Taking the tree down

On January 1st 2016 we took our Christmas things down.
The white stocking tradition and taking tree down day. special and bitter sweet. until next year.

We took down the tree(s) while listening to the Piano guys Christmas CD Mitchell got me for Christmas, and we filled up boxes all together. I get set up with my boxes and tissue paper and everyone takes things down off the tree and gives them to me to pack up carefully.
After everything was down we wrote a spiritual goal on the paper and put in in the White stocking for next year. We got the stocking from the bishop and his wife in our newly wed student ward years ago, the idea is that its your gift to the Savior.

As a side note the poor Joseph from our nativity took another fall! That's four times this year that he has been knocked over and beheaded. Poor thing! It felt like every time someone walked by he fell down, one of the 3 wise men also took a fall or two but mostly poor Joseph! He is recovering with some gorilla glue on the workbench in the garage while the rest of the Nativity sits in its box waiting, hopefully my man can fix him, this time he lost his head and most of the base of him shattered, ouch!

Snow shoeing

Pine top gave me the opportunity to go snowshoeing for the first time! This has been on my bucket list since my first year of college!
Mitch didn't feel well- he had hurt his back a little going down a very steep icy slope on a sled, so Rebecca and I set out together for some sister time- kid free.

It was so breathtakingly beautiful and silent and wonderful. Unfortunately Rebecca was in the bad pair of snowshoes because she didn't want her pregnant sister to get hurt, so she did not have as much fun because, her ankle got twisted a few times and she fell twice- that got our heart rates up, it was scary!
In the end we took a trail my dad had made earlier (so several miles more then we had already gone).
I will say that I personally LOVED it. I want to buy some snowshoes and go all the time!  I think my dad enjoyed it too, he said he though he had found a new sport/ hobby for himself! :) It was so still and beautiful, the world and trees covered in white and the untouched snow..... *sigh*
Thank you Uncle Darryl for sharing so generously with all of us!

PIne top 2016!!

This year we went to Pinetop again!
 It is almost a yearly tradition, although some years we missed because we could not travel from Rexburg, and some years we didn't go because...? But I think the first year we went I  must have been in the neighborhood of ten or twelve. I was little. SO it has been a fairly consistent West family tradition for about 15 years now, crazy to think about. They already reserved it for next year too! cousins from far out of town will be here so they went ahead and scheduled us a year in advance. This year it was a last min schedule because several people (my smart mamma included) asked on the right day if we could,  but it was perfect. 2 ft of snow everywhere with higher drifts in places. Perfection!

We got there first out of all the families- that has never happened before, so we got a big ole corner and set up our stuff. Rebecca and family came too and Jessica for the first day, so we had a big bunch of us together like old times.
We played in the snow and sled on the hills and hiked and played games and ate junk and yummy meals and let the kids play hours of air hockey and ping pong.
The snow was just wonderful!
Pictures say it best. It was 3 days and 2 nights. the 29th-31st.
Emily and Jessica went on a snowshoe hike, Eli and  Emily played in the snow for hours, Emily made a dragon in the snow, Mitch and I both played in the snow, Mitch and Caleb played many rounds of Ping Pong, the kids watched movies on grandpas projector, and we all had fun visiting together.