New Year's Eve

On New Year's Eve day Grandma and Grandpa Widing showed up with Emily and Mark to have some fun.  If nothing else we are party animals.  Mostly, sometimes,.....we try. We even put the boy to work and had him shovel the driveway before they got here.  It's basically like rolling out the red carpet here in Central Oregon.

 We palyed games and watched a little football and ate ourselves silly.  Grandma and Granpa called it a night early on (they were staying at a hotel) which meant Jason and I needed to entertain the troops until midnight.  If you know me, you know what a tall order that is.  Thank goodness these troops entertained themselves pretty well.

 Just before midnight the kids decided they needed to do something crazy to end 2014 with a bang.  They decided to go snow running.  It's their own invention and they loved it.  Basically they stripped off thier socks and shoes and went running from our house to the cows next door to the cul-de-sac across the street and back.

 Let me tell you, when these kids want to be fast they sure can be.

 Mark and Ansen even made snow angels.  Crazy boys.

 Everyone's feet were so frozen they were burning once they made it back inside. Gee, it was 0* out.

 Obviously their feet were going to hurt.  But did that stop them from doing it again.  Heeeeeeeck no.

 The good new is we (barely) made it to midnight and because the Widing's were in town the fridge was fullof this poision to help all the sleepy heads the next day be wide awake for the Oregon vs. Alabama game.

Happy New Year's Eve!

All over Oregon pt.2

Our friends moved the same time we did to southern Oregon and it was fun to go check out their new city.  No get together is ever truly complete without a pool party.  Another friend of ours, Tish, who moved from Woodburn 2 1/2 years before we did, joined us with her son Peyton for some fun in the pool.  The kids played and swam and the parents all just caught up and enjoyed the time. It was really fun.

 After checking out the local high school the Stimpson's took us over to their temple.  It's beautiful and I'm not going to lie, I'm jealous they have one so close.  (I'm just waiting for them to announce the Central Oregon Temple....fingers crossed!)

 After a little lunch and goodbyes we started our ride home.  Kahau slept and Ansen and Braley read, read, read!  Oh that makes me a happy momma.  And Rams? He just relaxed and took in the scenery.

 Look at how pretty our ride home was....and how blue the sky was...and how bright the sun was shining.  Pretty awesome.

We had a lot of fun but are not looking to get in the car anytime soon.  Except for Jason, who is make almost this same loop next week for work.  Poor guy!

All over Oregon pt.1

The day after Christmas we packed up the kids and headed to the valley.  We had a sealing to attend on the 27th and we wanted to stop and see a few people along the way. First we dropped Braley off at our old neighbors home (man do we miss them.  They were great neighbors.) so she could spend the night with her bff, Jenni.

Since our house was right next door we popped into see how our renters were doing and look who we met.  Her name is Hazel and she is seriously the cutest puppy.  Honestly, she looked like a stuffed animal.  Adorable I tell you!

 Our renters (and friends) also have a foreign exchange student with them for the year.  Her name is Emma and she is from Norway. Kahau about died when she met her.  For all of you who don't know, she is pretty much convinced that Norway is the most magical country in the world and (god willing) that is where she wants to serve her mission.  Emma's super nice and once Kahau explained her obsession with Norway Emma gave her a treat her mom had sent to her...Norwegian chocolate.

Bam.

Life.Made.

(Just look at that smile)

 Ansen wrestled in a small tournament in Molalla and did an amazing job. He wrestled up a few weight classes to have a challenge and can you believe he won 3 out of 4?  He was wrestling kids 10 and 15lbs heavier than him. That boy is a machine.

 Brays got a dress for Christmas that ended up being too short (she's growing like a weed these days) so we hit the outlets to find one that had a more appropriate length.  She liked both but chose the red.

 We went to our Woodburn ward on Sunday it was nice seeing so many familiar faces. We just love that ward and the people in it....like, a lot.

After a few days in the valley we started heading south to go see some friends in Medford. 

 First we had to make a stop in Eugene to pick up some very important tickets.  Because Jase has season tickets to the Ducks games he was able to get his hands on a few tickets for this years Rose Bowl.  The original plan was for Jason, Ansen, Grandpa Widing and our friend Mike and his son Dallin to go to the game. Tickets were tight tho and Jason could only get his hands on 2 tickets so he  decided to give the tickets to Mike and Dallin, and just have Grandpa over to our house to watch the game.  I know he really wanted to go but I think watching the game with us at home was fun too.

It's no secret that we Widing's don't roadtrip but it was fun to ditch the house and visit with family and friends. 

Foosball tourneys held here

Grandpa and Grandma Forsberg got the kids a Foosball table for Christmas and already we have put this thing to great use.  We all think we are better than the next person so I guess time will only tell who's the actual Foosball champion. For now let's just agree it's me.

Our Christmas in pictures

Merry Christmas everyone! We are grateful to have today to think about and celebrate the birth of Christ. We hope you can feel the spirit of this special day as well.

Our Christmas morning:

Ansen was up bight and early and bouncing off the walls waiting for everyone else to drag themselves out of bed.

As you can see, we had a great day.  It was quiet, relaxing and we just had a good time being together.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

I barely have any pics from Christmas Eve which is so unlike me but I'll share what I have.

For Christmas Eve we invited a few people from the ward over.  We had 2 elderly sisters and my friend Ashley and her 2 kids over.  Plus the sister missionaries were in and out.  We had our usual simple dinner of meats, cheeses, crackers, fruit, and vegetables.  Ansen LOVED having kids to play with and the rest of us were completely entertained by the 2 older sisters from the ward.  Both are so different and they don't know each other very well but that didn't stop them from telling stories about ice cream that gives them gas and not wanting to live to a very old age.  It was a night full of stifled laughter and fun memories.Before everyone left for home we read Luke 2 together as well as The Night Before Christmas.

After everyone left the kids were chomping at the bit to find out what this years Christmas jammies would look like. I think I did a pretty great job picking out this years pj's, don't you?

 After the sisters finished their Christmas dinner they headed back to our house for a game of Harry Potter Clue. It was a fun way to end the evening and enjoy hanging out by the Christmas tree.

Then it was off to bed for my little ones! Merry Christmas Eve!