The week before Christmas

On Saturday, Dec. 12 Bret and I got to go on our first date in forever and he was a sweetie and took me to see the movie New Moon. Then we picked the kids up at my parent's house and we all jumped in the van (including grandma and grandpa) and went to see the Festival of Lights in Spanish Fork.

On Monday, Dec. 14 we went to Dustin and Crystal's to celebrate Crystal's birthday. They always make us yummy homemade scones and we just all enjoyed visiting while the cousins played.

On Thursday, Dec. 17 we had a fun family evening with dinner at Sweet Tomatoes and then rode the Trax train up to temple square and saw the lights. We haven't taken the kids since Xander was tiny. I can't decide whether they liked the lights of the train better. But they were in awe of it all. Christopher enjoyed talking to a couple of sister missionaries. One was from Brazil and one was from Hong Kong. Xander truly impressed the sister from Hong Kong when he counted to 10 in chinese. She says his pronounciation was great! They also enjoyed all the pictures in the visitors centers. Bret walked us over to the temple and showed the kids the spot where he proposed to me. It was a truly fantastic day that I will remember always. I hope the kids do, too.

On Sunday, Dec. 20 we went to Jenny's to celebrate Kayla's 11th birthday. The kids really enjoy this season when we get to spend so much time with family.

Grandma and Grandpa reading Dani and Eliza a story.

The big kids in front of the temple.

Everyone loved the "red tree". This is a really big tree that is done up in red lights every year.

Darci and Eliza all bundled up.

Riding the train home.

Christmas season fun

We are having such a pleasant Christmas season. We have done the Festival of trees and the festival of lights in Spanish Fork. We have read different versions of the Christmas story and tried to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas. Bret and I have had many moments that our hearts have been full and the kids have done us proud. We all get more and more excited as Christmas draws closer.

My puzzle boy!!!

My Christmas dolls.

Xander's party

Xander's birthday party was tonight. It was simple and sweet with lots of cousins, Shrek the Halls, and cake and ice cream. Thank you everyone that came and made Xander feel so special.

Xander's favorite thing to do is puzzles.

Moola from Grandma and Grandpa

Brady made him a great card.

Xander wanted Wow Wow Wubbzy cupcakes.

Festival of Trees

Today we went to The Festival of Trees. Every year many people create and donate beautifully decorated trees and items for others to buy and all proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital. This year Dustin, Crystal, and Audra made a tree and donated it in honor of a couple of sweet kids from Audra's city that died of cancer this last summer. It was a beautiful Curious George tree. There were lots of other wonderful trees, wreaths, and gingerbread houses to behold and we enjoyed all of the Christmas sights and then enjoyed cinnamon rolls and milk. We would have taken more pictures, but our camera's batteries died. "A Curious Christmas" Darci's favorite... the Pixie Hollow tree with lots of Tinkerbell stuff. Utah Sports tree. With lots of BYU and UofU stuff.

Happy 5th Birthday Xanderman!!!!!

What a fun day we've had! Xander is a middle child in just about every sense and he has truly enjoyed a day all about him. First my mother's nostalgia of the day he was born. From his first day on earth Xander has moved at high speed and high volume. He was nearly born before we made it to the hospital and (despite being 5 weeks early) he came out screaming so loud the nurses joked that we needed to quiet hom down.

Tonight to celebrate his birthday we went to Pirate Island Pizza. It's a fun, pirate themed restaurant that was part pirates of the carribean and part Chuck e Cheese. The pizza was yummy, the atmosphere was a blast, and the arcade yielded lots of tickets. There were games for all ages. Xander ran from game to game to playground. We all enjoyed the pizza and Xander got sang to and a yummy ice cream. Every time he opened a present he squeeled, "this is what I always wanted!".

My sweet Xander you make life full with fun and imagination. You are so sweet and we all love you so much.

We're pirates! Aaarrggghhh!

Grandpa, Christopher, Darci, Grandma, Xander, Mommy, and Daddy.

Eliza on the merry-go-round.

8 months old

Eliza sits very well now and gets really mad if she isn't on the go. She hates to just lie there anymore, but hasn't figured out mobility. We aren't in a hurry for her to figure it out. Because of this she is still a big fan of her "Johnny Jumper". She has 2 teeth now and there are 2 on their way in. She still wakes 1 or 2 times a night to eat, but she's such a petite and skinny thing that I happily do it for her. She will happily eat solids now and is desperately trying to figure out how to drink from her cup. She is SUCH a people watcher and is happiest in a crowded place taking it all in. I feel like the time is moving too fast and I want her to stay my little baby just a little longer. But I can't deny that she is at such a fun age.

She never tires of being in the bath.

Doin' the Dew... OK, not really, but she was trying really hard.

Happy among her "friends".

Helping decorate for her 1st Christmas.

Braggity Brag Brag

I'm a proud mommy and proud mommies are allowed to brag on their blogs, right?

I got Christopher's report card today. They grade a little differently than when I was in elementary school. An NE or left blank means they weren't evaluated on the criteria. A 1 is "rarely meets expectation independently and requires considerable support and/or intervention. A 2 is "occasionally meets expectation etc, etc with moderate support". A 3 "frequently meets expectation with minimal support". A 4 is "consistently and independently meets expectation with no support".

CHRISTOPHER GOT ALL 4s!!!!!!!

And he's incredibly handsome on top of all that!!

4 generations

Today the girls and I joined up with my mom and grandma to get manicures and pedicures and have a picture taken of the 5 of us. The day was so fun and so precious to me. It is so rare to have 4 generations of mothers and daughters together like this.

My pretty nails

color

sepia

Wordless Wednesday 11/4/09

Eliza is 7 months old!

She wants to get up and go so badly. She watches her siblings play and wants to join them. She has started using her "Johnny Jumper" and is soooo cute in it. She still has lots of smiles and giggles for everyone. We think she gets prettier everyday and wish the time wouldn't go quite so fast.