Boxing Day (aka the day after Christmas)

For the 3rd day in a row, we went sledding! To a different location, though! Josh drove us up that afternoon to South Fork in the truck with Malachi and neighbor Abby; we'd only been up to that spot once before last year on New Year's with the Entrikins, but Mal had never been there. We had a ton of fun!!

Malachi sledding face-first!

Jonah on the toboggan

Josh trying out the plastic sled--usually he prefers the tube

Micah having a good run--
each boy tried to be the one to sled the furthest

Ammon didn't make it as far on this run

Kanyon & Josh racing

Kanyon riding in his new sled. He also really liked
 trying to master using Mal's snowboard sled.

Josh made a fire at the base of the hill. I spent half my time
there staying warm and taking photos with my cell phone

We were there for about two hours, before it started snowing and we decided it was time to go home. The boys wanted to be pulled behind the truck in their sleds until we reached Williams Creek Road. We had to stop multiple times, Jonah's plastic sled got ripped to shreds, and they were frozen by the time we reached the adjacent road, but they had so much fun!!

Kanyon, Mal, Micah, Jonah ready to go behind the truck

Kanyon & Abby watched the sledders from the back of the truck.
They would yell at us to stop whenever any of them fell off!

When we got home, we all warmed up, and then it was time for the annual Monopoly marathon game that we usually play over Christmas Break. The boys and Josh all played for a few hours, and Josh came out victorious (of course--which is why I don't even play that game any more against him!).

Home for Christmas

Since we'd stayed out late on Christmas Eve, the boys actually slept in later than normal on Christmas morning. As a booby trap, I put a wall of dining chairs at the edge of the family room so if anyone came out of their rooms to sneakily look in the living room in the middle of the night, I would've heard them. But they didn't, and around 8:00, we all got up and started celebrating Christmas morning together. 

Santa left crumbs on the plate I'd left out for him the night before. I didn't end up making any cookies, but I'd taken some muddy buddies to the Linger's, and I had some extra of that, so I put that on Santa's plate instead (much to Kanyon's dismay the next morning when he found out! Since he'd fallen asleep on the drive home the night before, he was unable to set out the plate himself). Thankfully, Kanyon had written a note to Santa the week before, and Jonah had re-written it for him on a larger paper. I'd found their notes by the computer, so I added them next to the plate!

I had the boys open one gift each on Christmas Eve: a pair of new pajamas! I like the tradition that others have, and wanted to start it this year myself! It was hard to find cool pajamas for the older boys, but Josh was successful in all his searching and shopping. The boys liked their comfy new PJ's! (I had to wait until the next day to take their picture, though, since Kanyon didn't get to open his on Christmas Eve).

The tree was so beautiful on Christmas Eve with the gifts all around it, anxiously waiting to be opened! The boys didn't get a lot from Santa this year--most of their gifts were from Josh and I instead.

Kanyon gifts from Santa: sled & RC car

Jonah's gift from Santa: new Nike shoes
 (his most highly requested gift)

Micah's gift from Santa: skis and ski boots

Ammon's gift from Santa: a new Nike duffel bag

The boys' first glance at their Santa gifts on Christmas morning:

When they'd emptied out the contents of their stockings (chocolates, soaps, iTunes cards, socks, etc), then it was time to start unwrapping the gifts. We went in order from oldest to youngest, each person opening one gift at a time, and continued the cycle until all the gifts had been opened.  

Once in a while, Josh took turns, too. We only had a few gifts: one from my mom and a couple from the boys. We loved the homemade gifts from the kids; they are so special to us!

Kanyon wrapped his gift in a brown bag and wrote on it.

Kanyon's gift was this ornament, some candy, and a picture of the stable that
he drew for Josh and I. It says "The son of God was born on earth". So sweet!

Micah has become quite the artist, and he drew pictures
of Josh & I's favorite animals for us. It was awesome!
He'd wrapped them himself in a pizza box. 

I just love giraffes!

Josh loves horses. This was such a neat drawing!

The boys drew each other's names to get gifts for one another, too. Ammon got a RC car for Jonah, Jonah got Ammon some Nike Basketball socks, Micah got Kanyon a nerf gun that shoots foam darts, and Kanyon got Micah a light-up board to help when he does tracings. I was so pleased with their thoughtfulness in shopping for one another, and I enjoyed how they took satisfaction in watching the brother they shopped for as well as liking the gifts they received from their brother.  

Kanyon playing with his new remote control car on Christmas morning.

Micah has loved this BSU football & has taken it to
school almost every day to play with at recess. 

Jonah's strange request for a gift: jerky!!!

Micah got a lot of new supplies to help with his new passion of creating art. 

It took about an hour and a half before all the gifts had been opened and the boys started playing with their new toys. Josh & I always gift each other some scratch tickets and chocolate in each other's stocking, so when the boys began playing with their new items, we started scratching away at our hopeful tickets! We both actually made back what we spent this year on each other's tickets (about $20), which was nice!

My winners

Josh teaching Kanyon how to scratch lottery tickets!

Before the boys started putting their new stuff away, I took a picture of them with their new Christmas gifts. We'd had them write a gift wish list at the end of November with 5 items on them, and since they'd all been so practical in their desires, they all got everything they wished for (and more).

Micah 5 wishes:
pair of skis, new sled, art kit, new football, thick gloves

Jonah's 5 wishes:
black church pants, Nike athletic shoes, Big pack of Jerky, Ipod case, gloves

Ammon's 5 wishes:
Nike sports duffel bag, black church shirt, snowboard pants, snowboard coat, jeans

Kanyon's 5 wishes:
sled, snow boots, travel bag, alarm clock, pac-man wii game

After a while, we decided to go outside and take advantage of having a white Christmas! Josh started shoveling as the boys went sledding on the hill right next to our driveway. Uncle Malachi was home for Christmas Break too, and he joined the boys in their fun outside.

This snowman lasted from the first major
snowfall we'd had until Christmas Vacation.

Kanyon trying out his new sled

Malachi maintaining perfect balance!

Jonah wearing his new goggles.

Ammon wearing his new snowpants while trying out
Malachi's snowboard sled. Kanyon loved that mini green sled!

Micah wearing his new gloves (he does have a coat, I swear).

We usually have Christmas dinner that afternoon, but Josh and I decided to have it later so that we weren't stressed about cleaning up Christmas morning. This year, we had dinner at 5:00, and I loved it! We relaxed all morning, played in the afternoon, and then took time to clean up and make dinner. It was absolutely wonderful, and it made the joy of Christmas last all day!!! We ate ham and potatoes au gratin (my first homemade kind--I baked the potatoes and shredded them all, and I can't believe how much effort it takes! I swear I will just go back to using frozen hashbrowns again next time!), rolls, salad, corn, and dessert. We had Edward and Kathy, Tim and Barb, and Malachi join us. Since I didn't ever really decorate my house for Christmas, I tried adding a decorative touch to the dining table for Christmas dinner to make it a little more festive!!

I love spending Christmas day in my own home with my family! I truly enjoyed the entire day this year. I was grateful for my boys and their simple requests, I was so happy to relax and sleep in, I felt so blessed to have snow on the ground, and I felt the true spirit of Christmas in my warm home surrounded with people I love.

January 2015 on FB

January 1: Finished the New Year's Eve puzzle at 12:30 last night. Does that mean it took two years to complete since we didn't get it done by midnight?!!?

January 2: Kanyon's been begging to play the game "Things" all winter break, so finally last night we did. It was so funny playing with our boys. For the card "things firemen do in between fires", Micah wrote down "drink beer". When we finally discovered who'd written it, he said "I wanted to say something that sounded more grown-up-ish!" (we were playing with other adult family & friends). We all got a good laugh from that one! And then of course "drink beer" was an answer for every "things" card after that!

January 3: That was the first earthquake I've experienced in my life!!

January 5 (From Meriah Baker): This picture made my day, I love teaching your boys, Kala Tolman. They are so special to me.

January 9: Swish! I've loved watching Ammon's 3-point shots go straight into the hoop at the last 3 home games!!

January 10 (From Tawna Glover): My parents were so excited to get their late Christmas present!!

January 11: 15 years ago today I became a mom for the first time to the biggest-headed baby in the hospital's nursery (and there were a LOT of babies born during our few days' stay in that hospital since it was the start of a new millennium!). Here's 5 photos to represent the stages in his life so far (as an infant: 1 week old, as a toddler: 3 years old, as an elementary student: 5 years old in Kindergarten, as a middle schooler: 10 years old in 5th grade, and as a high schooler: 15 years old in 9th grade). Happy Birthday Ammon! We sure love having you as our son!  

January 12: Since I didn't make my weight-loss goal yet, I won't be going to Mexico any time soon like I'd originally hoped. BUT....I did just purchase tickets for me and Ammon to visit my sister and her family in Virginia instead!!! I've wanted to go for years, and I'm so excited that it will finally happen this year! Only 6 more weeks!!

January 15: I have weaknesses, and the more I try to steer clear of them, the more I can't stop thinking about them: Cheetos Puffs, Zesty Salsa Sun Chips, Roasted Sweet Potato Triscuits, and Smartfood's White Cheddar Popcorn. And the problem is, once I start eating one of these, I can't stop until the whole bag or box is gone in one sitting!!!

January 16: I cried myself to sleep last night after watching the "Parenthood" episode. I've never been this attached to a TV series before, and I am in mourning that there's only 2 shows left!!!

January 17: I'm in the process of writing a blog post about my Grandma's funeral from December, and I was reflecting back on my Grandpa's funeral in 2002. I was looking at pictures from both, and I suddenly realized that my sisters and I are standing in the same order both times. I like comparing them side-by-side to see how much we've changed! It kind of reminded me of the movie "Little Women": at the start of the movie, Amy is so young and small compared to the older 3 sisters, but by the end of the movie, Amy is suddenly all grown up and it appears as if she's caught up with the age of the older 3!

January 18: Don't be peanut butter and jealous! (to which Josh replied: "Don't hate us cuz you ain't us!" And then  I replied: "haters gonna hate, ainters gonna aint.") [they're lines from a movie we had just watched]

January 19: Our family was just sitting around eating cookies tonight, when suddenly 7-year-old Kanyon exclaimed, "OH! I just remembered how to spell reptile! R-E-A-P and then 'tile' after that". We all look at each other with puzzled faces. Jonah says "there's no 'A' in reptile", and Kanyon emphatically replied "YES, there is!". No one disputed it after that. Because, he is, after all, the baby of the family!

January 22: After having a rough day yesterday, I was delighted to come home late last night to find that the garbage can had been taken down to the road (it's quite a trek to get it there), because today was garbage day. The first thing I said when I walked in the door was "WHO took down the garbage can?" Micah quietly said "I did". And my whole heart melted right then, to know that he thought of it and did it all on his own. It's the small things in life that make such a huge difference, and it was truly the highlight of my day!!!

January 24: One of Josh and I's 2015 goals is to take one of our boys out on a date each month. Tonight was Ammon's turn, and he picked to eat at the Chinese Restaurant. I've only eaten their lunch buffet before, but dinner there was a great choice! It was super filling and delicious, and the take-home boxes are full of tomorrow's lunch, too!

January 26: I have struggled with my Educational Psychology college class the last 2 months, and I am SO relieved and glad and proud of myself to have passed the final exam today!! So since I don't have to study tonight, I'm rewarding myself by assembling a piece of furniture that I ordered online (and have been anxiously waiting for), which finally arrived today!

January 28: [posted by Josh] You know you live in Salmon when traffic on the highway is backed up in both directions while someone gets out of their truck to shoo the ducks off the road.

January 28: I hate that Salmon doesn't have a Redi-Care! Im pretty sure I have strep throat, and they can't even fit me in to do a swab! Ive got a fever of 104, and cannot swallow and I'm dying I swear! Although, in comparison, this is nothing compared to what the guy went through in "Unbroken"! Rant over and out.

January 29: The strangest thing happened to me in the middle of the night: I woke up at 3:30, used the bathroom, and went to the kitchen to take my next round of ibuprofen. I wanted to check my temperature first, so I picked up the thermometer and turned it on, then I took 2 steps to open the fridge door so I could have enough light to see what it said. As I was taking those two steps, I felt strange and thought I was going to puke, but then I realized it was actually the feeling I get right before I pass out. And 15 minutes later, I woke up on the kitchen floor. I couldn't get up, so I tried calling to Josh, but because I don't have much of a voice right now, he couldn't hear me. I thought I would just reach to open and shut the fridge door, because that would wake him, but when I opened my eyes, I realized my hands and face were in front of the dishwasher--5 feet away from the fridge (where my feet were). I apparently passed out sideways! I waited about 10 more minutes before I could sit up, and finally took my temp (I was still holding the thermometer in my hand), took the medicine, and walked back to bed. Although I don't understand why it happened, I feel so lucky that I didn't fall straight back and hit my head!

January 30: I loved the movie "Into the Woods" so, So, SOOO much!!! The music is brilliant, the storyline is genius, the actors were amazing, and the production was both hilarious and tear-jerking!