Christmas

Christmas Eve started with a sledding trip even though the snow was sparse.

My parents came out for soup and chocolate covered strawberries. It was so much fun to have them out for a nice dinner. Unfortunately, Sophie and Lily suddenly became sick with the stomach flu which cut the evening short. We still unwrapped the new pajamas.

Lily slept in and we let her as she wasn't feeling well. The kids got to go through the entire gift opening again for her.

Carissa with her new MP3 player.

Sophie now has the entire collection of 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid'. They are pretty funny.

We had a great time at the party hosted by James and Andrea a few days before Christmas. The food was fantastic. They put together a great video of everyone's favorite Christmas memories.

Cousin fun! They are such cute kids.

Duet at the piano.

The Nativity tradition. Gabe as a shepherd with Lily peeking in too (she didn't want a costume)

Some of the beautiful angel girls, Heather, Rachel, Sophie and Savannah!!!

We had a busy but fun-filled Christmas season. It was enjoyable this year as we scaled back in the gift area. Instead we focused more on traditions and time together which was more fulfilling, and relaxing to love our time together more.

Candlelight Christmas at 'This is the Place'

Real live reindeer!

We waited for the train and got an enclosed one like the polar express.

Kids wrote letters to 'Papa Noel' and burned them as the smoke from the elves fire goes straight to the North Pole.

The highlight of the night was the square dancing in the schoolhouse. The kids had a blast and we switched partners so they all could have a turn dancing with dad.

It was a magical night and a new tradition. We will just be sure to go the first week they open to avoid the crowds.

St. Lucia Day December 13th, 2009

Lily and Gabe, these candles were a big hit with the kids.

There is so much excitement for this day at our house, it is almost like Christmas Eve. We had the Norths, Kirby family and Marcia and Dan come this year. We started with meatballs and fresh bread. We didn't like the real Swedish bread when we had it so this year I made American, white bread. The real hit was the Julmust drink that looked like root beer and got a great reaction out of some members of the group. Most hated it and thought it tasted like medicine. Gabe loved it and wanted more and more. Then we moved into the living room near the Christmas tree and talked about why we celebrate St. Lucia day and Taylor read a children's story he wrote about a little girl named Hilma celebrating more than 150 years ago. The kids liked how it ended up with her dreaming of them and she is their great-great grandmother. We then did the procession, I finally made Lucia gowns this year so everyone was in white. The kids really loved holding the battery powered candles and we only broke a few so that was good. The treats they served were chocolate and other assorted Swedish treats. We sang Christmas carols and had a great time visiting and being together. The little kids look like angels all in white together.

Carissa is ten!

Carissa loves her dad!

I couldn't find the camera on the evening of her party. Carissa had 10 girls over for a candlelight dinner on china. Her favorite meal, spaghetti was served. Then we played some games and did pedicures with a new pair of socks for each girl. I am amazed she is growing up so fast but she is truly in a delightful stage of life. Carissa is so happy and positive, a great sister to her brothers and sisters. I am so glad she was sent to our family.

Sophie's Baptism

We had to postpone Sopie's baptism a week as Gabe and Lily had the swine flu and passed it to Sophie so she didn't get up all day on the 'would be' baptism day. It snowed all morning so everything was white. The service was nice and short. Andrea gave a great talk on baptism and took off her jacket to reveal a white shirt as she talked about purity. Then she took out a marker and discussed sin as she let kids write on her shirt and they were shocked. Then she talked of the sacrament and repentance and took off the shirt to reveal a clean white shirt underneath. I think it made a great impression on the kids. Sophie looked so beautiful in white and the water was really warm for her too. Taylor got choked up again as he baptised her. She was so pretty and excited and we are so proud of her in every way! After a short talk given by me about the gift of the Holy ghost, Sophie was given the gift of the Holy Ghost and became a member of the church. It was a nice blessing with David, Taylor, James and both grandpas to help. It was a great day!

Lily and Grandma

It was great to have Ruthie bring Great Grandma June out.

Halloween

I don't know why but the kids usually end up averaging 2 costumes each between the school, church, family parties and of course the big night of Halloween. Sophie in the school parade as a vampiress.

Carissa had her heart set on being Dorothy this year but there were no costumes her size so I made one up from cheap fabric and was quite pleased and surprised at how it turned out. Ethan was a ninja for school, Harry Potter for the ward party and a vampire for trick or treating.

Gabe was a power ranger, Spiderman, and Harry Potter. Taylor was way excited to set up a fog machine and spooky music. Some of our trick-or-treaters said it was so spooky their kids didn't want to come up to our door.

The greatest thing about Halloween this year is Lily's scared face. I know I can be a cruel parent to scare my kids but her scared little face is just so darn cute! This is the closest shot I could get to it but usually, her eyebrows are raised and her entire hand covers her mouth that is making an 'O'... too cute!!!

Sophie is Eight!

We had a Halloween Birthday party for Sophie with a Jack-O-Lantern pizza, costumes, games, movie and cake. Eight things I love about Sophie are: 1)her independence 2) ability to tell me what she really thinks 3) her nurturing personality 4) her soft heart for others less fortunate 5)her hard work at school 6)her friendliness and ease with which she speaks with adults 7) her willingness to try anything 8)her thoughtful prayers. We are so lucky to have Sophie a part of our family.

Grandma Eva

My sweet Grandmother Eva passed away this month. She was such a wonderful person! I am sad for all of us left behind to miss her but so happy for her now that she no longer has pain and is able to be with her family she loved so much. She had 2 children, 9 grandchildren and 20 1/2 grandchildren. I am so proud to be her granddaughter!

Here is my grandma and grandpa with my dad and Dodie.

She has always been so beautiful!

A young mom with her kids. My dad looks so mischievous!

We had a perfect service for her and the sun was even out when we went to the cemetery. There is something so sad about leaving the cemetery once the grave has been dedicated. It's like you don't want to leave your loved ones body, even though I realize she is somewhere else, it is still sad. It was nice to remember her and be with my parents, siblings and my cousins for the day. We never get to see them and their wives and kids. Great people.

Phoenix getaway!

Taylor and I planned on going to the Oregon coast for a few days but when grandma passed away, we had to rearrange the dates for the funeral. It worked out that my aunt had a week nobody was going to use in Phoenix so we stayed in a beautiful condo. The pictures don't do it justice and the warm weather was just what we needed after a sad week.

Our 2nd day there we drove to Sedona and saw Indian ruins and took a jeep tour. It was such a beautiful place.

Phoenix temple in Mesa, I had never seen it and it's almost 100 years old. It was very unique.


Dinner with Jen and Denny. She lives close to where we were staying and it was great to see her.  Although we are only 2 years apart and very different, she is so much fun to talk to, be with and I love her to death!

We had such a great time! We sat by the pool everyday and read and swam. We'll do you a favor and not post any of those pics:)

It was like we were teenagers dating we were so giddy. We decided we need to do this at least a couple days a year. Thanks to our great parents that watched our kids so we could get away. You are the best!

Fall leaves

Middle of September and we were in a warm spell. It was over 70 degrees on Monday night so we drove 5 minutes to the canyon, had a picnic and hiked a little. No sweatshirts necessary!

5 Cute little munchkins!


Throwing rocks into the water, amazing the didn't hit each other.

Jumping before Church

11:00 church so when the kids were ready on time and driving me crazy, I sent them out to jump. They thought that was great in their church clothes. They were having such a great time, I had to take pics.

Napping on the stairs

A couple of days ago, Gabe asked to play with his friend Brayden so after much excitement and begging, I told him I would take him over. He got his shoes on but was whining and I was worried he wouldn't be a good guest. I got a phone call from the insurance company and while I talked for a few minutes, I realized how quiet he had gotten and found him sound asleep here. Play date postponed for another day.