Over the river and through the woods, to grandma’s house we go. We drove up to Utah to take  Grandma Dunow back home after Christmas. We drove in snow the whole way, but arrived safely thanks to Bill’s excellent skills of driving in the snow.  There was a lot of snow. I never heard an official amount, but there was probably about two feet of snow on the ground.  The boys loved it. They got to play in the snow, but were disappointed when they couldn’t build a snowman because it was just too cold.  The snow just wasn’t the right consistency.  On New Year’s Day, Bill and I along with Curtis, Bill’s brother in law, took the kids to the golf course to sled down the hills.  Baden went down the hill once and got a face full of snow.  He didn’t want to sled after that.  I went down with Billy and he jumped off and I had a face full of snow.  It was really cold out, but the kids a blast playing and sledding with their cousins in the snow.

For Christmas I got a new Wii game called Just Dance.  It’s a lot of fun. The boys and I have been having fun playing. It’s quite the workout.  Here’s some video of us playing.

[youtube PQYbS0H-4N8 nolink]

When we first moved to Edgewood, a fellow church member told me that it usually snows before Halloween.  The first year we were here it snowed a few days before Halloween.  This year there has been snow around us, but it hadn’t snowed yet.  We got our first snowfall on December 16th.  It started snowing Thursday morning and didn’t quit until Friday afternoon.  We got almost a foot of snow.  It melted quickly and the boys are looking forward to the next big storm.

Every year at Christmas time, Albuquerque hosts the Twinkle Light Parade.  The parade consists of all kinds of transportation decorated in twinkle lights.  It’s a lot of cars. Some were just minivans that wanted to be cool others were low riders.   There was one car that really put on a show.  I can’t imagine how much money was invested in that car, but it was really cool.  Baden’s favorite part of the parade were the candy canes being handed out and Billy really liked Spider Man.  My favorite part was when we were leaving and I saw the mayor of Albuquerque, Richard Berry.  He’s a lot taller than I thought and he’s super nice.  He was nice enough to take a picture with me. That was the highlight of my night.

Billy’s Cub Scout Pack had their rocket launch on Saturday. Billy had a good time making the rocket with Bill. He painted it yellow and black to look like the Transformer  Bumblebee.  Billy’s rocket went the highest and was the last one to come down. He was so excited.  It was a fun morning for all!

Bill is a huge Pink Floyd fan.  When he found out that Roger Waters, a founding member of Pink Floyd, would be touring this year he was excited. We had the tickets for months.  Since Roger Waters wouldn’t be in Albuquerque, we decided to go to Phoenix for the November 27th show.  It was our belated anniversary trip.  My mom and dad came to spend Thanksgiving with us and watch the boys while were away.  We had a good time in Phoenix and it was nice to get away.  Roger Waters performed The Wall.  It’s  a rock opera.  A wall is actually built while the show is going on. It was really cool to see.   The show was great and Roger Waters always puts on a great show (we have seen him in concert 5 times now). I had never been to Phoenix other than the airport so it was neat to finally see the city. It reminds me of Southern California, but I love the Saguaro cactuses and am determined to get my picture with one the next time I am in Phoenix. Maybe for another Roger Waters concert. Who knows.

My parents came to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and watch the boys while Bill and I were in Phoenix over the weekend (that’s another post ).  Mom and I took the boys to see Tangled. We all really enjoyed it. It had enough action and adventure for the boys to like it plus they loved the chameleon sidekick.  Thanksgiving day arrived too early for me with Bill getting me up at 5:30 or so to help get the turkey on the Big Green Egg.  Luckily I got to go back to bed.  Then it was a mad dash to try to finish the rest of the sides and rolls before the turkey was done.  Bill thought it might take a little longer because we some snow on the ground and it was really cold.  Our friends, the Gacks, who we were stationed with in Maryland and now here in New Mexico, came over.  We had a good time eating, talking and watching football.  I only got a couple of pictures of Bill and the turkey. I was too busy eating all of the good food and talking to take more.  Family, friends and good health are just some of the things I am thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Right now she is in Provo, but in a few months she will be jetting to Brazil to begin what will probably be one of the best experiences in her life– serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are so excited for her. We will now have our very own missionary to write letters to and send packages.  When Jessica told her dad she was going to serve a mission, it was a happy day. We have all been anxiously awaiting her mission call. Where would she go? Would it be Boise, Idaho or somewhere overseas. Now the wait is over and she will be serving in the Florianopolis Brazil Mission.  She will learn Portuguese.  I am thinking Rosetta Stone language software might be a good Christmas present. She won’t leave until April, but we will be able to enjoy our time with her before she embarks on this most wonderful call — to serve and to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the excitement of getting a new puppy, I completely forgot to post pictures of the boys on Halloween. We went up to Monticello to visit Bill’s mom. Jessica and her roommate, Kate, came down, too. It was a lot of fun.  Bill’s sister also lives in Monticello so the boys had so much fun trick or treating with their cousins. We all piled into the back of Bill’s truck and he would stop and we would hop off the tailgate and then we would knock on the window to let him know we were ready to go to the next neighborhood.  We also went to the elementary school’s carnival on Friday night.  I think the whole town was there. 🙂