Sledding at the Sinks

We finally found out where the "Sinks" are in Logan Canyon in February.

What a cool place....especially if you have teenagers who really want a good sledding hill....and a dare devil 9 year old.

There were snow mobile markers down the main part of the hill. Wouldn't you know it...it became a target without trying. I lost count as to how many times we had a close call with that thing. The first time the kids made a train, Jared being the heaviest was in the back with Victoria in the front. It was so funny because the added weight in the back proved the laws of physics with him sliding faster than Victoria. This meant that their train ended with Jared backwards, head to head with Victoria and Kaleb and Daphne split, holding onto eachother practically going down sideways. And then literally, wrapping themselves around the snowmobile marker.

 There are down sides to a long sledding hill. Like the long walk up, which really wasn't too bad if you were over the age of 10.

 It snowed almost the entire time we were there. We were getting a little concerned that we were going to have to dig the van out. The are where we parked was already pretty deep. I think the new tires on the van helped.

 Here comes Kirk...and his beard.......there he goes! When we got home he asked me to trim his beard. He didn't like how it felt when it blew in the wind. I was glad to see it shorter. I was starting to think that something was hiding in it.

 This is the sign that it is time to go...

 This moose was taking a rest by the side of the road just watching the cars go by. Long ago when we camped in Yellowstone, we kept watching for a moose. I just wanted to see a moose in the wild. Now that we see them often, I am still amazed at these animals. Whenever we drive anywhere, we are always on the lookout for wildlife.

Sledding on Beaver Mountain

 We headed up into Logan Canyon to do some serious sledding.

It was awesome.  We all love the snow.

While we were there a storm blew in and was snowing.

While the boys and I were waiting for Kirk and the girls to

bring back the sleds, we were catching actual snowflakes

on our gloves. 

I almost had tears in my eyes. 
They were large enough to take a picture of them

but I was too busy soaking in the moment.

I didn't want to take my eyes off them.

We had never seen an actual snowflake in real life before, only in pictures.

 We could hear Daphne laugh all the way down to the curve.

 Our "No Fear" child.  She would just march to the top of the hill, plop down

on the sled and off she goes.

But......when she got tired, she could barely move.

We almost had to drag her along on the sled to the van.

My handsome boy.

I liked this picture of the girls just walking along chatting.

I love to see any of my children deep in conversation.

I keep thinking at that very moment that they are building a lasting relationship.

I love them.

Kirk raced the boys down the hill which I missed.  They looked like tiny little specs in the

view finder, so I didn't get a picture of that.

I love that our family plays together.

I love to make memories.

Christmas Eve

 I know that Christmas is so much more about the birth of Christ.

But

I can't not think about Christmas and Cookies

all in the same thought.

The birth of our Savior and

Sugar Cookies.

They are both sweet and save me from life's predicaments.

 Well, we have spent our first Christmas in our new home,

with our new church

and the same traditions.

But the traditions have been so much more fun with

crisp temperatures, snow on the ground, new surroundings

and a new outlook on life.

 My friend Kelly had done this with her daughter and sounded like a great idea.

So we had to make one too.

I wasn't sure if Victoria's foot was going to actually fit on a dinner plate

but it did.  She kept asking me

"you want me to step on the plate.......with paint?"

It turned out adorable.

Long ago we started decorating gingerbread men on Christmas Eve.

We have all looked forward to it......that is if I correctly planned ahead.

Though I do make a few stipulations.

1. Don't squeeze the icing out the top of the bag and make it all goopy.

That drives me insane and will make me into a "wicked Mommy".

2. Don't hog the icing.  I'm not making more so you have to share.

3.  Don't decorate more than your share of cookies.

I know I sound pretty bad.

Don't do this, don't do that.

BUT, there is so much laughter that goes on at the table

I don't think anyone actually hears that.

They are probably just saying

Alright Already, let me at it!



Spud Gun OoohHah!

 Every boys dream.

To build a Potato Gun.

All you need is PVC, glue, a striker, cheap hair spray and of course

a potatoe.

I had no idea this thing could be so cool!

The boys built it as a projectile project for Scouts.  Our fingers were really cold trying to twist the striker at a speed that would ignite the hair spray.  I always knew that hair spray was flammable but this was totally awesome.  And the FWOOP sound of the potatoe that was shot out of the cannon was just as exciting.  I can't wait for the boys to show my Dad this. 

 This is neat!

Water Rockets

We thought we would spend some family time shooting off the water rocket at the park the other night.  Yeah, it was still 100 degrees out at dusk but it was worth it.

This water rocket we have had for probably 12 years.  It is made from PVC, a tire valve, a bike pump and a 2 liter bottle with water.

I came across it in the garage the other day and decided it was time to pull it out again and have a little fun.

I kept trying to get an actual picture of the bottle leaving it's resting position and kept missing it.  One second it is there and the next it is gone leaving behind a stream of water.

 I did finally get one.  It looks like Kaleb is going to be hit in the face with it but I assure you that he is a couple feet away.  It only "looks" like that.

Jared has always found time to attempt to wrestle his Dad to the ground. Now that he is actually taller than Kirk he "thinks" he might be able to do it.  

Kirk still out weighs him so it will be a long time before he can pull his Dad over. 

 You can just barely see the bottle flying out of the picture.

It was a little hard for Victoria to pump an endless amount of air into a Squirt bottle.  She was funny to watch because she was trying every single kind of technique to force the lever down.

I love this picture.  Catching an empty plastic bottle falling from about 50 ft in the air is like trying to catch a feather floating right in front of you.

AAwwww....he missed!

I love this time of day.

Aarrgh!!!



Puzzle

The other day Kaleb was looking for something to do. He pulled out a puzzle that I knew would take way too much time to put together and is really hard. I sent him back to the garage to find a puzzle that might not take too much time to do since I knew it would end up on the kitchen table until it was completely put together. He came back with a puzzle that Daphne and I got at the thrift store for $2. My kind of deal. You just run the risk of missing pieces.

Everyone became involved with this puzzle. Not quite what we need right now. It became a large distraction with it not only taking up a huge amount of space on our table. It was really hard not to work on it during meals. We spent quite a few late nights sitting at the table working on it. Quite a few times someone would call for something and you would hear the "puzzle" response of ... "just a minute". That was always the first indication that the puzzle was being worked on. We were saving this particular one for summer but was welcomed with a break here and there and some late nights. It only had two missing pieces which is the most that we have ever encountered.

It was a very pretty puzzle. Lots of beautiful colors. Great way to bring the family closer together especially when it's 10 at night and we are all needing to go to bed and we all keep agreeing to go after this next piece. And then you get the excitement of getting a piece in so you work on the next piece and it just keeps going from there. So I guess it didn't matter what puzzle Kaleb chose to put together. The very thing I was trying to avoid happened anyway. So really what did it matter? I guess it was intended to happen whether I wanted it to or not.

Snow Day

The Headley Men

Flagstaff was hit with some awesome snow over the last week of Dec and the New Year.

We were in absolutely no mood to "ring" in the new year in any way but the thought of hanging out in the snow for a day sounded pretty fun.

Needless to say it was literally freezing. We didn't last very long.

I think our blood is a little thin living in Phoenix.

The snow was so powdery and sticky. It was really pretty.

Usually by the time we get to Flagstaff the snow is iced over.

Victoria and Kaleb were about the only ones who were really light enough to slide down the hill. It was still fun trying.

It was so peaceful getting away. I had a horrible headache when I started the day that went away being out side in the crisp air. Well, we had a great family day that I will cherish forever. The dogs had a blast. Sammy enjoyed getting into our well hidden lunch bag and helped himself to cheese and crackers. We even had a crate on top of it and he still made it in through a zipper and velcro! So he had a nice hearty snack before hitting the slopes doggy style.

Life hasn't been very fun lately but a day in the snow, freezing our toes off was definately stimulating. And from the looks of this next picture...pleasantly exhausting.

Learning to Ride a Two-Wheeler

Last Spring Victoria was so close to riding a two-wheeler but then it got hot and who wants to run along side a bike in 110 degree heat. She has been speeding up and down the street on her bike with training wheels with them barely touching the ground so we took them off and headed to the park. And you can't learn to ride a bike without Daddy running along side holding onto your seat waiting for the right time to let go. She was getting a little tired here and was starting to crash a little too much. I think it may be time to quit. When Kaleb was learning, we came to the same park to practice where there was plenty of room to maneuver without hitting cars or trash barrels. He and I worked on it for quite a while and of course the only pole around he must have run into it atleast twice. The one day that Kirk took him to the park to practice, I was at work. I got a call at work from Kaleb to tell me that he did it. I wasn't there to see it! So the very next day we all went so he could show me what I missed and he rode his bike AND ran into the only pole around! Jared stole Kaleb's bike (which is actually Jared's old bike) and took off. The dogs would love nothing better than to break loose and run, run, run. The problem with that thought is that they probably wouldn't stop and have to go meet every person or dog they see.

Christmas Cookies!

Daphne started making cookies while I was at work the other day which sparked a few others. You can't have Christmas without homemade cookies.

There was a time that I was all alone out in the kitchen baking away but now I have two daughters who are eager to help.

They do an excellent job.

More importantly, I have greatfully handed over the task and allowed for their own creativity in the kitchen.