Caps

Every kid finds this joy of markers at one time! Caleb just found it! 

And then standing them on end! 

Late Christmas at Oma's

We got to celebrate Christmas one last time in January!

 Notice that Alison is with us for dinner on the computer! :)  She stayed up LATE in England so she could join us for family time.

And more presents!  Thanks, Oma, for a good time together! 

Boots!

Caleb LOVES his boots from Grandma and Grandpa! 

 They are easy to put on and just walk outside. He was helping me put up the bird feeder here.

 SHINY and new still. 

oops...forgot pants.:) 

 New Years days we got up and left right away to go see Daddy!  PJs, boots and all! :)

He ended up getting off early so we walked around outside for a bit...

 ....stopped at a store, where Caleb found the ice cream....

....and a hat rack! 

And of course we needed a muffin to bring in the new year! :)
Thanks for the boots Grandma and Grandpa!  They just add to the fun of life! :)

Drive Home

After all the fun at the lodge we stopped for some lunch and about two seconds after, Caleb was out! 

 God protected us and provided perfectly.  We made it over the snowy areas without incident, but as Matt drove off of I5 for a rest, out of no-where the breaks started grinding horribly.  We pulled right into a gas station,the first guy we saw to ask looked like a mechanic (he didn't work at the station), he told us where to go, and we drove into the shop at 4:30 right before closing time.....but enough time to have the mechanic take a look.  He was going to be staying late anyway to wait for a delivery, so he said he'd stay and fix our problem.  He went right to work and within an hour and a half or so, the issue was resolved and we were back on the road.  The other highlight is that the place seemed legit, honest and good prices. I looked around and read a few things and quickly found out that this was a trustworthy, well-established place.  God is good!

We even got to stretch our legs, play a bit, make a few phone calls, and then headed home.  We were later than expected but not horribly.  The drive certainly isn't my favorite part of going to Mom and Dad's but well worth facing it to get to spend time there!  Can't wait to go again!

At The Lodge

Instead of buying THINGS for each other for Christmas and birthdays, Matt and I like to spend our money on a place to build a memory and spend quality time together! This year, since we would be staying in a hotel on our way back from Mom and Dad's anyway, we upgraded a bit and enjoyed a stay at a lodge in Klamath Falls.  We had a great time!  

 For the evening, we COMPLETELY VEGGED OUT! :)  We don't get to do that much....well, at least I don't. :)  So it was really nice to just lay around....

 ....and watch TV.  It was kids TV but kinda fun not to care about getting anything done and actually watching it instead of just listening while doing other things.

 Too funny!  I think he's watched Daddy a few times. :) 

 After putting his gloves on to play in the snow in Sisters, he decided that he REALLY liked them and that he wanted to wear them all day....even while eating.

 Worn out little boy! 

 Part of what we like about this lodge are the decorations!  At least during the holidays!

 If we had time and lots of money, it would be fun to spend days here.  The lobby is even inviting and comfortable.  There's also a nice pool and activity building that we didn't have time to use this time.

 We just hung out for a bit...I wish this picture had turned out better.  He actually smiled for the camera without me asking.

 They even have games and books. 

 Daddy disappeared for a bit...then took us outside to show Caleb this little guy!

 So Caleb started to make his first snowman!  

 This hat was a last second buy.  We didn't have gloves for Caleb, so stopped at Walmart on the way to Redmond.  The only ones we could find that fit him were these orange ones that came with the hat.  He ended up loving the gloves AND the hat!

 Next was snowball fight time! 

 Caleb was SOOoooo funny!  He got so into it, but it was hard to catch his "look" of "I'm going to get you," on a picture while running away from being hit by a snowball! :)  This was the closest!

 The snowman had to be sacrificed for the snowball fight! :)

 WATCH OUT!!!!

"GOTCHA!!!"

 I love this action shot! 

 Yes, we had a lot of fun, even with a tiny bit of snow.  We can't wait to go to feet of snow someday!

Family Selfi

Then it hailed as we were leaving.  Such a fun morning!  In Klamath Falls, of all places! :)

Visit with the Ruters!

We are SO thankful that some of our close friends who live in Portland, also come to central Oregon for Christmas!  Whenever we get to visit Mom and Dad's for the holiday, we also get to see them!

 Of course I went right over to the wood stove!!  Aaaahhh!  Good company next to heat!  Can't beat that!

 It started snowing and the deer showed up looking for food!

 LaVonne put some cornflakes out and they come right up to the house!

 My favorite was the little guy on the right!  So cute!

 The boys enjoyed running back and forth from window to window for a while!

 Matt and Caleb loved watching the virtual reality roller coaster on Weston's phone!  It was really funny watching Matt watch it!

 When we went outside Caleb had some time to check out the snow!  He wasn't quite sure about it at first.

 It didn't take long for him to realize the fun of this cold white stuff!

 This one is pretty funny if you can zoon in.  His face is great!  We gained some spectators in the window too!

 We can't wait to play in feet of snow someday! 

Warming up in the van!  Caleb loved his mittens so much that he wore them the rest of the day...even to eat dinner!   Another great afternoon!