Twas the night before Christmas

WOW, I can't believe I haven't posted a blog since Easter of this year. Time sure does fly when you're working (thank goodness for work!), going to school, becoming a firefighter, and oh yeah, raise a two and three year old. For those that follow the blog, if you do not receive a Christmas card from us within the next week or so, please e-mail me your address so we can get one out. It is the greatest picture of the boys on top of the mountain. Yes, they went on there first gondola ride! It's not really the top of the mountain, but close enough for those two rambunctious boys. I'm too scared to take Alex on the lift to the top, he'll be the kids who decides to jump off the chair lift just to see what the experience is like. Then Payton would follow because little brother can't do something to show him up. The gondola is nice and safe, doors open and shut only when its the right time to step out. They were smiling ear to ear for all 7 minutes 47 seconds (the time has been debated in many articles in our small newspaper, no, they don't have much to report on in mountain country).

The snow has finally arrived, not a lot, but at least enough to cover the poop outside. Yes, I just said that, sorry Mom. But spending the past three years changing diapers and picking up after dogs, my life was beginning to be all about poop. We have successfully potty trained Payton, but we did decide to purchase a new puppy. We welcomed Coco, a cute little labradoodle, to the Ratliff household back in October. Since I can't seem to produce Daddy's little girl, I have to make sure Mary is not outnumbered too badly by having little girls with four legs! :)

Being an AZ native, I never had to spend many days in the cold, so last week was a little chilly, even for the Idahoans. Woke up to -7 for three days in a row and saw highs of +8. WOOHOO! Those days I miss the weather, but now that its sunny again and the slopes have fresh snow, the mountain is a calling. Enough about us mountain Rats for now. I will try to post again before next July, but don't hold your breath. Enjoy the video and pics!