Freddy the snowman

On Saturday, about the time Cameron called letting us know he was done with his residency interviews, Christopher Robin, along with his Dad and sister, had just finished creating a new member of the family.

 

Meet....

Freddy the snowman.

He wears a baseball mitt, has a peanut mouth and 

two eyes made out of walnuts!

Freddy the snowman, had to hurry on his way, but

he waved goodbye sayin' don't you cry, I'll be back again someday!!

Some snow

The Dr had the day off today.  I know, I almost fell over too when I heard the news. It called for a celebration.  We did almost nothing today.  We watched movies, did a little grocery shopping and cleaned the house up a bit and that is all.  It was wonderful.  Tomorrow it is back to the old grind.

I will post pictures of our fabulous weekend soon.  We finally got some snow here in Iowa!!

More footage

Here is some more footage of Cameron's and Kenzi's trip to Iowa.  They are here with us for more than a week.  On Monday, they went to our local grocery store and came home with a large bag of beautiful Honey Crisp apples.  I saw the bag and my mouth started watering for homemade caramel to accompany those delicious apples.  Have you ever tried Honey Crisps?

A little while later, our caramel was made to perfection, warm and delicious--actually it was "to die for"!  We determined that our batch with its 2 cups of heavy cream and 2 cubes of butter only had 5,680 calories in it, so we slurped it right down~

with absolutely no guilt!

Makenzi comes with all sorts of fun new accessories

for Gracie to wear.

We can't forget Family Home Evening.  The Dr. gave the lesson and Kenzi was the pianist, Cameron and I were......onlookers!

The object lesson involved breaking sticks.

And the kids were good at it!

We ended the evening with a movie and Cameron's famous brownies which we ate smothered in our caramel with strawberries and ice cream.  But that's another story.  Then on Tuesday morning they packed up and headed down to Nauvoo.  After they left, Christopher Robin said, "I am going to miss our people.  I don't like Nauvoo. Will they be back soon?"

They are coming back tonight!!

Iowa excitement!

 

On Friday night, we had VIPs arrive! Meet Ryan's youngest sister Makenzi and her husband Cameron. (In case you didn't know, Cameron is my nephew- and my favorite one too!)  Ryan and I set them up on a blind date about 7 years ago and they have been happily married since!

We have been excitedly awaiting their arrival for several weeks now.  Christopher Robin has been extra anxious to show them his new flatbed truck with a goose neck trailer on it.

  

On Saturday we set out to show them a good time in Iowa.  We loaded them in the back of our van and drove them around our little city-which takes about 10 minutes.  Then to really spice things up a bit, 

we drove them through the car wash-

which was indeed very exciting!

Then Cameron took down our Christmas lights because the Dr. was MIA this weekend.

And that my friends, is what we Iowans do for excitement around these parts!!! We now expect you all to visit soon!

Earning a dollar

Christopher Robin spent a good portion of his day earning a dollar. 

He is wanting to earn some cash, so he asks me for chores to do.  I told him I would pay him a dollar if he would vacuum for me. He hates the vacuum, and is a little scared of it, but he went out to the garage and found his earplugs and went to work. So far he has vacuumed the guest bedroom, his bedroom and my bedroom.

After that he was "super tired."  So tomorrow, he plans to finish up with the hall and dining room and living room.

And if he does a super good job, he might just get another dollar out of the deal!

Bubblicious!

Today when Christopher Robin was in the coat closet he came across his Halloween candy. He handed me some bubble gum and asked me to teach him how to blow a bubble. It has been at least 20 years since I have blown bubbles with gum. I guess real life causes us to leave behind childhood delights.

 

After a little chewing,  I was back in the saddle.  And pretty good at it as you can see!

Christopher Robin was impressed with my abilities.  He tried for awhile, but anyone who has been successful at gum blowing, knows it takes some practice.

But what Christopher Robin learned is that he is a natural when it comes to blowing his spit!

So all it took was a little gum and some spit to make Christopher Robin's day bubblicious!

A Happy New Year

Ready or not, it's a new year! Ryan had the whole weekend off, so we lived it up. 

On Friday, we headed down to Nauvoo to attend the temple.  We decided to turn the trip in to a little getaway, so we stayed in this adorable cabin. 

The Dr. just getting back from doing a temple session. He's looking hot!

It is an original pioneer cabin.  It was good for Jace to see how the pioneers used to live.

I was really glad that ours came equipped with running water and electricity.  It sure made for a very cozy visit.

Jace wants to live like a pioneer forever now.  He wanted to stay for "nineteen days."



An excited Christopher Robin finally fell asleep. 



We lured him back home with the promise that Kris Kringle would come leave him a New Year's present, if he would leave out his plate.

And sure enough she did!

He got this awesome snow plow. 

It holds salt or sand and sprays it out as you push it along.

And then you plow it all smooth.

She was also clever enough to leave a bag of "Frosty Snow."  The kind Christopher Robin used to build our village this year.

And that made for hours of fun and lots of clean up!! 

Gracie got a stroller for her baby.

And her baby loved it!!

And it all added up to a very Happy New Year!