Sledding in the Sierras with Uncle Mark and Aunt EJ

Uncle Mark and Aunt EJ came over later in the day on Christmas and stayed until Sunday with us.  On Saturday we drove to the Sly Park Recreation Area in the Sierras to go sledding.  It was the best sledding hill we have found since we moved here. It was a very beautiful day with fresh snow and pretty sunlight.  Here are some pictures from our fun adventure!

 Alex brought his new camera he got from Oma and Grandpa for Christmas.  He and Lily took lots of videos as they sledded down the hills.

 Mom thought maybe someone was praying in the forest above us, but it was just the steam reflecting the warm sunlight through the trees.  :)

 Jennkinson Lake in the distance.

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning was lots of fun.  We all had lots of surprises from each other and enjoyed spending the morning playing together and eating mom's yummy breakfast.

 Sarah re-enacting opening presents.

 Lily playing with her doll.

 Dad setting up his new electronics, while wearing his new running shoes.

 Alex playing with Legos.

 ...more Legos.

 Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas was so nice this year!  We didn't want it to end.  And Christmas Eve was no exception.  We had fun doing the Nativity, reading our Presents for Jesus box, and reading in the scriptures of Jesus's birth.

 Sorry this picture is blurry, but it was the best we got with the self-timer.

Sarah's Rookie of the Year Award

Sarah has been loving band this year in High School.  Recently  her teacher mentioned they had a need for an Oboe player.  Sarah came home and told us she wanted to learn to play the Oboe.  We rented one at first just to try it out, and she caught on very quickly.  She has switched over to mostly playing Oboe now in the band. 

At her last concert she even had a small Oboe solo.  For only playing an instrument for a few weeks that is pretty impressive.  Her band teacher gave out a few awards to her top students Sarah received the "Rookie of the Year" award.  She was the only freshman to get an award.  It was a proud band moment for mom.  She was very happy for Sarah.  So happy that she forgot to take a picture until after she got the award and was walking back to her seat.  Oh, well.  Better late than never.

 Sarah with her award turning to go back to sit down.  :)