Our December adventures

It is the last day of December and we are ready to start a new year!!! Already!! I can NOT even believe I am saying that! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We really did have a lot of fun visiting both Josh and my families. It was really great to get so many Christmas cards and read about what everyone is up to! We love that. So here's just a glimpse of what we did in the past few weeks. We arrived on the 23rd at my parents. Jake's 8th birthday was the next day.... (beware, this could get long....)
The biggest BYU fan in our family on his 8th birthday! Jake was thrilled at his new getup! (more to come about his birthday and baptism on another day!

Grandpa Ray, Josh, and Uncle Drew took the boys shooting guns up in the hills on Christmas Eve. The boys love shootin' guns with Grandpa! It was soooooo cold up there!

The kiddos in their matching Christmas jammies on the eve of the great holiday!

Of course, we made some for cousin Brooklyn too!
Christmas morning....And they found thier stockings full!

Luke with his new favorite toy....A John Deer tractor!

David with a his very own Ripstik! No longer does he have to wait to use Jake's!!

This picture is the best one we have so sorry it's hard to see. It's Jake holding his new Airsoft BB/Pellet gun. "Don't shoot your eye out!" Luckily, so far, so good, no injuries!

Amber, in love with her new American Girl Doll clothes. She was so happy Santa didn't forget!

We went skiing at a small resort by Cedar City, UT called Brianhead. It's perfect for the beginners! I am helping Luke on his first big run of the season!Jake stoked and ready to keep hitting those slopes!

David on a snowboard for the first time! He did pretty good until he had a big spill and wanted to go in!Amber...she has to say she likes snowboarding a lot better than skiing! We'll see...she's got a lifetime to figure that out!

Stephanie (my sister) and Kevin and thier kiddos came for an awesome visit! They came Monday evening and just left a few hours ago! We haven't seen each other for over two years! It was great to be with them. We headed into Salt Lake yesterday and visited different places. Here we are at the History Muesem of our church. The kids loved playing make believe and crafting!Steph and her youngest, Cole.

David, Jake, and cousins Brayden and Saydria.

Luke with cousins Cole and Kai! We had so much fun together! Good times, good times!

Phew! That was long! Hope you trudged through okay! Happy New Year!

'Tis the Season!

It was one of those days where your heart is warm and memories are made. Simple and sweet. After school, the kids played for a bit and then we decided to start making our gifts for our family members for Christmas. We had the Christmas music playing, the evergreen tree scented candle burning, and the weather wasn't frightful, but perfect for indoor activities! Well into our projects is when the snow really started to fall! It's the first good snowfall of the season. We had one in October but it didn't stick for longer than a 1/2 hour or so. So we had to run out and see the snow and how huge the flakes were!Luke, who is the perfect age for true happiness and excitement of this winter/Christmas season, was loving the snow! He stopped his paintings and wanted to play in the snow instead! He had to eat some first before we got on the snow hat, gloves, and coats! Then back out he went for more! He stayed until his little fingers could take no more and it was too dark for his eyes to see! What a good day!

A well needed update!

So I've been told I need to update the blog! Here we go...First off, I do have to say, I have been lazy about this!!! I've been so busy with the kids, church, and work, I haven't had much time to sit at the computer! Then, of course, when I want to, my computer acts up and shuts down on me several times in one sitting! So that's my lame excuse!
We went to my parents' home in Hurricane (by St. George) for the first few days of our Thanksgiving break and then up to Milford to Josh's parents' home for the last few days of the break. We had a good time and loved being able spend time with family and just relax! We could stay up late if we wanted, sleep in (if the kids were willing!), exercise at 8 am instead of 5:30 am! We visited, played games, watched movies, played basketball, and of course, ate lots of delicious food! I told my mom when we walked into her house on Wednesday evening that we just walked into food heaven! She had this beautiful spread just waiting for all of us to dive in and that was only the beginning! Well, with so much to be thankful for in our lives, we are thankful we are happy and healthy. We are thankful for this beautiful earth and our God who created it and everything for all of us. And of course, we are indeed thankful for our wonderful families and amazing friends!
We didn't take many pictures over the break (nothing new - we always bring the camera, but using it is a different story!) but here are a few of the kids at the park in Milford. Jake and David were playing football with cousin Austin, Josh, and Uncle Jeep. Amber was playing with the girls, mostly on the swings and playground. And Luke, well he was everywhere and I happen to catch a photo of him on the swings!
I'll TRY to be better at this!

David lost another tooth on Friday! Now he's singing..."All I Want For Christmas..."