Winter Fun

     We had a white Christmas this year as we visited our families in Utah. As always, we had a great time! When we arrived, there had just been a big snow storm so we had lots of snow for playing in.  We built snowmen; Bridger made snow-angels, and was very entertained throwing snow into the river and watching it melt; Devin had a good day snowmobiling with Nicholas; and I got to go snowshoeing with my mom and Amy. It was sooo much fun!

Check out Katey's fun upside down snowman!

      Bridger was thrilled about all the animals! He got to ride the horse around. When we came there were two horses, when we left there was only one. One of the horses died while we were there so Devin and the "big boys" (as Bridger called them) had to remove it with the help of a neighbor's tractor.  I thought it was terrible to watch; a dead, stinking horse, and I'll spare you the gross details. Bridger was way into it though.
      We had planned to go see Santa Clause at (uncle) Dallin's work, but it was happening the same time the guys were taking the horse to the dump, and Bridger could not decide which he would rather do: go see Santa, or go with the big boys to dispose of the dead horse. We finally struck a compromise, we (Amy, the kids, and I) would go see Santa, and the boys would swing by to pick Bridger up on their way and take him along.

      Anyway... my parents have live animals too... chickens and now one horse.

      Funny about the chickens... One of Bridger's favorite things to do each day was to feed the chickens scraps, and check for eggs.  One of these times, my mom sent Bridger off with the scraps and we just watched from the window as he ran out to their coop and tried throwing it over the fence to them.  Myra still talks and laughs about it. She says "Bridger threw it, pancake, and it fell, haha ha ha!" What happened was that Bridger was trying to throw some left over pancakes to the chickens. He took one and threw it as hard as he could, right at the fence, which it just bounced off and onto the ground. It was pretty funny; we all laughed and Myra has been talking and laughing about it ever since. Bridger did get the pancakes all thrown over top of the fence with only a couple tries. He was good humored about it, and about our laughing at him.
      Bridger loved the horse too. After visiting the chickens he would move along to the horse. He'd talk to her and try feeding her handfuls of hay. Myra on the other hand was scared to death of the horse! All big animals are super scary to her. So my surprise was huge when she actually sat on the horse with Devin for a ride! She must have gotten brave after she watched Bridger's example. He was such a big guy up there; he practiced pulling on the reigns to turn the horse around in circles.

       Myra didn't last long in the freezing cold; she didn't like her snow pants at all, and she'd take a couple steps in the snow and then decide she'd rather be inside watching from the window. Bridger on the other hand loved it outside! I was amazed how long he would play outside even though it was so cold. I'd recommend to him to come inside, but he would never listen. He played for hours out there. Completely entertained and happy. He also drank a lot of hot chocolate when he did come inside.

Myra wanting to help dad with the shoveling.

      I got to join my mom and Amy for a very fun snow shoeing trip up the canyon! It was so pretty.  We went on a morning when it was snowing, the trees were snow covered and there was lots of fresh powder on the ground. It was a good work out, and fun to get outside in the pretty surroundings. I loved it!

      Myra started sneaking out the back door after Bridger. That is why she is without a coat. Bridger did it often.

 There is a really fun friend that lives next door to my parents. He would get his boots on, and sneakily creep out the door and then jet across the bridge and run next door! I was always having to go and get him. His little friend, Cody, is in day care, so he often wasn't home when Bridger would run over there in the day. One time I told him that, as he was sitting patiently on the step, he said it was okay, he would just wait for him to come home!
      Another time when he ran over there during the day, I knew Cody wasn't home, but then I saw the door open and Bridger enter. I went to retrieve him, and found that Cody's mom was working from home that day, and Bridger asked to use their bathroom! When he got done I retold him that Cody wasn't home, to which he replied, "That's okay, I'll just go downstairs to play with his toys."