Photo of the week!

January 2015 - by Bjorn

We had a wonderful Christmas holiday and enjoyed seeing many of you at some point during the break. We enjoyed several days up at the Ranch with my family in Victor after Christmas. Here are some favorite memories from each of the kids:

Auriana – On Christmas we all sat around playing a fun trivia game on our phones.  It was fun to go to the church and play with all the new Frisbees that people got. I got a cool Harry Potter bracelet, necklace, socks, scarf and hat. Now all I need is to go to Hogwarts. At the ranch we all sat around playing fun card games with cousins. I enjoyed going cross-country skiing with Rebekah and Annie and Sarai. We got so tired that we ended up taking off our skis and carrying them back to the lodge.

Isaac – My favorite part of Christmas was going to the church gym with the whole family and playing with all the Frisbees that Enoch and I got. I was also really excited to get a cool percussion box. At the ranch my favorite things were going sledding and going off this huge jump that we built, playing cards in the lodge with my cousins, crashing on the runner sled with Jacob on my back, and washing dishes with my cousins (yes it was actually fun).

Natalie – Favorite memories of Christmas and the ranch include playing card games, playing volleyball in the barn, having a sleep over in the basement with all the girl cousins, and playing the pool table game with all the cousins. For Christmas I got new glasses, a cute and very soft coat, some shoes and pants. Playing Frisbee in the gym with the family was fun

Enoch – My favorite memory of the ranch is sledding down the road and going off the jump at the bottom, playing cards upstairs in the lodge, and cross-country skiing. On Christmas the whole family went to the church gym and played with all the Frisbees that Isaac and I got. I also liked building my Batman lego set.

Miriam – At the ranch I liked skiing – even though it was really hot and tiring. I liked snow-shoeing in the horse pasture, and sledding off the jump and playing card games in the lodge. We did dishes and we had to hand dry them and so right when the rack came out me and my cousins would dry them real fast and then wait for the next load, and it was super fun! My favorite thing I got at Christmas was my GeoFlux, and I was so excited when I woke up Christmas morning and there was a lot of snow and it kept snowing. It was awesome!

Ellie- My favorite part about Christmas was eating Ableskivers and building my Lego cruise ship and Lego jungle rescue. At the ranch I liked playing all the card games with everybody and playing sardines with my cousins. I also liked sledding and going off the jump with my second cousin, Robin, and playing tag on the frozen pond while we ice-skated. I liked when we had a New Year’s party and said cheers with our cups full of sparkling cider.

Becky – Special Christmas memories include the snowfall on Christmas morning, the new dishwasher and new rust-free dishes. At the ranch I enjoyed the entire time, but particularly the evening where we shared memories and feelings about great-grandma and grandpa Pendleton (Bjorn’s grandparents) and learned more about their lives.

Bjorn – I always enjoy the Ableskivers for Christmas breakfast. This year I asked for some cookie tin molds and a special cooker (like a waffle iron) for some Norwegian cookies my grandma always used to make called Krumkake and Sandbakkels. I had fun showing the kids how to roll out the krumkakes in the cone/cylinder shapes. We filled them with a cream cheese & whipped cream filling and they were delicious. I enjoyed a nice Christmas afternoon nap with sounds of Isaac’s percussion box waking me now and then. I would have been annoyed if not for the fact that he sounded so good. That boy has rhythm! The Frisbee throwing at the church gym was really fun, and it was pretty cool to have no snow the day before Christmas and then see snow coming down on a magical Christmas morning.

I love being up at the ranch in Idaho. Its beautiful in the summer and its beautiful in the winter. I’m grateful that our kids have that opportunity to spend time with cousins and create such wonderful memories, and I appreciate that some of those memories can include something as simple as preparing meals or washing dishes together. I really enjoyed just sitting and talking with cousins I don’t see much and learning from them and laughing and playing games. Reverse charades on New Year’s Eve was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I love that all of their kids are so great and I don’t ever have to worry about my kids when they’re with them – just like with all the cousins on the Young side. My favorite moment was the evening we spent talking about and remembering my grandma and grandpa Pendleton. They were such great people, and I hope that my children were able to learn a few more things about them and better understand their amazing heritage.

A big thank you to Brenda and Matt for Berry-sitting for us while we were gone.  We trust that the holidays were wonderful for each of you as well. Good luck to each of you with your resolutions. May your success last longer than the typical 5 weeks. J