Christmas 2009 - Provo

While in Provo, the kids had so much fun with all of their cousins. Amy knows how to host parties. She always has super fun games for the kids.
Each kid had a balloon tied to their leg. After all of them were popped, they unscrambled the letters.
"Look in the garage." The kids found a cake. Each kid had a piece that they dug into until they found the object in their piece and then were awarded prizes.
Playing in real snow was a definite highlight of our trip to Utah.
The kids played in the backyard many different days.
Joshua absolutely loved shoveling.

The snow is so beautiful and peaceful. I LOVE the trees.
Emily and Eliza played dressed up many, many, many times. She also had her first "sleep over" with Eliza.
Emily asked Jacob many times about going "bowlin". She loves it.
We got the lightest weight ball of 6 lbs. for her. She would carry it to this ramp and roll it down.
Nathan after a good turn.
Christmas morning with all of their things from Santa. Everyone was HAPPY!
Joshua loves Star Wars legos, especially the little people and droids.
Emily was so excited about her stash.

Cutest Photos of Rachel

While we were visiting the Dudley's, Jacob's cousin, Brianna, took some photos of Rachel. They turned out so cute. If I would have known I would have gotten such good photos, I would have dressed her up.

Look at how blue her eyes show up in this picture.
Great smile!
Pure innocence.
Sweet baby of mine.

Christmas 2009 - Las Vegas

To start off our Christmas vacation, we headed first to Amarillo and saw Mark and Katie's new house. The next day, we had a long drive to Las Vegas. We stayed in the Hilton the first night and then joined family as we stayed in a huge, super fun house. This house had seven bedrooms and six bathrooms. It was well suited with ping pong, pool table, darts, swimming pool and hot tub, and campfire. We enjoyed spending time with Grandpa and Grandma, Mark and Katie, and the Thompsons.

We loved making smores. Yum!
I forgot to pack swimming suits but that did not stop Emily from getting in.
While visiting, we spotted SpongeBob and Joshua took advantage for this fun photo.
The boys spent many hours in the hot tub, even while they were waiting for it to warm up.
We visited many of the Casinos. Emily's favorite was the Luxor Pyramid.
At Mandalay Bay, we went to the Aquarium. This is a picture of Joshua petting the stingray.
At the Aquarium, each kid had a remote operating listening system. Joshua took it seriously and listened to each number. Emily refused to take many pictures because she would not turn her back on the glass. She was scared to death on the way out when you walked on glass with fish swimming below you.
All of the kids loved playing with Thompson's dog, especially Rachel.
Las Vegas Temple - We visited it twice on Sunday and also with the Keith relatives.

We had so much fun on this vacation that we hope to go again next year.

15 Months

Loves dogs from a distance. Gives Jacob the greatest welcome homes every night. Loves reading mail with Jacob. Loves shopping but prefers to walk and push the cart. Tries to help around the house when it is time to work. Washes the table with a rag. Continues to love toothbrushes and will open drawers and get on her tiptoes to reach into the drawer. Plays often with Emily. Loves her brothers. Is a shoe fanatic. Carries anyone and everyone's shoes around the house. Tries to walk in Emily's dress up shoes and often trips but gets up and tries again. Wants to go to nursery. In the morning when I take her out of her crib, she holds onto both blankets and all stuffed animals in her crib.

15 Months

Loves raisins. Gives her dad the best welcome home. Wants to go to nursery. Loves dogs from a distance.

Rachel's Hair

Rachel definitely has the cutest hair but this is what she looks like in the morning. Bed Hair.

Real Reindeer

Emily is SO excited about Christmas. She is always singing Christmas songs, counting down the days, and rearranging our decorations so we are "ready." She came home from preschool and told us all about Santa's "real reindeer" that we could see. She constantly talked about it until we went to see them. Her excitement is contagious.

Nativity Exhibit

Nathan invited his teacher Miss Hite to hear him sing at the Stake Nativity Display. It was amazing.

11 Years Old

This year Allan wasn't sure if he wanted a friend birthday party but I knew he would love it so I planned the perfect party for Allan with football, food, and few games. Everyone had a ton of fun.

Cookie Heaven

Last night I went to a fun cookie exchange party. We tried a few cookies last night and each of them are delicious. I'm tempted to try each one now that the kids are at school. 4 cookies of 17 different kinds. I made my favorite Andes Mint Cookies that the kids love.

Nap Time Rarely Exists with Rachel

Rachel fights sleep and when she does finally fall asleep, she is in different locations. Her favorite place is usually on my bed or a very soft bath mat in my bathroom and then I'll move her to her crib. Today this is where I found her asleep.

First Snow of the Year

Not enough snow for a snowball, but Emily loved playing with the few snowflakes. Joshua tried to catch snowflakes at school in his mouth. We are praying for snow in Utah this Christmas.