annual gregg manwaring snowmobile trip

and it came and went so fast! but, we did enjoy a wonderful trip to island park the first week of march with my family. the snow was UNREAL! it snowed the whole first day we were there. which meant LOTS of thick powder. you could hardly walk without sinking a foot or two. we returned to the pines this year and rented three small cabins instead of one large one. it worked out very nicely.

the wards were OFF and running a little bit ahead of everyone else. kevin can't WAIT to get to island park each year. he really loves being outside in the snow and crisp air. so, we stopped at phillips lodge and had our annual hamburger at their restaurant and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive.


me and owen

i took this picture after we all had unpacked and settled in. i couldn't believe what a winter wonderland it was! 

madalyn was in heaven with all her girl cousins. she adores all of them and they are so sweet to let her tag along. 

ellie, halle, maddy, anna, and kate

we spent a least one full afternoon in the meadow. even though we couldn't walk far because of the deep snow we still enjoyed being pulled behind the snowmobiles on a tube. i wish i had some of the AFTER pictures of our tubers. you could hardly see them under all of the snow!

we also had some exciting visitors in the meadow. three elk! they are quite intimidating and beautiful!

 

Kevin and i pulled out our snow shoes and had some fun in the powder. 

 

wesley buried in the snow drift

we were able to take a long snowmobile ride with the hanson's to big springs. maddy wasn't interested in joining us.

 

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wesley loves the snow as much as his dad. 

we also had some hot tub fun. i couldn't resist shooting this sweet picture of maddy hot tub hopping with her cousins. so sweet! 

maddy and kate

kevin LOVING the snow 

madalyn and anna building miniature snow people 

madalyn taking a rest

owen

the kids couldn't get enough of the hot tubs. i can't believe i didn't even soak once!

wes, owen, and ogden 

anna, maddy, halle, kate, and truman 

the cousins had a few snowball fights 

my sewing project

my parents surprised me with a sewing machine for christmas. so, in january i started my first sewing project. i decided i would make quilts and pillows for maddy's little baby bunk bed.

it was a lot of fun going to the fabric store with my mom to pick out fabric, thread, scissors, and other accessories necessary for a novice sewer. madalyn was a thrilled to feel involved and a part of it all.

once i found a good day to pull it all out i finished the first blanket in a matter of days. then i lost my steam and took a long break. it's hard to find the time to pull it all out and dedicate the day to a project. but, once it's out it pretty easy to stay motivated. the next time i pulled it out and set up i finished the other quilt and two pillows all in one saturday. it was great. and maddy cheered me on the whole time.

since then i have made a couple holiday banners and i'm finding it all very fun and exciting.



aren't they so sweet all snuggled up? 

madalyn was thrilled with the finished product and just loves that these babies have a cozy bed to be tucked into.

 

snow shoeing lower mesa falls

boy, oh boy did our friends take us on a spectacular snow shoeing adventure! i am so thankful that we were able to go and enjoy the outdoors. i am also so glad we survived. it was one TOUGH sucker!

the hike from the bear gulch parking lot to the lower mesa falls look out was pretty basic. very secluded and beautiful and not too tough.

we enjoyed the view for a bit from this great look out point.

 kevin
 

meieli and me

meieli and james

here we are after reaching the lower mesa falls lookout. i believe that this point kevin and i have seen our fate (the descent) and we have a little bit of fear in our eyes. lol!

me and meieli

kev and me

starting to work our way down. very STEEP and lots of boulders and deep snow pockets.

kevin and james

surveying the route down

james, meieli, and me

here we are near the bottom. so proud of ourselves for not getting hurt. lol.

 

what an amazing view! we enjoyed a little snack and rest and then headed back up.

 

i love this picture because it shows what the incline was like. CRAZY!

 

by the time we made it back up we were WIPED OUT! but, we still had the walk back to the parking lot, about 2+ miles. it was work. and we had NO hesitation taking down our big judd's hamburger, fries, and milk shake once we made it to ashton. well, it did take a little while to get a our strength back to pick the burger up. lol!

amazing trip! can't wait for next year.

saturday off

a saturday where kevin is home is VERY RARE. so when he had a day off of on saturday earlier this month we celebrated! we took the kids to a 3d showing of escape from planet earth.

they really charge an arm and a leg to see 3d but it was the only show time that worked. the movie wasn't much to talk about...BUT, we had a great time together.

 

valentine's day

we were SO excited about this valentine's day because we had an extra fun project we had been working on to give the boys. and since we were doing something extra special for them we wanted to do something extra special for maddy! THUS, an extra special valentine's day. ;)

madalyn received a double stroller for her sweet baby twins, her own box of chocolates, a hello kitty tin purse, and a card.

she just LOVES this stroller.

the boys each received a new lego guy, a lego display, a box of chocolates, and spin toothbrush, and a valentine's card.
 

 

i found the idea for the lego display on pinterest and my friends helped me bring it to life. it was so fun and the boys LOVE having a place to keep their special lego guys.

owen's display

wesley was quite a bit more "creative" in they way he displayed his guys. a little creepy, but he is proud of it. lol!

 

happy valentine's day! 

madalyn and gibson

i couldn't resist documenting this cute little lunch outing with gibson and madalyn. these two are just bosom buddies and get along so well. i hope they will always be friends.


 

gosh, we made some cute ones.

kevin snapped these pictures the other day while the kids were sitting all revently waiting to head to church.


madalyn with her boots on the wrong feet.

so content on their kindles.

and such sweet smiles.

gosh, we made some cute ones!