ANOTHER LONG POST! CHRISTMAS AND THE NEW YEAR!

I had to steal pictures from everyone's blogs because our camera didn't work for over half of the trip (Kes you need to update so I can get pictures from you!). I didn't feel like putting them in order, but here are some cute kiddos on Christmas Eve, Christmas, and sledding. I am so sad it's already over. JP and I have already slumped into a deep depression/nasty cold because of the constant rain here (jk. only kind of). Some people say they would rather have moderate temperatures with rain everyday than freezing cold and sunny. I say bring on the sun (freezing or not) and the snow, but I guess I'm just going to have to get use to the rain!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
















Naomi, Brynley, Aubrey, and Rylee put on a cute little play for us. It was awesome. I couldn't believe they thought of it on their own.



Crazy Indie!

Nashy boy and Havey Baby!

We had a fun little New Year's Party with great company and all of my FAVORITE treats (that's why I'm shoving them in my face). We played games, pool, Wii sports, set off fireworks and rang in the New Year.





I got to play with Hollie, Kelene, and Candice for a minute and it was lots of fun. Hollie is modeling the newest, hottest, scarf, hat, and glove in-one combination. Sweet!


Lame! I basically only have pictures of JP and I skiing, even though we got to go with most of our ski buddies at some point during our trip. We managed to get one shot of Nate and Katie. We thought we were going to wake up bright and early to drive home all day Saturday, but when we woke up to 9 new inches of snow we couldn't resist skiing in Utah with my parents one last time. JP loved every second of it. Unfortunately, I came down with a nasty cold/strep throat/fever/cough/kill me now virus! After a few runs I told JP that I couldn't make it down the mountain. I have never been so exhausted in my entire life. I've been basically knocked out ever since and JP's in bed right now suffering from the repercussions of being married to me:)






We got a flat tire on our way to Utah. Bode and Che were just happy they got to play in snow up to their heads. My job was to keep them from running onto the freeway while JP changed the flat. Neither of our jobs were easy, and Che kept thinking of strategies to get past me and onto the road. Yikes! The 13 hour drive turned into 18 hours. The roads were bad, but we made it.




Rudolph and Dasher are in the Christmas Spirit.

Despite all odds, JP passed his multi-engine commercial add-on check-ride! The course was in Las Vegas and it just happened to snow the week of his class (meaning all flights were canceled). What? In Las Vegas?! He didn't even get to step into a plane until the day before his check-ride, and only 3 out of 16 pilots passed. There was a major shortage of flight instructors, so JP and his friend were forced to teach themselves everything. All of his hard work and TONS of MONEY paid off!! YAY for JP!

The week before Christmas break it decided to snow in Oregon. School was canceled for a WHOLE week!! Usually I would be thrilled, but JP was out of town and I was left to myself without anyway to get to a ski resort or even to a town with a store other than Walmart. I don't think I have ever been so bored in my life!!! Luckily, a couple of girls from my ward were kind enough to invite me over to make cookies and to chat. I went on a LOT of walks with the dogs. These pictures were taken before it really started snowing.

Look, JP CAN shimmy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

JP and I have a tradition of cutting down our own Christmas tree each year. We have funny stories and crazy adventures from every year so far, but they can be a post for another day. We ALMOST broke our tradition this year because we left all of our Christmas decorations in Utah. After a lot of begging, I finally convinced JP that we had to keep our one tradition alive. We had to go to 3 different stores in this little town to find a Christmas tree stand. It was pitch black by the time we got up to the mountain and we had to hike a super-slippery-super-steep-slope to get our perfect little tree, but it was definitely worth it. It smells so good and brings a tiny piece of Christmas into our home.




Oh, and those our just some mushrooms for the local potheads - and there are a lot of 'em out here (potheads and mushrooms) :)

We found out at the last second that JP didn't have to work Thanksgiving weekend, so we drove ALL through the night so we could spend Thanksgiving with the fam. We arrived at 7:00 am on Turkey day!!! Let me tell you, 15 hours in a honda civic with a man, two dogs, fog, and traffic makes for one "hecking" road trip! It was all worth it though. We got to have TWO delicious Thanksgiving meals with the best company ever (our families). We are so thankful for our fun, albeit crazy families, who let us crash their parties with little warning. We love you guys sooo much and feel so lucky we got to spend time with you! We forgot our crappy camera and I didn't take any pictures, so this is all you get. Aren't we pretty? YAY! I FINALLY figured out how to create a collage. I have been trying for MONTHS, and today I discovered that you cannot create a collage using Picassa if you are working on a mac. GGGRR!
 

JP had a sentimental reunion with the trail 90 crew and I got to go on a tandem bike ride (little Kai and Owen in tow) with the baby mamas; Emily, Des, and Shelby. It was a great trip and we can't wait to come back again in a week and a half :)!



Everyone has been telling us to go to Bend! We finally went a couple of weekends ago and liked it so much that we went back again this past weekend. This is a Mt. Bachelor where the snow if supposedly similar to Utah's - light and fluffy.


We spent one night in a condo and one night camping. It was pretty cold! I couldn't feel my fingers and toes on our bike ride. I woke up and all of our stuff was frozen including my hat and coat. I have decided that sometimes I think my little family loves me more than they really do. For instance, one night as I was walking towards JP he started patting the seat next to him. I went to sit down and realized he was actually patting his seat for Che. Another night I was bawling my eyes out (I can't remember why) and Che started howling and crying right along with me. I thought it was the sweetest thing ever until I realized he pooped in our house and really just needed to go outside. These pictures are living proof. Please notice who is sleeping comfortably in the tent on this freezing cold night.



Don't those camping chairs look a little out of place in the rugged outdoors? You should all want to be our friends when we go camping because these chairs are more comfortable than couches!


This was our second trip to Bend. We went with Jenny, Mike, and Emily. It was Jenny's birthday and we partied hard! It was much warmer this time and we hiked Smith Rock, which is a climber's wonderland. I love how they're all looking up at the climbers in that picture. Isn't Emily Precious?







Ridin' in the rain - trail 90 style. Peace out til next time!