Family Sledding FUN !

Here a few of the highlights from our recent sledding trip last weekend.  It's amazing how much fun you can have with 12+" of snow...  And no Mom, no one started at the top of the sledding hill, Tanner was close, but not all the way to the top !

One of the early runs only 1/2 way up the sledding hill

Reese was thrilled just stepping out of the pickup

 Asher has a bit of concern on the pull over to the sled hill

 No matter how much I tried Becca would not pull me back up the sled hill ;(

 Our happy little girl

 This looks like an action shot, but as I remember it, this is where the run ended.

 Tanner and Andrew give two thumbs way up for the snow conditions

 Kaitly with a near miss

 Kaitlyn showing the boys how to get some AIR !

 Asher and Mom 

 The LaPraim's displaying their cornering techniques

 Kaitlyn showing Reese how to hold ON! 

 Valerie and Steve showing off some high speed maneuvers.  

Note: Safety dog (Sadie) making sure mom and dad are OK.

 Tanner and Linsey showing off for the onlookers

 Lindsey with the first "popped" sled of the day

 Andrew at full throttle !

 Asher showing off his puppy dog fashion hat

 Lindsey trying to hold on during a spinning tube ride

 Jennifer may be ready for some hot chocolate and the warming hut ;)

 Steve showing us all how to ROCK the "old school" sled

 Kaitlyn may have learned this one from Dad

 Valerie and Kaitlyn taking Reese on her first tube ride

Notice a pattern - Reese has the most efficient method of getting back up the hill

 I have no idea what they see but it must be both amazing and very high in the sky.

 At all cost do not lose you hat on a high speed run!

 Asher just mentioned to Lindsey that the leopard on her head may try to eat her.

Reese and Daddy

 Smile for the camera ASHER !

 Tanner taking his mom for a thrill ride

Lindsey taking her mom for a more thrilling ride

 Mom and Asher

 Jennifer during her "snow bunny" photo shoot

 The long trek back up the hill

 A well deserved rest

 Steve may have a future as the one seat on the US Olympic bobsled team

Grandparent milestones

Even though he will likely never read it I wanted to wish my Grandpa (Bill Lageman) a very happy 91st birthday today.  That's my Aunt Debbie smiling with the spry, young gentleman.

My Nana (Dorothy Joynt) turned 87 on January 12th.  And she's married to this good looking fellow (Bill Joynt).

CK's grandma Mae (Jan 14th) also recently celebrated her 90th, spending it with her husband Gay LaFond (who's not too shabby himself at 95).

We miss Grandma Lageman and Grandma and Grandpa Graff every day but we are so fortunate to have these wonderful people in our lives and our children's lives. 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!  We are celebrating a quiet evening at home and will likely not make it to midnight this year :(  Such is the life with two kiddos who didn't sleep too well last night.  We just got back from a quick trip to Missoula where we got to see CK's cousin Laura, her husband Josh and their three kids.  We also lucked out and were able to catch Uncle Larry and L.D. before they headed south for the winter and Lyndon in between shifts at work.  Before we left today we managed to have lunch with CK's cousin Renee and her family, too.  It was a great trip and the cousins loved hanging out together.  Reese and Ava are 6 months apart so they had a great time (and also often fought like sisters :)

Asher and Ava

 Ava smiling for the camera

 This is Reese (who refused to be called Reese in this outfit and only responded to Sleeping Beauty) acting out the part so we'd all get the hint

 Notice a theme in these next two pictures?

 The kids LOVE Uncle Larry...hmmm...wonder why?

 Ava, JJ, Asher and Reese...didn't manage to get Owen but he had a great time toddling around with the other kids

 Reese and Ava playing princess castle

Christmas 2011

I hope everyone had a great holiday. We spent Christmas in Malta with CK's family and had a really nice time. Christmas is definitely a lot of fun with kids around, especially kids that are young enough to still get excited by the magic of the day as much as the gifts.

Reese and CK both got 4-wheelers this Christmas. We need to talk to Asher about drinking and driving...
CK's grandparents, Mae and Gay (95!!) joined us for the day and a poker game. Craig's sister Darlene (2nd from right), her husband Billy (not pictured) and Gay's sister (far right) also joined us on Christmas Day.
The kids and their pimped out rides
Reese mastered the art of playing guitar and driving

Lindsey and CK with their new gadgets

Steve, Val and Kaitlyn
Reese teaching Elmo how to play the bongos with her magic Dora wand
Jan looking festive on Christmas
Jennifer
Sometimes the simplest gifts are the best...Asher loves the classic hammer and "nails"...he may have gotten that from Daddy
Reese modeling her new hat and sweater from Great Nana

Uncle Steve reading Cinderella...Reese spent about an hour going to each adult and asking them to read this book to her...again and again...until she practically had the whole thing memorized

Then she decided to read it to her dolly

Reese checking out the loot before we opened gifts


At least I got one of them to smile...
Kaitlyn and her winning smile
Reese and dolly in their matching Christmas outfits
Andrew's toothy grin
You may notice that some of these pictures are of better quality than our other ones. I wish I could say it's because I have become a better photographer but really it's because Santa brought me the one thing I asked for...a new Digital SLR camera...makes even this amateur's pictures 10x better. Can't wait to see how great the pictures are when I finally figure out how to use it!

Merry Christmas everyone. Best wishes to you and your families.