Harware Ranch

One beautiful Sunday we drove up Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Hardware Ranch with Diet and Myrna. This was something I'd never done before, so I was really excited! Hardware Ranch is an elk refuge where hundreds of elk have a safe place to eat and live over the winter. They give sleigh rides through the elk so you can see them up close!

Ben wasn't so sure about the sleigh ride. I was nervous that if he got too worked up that he would make the elk mad, so I didn't take any pictures. He did like the horses though!

I love living in such a beautiful place, so close to the mountains and special places like Hardware Ranch so I can have experiences like this with my little family!

Playing in the Snow

Living in Utah means snow. Living in Cache Valley means lots of snow. So we'd be crazy if we didn't try to have some fun in the snow! I got Ben all decked out in his snow gear and headed out to our yard covered with three feet of snow to see how he liked it!

I sat him on top of the snow and he promptly fell over.

Laying in the snow wasn't fun.

Then I held on to him while sitting. This was a little better, but it was hard to take pictures.

Then I pounded a hole in the snow and stood him up. This was much better! He could see everything and had some control!

Look at that face! Are you kidding me?

He was a fan of hitting the snow and watching it stick to his mittens.

I had to get a close up of this hat. Matt and I gave it to Harrison for Christmas the year he was born. It doesn't fit him anymore so Jenny gave it to Ben, and it is so cute. I love having something for Ben from his cousin.

Our Little Fish

Matt and I have always wanted to get a boat. So before we had kids, we knew that getting them comfortable in a life jacket was going to be a priority. This winter, we decided to start taking Ben to the rec center swimming pool to get used to the water and his life jacket. We already knew he liked water, but we didn't know what to expect with the life jacket.

Our first experience with the life jacket at home looked like this:

But once we got him in the water, he wasn't as mad! We just had to keep the zipper out of his face! Matt brought the Go Pro so we have some funny videos of his first time in the pool.

All in all, I think we have a little fish on our hands!

Claire's Basketball Team

One of Matt's favorite things to do is help coach basketball with Randy. This year they coached Claire's all-girl basketball team! Matt came home from the first practice just overwhelmed. Girls are really different than boys! Even with all the little girls, he was so excited because they actually were listening to him and they were teaching them a lot of new skills.

Ben and I love going to watch the girls play and watch Matt and Randy coach. They are quite a team!

Harrison likes to run around during the game.

And he likes to play with Ben. Good thing we bring Ben to keep Harrison, Nanny and Papa all entertained!

Papa has officially gained the title of "Ben Snuggler". He would snuggle Ben through the loud game and get him to fall asleep!

Fixing your hair is an important part of a timeout.

They take coaching very seriously.

Very, very seriously.

Very, very, very seriously.

Very, very, very, very seriously.

Ben and I even get to come to practice sometimes and help out!

At the end of the last practice, Jenny and Randy brought doughnuts for the girls! But... they had to dance for them! So cute!

Claire's team played against some tough opponents in this league, but they learned a lot and even won a few games! I'm so glad that we live so close to our family so we can support them in all their activities!

Water

This little man loves the tub. It is so funny because he hated the tub at first. We had to put him in the shower with us because he would freak out when I put him in the tub. And then he started getting bigger and stronger and could support himself and started to love the tub! As soon as he started sitting up, the old baby tub had to be retired. This is the last picture I took of him in the baby tub!

And here he goes, sitting up by himself! I think he actually likes the tub more now that he has more control and isn't totally restrained by the baby tub!