White again?

Apparently our traveling is meant to be white this year- we left my in-laws this morning and it was snowing :). The storm followed us all the way home, and as I type this it is still snowing- the gentle sprinkle of powdered sugar-snow over the ground and trees. It is so still, so calm, and so perfect, and I'm feeling a serenity that is not often present in my life of late.

Anyway, we made it home with no mishaps- minor or major- and got everyone fed and in bed. I have a stack of cool presents [no pictures ;) don't want to spoil the surprise] to wrap, and a LOT of baking to do in the next week.

We had a pretty great vacation, all in all. I managed to get a few items checked off my to-do list, and we also spent almost the whole day Thursday in Carson City. Did you know that the capital of Nevada is NOT Las Vegas? Yep, it's CC, and we were able to tour the State Capitol, and play in the Children's Museum, and walk through a mock mine [which even smelled like a real mine!] in the basement of the Nevada State Historical Museum. :)We took a lunch break at Red's Old 395 Grill [no, not for the beer LOL]. There are lots of old wagons and buggies hanging from the high ceiling of the restaurant, and we loved the switched signs in the bathrooms- the inside of the door in the Men's Room says "Women" [and the Women's Room says "Men"], so I immediately had a moment of panic, thinking I'd walked into the wrong room LOL. Walker and Hyrum thought it was a great joke, after they figured out it was a joke! We met up with my BIL Jon and a friend of his, and spent a little while visiting, while the kids finished their food.

Mostly we spent time with family, playing games and watching movies, shopping, and looking for gemstones out in the middle of the desert. :)Lots of fun, and over too soon, but we know we didn't wear out our welcome.

Gratitude list:
* We made it to Fallon and back, over mountain passes, without any accidents- car or child LOL.
* My in-laws actually like me [miracle right there] and love to play with my children.
* Neighbors who anonymously cleared the snow off our driveway :)
* That I have a warm house to come home to.
* Putting up my MIL's extensive collection of nativities and angels- a beautiful reminder of why we celebrate Christmas.
* my new ipod earbuds, which block a lot of noise even when my ipod is silent, which made our car ride home more peaceful [for me, anyway].
* snow on the ground and dusting the trees.
* a dh who made dinner for my kids while I sorted our mail from this week.
* I know that my Father in heaven loves me.