My cute kids!

I am not generally an outdoor-winter person, but some women from the ward were taking there kids sledding and Ryan has so desperately been wanting to go play in the snow that I decided to bundle the kids up and go. (Note to self: we really need some snowproof clothes!) There was a brisk wind blowing, and Sofia cried almost the entire time we were there, but Ryan had fun (until we got in the car and he realized just how cold and wet he was, so he cried all the way home).

The hill surrounds the track/football field at Mountain View High School. It was so steep I tried to get to the top twice, but I couldn't without feeling like I was going to put Sofia, strapped to my front, in danger.



You can see how cold Ryan's face was, but he was a trooper and ended up going down the hill several times.



Since I was trying to comfort Sofia, my friend Amanda took really good care of Ryan and even sledded down with him a couple of times!


I'm going to have to look into boots, snow pants, a sled . . . I never spent much time in the snow as a kid, so I feel totally unprepared as a parent of a kid who has no fear or no problem getting cold and wet. But I'm sure I'll learn!

I had to also include this picture of Sofia. I took it a couple of weeks ago. She was smiling at our cat Othello, and I thought it was too cute not to share. :D

New Year's Resolutions

I actually started my resolutions at Thanksgiving, so I wouldn't procrastinate and could work on being less stressed during the holidays. I chose three; I figured if I kept them simple, I might have a better chance or working on them all year. :D

1. Be less stressed. I've been wound up so much of my life, which affects my health and happiness (not to mention my family's happiness). I've already been doing better; I have my lapses, but I've been trying to be more flexible in my plans, more pleased with my best efforts (instead of tearing all the efforts apart), and trying not to take on too much.

2. Improve my posture. My lower back hurts a lot because I slouch, so I'm trying to correct that and working out to strengthen my core muscles.

3. Do things that scare me or that are difficult for me. This list could be ridiculously long if I wanted it to be, but the main goal here is to get more comfortable with taking risks and learning that failure is not the worst thing in the world (of course, if I can actually learn to do some of these things, so much the better). High on my list are baking bread, playing the guitar, visiting teaching, and using the phone (I'm terrified of it, but I'm starting to get a little better).

I figure the more places I write this, the more accountability I'll have!