Let's Catch Up

Okay, I have a ton of stuff to share today. Let's begin!

Chloe's Christmas Program

This year Chloe was picked to be "Mary" in her preschool Christmas program. She was very excited at first then I think she became very nervous about it and did not want to do it. Then I bought her a new dress to wear to the program and she changed her mind.

Here she is before the performance.


Chloe's friend, Jacob, was "Joseph" which worked out perfect because now I have a picture of them to show at their wedding. At this time we are negotiating the final details of that event.





And what did Ryder think of all this? Not much apparently.



Snow Day, Yucca style

Every year our town trucks in tons of snow for the kids to play in. The last year we went the kids hated it. Ryder got clocked in the face with a killer snowball and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the day. But this year, they had a blast!

PetSmart

On Sunday, we were running some errands in the low desert and we stopped at PetSmart. The kids got to hold a very cuddly Chinchilla.

Monday, Winter Storm Part 1

On Monday, the first part of the winter storm came through. At our house, however, it was just raining and occasionally some snow flakes. The kids still insisted on going outside.

Thankfully, my friend, Denise, invited to come to her home where they were getting lots of snow. I packed up the kids and drove in the snow probably for the first time in 7 years. Scary!

The Griffiths

Here are the kids building their first snowman. I'm glad someone had some snowman building skills because the one I built looked more like a volcano.

Wednesday, Today, Winter Storm Part 2
And Today, look!





It has been snowing for the last 6 hours. I have more pictures and video which I will post later. But right now, we are going to go play outside!

Adam and Aaron/ Joshua Tree

Adam and I last sunday spent about 6 hours in the Joshua Tree monument climbing and hiking. It was a blast to say the least.

Bad Hair Day

Actually, I think she was more upset that I didn't reprimand Ryder for being mean to her. Instead, I ran into the house to grab the camera. Smile Chloe!!

The Wonderland

This past saturday I spent the day in a outdoor class taught by an ecologist and avid outdoorsman (Lyndsey's idea for a xmas gift, VERY COOL BABE). This guy (Mark Wheeler) has spent the last 30 years or so learning about and literally living in practically every square inch of the thousands of acres that make up the Joshua Tree National Monument.

He took our class of nine people deep into a part of the monument known as "the Wonderland of Rocks". I thought I had seen it all up there but boy was I wrong. We never once came across another human while out there deep in the Wonderland. Tons of rock and boulder scrambling made it a very exciting 8 hour adventure, especially combined with Mark's knowledge.

Below are some photos that will hopefully give you at least a glimmer of what I experienced. I can hardly wait to go back.

Hands Free

I saw this YouTube clip on another blog and I thought it was great. Plus I needed to add something to our blog so the first picture I saw was not my Dad in a mullet wig.

New Ad Campaign For Yucca Valley

"Come to Yucca Valley. Where everyone lets their hair down."

The superior air quality here in the hi-desert can cause The Crazy to come out in those conservative type folk.

(Sorry Dad..... Mom made me do this.)

Halloween

Chloe and Ryder had the best time on Halloween. I think this was actually the first Halloween experience for them. In the past, we usually go to our church's Harvest Festival and load up on candy there. A friend of Aaron's from work invited us to come to their house for a Halloween party so Chloe and Ryder went trick or treating with their kids. Chloe didn't need any coaching on how this was going to work. She ran up to the front door with all the other kids to get her treats. Ryder, on the other hand, stayed back with me. I told him that we were going to knock on that person's door, say 'trick or treat,' then they were going to give him candy. He replied, "But Mom! They are strangers! I can't take candy from strangers!" After getting the okay from me, there was no hesitation. For the next 48 hours, the kids were in a candy stupor and that was only from the candy eaten on Halloween night. Of course, I have no good pictures of the kids on Halloween. Surprise, surprise. I guess I should have alerted the photographer that he was supposed to be taking pictures. So here are a couple from our daytrip to Idyllwild with my folks.

We had a great time with Grannie and Papa and we can't wait to see them again! xoxoxo