The Whidden Family

Yay for Family

This weekend we had a visit from Jared's brother Tim and his wife Ashton. We kept so busy the whole time and had so much fun with them. We went to the ski hill and spent the day skiing/snowboarding. No pictures :( but it was the most perfect day for it.

The next day we had a fire out at Round Prairie and brought the snowmobiles and played around in the snow.

Of course we played Rock Band and Mario Kart,

They brought their cute little dog Ruby and the dogs got along so well. This is a rare moment when they actually napped, instead of wrestled.

Oh Tim...

Lazy Sunday afternoons are the best:

We had such an awesome weekend and can't wait to see them again! Thanks for coming Tim and Ash!

Festive

So I fell while at the ski hill... which wasn't so great. However the next day I developed a bruise in the shape of a heart on my arm. Want proof?

The best part? That day was Valentines Day. Boo ya.

Hernie Fernie

The other day Mr. Handsomepants and I took Carter skiing in Fernie, which is about 40 minutes away. We do have a little ski hill in our town which Carter has been taking lessons at, but we were anxious to try him out on a bigger mountain with more runs and chair lifts! The three of us had such a fun day together We couldn't get Carter to take a break, he was skiing down, jumping on the lift, and right back skiing as fast as he could. I am amazed at how quickly he has progressed. He was even doing little jumps.

Oh and if you're worried about Hayley missing out on this family fun day, I'm pretty sure she was much happier (and warmer) at the babysitter's. In her books, she had an awesome day too.

Lucky Number 7

Yesterday was our sweet little guy's 7th birthday. I can hardly believe it's been 7 years since he first came into our lives and made us parents. As a baby, he was so calm and content and those characteristics still describe him today. He has always been such a good little boy, who tries hard to do the right things. I don't think I could ask for a more helpful and obedient child. We are so blessed to have him in our family :)

Right now Carter is obsessed with anything to do with the Army. He loves soldiers, guns, tanks, missiles, and camouflage. Every year, I let my kids pick a theme for their birthday, and then try my darndest to make a cake based around that theme. We started off the day by him opening his present from us.

In the afternoon, we had a sledding birthday party for him here at the little hill in town. He invited about 8 other kids and we went sledding, and ate hot dogs and cake. The weather was absolutely perfect...+2 degrees...couldn't have planned it better.

Here's the camouflage cake... it was a tall order, but I thought it turned out recognizable anyways.

Pretty good backdrop for pictures, hey?

The birthday boy had such a fun day and we did too.

Happy Birthday Carter!! We love you!

Reason #5173 to Have a Border Collie :)

Umm...our dog is HYPER. Like ridiculously hyper. Especially when he hasn't had his daily walk. I had to turn on the video camera to capture what he does every time I walk down the stairs.

*Please ignore the ear-piercing sound of Hayley yelling at him. She's a tad bossy*

Ski Bum

This winter, our town's ski hill started offering lessons. Because of where we live, Carter is actually quite old for what age kids usually start skiing in this town. People here put their toddlers on skis as soon as they start to walk, lol. Initially Carter was a bit hesitant to try skiing (his personality with everything new) but after the first few runs down with his class, he would arrive at the bottom and look at us and shrug/throw his arms up, as if to say, "See! This is easy!". He picked it up surprisingly quick and he's been doing so good. He absolutely LOVES skiing and we can't wait until we can all go as a family together!

Candid Camera

So our sweet little girl sings all the time. Like all the time. But she doesn't sing normal songs. The tunes are normal songs, but she makes up her own words...kind of like her father, although he actually thinks his version is correct, haha :) Sorry Hun. Anyways I have been trying to get her songs on videotape, but she stops singing every time she sees me with the camera. So I turned it on and left the room, as she sang to the tune of the Primary Song, "Teacher, Do You Love me", which my Mom recently taught to Hayley.

My favorite line? "My life... Has a problem to FIX!". You can't deny she is delightful.

Winter Wonderland

So we have had alot of snow here. Like, alot. It's usually pretty mild here though, stays around -5* to -10* Celsius so you can actually enjoy the snow. We sure have been enjoying it! We've been sledding, snowmobiling and skiing. I have to say I have enjoyed this winter the most of probably any other winter in my life. Bold statement, I know...but I'm pretty confident in saying that. Just don't tell Mr. Hansomepants. I've worked very hard to convince him of my strong dislike of this season. I can't help it, I don't like being cold.

All the kids getting pulled behind the sleds. They went over and over and begged for more!

sledding across the creek bridge

Panoramic views, have I mentioned how lucky we are to live here?

Toboganning Party...pretty happy kids!

More to come...namely pictures of Carter skiing. Bah, so stinkin cute!

Christmas pictures...very late.

Some of you may have noticed that I have not updated my blog for 21 days. Probably the longest blog break ever. It's not my fault. Telus Internet is terrible and I can't say enough bad things about it.

Onto happier things...an update of Christmas Day. We had an awesome holiday season together and I enjoyed every single moment. Here's some of my favorite pictures from Christmas day:

Christmas Eve

Well it was a perfect Christmas Eve for the four of us. First we had a yummy supper, and read the Nativity story together.

Every Christmas Eve in our town, Santa rides up and down every single street on the fire truck. I absolutely love that our little town does that. Santa stops and gives each kid a candy cane and poses for pictures. It's a highlight of the night. Carter and Hayley were beside themselves with excitement!

Our Christmas Eve tradition is getting new pajamas. Here's the kids posing in their jammies.

They are snuggled warm in their beds right now, possibly asleep... but most likely eagerly awaiting morning and the arrival of Christmas Day. Jared and I are just as excited :)