Family time in frozen Stanley

On the last Sunday of the year 2013, the Tolman family had their annual Sacrament meeting program in the Stanley, Idaho branch. Josh and I took the boys down to Stanley on Saturday and spent the night in Josh's aunt & uncle's hotel. The boys love playing with their Forsgren cousins, and looked forward to going there over Christmas break, as per tradition.  

 

On Sunday morning, we woke up and all got ready for church. This is what our hotel room looked like (everybody dressed in Sunday best, everybody entertaining themselves until it was time to go):

 

The views from our hotel room were just spectacular (as they always are in Stanley), from the back deck we could see the Salmon River and the Bitterroot Range. The crystal clear blue sky was a beautiful contrast to the frozen plant surroundings. 

 

 

It was super cold that morning--but then, it always is in Stanley. On the way to church, our car's thermometer read:

 

When we arrived at the community center (which is where church is held in the winter), we saw snowmobiles drive by. I don't think I've ever seen snowmobiles drive by on a city street before--that's just not something you see every day, unless you live in Stanley, I guess!

 

The church program was nice: Josh and his mom were the speakers--Josh talked about having a Christ-centered home, and Kathy spoke about gratitude, and I sang a song in between their talks about God's glorious creations. Then the children went to the kitchen for primary, and the men and women separated (which has never happened when we've attended the Stanley branch before); the men carpooled to a different building for their lesson, and the women stayed at the community center and had a nice lesson about change of heart.

 

After church was over, we went back to the hotel, changed our clothes, and went next door to the Forsgren's home for dinner. We ate sandwiches and Mexican dip.  

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon. After dinner, we chatted and played games and ate some of Aunt Janet's super delicious homemade ice cream.

the boys playing in the "Game Room"

Aunt Janet's homemade ice cream was a recipe from Grandma T:
it has oranges, lemons, and strawberries in it. Sooo good!

We had such a good time that we stayed until it got dark out. Thank you Ben & Janet & family for showing us another great time! It was a highlight of  Christmas Break for our family!

Aunt Janet, Uncle Tim, Aunt Barb, Edward, and Uncle Ben (sitting)

Cousin Sammy--isn't she beautiful?!

Ben got out a 500 pc puzzle and Ammon & I helped him finish it.

Cousin Mikey taught us a new game: Carcassone

Ammon particularly liked the strategy game

The Ping-Pong table set up in their large room was a big hit!

All the boys played several games of it!