Fake Christmas and Goodbyes

Fake Christmas morning came, and we were excited to see what Ashton would do.

I think at first he was a little confused, but then he noticed there were presents. And from then on, he was a natural.

This is the truck the my parents got for him. It sings songs and makes noises, and he was quite excited about it.

Admiring the tree while everyone else opened their presents.

The aftermath.

The rest of the day, we relaxed and played. Everyone wanted to get one last moment with Ashton because we thought we were going to get up the next day and go home...

...but we didn't! There were several severe storm warnings all over Idaho and Utah, so we decided to the let the snow fall and give them a day to plow the roads before we headed home. Hooray for an extra day of vacation!

Unfortunately the time went by way too fast, and we had to head back home. We had a fun time and can't wait to go back! Especially Ashton.

Thanks for the fun holiday, Fulbrights! We miss you!!!

Black Friday/Fake Christmas Eve

The day after Thanksgiving: Black Friday. Although we are not the kind that get up at 4am to wait in line, Tyler and I do enjoy finding a few deals on Black Friday. This year almost everyone wanted to go with us, so we loaded the big truck and ventured out into the cold to Missoula.

We did some goofing around and also found some good deals. A big goal was to find Ashton a real winter coat, since all he had was a windbreaker jacket. (You can see it in that first picture.) At Old Navy we found him a cute green one and a hat to match! In case you couldn't tell, he loves hats...

After we whittled away the day spending (too much) money, we headed back home and turned Black Friday into Fake Christmas Eve. All of us, minus Mom and Ashton, piled back into the big truck and trekked up towards St. Mary's (a big mountain in Stevensville) to find the perfect Christmas tree. We were a little late getting up there, so by the time we found it, it was pretty dark. But it was a beauty nonetheless.

Actually, I should give credit where it's due--Tyler is the one who found this particular tree. He did a good job, I think! And all the Rambo-looking orange tape is because it was hunting season and we didn't want to get shot but hunters. In case you were wondering.

Once we got back home, we turned on the Christmas music and decorated the tree. The Christmas Spirit was in the air, and even Nicholas was feeling it...he actually played with Ashton! (That's big for him--he hates babies.) Ashton was sitting on the massage cushion in the recliner, and Nicholas would turn it on and make him laugh. It was pretty cute, and luckily my Dad caught this rare moment on his phone.

Sadly, Ashton got too excited and thought he could stand on the chair, which made it rock, which made him fall. He landed right on something hard and sharp, so he got a big bleeding lump right in the middle of his head. Poor baby.

Good thing Grandma makes him happy. He felt better in no time.

The rest of the evening was spent playing around...

...and enjoying the lights on the beautiful Christmas tree.

This is my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament from 1984. Aw.

Merry Fake Christmas!

Snow Day!

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we woke up to an extra foot of snow (there was already 6 inches before it fell) along with some of the coldest weather we've ever experienced! It was about 15 degrees below zero, but there was a severe wind warning that could bring a wind chill of -40 or more! The school called twice to say they were delaying the start time, and that most buses were not running, and that people were just supposed to get there whenever they could get there. (Did I mention that they NEVER cancel school in Montana...?) My mom, being the trooper that she is, went and drove the safer parts of her bus route in Corvallis, but the bus for our house never came. So when she got back home, we all ganged up on her and convinced her to let everyone have a snow day at home!

That day Patrick decided he would like to have round #2 of his senior pictures in the snow. While he was ironing his shirts, I asked Lexi if she wanted some pictures too, and she was quite happy to comply. It was nice to have someone new to take pictures of.

It was so freezing that we ran outside and literally snapped all of her pictures in under 3 minutes. Then we ran back inside, because our fingers and faces were numb. Patrick still wasn't ready, so I convinced Nicholas to let me take some of him. He does not like to take pictures, so it was a miracle he agreed! Well, really I made a deal with him that he could take pictures with his nerf gun. Little did he know I cropped it out of most of the pictures. When he finds out I did that, I'm sure he'll shoot me with it...

And now Patrick, the senior. I told him he should wear a cool-looking jacket, but apparently he never wears a jacket. Yeah, he is crazy. Or maybe he's a werewolf...

When we were done I noticed that there was a foot and a half of snow in the middle of the trampoline, so I dared him to jump on it. Sure, it was a little juvenile, but it was also pretty darn cool!

Yay for snow days!!!