Ice Castles x2

This January event deserves it's own blog post.  We bought some tickets for the Midway Ice Castles for my in-laws Christmas present.  We decided to go on MLK day.  It was super busy, but it ended up being the best time for everyone.  The line was only 45 minutes long and the kids were well bundled.

People always ask me when the perfect time is to see the ice castles and I've decided that there is no perfect time.  At night, there are pretty lights within the ice, but it's hard to get good pictures in the dark.  Day time is pretty cool AND it's usually less busy.  So... we decided to see it twice, day and night.  Bounce-back tickets were only $5 and both our kids were free.  The second time we went, on Presidents Day, it happened to be their last day of being open.  It was just getting too hazardous with all the warm weather.

I'm sad the ice castle are all closed up, but the place looked like a melting wax castle.  The town businesses did VERY well and it employed several people from my ward. Thanks to you tube, I'm sure Alex Boye and the Piano Guys are set for a while.  My neighbor works for the Sheriff and he said it drove them crazy trying to manage the traffic and parking.  They speculate that next year it'll be moved to Zermatt or Homestead, who have REAL parking lots.  Great idea!

Here are some of my favorite shots!

A New Year

As a goal for this year, I want to turn the ol' blog into a... wait for it... a blog BOOK!  'cause it's never been done before, right?  It's one of my monthly goals on Projects Connect (a project blog that Nora started that kept her sain while living at the cabin during the darkest and coldest months of the year).  I've had the ol' blog for about 6 years and it's probably time to get it made into a book that will look fancy sitting on our coffee table between Ensign and Backpacker.  Maybe we'll even look through it.  I don't know!  Still more research needs to be done.  It's motivation enough to keep this updated!

January was a big blur.  We skied...

watched football...

hung out at the cabin with Nora...

went sledding...

skied again...

did some training to renew my license (taught by Mr. Bates)...

went to the dentist...

and finally potty-trained Anna!

January has been a success!

Christmas to the end of the year!

Can you tell that updating the blog more frequently was NOT one of my new years resolutions?!  Here's a quick sum-up of Christmas... (it's pretty embarrassing that I had to pull out last year's calendar to remember what happened)

December 14, 2013:
ACKERSON CHRISTMAS PARTY!  We shot for a day party this time.  It seemed to work with everyones schedules.  Of course we all expected Nora to plan every detail, even though her life was turned upside down with the move and the pregnancy.  Luckily she didn't have to travel for it, because we had it at the cabin.  The kids sledded and did crafts, the adults ate and played games.  The little cousins drew names to give a small present to.  Anna got a walking/ barking doggy that she absolutely LOVES!  Dallin got a mini piano that reminds you if it needs to be turned off.  What a great idea!  It's still using it's original batteries!  The adults exchanged gift cards in "creative" ways.  I really like it.  Our idea was to give a Panda Express gift card in a huge bowl of  fortune cookies!  It was definitely not the most clever idea, but I thought it more kid-friendly.

December 15, 2013:
7 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!  Um.... We went out to eat... somewhere.  I forget where.  I DO remember planning NEXT year's anniversary celebration, which we always say will be better than the year prior!

December 20, 2013
HAWKINS CHRISTMAS PARTY!  We went out to eat for this dinner.  At first, Bevan protested.  He'd been dreaming about his mom's mushroom rice and baked ham.  I had to remind him about the reality of large extravagant dinners and how one hardly likes cleaning up afterwards.  I wasn't complaining.  I like my in-laws style: no fuss no muss!  We performed the nativity afterwards (not at the restaurant) and Dallin starred as the baby Jesus!  He stayed perfectly swaddled the whole 2nd chapter of Luke!  Anna was a perfect angel, literally!  We opened presents and listened to Lloyd's Family Christmas poem.  It's a hit every year!

December 25, 2013
CHRISTMAS DAY!  Bevan TOTALLY lucked out and had the day off! (even though he wasn't supposed to) Thanks Paul and Rob!  It was high time that Anna got a play kitchen.  She's at that age!  So when Sharon told me what to get and where (as all sisters should), I was a little surprised when a huge box showed up at my door.  Oh, it needs to be put together?!  Piece of cake!  Poor Bevan was not prepared to spend 3 hours LATE Christmas eve fussing with screws and nuts.  We finally did it and was all worth it when Anna saw her present the next morning.  She was in heaven!  We took a set of play food/ dishes and wrapped the pieces up in small groups so she'd have something to open from under the tree.  Dallin got a bunch of baby toys that he instantly set to work sucking on!  It was a nice relaxing day.  I love spending Christmas at home!