We snowmobiled around the cabin area to take some beautiful pictures of the surrounding landscape.

CHRISTMAS EVE AT A FAMILY MEMBER'S HANGAR

Ivory tusks that took six years

apiece to carve. The picture doesn't

do them justice.

Cool cars from Boe's uncle's collection. I practiced a couple of times hopping in "Dukes of Hazard" style until Boe called me a dork.

The "destroying angel" ... if you were there, you'd know why... Playing "House on Fire" which I came in dead last.

A very mini Cooper.

Once again, the "Destroying Angel". Notice the calm Baby Jesus
The setting for our Christmas Eve. Yes, that is a cow rocketing to the moon
.

Thorpe cousins.
Kenzand Aunt Rox in front of

a nativitiy from a cathedral in Germany?

This is an action shot of Kenz throwing

her first present of the season (The doll

is in midair).

First taste of snow...
...and the verdict is ...delicious!

Kenzie's first snowmobile ride. We bundled up Kenz good and went for a ride together.

Here we are on the snowmobile. Kenz was a little scared of the noise at first, but she did like going fast. It was a pretty cold day, so her little cheeks and nose were turning red. She would say ouch and rub her nose. That's when we knew it was time to go in and warm up by the fire.

We got Shauna the biggest, warmest snow suit we could find. She actually did pretty good with the cold weather. Kenzie helped to keep mom warm.

Playing in the snow in front of the cabin. There was about a foot and a half of new snow. She would sink in up to her waist on her own. She liked trying to catch the snowflakes as they were falling.

IDAHO

She kept dragging her left arm out of the sled and would then get angry when the snow wouldn't shake out of her glove.I could never tell if she was slipping or just trying to free herself of my hand.

Family four-wheel ride

TEMPLE LIGHTS

This is one of the few times we let her out of her stroller. The Wise Men in the distance were obviously not as interesting as the rocks under the bushes.

(We are on a decilne in this picture, which is why I look so short)

She finds the oddest positions to sleep in.

Kenz likes to be in the middle of anything I am trying to get done. She will sit and play on the dishwasher lid until the grabbing of sharp knives elicits her removal. More than anything, Kenz likes rocks. We try placing her on grass but she quickly migrates to any available rockpile (which aren't hard to find here). She says "ock" which we believe is rock, but the same exclamation is made for dog, truck, duck, milk, park, and bottle.
Supposed to be helping her Dad put up the Christmas lights, but, again, playing with the rocks.

A top-heavy tree: We had to make some adjustments to our tree decorating this year. The ornaments are exactly out of Kenzie's reach, though she's figured out how to get to them by way of a nearby couch. She knows she isn't supposed to touch the ornaments and always keeps her back to me when she happens to pluck one off.

Christmas pics. Those poor holiday photographers looked a little frazzled due to the high customer volume, but managed some great smiles from Kenzie.

For Veteran's Day we spent some time with the cousins at the Riparian Preserve. Kenz was in heaven as long as sand and dirt were involved. Here she is at the playground with a stray stuffed animal she happened to capture.At the Riparian Preserve pond (AZ has gotten pretty good at faking natural water habitats). Kenzie is troublingly fearless. Poor Quinnelly had to pull her kicking and screaming more than once from the edge of the pond. As hard and fast as she kicks when we are pulling her away, I'm sure she'd find a way to stay afloat if she were to have her way.

This costume came together like it was meant to be. I don't consider myself crafty, but in a stroke of creativity, this is what resulted. The neck is a little unstable, but overall the pink flamingo was a success.


A headless pink flamingo. The feathers get a little overwhelming for both Kenz and the person holding her.

How to carve a pumpkin:

1. Taste first2. Remember some cheating is allowed.
3. Manage the mess wisely.

4. Display with pride (because yours is pretty much the coolest pumpkin on the block)