Snowy Days

Who says you can't get out and have some fun in the snow?! We had some sunshine, low winds and temps in the 20's so we got out of the house. I feel like we've been in hibernation with the bears, rabbits, frogs, fish and all the other various creatures that hibernate the winter away. So, we travelled a whopping distance of 10 miles to Walnut Point State Park (this place is beautiful and practically in our back yard), and "got out". Maxy wanted to camp, and picnic, and swing and slide but we told him we would have to wait till it wasn't quite so cold and the snow was all gone. We had fun taking pics and taking in the snowy scenery. There's something so quiet, peaceful, magical about snow. Especially when it sparkles like glitter in the sunlight. After the chilly sight-seeing, we had lunch at the White House Cafe in Oakland; a small town near the park. It was adorable and very clean with a white picket fence with plates and pictures of barns decorating the walls. I think we made a discovery. So, if you are tired of being in "hibernation", get bundled up, grab the hands of the people you love and go enjoy the wonder of snowy days.

This and the next 3 pics in our yard. Max keeps his elbows bent and hands straight out when he has on his big mittens. :)

Peters family Christmas in Nebraska

Due to the weather, it delayed our trip up to NE one day. We stayed one night and the next day Stephen and I drove to Iowa to go pick up the big boys. We celebrated our Christmas with fantastic appetizers, great fellowship and exchanging of gifts. Gma Elaine and Gpa Richard are wonderful hosts. They love a full house of family and friends. They recently remodeled their basement with a newer space for the pool/ping pong table which is becoming more popular as the boys get bigger. Jen (my sister-in-law) and I went to pick up everbody's favorite for dinner, Valentinos pizza. Yummers! A big breakthrough happened while we were there. Max started going peepee in the potty. He calls it makin' a river. Thanks Gma Elaine for your help! And, our big giant Christmas gift to the whole family from Rich and Elaine-dun da da dun..a Peters family vacation to Marco Island!! We are so excited and appreciative of this great opportunity for family fun in the island sun!!

Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree

Max's new doggy from U. David. Calls him Haley doggy. But its a boy.

U. David and Edward

Cousins Ben and Hannah

Vintage ornaments that were Stephen's grandma Elda Peters.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Dunning family Christmas in Kansas

During the few precious days we have for Christmas vacation, we manage to squeeze in quite a bit. We traveled first to Kansas to celebrate with my family and then up to Nebraska with Stephen's family (more pics to follow on that). Momma and Daddy always help make Christmas so very special. (One of my growing favorites is the family tradition of Daddy reading the Christmas story while we huddle around the tree waiting to open presents.) This year after an extremely tense-filled journey we were surprised with a brand new, comfy, pillow top queen sized mattress for our room. This replaced the teeny, tiny sink in the middle, balance on the edge, double bed that we were using. We were thrilled. They also picked out an enormous real Christmas tree for indoors and a special blue spruce they planted outdoors. There was heavenly food to boot, (I couldn't stop eating), festive decorations and presents galor. It was wonderful. But, none of these things could ever amount to the greatest gifts of all....the gifts of true friendship and loyalty; family and unconditional love; children laughing, playing, crying, sleeping....welcoming warmth and new babies to come...and celebrating the birth of our Savior who without Him these gifts would not be possible.

Gpa "Mutach" and his grandsons

Sister and BFFs for life

Cousin bath time-a first

Opening presents

Oooh, batteries!

Sisters and honorary sisters.

Forever Young

"May God bless you and keep you always, May your wishes all come true,

May you always do for others And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true,

May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you,

May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift,

May you have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift.

May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young,

May you stay forever young."

-Bob Dylan

My Christmas wish to my dear sweet boy and stepsons, and to you and your dear ones.

Homeade Play dough fun

I still love to play with play dough. I have many fond memories of squeezing, squishing,rolling, shaping and smelling. So, when I recieved a homeade recipe from Gma Elaine I couldn't resist. And, of course I thought Max would really enjoy it too and that he could help me make it. We measured, poured, mixed, kneeded and.. WaaLaah! We had play dough! Cool!
Recipe:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1pkg unsweetened kool aid or food coloring ( We used food coloring)
3 T baby oil
1 cup boiling water
Mix dry ingred. add oil & water, mix well and store in air tight container.

Note: We divided play dough into four sections then added different food colorings to each one.

Warning: You may be tempted to eat it. (Remember when you were a kid?) It looks and feels like real yummy dough. Even smells good too.

Confession: I did....actually......sneak a Liiiitle teeeeny tiny bite-when Max was looking the other way of course. Didn't taste like what you'd imagine. So, watch your little one-or yourself. ;)

Trick or Treat

Halloween. I am not a huge fan of the holiday, but I do think dressing up and getting candy sure is fun. When I was little, we didn't go trick or treating, but as I got older I got to take my little sissy a few times. And once I started college there were lots of costume parties. This Halloween, we were one little pirate family. The idea came from one of Max's favorite videos, a Veggie Tales video about Jonah that features silly pirates. AAARRRHHH!!!! So, when I stumbled upon his costume, (I wasn't even shopping for that and it was the only one left in his size) I thought perfect! Max was such a big boy really getting to trick or treat for the first time. He would say "trick or treat" before they even answered the door but he was very good at saying thank you! The next day he wanted to wear his pirate costume again. :) So, dessert for a while now will be dumping the candy contents from the plastic pumpkin and deciding on which treat to eat. And sharing a few with mom and dad of course.