Snow, Snow, Sn...ICE

I figure its about time I shared about the crazy weather we've been having. After living in Utah and getting used to snowy winters, when it snows here I feel fairly confidant that we can handle the weather and the driving. Definitely its not the same here as Utah though, where in Utah, it snows and they clear the roads right away and then the snow just kind of stays there for awhile. In general the roads don't get too icy, or too bad to drive on most of the time. Here in Washington though, it doesn't get that cold very often and it doesn't stay cold, so it might snow and then rain on top of the snow and then its VERY icy. Thats just the road conditions, theres also the fact that we have a LOT of trees in Washington, trees that aren't used to having heavy snow on them, and start dropping large, heavy branches all over everything and then we have power outages. So if you hear everyone freaking out, thats why. :)

So anyway, the first couple days we had quite a lot of fun. We had snowball fights, we built a snowman, we played and enjoyed how beautiful it looked outside. It wasn't until the freezing rain started that things went down hill for us. We'd basically been stuck inside (besides the trips to play outside) for four to five days. We had some major cabin fever and were so ready to get out and just go somewhere! We finally dug our car out enough on Friday to go out to the mall where the kids burned a lot of energy in the play area. :) Anyway, it was a fun adventure and I'm just thankful everyone stayed safe and alright, even if without power! Eek.

Here's some pictures of the incredible snow we experience in Washington:

This Year Seems Like Last Year...Hmmm

You'd think after all the craziness of Christmas and the holidays that once the new year started, things would slow down. You'd think that, but it hasn't! :)

The first week of January was filled with photography and tantrums and babies being born and a wedding to celebrate! I got to take some newborn pictures for a Sister in our Ward, he was such a sweet baby, just a few days old with TONS of dark hair. So fun! Later that day I took some family pictures for Kristie's family, trying once again to get some good shots. Its too bad it gets dark so early still, so frustrating! In the middle of the week Sam had some gum and decided to stretch it out and wrap it around his neck (I know, what the heck right?!), well this resulted in a full on melt down, screaming mess. He screamed when we tried to get it off, he screamed when we put peanut butter on it, he screamed when we made him take a bath, he screamed and screamed and screamed. I seriously thought the neighbors were going to call the police, and it honestly left my whole body shaking for about an hour after he stopped screaming. Yay for three year olds. The best part of the week was my brother and sister-in-law had their first baby! A sweet little girl named Lara Rochelle, weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 inches long. My dad put this picture of my brother as a newborn up, and I compared it to Lara's newborn picture; I wish I had one of Tamsyn to put on the other side! I think she's so beautiful, I wish I could kiss on those cheeks all day!

To end the first week of January we went to an open house for my cousin Jordan who was married in Utah in December. The kids decided it was a free for all to run completely crazy, all over, into the kitchen and under tables--aren't kids grand?! ;) We had a lot of fun seeing friends and family and dancing and watching the kids dance (in between trying to catch Kimball from getting away) was too funny! Ashlee looked amazing, her dress was so beautiful, and Jordan always looks studly. :)

This week isn't much better for me, I have wedding invitations to design, a coupon class to attend, a Relief Society activity to get ready for (which means buying supplies for 35 people! Sheesh.), etc. etc.

Pray for me okay? :)