Oma and Grandpa's December in Idaho

Their travel may have been terrible coming and going, but Oma and Grandpa were in Idaho for two weeks, from Owen's birthday party through Christmas.  We really enjoyed their stay with us.  We even put lights up on the house, er, paid someone to do this! So worth it!

On to the highlights!  The same night of his birthday party, Owen got to sit with Oma (and his buddy, Carson) and get the inside scoop on the local production of The Nutcracker.  I think it was his first time watching performers on stage. His first question was "are they real?"  :)  I was impressed that he stayed awake for the whole thing, since it started close to bed time.

Then the next morning, we got lots of new snow to shovel and play in.  (Strange to think that our Yellowstone snowcoach adventure was cancelled for lack of snow!)  I've mentioned before that Owen loves to snow shovel!  His handiwork on the front walk made me laugh though.  I guess a straight shot is too boring!

Hadley had to have her turn at shoveling too, of course.

After she did her own exploring on foot and bike...

Then Owen and Daddy got into a bit of a snow fight.  I think the one with the shovel has an advantage here.  Good thing Owen likes snow in his face.  He actually loves to roll around in the snow, too.

We took in the Museum of Idaho's Christmas exhibit, complete with trees, gingerbread creations, nativity scenes, and holiday-themed items from the last 100 years.

But the kids' favorite part of the museum is the kid room (obviously) that has some pretend frontier/wilderness play opportunities.

Once everyone was off from school and work, we drove an hour and a half to Lava Hot Springs to check out the warm pools.  It seemed recently renovated, clean, and pretty uncrowded for a no-school day.  All of the pools were at least 92 degrees, along with a hot pool, so it didn't matter that it was only 20 degrees outside! They also have a fun area with slides and sprays, which the kids really enjoyed.  There's a whole outdoor section that we'll have to come back to investigate in the summer!

Then, of course, there was much quality play time at the house, including snuggling, reading, some wrestling, massive tea parties, lots of Lego assembly, arts and crafts, make believe, and lots of silliness.  Good times!  Side note: When Hadley said "Grandpa", it came out like "Papa", which might just stick.  :)

And Owen really enjoyed being Oma's helper in the kitchen.

They even got to make Christmas cut-out cookies together!  Owen was an enthusiastic helper in all parts of the process, especially in the eating part. The first to go may have been the cookie of Owen's hand.

On the last day of their visit, we drove to see the Tetons and eat some Korean food in Driggs.  There was plenty of snow over there, and we got a great view of the mountains in the morning, but no children under 21 were allowed at the Grand Teton Brewery, for future reference.

Thanks for coming to see us, Oma and Grandpa!  We really loved having you here.  You are welcome back anytime.  :)

White Christmas

Merry Christmas!  We've been having a much warmer December than usual, but Christmas morning arrived white with lots of new snow!

Before we dive into Christmas celebrations, let's revisit the reason for the season.  Baby Jesus! Owen was asked to be Joseph in our church's children's service on Christmas Eve.  

He had a speaking part and was pretty excited to debut his lines!  We all practiced with him for a week, and I was impressed with how easily he memorized the line.  Save this for an "I knew him when" moment:

Hadley was an angel that entered with the shepherds later.  In my defense, I thought she'd be wearing a white shirt over her clothes, so she's the one in hot pink and leopard print instead...

Here's the whole group, Hadley in front and Owen in the back.

We were so glad that Oma and Grandpa were able to come and see the kids perform too! It's been really great to have them here from Owen's birthday through Christmas.  (More on the visit in the next post!)

Now on to Christmas!  Let's start with stockings.  I think we could have stopped after the foam swords.  :)

But of course, there was more opening of presents.

All in all, a lovely day.

We finished up with prime rib smoked in the snow, sledding, and lots of playing with new toys.  Merry Christmas to all from Idaho!

Owen turns 5!

Our little boy is now 5, and I've got to say that 5 is a pretty great age!  He is writing all of his letters (though S is tricky!) and numbers; using his imagination pretending to be cats, dogs, and all sorts of baby animals; helping with more and more chores around the house because they are fun (?!); and perfecting his funny faces, eye crossing, and pratfalls for comedic effect.

He wanted a shark-themed party, but we opted to have the party outside the house this year at a trampoline place (trampoline floors, walls, ramps, and foam pits to bounce into), so shark decor was minimal.  Owen is in bright yellow, so he's easy to spot.

The kids got nice and sweaty for an hour and a half before retiring to the party room for pizza, fruit, and cupcakes.  

I did attempt a watermelon shark for the fruit salad, which was fun.

Shark fin cupcakes?  Not so fun.  I tried to use flattened tootsie roll candies to make the fins, but they wilted pretty quickly.  I should have supported them with toothpicks.  Oh well.  Live and learn.  The kids didn't care.  :)

He got lots of Legos for his birthday, so Grandpa has been helping him out with following directions for building all of the sets.

Owen was a little confused that his party did not fall on his actual birthday, but was overjoyed when he was really 5 on Monday!

We put his presents under the tree since they'd been asking why the tree didn't have any presents under it yet.  (I have 2 good reasons for that...) Anyway, this is them holding up 5 fingers for turning 5.

More Legos!  And trucks, onocular, watch, cowboy boots, books... Hadley was a pretty good helper, considering that she didn't get any of these presents.  :)

And he was very excited to get a skateboard!  He'd been telling me he wanted a skateboard when he was 5, since he was 3.  Thanks Aunt Loni!

We also got him a long overdue, bigger 16" bike.  He really is fast on it now!

Happiest birthday to you, sweet boy!