"Let's go Steelers!"

This is how Gideon and Savanna left for school this morning no doubt to join a sea of black and gold in the hallways of BBSD. Yes, the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl and boy, you know it around here.

I grew up in Montana so we didn't really have a close football team to root for and I never really got into the craze of pro football at all. But, that's not really possible here. We are an hour from Pittsburgh and we definately love the Steelers ("we" meaning everyone around here). Dare I say that (I'm whispering now) I don't really care too much and I can't stand sitting through a whole football game on TV. I actually look forward to a little quiet time somewhere else in the house while Dad is bonding with the kids. So, with that being said....

"LET'S GO STEELERS!"

"Brazil, here I come!"

This was a great day for Seth and the Snyder family. Seth's mission call came in the mail and we couldn't have been more excited! Seth had been threatening to open it without us there. I think he was pulling my leg, but I wasn't quite sure, so Steve confiscated the letter from the mail and hid it and we didn't tell him it was here until around the time everyone was scheduled to assemble. He laughed and said he knew it, he could tell by the looks on our faces.

So at 5:30, when the girls got home from basketball practice, Grandma Snyder came over and we had Grandpa Phil, Grandma Adele, and Grandma Rebich on the video phone and Seth opened his letter. Seth has been called to the Brazil Rio de Janiero North Mission and he reports to the MTC in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 27th. It seems like a long time, but there also seems like we have a lot to do until then. Seth also has a great job right now and should be able to earn the money for at least half of his mission. (He is making snow for a ski resort from 9p.m. to 9a.m. with overtime).

Rio de Janiero sounds like a pretty dangerous city, so hopefully he won't be right there too much. It's at the very southern tip of his mission. Anyway, there's a lot to prepare for and look forward to and we are all very happy for him. This is something he has looked forward to for a long time and it's amazing how quickly this day has to arrived after I look back on these past years. Seth will be a great missionary!

My angels!

These are just some more snow pictures. The first thing the kids did when they went outside is to fall backwards in the untouched snow and make snow angels. It brought back memories of doing the same thing when I was a kid.

Fun in the Snow!

After a major cold snap last week (school was even cancelled on Friday because of cold temps), the kids were ready to get outside and play in the snow. They were all out of school yesterday, too, so it was a long weekend. The day was beautiful and the snow was perfect and they stayed out for a couple of hours or so. They decided to build a snow hut and I couldn't believe it when three of the big kids could fit inside. Brooke even went out and had a great time.

Gideon's Baptism

There is a post I've been meaning to put on this blog for a couple months now and just seem to forget by the time I finally sit down to the computer. But, anyway, a very important event happened in Gideon's life on November 2nd. He was baptized. He was so excited! It was a wonderful day and Gideon seemed like such a big kid that day. He really is a cutie. He certainly has been a handful at times these past 8 years, but he is a sweetheart with a huge smile and we just love him to death. Great job, Gid!

I realized that I put way too many prim and proper pictures of us on this blog and that really isn't a true representation of the Snyder crew. So, I thought I'd start this new year out by coming clean with the real "us".

Yes, I know, it can be a bit shocking when you really get to know us:

Kinda scary if ya ask me:

This is how Seth cheered on his sister for her basketball games last year:

This is how Kels and Jake normally look, although I make them clean up once in a while:

Silver has a bad habit that we're trying to break her of, but she's very attached to her "stogie":