Last month we had the pleasure of a visit from our AZ cousins. Their girls had NEVER seen snow before so we wanted to give them a true winter experience which is why we took them to McCall. I thought I would include a picture of all the "girls" in our family - we outnumber the men in our family by a lot much to my father's chagrin!
The Irons Family - so precious!
A very cool snow fort - even Aunt A. enjoyed crawling inside.
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The oldest and the youngest cousins (there is a slight height difference between them I would say).
The bobsie-twins - believe it or not we did not plan the "same shirt" experience here. These cousins are only a few weeks apart in age. We so love our AZ cousins!!
Normally, I am very selective about what pictures of ME I post, but this one I could not resist. It is a terrible picture but captures the sheer terror we felt in sledding down a hill. We actually attempted it again depsite the look of this picture. It was fun being so young again.
You know 12 years ago - I said yes to marrying this crazy man. What a guy!! 
It was a little bit of an icy drive, but the views from the car were fantastic!
The whole family posing together in the snow. Not sure what T. was doing with her mouth open like that - I think perhaps trying to catch a snowflake.
Our really pretty home that we rented. I loved the cute little front porch on it.
A few highlights from our annual trip to McCall, ID were having both grandmas and grandpa there, playing many games of TONK (a fun family card game), playing attack UNO, and our great day of sledding!! I love McCall. In fact, lately I have been trying to think up ways for us to move there. Day dreaming mostly... but this is what I have come up with so far - I could teach school and work for the Fish and Game trap sight in the summer - still not sure what Tim would do for a living. He liked the idea of running big machinery and clearing out snowy driveways. Hummmmm.... we shall see!!
We were able to celebrate a second Christmas with our AZ grandparents this year. In addition to this, we also helped them celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary. What a blessing and gift it is to say my parents have been married that long. I must brag a little here and say - they look pretty darn good for grandparents too!!
Grandpa G. and T. posing in their new stylish ski goggles. I was a little hesitant to be seen on the mountain with these two..
I am a woman of simple taste you could say. I asked for socks this Christmas (my mom informed me that she was never going to buy me these again as it is too boring of a gift), but I was thrilled. I have about 12 pairs of really wild socks now (that is what you get when you tell everyone you want socks)!! T. thought it was great fun to try them all on - they go up to about mid-thigh on her!!
My favorite picture of the season!!
Grandma opens her gift from T.
Papa looking so young and full of joy on Christmas morning!
We were very blessed to have a memorable Christmas this year. I knew going to into this season that it would be a tough year for me and my family. We lost a beloved grandmother and friend this year so I expected many bittersweet moments in it all. I was most blessed by my children this year and the gifts they lavished on me and my family (some actual gifts homemade and bought from a store and some just pure gifts from their hearts). This year my grandmother gave me the idea of encouraging them to get to buy for others so I allowed them to do some extra work around the house to make a little money, and then I took them to the dollar store where I let them buy for whomever they wanted. That was such a funny experience it was hilarious to see what they picked out for everyone (and watch them whisper as they tried to buy for me without me knowing what they got), and I was most delighted when on Christmas morning they were so excited to give out the gifts! They insisted on everyone opening their gifts first and watched each of us so expectedly - it was worth far more than a dollar the gift they gave me this year!!
One bear stuffed animal and matching outfit.... $2.00
One really red fake Christmas tree (that I am sure we will have to put out every year)...$1.00
One strand of gold garland with attaching ornaments...$1.00
One BIG box of our very own Mike and Ike's candy...$1.00
Spending $5.00 any way we want to at a dollar store with our great grandma Betty... priceless!!!
This last week the Idaho girls enjoyed having their great grandma in town! We had a great time with her even if we did lose our heat (on one of the coldest nights of the year so far), and our house got hit by the flu bug. She is a great sport and we are hoping we did not scare her off from coming back to visit another time. Thanks for all the memories GB!!
