Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas to all of our wonderful family and friends! We had such a fantastic weekend. We started with a delicious Christmas Eve dinner at the golf course... a new tradition which we all love. After the meal, we had dessert and champagne at Kathy's house, then headed home with my parents and Nico. Tyler slept until 8:30 Christmas morning, and he was so surprised to find new toys in the family room! We had our Christmas Day open house and welcomed our family and the Peppmeiers and McAuliffes, and everyone had a great time. Christmas dinner was spent at Doug and Christine's house, and then more presents. We spent the night out there and had fun pulling Tyler in the sled the next day, and he got to feed the horses. Thank you to everyone who made this Christmas one to remember! We are so thankful for all of you!

Just woke up, but a great Tonka truck from the Larkins (I promise he is more excited than he looks- he is hauling all of his toys in it!)

First train set- he loves it!

Wearing his new ski hat from Nana and Papie- he wore it all day!

First remote control car- this is a big hit! Thanks Katie and Aric!

Eating snow at Grandma and Grandpa's

Sledding down the driveway, accompanied by Sammy the Polar Bear

This Happy Guy loves being out in the snow!

The video is of Tyler opening a gift. Every time he ripped open the paper, there was a big squeal, which you can hear at the very beginning of the clip. He got lots of trucks, cars, trains, and legos... perfect presents for our little boy. Sorry it is sideways!

The Goose Gets a Haircut

Yesterday was Tyler's very first haircut. His curly locks in the back were reaching to his shoulder blades when wet, and there is a picture of him with a ponytail floating around somewhere. Well, that did it, and we walked into the Clip Joint to get a trim. He was a super good boy. I read him a story while he got his hair cut. Aren't books great?!

On a booster seat, and tied to the chair with a cape
Pointing out all of the animals

Oooh, how is it from this angle?

He looks like a little man with his hair parted!

The final result! Still curls, but no tangles. He got to ride on the mechanical horse after he was done. He loved it until they turned it on, then the "nonononononono!" meant he was done!

Visit with Santa

Last night was my work holiday party. It was a really nice event with delicious food and fun activities for the kids like making gingerbread houses, coloring, and a visit from Santa. Unfortunately, Tyler still has an aversion to real-life Santa. I was hoping to post a cute pic of Tyler with Santa (aka John from maintenance), but this was the only photo we got:

Tyler did have a great time running all over the room, along with 5 other boys ranging in age from 2-7. There was a lot of screeching and laughing. So in lieu of a great Santa photo, here is a picture of Big Mountain this morning:

Sunny, clear, and 13 degrees!

Opening Weekend

Big Mountian's opening day was Saturday, and of course Scott hit the slopes nice and early. He said it was epic, legendary.... and sunny. The littlest skier in the house will be waiting a few more weeks to debut on the slopes, but has skis and a ski pass! Here's to a great ski season!

Tyler's Tree

This is Tyler's first experience with decorating the tree. He is into every step of getting the house ready. He loves the lights, the snowglobes, the sparkles, and the music. Hopefully he'll be this enthusiastic about meeting Santa and opening presents!

Examining the lights to make sure they are on correctly
Look how pretty!

Showing us a cowboy boot ornament (thanks Aunt Joey!)

Mommy and Tyler hanging a snowman ornament

O' Christmas Tree

Yesterday we headed out to Grandpa Doug & Grandma Christine's house to find ourselves a Christmas tree. It was snowing when we were out galavanting through the woods, but really wasn't too cold. Tyler really enjoyed the outing and we came home with a tree!

Grandpa on the 4 wheeler, Scott pulling Tyler in the sled- this is how you look for a tree in Whitefish! You kind of have to imagine what it will look like not flocked with snow.

I've spotted the perfect tree!

This is it! It will look so pretty with lights!

And now riding back home with Grandpa! Whooooeee!

What a great adventure!

Winter is Here!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend we received quite a bit of snow. Tyler has enjoyed playing in it, but shoveling the wet, heavy snow is no fun. Time for a snowblower?

The deck one morning

View of backyard... we get a large drift on the left side of the fence. Last year, Kirby was able to climb the drift over to the neighbors side.

Yesterday was sunny, so we took advantage of it.
Tyler prefers pulling the sled to actually riding in it. I'm sure that will change!

Pulling the sled down the sidewalk...

Trying the snow...

Contemplating...

One more taste to make sure it's good!

So far Tyler loves being in the snow! He must take after Scott...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We were able to spend the day with my parents and Nico, and Mike and Kathy joined us for an amazing dinner. Team Peppmeier and Erin then came over for some dessert. With all of those kids running around, it really felt like a holiday... and a great way to kick off the season.
We missed all of our friends and family that we weren't able to see, and are so thankful to have you in our lives. Here's to a wonderful holiday season!

Mt. Rushmore

On our way back to Rapid City, Scott and I stopped at Mt. Rushmore. It is truly an awesome sight. There were only about 5 other visitors there at the time, and the wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour. Surprisingly, the monument is only about 20 minutes from Rapid City. We are planning another trip in early summer with Katie and Aric so we can see all of the attractions that close down after Labor Day.

Thanks again to Katie and Aric for having us. We had such a great time with our niece and nephew and can't wait to see you in March!

Cuddling with Hayden and Will on the couch- pretty much what we did for 4 days!

Trip to Nebraska

Scott and I are in Nebraska to visit Katie, Aric, and the twins. We flew into Rapid City and had an easy drive to Chadron. These babies are so beautiful! They have completely different personalities (already at 9 weeks) and are very, very good. Katie has this mommy thing completely dialed in- she is a pro and makes having twins look easy. The weather has been pretty gloomy, so we have stayed home cooking, eating, and playing with Hayden and Will. What a great way to spend a week! I love being an auntie!

Sweet Hayden napping on her activity mat... tummy time puts her right to sleep
This morning we woke up to the first snow of the season! Apparently we have some back home as well....

Will and Hayden sharing the mat

Uncle Scott with 2 babies!

Uncle Scott with Will - aka Chubby Cheeks

Pie Baking with Nana

Tyler loves baking pies with Nana Fofs. Last night they made us a yummy apple pie for dessert!

Sprinkling the flour onto the dough...

Patting the flour out...

Rooollll it!

Roll it some more!

And voila! Homemade apple pie! Thanks Tyler! Keep up the great work!

Autumn Days with Mom and Dad

Tyler and Daddy were raking the leaves the other day- probably the last nice day of fall- and the Goose wanted to play!

Sitting in the pile
Helping get the leaves on the rake

Rolling in the leaves

Raking!

Yesterday was wet and rainy, so Tyler and I suited up Raider-style and headed to the bar to catch part of the game!

He has his Raider outfit on and ready to go!

Then we made chocolate chip cookies because it was so dreary... and they cheered us right up!

Yummy! And the Raiders won! What a great day!