Sunday/Christmas Dinner

Since I will be gone for Christmas I wanted to have all my Utah family over for dinner before I leave. I hosted this on Sunday. I made a ham and funeral potatoes. All my Utah siblings came along with Curt, Loralie, Katie and Nancy. It was a fun evening. I wish my house was a little bigger because I sure love having it filled with my favorite people. We enjoyed the food and company. We played the Merry-Bells and had a great time. It went by too fast.

 I wish I had gotten a picture of everyone but no such luck. I feel so blessed to have so many family members living so close. It is so fun to spend time with them during the Holidays (and always).

Random December

 We finally got our first snow storm in the valley. It was on a Sunday. It was beautiful. There is something so magical about the snow.

Because I got such a cute picture of Moki I decided to do Christmas cards. This was a first for me. It was fun but time consuming.

 Anthony and Caleb came over and made dinner one night.

 They did most the coocking which was nice.

 Audrey is about the cutest thing that ever existed on planet earth.

 I am trying to get ready for my Nepal trip. I have been buying stuff for 6 months. Now it is time to pack it all. I think I am excited. School has been so crazy I haven't really had much time to think about it. I am sure once I am on the plane I will be excited.

The pile to pack started like this:

 Then it got more organized.

 I leave in two days!!!!!!!!

 My Christmas tree is a favorite. I love it so much!!!!

 The sunrise this morning at work. Utah is such a beautiful place to live. I love these mountains!

Another Weekend Another Adventure

I am coaching basketball and that keeps me really bust. in fact I rarely see the daylight, which is really hard. This winter I have made the most of my Saturdays and that has been so nice. On December 8th Amber and I hiked up Rock Canyon to the campground. We didn't need snowshoes because there is so much traffic there but we used our Microspikes. We hiked 6.5 miles and got in a great workout and saw some amazing views. The inversion was terrible in Provo. Luckily we got high enough to get above it and really enjoy the sunshine. It was an amazing hiking day.

 I got some great shots of Moki!

 There was so much snow at the cmapground.

 After the hike I went home and showered and then headed to Salt Lake. Amanda had an orchestra concert and I wanted to go. I met Sam and family at their ward Christmas party and then joined them for the concert. It was a great evening. I got this adorable picture of Emerson.

It was another crazy busy Saturday filled with the things I love the outdoors and family.

The Perfect Snowshoeing Day

December 1st ended up being one of the best snowshoe days I have had in years. I was at work Friday and a friend from soccer posted pictures of her snowshoeing in the American Fork Canyon and it looked amazing. I had no idea there was enough snow in the canyon because the valley had not had any snow yet. Her post made me realize I needed to get up there. Amber was willing and we had a great day. We hiked from Tibble Fork to Silver Lake. We were in deep fresh snow the entire way. the sun was out and it was a gorgeous day.

 Luckily Megan, My soccer friend had broked the trail the day before. We were still working pretty hard, but we were grateful the trail had been broken most of the way.

 There was so much snow and it was so pretty.

 Moki was in heaven!!! Anytime she went off trail she was buried in the snow. It was so fresh and deep.

 This is one of my all time favorite pictures. It is so beautiful.

 Moki had to stay behind me in the areas where we broke the trail because it was so deep.

 It really was the best day with the best snow!

Then to top it off I met my brothers in Salt Lake at the Pie for some pizza.

 The weekends go way too fast!

Temple Day

Caleb invited Anthony and I to join him for a session in the Provo City Center Temple. It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Thanksgiving!!!!!

Everyone except Caleb was in Oroville for Thanksgiving. That is a lot of people but it was also fun. It was a crazy year to be home. The Camp Fire was still burning. The fire that destroyed the entire town of Paradise among other little places as well. After hearing of all the destruction and pretty much being glued to news updates it was good to see family and be near them.

I was able to spend the night at Angelee's. We had a good old fashioned sleepover. Her husband, Nick, was a very good sport. We talked late into the night and woke up way to early to volunteer at a %k race. So fun to spend time with Angelee and be out serving!

 after the race I headed back to Oroville and we got ready for Thanksgiving. My mom invited all of my Dad's family. We reserved the church so we had a bigger space to eat and hang out. It was a really fun afternoon with lots of visiting. I was so grateful to be surrounded by so many people I love.

 It was a fun afternoon of food and games and visiting. Unfortunately that was the only time we got to see everyone. Ben and Katie had other stuff going on and our extended family all live far enough away that we didn't see them again.

Aaron using his dog whispering skills.

 Audrey is obsessed with Moki. I think a lot of it is Moki's texture.

 Mikila, Angelee and I went out to dinner and hung out. So fun catching up! Overall it was a busy long weekend. It was great to see friends and family.

Poor Anthony had vertigo the entire trip. He was out on the way back to Utah.