January

 We started out the month spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and cousins. 

Chet was thrilled to get in some hockey time with everyone

Mariah and Annalie have been looking forward to going to the temple for months and they were finally able to. Asa and Vivi were sick and Tanner and I hadn't gotten much sleep but we felt like if we didn't go then, it may not happen for a while. Asa slept the whole way to the temple and Vivi's fever broke before we left. Grandma was wonderful and watched the younger kids so that we could be with our girls in the temple. Chet and Miri were also amazing help for Grandma; Chet kept the older kids entertained with games and Miri held Asa. 

Mariah and Anni were able to use some family names and even learned a little about some of the people they were baptized for. Many of them were from the Pittsburgh area which was fun. After getting dressed in her white jumpsuit, I asked Mariah if she knew what the safety pin on her key was for. She responded "to pick the lock if I lose the key?". She was a good sport when I laughed and showed her how to pin it on her jumpsuit. I still can't believe that I have a daughter old enough to do baptisms. It was so special to see her doing that work for those who weren't baptized in this life, giving them a chance to enter the Baptismal covenant if they choose. 

Tanner got to baptize his dad as well which was special. Grandpa showed the girls the special hallway filled with old temple artifacts and he seemed to be happy in his ol' stomping grounds. Now if only we can get them to come back and work in the Nauvoo temple again. 

I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that we were sitting in our "special tree" up in Rexburg, Idaho; only to find out that it was also Brittany and Baydon's "special tree". I can remember my first time in the temple...how do I have a daughter that age?! 

The next day we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. It was such a tender mercy having them for that week. Asa hadn't been sleeping well and they helped so much. Grandpa made breakfast every morning and Grandma helped with school. They organized our garage, storage room, furnace room, and under the stairs. I'm so grateful for them and all that they do for us. 

 Tanner got home from taking them to the airport in time for Austin's birthday party. The cousins stayed long enough to get a piece of cake and then had to head out. 

Austin wanted a volcano cake: we used rice krispies and the volcano ended up a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Austin did the decorating himself and knew exactly how he wanted it. Tanner picked up dry ice and even though I probably should have used a little more water with the dry ice, the kids still seemed to think it was cool. 

Mariah had to leave early with Tanner for some basketball games and then Chet had to go soon after for his games. Tanner was their chauffeur/cheerleader. They both played well and felt good about the games. Austin had fun playing party games with his friends and opening presents. I was just happy to finally be able to have his party. 

And then we had snowmageddon! After sick kids I was perfectly ok with staying at home for a week, even though I was starting to get some cabin fever by the end. 

The kids had lots of fun trying to build a fort in the yard and on the porch. Once our drive and the neighbor's drive had been plowed they enjoyed digging tunnels in the piles. 

Doodles in the snow...the worst. Poor Josie hates being toweled off, but loves sticking her nose in snow banks...so she does it to herself. 

And then it got really cold, and it wasn't fun anymore. The kids would bundle up to feed the chickens but that was all the outside time we got. 

After a few days of being cooped up...the oldest three stayed out for a few minutes longer, they really wanted to to see this big chunk of snow. But they didn't last long. 

Tanner got to shovel a lot of snow and grumble about how a tractor would have made this all a lot easier. (In the past I have said that we didn't need a tractor, but this snow storm must be on Tanner's side.)

I taught the kids how to make s'mores over the stove one day. 

I told Mariah if she read Pride and Prejudice she could watch the movie. It was so fun watching her reactions: giggling during the dinner scene with Mister Collins and getting so sad when Elizabeth reams poor Mister Darcy. Now I'm hoping she'll read Sense and Sensibility and Emma so we can watch those too. It's fun having your kids grow up. 

It finally warmed up and the kids had fun sledding in the warmer weather. 

Tanner took Mariah to a Wild Hockey game one night and she enjoyed her one on one time with dad.

The next day Mariah and Chet finally got to have some basketball games again. Chet was sad that it was his last day of games for the season, but he played well and had fun. Vivi really wanted to sit by Mariah during her first game and snuck down to the bench when I wasn't paying attention. Asa was done by the fourth game, Vivi was crawling around like a puppy, and Eliza asked a stranger for candy...so Tanner and I weren't too sad about the basketball season wrapping up. 

We got to go down at the end of the month to celebrate Anni's birthday. She and Mariah were excited to have matching dresses. Our own little Anne Shirley and Diana.