Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
We started the season off by going up the mountain to get our Christmas tree on December 3rd. There was hardly any snow going up. We really didn’t encounter any snow until the forest service line.
The ride up was uneventful and didn’t take very long at all. We parked and set out to find our tree. The weather was great up top. It was a mild 43 degrees. Matt and I didn’t even wear coats.
We usually find our tree in about 10-20 minutes. This time, we really had to work for it. We found one that was “meh”. After walking around in knee deep snow for an hour, the first “meh” tree, looked beautiful.
Ruby was like a little puppy in the snow. She loves it. She had a huge smile the whole time.
Clara lasted about 20 minutes. She didn’t get cold. She just got tired of the snow and walking in the deep drifts.
By the time we got to the tree (again, after walking around), dragging it, loading it, putting chains on the truck to get out of a drift, getting chains off after driving 50 yards, the sun had long set and it was dark.
I haven’t been up on the mountain in the dark. It’s a beautiful sight. Much better than this picture:
The picture was taken from a moving truck. You can’t see the burst of stars above…but I’ll point out a few things…
From this spot, as the crow flies, Worland is 34 miles away. Hyattville is 11 miles away, Manderson is 27 and Basin is 31 miles. I said as “the crow flies” or how far the eye can see. If we were driving from the ranch, Worland is about an hour away, Hyattville 6 miles, Manderson 35 minutes and Basin is about 45 minutes. A better perspective and view from GoogleEarth:
The tree was trimmed and put up without incident. The girls always have a good time decorating the tree.
During the early days of December, the girls worked hard on some Christmas crafts and gifts.
A little directional painting with Clara produced these beautiful Wyoming Sunset magnets.
Ruby did these “View From the Window” magnets. It’s her view of the ranch during the growing season. She sketched and painted each one.
We spent Christmas Eve going to the morning service at church in Worland.
This was the main picture on the Christmas card this year. The picture is taken just behind the house that we live in. It’s in front of the “washhouse”. The trees that are in the background are part of the apple orchard. Mrs. Hyatt (who is long gone with children in their 60’s and 70’s, and grandchildren in their 50’s and 40’s) planted a new apple tree for each child and grandchild when they were born. The trees still produce great apples. These pictures were taken back in late October, early November.
To help us keep perspective, we did a family advent devotional each evening. This year we kept it super simple. We read a passage, discussed it and then the girls got to play with our child nativity set while listening to a Christmas song that went along with the devotional. For example, if the devotional was about the star, then we listened to two or three versions of “O, Beautiful Star of Bethlehem”. We listened to anything from the Gaither’s versions, The Piano Guys, Mannheim Steamroller to the Temptations.
The girls get to open up one gift on Christmas Eve. They get new pajamas, a new movie to watch that night, popcorn and hot chocolate. We’ve done this tradition for a few years now and it’s always exciting.
On Christmas morning, our girls are usually in bed asleep for a good while. So far, we’ve had to wake them up every Christmas morning.
They both got new ear muffs, bike lights (green for Ruby and Pink for Clara) and candy in their stockings. Ruby got a new Georgia jersey and a remote control car. Clara got a new shiny, sparkly western style belt, a “real” pocket book, two little pocket sized snap Disney dolls, and a head lamp.
And now, a little backstory….
When Ruby was around 3 to 4 years old, she wanted a power wheel jeep, car, truck, etc. Matt and she made a deal that she had to learn how to ride a bike (with pedals) before she got one. She learned by the time she was 5. By that time, her legs were so long, she just looked awkward in the seat of a power wheel. Also, those things don’t hold a charge very long; take a long time to charge the battery, etc. They made a new deal that if she could wait for the right deal, he would get her a kid sized motorcycle, go cart, four-wheeler, etc.
Well, he got a good deal….
…and she got a Polaris Go Kart on Christmas morning.
A few weeks before Christmas, we were in the Cody Tractor Supply. The store had a small go cart set up. Ruby was crawling over it, trying to reach the pedals and talking with Matt about it. An older man came up to Matt and asked if he was looking for a go cart. One long conversation led to some phone calls and pictures sent. Matt went and picked up the go cart a few days before Christmas.
She was pretty excited and had NO idea. She has many, many plans for it. She wants to drive to neighbor’s houses, in the canyons and possibly up the mountain (ha!). She’s only driven it a few times. It’s been too cold!
Clara is now pretty motivated to learn how to pedal her bike. J
The last few days of December have been filled with toys and schoolwork. Yep. We only took Christmas day off.
Merry Christmas 2017!
