Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas. Here are a few pictures with more to come, but for now I'm heading off to bed for some much needed sleep. Merry Christmas! Good night!

It's SNOW much fun!!!

Sarah loves to climb in the winter clothes basket in the closet. Here she is caught once again, no clothes, only one sock, and chomping on a cracker. Ummm.... maybe I'll have a special snack next time i put my gloves on.
(Where is her mother?!?!?!)

It's quite an adjustment to make from winters in Virginia to those in New Hampshire. The girls absolutely love it. They are amazed at how much snow there is (from only 2 snow storms last week.) Luckily we got our power and water back last Wednesday night shortly before the storms hit on Friday. This picture is looking out of our garage down the driveway. The driveway continues on three times this length off to the right, before you get to the street.

Anna and Liz were so young when we moved away from Utah that they don't remember what it's like for snow to stay around for more than a day at most. Here they are attempting to sled down the snowbank made by the plow.

Lizzie is so proud of her strong muscles. Maybe I should put her to work shoveling the driveway!

Ice Storm Update

For those who are wondering, yes we survived the ice storm last Thursday night but we are still without power and water. Of the county we live in 99% were without power. Today (3 days later) there are still about 150,000 homes without power in New Hampshire. Allen had to go into work on Friday so the girls and I hung around the house until about 3 pm when the thermostat read 56 degrees. We took refuge at our branch president's house in front of the nice warm wood stove.

Our landlord rounded up a generator for us late Friday night, so we at least have heat and electricity in the dining room. It looks like it may be the weekend before we get our power restored. We are doing well and are grateful for our 72 hour kit. It has been put to good use. Our hand-crank radio was a wonderful connection to the outside world during those first 12 hours. We are using our camping stove to heat water and lantern for use outside.

If there is one thing we have learned from all this, it is to put away water as much as possible. We had enough to drink but we forgot about the toilets. Thankfully we live close enough to the church building to go and refill our milk jugs. How grateful we are for the counsel of the prophet to prepare for emergencies and for those who have helped us put together our 72-hour kit. We are also very grateful for those who have worked day and night to help keep us and others warm.

December Fun

The three little princesses and their christmas pj's.


Sarah meets the snow.


A Christmas treat. Yummmm......

In Heaven!!!!

I have caught a glimpse of heaven today.....high-speed internet!!! Yes, we finally have it. It's hard to believe we managed to stay in the ice-age for so long (nearly four years) but we are finally thawing out and getting up to speed, literally. As for our blog, be prepared for an onslaught of pictures. Sadly, i have to re-boot my computer before I can access any pictures so there won't be any with this post. Check back soon though!

Big Day!!!

Yesterday, November 5th was a big day for Allen. He is officially an attorney. He and I traveled to Concord to the swearing-in ceremony at the Supreme Court of New Hampshire. It's been 7 years in the making and the girls and I are very proud of him. We celebrated with cake and ice cream with the girls (they got the day off school!)


Lizzie has been after me for the last week to cut her hair. I thought she'd change her mind and want to keep it long. Needless to say, she is ecstatic with her new hair-do. She was sure none of her friends at kindergarten would recognize her. We cut off 5 inches! She looks so cute. Lizzie thinks everyone should cut their hair just like hers. We love her new cut too.

Halloween Fun!

We had a fun Halloween. It started with Lizzie and I making Pumpkin Bread for her class party. It turned out very yummy! We made mini bread loaves and cut into slices… it was the perfect size for kindergarteners.

Yesterday afternoon, Sarah and I went to the school Halloween parade. The kids walked down Main Street then crossed over and came back on the other side. Sarah and I camped out in front of the Post Office. It turned out to be a beautiful day and warm enough that the kids didn’t have to wear their coats.

After school we came home and got ready for trick-or-treating. Anna and Lizzie loved having make-up put on. I think they were the prettiest Princess Aurora and Princess Snow White I have ever seen. I wonder if we’ll ever have a Halloween without a princess?

I was going to dress Sarah up as a cow but in the end switched to a ladybug. I figured I couldn’t let her get by without wearing it since both Anna and Lizzie wore it also…it’s a tradition I can’t break.

We took the girls in to town to trick or treat. It was their first experience with going house to house. I loved watching them in their excitement. There were a couple of spooky houses and costumes that scared Lizzie but all in all they had a blast. We got a late start but still had a great time. Even I am looking forward to next year.

A few pictures of the views from the hike Allen, Sarah and I went on today.




This picture was taken through one of those binocular contraptions that are found in scenic view places. I didn't think it would turn out very well but I was pleasantly surprised. I keep wanting to call it a view finder. If anyone knows what they are called let me know. There are over 100 islands in Lake Winnipesaukee most of which are inhabited. Crazy, huh? How would you like to live on an island? What would you do if there was an emergency? There's no boat ambulance is there?

Isn't the color around us wonderful. Especially at this time of year the world is so beautiful. These pictures are just a snippet of what's in our yard. Lizzie had a fun time throwing leaves in the air.

A beautiful view of Lake Winnipesaukee.

I Love My Girls!!!

Today was one of those days where I just sit back and think to myself...I love being a mom! It's great when you can catch those moments and really enjoy them. My moment today was Coats. We dug the coat box out of storage because it's turned quite cold quite a bit faster than we are used to. Coats were everywhere, all over the kitchen floor and so were we. Sarah made herself a bed, as well as an attack zone. Watch out if you're ever in the vicinity when little Sarah grabs hold of box, you'll get pounded. After quite the giggling match, I had to dig my girls out of the coats. Double duty for Mom! But hey, dress-up is fun no matter what you're putting on.

Allen's friend John, and his wife, invited us to go apple picking. It's something I've wanted to do so we were excited! The girls had so much fun, even Sarah got in on the action. She picked an apple and didn't let go of it until she decided to chuck it at Anna and Lizzie in the car. You can eat as many apples as you want while you are picking and Lizzie claimed 2 for herself. She was so proud she ate right down to the core!!

I've decided I'm making a dedicated fund just for "pick your own" fruits and veggies next year so I can can for my family.

HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY!
We found out yesterday that Allen passed the New Hampshire Bar Exam! Yea! We are so excited for him and are very proud of all his hard work and many, many hours of studying.
We love you Allen!!!

Sarah

Just a quick update, here are few pictures of our now one year old and her yummy cake. More commentary will follow in the next couple of days.

Cookie Celebration

In celebration of finding out we got the house in Wolfeboro (it's really in New Durham) the girls and I decided to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies!

UMMM..... Don't they look delicious!

Eating the fruits of our labors...