SNOW!

In December we journeyed to Utah to visit family, celebrate the holidays and (we thought) play in the greatest snow on Earth. As luck would have it, we didn't see a single snow storm... in three weeks... in December... in Utah. The good news is, there was some snow outside the first couple of days that we were there (before it melted :)) The kids had a blast playing in the snow and sledding on Grandma and Grandpa Frost's little hill.

All bundled up. The boy's snow gear still fits from a year and a half ago! And we found some great hand me down snow bibs for Abbi.

Ammon has been asking for years if he could go skiing. The lack of snow made for poor skiing conditions for Colby, but it was perfect for taking the boys up and showing them the ropes. They were soooo excited, and from what I hear they did pretty good.

Grandpa Frost, Dan and Bugs joined them on the hill and had a great amateur ski day!

This little girl was pretty sad that she wasn't invited to join them. "But I'M enough big to go kiing," she told me. Maybe next time sweetie!

Thanksgiving

This year, we were able to host Thanksgiving dinner again. I always LOVE to host things; but I always wish I had more room so I could invite more people. I feel so blessed that we have so many good friends here in Texas, it always makes holidays and special occasions so much fun. I am also grateful that those good friends are all such good cooks! The food was fantastic. The weather this year was also fantastic so all the kiddos were able to eat outside, which made for a nice, mostly quiet, Thanksgiving dinner. Here are the highlights of our day:

Fall decorations

Friends

Food

Football

Fun!

After dinner, we were able to go to the gym where I work and let the kids play and have pie and meet up with some more great friends.

It didn't take too long for the kids to burn off all that turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving! (I know, I know, it's January. I'm a little behind. The good news is I finally took down my Christmas decorations today....)

Three!

In November, our little Abigail turned THREE! I can hardly believe it's been three years since she joined our family. She is such a sweet girl with a funny personality and we love the spunk and spirit that she brings into our home. To celebrate, we had a party with some friends. To say she was excited would be an understatement; she had been talking about this party ALL YEAR (ever since her last birthday). Luckily, she thought the party was just as great as she imagined it would be. Thank you to my sweet friend Dawnella who helped with the planning, decorations and cake.

The party room.

The birthday girl.

Party guests.

I mentioned her spunky personality; here are a couple of video clips of her on her actual birthday. You can see why she always keeps us on our toes!

Happy Birthday Abigail Claire! We love you.

Grieving

I have a hundred different things I could blog about; TWO trips to Utah, Thanksgiving, Christmas, a certain little princess turning three, the boys going skiing with Colby, New Years..... the list could go on and on. But as I sat down at the computer to end my blogging hiatus, I realized that today it has been two months since my dad passed away. Two months and I miss him more than ever. Two months and I feel as if I am still learning how to grieve. I always assumed I that if I lost someone close to me I would totally shut down, that I would not be able to function. I have discovered that the opposite is true; it has been the day to day living, the "to do" lists, the holiday preparations, the folding laundry and unloading the dishwasher that has kept me going and made me realize more than ever that life goes on, and that death is a part of our Heavenly Father's plan. My heart is still hurting, I cry in the shower, and I never realized how many sad country songs there are on the radio. The most difficult thing about grieving is that it is ongoing. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a definitive amount of time to we had to grieve prior to feeling better? The best thing about life going on is that I have a good life, filled with so many blessings. Before I start blogging about the hundred or more good things that have happened in our lives the past couple of months, I wanted to post these pictures of my dad's funeral.

Me and the kiddos at the funeral.

My two little pallbearers. This breaks my heart.

Benjamin cemetary has a beautiful view of the mountains.

It is really a peaceful place.

Me and Mom.

Dad

Three weeks ago I got a phone call that I will never forget. My dad, unexpectedly and without explanation, had passed away. There are no words to describe what it was like to receive this kind of news. Nothing can prepare you for loosing one of the people you love most in the world. After I got over the initial shock, I was engulfed with the kind of grief that was so intense I almost couldn't breath.

We immediately booked a flight a left for Utah the next morning. The next couple of weeks were emotionally and physically exhausting. I was amazed at the outpouring of love and support that we received from friends and family members. I was also amazed at the peace and comfort that I received from my Father in Heaven. I am so grateful for my knowledge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have no doubt that I will see my dad again. I know that he is happy. I have still had difficult times over the last couple of weeks, and I'm sure there are more to come. I am still grieving; hearing a Dave Matthews song or walking by the pharmacy counter at Walmart is enough to start a flood of tears. But I am at peace.

Yesterday, one of the Sisters in my ward asked me, "what was your dad like?" I didn't even have to think before replying, "He was amazing." I feel so blessed to have been raised by such an amazing person. My dad was kind and fun to be around. He was always cracking (stupid) jokes that you had to laugh at (even if it was just a courtesy laugh). My dad was always so supportive of me; I could always spot him in the audience at piano recitals, tumbling meets, softball games and dance competitions. I never had any questions about the way my dad felt about me, he let me know every day of my life that he loved me and that he was proud of me. He also let me know how much he loved my husband and kids. I loved to watch him play and interact with my kids, they always had so much fun together. I am so grateful for the time we had to spend together, and for all the memories we made. I love you, Dad!

Colby's Medical School Graduation May 2009

Washington D.C. March 2009

Skiing at snowbird. December 2006

Meeting Abigail. November 2008

Giving Ammon a motorcycle ride. Summer 2007

Skiing with dad. Winter (around 1987?)

Sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

Family pictures 1981.

Me, Dad and Jen 1979.

Halloween Time

This year, we kicked off our Halloween celebrations when Grandma and Grandpa Frost were here visiting. We were going to carve pumpkins, but it was a little early and still so warm they weren't going to last until Halloween. So instead of carving pumkins, we make Halloween lanterns out of mason jars and tissue paper.

Every participated in the "lantern making fun,"

and they turned out great!

The trunk or treat is always one of the highlights of Halloween, probably because the kids get so much candy in such a short amount of time. This year was no exception, there were a TON of kiddos at the trunk or treat and our kids had a blast hanging out with their buddies and collecting mounds of candy.

Abbi and her buddy Logan with Colby and his buddy Jason.

Abbi and Lily

We also got together with some friends to celebrate this fun holiday. I love this picture of the "Harry Potter crew."

All the kids from tallest to smallest.

Even some of the moms got in on the fun.

My friend Janene and I in our costumes.

Because a ton of candy is never enough, we also went trick or treating on Halloween night. I may be biased, but I thought my kids were the cutest ones out there!

Abbi will still tell you that her daddy is a "party pooper," because he wouldn't dress up for Halloween... maybe next year?

The best part of trick or treating in Texas is the nice, warm weather. Everyone sits out in their driveways to hand out candy, you don't even need a jacket. We also saw some great Halloween decorations and a real haunted house.

Man, I love these boys.

Colby with our friends, the Williams out trick or treating (he may not have dressed up, but at least he pulled the wagon!)

We hope y'all had a great Halloween too!

October visitors

October was a busy month for us, but we were thrilled to have Colby's parents and my dad come and visit us. Here are some highlights from their trips:

Galveston

We made a quick road trip with Frost's down to Galveston, the kids loved staying in a hotel and going to the beach. The first night we went to the hotel swimming pool.

The day we were in Galveston was a little chilly (well, for the beach it was chilly... it was still 65 or 70 degrees) so we didn't swim, but the kids still had fun wading in the water and playing in the sand.

Our family.

Colby and Abbi with Grandma and Grandpa.

The boys found some dead jelly fish. I'm not sure if they can sting you after they're dead, but if Finding Nemo taught me anything, it's that "the tops don't sting you."

Bike Riding

One day we went to the park and taught Carter how to ride his bike without training wheels... we were ALL so excited. (I was starting to think I was going to send the kid on a mission with training wheels). Colby and Grandma were great coaches.

We also did some teeter totter-ing, and Abbi did a lot of bossing Grandpa around. (go up Grandpa, now go down, now go up).

She even got him to go on the playground with her.

Houston

After our day in Galveston, we headed to Houston and took the kids to the NASA space center. They had a gigantic play place, huge rockets, fun movies and games and astronaut icecream!

Colby and the kids with one of the space shuttles.

Great food

Like any good Frost family vacation, this trip had lots of great food. We started out with a Mexican feast, and Grandma got to try out my onion goggles.

On our way to Galveston we stopped at the Fried Pie shop... it was just as good as it sounds.

In Galveston we ate at a great seafood restaurant right on the beach. It was called "The Spot," and true to it's name it really hit the spot. It was the perfect weather for sitting out on the balcony and enjoying the view.

The one thing that Temple has plenty of is Mexican restaurants. One morning while the kids were all at school we had breakfast at La Taqueria. For those of you who haven't had breakfast here, it is totally worth driving to temple for.... and while you're here you can stop by and visit us. :)

We finished the week off with a date night at Rudy's barbeque... also worth driving to temple for. Think brisket, creamed corn, shredded pork, ribs, banana pudding and giant smoked baked potatoes.

Girl Time

Abbi loved spending time with Grandma. Grandma fixed her hair and got her dressed every morning and....

Brought her earings!! Abbi is so pumped to be able to match her earings to her outfits. Yes, she is 100% girly girl.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the fun visit! We can't wait for next time. (hint, hint).

Grandpa Stewart

We were lucky enough to have Grandpa Stewart come and visit on his way home from a business trip. Grandpa Stewart flew in the same day that Grandma and Grandpa Frost went home. It was so fun to see Grandpa and get to spend the day with him. Saturday night we went to China cafe for the buffet and soft serve (for the little people) and sushi (for the big people). Grandpa was able to come to church with us Sunday and spend the day hanging out and enjoying the beautiful Texas weather. We had some unusual fog on Monday when Grandpa was supposed to fly home so his flight was cancelled and we got to spend an extra afternoon with him.

Abbi especially enjoyed all the extra attention she got from Grandpa.

Thanks dad for stopping by! Sorry for the mile long post. If you are still reading this, I am impressed!