Still more holiday fun...

The week after Christmas was just as fun!  Monday morning, we headed up to Monte Cristo to go snowmobiling, courtesy of Amy and Kolby, with the whole Stoddard family.  We were worried there wouldn’t be any snow, but we had enough, barely.  It was such a fun day!  

We all took turns snowmobiling!  It was fun.  Dave also loved Kolb’s new sled.  It was fast!  Even Grammie got on, which doesn't surprise me.  She's a tough granny ("Don't call me "Grandma".  That sounds too old and wimpy!"). 

We sat around and talked and played games when we weren’t on the snowmobiles.  I don’t know if people had more fun playing or saying “Farkle”!

Lucy slept a lot, and got passed around.  She stayed nice and warm in her snow suit, which is 0-3 months and still fits her.  It was way to big for her when she was born! 

Cal hates the cold and wanted to sit in the back of our car the entire time.  I made him sled down the hill for a minute and go on the snowmobile with Amy once.  He just hates the cold.  But everyone was surprised how well he entertained himself and how happy he stayed.  He colored, stamped, read boks, and played with some cars I brought him.  I thought he’d come play more.  Usually when we go outside to play in the snow, Cal is ready to go in after five minutes or so.  But I thought he’d do better than that.  But at least he was happy.

Emma loves the snow and the cold, on the other hand!  She loved every minute making snowballs, sledding with me, Aunt Amy, and my cousins, and especially Snowmobiling!  She had to wear her pink Fox racing shirt so she’d match Aunt Mamy. 

My parents went snowshoeing, my mom got them matching snowshoes for Christmas.  I thought that was a cool idea since they used to go cross country skiing a lot.   

We had some lunch, we had chili and cowboy soup, crackers and hot chocolate.  We also surprised Kolby with a birthday cake from Costco, his favorite kind. 

Marko and my Mom, awww!  Love them!

And of course, lots and lots of sledding!  So, so much fun!

It was a blast being with everyone! We really have the best family!  Me and my BSE (Best sister ever!), Amy Lou!  I love you!!  Thanks for all of the good times!

I forgot to tell about this time in my previous post.  Monday night after we got to Utah, we went with my parents, Marko, and Amy and Kolby to see the lights at Temple Square.  These pictures were taken on Dave's EVO phone, but they still turned out pretty well.  The lights were so pretty and it was so fun being with my fam.  It was so exciting to see them for the first time!  Amy and Kolby brought 7-11 hot chocolate for everyone.  Helped to warm up our hands and our insides.  Our hands were cold, but not our insides.  They were plenty warm thanks to the warm feelings of love we have in our family.  It's so true that "Distance makes the heart grow fonder."  It does.  Emma was so excited to see Amy (and Kolby, too!). 

Ev

One morning, my Dave and I and my parents went to the Bountiful Temple.  We did a bunch of family names my mom has found.  We did baptisms, that was cool, since it’s been about 5 years since I did that last.  Dave baptized me for the women, just like the good old days, and my dad did the male names!  Then we did the confirmations for those names.  My mom and I and Dave and Dad did initiatories after that.  I always love doing that.  Then we finished things off with an Endowment session.  It was a spiritually uplifting morning serving in the House of the Lord.  I’m grateful for the Spirit there, what I learn, and that I can help others and myself through that great work.  And it was nice being back at the Bountiful temple, which just happens to be my favorite!  (;  Though they’re all great, it was just nice to be at the one you grew up with, helped to bring about and got married in. 

We went to Zoo Lights at Hogle Zoo onee night with the cousins and Grandma Sue.  It was so cool, way better than I even thought!  It was worth going to, if you can!  It was awesome to see some of the more nocturnal animals, like the big Cats that always are sleeping and lounging around during the day, up close and personal.  The tiger came right down to the glass and was roaring at everyone, it was pretty cool!  And the lights they’ve put together are spectacular!  And, it was so warm the kids wanted to all take off their snow stuff.  The kids had a great time, as well as the adults! 

We took Kaison one night and Emma went up and slept over with Tayla.  The boys are just crazy, but fun.  Going to the park to play was probably the highlight.  It was such a beautiful day, it was 60 degrees outside!  We saw two butterflies, heard the birds chirping.  I think the animals, insects, and plants are going to get confused with this weather.  We played on the playground, in the sand, chased each other, and rolled down the hill.  We had a blast!  It was so warm, the boys took their jackets and shoes off.  I was floored that the weather was like that!  But I'll take it!

On New Year’s Eve, I went to hang out at Hlee’s house with my old friends.  We had a girl’s spa day.  We did pedicures and Hlee cut hair.  The best part was just catching up while we snacked on some yummy things.  I love those ladies!  Then we had my Grammie’s side of the family Curran party.  It’s always the Saturday after Christmas and like always, had fun talking to some we don’t get to see at all except for at this party, had a yummy lunch, and played games like basketball, keep away, football and dodge ball in the gym.  Then our family went shopping for the afternoon, went to Chick-fil-A (oh how I’ve missed you!), then to Christie and Rex’s party for a while where we snacked on appetizers, played the Wii, played Scattergories & Slamwich, and played with the kids.  Then back to the Ryerse’s for fireworks.  We went earlier that week to a firework stand out in south Salt Lake, which had a huge selection, and we found a lot of great things.  They even had a train ride for the kids, which was cool.  We got some cake fireworks, our favorite was the Ladybug one, it was awesome!  And after years of searching, this stand had the Friendship Pagoda firework, my favorite one growing up!  We did that, and then just hung out the rest of the night, watched the ball drop and then watched a movie, though I don’t remember which one. 

A picture of Emma and her friends from my phone.  It's so cute when they get together!

A picture Emma took with my phone of Hlee, me, Ashley and Stacie. 

We were able to celebrate Tayla’s 6^th birthday with her.  What a cute girl, Emma just adores her!  Emma and I went up for her friend birthday.  She had a Unicorn party, everything was so cute!  The kids played Pin the Horn on the Unicorn, then we had a Unicorn piñata, had magic rainbow unicorn cake, and then we did some impromptu games.  It was fun to see them all and Tayla and Emma and the rest of their friends had a blast!  Then that night, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for Tayla’s family birthday.  Oh man, do kids (and the big people) all love Chuck E. Cheese!  They played all of the games, went on rides, played on the play place, watched Chuck E. Dance on stage, ate pizza, sang to Tayla and had more rainbow cake!  We got so many tickets, the kids actually were able to get legit prizes. 

We also celebrated my birthday with my families since we were down.  I’ll do a separate post for that, so look for it!  (:

Some of my favorite moments were just hanging out with the grandparents at their houses. Playing, talking, watching movies together, games, and just hanging out. It was so nice to be home with them and see them again! I love them all so much! Thank you, thank you!