Hardware Ranch

We were so lucky at Christmas time to be able to have Josh home for 5 days! He had 2 days off paid for Christmas and then he had an extra paid vacation day that he had to take off before the end of the year.

On Monday we headed up to Cache Valley to Hardware Ranch. I guess it isn't really in the valley but up in the Mountains. It is an Elk preserve.

They take you up in these Horse drawn wagons and take you into the field. The Elk have no problem with it! I was amazed at how close we could get to these amazing animals! We with with Josh's mom and his Aunt, cousin and her family that were visiting from AZ. It was SO COLD! But very worth it! We had such a good time. I loved having my husband home for so long. Another day and a half and we will get a 3 day weekend! So excited!

We really do still exist!

It has been a crazy "semester!" Preschool has taken over my life but in a really good way. I am sure that most people that read my blog before really have lost interest since it hasn't been updated in such a long time! So here is an update, in true Christmas letter form!

Josh (31) Has had a busy year as he has taken on the challenge of going to school full time and working full time! He gets to come home for about 45 minutes M-Th and spends some time with the boys. He is greeted with a huge exclaim of DADDDDIEEE and the running of little feet. He is doing so well in his drafting program as he is very talented in that department. It has made our monthly temple goal a lot harder as we took a hiatus for a few months until we could figure it out; but we are going again and loving the time we have to be together.

Tiffany (31) Has been very busy keeping up after two toddler boys full of energy and life! In addition to being a full time mom she has started a preschool and has loved teaching from her little heaven in the basement. The kids even put on a Christmas program and of course it didn't go as planned! One of the sessions is ALL BOYS (fitting for my life!) In January she will be adding Fridays so preschool will keep her busy 5 days a week! We are taking it for a test run to see if we want to offer it next year. The best part besides being able to keep her kids with her while she works and not having to drive in the snow to get to work... children's books are all tax deductible! Can't beat that for this Children's lit. fanatic!

Turner (3) Has also had a busy year! Potty training was successful as we discovered that he really knew what to do as long as we took the diaper option away :) He has been learning so much from preschool. I guess the repetition of going to 2 sessions per week is paying off! His imagination is exploding and he says the funniest things! One of my favorites is one night we were going through the drive through at McDonalds. He said that he wanted a toy and I said "No honey, we are not getting Happy Meals tonight." He thought about it for a minute and then said, "so we are getting sad meals?" I love it!

Max (1) Is also loving preschool- at least the loves he has been getting from the little girls. They have all adopted him and love mothering him. He seems to be the preschool mascot! Up to this point he has usually gone down for a nap during preschool and you won't hear this mother complain about that! I know it won't last forever but it has been useful. His vocabulary is growing all the time! At least our ability to understand him is improving. He is much better at communicating non-verbally as he brother foresees what he needs and does it for him. He loves to play with toys! He already is so curious about how things work... just like his daddy!

We are excited about the new year and all the new possibilities it will bring!

Love and Laughter,

The Thomsons!