Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!  Here are the kids in their Christmas Eve PJs with their surprises from Santa!  We had a great Christmas!  It was our first Christmas in this house, because last year we were at Bryce's parents house.  It was so fun to be together and enjoy the craziness.  The kids are all out enjoying the new backyard with their new wheels.

Backyard Landscaping

 

This is what our backyard looked like when we moved in.  We liked that it was big and we could do whatever we wanted with it, unfortunately that meant we had to do something with it.  So, after two years, we finally got to it.

 

We put in a driveway extension, an in-ground trampoline, some grass, a bike path, plants and trees, and a playground. 

The kids are loving it!  They would stay out all day if they could.  I'm so glad we got it all in while the weather was nice.  I am SO thankful for our new backyard!

Temple Lights

 

You can never get good pictures of Christmas lights, but believe me the lights at the Temple were gorgeous!  We had an awesome time with the Allred cousins checking them out and having hot chocolate in the Temple parking lot.  Thanks Grandma for organizing the holiday fun!

Queen Creek Holiday Parade

 

This year the girls' dance teacher arranged for her own float in the Queen Creek Holiday Parade.  The girls were so excited to dress up as princesses and ride the float.  It was crazy freezing, but I think they had a fun time.  It was sure fun to have the rest of the family watch and wave from the street.  They even won a prize for their float and made it into the newspaper!

Volcano

Lovely Aunt Bethany gave Ethan a magic mountain kit that you can make a volcano out of.  Well, you can bet Ethan was all over that!  He and Bryce built and painted it and got it ready for some erupting.

And there it goes!  Ethan loves this kind of stuff.  He can't get enough science.  Thanks Bethany!

Gratitude Tree

 

To prepare for Thanksgiving we decided to make a tree to show all the things we are thankful for.

 

The kids had a great time writing on leaves and sticking them up on the tree in our dining room.

 They just kept going and going.  I'm going to have to make more leaves if we do this again next year!  They were so thankful for the things they have.

Some of them were so good, I had to share.

I love these kids and the things they think of.  I am so grateful that they are a part of my life, and for this time of year when we can celebrate the things that make us happy!

Holes

 

It was a big day today for Caitlin!  For her birthday she decided she wanted to get her ears pierced!  We headed down to Claire's and let her pick out her very favorite earrings.

 

She was SO SO SO brave!  No crying at all!  She was so happy to get it done and now has multiple pairs of new earrings waiting to be tried out when her ears heal.  She's growing up!  Such a great and big girl!

Family Pictures

We got our family pictures taken by the lovely Crystal Lilly.  It was wild and crazy, and I'm glad it's done!  As you can see, by the above photo, Noelle was not easy to hold on to.  Especially since there was an inflatable bouncy house within her line of vision.

 We had them taken at Agritopia Farms.  It was really pretty and we ended up with some great pictures...considering.  Ha!  By next year the kids will be well behaved, right?

Happy Birthday Caitlin!

Happy 7th Birthday to our sweet Caitlin! 

 

She had her cake at her birthday tea party, but still got to celebrate her real birthday the next week!  Unfortunately, Bryce was out of town, so we celebrated multiple times.  What a lucky girl!

We kept it low key, but had a great family time opening presents and letting Caitlin pick dinner.  She's turning into such a beautiful girl.  She's older every time I look at her.  Love her to pieces!

Birthday Tea Party

This year was a friend birthday party for both Avery and Caitlin, so they decided to wait and have their party together.  They decided on a princess tea party and we invited 25 of their closest friends.

 

 

It was so fun and not even as crazy as I imagined.  We had a ton of beautiful little princesses dressed in their fanciest.  The girls all had their nails painted.

 

 

Then they each got to pick their very own tea cup to take home.

 

 

 They each got their picture taken with their new teacup.

 And we enjoyed a nice tea party lunch of pink lemonade, heart and flower sandwiches, and sweets. 

 

 Extra thanks go out to my nail technician (my mom), the photographer (Bryce), and our waitress (mom again).  What a great and exciting day for the birthday girls!

Time Out for Women

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Every year I go with my mom and sisters to Time Out for Women, and every year I look forward to it for months.  It's so nice to get away for the weekend, relax in a hotel with no kids, and be spiritually fed.  Awesome!

My super awesome husband even let me go on his birthday.  So he got to spend his birthday with 5 crazy kids while I played.  What a guy, right?  I love spending time with my family and am so thankful for this annual tradition.

Halloween

Happy Halloween Everybody!!!  We had a busy and fun one this year.  We got to go to party after party and had a great time!

Bryce at the Ward Party dressed as a Pirhana Plant.

Everybody ready to go trick-or-treating.  This year the boys were vampires, Caitlin was Hannah Montana, Avery was a witch, and Noelle was a cheerleader.

 

 

Our two little vampires!

 

The kids had a great time roaming the neighborhood with their friends.  I love our neighborhood.  So many fun families! 

 

 

And after all that trick-or-treating was the Great Candy Divvy!  This is what was left after the kids each picked 35 pieces.  I'm sad to admit how much of this will be eaten by me.

Happy Halloween All!

Student of the Month

Congratulations to Avery for being chosen Student of the Month for October!  She is doing great in Kindergarten and is growing into such a smart and helpful girl!  We love her!

Haircut

Oh, Noelle...

 

She is definitely a fun thing in our lives.  She brings all kinds of new opportunities and experiences. 

 

I just found her in the kitchen with the big scissors.  It only takes two quiet minutes and all of a sudden you've got a new haircut.

 

Yep. 

 

 

This doesn't show the full extent of it, but there is only one way she can wear her hair now.  And she has new bangs.  And some fuzzy hair at the top of her head. 

She seems pretty pleased with herself, doesn't she?

Preston at 15 Months

Preston is getting bigger all the time.  He loves to play with the big kids.  He laughs and laughs at the funny things they do.  He's saying some words and getting into everything!  He's a curious, happy, fun little boy and we are so thankful for him.  His latest stats:

Weight: 25lb. 7 oz (50-75%)
Height: 34 in. (97%)

School Pictures 2012

I'm pretty sure this is the last year we will do school pictures. The only thing I want is the picture CD and they charge a ton for it. And I'm not sure they're trying very hard anymore. I mean, come on....

Ethan-Third Grade

 

 

Caitlin-First Grade

 

 

Avery-Kindergarten

Those were apparently the best smiles to be gotten that day. 

Now, I agree that my kids are beautiful and great, but I think my photographer standards are higher than they used to be.  How did they make such cute kids look so awkward?  I guess that's the real magic of school pictures.