Temple and Valentines

River had a doctor's appointment in Boise Thursday, so we took advantage of the day in Boise. We visited my Grandma, my parents, and stopped and walked around the Boise Temple. It was a beautiful day, so we just couldn't pass by without stopping. River was asleep and had sore legs from the three immunization shots he'd recieved at his appointment. I just let him stay asleep, but I got some cute pictures of the girls.

Valentine's Day came too quickly for us this year and we didn't get the kids' presents made in time for their daddy. I bought the stuff to do it in January, but planned on doing the project early February. Time flew and we just gave it to him this morning. It was not just a one day project since we had to let the molds dry and then paint them, but it was fun. The girls were so excited to give them to Daddy, we wrapped them last night while they were still damp from the paint.

Making Pinatas

Grandma Spaulding tries to do something once a week with her grandkids that live close by. Last Tuesday, they made pinatas, which she'll let them decorate another day. Hunter didn't want much to do with it at first, but ended up enjoying himself. McKinley had a great time, but went to play with Hunter after a little while. Sage, however, had the longest attention span of the three. She could've done this for hours. She was the first and last one at the table working on hers and was so focused! River was just plain happy.:) Thanks for the fun, Grandma!

Swimming in the Tub

Yesterday, I let the kids go "swimming" in our bathtub. Sage has been talking about going swimming for a long time and we haven't done it, so they put swimming suits on and splashed around. I put River in a swim diaper so he could join them. He loved it! He kicked his little legs, splashed with his arms, and smiled so big. I was holding his head most of the time, but I did manage to let go long enough to catch this happy expression. The girls loved having him in there with them. "Swimming" just wouldn't have been complete without all of them. :)

Snow is Falling All Around

We've gotten so much snow lately! The mountian close to us where we go skiing got 4 feet last week. I'm not sure how much we've had in the valley, but it's more than they've had here in years!
Our Stake President even cancelled church Sunday. How often does that happen? I think he must be a California transplant. :)













We took advantage of the snow this weekend to go sledding. Although we don't have actual sleds or big hills close by, we didn't let that stop us. We went to Roy's parents' house and tied one of our kayaks to the back of Grandma and Grandpa's 4 wheeler. Grandpa drove us all around the fields surrounding their house.
We even got high centered a couple times going over big snow drifts. Sage had fun at first I think, but didn't last the whole time. She ended up riding on the 4 wheeler for the second half.
Roy started out on the innertube, holding on to the rope attached behind the kayak while I rode on the back of the kayak with the girls.
Later, Grandma rode on the back with McKinley while I rode on the innertube. While I was riding, I kept having to lift up my behind to keep it from dragging. My body kept having to go straighter so I was practically lying flat. I kept yelling to Roy (now on the 4 wheeler with Sage) to ask him if I was losing air. It wasn't long before I was just dragging the deflated tube with me while I slid on my rear end. I have to say, it didn't make me feel too good to think that I was the one who popped the tube. :/ It was rather funny though. Roy and I then took each other on a little more wild ride. We all had a good time. River slept through the whole thing, which was nice.




When we were nice and warm inside, Sage took to her favorite banana chair. She ran as fast as she could to knock it over and roll off. This was her favorite part of our snow day I think.

Skiing

McKinley learned to ski last winter and was anxious to hit the slopes! She went skiing over Christmas break too, but unfortunately, I wasn't there to take pictures. She did three runs before calling it quits so Sage could take a turn. We forgot the Edgy Wedgy to keep the ski tips together, which wasn't a problem for McKinley, but we worried a little bit about Sage.

Sage skiied last year in the backpack, but this year she said she wanted to do it by herself. Sage was so bundled up and the ski boots were too big (they're the same ones McKinley uses). She reminded me of the little boy in A Christmas Story ("I can't put my arms down!"). Most of you are probably familiar with that movie -- it's a classic as far as I'm concerned. :) Roy had to keep grabbing her harness to help her trek through the snow. Having skis on her feet was a new and exciting experience. She smiled and giggled, but couldn't move very well on flat ground without her Daddy's help. He finally picked her up in his arms and carried her to the lift.

She struggled a little bit at first standing up on her own. She kept leaning forward and relying on her Dad to keep her up. At first, I wondered if Roy was going to have to hold her up the whole way down the mountain. That was not the case. It didn't take long before she started allowing Roy to lengthen his hold on the straps. She did a great job by the end even without anything to keep her ski tips together. She's a natural just like McKinley! :)

Roy's mom was kind enough to come skiing with us and take turns with the kids. Truth be told, she only got to ski about an hour of the time we were there. She was so great to let Roy and I ski with the girls and with each other. When we finished skiing and were packing up for the day to hurry back for Roy's evening of clients, I rushed out to get a picture of River on his first trip to a ski lodge. He was asleep when I picked him up and put this bunting on him.

Obviously it didn't affect him too much to be put against a few skis or tree trunk in the snow since he kept on sleeping! :)