The Mortensen Family

 For MLK Day we decided to go up to Big Bear and enjoy the snow.  It was a perfect day. Nice and sunny and warm (I was actually trying to decide if we should go to the beach or the snow...only in California).  We went up by Jinx Lake and there was a ton of untouched snow and we played all day without seeing anyone else.

Owen had fun, as long as he kept his gloves on!

Daddy vs. all the kids...Daddy won!

Emma had a brief victory

We followed the ruts in the road for the perfect sledding run

The kids were getting all set for their snowball fight. They had a barricade and a lot of snowballs at the ready

Owen finally got too cold and took a nap in the van.

The other night it was really cold...freezing!  Our sprinklers came on during the night and we woke up to an ice skating rink on our driveway.  Don't know what the kids were doing with the rakes, but they had a great time sliding down on their knees!

They were able to go with a bunch of their friends and dad's. They had a great time walking around and taking pictures with all the statues (of which they had no idea who they were!)



They went to King's Tacos for lunch.  Then got to go to The Clippers game.  They had so much fun, even thought The Clippers lost.

I got my haircut, and had her chop it off.  I kind of think I was like Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite when he cuts off his hair on a whim because he was so hot.  I just have hated my hair recently and had her cut it all off.  I also dyed it.  Yes...document this...age 34 and I officially have to start dying my hair.  I decided it was time when I went to the dentist and he had his hands in my mouth and said, "Wow, you're really going grey!".  I've got to say I really liked my hair when my hair stylist did it, but not so much anymore.  Oh well, it's just hair!

 We had a very uneventful New Year's.  The kids were excited to stay up until midnight, but they all fell asleep on our way home from Sea World.  Carson asked us to wake him up when it was midnight so he could celebrate.  When we woke him up, he didn't want to get out of bed and Wyatt wouldn't even wake up, so Todd and I chinked glasses and went to bed.  We didn't realize how much a part TV played in celebrating the New Year and we cancelled our TV awhile back.  So we couldn't watch the ball drop, watch the Rose Parade or any football.  It was kind of a bummer.

Wyatt told Todd that he had a lot of grey hair.  Todd asked him if he knew how he got it. Carson's friend JY said, "I think you use too much hairspray."

Carson is now on the Youth Division of basketball and it's a little more competitive.  He loves it and came home after the first practice really proud and told me he was really good at the "slicie pass". What? is this handball?

After Christmas, I decided to redecorate the wall in my kitchen.  We painted it turquoise and put pictures of our extended family on it.  I love the way it turned out!

I opened the mail yesterday.  And we got the title for our minivan!!! It's paid off!!! What a great day!!!

When my kids wake up in the middle of the night, or need to be sung to to go to sleep I always end up singing or humming the song "I Need Thee Every Hour".  I know, not the usual lullaby, but it helps me get through the hard times without strangling my kids.  So yesterday at church there was a special musical number. One of my friends with a beautiful voice sang that song and it was amazing.  I was holding Owen on my lap and he sat mesmerized.  My other kids even listened, without saying it sounded like an opera (which they often do with musical numbers that go especially high). Halfway through the song Owen turned around to me and said, "That's your song, Mommy. She singing your song." It warmed my heart.