SNOW EVERYWHERE!

Thank heavens for 4 wheel drive! This is the driveway that leads to our cabin. And check out all the snow on the roof! It is supposed to snow a couple more feet tonight! We miss you kids!!

Brrrrrrr!!

I am posting these pictures so my kids can see what we're doing while we're away. What a crazy dad they have! This makes me cold just looking at it! He went from the hot tub, to the snow, then back to the hot tub. Kids, don't try this at home! If you're small (as my Sydney and Maddy are), you would sink so deep into the snow we wouldn't be able to find you!

Can you say Winter Wonderland?!

Brek and I left today for a ski trip in Utah. We are staying in a cabin near Solitude ski resort, where a few friends will be joining us--it should be a great weekend!



This picture does not do justice to the amount of snow right outside our cabin. There is at least 6 feet of snow on the deck! It is beautiful! We are looking forward to some great skiing!




Yesterday as we were packing for our trip, Luke started digging through the ski bag to find himself some gear. He put on the hat and goggles and headed for the car, announcing that he was "going skiing", but not without his trusty binky and blanky! Oh how I miss my cute little blue-eyed boy!

Dancing Queen

Sydney danced at a basketball halftime with her Jazz class. She loves to dance! She comes by it so naturally--I'm not sure where she gets it from. Definitely not from me!

Syd with her friends Kennedi and Hallie

The Cast Comes Off

Scott broke his foot the week before Christmas, playing basketball, of course. At his school they have noon games where classes play against eachother during the lunch break. Scott's class had made it to the championship game, and Scott really wanted to win. He went in for a layup and was fouled. He landed on his foot wierd and started limping around. This was about halfway through the game. However, instead of sitting out, he played the rest of the game! Scott is very competitive and extremely aggressive. He is quite the ball player and led his team on to victory! After school he came limping into the house and told me his foot was really sore. He took his shoe off to show me his foot, and I immediately decided we should call Uncle Cory. Uncle Cory is a podiatrist (lucky us!) Cory said it was definitely broken and needed a cast for 4-6 weeks. Scott was less than thrilled. He has missed a lot of basketball, swimming, playing in the snow, etc. He was more excited to get his cast off than he was for Christmas! Finally the day arrived and the cast came off! It was amazing to see how much muscle he'd lost in that short period of time. One leg was definitely skinnier. On the morning of his final doctor appointment, he came upstairs and apologized for taking so long to get ready. He told me he was packing his bag, and after seeing the confused look on my face, proceeded to explain. He had his basketball bag all ready to go so after school he could go over to the church and practice. However, he wasn't able to "hit the gym" quite as soon as he had hoped. It has taken him a few days to be able to walk normal. But now, 3 days later, he is almost back to normal. Maybe he will be able to play in his game on Saturday--we shall see!

What a Cutie!

This is the latest and greatest Pilling--Benjamin Alexander! Ben is almost 3 months old now. He is such a good little baby. I have never had a baby sleep through the night on their own until now! Wow--it's great! We love his smiles, and he has the cutest laugh! We all adore him!

Boys, Boys, Boys

Scott is 11 yrs. old and loves sports. He is on a city basketball team and a travelling team coached by his dad. However, a broken foot is slowing him down a bit! He broke his foot playing basketball--of course! But that didn't stop him! He played the rest of the game and his team won. Let's just say he is slightly competitive! He is looking forward to getting his cast off in another week or so.

Josh also loves sports and is playing basketball on a travelling team. He loves basketball and would shoot around for hours if he could! Josh is always making people laugh and is kind to everyone. Scott and Josh also both play the piano very well!

My cute brother David is serving a mission in England right now. He is doing such a great job! We are all proud of him. Scott and Josh love their Uncle David so much!

Could They Be Any Cuter?

Sydney is 7 and is very excited about getting baptized in a few months. She is a busy girl, taking jazz, ballet, clogging, and gymnastics. (Yes, I am crazy!) The problem with Sydney is that she loves everything, and she's good at everything! Oh yeah, she also plays the violin--very well I might add!

Luke is 2 and is a bright spot in our home! He is always making us laugh. We all adore him and he knows it. He learns things from his older siblings, the latest being tattling. He is always coming in to me with his lower lip curled up, telling me his woes! He goes around singing random songs like We Will Rock You or Popcorn Popping. Everybody loves Luke!

Madelyn is 5 and started kindergarten this year. She loves it! She is a great little reader. She also takes dance and started the violin this year. She is doing great and loves playing for people! Maddy has a great smile that warms your heart!

Christmas Fun

We took our kids to Utah to see the lights at Temple Square this year. These things always go a little bit different than you imagine them! I sortof envisioned a magical Christmasy night: walking in the crisp air, snow on the ground, kids loving the lights. But that wasn't exactly how it worked. Brek dropped us off close to Temple Square while he went to park at the hotel, and then join us. We figured it would be less distance for the kids to walk. However, not 60 seconds after he drove away, the troubles began. Luke refused to put on his hat and gloves, because apparently I had brought the wrong ones for him. Josh gave up helping him, deciding it would be more fun to throw snowballs, and Luke promptly fell down in the snow--still wearing no gloves! It was freezing outside, so this wasn't exactly the best way to begin! I went to help Luke, trying to keep Ben bundled in a blanket with one hand and put Luke's gloves on with the other hand. Luke was still crying and Ben wasn't too happy, either. At this point in time, Josh decided I would make a good target and I was hit in the side of the head with a snowball! Snow went down my neck and all over Ben. As you can imagine, this did not go over well with me. Finally everyone was outfitted and we headed for temple square. We made it maybe 20 steps when someone behind me asked me if I had dropped a glove. Sure enough, one of Ben's gloves had fallen off. It was not an easy task keeping Ben bundled while holding Luke's hand (without pulling the glove off) and keeping all the kids together so I wouldn't lose anyone. I was very outnumbered: 6 to 1 to be exact! We finally reached temple square and headed for the nearest visitors' center. We were already freezing and decided to wait for Brek inside! My sister Chelsie and her husband Eric also met us there. Things went much smoother after that. We didn't actually stroll through temple square gazing at the lights--it was more like speed walking (we were freezing!) But all in all it turned out to be a good night!




Scott had just broken his foot and was getting tired walking on his crutches for so long. So Brek piggy-backed him the last couple of blocks back to the hotel! Brek's always up for some sort of workout, whatever it may be!