December Happenings

The first weekend of December, Steve decided to go up to Idaho to go duck/geese hunting.  He had been talking to a guy in my parents ward, Mark Gasper, who had volunteered to take him.  I took that Friday off so they could go, and decided not to go with them since it was going to be a pretty quick trip up and back.  They left Thursday afternoon.  Carrie asked to take Nyles w/ Lynsie to the Aquarium, so it worked out well.  Carrie then dropped Nyles off shortly after I got home from work.

Nyles and Lynsie playing at the Aquarium

Steve and Zach got up to my parent's place late that night.  They had a little bit of bad weather along the way, but made it just fine.  They left early the next morning and met Mark in Glenns Ferry.  They hunted along the Snake River and had lots of success!  They used Mark's boat to get to an island on the Snake River, then his dogs would help retrieve the birds.  It was very efficient.  They went up the next morning as well w/ my dad and got even more.  Steve and Zach said it was the best hunt they've ever been on!  Here are some pics.

Steve w/ his new warmer waders before going up to Idaho to hunt.

Steve and Dad hunting.

Steve w/ some ducks they shot.

 My dad and Steve after the hunt.

  

Zach, Mark and Steve.

Steve got some tags for shooting certain ducks.  And more ducks!

That Saturday while Steve was hunting, Nyles and I went to our Branch Christmas Brunch.  I didn't have to do much, just bring some premade cinnamon rolls.  We had the Primary practice a few songs to sing as well.  Since we're a pretty small Primary, the nursery kids came up as well.  Nyles thought it was a lot of fun!  He'll be starting Sunbeans in January!  We've had Nyles and the other nursery boy Cooper come into Sharing Time every Sunday this month to start getting used to it.  They've been doing really good actually.  I can't believe Nyles will be in Sunbeans already!

 Our Primary and Nursery kids: 

Michael, Nyles, Michael, Daniel, Reed, Jackson, Cooper, Scott, Jaidyn and Ethan.

While Steve was gone Nyles and I had a good time.  We played w/ playdough, made snowflakes, did some painting, and went to the playground.  We had a lot of fun, but we were glad when Steve made it home.  It's not the same w/out him. ;)

Nyles at Cabela's w/ Steve feeding the fish.

Nyles decorating cookies w/ Grandma McGrath.

And of course eating some...

Nyles pretending to shoot ducks while sitting in his "blind."

Nyles fixing the outlet w/ his drill.  He loves to fix things.

On Saturday, December 12th we went to the Aquarium to see Santa.  We got there just in time and didn't have to wait very long to see him.  Nyles was pretty excited to see him.  He told him he wanted more tools for Christmas.  Carrie and Lynsie met us there too.  We saw Santa then played in the playground for a little while.  They had a lot of fun!

Nyles with Mrs. and Mr. Claus

Lynsie and Nyles

Steve made it out to go duck hunting again, this time by the Great Salt Lake.

Dave Mensen and Rob Daniels w/ Steve.

The following Monday we got DUMPED on with 15 inches of snow.  When we woke up that morning we had over 8 inches at our place, and it kept coming down all day.  Steve dropped me off at the train to go to work, then he headed over to his parents place to see if they needed help shoveling the snow.  The train was late 20 minutes, but we got there just in time for one to show up. The roads were pretty yucky, so everyone else driving took twice as long to get into work.  It was a mess out there!  Luckily I had rescheduled my Dr. appt for the following Monday, mainly so I wouldn't have to worry about being late to work.  I'm glad I did.  My coworker Betsy and I left around 3:30pm as well, so we didn't have to deal w/ the traffic and snow coming home from work.  We're glad we did!  When I got home Nyles and I went outside and played in the snow.  We had over 15 inches at our place before it was done.  Dave and Joann had over 2 feet.  Nyles had a great day playing in the snow!

Nyles at Dave/Joann's place.

Dave working on getting the snow cleared out.

After work Nyles and I went and played in our tennis court area.  It was a little difficult driving his truck in it, but he had to try going over the snow anyway.

Notice the fence is completely covered in snow, and the weight of the snow on the trees.

Well we hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!  Remember the reason for the season!