I'm a mom....

...and, consequently, have this desire on occasion to share my kids' accomplishments. Elly is very pregnant with her fourth child and still managing to cope extremely well with the demands of the rest of her crew. Tori has adjusted superbly to motherhood and takes great care of her little family. Jacob is in Italy doing an internship for a design company. He seems to love every aspect of being there! Check out his blog to learn more about his adventures. Sariah is getting ready for her mission to Uruguay. She goes into the MTC on March 5. Cami just got accepted to BYU! Needless to say, she is very excited. We love our kids and are so pleased with all the good things they do!

Nathan's Big Day

We'd recovered from the Christmas adventure in McCall just in time to pack up again for another trip. This time we traveled to Utah to be part of our oldest grandchild's big day. Nathan had turned eight years old in November and now he was going to be baptised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

After more than a little effort on Elly's part, Maggie, Matthew and Nathan got all dressed up in their Sunday best. They looked so beautiful and handsome!

We went to the church where Grandpa and Nathan dressed in white clothes. Of course, we had to take some pictures. Maggie was not much interested in being in the family picture.

We were happy that Grandma and Grandpa Cannon got to be at the baptism!

After a short program, Jim baptised Nathan and Grandpa Swings confirmed him a member of the church. In spite of the fact that 17 children were baptised that day, we had a very personal and memorable experience. Jim and I were so glad that we got to be there!

After the baptism and while lunch was being prepared, Maggie entertained us with her ghost interpretation. Lunch, chosen by Nathan, was pizza, veggies, cantaloupe, snicker doodles and brownies. YUM!

The next event of Nathan's big day was his basketball game which we found to be quite entertaining. It was a little scary when Maggie ran out on the court in the middle of the game and was almost trampled flat but otherwise we enjoyed the boys' antics--including Nathan's victory dance.

Nathan made a basket! We were so impressed that we almost did our own victory dance. Maggie with her backwards binoculars caught all the action.

Christmas in McCall

Christmas eve morning was a flurry of activity as we filled the camper with food and supplies for a five day stay in a lakeside cabin in McCall, Idaho. The drive north through the mountains on snow covered roads was a bit treacherous (especially for the truck) but we arrived safely. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our "cabin" was perfect. It was beautiful, nestled in a couple of feet of snow and surrounded by snow covered pines. The view was breathtaking.

The guys immediately donned ski gear and headed to the ski resort. The rest of us were excited to get settled in!

The first evening, we gathered in front of the fireplace, had our traditional reading of Christ's birth and then sang Christmas carols. Tori and Ryan entertained us with some of their own repertoire.

On Christmas day, we all went skiing. I stayed on the beginner hill and had a great time trying to find those ski legs.

Ryan took baby Owen (2-1/2 mos.) on his first ski adventure. Tori wasn't far behind! Owen wasn't one bit worried. He slept through the whole experience.

Jim and the kids on top of the mountain.

The fire sure felt great after a day of skiing!

Elly, Brian and family arrived Thursday after a long drive through snow storms. Matthew and Nathan couldn't believe all the snow! They spent hours playing in it. The huge icicles were especially intriguing.

Some family members went skiing every day, others played in the snow. We found plenty to keep us busy.

Nathan and Matthew even had skiing lessons! Uncle Ryan was a great teacher.

We really enjoyed having all of our kids together for a few days. We think they're awesome!

It's hard to believe how our family has grown, though.

Christmas Came Early

When Christmas day arrived on Tuesday, Santa had already visited, all the presents had been unwrapped and the house was empty! The whole Wilson clan had left for a grand adventure in McCall, Idaho (more about that later). We celebrated Christmas on Sunday in Boise with most of the family. Jacob and Sariah drove into town from BYU on Saturday. Ryan, Tori and little Owen flew in from Florida on Sunday. How exciting to have so many at home at once!

Everyone (except me) got to meet Owen for the first time. I couldn't believe how big he had grown since I had last seen him as a newborn in October. Everyone wanted to hold him at once!

Santa sneaked in Sunday evening while everyone was busy and filled the stockings. We made the traditional march to the family room shortly thereafter. Cami got to be first!

Sariah couldn't wait to open the biggest gift. Jacob's was a little smaller.

Santa, Jim and I tried to keep things simple but weren't very successful. Everyone got plenty of gifts. Witnessing the delight of so many family members in the midst of the flying wrapping paper and getting to hold Owen made for a special evening.

I was probably the happiest of all. Or was it Jim?