Skiing at Squaw Valley

The last day we were there Tommy, Jon and I were able to go skiing at Squaw Valley. It was beautiful, clear and cold. Mine and Jon's toes froze. Next time we will heat up before we ski.It was nice to stop off for some lunch and warm up before getting back into it. I was so tired I could have taken a nap on the table. This whole time at the cabin either Taylee was waking up a bunch or Brody. The first night we were cold and the next two nights I think we got too hot because we had 2 space heaters blasting in our room. I think we all did great despite the lack of heat in the cabin.Tommy and I boarded and Jon two-planked.Thank you Mama again! We had a fabulous time!

Sledding at Oma's Cabin

Right after we got there on Tuesday there was a huge storm that lasted 24 hours. After the storm let up there was a lot of snow to clear for the cars to get out. What a beautiful winter wonderland.
Sledding time. Luckily there is a place 5 minutes down the road.Thank you Alycia for letting us borrow your sleds! We had a great time!Queen of the mountain!Buried snow angel.Freezing Taylee also had fun!I think he had the least fun. He hating going down sledding with Jon because he got snow in his face and he is so short that it was hard for him to walk in such deep snow.What are we looking at?Thanks Mama, we had a great time!

Hanging out at Oma's cabin

Everyone getting bundled for some sledding and fun in the snow!!

MaxThey are silly!My Taylee baby.Watching a movie. Rylee got so hot that she took her arms out of her shirt. Funny since the heater or pellet stove was not working. She's a heater!JakeyAfter sledding we came back to warm up by getting in a cold bath. My silly water babies didn't mind!I love this picture of Rylee, she looks so grown up.

Merry Christmas!

May we always remember the reason for the season and let it last throughout the year. We are so grateful for all the friends and family we have. We love you all and wish you the best with this up coming year!

Christmas Day

Jon got mandatoried on Christmas Day. Since he had to switch stations, he asked the guy he was relieving to stay over a couple hours so he could be home for 2 hours to watch the kids open presents. I'm glad you were home. The kids were mostly excited about their stockings because I have carried on the tradition of my mother's and we all get to pick out our favorite sugary cereal. This is a real treat to them because we don't eat cereal.Some of the fun things Rylee got was a large Ariel doll, Tinkerbell kite, the Beast, Disney Princess Castle, a Rapunzel doll and a large princess stickerbook.
Brody got a Lightening McQueen bike, a Disney Cars Garage, Disney Cars Mack truck filled with cars and large Cars legos and a huge Cars stickerbook.I love this picture. The kids were so sweet. They just ran over and gave me a big hug and thanked me for the gifts. I do have the sweetest children ever.

Christmas Eve

Grandpa Little had got the kids this cardboard playhouse and they are painting it. Here is the before.And this is the after math.I don't know how much paint got on the little house. From the looks of it, not much. Maybe if they used a paint brush instead of their faces to paint the house? Rylee said she was doing Brody's makeup. HA! HA! HA!After cleaning the kids up, we got all dolled up to visit Jon at the fire station. When we got there he had made a whole turkey and gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans and bacon, stuffing, rolls and pumpkin pie. He is AMAZING! The dinner turned out great and all the fire fighter families loved it. I was sad that we never got a piece of pie though. Anyhow, thanks for inviting us! We sure do miss you lover!
After we got home from the fire station we put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Rylee and Brody had a fun month telling the Elf on the Shelf what they wanted for Christmas. I over heard Rylee telling him she wanted a kitchen the size of Mommy's kitchen and a baby Jesus set like the one Mommy has that I am only allowed to look at. She's sweet.

Temple Lights

I always want to make this our tradition every year to go see the Oakland Temple lights. This is the place we need to be. I love the reverent spirit there. This time we went through the visitors center and watched a video on Christ's birth before we walked around the grounds. The kids had so much fun looking on the city lights and having races up and down the parking lot. More protein equals more energy, GO RUDNICKI'S!!

Christmas Star

This year Jon's Fire Dept. decided to sponsor homeless children. Anyone could sign up and receive a star which contained all the christmas wishes the child had. We were assigned Adrianna. It's sad to think that there are children out their that are homeless and in need of the bear necessities. I know we've bent over backwards for our children to ensure they are provided for appropriately because we love them. We decided to try to make christmas special for this little girl by giving her everything she asked for. We are not allowed to have contact with these kids, so this was the only way we could show her our love. We even included a Book of Mormon, so maybe someday she will know how much her Heavenly Father loves her. The kids had a lot of fun picking out fun things for her. I hope she was as happy to receive as we were to give to her.

Ice Skating in Folsom

Jon had a day off so we decided to go ice skating. Luckily there is an outdoor rink close by. Rylee was so excited because she just got a Pinkalicious book called Pink Around the Rink. She wanted pink ice skates, but we got brown, she was ok with it. I was really impressed with Rylee! Last year she was bearly pushing the chair around on the ice and this year she was holding one of my hands and going fast. We almost ate it a couple of times, but never did.Brody did so great as well. He stayed in between our legs and loved going fast! This sport is definitely harder than it looks. But I guess that goes for any sport. When you only watch the best you expect it to be so easy because they make it look so easy.Taylee was a great sport just watching us from her car seat! Today was definitely a good day!

Dance Recital Christmas Benefit

I was so excited for you to perform. Your class has been working really hard on the dance for the past 2.5 months. You did a ballet routine with tambourines to the song Jingle Bells.Jon and I could not be more proud of you! During your dance you were the most beautiful and the only one who knew what they were doing. My favorite is when you pushed the girl in front of you to go! Jon leaned back after you were done and gave me a 'high 5'. We were so happy that you had fun out there and did your dance with a beautiful smile plastered on your face! I can't wait for your recital in June!! Afterwards we went for pizza with our good friends the Gowdy's. Great job to you too Addie!Old friend Abbie Thum. I worked with her parents.Your fancy voiced teacher Miss Georgina.Thanks family for all your support!