Slip n Sled

New Years Day we decided to go up north a ways and play in the snow!!

Caleb and Levi were out of town but luckily we went with the Knous Family so Derek had some friends to play with!

We drove up and down the roads looking for the perfect spot. We found this great spot with lots of hills for us to sled down.

Unfortunately we had to step over this fence to get to them!! We all made it though!

Derek was so excited to be playing in the snow. Mommy made sure he was dressed in lots of layers to stay warm!

Heading up the first hill to sled. This was Derek's first time ever sledding.

And away he goes. I just LOVE the expression on his face. Pure joy!

SO much fun! He was having the time of his life!

Everyone taking a break after we walked to a new hill. 

Nate getting ready for his turn down the hill! Derek is standing by waiting to help his Daddy if needed!

Melanie and I before our turn down the hill!

I crack up every time I see myself in this pic! I had on SO many layers. I am a wimp when it comes to the cold!

Ready, Set GO!

Rodney and Nate getting ready to race down the hill!

The race didn't work out so well, Nate went first and then Rodney!

Rodney had a little trouble getting down the hill!

Rodney and Melanie being brats to each other!

But they love each other!

Nate and I.

Derek and I getting ready to do a turn down the hill together!!

Woo-hoo!! Again I love the smile on Derek's face!!

The Knous Family

Melanie and Jaxson after their ride on the sled!

Logan and Derek sitting down after sledding and eating some snow!!

What a fun day of sledding and playing in the snow with Friends!

My Favorite

For those of you who know me well you know how much I LOVE this place!

I found this video awhile back and if you love Chick-fil-a as much as me then you will appreciate it and maybe even laugh a little...or a lot like I did!!

Click here if you need a smile today!!

A night with a friend

I recently had a night out with my good friend Kristy. We were heading to see a Jack Johnson concert in Phoenix. 

Of course we made a day of it and went shopping before hand. 

We also went here...

And had the Orange Chicken...my favorite!

And we had this...

Look at Kristy with her spoon ready to dig in!! Can't blame her, it was sooo good!

After shopping and dinner we headed to our concert! We had grass seats but I brought a couple of thick blankets, so we layered them on the ground and it was actually pretty comfortable! 

I actually prefer the grass seats, you can stretch your legs and even lay down if you want!

Here is our view from our spot on the grass!

 It was a late but fun night! Jack is a great entertainer! I think one of the things I liked about him most was that you could tell he is a family man and loves his wife! 

All in all a great day! Plus I didn't have to drive!! Thanks Kristy for doing that, sorry I fell asleep on the way home! :-)

A Birthday Party

We celebrated Nate's birthday this week.

We did things a little different this year. Normally we have a small party with a few friends, but mostly family, including brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles and whatever family might be in town at the time. 

This year Nate decided to do a BBQ with some of our good friends!

It was a fun evening of food and fellowship. The kids had fun playing in the backyard together.

The "men folk" did a great job with the grilling! Look at how focused they all are! :)

Everyone brought something yummy to share. Our awesome friend Melanie made this delicious Texas sheet cake and provided the cool birthday candles!

We all sang happy birthday to Nate.

And we even got the guys to pose for some pictures together!

Even with 13 kids running around crazy it turned out to be a really fun evening! The food was great and the time with friends even better!

Thanks friends for making Nate's birthday extra special this year!

Silly Kids

How many kids CAN you fit in one tiny little play truck?

I love how they can be having fun even when they are all squished together in the back of a truck!

Girl Time

This last weekend I was able to attend a women's retreat with a bunch of fabulous ladies! It was SO much fun!! I had such a great time. It was at a camp in a city about 50 minutes away set back in the forest. The weather was cool and the company excellent!

We had fun talking, eating, and of course shopping. The speakers and worship times were great. I felt God speak to me in so many ways. It was so great to spend time with other women away from family, kids and responsibility!

They had a gift basket Jamboree where they sold tickets and you could place them in an envelope to win the basket of your choice! My friend Kristy won an awesome basket filled with kids toys, games, puzzles and candy! She was of course very excited! Her kids were too! :)

We stayed in this little cabin that had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. I had three awesome friends for roommates and we had such a great time together throughout the weekend!! You definitely get to know people a little better when you spend 24/7 with them for a few days! Good times!

The only bad experience I had over the weekend was when I got stung by a bee on my foot as we were walking up the steps the first evening to go in to the cabin! It hurt like crazy!! Other than that little stinging incident it was one of the best weekends I've had in awhile!