A Charlie Brown Tree (or worse)

Immediately after cutting two feet off the bottom we could tell the bottom was the best part of the tree, but due to size we had no other option. We really didn't know how bad it was until it was sitting in the living room. Toph promises me it looked better covered with snow!

I was in hopes that some lights and decorations would work wonders. Much to my sadness the limbs are so sparse that the ribbon had nowhere to sit and they are also so weak most of our ornaments fell right off. As you can see this is the best we could do!

Our First Christmas Branch!!

We thought this year it would be really fun to go and cut down our Christmas tree. We have never done this before and decided this was the year. Our first mistake was waiting until one and a half weeks til Christmas. Our second mistake was going the same day we received about 5 inches of snow. Anyways, we found a good spot with lots of trees. As we started hiking up the mountain looking Toph and Alex decided there were no good trees around and they needed to hike up farther. I waited with the two little ones. Ava was visibly shaking from the cold and they both thought a bear was going to jump out and eat us!! After waiting a short time the tree hunters proudly proclaimed they had found the "one". I didn't pay much attention to it until we got home and had to cut 2 feet off the bottom. They sure found a beauty!

Santa or a Snowman??

A few days ago Ava & I were driving when she said "Look mom, a snowman sitting on his couch". I was kind of confused, as there was no snowman in sight. In front of the house out her car window was a Santa sitting in his sled being pulled by reindeer. It was apparent that she didn't know who Santa is!

I decided that we better go and sit on Santa's lap. A friend told me that Santa was coming to town about 30 minutes away from our home. My mother in law, myself, the three kids and a friend loaded into the truck to go and visit the big man. This happened to be on the same day of our first really big snow storm. Well, the roads here in Wyoming are not plowed near as well as they are in Utah. To make a long story short we got lost (we were given the wrong directions). We were driving in the mountains on roads that were not plowed going straight up! I was really nervous, because I was driving. Thanks to a friend we finally found Santa (who I was told was a lady!!). This is one of those stories that you really needed to be there! It was quiet an experience.

A Couple of Nerds!

Alex and Ty on halloween.

Pumpkin Carving

The kids had a blast carving pumpkins with the Harris' and the Comptons!

Halloween

North Carolina

This past week I traveled to North Carolina for work. Although we were only there a couple of days we tried squeezing in all we could.

North Carolina State Fair. These are a couple of ladies we met at our conference.

Confederate History

Snow, Snow, Snow

It is kind of hard to tell by the pictures but we have received about 3 inches of snow (so far)! It is supposed to warm up next week, so I am really hoping it all melts.

The boys just couldn't resist!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I can not believe that Ava is three! Where has the time gone? I would like to know. She is such a sweetheart and so much fun. Her personality is awesome! She constantly has us in stitches. After two boys it sure is fun having a girl and seeing the innate differences.

Grandpa & grandma Fuhriman came up to visit for Toph and Ava's birthdays. We had a lot of fun hiking up Intermitten Spring (I forgot my camera).

Mother Nature sure is incredible! They gave Ava the blue Sharpay dress and wig! She absolutely adores the dress, not to sure what a wig is. She enjoys wearing it all day (I did have to tell her it was not a church dress).

Ava was very adament that she have a pink cake with pink frosting, pink sprinkles and pink candles! She is such a girl. (She fell the day before her birthday and scraped her nose!

Giddy Up

Jeter wasn't cooperating with Ava's attempt to ride him!

BYU vs. UCLA

To celebrate 13 years of marriage Toph thought it would be really romantic to go to a college football game (for the second year in a row)! What else could there possibly be to do?? Last year we went to Ohio State vs. University of Washington. Those fans really know how to tailgate!

I have to admit good college football games are a lot of fun! Even though we aren't BYU fans it was fun watching them, along with 80,000 other people, trounce the UCLA Bruins! Halftime score was 42-0, final score 59-0!

Bulldogs Football

This week our Bulldogs lost to the Little Giants. Although we were sad to lose, Alex was was excited because he scored their first two touchdowns! That was pretty cool. He loves putting on the pads and helmet.

Ava

Ava is turning three this month! She is all girl! She wants everything to be pink, have princesses on it or be frilly. She also loves having her hair done or straightened.

We spend hours dressing and undressing Barbie and fixing her hair. She loves packing babies around and she insists on buckling them up in the car everywhere we go! She sleeps with them, eats with them, potties with them, etc, etc. It has been truly amazing to see how different boys and girls are.

Easton

Easton started kindergarten this year! He is sooooo excited to be in school (as is his mom). He has 16 other kids in his class and is learning Spanish. He loves eating school lunch and library day. He did cry the first day when I picked him up because he couldn't ride the bus!

Easton is definitely the middle child. He is very laid back, fine with whatever and never causes much trouble. His personality (as well as his looks) are much like his dads. He is a little clone!

Alex

Wow! Where does the time go?? I can't believe that we have a 10 year old son in the 5th grade! It is so crazy once they hit those double digits. Alex is such a great kid. He is an awesome babysitter, LOVES playing sports, riding his motorcycle, horses, bicycle, etc. The older our children get the more nervous I am for the teenage years (and to think it is only three years away!)

Alex started at a new school this year and has already made tons of new friends. He is learning to play the guitar in music class and is very excited. He want to learn how to play In the End by Linkin Park! He also started playing Little League football. They have only had one game and they got clobbered.

Yellowstone

This year was our 6th annual trip to Yellowstone National Park! It is such a blast. We love camping, fishing, hiking and enjoying Mother Nature's beauty. What better place is there? It is really fun to spend a couple weeks with family.

Wildlife was everywhere. We saw several buffalo, bull elk, a giant grizzly bear and wolves. The kids get so excited to see animals. The guys hiked two miles up the Lamar valley and fished a remote stretch of the river. The banks were covered with petrified logs and bear tracks! I'm glad I don't find out about these things until after they return (safely). Easton also got to fish in Mary's Bay, although he didn't have much luck. The girls and young ones hiked around several of the geyser basins and the kids played in the Firehole river.

We also stopped at Jenny's Lake and hiked around the lake. It is so beautiful and a great hike! Although we wouldn't recommend pulling a large trailer through the parking lot!