Cute

The other day Owen and I were sitting on the couch talking. I asked Owen, "How did you get so dang cute?"

He thought about it for a few seconds and said, "It's because you love me!"

I suppose he is right in a way. Beauty, or cuteness in this case, is definitely in the eye of the beholder. And when you love somebody they seem to become more and more cute the more you love them.

I know everybody thinks they have the cutest kids in the world...and they are right. I also know that I am right, that I have the cutest kids in the world.

Let's all go and enjoy our cute kids now.

Climb Every Mountain!

We Sheaffers LOVE Vermont. Scott and I would go up there every year for our anniversary before we had our two lovely children. When we were there we always tried to go to Woodstock to climb to the top of Mount Tom. Mount Tom isn't a huge mountain. In fact, I think my family and friends back in Utah would call it a hill. But it is still a lovely walk through peaceful woods and there is a great view of the quaint little New England town and rolling hills.

We haven't been to Vermont in 4 years though! The last time we went I was pregnant with Owen. The next year Owen was a baby, so we didn't want to travel. The next year I was pregnant with Holly, so I didn't feel like climbing a mountain (hill). Then of course the next year Holly was a baby. Finally this year both kids are old enough to climb themselves and I'm not pregnant! So off we went to climb a mountain (hill).

Look at me...I turned into a reindeer! I kind of think reindeer antlers are more fun than rabbit ears. Maybe you should try them out the next time you think about giving somebody bunny ears in a picture. Holly may have started a new trend!

Holly rode most of the way up on our shoulders. It was just a lot faster that way. She didn't understand the concept of a trail. She kept trying to walk off the trail and onto steep inclines that would send her rolling down a hill of a dead leaves. I don't think she minded the ride though. She looks awful comfy to me.

We did have to make a diaper changing stop. Thankfully we found nature's changing table!

Owen loved hiking up the mountain. The trail we went on wasn't too hard. It has a lot of switchbacks and it's not too steep until the end. Owen loved all the big rocks we found along the way.

Holly did some walking. We wanted to make sure she got her exercise in too.

We made it to the top...YAY! Here is the beautiful view from the top. Too bad it doesn't look as beautiful in this picture as it does in real life. Some day you will have to come and visit and I will take you to the top of our favorite mountain.

Owen and Holly show off the view from the other side of the top. After we rested at the top for a while we decided to head down. I mentioned before that the last of the trail to the top is kind of steep. It was hard getting up there, but we made it. At the top of the mountain there were two trail markers, one for the trail we went up (Faulkner) and another trail (Precipice). Scott decided that he wanted to go down the Precipice trail because he thought it wouldn't be as hard of a hike down.

Definition of Precipice:

1. High Cliff or crag: a high vertical or very steep rock face.

2. Dangerous state: a very dangerous situation.

I told Scott that we needed to take the trail we took up back down. We didn't even know where the Precipice trail ended. It could have been on the other side of the mountain. Scott insisted that he was going down the precipice trail though because he didn't like the last 100 yards of the trail we came up on. So Scott and Owen went one way, Holly and I went the other. I ended up carrying Holly the whole way down, just to save time. All I could think about while walking down was that Scott and Owen would end up lost on the other side of the mountain, they would have to climb back up the Precipice trail and back down the correct trail. And Holly and I would just have to sit and wait for them.

At the bottom of the trail there is a park. I found a bench and sat down to wait out the long 2 hours until Scott and Owen showed up. But I was wrong! About 5 minutes later I heard them coming down the street. Apparently the Precipice trail ended/started only a few blocks away from where the Faulkner trail started. Apparently the Precipice trail is named that for a reason too. Scott said the trail went pretty much straight down the mountain through thick forest and lots of rocky sections.

After getting home I looked up the two different trails online. The Falkner trail is 1.6 miles.....The Precipice trail is .9 miles. Those switchbacks make the walk up the mountain longer, but they are there for a reason! Scott also informed me that when he got to the bottom of the mountain there was a sign that informed him that the Precipice trail was closed for repairs! It's always fun to smile at your husband knowing that you were right : )

We did stop and get some lunch and ice-cream before the hike.

Who doesn't love ice-cream?

We also stopped to let our kids play some Checkers.

It was one fun day! We are planning to find some more hikes around here that we can take our children on. So if you know any good ones let us know!

We Survived Another Week

Holly has another Right-Of-Passage under her belt. Yesterday was her first day to go to the Nursery at church, legally. I have been secretly taking her down there for the past month and a half to get her use to it. I figured that way when she was 18 months would be more use to the teachers and less likely to cry.

My plan worked! Kind of. About 5 minutes before Sacrament Meeting ended she fell asleep. She I took her to the nursery and laid her down on a cushion they have. When I left her she was sleeping. After Sunday School I peeked in her her. She had woken up and was cuddling with one of the teachers. I don't know if she had woken up and started crying, but she seemed happy enough. By the time I picked her up she was happy as could be. So I'm calling her first day in Nursery a success. Of course Owen's first day in Nursery was a success, but it only lasted that first day. After that I had to sit with him for the next 5 months before he finally could stay by himself. Hopefully that doesn't happen with Holly : )

Speaking of Owen and church....As soon as we got to church and settled into our pew yesterday Owen kicked off his shoes. I decided not to worry about it too much, he could put them on when he went to Primary. About halfway through Sacrament Meeting he started doing the Pee Dance. So I rushed him out of the chapel and tried to take him to the bathroom upstairs (We have a LOT of stairs in our church building). He didn't want to use the upstairs one though, he wanted to use the one downstairs, by the nursery. The only problem is that the door to the downstairs is usually locked during Sacrament meeting. They were a few problems with kids going into the nursery during Sacrament meeting and messing the place up, hence the locked door. I kept trying to get Owen to go upstairs, he kept insisting on going downstairs, In the middle of our arguing he ran over to the handicapped bathroom right next to the chapel. I ran in with him before he could do too much damage. He pulled down his pants, went over to the toilet and started to do his business. The only problem is that the handicapped toilet is much higher than a a normal toilet. So instead of his pee going into the toilet, it was going everywhere else! It was mainly hitting the front of the toilet and running onto the floor. Of course after he started going there was no stopping him. I started grabbing paper towels and trying to mop up the huge puddle, which Owen was now standing in. Those church paper towels aren't very absorbent though. Meanwhile Holly was trying to unroll all the toilet paper, and Owen was stripping down to his birthday suit. They weren't being very quiet either. We could clearly hear what was going on in the chapel, so I'm guessing they could hear us too. Eventually I got all the pee cleaned up (I hope), Holly didn't destroy too much toilet paper, and Owen was fully dressed, minus his pee soaked socks. He got to spend the rest of church wearing shoes with no socks. I had a change of pants and underwear for him in the diaper bag, but no socks. I guess I learned my lesson! I was thankful that he wasn't wearing his shoes because he didn't get them soaked. But maybe if he was wearing his shoes he would have had that extra 1/2 inch of height that would have taken him over the top of the toilet, instead of at the side. Oh well. You live and you learn! And most importantly, we survived another week at church!

A Big Day

April 2nd was a big day in Holly's life. It was the day she was about to go from pigtails....

To a Ponytail! Only having to deal with putting one thing in Holly's hair makes me, and her, so happy! I'm grateful that my kids have both decided to be born with a good amount of hair.

We have been experiencing some amazingly warm weather these past two days. I decided to break out the summer clothes I bought for Holly. I was so sure that she would be in 12-18 month clothes by now. So that's what I've been buying for summer clothes. Unfortunately they are still a little too big. So her capris look more like high water pants. Oh well. Maybe she's destined to stay in 9-12 month clothes her whole life! My little peanut.

2009 Book Club in Review

Last month the Book Club I belong to finished up reading all the books we picked last year. This was the 2nd year in operation, and I think the 2nd year had much better books than the 1st year. So...in order of my preferences, here are the 10 books we read this year:



1 - The Princess Bride by William Goldman. This is one of my all time favorite books, so I was pretty happy it got picked this year. If you love the movie you will love the book even more. I just love the dry humor that runs through the book, that's my kind of humor! The books also digs deeper into all the characters in the movie. If you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for? I am positive that you will LOVE it too!









2 - Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This is a good example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its name or cover. Of the 10 books we read this year, this was 1 of only 2 that I didn't vote for. I reluctantly read it though, and I loved it. It also has some subtle humor, and I just love the way the whole book ties together. If you don't know what the book is about, it's about a young man that is crossing the ocean with his family when the ship sinks. Also in the ship was the families collection of zoo animals that they were also moving. So Pi ends up in a life boat with a Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. Great story...and great ending. I promptly bought myself a copy of this book after reading it. I will be reading this one again someday.





3 - In the Heart of the Sea, The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. Scott read this book many years ago, and I have always been meaning to read it since then. Somebody suggested it last year, so I voted for it. This is a true story of the crew of the whaleship Essex that was sunk by a whale in the middle of the pacific ocean. The story of what happened after the ship sunk is very sad, but very interesting. It will make you very grateful for all the food you have in your house though!

4 - Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns. This is another book that has been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read. It's a coming of age story of a young man in Cold Sassy (I can't remember which state, but one of those Southern states). There are many colorful characters in the book, and lots of great stories. It's a fun read.

5 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I can't believe I had never heard of this book before. It seems like it is almost a classic. It is another coming of age story, but this time it is the coming of age story of a young girl in Brooklyn. It's amazing to me how poor the family was, but how they still managed to make ends meet. I believe the story is based on real events from the author's life.

6 - The Dog Says How by Kevin Kling. Kling is a contributor to NPR, and this book is a memoir from his life. They are short stories that are funny and interesting. This was the 1st book we read this past year, so I don't remember a lot of details, but I do know that I liked the book!

7 - Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene. This book is set in the years right before Hitler took over control of Austria. A young girl gets caught up in group of people that help Jewish children get out of Germany. The more interesting story is the story of her father in a concentration camp though. The book was alright. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the story of the father was the main highlight of the book. This is also book 1 in a 9 book series! So if you like long series, this is probably right up your alley.

8 - Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales. Now we are getting into the books that I didn't really care for at all. I really wanted to like this book, but it went too much into mountain climbing terminology, and I found myself falling asleep while reading it. There were some interesting survival stories towards the end of the book, but it took too long to get to them. It was definitely a book that was more interesting to talk about than to read.

9 - The Watermelon King by Daniel Wallace. This is one of the books I suggested, and boy do I wish I didn't. Daniel Wallace also wrote Big Fish which I really enjoyed. So I thought I would suggest this one. I started reading it before suggestion night, and some of the ideas seemed a little strange, but I enjoyed the writing style. The first half of the book is all these characters from the book telling the story of a young man's mother who had been in there little town many years ago. I loved all the different voices of the different characters. But that is as far as I got before suggestion/voting night. So I suggested it. Too bad I didn't finish reading it. The book got down right strange towards the end, and I didn't enjoy it at all. I guess you can't win em' all though can you?

10 - The Perfect Mile by Neal Bascomb. To be honest, I never finished reading this book. This was the other book that I didn't vote for, and I had no intention of reading it. It is the story of 3 runners trying to break the 4 minute mile. Running doesn't really interest me, I've never been a good runner. So reading about running really sounded like something I didn't want to do. I did start to read it, but I could never really get into it.

So there you go...10 book suggestions for you. Next month we get to vote on 10 new books, and I'm pretty excited to see what we will be reading. I have a few ideas for what to suggest, but if you have any let me know!

Hair Cuts

A few weeks ago Owen was in need of a good haircut. He was looking a bit too shabby for my likin'!

Usually when he needs a haircut I take him down to our local $10 haircut joint, he sits on my lap, screams while I hold him down, and they cut his hair. Then I pay the nice lady who cut his hair an extra $3 for putting up with all the screaming. So I had the great idea that I would buy some clippers and cut his hair at home, in front of his favorite TV show. That should distract him enough so I could get his hair cut and save a few bucks in the long run.

I bought the clippers, brought them home and read the directions on how to cut hair. I got Owen seated in the kitchen watching his new favorite "movie" ("The Lorax" on youtube). I gave him a sucker, and hoped that he would happily suck away and be blissfully unaware of what was happening on his head. No such luck. As soon as the clippers turned on he started screaming. From there it was all fight. I tried to get Scott to help me by holding him, but he was no help. He just sat there glaring at me like I was murdering his son. Finally after about 20 minutes I was done. His hair wasn't perfect, but it was good enough.
Owen was pretty happy after his hair was done being cut too. He acted like nothing traumatic that would scar him for life had happened. I was traumatized though. I think for now I will just continue to take him to the $10 ($13) haircutting joint. Hopefully someday he will over come his fear of the clippers!

Kissey, Kissey, Kissey!

Pretend like it's still February...which is when I intended to write this little post! Back in February, somebody got hit by Cupid's arrow, and she started kissing everything!

Her cousin Mark got it pretty bad one night when we were watching him. She loves babies!

Her brother got a bunch of kisses on his head too.

But, she wasn't just kissing people. She was also kissing books, computers, cameras, the cat, the wall, and of course herself in the mirror.

It seems like she is starting so young. Just another reason to not look forward to the teen years.

PUH-LEASE!

Owen thinks he has learned a magic word. That word being "Please".

"Mom, can I stay up all night watching 'Green Eggs and Ham' movie? Please?"

"Mom, can I eat cookies for breakfast? Please?"

"Mom, can you take Holly's toys away from her and give them all to me? Please?"

Of course my answer to all these silly requests is "NO!"

And of course his response to my turning him down so harshly is, "But I said PUH-LEASE!" while he is thinking "So you have to give me what I want!"

Of, if only the world were that easy little Owen.

- - - I want enough money so I will never have to worry about it again, PLEASE!

- - - I want to eat See's Peanut Brittle for breakfast and dinner and wear a size 4, PLEASE!

- - - I want my kids to always listen to what I tell them, and be happy about it, PLEASE!

- - - I want my husband to always know I am right, PLEASE!

- - - I want a house that stays clean all by itself, PLEASE!

- - - I want to have a contraption in my house that lets me travel anywhere in the world instantly so I don't have to deal with airports ever again, PLEASE!

Hmmmm...do you think just saying please can get me all those things? Probably not. I guess Owen will learn that one day too. But at least he's polite...and that's probably the most important thing.

A Candy Delivery

Yesterday we came home and found a surprise waiting on our front porch...a box sent from Utah!

All my brothers are living in Utah now. So on Valentine's day my dad bought all my brother's kids a candy bar. He decided that just because Owen and Holly live 2500 miles away they should get a candy bar too. Lucky for Scott and me he decided to throw in a few extras!

For Scott he included a DVD with some interviews or something about that old TV show, "The Prisoner". If you haven't had the pleasure of watching "The Prisoner" I wouldn't recommend it. But Scott and my dad seem to like it for some reason, so Scott was tickled pink with his new DVD!

And my dad didn't forget me. I have been bugging him for a few months now to send me some SEES Peanut Brittle. Dang, that stuff is good! If you haven't had the pleasure of eating some SEES Peanut Brittle, I would highly recommend it. The only problem is that it's hard to get your hand on a box of it in Massachusetts. You can buy it online and pay huge shipping cost, or you can just bug your father who lives in Utah to send you a box. And he did! What a great dad I have. He also sent me another hard to find in Massachusetts candy...Cinnamon Bears, and Chocolate covered cinnamon bears...Yummy!

The bad news, I gave up candy/cake/cookies/brownies for LENT! I know I'm not Catholic, but I think Lent is a fun tradition. So every year for Lent I give up sugary treats. I have only made it the whole 40 days once before, but I am determined to finish it this year. I've gotten through the withdrawl headaches, and now I'm not craving it too much. So the Peanut Brittle and Cinnamon Bears will have to wait for another day.

The kids still enjoyed their chocolate bars though.

THANK YOU GRANDPA!

My Valentine

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! I know, I'm 5 days late. But better late then never.

Since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday this year, Scott and I decided to go out on Saturday. Scott's sister was nice enough to watch Owen and Holly. It's weird going out to eat without the kids though! No crayons to pick up off the floor, no spilled drinks to clean up. We had a good time though.

Scott made me this card for Valentine's Day. I love that he makes me cards and doesn't just go buy me one at the local Walgreens. They mean a lot more to me. He has been working on learning how to letter comics, so he used his new skills to make me this card:

In the bubble "HEY MOM, HEY MOM, HEY MOM, HEY MOM, HEY MOM, HEY MOM, MOMMY? HEY MOM! GUESS WHAT?"

(I don't know if you saw the commerical for "The Family Guy" that was playing on Christmas during the "A Christmas Story" marathon. But Owen must have. His new favorite thing to do is pretend he is the baby on that show...I don't know his name because I haven't seen the show...but the baby says to his mom something like, "Mommy, mommy, mom, ma, mommy........" for a really long time. Finally his mom says, "WHAT?" and the baby says, "Hi!" Owen has taken up doing that at least once a day now. That's where Scott got the idea for the front of the card.)

Then I opened up the card to find my kids saying "HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!" So cute. You will also notice that Owen signed his own name. We think he's pretty smart because he can write his name already, at the ripe old age of 3. He loves to write letters. So if you see him and want him to write your name, just let him know. He would be happy to, as long as you tell him what letters to write.

Clean Teeth

Since Holly FINALLY got 4 teeth, we decided to start letting her brush them. It took her long enough to get them, we don't want them to fall out too soon. Holly is in love with her tooth brush. She gets so excited when I bring it out, and she never wants to give it back. As soon as I tell her to give me back her tooth brush she runs away shaking her head no. Then the chase is on. I have to chase her around the house, and when I finally reach her she hides the tooth brush behind her back. I usually have to pry the tooth brush from her fingers. Then she flings herself on the floor and cries her little heart out. After a good 3 minute cry she is good until the next brushing.

Let's just hope she is always this excited about her oral health!

A Sunbeam!

Owen has moved out of nursery and into the SUNBEAMS at church! I was worried that the move wouldn't go too smoothly. He just turned 3, he's a very young Sunbeam. But he made the transition pretty well. He's only tried to run out of the room a few times. I think he loves all the singing in Primary...he loves to sing!

Musical Beds

Look at me...posting 2 days in a row! How exciting is that? I just really wanted to get last night's game down in writing. This is not one to forget.

Last night we played MUSICAL BEDS! I would not recommend it though...and I hope we don't ever have to play again. Here's how it all went down:

The whole family went down for sleep in their own beds. Scott and me in our bed, Owen in his bed, and Holly in her bed.

Move #1 - Owen decided that he needed to sleep between Scott and me, so he climbed on in to our bed.

Move #2 - There was not enough room in the bed for all of us because Scott thinks he needs to sleep on his side with his butt sticking halfway into my side of the bed. So I decided to move on into Owen's bed. He has a full size bed...good size for me!

Move #3 - While I was moving I woke up Scott. He decided to take a potty break, and while taking his potty break he woke up Holly. I was going to let her cry it out...but after about 5 minutes of not being able to sleep because of her screaming I brought her into Owen's bed with me.

Move #4 - When Owen was a baby and he would wake up screaming we would just bring him into bed with us and he would fall back to sleep. Holly is not like that. She was in Owen's bed with me and she would not go to sleep. She was just wandering around the bed, trying to look our the window, and keeping me awake. I decided that she must be hungry because she hadn't eaten much at dinner that night. So I took her downstairs, got her some milk, and we settled into the rocking chair.

Move #5 - After an hour in the rocking chair and Holly still not falling asleep I decided to take Holly back up to Owen's bed. I was hoping that she would fall asleep in a bed.

Move #6 - Holly did not fall asleep. Instead she thought it would be great fun to hit me in the face with the plastic face of her Cabbage Patch baby. So I decided that she could go back to her crib and just cry it out. I was tired. It was about 3:30 in the morning at this point. So back to the crib for Holly, and back to Owen's bed for me.

Move #7 - Holly cried, and cried, and cried. I noticed something strange about her crying though. Whenever she cried I heard this low rumbling/buzzing sound...and the sound stopped whenever she wasn't crying (to take a breath or something). I thought it was just my imagination, but no, after about 5 minutes I decided something strange was going on. A mystery to be solved! So I walked out of Owen's room to investigate. Walking out of Owen's room, you can turn left and go to Holly's room, or turn right and go downstairs. I noticed that the rumbling noise was coming from my right, not from Holly's room. The noise was coming from downstairs. It was definitely turning on and off with Holly's cries too. I was a bit freaked out by that. And since I'm not the man in the house, it is not my job to check out strange noises in the night. So I woke up Scott and told him to grab the baseball bat. He went over to the top of the stairs, heard the noise and said, "That's Owen's toy car."

HUH?

He explained, "It's the remote control car that Owen got from Aunt Maryann for Christmas. It keeps turning on by itself. I need to take the batteries out tomorrow."

So I asked him how the heck it could be turning on and off to Holly's cries. That just seems a bit extreme. We finally figured out that Holly's baby monitor must have been sending signals to the car to start going whenever she cried! Who needs a remote? What a great scientific discovery! We had a good laugh over that one, turned off the monitor, and since Scott wasn't hogging 3/4th of the bed, I hopped back into my bed with Owen.

Move #8 - Holly was still screaming. Scott felt bad. So he got her out of her crib and decided to put her in bed with all the rest of us. Talk about a crowded bed.

Move #9 - Holly still wasn't sleepy...and now she was crowded into our little Queen sized bed. She decided she should start banging Owen on the head. Owen started screaming, "OUCH!" So Scott and Holly moved over to Owen's bed.

Move #10 - Holly was still crying. I was still sleepy, but a light bulb went off in my head. Holly usually sleeps through the night with out problems. She was fed, her diaper was dry, so something else must have been wrong. I came to the conclusion that her teeth must be hurting her. Her teeth have been so slow coming in, so they are probably all trying to pop out at the same time. That must not feel good. So I took her back downstairs, got her some Tylenol, and we settled back into the rocking chair.

Move #11 - While we were downstairs Owen decided he should move back to his own bed with Scott.

Move #12 - Holly fell asleep!!!!!!!! I did not want to spend the rest of the night in the rocking chair though, so I carefully stood up to take her back to her crib. She woke up. And cried. Oh boy. It was about 4:15 by this time. I usually get up at 4:30. I set my alarm back to 6:30 and climbed into my bed with Holly.

Move #13 - She wouldn't go back to sleep. By this point, I just wanted to get a few hours of sleep. So I put her back in her crib. The baby monitor was off, so no cars would rumble. Scott was asleep in Owen's bed, so he wouldn't feel bad and go get her. She was fed and drugged up, there was no reason she couldn't stay in her crib for a few more hours. She cried, for about 2 minutes....

AND SHE FINALLY FELL BACK TO SLEEP!

Move #14 - Owen moved back into our bed and finished off his night sleeping next to me.

Wow...that was probably the craziest night we have had with both kids. Thankfully that doesn't happen each night. Maybe I should just invest in some ear plugs to make sure it never happens again.

It's hard to believe that somebody so little can cause so much trouble! Happy sleeping to everybody!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know that January 5th might seem a little late for those greetings, but I say better late then never! From reading all your blogs we know that you all had a pretty good Christmas and New Year...we did too. Who could ask for anything more?

We were lucky enough to have Scott's family over on Christmas Eve. We ate way too much food, played some games and enjoyed each other's company. Owen and Holly got to open up gifts from their Grandma Sheaffer and Aunt Tracey/Uncle Gary. Holly opened her first gift and was all set for the rest of the Christmas. She got her first Cabbage Patch Doll...

And she LOVED it! I've never seen a smile that big before. Since then she carries that doll around with her everywhere, along with the other Cabbage Patch Doll she got from Santa.

Santa did show up! Here the kids are sporting their new cuddly PJs that they got to open on Christmas Eve.

Many people have told me to enjoy having Christmas with little kids because they are so easy to please. They weren't lying. Look how excited Owen is to be getting new dishes!

And "Ta Da! It's Clothes!" (Overheard by Owen after opening his clothes)

I tried to get him to hold them up better...this is the best he could do though.

Holly also got lots of clothes. There is nothing like getting Christmas presents that you actually need.

Owen did get some toys. His favorite...this spiffy Little Einsteins computer. We had lots of fun with that one on Christmas day.
And somewhere along the way Owen lost his PJs. There's nothing like opening presents in your underwear I guess!

On to New Years Eve!

We got about an inch of snow on New Years Eve. Just the right amount of snow for Holly to have her first experience with snow.

Look at the snow coming down! Actually that is Owen throwing snow on Holly. I took a picture at just the right second. Luckily Holly is a good sport about it all. I had lots of fun following Holly around the yard while she discovered snow. She did not want to come in after about 2 hours of playing in the snow (Owen had long since gone inside). Here are a few more pictures of our fun time in the snow.

As for the rest of New Years Eve...it was pretty quiet. We just had a small party with just the 4 of us. There was pizza, cookies, brownies, and jello jigglers...and an exciting game of Candy Land! The kids and I were in bed by 9:50. Scott stayed up and watched "The Twilight Zone" marathon on Syfy.

Here's hoping you take some advice from Holly and have a relaxing 2010!