Just some stuff

 Jack's 100th day of school was a couple of weeks ago and the kids were asked to decorate a shirt with 100 items and then wear them to school.

 Here is what he came up with: on the top is Yellowstone Road made with black licorice. The bottom is the back and he has a parking lot, a large garden with carrots and tomatoes and little homes where loving families live (that's why they have hearts on them).

 The kids had the idea to go to the park and chase the ducks around with their remote controlled cars.

 We tried but the batteries ran out quickly on the sidewalk.

 And we brought some old chex cereal along.  There were a few ducks all the way across the pond.....and then they started coming in.....

 and coming in.....

 and Leah......

 and then suddenly there were so many!  They were climbing up the bank to get some stale cereal.

 And here is something kind of interesting.  Jason  traps every winter and it's usually beavers and bobcats. Well this winter he wanted to take Jack with him and teach him a few things, so together they trapped fox and muskrat.

 When they have been cleaned and stretched he takes them down to the annual fur sale 40 minutes South.

 There, hundreds of trappers bring their furs, bobcats, fox, beavers, muskrat, coyotes, mink and probably more. 

There are two buildings full of these pelts.  There are probably a couple thousand and the guys there in the blue coats are grading them.  They grade them on color, size and overall quality.  They buy them and then the fur goes to auction where fur buyers from bigger cities and from big clothing companies buy them and make clothing or accessories out of them.  Or ship them overseas.  So if you have ever bought anything with real fur, it most likely started off like this.  :)

So much snow

Look what Jason found up the canyon. :)  I didn't realize how special these were until he sold them for nearly $400.

 We have had so much snow this winter.  But it was so cold and smoggy for the first couple of weeks in January, we couldn't go outside and enjoy it for very long.  Well, another storm rolled through a couple of days ago and Spanish Fork got about 4 more inches.  The smog cleared, the sun was shining and it was in the 40s.  The kids went outside and played for about an hour.

 I went out with the kids while Leah took a nap.  She woke up, I wrapped her up and brought her outside too :)  So much fun in the snow on a sunny, warmer day.

Hair donut & 4H

 A while back, Gretchen showed me that a cut sock, rolled into the shape of a donut, makes an easy, super fast and cute hairstyle.  So I wore my hair like that yesterday and Katy and Julia wanted that for church today.  Katy has really thick, long hair so she used my donut.  And then we made Julia a baby donut.

 Super fast and couldn't be easier and cute :) 

 Thanks for the idea, Gretchen!

Jack is enrolled in 4H for the next few months.   It is an after school club with other Kindergarteners every Friday.  They get to do all sorts of fun and interactive things that have to do with art, nature, legos, building, music and so much more!  Friday was his first day and he made slime!

Katy

Over the summer, Kaitlyn asked me to make her a wedding dress.  I had taken some pictures of her with my older film camera in effort to get through some expired film.  I forgot all about it, then turned it in.  She loved the little dress and literally wore it out.  Blown seams, ripped and stained.  Loved, loved, loved. :)
--the pictures are a little under exposed--I hope you can make out what it looked like.

 One summer day I walked outside and saw this under the swing.

 Jack walked Katy down the aisle.

 Pretty bride! (in about 20 years)  What do you think, Robyn?  :)

 And here are some random pictures of the Spit.  I had to take photos of it to turn in to the state when Evan and I were working on it over the summer.

Hopefully we'll finish the project in 2013.

 

December fun

 Here are a few pictures of when we got our tree.  We bought it at a little local place in Springville.  It smelled so good when we brought it into the house. 

 The tree looked pretty good there on the lot, but when we set it up it was huge!  Jason said we looked like the Griswalds.

 The guys there stand around a burning barrel to keep their hands warm. 

 Snowman pizzas for lunch :)  I think I need a new cookie sheet...

 These pictures I took with my phone so they're not very good but every December we go the Peteetneet Museum in Payson.  On Saturdays they have the story book lady who tells a nice story about the birth of Jesus.  They pass out little bells and homemade cookies.

 The kiddos sit on Santas lap.  Julia told him that she wanted a Tinkerbell dress for Christmas.

 Katy told Santa she wanted some ponies and Jack told him that he wanted a new gun.  Santas response, "You'll shoot your eye out."

 And this is the second time Leah sat on Santas lap but the only time she hasn't turned beet red with fear and hysteria. And I love how this Santa passes out red delicious apples.

 On our way out, we stop by the train show.  It's a miniature exhibit but everything is to scale.  I think he smallest thing I found was a baby deer.  And it was about the size of... the smallest nerd in the box.  It is so fun to see and the kids love to watch the trains go.  I bet Erica's boys would LOVE this!!

 We had a pretty good snow storm in November.  Spanish Fork had about 9 inches. 

It snowed all day long.  And it was the same morning that Jason decided to drag the 87 Chevy Caprice Classic out of the driveway and tow it up to the scrap yard.  The three older kids and I rode in the "brown bomber."  They thought it was hilarious.  And what did we drive home with?  $380.00 !  That was a fun few hours.

Family pictures

We took family pictues in mid October.  Here are a couple of the shots!  It was so so windy that day.  But warm :)

 

And the kids love to take homemade yummies to their church teachers.  So a couple of days ago, we spent the afternoon making sugar cookie buttons.  It was so much fun and so cute.  We will have to do them again soon.

 

Jack & Katy

We are doing some cleaning out and organizing before the winter and I'm in the backyard in an old shed working.  There are a few spider webs around.
Me: (to myself, ducking and dodging) "Ehh.. so many spiderwebs."
Jack to Katy: (giggling and under his breath) "Kate, Mom is afraid of nature."