home because of a jack knifed truck on I15!

The Nutcracker will be performed at the Dolores Dore Eccles Fine Art Center on December 12th thru 17th. Visit www.sgballetco.com for more information.

THE TREE

We have made it a tradition to go up the canyon and cut down our Christmas tree each year. This year there wasn't too much snow and amazingly Tyler found our tree within 5 minutes of hiking. We didn't even have to tie it down...he just threw it in the back of the van. Then he topped the trip off with hot chocolate for the ride home.

Ava was freezing by the time we left. I carried her up to see the tree before Tyler chopped it down. Then she spent the rest of the time trying to climb up and over a snow bank.

Zoe was perfectly content to just sit and pile the snow. When we got home we put up all the Christmas decorations...and Tyler even put the lights up on the house. I guess he lived up to his promise after all. We are finally in full Christmas swing.

LIGHTS

We visited Temple Square to see the lights. In years past my memories of doing this include freezing and fighting crowds. We managed to score a sweet parking spot and had great weather...it couldn't have worked out better. The girls loved the lights...Zoe told Tyler that is how she wants our house to look. He HAS been promising for YEARS that once we had our own house he would put lights up.

BENSON GRISTMILL

Last weekend while we were staying in Erda we visited the old Benson Gristmill. It seems that a few times a year we are lucky enough to be visiting while fun things going on there. It was a really great way to kick off the Christmas season with a visit with Santa.

The girls love spending time with the cousins.

There are many old homes around the mill. In this home they served up some hot chocolate and stories of the pioneers first Christmas after settling in the Tooele valley.

The Benson Gristmill

Before we left Grandma Knudsen treated all the kids to a horse drawn carriage ride around the grounds.

EBA

Since Tyler was about 16 years old there has been a 3 on 3 basketball tournament in Erda. It is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving and is a favorite part of the holiday for us. He looks forward to playing with his brothers and old friends all year long .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Our family would like to wish you a happy Thanksgiving! Zoe had a great time at school this week learning about the holiday. She got to make this turkey hat, thanksgiving prints, and a cornucopia of sugary delights. Who's waking up at 5 am to go shopping on Friday? ME!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

In case you missed the Ellen show today...here is the performance by Pink. When it shows Ellen down in the audience during the performance I'M RIGHT BEHIND HER!

ELLEN

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the Ellen show on TV when she announced that she was taking her show to Vegas. I immediately ran to my computer and requested tickets. The next Saturday night I got a phone call letting me know that 4 tickets were on there way! I was really excited to make a day of going to Vegas with 3 great friends.

Our first stop was to one of my favorite clothing stores...H&M. We definitly spent way too much time in there, but we all found some great purchases including a pair of hot pink heels for Hollie.

We stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and were on our way to Caesars Palace for the show. After being faced with an almost impossible task of finding a parking place, we were RUNNING to the theater (luckily Hollie agreed to not wear the hot pink heels until we got to the theater).

When we got to the theater an Ellen employee pulled us aside and switched our tickets for the FRONT ROW!!! We couldn't believe our luck. It was a great show with Bette Midler, Pink and an illusionist. During the Pink concert Ellen came over and stood right in front of me....I was litterarly a foot away from her.

So, the show airs on Monday, November 24th at 4pm in UT. Be sure to watch for my head behind Ellen during Pink's performance. What a fun...and exhausting day!!!

TWILIGHT

Yes, I know what you are thinking...yet another one of "those people" who are obsessed with "that book series". And with this post I guess I must admit that I did enjoy the books...a lot. I heard someone describe Twilight as literary junk food, and I think she's right. You know how it is when you pop the lid to the Pringles canister or tear into a package of Oreos - you can't stop eating them, those empty-calorie, high-sodium, trans-fantaculous, utterly irresistible treats. Yep, that's how it is.

So, now that I have the admission of being one of "those people" out there, I guess I can also admit that I had my ticket to the movie weeks in advance AND wore matching t-shirts with my friends to the midnight showing.

I think I'm ready to stop the embarrassment now, but will admit that if it takes a vampire movie and matching shirts to get all of my Cedar friends to the movies with me...I'll do it again anytime! (thanks to everyone I stole pictures from...I forgot my memory card).

STAIR SNUGGIN

Lately one of my girls favorite things to do is get a bunch of pillows and blankets and snug together on the stairs. I guess they are just the right size.

OWL ADVENTURES

Anyone who has spent any time with Zoe knows she LOVES OWLS. She was given her first owl as a Christmas gift from my sister Amy when she was 1 year old. He quickly became her best friend. We now collect anything with owls, although her snowy owl will always be her favorite. Here are some of our adventures with FRIEND OWL.

hiking at Cedar Breaks July 2006

August 2006

Welcoming home baby Ava, September 2006 (notice owls hair do).

Picking pumpkins October 2006. This ended up being a sad day because we lost Friend Owl. I was still in my crazy post baby mode and I cried until Tyler found a replacement on EBay. We had to replace him again a few months later after leaving him at a restaurant. Thank goodness for EBay!

May 2007 nap time with many of her owls.

January 2008 sledding sisters

March 2008 Zoe took a dance clinic from the local high school drill team. The other girls all danced with baby dolls, but Zoe dance with her owl.

June 2008 Zoe thought our new kitten Atticus would love to snuggle with owl. Turns out he did. Notice the owls pajamas. He has worn them ever since Zoe and my Mom sewed them...which is not surprising since Zoe would stay in her PJ's all day too if I let her. He also had a jack-o-lantern costume last year for Halloween, and has a Hawaiian shirt for parties.

August 2008 hiking to Cascade Falls up Cedar Canyon.

Labor Day weekend 2008 watching a lightning storm in Torrey.

October 2008 at the pumpkin patch. Notice how she is rubbing his nose...it is worn completely through on the end. His eyes are also pretty banged up. Luckily Zoe's Aunt Vikki is an eye surgeon and she examined him this summer...she said he would be just fine.