It's not everyday you see this at the Bowling Alley!

Britt was really into the holiday spirit and did alot of dancing in between her turns to bowl. I hope this video makes you laugh as much as it makes me laugh. (Warning: there are risky
spanking moves that she gets from her Dad!)

We Had a Holly Jolly Christmas!!

Our Christmas Present from Nathan...and he took our picture!

The Snelders spent another Christmas as nomads across the southeast of Idaho and northern Utah. We would have liked better driving conditions in ALL areas we traveled but we feel very blessed that we reached each destination safely. Scott feels that his "Wayan" driving skills really paid off this year! We spent a few days in Pocatello visiting friends and family. Britt decided to let our friend Cory pull her loose tooth so she could have a visit from the toothfairy before Christmas. Plus Cory told her that if you lose a tooth when your staying at Grandma's house you get an extra dollar! She was more than cooperative to let him go to work and take out that wiggly tooth! (I have a bachelors degree in teeth I have not gotten to pull even ONE of her teeth!Does that seem right to anyone else?) We made a quick overnight trip to Preston so I could get a haircut. I know my husband loves me because he tolerates all my trips home to get my hair done. He has seen the damage when I have gone to someone new and it is not good! I could go on and on about my "lesbian" A-line bob hair cut of 2007! Next we were off to Wayan to spend 2 days. We got to do ALOT of things in the snow. Between all the shoveling and sledding our backs were pretty sore. I got an extra ride this year when my anxious photography obcession found me in the sledding path and before I knew it I was flat on my back in the road!! I don't bounce nearly as well as I used to but I didn't drop my camera and I still got a great shot! After celebrating Christmas Eve with Scott's family we drove to Mountain Green, Utah. We got to spend another few days surrounded by cousins and lots of food. We even got to go to Janelle and Quinns Baskin store and order anything we wanted on the house!!! Britt and I were in HEAVEN! Between sledding, sleeping with kids everynight, my accident, ALOT of guitar hero, and family bowling my body said it was time to come home on Saturday. Thanks to EVERYONE who hosted us and gave us delicious food and a warm bed to sleep in. We are so Thankful to be able to spend the holidays among so much family that we love with all our hearts! The memories we make on these trips are the presents I will cherish for a lifetime!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year....

So getting ready for Christmas has been a little bit crazy this year. It seems like we have had two or three things we had to juggle every day. From parties, to trips, to shopping, and to fun familiy activities, here are a few pics of our December.

Santa was kind enough to visit our Ward Christmas Breakfast. This was the first year both Brittanie and Nathan were brave enough to sit on his lap. Brittanie was amazed that Santa knew her name and that she likes to dance. Brittanie requested a "Pet Shop Store" from Santa this year. Let's see if she has been good enough.


I was impressed that Nathan sat on Santa's lap. I had to be very close to him, but I convinced him that if he really wanted a present from Santa, he needed to tell him. Nathan got enough courage to say he wanted "Thomas Splash" for Christmas.


Brittanie comes home from school with a craft or artwork almost daily. We really enjoyed the "Rudolph" costume. This could be a picture she regrets when she gets to be 16. I love being the evil parent who plans these things out....

Of course, Christmas time has to include a varitey of treats. These next three photos show how the Snelders enjoy the season... WITH FOOD! Brittanie and Nathan love a good spatula full of brownie mix!

You can't get through the Holidays without making sugar cookies. Mom wanted to make a batch to take to work. We had both Nathan and Brittanie help frost the cookies. After realizing they licked their fingers in between frosting each cookie, we decided to not take the cookes to work to share. Not to worry, we were able to finish them off in a few days.

Mom got really ambitious this year and decided to make ginger bread houses. Of course there are kits you can buy at most stores, but no, Natalie wanted to spend all day making ginger bread from scratch. They turned out pretty awesome, but it was a lot of work.

Grandma Gog asked to see the finished work on the Christmas lights. I didn't really get a good picture, but you get the gist of it. We have a lot of variety and a lot of lights. I guess growing up in Preston where the whole town goes nuts for lights makes you like to see the yard lit up.

We made a quick trip last weekend down to Utah for little Teigen's baby blessing. Brittanie and Nathan got to meet a couple of second cousins they haven't met before. They all had a lot of fun playing together in Adam and Julie's house.

While in Utah, we took the train down to Temple Square to see the lights. All of the kids loved the train rides. I quite enjoyed them as well. It was pretty convenient to ride the train down, hop on the light rail and hop off in front of Temple Square.

Temple Square was beautiful. With a fresh dusting of snow, the lights lit up the night. The kids loved looking at the trees, all of the Nativity Scenes, and seeing the SLC Temple. I think Natalie liked this picture the best out of the ones we took.

The Journey of our Christmas Tree

Every year we cut down our Christmas tree in the woods around the Wayan Valley. This year, with so little snow, we got to drive further up the mountain to search for the best little Charlie Brown tree we could find. Here is a little log of our adventure....

Setting out for the hunt. Natalie and I in the forest up Lanes Creek in Wayan Idaho. How sad, we are at about 6500 feet with very little snow.

We found the perfect tree! The tree is pretty thick and tall, but we think it will fit in our house.

After a good 10 minutes of hacking at the tree, I finally got the beast cut.

We had to carry the tree about 200 yards to the road. From there, we took it back to Wayan and had my cousin, Kevan bring it back to Star for us. Thanks Kevan, I don't know if the tree would have made it back strapped to the top of our van.

After I cut the tree and jammed it through our door, Natalie hung the lights and started with the ornaments.

Both Nathan and Brittanie soon got into the action. I think they liked climbing up and down the ladder more than hanging the ornaments, but at least they had fun.

The finished tree. We think the beads kind of look sad, so they will likely be taken down tomorrow. Natalie also thinks she needs to buy more ornamanents. We have a huge tree with little ornaments. What do you think?

A little Thanksgiving Fun Slideshow