Thanksgiving

We went up to Spokane to spend Thanksgiving with my Grandpa and step-Grandma Vonnie. It was so much fun and I am glad we were able to go, as Elanor had not been to Spokane before and it had been at least six years since I was up there. I do not get to see all of my extended family very often, so it is means a lot to be able to see some of them!

There was some snow in Spokane!

Uncle Ian spent some time teaching Elanor how to "snowboard".

We helped Grandpa and Vonnie decorate their Christmas tree and tried to take some family pictures.

Ian is such a good uncle.

I love this one of Elanor and her Great Grandpa Roger.

Happiness.

 I love this picture so much, but why am I blurry?!?!

 Four generations.

 Grandpa and Vonnie with the girls.

(it is hard to get pictures where everyone is looking as there were multiple cameras going off)

On Saturday, we took Elanor on a mini Spokane tour.  First stop was the carousel in Riverfront Park (the very best one--it is beautiful and unique, moves quite fast, and you have to try and grab these rings as you go around--it makes sense, just go to Spokane sometime.)

How cute is this?!

My Uncle Scott, with the girls and his soon-to-be step daughter Marley.

I have a pretty mom!

Elanor and Marley got along so well and were fast friends in a matter of minutes.

We also stopped at the giant tree at the mall, walked around the very fancy and very cool Davenport Hotel and met my cousins, Marlana and Andrew there for desserts. If you ever happen to be in Spokane, go to the Davenport and explore. The ballrooms are beautiful, the main lobby area stunning, and the bathrooms are quite fancy.

 I am so glad we were able to travel up to Spokane. It is wonderful to see everyone and there are so many more family members we need to visit now that we live a little closer. I love spending time with family and hearing stories. It really is so important and our time here is short.

And to close, here is little Alice asleep on the car ride back home. 

And I stayed up way too late writing this.

It's been a long while.

I am back. I have actually been back for a week and a half now, but was horribly sick and was busy with ballet, unpacking, and motherhood in general. We have quite a bit of snow here, but it is old snow, since it has not snowed for over a week. However, it is still quite lovely. We have taken Elanor sledding and skiing in the snow, which was quite fun! She loves going fast and is a bit of a daredevil.

I have also been enjoying my new camera and the quality is sooo much better than my old one. Here are some recent completely unedited pictures:

On a little walk, all bundled up for the 20 degree weather!

Elanor loves to eat snow!

 Yes, we did go to the park...and yes, it was 20 degrees outside, but we needed to get out! The only thing we could do at the park was swing, since everything else was covered in snow. Elanor loved it and would have happily swung for way too long, but since it was so chilly I made her get out and then we raced each other in the parking lot to warm up before heading home.

You know, just chillin' and sucking on an icicle...

Watching the geese take flight after some boys ran after them so they could sled down the hill.

Getting ready to sled down one of the many hills at Sugarhouse Park.

I don't mind the cold or the snow, so I have been loving winter! I just hope we get some fresh snow soon---Tyler and I would like to go up and ski sometime soon. Anyone want to babysit?

I will be a better blogger and there will be some sort of recipe up this week!