Katie was pretty excited for Santa's arrival. We went to Church on Christmas Eve, and she was an angel!! Literally, she dressed up as an angel, and was in the Nativity play. It was adorable. Then we came home and she wrote out her note to Santa. See above. 
Well, Santa wrote back. It was all very exciting! She got everything she wanted!!! But, Mommy and Daddy didn't get our spy-o-scopes. Maybe next year. Spy-o-scopes, for those who don't know, are how Diego does his rescue work.
As you can see Santa was very hungry, the only thing left was a bite of carrot. Like the Halloween place mats. Next year we might be unpacked enough to use Christmas mats!!
This is the scooter that Santa brought her. If you ask Katie though, Santa brought her everything. I would tell her who gave her the gift, and she would tell me, "Well...maybe Santa brought it. So thank you to all of you who gave her gifts, she loves them all, but she isn't buying the Grandma gave you this, or Aunt Dee gave you that. She knows the truth, Santa brings all the gifts. 
Look at the excitement!!! She was pretty tired of opening gifts. She informed me that opening presents is hard work, and it makes her pretty tired!Rick and I got two amazing presents. One, is our new house. It is almost unpacked, and I will be blogging with pictures later. Two, and even more exciting, we have a new niece. I am not going to use her real name, the Internet can be a scary place. But I will call her Kiki. She was born on Christmas Day. Her mommy had a very long, crummy labor, and eventually she came by
c-section. She was a whopping 11 lbs 13 oz and 21 inches long. She was two weeks overdue, 4 if you ask her mommy. She is adorable, and in insatiable eater. I can't wait to meet her in person. Her Mommy and Daddy want me to wait to blog with pictures of her so that they can get the announcements out. So I will blog on her later, and from now on.
I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, and that Santa was good to you.
Love
Amy
Rick was super excited to have had the night off, so he could go to the performance. I just thought this picture was adorable, so I included it, blogger's privilege.
Katie did a great job singing during the program. She didn't get shy in front of all of the adults in the church. I am so proud of her. I am so proud of all the children.
Even this little girl. This is just like her, and it makes these programs totally worth the stress we teachers endure. The parents who saw this will remember it forever. There were a few children who did adorable things that make the show something only 3 and 4 year olds could conjure up. One little boy yelled out "Merry Christmas" during a quiet moment. Katie's friend "M" didn't sing at all, she just stood there looking adorable. It was priceless!!
Santa was there after the show. He was there to talk to the children about how they are doing, where their wish list stands, etc. Katie wouldn't even look at him during the reception. But when all of the children were gone Rick was able to hold her while she talked to Santa. He told her that her scooter was ready, and that he would deliver it to her new house on Christmas. Look at her face. She is scared bootless. After she talked to him I asked her if she wanted to give him five. She did if I went with her. So here she is.
Amy wanted to try her hand at shoveling. I guess she is practicing for the new place.
After one pass, she quit and let me do the rest. At least that way, it can really be said that "we" shoveled the driveway.
Unfortunately, my helper quit too...
I wonder who could be in there...
That doesn't look like Molly's tail...
Well, why not? It sure looks like a cozy spot!
She must have felt a little guilty about stealing Molly's bed without her knowing. 
Hey! ...Who's been sleeping in my bed?
Katie turned 3 this last week. I can't believe it. I swear she was just born last year. It doesn't seem like 3 years have gone by already. She was really excited about turning three, and for months whenever you asked her how old she would be on her birthday she concentrated hard to get those three fingers in the air to tell us she is 3.
But then, she got one. She was in complete shock. She has been wanting a pair of these since we moved here, and she got to use some real ones. Just look at that face, it says it all. She got...
Well, winter has arrived, albeit a bit later than usual, here in Wyoming. Everyone has told me this has been a really warm fall, and early winter. It is here though. It didn't get above the low 20's today. I shopped at the Walmart and let me tell you loading groceries when it is 4 degrees outside is unpleasant. 
I thought this was a pretty cool picture the night it first snowed. I am trying to not use my flash, I have heard you get better pictures, unfortunately I don't know what I'm doing. But I thought the picture turned out kinda neat.
Here is the snow with the flash on. Much more normal!
But when she has no other choice she runs very fast, and then gets right back to the door. "Please someone let me in. I am FRRRRREEEZZZING, and Mommy just takes these pictures. Doesn't she know I don't have my shoes on?!?!?! I have a thin coat?!?!?! I have been on a diet, so I have no fat to insulate me from this cold? Hello, anyone??"
See the guy in the middle of the picture? He is using a snow blower. I am from a city that never snows, I am completely fascinated by this white powdery stuff. A snow blower? I have only seen it on tv. 
But do you see a problem with this picture? Living in Wyoming also presents other problems. Now South City had wind, big wind. But when our lawn ornaments fell over it wasn't -3 outside. This poor tree has two problems, the wind, and the little cottontail bunnies that are everywhere keep chewing the strings, breaking the trees anchors. We have to go outside and fix them, which is tough when you can't feel your fingers. 
Do you see Katie's hair? It is really windy outside, but she insisted she had to come with us to fix the tree. But then she was running around and...
...she fell. She cried, and cried, so we came in, changed clothes, thawed out, got under the covers and watched her show. 
Here is our new house. Rick went to the inspection today, and was able to take some pictures. It was perfect timing since earlier this week it was snowing, and you couldn't see the front very well. (Watch for a snow blog later this week!!!) 
This is the living room when you walk into the front door. Rick didn't get a picture of the kitchen, but if you went into the room behind this false wall, there it would be. We are hoping to remodel this room, the kitchen, and eating area at some point. But depending on when you visit us, this may be what you see.
These are the stairs off the living room that either go to the upstairs, which holds both bathrooms and bedrooms, or downstairs which leads to the family room, basement, etc.
I am taking you upstairs first. This will be Katie's room. It is big enough for her to have her big girl bed, and a few toys, but the rest will go in the basement in our play/rumpus room. By the way, speaking of big girl, did you know Katie turned 3 yesterday?!?!?!?! I can't believe she is a child, where did the time go!!! I will post on her birthday after her party. She is having a kid party on Saturday. 
This is the guest bathroom. We have one in our room too!!! 
This is the family room from the top of the stairs, in the eating area. The doorway you see leads out to the mud room, then the garage. The mud room is great, it has hooks already for our snowy jackets!
This is our garage, and the pole in the middle of it is holding up our bedroom. We'll see how long it takes me until I back into it. You have to back into the garage, otherwise you will have an issue with opening the doors. Place your bets on how long it will take me. 
This is the basement. The furnace and water heater will be gated off, and we will make this room into a play room for all, plus a guest room for when you all visit. 
This is the backyard. It is a really great size, with a cool tree in it. The gate separating the backyard from the shed behind it, separates the backyard from our RV parking.
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