Christmas

I have to admit I'm going through a little post Christmas depression! I love all of the Christmas traditions we enjoy as a family and it is always sad to see it end.
We were lucky to have Jason's parents with us for Christmas this year and the girls loved it of course!
Christmas Eve was busy. We made candy and sugar cookies. I loved watching the girls decorate them! I hope this is a tradition they will remember and do with their own little ones someday. We had lots of sprinkles and frosting everywhere but it is worth it! Grace frosted every one of her cookies with blue frosting of course! After a fancy Christmas Eve dinner the girls dressed up and acted out the Christmas story. Carissa stole the show as the wise man! We sang Christmas songs, read "The Night Before Christmas", and tucked the girls into bed. I'll never forget how happy Grace looked tucked into bed and how she said she saw a red light from Rudoph in the sky. Or Emma on her knees praying that she wasn't on Santa's naughty list! It was pretty funny and I really wish I had more than a mental picture.


Christmas Eve Jammies!

Jason's mom and Carissa. Gayle made her little handprint ornament for me.

Our little Nativity

Christmas morning! Santa brought a tea trolley!

A new Barbie car!

Julia with her zhu zhu pets

Emma serving up some hot cocoa for Christmas breakfast!

Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa

After Christmas morning we drove to my parents house and arrived just in time for Christmas dinner. It was a treat to eat my mom's food and she always has her table so pretty. The girls had a fun time playing with all of their cousins! We had a big family party the next day so I was able to visit with so many loved ones I rarely get to see. And to top it all off two of my sisters announced that they will be having new babies this year! It was a fun surprise for all!


My dad came out wearing these to block out some of the noise from all of the little girls running around!

My Grandpa Joe with the girls

My mom and dad with my girls

Our Christmas Tree Adenture

This year we decided to cut down our tree. Our good friends Mike and Danielle take their boys every year so we decided to tag along. We had so much fun and made some great family memories! Mike grew up in these mountains and knew where to take us to find beautiful trees. Danielle and I stayed with the little ones while the dads took the bigger kids to find our trees. It was so exciting when they came walking back with big Christmas trees in tow! I think we may make this a new family tradition!

Family Picture Day

I've updated my blog with our new family pictures. This is always an eventful day to say the least. It is up there with Sunday mornings, only a little worse I think. After I dressed my girls and curled all four of their little heads we headed out the door to meet Holly O'keefe, our photographer. She was GREAT! This is the second year we have had her take our pictures and she is wonderful. Thank you Holly for all of the pictures and moments you captured of our family!

Here are a few more pictures I love!

Way To Go Julia

We are so proud of Julia. She participated in the Reflection's Contest at School and was awarded an honorable mention for her artwork!
She also impressed us with some serious pumpkin carving skills! She refused to have anything to do with cleaning out the pumpkin but carved the entire pumpkin herself. In fact, she made it three sided with different faces!

Our Spoooky Halloween!

Every year I can't believe how fun Halloween is here in our little neck of the woods. The weather is always beautiful and the streets are crawling with kids! It seems the whole neighborhood catches the Halloween spirit and it is just a great night for everyone! Here are a few pictures of my girls. I was happy Halloween didn't cost much this year! I only bought Emma's costume and the rest we borrowed or gathered from the dress-up closet. It was great! Grace is wearing the Snow White dress my mom made for me when I was little. Carissa went trick-or-treating for the first time and had the time of her life sitting in the wagon eating her candy!


Princess Lea

Dorothy

Snow White

Little Red Riding Hood

Saying Goodbye to Summer

Fall is just around the corner and this is my favorite time of year! There is definitely something to love about cooler weather and fun holidays approaching. Summer was so fun though and I was looking back over pictures and realized what a memorable summer this was. The biggest event of our summer was Emma's baptism and having family and friends there to share the day with us. Before and after the big event we had fun at parades, picking apricots at Grandma's, boating most weekends, enjoying family and friends passing through, splash pads, long play days that flowed into the evenings and our most recent trip up North to Park City. We took the kids to Sundance and rode the ski lift together on a breezy summer evening and then stopped in Heber for the best shakes! We took the kids on the Park City Trolley and they loved it! We finished off the weekend at This Is The Place Park and had a great time. On the way home we stopped at the Red Barn and I came walking out with a big bag of apples and a smaller bag of pears with a smile on my face thinking of Fall!

Julia's Berry Happy Birthday!

Our little sleepy head!

My friend Nicole gave me the idea to put a poster on the fireplace and streamers. Kids love to see their names up in lights! It's so funny!

Julia turned six on Tuesday! She had been waiting soooo long to turn six. She is the baby of all of her friends and cousins her age and waited so long for her special day to come!
We woke her up with donuts and then she ran downstairs to open a few gifts! I sent her off to school and Jason picked her up for lunch. I think it made her whole day! While she was at school I attempted to make her cake. I usually always make their cakes but disaster struck as I was frosting her strawberry cake. It cracked while baking and the weight of the frosting mad the whole thing collapse. I stayed calm, picked up the phone and ordered a cake from Grandma Tobler's Bakery. I knew I was pushing my luck ordering an hour and a half before the party but she said she would have it ready. I will be a customer for life! She did such a great job!
After school we had a Strawberry Shortcake party and it was so cute! I loved Strawberry Shortcake when I was little too. It was a fun theme to work around. All of the little girls made their own strawberry shortcakes and we had a cake walk. We had Strawberry Shortcake music playing and they danced their hearts out! It was a fun day.
Now we just have to work on losing that first tooth! Julia told me Jesus must have screwed her teeth in too tight and that is why they won't fall out. And she is not too happy about it!

Back to School!

This year Emma went to third grade and Julia first. I was worried about Julia because she is such a mommy's girl and I was nervous about her being gone all day. I was also sad to let her go! The night before I read them a story and they were both crying when I was done reading it! I read them the "Kissing Hand." I had no idea it would make them sad! Julia was worried someone would give her a black eye and she also climbed into bed with us that night.

She hardly touched her breakfast and had one melt down about her backpack before school. When we got to school it took some coaxing to get her into her classroom but once she sat at her desk and saw some familiar faces she was just fine. When she got home from school she gave me a big hug and talked my ear off about her day. What a relief! They both had a great day! Back to School is a fun time!

Jesse Owens

Jackie has often told me about her running days! She has one instance where she was in a soccer game and missed a break away. The goal keeper got to the ball before Jackie and a teammate yelled at Jackie, and her response was, what do you think I am, Jesse Owens, and then she always proceeds to giggle at her little comment. This is my first time writing something on this blog. She ran her 1st 1/2 marathon this past weekend in Provo Canyon. As we (me and the kids) showed up to see her finish it was fun to watch all the runners coming through the finish line. She ran a great race and got the time she was hoping for. Just posting that I am proud of her. Keep up the good work. (After feebly trying to run 3 miles this morning and limping around all day, I really admire her committment to run the St. George marathon. Go Girl, your crazy, but admire the goal.

Emma is Eight!

How is this day already here? Looking back the time flew by but I have enjoyed this little girl so much! Being my first baby I was able to give her so much time and attention and it had been so fun to watch her grow into the little person she is today. Tea parties have turned into late nights and changing earrings several times a day has replaced dress-ups. This age is so fun because she still gives us glimpses of the little girl she used to be and the young lady she will soon become. I love how Emma can be such a girly girl but the next minute she can be covered in mud or out on the corner collecting money for the poor kids or for the lovely music she has played on her bells! She is such a fun kid and it is going to be an adventure watching her grow up! Happy Birthday Emma!

Birthday Boy

I'm not going to sick you guys out too much. All I'm going to say is that I love him and I'm lucky to have him. It wasn't that bad right? I'm also hoping he had a great birthday because he so deserves it!

Woman vs Wild

I have a cat pooping in my kids' sandbox. And it's not just once in a while it's all of the time and a lot. I am asking myself why I am having this problem AGAIN. We had a problem with a dog that pooped all over my grass at our previous house. It was beyond annoying and I still can't understand how people can be soooooo inconsiderate. As far as I'm concerned people who knowingly let their animals out to do their thing do not own pets but wild animals.
So, here I am again and it's frustrating!! If anyone has any suggestions please send them my way. I'm trying cayenne pepper tonight. Tommorrow who knows what I'll be capable of.

Here are a few pictures of the girls on the day of their dance concerts. Emma was in "The Sound of Music" and Julia was in the "Star Who Was Afraid of the Dark." It was fun for them to be able to watch each other perform this year. Thanks mom and dad for coming up to see the girls dance. They loved having you in the audience!





Julia with her little friend Kate

My parents and Emma

Emma and her friend Clayre


Emma performed ballet this year and loved it!