Winter Wonderland!

A familiar landmark as you leave Cache Valley

Winter is definitely not one of my favorite times of the year because I hate the cold and I get tired of the ice and snow! Worst of all, I hate the inversion that we always get in January, that makes things even colder and the air unbearable! It’s almost depressing…or at least that was how I was feeling before Saturday, then it all changed! We had been invited to a birthday party in Providence for Cate and Paige’s birthday because they both share the same birthday...which is January 14th! Cate had turned 3 and Paige had turned 2!

Happy Birthday Paige and Cate!

As we entered the canyon leaving Box Elder, Weber and Davis Counties, we climbed out of the fog/smog/haze that had been enveloping the valley for what seemed like forever and we were met by beautiful blue skies. Then as we came over the mountain and started to drop into Cache Valley, we couldn’t help but notice the thick layer of fog/smog/haze that was covering the valley…and the reason that it has been ranked as the number 1 worst air in the nation this past week! It was gross! But at the same time, we also couldn’t help but notice the beauty that the fog had created in all of the trees as it left behind traces of moisture on each individual branch of the trees...and even the stands of weeds along the sides of the road! It was a virtual winter wonderland! All of the trees were boasting a beautiful white coat of frost and it was absolutely gorgeous! Of course, I had to take a myriad of pictures so that I could capture the essence of what we were seeing...and the pictures don’t even come close to showing the true beauty that we saw!

Winter Wonderland

We arrived at Doug and Shari’s house, where the birthday party was supposed to be held, right at noon, which is when it was supposed to be starting...and we were the first ones there! We couldn’t help but wonder if we had come too early or maybe even gone to the wrong house, but Shari assured us that the party really was supposed to start at noon, although we were the only ones there! Fortunately, everyone else showed up eventually and we had a wonderful time! I guess promptness is one of the things that the Carlings aren’t so great at! We also rediscovered today that the Carlings are really good about making sure that nothing gets lost...or thrown away! And we also don’t let just anyone play with our stuff! We love our stuff!

Paige with Grandpa and Grandma Carling

Jana what are you doing down there?

Cate's thrilled just with the box...she doesn't even care what's inside!

We gave Cate one of these dolls...but she already had one just like it! Now she has twins!

Paige loved her presents too!

Most of all, the kids had a wonderful time together…but what’s new? Hayden and Connor love to play anyway, and when it includes cousins or friends, that just makes it even better! Paige and Cate were especially cute as they opened their gifts. It’s fun to see things through the eyes of a child!

The 4 Six year olds - Mac, Tyler, Teegan and Connor

Is that Hayden hiding under that mask?

As though we hadn’t already had a fun-filled afternoon, when we got home from Logan, Grandpa and Grandma Mosher showed up to see us and we got to go to dinner with them. Grandpa Mosher even brought with him a whole big bag of walnuts that he’d shelled for me...and it had taken him 5 hours to do it! I had gathered all of the walnuts from our walnut tree out in front of our house, but he’d taken them and told me that he would shell them and bring half of them back to me...and he did just what he said! Thanks for doing all of that work!