Great Grandpa Walker's Tour...

Cory's Grandpa wanted to take some of his family up to Dry Buck to show us all a little bit of where he grew up. We had a little campfire on our lot up there and Grandpa surprised us all with some activities from his youth- sawing logs (which was cool because he says that our property happens to be the exact place that his family would get firewood when he was little), rolling a metal ring with a stick, pounding fence with an 18 pound hammer, and showing us how he rolled the logs into their wagon. We then caravanned across Dry Buck as he showed us where his home and their ranch was.

Grandpa Walker is a pretty special person. He and Cory have always had a strong connection and I have been blessed by that too! He helped us everyday when we remodeled our first house and so when Cory would be at work it would just be Grandpa and I working away...day after day! I have some funny stories to tell but mostly I am grateful that I got to know him so well right off the bat!

Grandpa also grew up very poor- he was 14 years old before he got his first present ever- and it was a little whistle- but he is a very kind, content and hard working person. He is 86 years old and can work harder than most  20 year olds.

It certainly was a treat for our family to get to spend an evening glancing into the history that makes him who he is!

Las Vegas & A First Flight...

We took a little family vacation and went to visit Cory's parents in Las Vegas. It hasn't been very long that they have been gone but we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and go say hello!

It was the first time flying for all four of the kids (Brig has been in a small private plane before) and we were quite a spectacle! We got all kinds of attention and comments in the airport. Brig was a little nervous for the take off but they all did great and really enjoyed the flights.

As fun as the quick flight was- getting to Las Vegas and seeing Grandma and Grandpa was much, much better! It felt like it had been much longer since we had seen them and it was quite a happy reunion!

We kept the itinerary pretty low-key and spent a lot of time at the near-by park on the splash pad because it was quite warm!

 

One night, Cory's parents kicked Cory & I out of the house and we went for a little jog and ran some "sprints"  at the park. It was fun...even if I haven't sprinted since Jr. High and I am pretty sure that my running wouldn't even qualify as sprinting. However- Cory was pretty quick!

The next day we drove up to Red Rock Canyon and saw our first cactus and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the red rocks...I loved them and want to explore them a little more when it isn't quite so hot next time. There was a little visitor's center that we walked around and Grandpa got Ty a cool little hat so that his bald head didn't match the color of the rocks by the end of the day.

We miss Grandma and Grandpa...but I think their absence is the most obvious on Sundays when we really miss sitting by them at church so it was lots of fun to get to spend the Sabbath with them.

McCall with Grandma & Grandpa Walker...

We were lucky enough to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Walker in McCall. It was pretty low key and pretty great. We love McCall! The weather was a little cold and rainy which actually made it a really ethereal experience. A few of the high lights were the awesome cabin with a hot tub (the kids could have lived in that thing!), walks with grandma and grandpa, fishing at Brown's Pond (where Cory fished when he was a little boy...and it wasn't just a little chilly while fishing- it was freezing!! But our kids can be die-hard when it comes to fishing and even though they couldn't feel their fingers wanted to stay because they were catching so many fish!!) and hiking and climbing along the north shore and then exploring Boulder Lake which was covered in snow!

It was really nice to spend some time with just our little family and Cory's parents before they leave on their mission.

Christmas 2015...

This Christmas consisted of lots of playing in the snow! We had a beautifully white Christmas Eve and the snow stuck around for a few days- making for lots of fun!

 

This coat is the only one that I can zip up- it's one of Cory's work coats and it hideous...but I roll with it!

You would think that the Nativity reenactment was a super solemn activity by the look of this picture! no one is smiling! But it was cute as always...they just don't have the longest attention span so getting a picture at the end usually isn't the top of their little priority list. And Jase was insistent upon him getting to hold Baby Jesus.

 

Luckily, Santa must have known we would have snow...or he lucked out...and he gave the kids sleds. After spending some time with Grandma and Grandpa Madsen on Christmas morning Cory and Brig got to try his out and sled down their big hill. It was pretty quick!

 

 

More gym time. Jase did not have fun though. He woke up so sick that day and just wanted to cuddle. Poor boy!