Snow the Arizona Way

If you want snow in Arizona you can drive to Flagstaff, or you can go in with your neighbors and have a bunch of guys pull up in a big truck and make it for you out of tons of ice. Literally, TONS of ice. A bunch of people from my sister's neighborhood did just that and the kids loved it. 

It's a like a gigantic snow cone maker.

 

Little Bird in action with her cousin Ella in the driver's seat.

 The Chief got sat on when their sled ran into a girl who had fallen of hers.

Christmas Eve Orange Picking

In California we used to go to Apple Hill and pick apples and eat apple donuts. It was so much fun. To keep up with tradition we are now picking oranges...no tasty orange treats to eat, but we enjoyed ourselves.

The oranges were low enough that the kids could pick them all by themselves.

A selfie to prove I was there.

Some of the oranges were ginormous.

"Look mom, I can pick an orange with one hand tied behind my back."

Oops, the branch came with it.

Decorating Gingerbread Men

No houses this year, it's all about the Gingerbread men. Back in California we used to decorate gingerbread houses with my Grandmother, and now my mom is carrying on the tradition.

The apron that Lizard is wearing used to be mine. She's grown a little since we started doing this. Little Bird is big enough for Lizard's old apron now.

The General did his best to eat as much candy as possible before I noticed.

The Chief and his cousin Addi.

This is AWESOME!!

"I am way to cool to be having fun decorating gingerbread men."

"You're not going to put this picture on Instagram or your blog are you mom?"

Peg People

Three of four years ago I saw  peg people for the first time and thought they would be so much fun to make. As I kid I used to do tole painting with my grandma (my aunt would cut out a lot of the wood pieces) and I have such fond memories of painting wood. :) 

I was too busy doing other crafty things at the time though so I put the idea on the back burner. It wasn't until this past summer that I decided to give it a try.

 

These were my first peg people. They were for Lizard's birthday. She is a big fan of dragons.

 

I made two Elsas, one for my niece's birthday and one for Little Bird. I'm hoping to paint more princesses so Elsa isn't alone.

For my sister's birthday I painted her family. My brother-in-law's arm looks all wonky from behind and I forgot to put arms on my sister...don't judge.

For Christmas I painted my parents.

My next project is going to be two nativity sets, one for me and one for my sister. Hopefully I can get them done by next Christmas.

The Chief's Birthday

The Chief turned three years old in October. I think he had a fun day. He's such a character and keeps me on my toes....the sneaky silent type who get's into everything and disappears whenever we go somewhere.

The day started out with an outing to one of his favorite places. Usually the ducks stay in the water but this one wanted to guarantee some lunch. The Chief sought higher ground in the stroller for protection.

The Chief LOVES construction equipment...he is obsessed. Hence the brownie and Oreo "dirt" pile "cake."

The Nauvoo Temple was in on the celebration.

Siblings and cousins were eager to help him open his gifts.