A Cold January

 This has been the first winter since we moved to Mountain Home that snow actually stayed on the ground. It was super cold for almost all of January so we stayed inside and tried to keep busy.

One day Quinton and Clara got some chairs and packed all their stuff onto the couch and pretended it was a train. Their imaginations keep them entertained a lot of the time.

Quinton had a run-in with a table and got his first black eye.

Warren loves bath time, especially with his sister.

Wrestling with Daddy is a favorite pastime around here.

One Sunday was spent making towers to knock down with Quinton's Angry Bird. Do you see the pig in there?

Warren found all sorts of new places to crawl into and every crumb on the floor found its way into his mouth.

When all else fails, just climb in a box and have a party!

Quinton and Clara made these spiffy robots one day.

The highlight of January was when Aunt Jeni came to visit. She had a conference in Boise and let us swim at the hotel where she was staying. We loved having her all to ourselves!

Warren enjoyed his first time at the pool!

And these hooligans could have played for hours.

They waited and waited all month until one day it FINALLY snowed "snowman snow" and Quinton and Clara were able to make Frosty. 

Oakley Sledding

Barry got his Christmas wish when it snowed enough to go sledding. So the Jenks clan headed into the Oakley hills to have some fun. 

Barry and Clara

Quinton 

Everybody came back pretty exhausted, especially Barry.

Grandma Jenks had just as much fun as her grandkids. She did get quite a face full of snow, though!

Warren and Mom stayed back home where it was nice and warm.

Christmas 2012

Christmas felt like one big celebration after another this year. It was wonderful. The kids opened a couple of the larger presents at home before we left to visit family. They were pretty excited!

Warren's favorite part was the wrapping paper and the bows. We had to keep a close eye on this little man.

Making cookies at Grandma Packer's house.

 Clara's Christmas dress that Grandma Packer made for her. 

Nativity #1. It's always a hoot watching the kids get all dressed up and the drama they go through choosing parts to play.

Our favorite Santa!

Grandma and Grandpa Packer had a farm theme this year for the grandkids, complete with a little tractor for them to drive when they visit.

We headed to Oakley on Christmas Eve to have even more fun. Here is nativity #2. Clara was Mary. She took very good care of her donkey, it was very sweet.

Christmas Morning!

After the initial excitement, I think we all feel a little like this on Christmas morning.

Clara found some fingernail polish in her stocking and after attempting to do it herself, Barry stepped in. What a great dad!

He did find a little time in between eating all the bows to play with one of his presents.

Clara's 4th Birthday

Clara turned 4 on December 19th. She brings such a sweet spirit to our home. She is creative, caring, and gives the best hugs and kisses. She is a great sister and is always trying to help others be happy.

We pampered her here at home that day and then had a little get together at Grandma Packer's house a few days later.

Breakfast in bed was her favorite food - hootenannies, aka German pancakes. And she got a Rainbow Brite Doll.

Followed by a few more presents.

Clara likes anything pink, sparkly, or pink and sparkly so she's pretty easy to shop for.

And her pink birthday ice cream cone.

At Grandma's house Barry made her a Dora pinata. It was a big hit. :)

Cousins Connor, Johnathan, Triston, and Mackayla with Quinton and Clara.

And Grandma Packer made her a rainbow pony cake, which just melted her little girl heart. She was in heaven.

She plays the princess role very well. 

Overall, she was pretty pleased with all of the attention and sugar.

Clara's Dance Recital

On December 18th, Clara had her first dance recital. She did a great job and was so cute. She was the smallest girl in her class whenever she was concentrating hard (which was most of the time) she stuck her whole tongue out. We have it on video, but here are a few pictures.

Waiting to begin. She loved spending time with the other girls.

This girl just cracks me up. 

Clara's teacher closed up shop after this recital so we're done dancing for a while, but maybe someday she'll pick it up again. She looked forward to it every week and asked all the time if today was the day for dance class.