Starting the year off right!

Who says it doesn't snow in Arizona?!? 

With having Jared home for the entire week, we had to take advantage and take a trip north to the snow!  We were missing our snow experiences in New York and the kids had been begging me to use the sledding stuff we purchased and Jared and I thought....why not???

Luckily, there was a snow storm in Payson/Strawberry area and we got a few feet of snow to play in!

So we packed up our gear, a few friends, the Havilands, and hot chocolate and headed north about 2.5 hours to find a few hours of fun in the snowy sun.

We headed just north of Strawberry and had some friends tell us of a few places to check out.  The two spots we well used, SOOOO many people were out playing in the snow! But don't worry, we found a local police officer that gave us a good tip. We found our snowy hill and up and down we went.

 This was Max's first real trip to the snow, that he can remember, I'm sure, and his first real sledding trip.  He wasn't too big of a fan of the snow splashing up in his face, but after a few trips down with mom, instead of dad, he thought it was A-OK. He's such a trooper!

 Lizzie had to be sure to try out ALL the boards and tubes we brought to see which one was the fastest!

 Cole didn't care how wet he got from the snow, he just cared about going fast and having fun!  He and Jared even raced down a few times...these boys are going to scare me as they get older!

 Kate, was too cute...she loved the tube, funny thing...when we got up there, we realized we forgot her jacket!!! She was such a trooper and wore mine, while I wore Jared's and then Jared just doubled up with a spare jacket from the Havilands!  We were quite a sight to see, but it didn't matter, we had fun!

After a few hours of playing in the snow, the kids were ready to get warmed up and eat!  We headed down the mountain to Payson and stopped in a delicious little diner and had some amazing home cooked food, YUM!  It was a great way to start the New Year!

I feel truly blessed to have spent the day and begin my year with a day of spending time with the little people that mean the most to me.  I love exposing them to new adventures, to trying new things, and living each boring and exciting minute with them.  We have our challenges, don't get me wrong, but I love being their mom and seeing them grow and learn.  Here's to an amazing 2015!!!!