Flashback Friday: Snowshoe Edition

Karlee politely (really, it was very polite) reminded me that it's been awhile since I posted any Flashback Fridays here on the blog, so here ya go, Kar.  Even better, it's not a picture of you in plaid pajamas or something awesome like that.

So snowshoes.  My first time snowshoeing was on a quick little trip during my first year of college.  Brooke and I stayed at our friend's house in Midway and we all went snowshoeing to Stewart Falls (or maybe Stuart Falls?  I'm too lazy to figure it out) near Sundance).  It was a whole lot of fun.  Aaaaand lucky for Brooke, I happened to bring a camera on that little outing and later scrapbooked it into eternity. 

A few years ago, I hinted about wanting a pair of snowshoes to Floyd.  I have to be very budget aware about my hints to Floyd since whatever I hint about is bound to make a quick appearance at our house.  No idle "gosh, I'd really like a new ski boat" for me.  So the snowshoes were procured and every now and again, I sneak out for a little hike.  

This year, I've gone a few times with my little Benny in tow.  Santa gifted him a pair of dinosaur snow stompers, so he is an excellent snowshoeing buddy.

 

Molly has got in on a little snowshoe fun this year as well.  I took just her one Saturday when the rest of the crew was ice fishing and we hiked my summer running trail.  It was lovely.

 

On our last hike, Floyd got to come.  Ben was thrilled, especially when Daddy used the ski pole to pull him all the way down the mountain.  He laughed the entire time.

I really love my snowshoes.  I like winter so much more when I'm not trapped in the house and breathing inversion air and snowshoeing is a great way to help with that.  So three cheers for snowshoes!  Hip hip hooray!

Seis

 Smiley Molly hit another milestone.  Half a year we've loved this little angel.  It seems like forever, which I think it kinda is.  We just can't imagine life without her smiling at us.  

She got pretty good at sitting this month, which means she doesn't really love laying on her tummy or back anymore.  She definitely prefers to be sitting up.  And if she is down, it's with her feet in her mouth, which happens to be one of my favorite baby milestones that's not really a milestone.  It's not like "sucks on toes" appears on developmental tests, but there's something so cute about it.  Who knows why.  It certainly wouldn't be cute if I sucked my toes.

She is getting more vocal - mostly happy little baby babbling sounds.  I can't say it enough - we are very lucky.  Unless she is hungry or sleepy, she is almost always happy.  She had one fussy day this month.  It really threw us for a loop and we were sure she must be getting a tooth or had a raging earache or something.  Nope.  Who knows what the culprit was.

A few days ago, she was wearing this snowsuit (sidenote: she seems to really like being out in the cold) that has little mittens over her hands.  When I brought her inside, she still had the snowsuit on and tried to grab a toy but couldn't because of the mittens.  When she realized she couldn't grab it, she held her little hands up in front of her face and her eyes got so big as she looked and wondered what had happened to her hands.  Her face showed total bewilderment wondering where her hands had gone.  It was really cute.

 

Happy 6-months, Molly Dolly.  You are a bright spot in all of our lives.  We adore you.

Skaters

My darling Annie Rose has been begging to go ice skating, so we obliged her with a little New Years Eve skating party at the best little ice rink this side of the Canadian border - the Newton Town Rink (which, I'm sure is not an official name, but I don't think it has an official name so that will have to do).

I honestly thought that she would hate it.  She doesn't exactly love the cold (which is being euphemistic) and ice skating is hard, but she loved it.  She skated for a solid two hours and only let us drag her away because there were more parties to be had that night.  She tried all kinds of ballerina moves and didn't even care if she fell down.  It was fun to watch her have so much fun.

The boys had a fun time too.  They both got in a little hockey action and Ben raced around the rink like a crazy man.  Cole has always been a little hesitant on skates, but he relaxed and just had a good time.

 

So, we're planning our next trip up there for some more skating.  I'd like to say I would have loved this rink had it been there when I was a kid, but truth be told, ice skating was always funner to think about than actually do for me when I was a kid.  I'm not exactly a "cold never bothered me anyway" sort of a person.  But Kelli - she would have loved this. 

Christmas

 Well, it turns our I didn't actually take many pictures on Christmas morning this year.  Instead, I held a little angel while three wild monkeys tore the house apart.  I managed one jammie shot before the action heated up:

And Floyd managed to get a living room shot with himself and Molly hidden in it.  Kudos, Floyd, kudos.

So, I'll say this about Christmas:  The stockings were stuffed, the presents were many, and the smiles were big.  We had a nice, lazy morning and then headed to Cache Valley to let the spoiling continue for a few more days.  

 And let it be written on the Eternal and Official Griffiths Family Record that Cole DID NOT SLEEP AT ALL on Christmas Eve.  It was super awesome, especially since he kept showing up in our room all night long. 

2013

During 2013, our family...

-Lit our house on fire.

-Got hit by a car.

-Had penumonia

-Broke an arm

-Sliced a finger open the day before giving birth, requiring four hours of insta-care and plastic surgeon treatment.  I just wanted clean toilets before the baby came!  Sheesh!
-Buried (or flushed) three pets. 
-Swamped our boat.

-Had a 70 foot tree blow over and crash into our fence.  And the top third of another 70 foot tree crash into the backyard.

-Totaled our car.

-And welcomed this smiley cherub into our home.

-So, all things considered, it was a great year.