Jan. 21-23

Just a warning! The next few posts will be long and full of pictures! Bear with me as I document these past few weeks and the exciting things that we have done as a family to spend time together before Trevor's mission. This blog is used more as a scrapbook to document our families life and the fun we have together, and it will be printed someday!

The weekend of the 21st through the 23rd we headed up to Nana and Papa's house for some fun! Natalie was in town from Idaho, because Trevor was going to be giving his farewell talk before leaving for his mission in New Mexico! We had a lot of fun playing the XBOX Kinect, took family pictures, attended a funeral (not so fun), and spent Saturday evening around the fire!

Ryan and Austin were so excited to build a fire and make s'mores!Around the circle from left to right: Steve, Aubrey, Ashley, Austin, Justin, Dad, Mom, Megan, Allen, Trevor and Ryan. Natalie was doing homework and Tyler was sleeping! We had so much fun together! Austin and Ryan loved their s'mores! After eating we spent some time listening to stories from my Dad, Justin, Steve and Allen about their missions. That was really neat and invited the spirit as Trevor prepared to give his farewell talk the following morning! On the 23rd Trevor gave an amazing talk! If you know Trevor, you know he doesn't talk a lot! So, the 25 minutes he was left for his talk seemed like A LOT for him! He filled every minute and we got so many comments from people about how they had never heard Trev talk that much before at all, let alone at one time! It was funny, but so true!

Pappa Schmidt, Trevor, Grandma Schmidt and Great Grandma Sample

Great Grandma Velma Sample and Elder Schmidt! Grandma Mary Schmidt, Trev and Pappa Jack Schmidt Mom, Trevor and Dad Natalie and Trevor

It was so nice that Natalie was able to come from Idaho for his farewell! After church we ran home and changed to head to a party at Grandpa and Grandma Callaway's house! Ryan was so excited to spend time with his cousins and wanted to ride in Papa's convertible to the party! WAHOOO!!! It was such a beautiful day!!! Austin on the trampoline! Ryan driving his own convertible!!! We had such a fun weekend with the whole family!!!

Cabin Crazy!!!

While we were at the cabin we had a lot of fun! The freshly fallen snow was sooooo beautiful!

Ryan had a ton of fun teaching anyone who was willing to play Candyland!!! Once it warmed up some outside, we went out to enjoy the snow!

Papa and Austin took out the snowmobile... ...then Trevor and Ryan took it out for a spin! Ryan had a lot of fun... ...and was not very patient! All he wanted to do was go sledding! All Austin cared about was the eating the snow or making snowballs out of it! He even wanted to fight Aubrey for her "Big one!" Nat and Aubs jumping into the freshly fallen snow... ...and ending up knee deep in it! We finally gave in to Ryan's begging and trudged through the snow... ...to the sledding hill!!! Kaite flew down the hill on the saucer and nearly ran into Ryan! Austin remembered how much fun sledding was in Washington over Thanksgiving, so he wanted to give it a go! He didn't realize how much larger this sledding hill was and was really scared by the time he got to the bottom. He's such a brave little boy! Justin on the tube! Ryan was very frustrated, because his sled with the steering wheel just didn't quite go as fast as he wanted to go and would tip over on the way down the hill. He finally gave up and tried a different one. He loved it!!! Ryan on the orange sled with Daddy and Austin on the tube!We had a lot of fun at the cabin enjoying the beautiful snow and spending time with family! The boys were so sad to say... ...and have been asking to go back ever since!!!

GOODBYE 2010...

WELCOME 2011!!!

I can't believe another year has flown by! 2010 brought a lot of ups and downs to our little family. We made it through having learned a lot, grown a ton, and having a lot of fun!

For our new year celebration we made the trip once again up to the cabin...

...with... ...enjoying the beautiful, yet cold, snow!!! On New Years Eve, we went to the annual BBQ they have with the homeowners in the community. There were a ton of people and even more yummy food to enjoy together in the 5 degree weather!!! We bundled up... ...and dug in!!! Natalie, Trevor and Steve!The boys were completely done by about 8:30! I mean freezing cold, exhausted, ready for bed, done!!! So, we rang in the New Year with them at about 8:30. They each chose some fireworks to do with Daddy! Only Austin had the extra energy for a sparkler. Poor Ryan was so cold that he was running inside rather than doing what's usually his favorite part of any firework spectacular! The boys were defrosted and in bed asleep by 8:45! That gave Justin and I some time to enjoy the rest of the night! At 9:00 the community put on a fireworks display that was awesome! Afterwards, we people watched from the deck as all of the completely inebriated people made their way home down the frozen street. While doing so, my cousins and sisters had a party of their own. They had to show everyone how you can have fun without alcohol! Amy, Jared, Aubrey, Natalie, Luke, Katie, Torri and Jenny! While we waited for the clock to strike twelve, we played games and watched the ball drop! Once it did, we enjoyed the usual pot banging, whistling and yelling to welcome the new year!!! Ashley, Natalie and Aubrey. My beautiful sisters!As everyone headed back inside we toasted to 2011!!! Before we went to bed, we sang "Happy Birthday" to my amazing Mom! What a party! Every year we all stay up to welcome her birthday! We are very excited to see what 2011 has in store for us! We hope this year treats you well and brings your family much joy!