From Snow to Ice

Although we don't get a lot of snow here in Virginia, something we do have during the winter are Ice Storms. Unfortunately that is what our latest snow storm turned into. This morning we woke up to a world covered in a thick sheet of ice. School and Church activities were canceled today, but luckily we weren't affected by any power outages. The girls tried sledding again, and actually liked the fact that the track they made yesterday was covered in ice. Watching them "rocket" down the hill reminded me of Chevy Chase's sledding scene in "National Lampoons-Christmas Vacation." :)
(If you've scene it you know which one I'm talking about.)
All and all it wasn't a bad day. Sometimes it's nice to have a reason to sit on the couch wrapped in a blanket and sip hot chocolate.
(I should try that sometime =)

Let it SNOW!

Finally! The first snow of the season is here!
After living in Virginia for the last 3 1/2 years I've learned to accept the fact that this is not a part of the country that gets much snow during the winter. But in past years we've at least seen some snow before the last week of January! I think Joe prefers "snowless winters." I... on the other hand...happen to love the snow, so I was really excited to wake up and see big fluffy snow flakes covering the parking lot of our apartment complex.










































The girls were dismissed from school 2 hours early because of the weather, so we had a great afternoon playing in the snow!
We don't own a sled, so Becky and JJ tried sliding down the hill on some big black garbage bags. It worked great! Who'd have thought?



















Dallin squealed with excitement the whole time we were out side. It was so fun watching him discover snow for the first time.

1 YEAR OLD!!!

Yesterday, JAN. 17, 2009, Dallin turned ONE!!!! I can't believe it. I don't remember any of my kids first year going this fast! Granted, this has been a pretty busy year for us, but WOW....time flies! He has been walking for about month and he has started to say a few words like: Mama, Da (Dad), ball, boo (when playing peek-a-boo), nummies, dance and hot dog. (he likes to do the "hot dog dance" from "Mickey Mouse Club House.")

After church today Padilla's came over and we had a little party for him here at home. Dallin had fun playing with his new toys and eating cake!!! YUM!
We love our little man so much!!!

Here are a few pictures from his party:

























































First, Dallin ate cake......



















Next, he ate his plate.....
























Then, he ate his tray......



















And finally, our little one-year-old boy was all tuckered out.

(It's hard to tell because the video is a little dark, but as we were sitting around the table talking we looked over and saw Dallin falling asleep in his high chair=)



HAPPY BIRTHDAY DALLIN JOSEPH!

Tagged....The 8 list....

8 TV shows I watch:

1. Super WHY!
2. Little Einsteins
3. Mickey Mouse Club House
(What can I say? These are the TV shows I watch =)
4. The Office
5. So You Think You Can Dance?
6. Dancing With the Stars
7. Home Cooking with Paula Dean
8. Good Eats, and America's Test Kitchen

8 Things I did Yesterday:

1. Drove the girls to school. (we missed the bus!)
2. Watched my friend's little girls.
3. Went visiting teaching
4. Went to Walmart
5. Went to Shoppers (the local grocery store)
6. Picked the girls up from school
7. Taught piano lessons
8. Made dinner

8 Things I look forward to:

1. The weekends
2. Warm weather
3. Not having two kids in diapers
4. My trip to Utah in May
5. Dessert! =)
6. Serving a mission
7. Getting my degree
8. Moving into my new house!!!

8 Places I like to eat:

1. Chick-fil-a
2. Panera
3. Chipotle
4. Five Guys
5. Tony's Pizza
6. Red Hot and Blue
7. Akasaka
8. Home (when Joe Grills Steaks!)

8 Things I wish for:

1. To be more organized!
2. A Baby Grand Piano
3. To be 15lbs. lighter
4. To raise kids who know who they are, know they are loved, and choose the right.
5. To be a dancer ( I know it's a little late for this one. However, I took lessons on and off while I was growing up and loved it. I always regret not going further with it. Oh well, maybe in the next life! =)
6. Tour Europe
7. A Motorhome (yes I'm a hick... and proud of it!)
8. A ski boat

December... in a nutshell...

Well, I almost went through the whole month of December without posting anything so I thought I'd catch everyone up by going back and mentioning a few highlights of the last four weeks.

As I've mentioned in earlier posts our family had the amazing opportunity to participate in our stake's production of "Savior of the World." What an unforgettable experience! I had no idea there were so many wonderful, talented people in our stake. We had the chance to meet and get to know so many amazing people! We performed the show the first two weekends of this month. We had some incredible missionary experiences inviting non-members to the show. The whole process was such a testimony building experience for me. The Spirit was always there during rehearsals and performances and it was such a wonderful way to begin the Christmas season. Our family was blessed in so many ways through participating in the program.
The first weekend of performances my parents and 2 sisters came to see us in the show and do a little sight seeing. We had a great visit with them.

The second week of the month I spent most of my extra time in the kitchen. I participated in a cookie exchange with some friends where we all made 18 dozen cookies to share! (6 doz. of three different kinds of cookies!) I have never made that many cookies at one time! It was fun though and after the exchange I had 18 different kinds of cookies to show for it. My intention was to give most of them away but unfortunately I ate more than I gave away! =)

I was not as on-the-ball this year about getting my Christmas shopping done early, so I spent the third week of Dec. sprinting from store to store (with four kids) trying to finish holiday shopping!

We attended the annual "Beatty Bundt Cake Party." Joe and the other husbands had to make a bundt cake from scratch to be judged by the wives. I have to say I was impressed with Joe's baking skills! He even won the award for best tasting cake!

The girls had a great time over Christmas break. They had almost two weeks off of school! We had a fun time just "hangin' out."


It was a busy month, but we made some great memories and had a great holiday season.
Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!!!

We had an awesome Christmas this year.
After Becky's Party Joe made us a delicious Christmas Eve Prime-Rib dinner! YUM!
Next we read the Nativity Story. (Thanks to being in "Savior of the World" we had the best costumes ever!)
Then the kids got to open their pajamas and put together a yummy plate of cookies for Santa. And Finally.... off to bed!

Our cute little "Polar Bear" Shepherd























JJ was Mary this year























Becky was our beautiful Angel























Joe was" double-cast" as the Donkey and Joseph


















Everyone in their new pajamas! (Please don't laugh at the picture. It was bed time and this was the best picture I could get!)


















Christmas Morning was so fun! Everyone got what they asked Santa for.
(Dallin was more excited about the boxes and paper than anything else.)
We had a great time opening presents. Then we got dressed up in our new clothes and went to IHOP for breakfast. We came home, played with toys for a while then headed over to Padilla's for Christmas dinner.


Our front room after the " Christmas Tornado."





































Much to his Dad's dismay Dallin totally ignored all the balls and trucks
he got for Christmas and instead spent the whole morning playing with a
light-up ring Emily got from JJ... oh well...























What a great day!
"Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BECKY!!!

Today is Becky's birthday! I can't believe it!
She's nine... going on 25:)
She really is such a blessing to our family. She is so good at taking care of her little brother and sisters. She is a stellar student, a talented little singer-dancer-piano player, and she LOVES doing all kinds of art projects.
She got to start her day by opening her present from Grammy Walker... A gift card to "Build-a-Bear." So we ventured out to Potomac Mills Mall and Becky got to make her very own bear. Then we came home, opened all of her other presents and ate cake!
It was a fun way to spend Christmas Eve morning.
We love her sooooo much.
She was definitely the BEST Christmas present ever!
Happy Birthday Rebecca Lynn!