Should I feel guilty??

This is what our weekend looked like last week ... it was beautiful!

But while we were enjoying the yard and the sunshine both my brothers were back-east FREEZING!! In fact one of them was without power for a week. Now naturally I was concerned for them and called frequently to check that they were still alive and OK. I, however could not leave it at that ... as soon as I knew they were OK I had to let them know that we were spending a beautiful day in the yard!! So I ask, should I feel guilty? I think not!!

Hunter's Birthday!

Hunter is 9!!

I can hardly believe that he has grown up so much, it doesn't seem possible.

He has always been very funny. He has the best sense of humor and will do just about anything for a laugh. He will get you to laugh and then keep going and going and going.

He loves life, sports, school and his friends. He loves to be outside playing in the yard with the soccer ball or next door in the driveway playing basketball. (Maybe outside is his favorite place to be because he is in the middle of two girls!!)

He is a great source of comfort in our family. He always seems to know when someone is having a bad day and knows just what they need. Sometimes that is a hug and to sit by them and other times it is a laugh. Either way Hunter is the perfect person for the job. Our home would not be as silly and fun without him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER, WE LOVE YOU!!

Sick day

This is what a sick day looks like at our house ...

plus sleep but I was asleep too;)

Hot chocolate ...
paper dolls and TV!!

Poor Caroline has not been feeling well this week. So finally I let her stay home sick. All she wanted to do was sit, drink hot chocolate (she has been cold for days), watch TV and play with her paper dolls. I had to take the car to the shop or she wouldn't have gotten dressed at all!!

Check it out!

This is an interview with Elder Ballard and Elder Cook on ABC. I really liked what they said about defending our faith. Hope you enjoy!

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6616644

Girls night out!!

Our girl's night in the camper/Easy Bake Oven night!

Our cute girls got together and had an overnighter in the neighbor's pop-up travel trailer. They set it up in the back yard and they talked Lindsey (next door) and to sleep out there with them. They watched movies, ate popcorn, and made cookies in the easy bake ovens that Caroline and Syd have. (The instructions stink but if you use your own instinct they turn out OK)

The girls all had a great time and keep hoping for another girl's night!!

What's wrong with this picture?!?

This is where you ask the BIG QUESTION ... should Mom and Dad ride down the hill on the kids scooters?

Answer still unknown!!

Winter Break

During our break we went to the park with cousins and had a really fun day. It was just too beautiful outside not to be out!! We met Sarah and Nana Mary and the kids there, had a picnic, and rode the scooters!

Caroline, Jack, Jacob, and Abby waiting for their turn on the scooters.

Hunter

Caroline with her cool new shades.

Abby

Caroline and Jacob

Christmas

Christmas morning at our house starts with sleepy faces and PJ's. In most homes the parents have to tell the kids they have to wait until they are ready to get up before they are allowed to go out to see what Santa has brought. In our home this is not the case!! Tracy and I have always had to go in and wake up our children and even then we are told that they will "go look in a little while". This year was no exception, Abby had come into our room some time in the middle of the night and when Tracy asked her if she wanted to go look at her gifts she rolled over and said not right now. He then tried asking her if she thought Santa had come, to which her answer was "I didn't hear him." All I can say is that they really value their sleep!!

Caroline is entering in to that tween stage of life and is very happy and grateful for the gifts that she gets but is definitely not as animated as the other two.

Hunter gets excited to see all his favorite things that he knows were picked out just for him. He asks how everyone knows just what he likes, it is so funny!

Abby is the most animated (I know you are all surprised to hear that). She was so much fun this year. There were a lot of squeals and shouts of "YEA!" from her end of the room!

Christmas just wouldn't be the same for me if we didn't do Christmas breakfast. We have friends and family over for crapes, eggs, muffins, bacon, sausage ... I think that you get the point, it is a big spread.

We had a great Christmas and spent it with those that we love. Hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Updated ... almost!

I think that I have almost caught up now. As you will see if you scroll down that I have posted 8 new posts of things that we have been doing. I hope to have our Christmas post up soon. I hope that you enjoy our adventures as much as we did as they were happening!!

Gingerbread houses

One of my favorite traditions at Christmas time is making gingerbread houses. I love keeping this family tradition alive. It is a LOT of baking but when everyone is together and laughing and having such a great time I can't help but feel blessed to have the ability to keep it going!

Sometimes they work beautifully and sometimes they have technical difficulties but they are always so much fun.
Everyone has input and the kids love all the candy and I think that they eat almost as much as they put onto the houses.
All of us have a great time and I will always cherish the memories that we are able to make!!!