Sledding

Today was another great day at the cabin.  It has snowed the entire time Mike's family has been up here.  I love it!  The sledding has been fantastic this year.  I'm so glad!  We really wanted Mike's family to have a great experience their first time up.  It's disappointing when the snow doesn't cooperate.  No worries about that this year!

The best way to sled!

 Shannon with various kids behind her.

 Steve & Erica pulling Stockton and Weston

 Mike

 The train

 Derek, Stockton, Jacob, Weston, Brandon, Erica

 Stockton

Getting up the hill was almost more fun than coming down.  The kids had battles on the way up.  Maysen was the only one that hated that.

Jacob & Derek 

 Derek going up without his sled

 Shannon with Stockton, Weston, Brandon & Mike

 Stockton, Brandon, Jacob, Shannon & Erica

 Shannon & Erica

 Shannon

 Erica

 Brandon & Weston

Erica & Jacob

 Derek

 Mike & Jacob

 Jacob

 Weston, Erica, Shannon, Steve, Brandon, Jacob

 (Steve), Shannon, Brandon, Jacob

 Shannon, Jacob, Brandon

 Steve & Shannon

 Erica

 Stockton

 Erica

We had a ping-pong and fooseball tournament.  Steve defeated me while using his cell phone as a paddle.  Stockton and Jacob played for the championship.  Stockton won.  I did a lot better in the fooseball tournament.  Steve and their family left around 5:30.  They made it home safely.  Now we are up at the cabin by ourselves.  Weird.  I'm so glad Mike's family had a great time.  Maybe we can convince them to do this again!

Nova Drives

Lisa, Nathan and Aimee left today.  First Aimee and Mike went on a snowmobile ride to the lake.  Mike has never done that before.  He also went with Preston and Shannon.  I heard it was crazy!  They were going so fast and couldn't see anything.  Sometimes they would hit drops and start to fly.  Shannon and Mike wished they had helmets because it was nuts.  That makes me a bit nervous.

Aimee & Mike

 There is a huge fall right after you cross the street.

 We could barely see them once they were on the lake.

 Steve taking his boys to the springs.

Nova preferred walking down the hill

instead of sledding with her mom (Melissa).

 Nova

 Nova & Melissa

 Stockton in the sledding graveyard.

 Shannon driving, Erica riding

 Stockton and Jorja behind

 Stockton

 Stockton got high centered this time

 I told him to pretend he hit the jump perfect.

 Mike and Preston

 Preston, Mike & Stockton

 Preston and Mike in the sledding graveyard.

I drove the 4-wheeler for awhile with Nova.  She liked to pretend she was driving.  It cracked me up.  I was trying to get out of the picture so Shannon could get one of just Nova.  Little kids are the best.

Nova & Stephanie

 Nova Marie

 Nova & Stephanie

The Stockings Were Hung

I decided I might as well enjoy my Christmas stockings.  I first hung them by the fireplace, but then I was worried the pins would come out and they would get burned up.  I can't imagine how sad I would be if that happened.  So, I moved the stockings over by the Christmas tree.  I like looking at them.

The kids played outside most of the day.  Everyone seemed to have such a good time.  I stayed inside and worked frantically on finishing Preston's Christmas present.  Lisa was my lookout.  I wanted her to tell me if Preston or Stockton came inside.  I finally finished it!  I made Preston a blanket.  I tried to make it like Grandma Parry.  I hope he likes it.  His gingerbread blanket he got from Grandma when he was a baby is held together by threads.  Wait, I wish it was held by threads. Mostly batting is showing on the back.  Preston loves that blanket.  I was talking to Lisa about how hard I have worked on these blankets.  I gave up most of the things I was hoping to do this Christmas season so I could get these finished.  The blanket is not gingerbread, and it is not the same one he had as a baby.  I told Lisa that I had no idea if he would accept the blanket.  Later she talked to me and said my wording reminded her of the atonement.  We have no idea how much love and effort was actually given for us to have this wonderful gift of the atonement.  Jesus put forth all that love and effort even though he knew there was a chance we wouldn't accept his gift.  I like that.

I will have to be better about taking pictures tomorrow.  This is the first time that we have been up here with any of Mike's family.  They all seem to be having a great time.  That makes us so happy!

More Cousins

I love the cabin.  I'm so happy to be able to share this with Mike's family.  We went to church in Thayne.  Nathan wanted to go to 1:00 church.  There were several churches closer that had 9:00 church.  That turned out to be a good call since Nathan wasn't up before 9:00.  The ward we went to had a great sacrament meeting program.  I felt bad because I was so tired.  I almost fell asleep several times, and I was right in the line of site of the speakers.  It wasn't their talks, I was just so tired.  There were several mentally challenged people in the choir. One of them came up and talked to us afterwords.  First she talked to Mike, then she talked to me.  She said, "I sure enjoyed your boy."  She gestured to Preston.  Then she added, "I have a disability too."  I wasn't sure how to respond to that or what she meant.  Maybe she thought that because Preston kissed me over and over during the entire sacrament meeting.  I love that he does that.

We have done lots of sledding and lots of eating.  Lisa and Nathan made the most delicious hamburgers.  Steve and Shannon and their kids got up here late tonight.  My kids were pretty happy to have them up here.  The kids are all on the bunk beds downstairs.  Erica and Maysen are in the bunk beds and bed in our room.  Maysen's not feeling too well.  Hopefully she'll be back to her happy self tomorrow.

Parrydise!

Today was a beautiful, glorious day!  We love being up here!

Mike sent a couple of pictures of the parking lot and where to turn to his family.  We have been so excited to have them spend a few days up here with us!  First time ever!

Mike is loving the new 4-wheeler.  Look how many groceries it can bring up.

I went over to Steve and Sharon's cabin to watch the BYU/Utah game. I worked on Preston's present during the game.  Mike came with me, but he mostly slept.  I almost texted Sharon that she ended up not doing me a favor of letting me watch the game.  I couldn't believe how bad BYU was getting blown out!  I'm glad I stuck it out though.  That second half of the game was amazing and so much fun to watch!  How cool would have it been if they could have ended that game with another hail Mary?  Too bad the offense didn't get the ball back at the end.  It was still a fun second half to watch.

Mike left at half time.  I could see him driving the 4-wheeler taking Preston and Jorja sledding.  Derek and Melissa also got here while I was watching the game.  They also got a bit of sledding in and became big fans!  Lisa, Nathan and Aimee came around dinner time.  We played Pie Face with them before bed.  Well, we didn't really play the game version, we all just took turns seeing if we could beat the spinner. My first time I spun a 2.  The game had just been reset, so I wasn't worried at all.  Wrong!  I got pie faced!  All three times I spun I was pie faced.  At least it didn't hurt, and the whipped cream was delicious.

Jorja

 Stephanie

 Stockton

 Jorja

Broken Jeep

Maysen didn't get a part in Arsenic and Old Lace.  We weren't too surprised about that.  There aren't many parts and Maysen hasn't been in the drama scene at the high school before.  The nice part was that it meant that we wouldn't have to wait for her to do call backs tonight.

Mike was planning on coming home from work early so we could hit the road.  The only problem was his jeep wouldn't start.  His friend Rocky gave him a ride home.  We loaded up the van and the 4-wheeler and stopped by his work.  Mike and I worked on his jeep for about 30 minutes.  We were able to get it moved to another parking lot.  Mike called his dad.  He is going to come and get the jeep tomorrow.

We got to the cabin really late.  Probably close to midnight.  Mike was backing the 4-wheeler off of the trailer.  He had some wood that he got out of the jeep that was also on the trailer.  (We have to put balusters in the side deck by January or we lose our insurance.)  Anyway, Mike backed up the 4-wheeler off of the trailer over the wood and the 4-wheeler tipped!  I screamed!  I was so scared.  The 4-wheeler tipped on it's back but didn't fall over, which was good because Mike was on the ground.  Luckily Mike didn't get hurt and the 4-wheeler didn't get damaged.  It was a good long while before my heart stopped going crazy though.

We ended up getting to bed around 2 am.  It was pretty cold.  I slept with my winter coat on.  Maysen slept in the other bed and the three other kids slept in the bunk beds in the lava room.  I'm sure one day Mike will figure out how to remotely turn on the heat.  We will be much cozier tomorrow.  I'm glad Melissa and Derek didn't come today.  They were planning on it until we got derailed with the broken jeep.  Their little kids would have been so cold!  I'm sure the cabin will be nice and toasty for them tomorrow!

Ping Pong and Lace

Stockton stayed after school and missed diving so he could compete in the ping pong tournament.  He thought this tournament was going to be after Christmas, so he was a little surprised.  He talked about this tournament in his talk on Sunday.  He mentioned his goal was to win just one game.  Well, Stockton was matched up on his first game with the defending champion from last year.  It is single elimination.  Stockton will have to wait another year to reach this goal.

Maysen tried out for Arsenic and Old Lace today.  I was surprised and very happy that she wanted to try out.  My dad worked with her one a audition piece yesterday.  She is going to do something from The Matchmaker.  My dad was really excited about this.  Arsenic and Old Lace was the first play he was in.  Maysen felt her audition went well, then she came home and went to bed.  She is feeling pretty sick.  I hope she isn't sick tomorrow.  I would hate the cabin to turn into a giant revolving sick house.

Not the Best Day

Mike texted me these pictures early this morning.  He is already on the road back home.  He drove up there for 4 hours, slept for 4 hours and then drove home for 4 hours.  Crazy, but it was nice for him to get the beanbags and 4-wheeler up.  I'm excited to go there in a few days.  I haven't been up since October.  I can't wait to see the basement bunk beds!

I got so frustrated with Stockton today.  I am beyond stressed trying to get everything done for Christmas.  I had to cut out many things I wanted to do.  I'll miss the lights at Temple Square again, I wanted to do the North Pole at 7 Peaks and I wanted to get gingerbread houses for several families.  I had to drop all of that, mostly because of things I'm trying to do for Stockton.  I picked Maysen and Stockton up from school.  They stayed after for a National Honor Society meeting.  I dropped Maysen off at Matt & Sam's because I didn't have time to go back home.  My dad is going to bring her home later.  I then drove Stockton to diving.  I asked him how his day was and he rolled his eyes at me.  I was so irritated and hurt.  I know that is an annoying question, but I really want to know what is going on in his life.  We rode the entire way to BYU in silence.  I then sat in the car for another hour. The pool was closed so his diving was held in the gym.  I had no idea where that was.  I had to stay in the car until 4:00 because it will get ticketed if I leave before then.  I hate not knowing where to go, but I finally decided to see if I could find him.  I wandered around the Richard's building for awhile.  There are tons of students there taking their finals. Finally a lady helped me locate them. They were in the Smith Fieldhouse.  I was able to watch Stockton on the trampoline for a bit.  I like watching him dive more though.

I stopped at Kohls on the way home.  I ordered Stockton a nice winter coat.  I just ordered the wrong size.  I'm completely annoyed at this because I was sure he needed a bigger size, but I was talked out of it and second guessed myself.  I brought the coat and we went to see if we could exchange it.  Kohls is out of that coat everywhere.  Great. Stockton and I wandered over to the other coats that were there.  I was thinking, maybe I could find something else and they will exchange this one even though it isn't exactly the same one.  I don't care about this particular coat, I just want something warm that will fit.  I picked up a coat and asked Stockton if he wanted to try it on.  He said no.  I was so frustrated.  I had spent a lot of time looking for a coat and I'm sorry it was the wrong size.  Stockton is standing right next to a giant rack filled with coats.  It will literally take him 15 seconds to try it on, and he won't do it.  I put the coat back and asked him what he was planning on doing up in Idaho.  He said, "You asked me if I wanted to try it on."  I don't care about semantics right now.  I just want to buy you a freaking coat! I said, "Fine.  You will be cold and you can buy yourself a new coat." We drove home in total silence again.  I was fuming when I got home.  My feelings were so hurt.  I was upset and told Mike I was sick of this.  I'm tired of the kids not appreciating me.  I feel like they only tolerate me and I hate it.  Later Mike told me that Stockton was really upset.  He thought I told Mike that I hated him.  How could he ever think that? My entire life is revolved around him.    I just want to feel like I'm more than a dog begging for crumbs and attention.  Mike was frustrated that I was upset and told me he would like for there to be no yelling in our home, or something like that.  I was infuriated with that comment.  I had been so hurt and because I closed the door and yelled, "I hate this!" in my own room I am getting a lecture?  I know there should be no yelling, this is probably the first time I have yelled in our house in Utah. We have lived here for 5 years!  I just want a moment to be upset when life is overwhelming me.  In conclusion, today was not the best day.

The End of Statistics

There is a lot of snow outside.  Our school district decided to do have the kids come in two hours late.  I had Maysen miss her vet class today. That school district didn't cancel or have late start, but they said no one would be penalized if their parents kept them home.  Maysen used the time to study for her statistics final tonight.  She is so worried about that!  I left before all the kids were out the door.  I went over to Judy's house to work on Stockton's Christmas present.  She lives a few doors down, so I was able to walk.

Mike FINALLY got his tooth pulled today.  I hope, hope, hope, hope, hope this is the end of the pain for him.  I can't believe the dentist didn't pull this tooth in the first place.  It's his wisdom tooth for crying out loud.  As soon as Mike came home from the dentist he packed up and headed to Idaho.  Mike got tracks put on one of the 4-wheelers.  He wants to get that up there before we go for Christmas.  Mike bought a small trailer, but it can only hold one 4-wheeler.  We will take the second one up with us when we go.

Maysen had her statistics final.  She wanted to go thirty minutes early because she thought she could start early.  She couldn't, but better early than late.  I had no idea how long the final would take, so I decided to sit in the car and read a book.  I ended up sitting in the car for three hours!  Ha!  I didn't expect that.  I was starting to get worried that I missed her and her phone wasn't with her.  I almost texted her to see if she was okay, but if she was still taking the final I didn't want to bother her.  Maysen is so happy to be done with this class!  She feels like she did okay, but it will be nice to know for sure.  She really does not want to take this class again!  She is hoping she gets at least a B so she can still qualify for the Regents scholarship.  Maysen's last semester of high school is going to be so nice with no math!  She will have to get 80 hours of volunteering in for her vet class though.  I think Maysen will like that a lot more.

Let It Snow

It was snowing like crazy today.  I made it to my exercise class at 5:00. The class is only thirty minutes long.  There was a ton of snow on my car when I went out.  It was pretty scary getting back home.  I am so thankful for snow tires.  Even with them on it still was pretty scary getting up the hill. I told the kids that none of them could miss the bus because I did not want to drive them to school!

I did have to go pick up Maysen after physics.  I was able to get home okay, but I got stuck going up my driveway.  I backed out hoping to get a running start.  The only problem with that plan was I got super stuck. Now I was blocking the entire street.  I had to go get the snowplow to try and get out.  I called Mike to ask him where things were.  He decided to come home and help me.  He works about 20 minutes away and it was still snowing hard.  Sister Trost's daughter stopped to help me, there wasn't much she could do though.  Brother Taylor came and brought his giant snow plow.  He helped me a ton!  There was only one other car that had to wait until we could get the car out of the way. Mike got home and was able to help finish up.  We have such great neighbors!

For scouts today I gave the boys a plate and told them to make something with all of the leftover gingerbread candy.  I gave them a bag of frosting.  They had a great time.  Trains and ski hills were the big winners.  I sent them home all sugared up!  Mike and I gave Burke a ride home on the 4-wheeler, then we drove to Preston's scouts and picked him up.  Brother Breen was just getting Preston in the car to give him a ride home.  When he saw us he hopped out and slipped on his driveway.  Yikes!  Glad he didn't get hurt.