SFW Banquet

We went to the SFW Banquet for the first time this year- Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife. It's a banquet with raffles and auctions that raises money for the organization. There was TONS of stuff to put our raffle tickets in for and even some boots to bid on in the auction. We had a great time checking everything out and visiting with friends. It was a fun event, especially in a small town. Travis ended up out bidding everyone on the hiking boots he wanted and still got them $100 cheaper than what he would've bought them for at retail value. In the raffle I won a hair cut and color from the place I usually go to, and Travis won a hunting DVD, a T-shirt, and some tools. It's even more fun when you win a few things. :) We had a great time.

Clogging Weekend

It was so nice to see the family again after 5 months since the last visit. Mom, Dad, Audra, Charity, and Joy all came over for Charity's Clogging Competition at Thanksgiving Point. We all stayed together at a hotel so that everyone would have plenty of time with Dallen. Unfortunately, he came down with a little cold that weekend and wasn't his super happy self. But everyone still enjoyed being with him and we all had a great time. We went up north a day before the family came to finally go to the temple together, thanks to Sarah and David for watching Dallen and to the Rowe's for letting us stay at their house one night. Then Friday we got all of our errands done and met up with the family at the hotel that night. The best part of the day was that Dallen noticed all the mounts in Cabelas for the first time! We of course have been to Cabelas numerous times with him by now but this was the first time he saw all the deer and elk. So we walked him through the museum and had fun taking pictures and watching him take it all in.

The next day was the competition which was the usual vibrant display of creative costumes and cute dances. Emily, Sarah and Jacob met up with us as well and we all enjoyed watching and visiting together. After Charity's performance, which she of course did really well in, we took Dallen outside to see the farm animal zoo next door. Joy came along and loved feeding the sheep and goats pita chips. :) I think Dallen liked the geese and ducks the best. Can't wait to take him to see more stuff like that. 

That afternoon Dad, Travis and David went gun shopping for Dad's first hand gun. I think in the end he found one he likes and they all had a good time checking out guns together. In the mean time, Mom and Dallen took a nap, and me the little girls went for a swim. I hadn't gone swimming with them for a long time and had lots of fun playing with them. That night we all went to Tucanos which isn't exactly as enjoyable of an experience anymore trying to keep Dallen from grabbing the skewers and knives. I mean the food was still delicious as usual, just the eating out part is now an adventure. :) And that was our trip! 

ATV Tubing!

Emily and friends came down from BYU for their 3day Presidents Day weekend. Since it's still pretty cold we all bundled up and went riding for the afternoon. We decided to bring the tube and boogie board too, hoping to find a spot to sled. Well instead of sledding we decided to pull each other behind the four wheelers. The road was perfect for it with snow built up on the sides keeping the tube and board from sliding too far to one side or the other. It was way fun watching them all do it that I had to give it a try. :) I screamed most of the way and just had a blast. I just love doing that kind of stuff! Last time we went sledding behind the ATV was in Aspen like 5 years ago or something. It was way fun and we enjoyed having the company!

Emily being pulled by her friend

Me-Tubing around the corner!

Fish Lake Ice Fishing

The Starley's and their family invited us to join them for the day at Fish Lake to experience some ice fishing. Neither of us have ever been ice fishing and I was pretty nervous taking Dallen out on the ice. When we got there I couldn't believe how many people were out on the ice and figured it was safe. (Little did I know that the weekend previous a snow mobile broke through the ice and sunk) People had their huts all set up and snow mobiles all over the lake. There were tons of fishing holes drilled out with people just sitting in chairs waiting for a bite. Both Travis and I agreed that it was the most boring fishing we've ever done, but to each his own I guess. Nick's uncle was the one who loves to ice fish and had all the stuff for us to try it out. Cael had a blast catching the fish, putting back the small ones and just carrying around the dead ones. Lily had a great time playing with the fish while they were flopping around on the ice after they'd been caught. Dallen was only outside for about 1/2 hour since it was so cold but enjoyed the rest of the day in the cabin with Tamara (Grandma #3 for Dallen-ha!), Savannah, and Grandma Mundy. We definitely missed Mindy on this trip though- she was in California with some friends. After dinner we all played Mafia and had a great time laughing and hanging out. It was a really nice day trip and fun to try something new.

January Misc

So we haven't had too many adventures in January. It's kind of tough getting out doors when it's a little chilly for the little guy. I mean overall it's been a pretty dry, mild winter considering, but it still is winter so we stay indoors most of the time.

Travis and I have kept busy doing things we enjoy. I play basketball with a bunch of women in town every Tues and Thurs morning and I love it!! I've missed playing sports and have no problem getting out of bed every Tues and Thurs to go play. I take Dallen with me and he just sits on the sidelines and plays with his toys, watches us play, and plays with other kids that come around to see him.

Travis has started going to the archery league doing shooting tournaments with quite a few people in town. And by people that means girls too. :) It's actually headed up by a friend of mine who's a really good huntress, Paula. She actually just shot her first mountain lion last week with her bow! Very impressive, I must say. :)

I also started teaching piano. I have 4 students and am enjoying working with kids again.

Lily has started her new years resolution of losing weight. We noticed she has started limping after going on long hard runs/hikes. She's starting to get arthritis because she's such a fattie. So we put her on a prescription diet and have cut back on a lot of hand outs and treats. She's definitely not enjoying it to say the least. Poor Lil! But I'd rather her get healthy now then deal with a lot of health issues later. She seems to be adjusting ok.



Dallen has decided that he would like to be on his feet as much as possible and loves to hold our fingers and stand up. He can even move a long furniture and take very wobbly steps. He still hates being on his tummy but we've been seeing signs of scooting and he likes to climb on us and on pillows and things. So I'm sure he'll be mobile here sooner than we think. :) He's also started to become picky in what he eats and the textures of the food he eats. He'd rather chew stuff then eat the mush. So that means eating is a much longer process and I feel like feeding is what I do all day long! I guess that'll be the story of my life with these 2 boys I've got. :)





In the evenings, Travis and I have started watching Vampire Diaries TV series. IT IS SOOOO GOOD! We highly recommend it, and when I say we, I mean Travis really likes it too. :) It's great. I also have sucked him into watching The Bachelor with me. Just gotta get my weekly dose of drama. And when we're not watching those 2 shows I've been enjoying the Percy Jackson series. I know it's a youth reader series, but it's nice to read something that's good but doesn't take over my life. That's why I decided to take the recommendation from my brother and read it. The books have definitely gotten better as they go along and I would totally recommend the series for young boys.

So we stay busy enough, just not so much doing the usual Hicks Family Adventures. Looking forward to spring and enjoying taking Dallen outside a lot more.

First Back Pack Hiker

It's been pretty good weather this month, so we planned to go on a hike with Dallen in the back pack for his first back pack ride. Well, the weather wasn't the greatest the day we decided to go, so we waited a couple hours until it subsided a bit and took off. He totally loved it- all cozy in his snow monster suit. After about 2 miles he ended up falling asleep and had his little face all wedged in. It was so cute. Lily had a blast, of course. In total we did 4 miles and the last 15 minutes he was done. I think he was cold and hungry. The weather started to change again toward the end of the hike so I couldn't blame him. But overall it was nice to get out and to find out that the back pack works really well.