Outing to see the Christmas Lights

It's been a while since we have had a chance to go and see the Christmas lights at the Salt Lake Temple.  This year we were able to go.  It's so beautiful and CROWDED!

We planned it well I thought.  We got there really early.  Most of the lights weren't even on yet when we got there.  It was also a very foggy night and so I was loving taking pictures.  I'm nowhere near a photographer, but I love to take pictures.  So I've posted a few.

Ethan is a very big help anywhere we go.  He loves to push one of his brothers and no longer tries to ride somewhere on the wheelchair!  It's nice.  We also were prepared and bundled up really well.  At first we thought it may be overkill, but turns out we could have even done more.  It was chilly.

My kids aren't really the kids that love to be in pictures.  I can catch Ezra and Mason every so often , but to have Ethan look at the camera is very rare.

The lights finally came on!~!

Mason did pretty well with it all until it started to get crowded.  Getting there early was great because of the crowd issue.  As we were leaving it was a nightmare.  Had we arrived at that time I think we wouldn't have stayed.  Instead we walked all around and had a great time.

I tried to take most of my pictures without my flash so that you could get a better effect of the lights.  Not so good for people pictures though.  We did both...

May I point out Ethan hiding behind me to avoid a picture?

It was interesting to us that they still only use incandescent lights.  Does anyone know why they aren't adding any LED's?  We loved this big tree.  It had little reflective circles paperclipped to the light wires to add more sparkle.  It worked!

Bathroom break.

Here are a few of my favorite shots I took from the night.

I love the nativity they put in the reflective pool.  Very cool.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Diggin a Hole~

A few weeks after Mason's conference in Las Vegas we ended up there again for a long weekend.  Those are the types of things you do when you are unemployeed I suppose!  Our friend's invited us to come and stay and while we were there they planned a big hole digging in their backyard to sink their trampoline.

The only problem was that as soon as we got there Mason started to have problems and spiked a fever and was having excessive seizures.  That meant it was time for me to call around and decide which hospital to take him to.

He was admitted for 3 days with seizures, a mild case of the swine flu, and they thought he had an illyus but it turned out OK.  That didn't stop the boys from digging a hole.

Poor Mel got to feel the fun of having 5 kids 8 and under.  It was close to Halloween so I guess the costumes all came out to play.  It was nice for me because I had a visitor everyday and she even brought or sent delicious meals!

They all went to the Elementary school Halloween party all dressed up.  Aren't they cute!

I don't know why Ethan will let Mel take pictures of him.  He never lets me!  Isn't he a tough Spiderman?

And finally here it is, the finished product.  We never actually got to see it all set up, but the hole was sweet!  And we got rid of the Angel......

F.I.R.S.T. Conference in Las Vegas

Many of you know that Mason was born with a genetic skin condition called Lamellar Ichthyosis.  This is an extremely rare condition and it is difficult to find anyone with a similar condition.  Fortuately for us there are foundations for such things!  We were able to attend a conference this October in Las Vegas to meet with others with similar skin conditions.  Mason gets to go to the kid camp and I got to go to seminars.

He wasn't really into the meet and greets.  I made him sit there and get his picture taken with the crowd.  He's a good sport.

In kid's camp they made all sorts of fun things.  It was a cowboy theme.  We had to have a picture of the hat.

This is the entire group that attended the conference.  We have made some great friends over the years.  Can't wait for the World Conference in FL next year!!

Tricky

Before Ez could walk he could climb.  Not just a stair or two, but latters and into beds, over gates, and onto couches!  The trouble with the climbing is that he can't get down.  Not at all!!!  He tends to get stuck a lot.  This is one of those instances!!

Mason's Door Obsession~

I know I've mentioned the obsession that Mason has with his doors.  Well, he is a funny little man and is cycling through the house choosing new favorites!  He started off in our front room never leaving our really old and sad TV stand.  Then it was off to his bedroom.

Now he will almost 90% of the time be in the kitchen.

He only goes for the doors with the pots and pans, but has recently ventured to the fridge door.  Now that has a lock on it too!!   

He entertains himself for hours. I love that he has a hobby!

Trouble!~

This is not an uncommon site around our house.  Ezra is always on the move and constantly on the hunt for his next snack.  He loves when the pantry door is left open.  It's like a buffet!

He hardly budges even when he knows he's been caught!

A lot of the things he can reach he can't really eat or get into the packaging, all that does is make a huge mess scattered around the house for Ethan to find and snack on!~

He's perfected the "I didn't do anything" look.  If only he really were that innocent!!

Visit to the Petting Farm

In September we were able to visit a local petting farm with the kids.  They had a great time.

They had dispensers that you could buy corn from to feed the animals.  Ethan really was into getting that and throwing it to the animals.  Ezra loved eating it!

Mason was the only one brave enough to try to feed any of the animals.  In the other kids' defense, Mason wasn't really given a choice!   He didn't protest it though!

Turned out the cow was afraid of Mason!  It wouldn't eat a thing from Mase's hand it just sniffed and waited for him to put it down!

Ethan thought about it some more.... not a chance!

They also have a place for pony rides.  That was appealing to Ethan.  He went a few times.

He's a regular cowboy!!  He had a great time.

Mason had a great time too.  Spen was great to hold him up.  He really did love it.  He went a few times too.  I tried to take him, but he's just getting too heavy!

Ez went back and forth!  Some of the time he liked it and some of the time he just yelled to us.  He never tried to get off so I'll take that as him enjoying himself!

We had a great time as a family.  It's always nice to get out and go somewhere together.