More of Christmas Break

Isn't Christmas morning the best! I think Oliver looks like such a Facer in this picture:)

That's one excited face.

Even the frozen water will not stop these guys.
A successful day indeed.Pete and Noelle. Look at that great smile.

The new daddy Steve with baby boy Carson, such a sweet boy.

Mom and Dad enjoying the increasing size of our family.

Amanda and baby Katherine. I do have to say I just LOVE that baby!

Jill in all her pregnancy glory. Can't wait to see that little boy.

Snuggling on Dad's shoulder at the beach...could there be anything better?

We scored a sweet spot on the beach campground for our anniversary #3. Hearing the waves was the #1 priority and after looking at all the ridiculous prices of hotels, this was the best thing ever. It was freezing but breaking into a hot tub kept us alive. Ahh camping on the beach. I love California.

Snow snow and more snow

It has not stopped snowing since we got here. I can't remember ever seeing this much snow except for maybe Rexburg. The roads have piles and piles of snow. Everytime a student leaves their car they come back to find it totally buried. Our Daewoo is still under about 2 feet of snow and it doesn't look like it coming out any day soon. In the midst of all this, Oliver is in the backyard playing in his snow tunnel Ryan dug out. It was warm enough today to be outside a lot and we played in the snow till our limbs were numb. Tomorrow we intend on building a massive snowman with our snowman kit. I hear it will be warming up a lot. As long as it's not 9 degrees, we are good, well actually maybe above 30 would be nice.

Skateboarding and the injuries that go with it

Ollie eagerly awaiting the opening of the skate park. There were boys already in there and the gate was locked so we couldn't very well throw him over the fence. He was very anxious.
Finally someone opens the gate!

His injury from that day. Everyone needs their first battle wound, and he got right back on. It doesn't look that bad here but it got so much worse.

A Christmas Update!

First off, we are still at my parents and I could only get a limited number of pictures uploaded so these are the ones I got, but there is more to come. First order of business, my hair is short.

This was the horse's tail that was left that will hopefully go to a head in need.

Down with my family at the Americana. They had fake snow falling from the sky at 7:00. That is SO my kind of snow.

The water show and the obvious amazement on these faces.
Jeff and Ry on Christmas morning.

We walked down to Trestles to surf and Oliver pooped out on the walk back up, Curious George in hand of course.
A visit with one of our favorites Emily Brown. Ems, if we had a list, you would be at the top.

G&G Facer enjoying Christmas morning. Aren't they cute?

A candid before Carson's blessing. We blessed him in the bishop's office at the La Canada ward with just our family. It was very special.

Sledding Master

This was Oliver's first sledding trip and let me tell you we have quite the sledder on our hands. Everytime we would get back up the hill, Ollie would sit back down in the sled and say "ok, again?".

Getting ready for a ride with mom.

Thinking happily about how much he loves sledding.

Dad and Ollie before taking the plunge. Luckily, the suit Aaron and Meg got us fit perfect this year. If you can remember the pictures from last year...think A Christmas Story. So maybe we're not the most stylish out there but not everyone gets a rad 80's suit in the snow. My cheeks are COLD!
This is when it became not so fun anymore. Everyone has a breaking point.

Luckily, my friend Salena was prepared with hot cocoa after, so this is his hot cocoa face. He chugged mine and his in about 5 minutes.

If you listen carefully, you can hear a squeal of glee out of Oliver, so funny. We will definetely have to do this again.

Snow!!!

This is the first time Ollie ever understood "smile" when I said it for a picture. Pure cheese and totally wouldn't have it any other way. Also don't mind that we both look a little scary in this picture. I guess that's what a flash does in a dark car.

A few of the sights. Ollie was in heaven seeing all those lights. He just screamed "lights, lights!" probably a million times.

So Spanish Fork, it was a good time, and totally worth 5 bucks considering we looped around twice. You gotta get your money's worth:)

And in other news, we had our first real snowfall of the season yesterday. It snowed a lot! So we decided Oliver needed to be exposed to the joys of playing in the snow. So here's a video for your viewing pleasure of the experience. It was cold. Gosh he's cute.

And one last but very important detail! We have figured out a way for Ryan to take his remaining credits for summer term online, which means we will be out of here in June instead of August!!! SO Hawaii or California here we come, in approximately 5 1/2 months. And Ryan's tickets are bought for the Hawaii competition so fingers crossed that it all goes well. And we're headed for California next week for Christmas. We can't wait!

Oh Christmas Tree

This tree was totally calling our name at the lot, or was it the 12 dollar price tag:) Either way we love it and Ollie loves that it's just his size. One of my most favorite things about Christmas is getting up in the middle of the night and seeing the glow of the tree. There's probably not a more comforting feeling in the world.

Just being goofy

Ollie likes to show us his "tricks". I think this one is especially funny. For some reason, a little body like that trying to balance his weight on one leg. Love it.

What Ollie's been up to lately

Toilet paper really is fun...

especially when you get to drape it over your naked body
Anyone for stacking spices? Ollie can show you how to become a pro.
He's actually getting really good, very impressive.

What's up now Dad, bet you can't stack this high. Imagine what I could do if I only had another foot.

Just thought this was a cute one

Well we had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Boise. As usual the Johnson's went all out to make a fun weekend happen for us all, and it was Mary's birthday to top. I literally had one of the best thanksgiving feasts ever and probably ate way too many rolls, total weakness over the holidays. Ollie and Cash were hilarious to watch as usual. It's so crazy to see those boys together and just think, when did they get that big? They are truly little men with personalities and attitude. We all still fit in one the car, just barely, so as long as no one has any more kids, we're set:) And let's also mention that it is like 60 degrees outside and it's DECEMBER! Oh thank heaven. If it can just hold out like this until we go to California for Christmas I would be a happy girl. I am actually excited for this winter. Knowing it will probably be our last in the snow, it makes it really easy to appreciate. And Ollie is big enough that he can totally go sledding and build snowmen. It's too bad that we neither have the time or money to go snowboarding, or else we would take advantage of the great snow. Ryan and I are more than ready for this semester to be over, it's been insane. Let's hope next semester we'll get to see more of each other. Ryan has a few interviews set up over the break in CA so that will be very exciting. We are also going to do a little house hunting down there to see what the options are. It is such an exciting time. I made a goal on Thanksgiving to deliberately think of specific things I am thankful for each day. I kind of already do this but calling it a goal makes it easier to remember and not generalize. So today I am thankful for a calling to speak in our Christmas program at church, the chance to share my testimony, and for an amazing yoga class this morning, seriously needed. Happy December, hope you're all enjoying the wonderful tunes of the season.