A new tradition

Pumpkin pie making the day before Christmas Eve! 

Grandma told us she was going to make pies on Tuesday when we were over last weekend and I ask Bridger if that was Something he wanted to do. Cooking/baking is his thing an it has been since he figured out how to do "shake it babies"! So of course we decided we would join grandma at 9am (we ran a little late though do to laundry and dishes). 

Bridger had a blast! He helped roll out the dough but after the first pie he got hold of the flour and the sifter and then Grandma was on her own. (Probably for the best). 

Out boy sure made a mess but boy did he have a blast chatting away and sifting flour. Grandpa came home to the aftermath but didn't seem to mind his grandson taking over the kitchen. 

From head to toe Bridger was covered in flour! He got a strip down and then it was time to clean up the kitchen and let the pies bake! 

We had a great morning and I know daddy sure is looking forward to some pie on Christmas Day.

Meeting Santa

Today we woke up early, took a shower, got dressed and headed straight to the mall for Santa time.
We did it right this year.
No line. Happy boy!
And of course a picture and conversation with Santa.
There were lots of giggles and laughter as they talked about what Bridger wanted for Christmas.
He said he wanted, "a hockey stick and puck!"
I think Santa can do that.

I attempted to try and do some last minute shopping at the mall but after such a fun filled morning he did not want to corporate with that so back home we headed. Although the mall traffic was not busy at ALL!

This year I feel like I am frantically trying to run around and finish up. Last year I did everything by Amazon and look back I probably should have continued with that. But there is something special about handpicking each persons gifts. The thought that goes into it and whether they will like it is what I enjoy about the process. However, as I am getting older the indecisiveness is starting to kick in.

Either way Wednesday will be here before we know and whether I am ready or not the morning of Christmas will come and the joy from Bridger's eyes is all that matters!

Happy Christmas!

Round one... Christmas Party

Ben's company party was last night up in Tamarack. It was a beautiful setting to have Christmas party! Cozy fire place crackling,  snow on the ground, yummy food galore, kids running around having a ball, christmas music, and adults enjoying a cock-tail or mock-tail! 

We stayed in the lodge this time and headed over to the LB house for the party in the evening. Bridger decorated Christmas cookies, the older guys headed out on the UTV's and the ladies chatted away. 

Dinner was served: prime rib, caesar salad, mash potatoes, and homemade Mac and cheese! Delicious! 

Once dinner concluded we split into tables and started the first ever BUNCO LB tournament! It was a blast! I had never played before but we picked up the rules quickly. Ben ended up with the most Buncos, I did do so well but I didn't loose either, right in the middle! 

We had a great night! 

Packed full weekends

We have been each weekend with commitments and events. I haven't quite caught up with everything that has occur over the last month so here we go...

Bridger graduated out of Parent and Toddler Swim class. on November 22nd. He top his last class off with going down the slide all by himself, jumping off the diving board all by himself and has grown leaps and bounds in the pool. He loves to hold his breath and go all the way to the bottom and touch his toes to the ground. You should see the faces of the parents who are watching on the bleachers....they are pretty freaked out that a two year old loves this! He has made so much progress since his last session. Understanding what it means to use his scoops, back float and kick all while doing "solider, chicken, airplane." He will be moving onto the next level in the Spring when he turns three.

While daddy has been gone we have been busy doing things around town. We were invited to go to a memorial Idaho Stealheads hockey game yesterday. Molly's boy Jack was playing on the team this year and suited up. Bridger was fascinated. He wanted to go out and play with them, of course he did. That boy loves anything sports. All we have been doing today is playing hockey. I did find out that Idaho Ice World will start the kiddos at age three so it looks like we know what we will be doing next year around this time. He called Gaga this morning to tell her all about it and asked, "will you come clap for me when I play hockey?" so cute. Our boy wants a cheer section of his own!

Bridger talking with the owner of the Stealheads!

Yesterday while we were out and about doing some Christmas shopping I picked up a gingerbread house for Bridger to do today! He could barely sleep last night because he wanted to decorate it so bad. So of course first thing this morning after breakfast we sat down at the table and away we went. I was in charge of the icing and he took over the rest of the decorating. Not once did he try and sneak a piece of candy in his mouth! He loved this. I was impressed with his skills with picking up and placing each little round ball on the icing, i tried and half the time I would drop those things! It turned out perfect and he is so excited to show daddy when he gets home! The trick will be, can I save this for next year?

The Christmas tree is almost decorated we tried to get as many ornaments up on the tree today as far as we could reach but there is still a gap where there are no ornaments, we will have to wait till daddy can come home and get on the ladder to fill in the holes. There are two weeks till Christmas break and although I am no where close to ready for Christmas day I can tell you we are feeling the holiday spirit and loving every minute of it. Now if it would just snow a few more times so that we have snow on the ground for Christmas day.

Have a great weekend!

Let's go get a Christmas Tree

A little Christmas cookie decorating with grandpa on Sunday morning before heading out to find the perfect Christmas tree. 

Last Sunday we packed up the car, once again, picked Grandpa up this year and  headed out to find the perfect Christmas tree. Ben was very adamant that Grandpa come this year and help us to find a "full" Christmas tree. Typically ours are a little sparser in between the branches and last year grandma and Grandpa got a beautiful full Christmas tree, so Ben was determined that we would get one of those this year.

Being the wildernessman that Grandpa is he came well prepared not just for himself but took care of us too. From an extra saw for daddy, to a stocking hat for Bridger and some bubblies, to a cooler full of drinks for us to all share, he was ready to rock-n-roll.

We headed out toward Idaho City and stopped on our way to buy a Christmas tree permit at Ellie's Store, but to no available this year. So we went all the way into Idaho City to purchase our $10 permit. Back we headed a few more miles till it was time to turn and head up to find our tree.

After a few rocky roads and a turn here and there we decided to pull off the mountain road and walk around a bit to see if we could spot the perfect tree.

It didn't take long to climb a little ways up a hill when daddy spotted what looked to be a perfect tree. I was pretty sure though it was a cluster of at least three-four trees tightly growing together. So daddy went over to check it out and confirmed that indeed it was just ONE tree. We all agreed that that was going to be the tree this year. She was full, big and tall! Exactly what we wanted.

After sawing it down and dragging it out back to the car we loaded it up and tied her down and of course snapped a few pictures along the way. Bridger wanted to continue trying to climb back up the hill which was pretty amazing to watch, although he didn't get to far up it when he slid back down and decided that maybe it was best just to hang with Grandpa.

Back to Grandma and Grandpa's house we headed. We were greeted by Grandma shortly after we parked in the drive. She had already warmed up left overs from their Thanksgiving. Ben and I both agreed that it hit the spot after being on the road for a week! It was the perfect end to a wonderful day.

When we drove home and talked about the plan to get it up and decorated we definitely didn't think we were going to have a difficult time. But it turned out that having such a full and thick large tree is very hard to spiral wrap the branches. I headed into the bedroom to put Bridger down for a nap and hustled right back out when I heard the words, "O Sh**!!!" The tree had started to fall, thankfully Ben caught it in time! He put the finishing touches on it when Bridger woke up and it looks beautiful!

An unexpected Thanksgiving

It's been a while since I posted last. Life has definitely found a way get in the way of my weekly post. Today we are somewhat back to normal so I think it is long overdue that we catch up on everything that has happen these last couple of weeks.

Great - Grandma Verna (also known as Grandma Mackey) passed away peacefully on November 22nd right after the last play of the husker game. So fitting if you knew my grandma. All three of her kids were with her at her side in the nursing home watching the game when she grew her angle wings and took her last breath. For that I am thankful. I also got to tell her goodbye over the phone on Friday as she was earning her wings which I am every so grateful for. Death is never easy, even if you know they are in a better place.

Watching the slideshow of all the memories that grandma had with each one of her family members at the funeral home was hard. She was as my Uncle Jim would say, "not one in a million," rather she was "the only one." Ben and I choose to take Bridger to the visitation the day before the funeral to say our last goodbyes and it never crossed my mind, if Bridger would understand it. However when we arrived he insisted on seeing Grandma Verna and reassured me that, "mommy Grandma Verna is sleeping." It was such a tender moment. I choose to listen to him and not try to correct him, knowing he was just too young to understand, but to him it made since and at the time that is what mattered.

It was a hard week but so glad we could be there for my mom for the short time that we were there. Although we didn't plan on being back home for Thanksgiving we were lucky that we got too see a lot of family and spend extra time sharing memories and laughing a lot.

On Friday after Thanksgiving we hooked the rabbit ears up to the old tv in Grandma's house in desperate hope that we could get the Husker game against Iowa on. After a few trips to Wal-Mart and a some manipulation of wires between Ben and Mom we got a pretty great signal that included a plethora of 2 channels. ABC and FOX. Good enough, the game was on ABC! Husker managed to pull off a win after on overtime but in the end Bo Pelini didn't make the cut and ended up getting fired that following Sunday!

Friday after the football game we headed out to the farm where Aunt Jane lives. Bridger was completely enthralled and wanted to play all afternoon. Aunt Jane got a new puppy a few months ago and Ben said it reminded him of "snowflake" one of his dogs. I can't remember what kind of puppy it is but Aunt Jane named her Mattie! It was a great afternoon.

We headed back home from McCook early (4am on Saturday) and drove the entire way and made it back to Boise around 5:30pm. It was a tough week, emotional and exhausting but so thankful that even the unexpected thanksgiving turned into one that we will always cherish for a life time.