thanksgiving at the ranch 2015

i tried not to spend too much time worrying about the bad weather reports for wednesday afternoon...exactly the time we would be driving to the ranch for our holiday weekend.

lucky for me, the stars aligned and we traveled in mostly blue skies and made great time! we were so happy to arrive and denise had the place so inviting and cozy. the girls quickly claimed a bunk.

we sliced up my apple pie and whipped a cream the night we got there...because it seemed like the right thing to do. 

thursday morning and afternoon was spent preparing wonderful food. setting up tables and chairs, shooting cory's big rifle and being with family.

i snapped a few photos of rachel's cute family. it was bitter cold. fastest photo session ever.

we took a little ride down in the lower fields. we walked about 20 steps from the 4 wheelers and lucy asked if we were lost. um, no.

the kids watched home alone that night and giggled through it, while the adults played games at the table.

friday was tree hunting day. we were finally loaded and headed for the boulder mountain by 11 am. molly took a nap in the truck which was perfectly timed. denise stayed with her while kevin shuttled us in the gator higher up the mountain. it was truly magical on the mountain. it was silent and beautiful. my kind of "black friday." we cut trees and only had a few tears from cold kids. by 2:00 we were headed back to the ranch with several beautiful fresh cut trees.

we woke up saturday to snow. matt pulled the kids on tubes behind the gator. there wasn't a lot of snow but a skiff was all they needed for a good time.

we ate left overs all weekend and everything else we got our hands on. rachel and nieces made homemade rolls everyday we were there.

one of the weekend highlights for me was playing games after the kids were in bed. dan showed up friday and he was in rare form that night at the game table. we played sequence and garbage rummy.

we had such a wonderful holiday weekend. it really was a grand time. the cousins all had a ball. we are so lucky to have such a special place to "holiday."

november 2015

advent calendar

we did it!!

last december, the sandberg sisters decided we would duplicate the 

advent calendar we loved as kids-for our own!

it took all year to round up supplies, order special color felt and find the time to 

hand sew every sequin and bead and number, but we did it and with days to spare!

they turned out so bright and beautiful. one ornament a day until Christmas Eve.

this calendar is already a treasure. it was fun to make with ali and lin. 

and we couldn't have pulled it off without mom and dad.

i'm already sad our late craft nights are over.

30 november 2015

meeting an apostle

we had the opportunity to have Elder D. Todd Christofferson speak to our stake. a bonus stake conference of sorts.

he and our area authority, Elder Evans were really great and shared awesome stories. 

"It's the pattern over time that brings the blessings." - Elder Christofferson speaking of family home evening. even in small steps.

"There's power in being clean." - Elder Evans

the girls did fairly well. we were packed in the cultural hall like sardines. we even got to the church a half hour early to get a seat. molly was trouble and matt handled her mostly.

Elder Christoffersen invited all the youth and children to come up and shake hands with him after the meeting. it was a long line but it was so cool.

lucy and her kindergarten friend, preslie.

i told matt i wasn't sure if i should stand in line to shake his hand or stand back to photograph it. when the time came i snapped photos AND then reached over to shake his hand right after matt and baby. later that day matt said, "no one will ever accuse you of not being assertive. 

no sir'ee.

Elder Christoffersen definitely had a special Spirit about him and it was really cool to meet him.

later that day was our "fakesgiving" at moms. annie leaned over to me during the conference and said, "i'm ready to pour the gravy down my throat."

we were spiritually and physically fed that day.

22 november 2015

fakesgiving

i was happy everyone agreed to pull off "fakesgiving" for our third sunday family dinner since we wouldn't be together for thanksgiving this year.

we went all out, with all of the fixins.

jon smoked one of the turkeys in his new smoker thing. everything was delish, as usual.

dad shared a small message, trev gave a nice prayer and we snapped a photo 

before we sat down to enjoy our shrimp cocktails.

we have so much to be grateful for. these people are at the top of my list.

22 november 2015