ShoWing aLL siDeS

Cami got a hold of my camera... need I say more?
(Except that I love this adorably, goofy girl!)

Christmas Crowd

This Christmas some of Jeremy's family came to cozy up in our house and enjoy the holiday together. We had Jeremy's mom Gail, little brother Randell, sister Launa, and her roommate Katie. We had so much fun talking, playing games, and eating all the festive food. :) So here are some snap shots of Christmas Day.

Cami and Alex finding out what Santa gave them.


Carson in his new Mickey PJ's from Grandma Elly, eating breakfast before everyone else because he couldn't wait. :)


And here's the whole fam! We even got Tanner in it on his new and improved, (improved I say because it's an easier wash when it gets stinky), doggie bed.


Katie, Launa, and Gail on Christmas morning before all the unwrapping of presents.

Launa was our gift this year, hence the gorgeous bow!

The highlight of Christmas this year was 'Just Dance 2'. If I could nominate a game for 'Game of the Year' it would be this. It is a blast to play! And a HOOT to watch people keep up with the dance moves! Launa, Katie, Jeremy and I were caught on camera showing our insane moves. ;)

And I had to catch a glimpse on video! It's a guarantee laugh! Launa and Katie really got into it. :)


Alex loved his gifts this year, and played with them all one way or another.

Can I just say, that we all fell in love with Launa's roommate Katie! She felt like she was apart of the family. Here she was showing Carson how to use his new rubber band gun.

And here are a few shots of the kids new outfits from Grandma Elly. (By the way, the reason for Carson's awesome spiked dew is because he smeared Vaseline all over his hair... sigh... little ones are so curious).

Christmas is such a wonderful time of year. I hope all of you had a most wonderful Christmas too!

A Question for Santa

Last night was our ward Christmas party, with the 'Polar Express' as the theme... hence the pj's. Cami didn't want to see Santa and said so every day until the actual party. But Alex on the other hand had a question for him.

Alex: "Are you the real Santa?"

Santa: "No I'm not."

Alex: "That stinks."

Alex: "Oh well, the gooody bag will do!"

Now Carson on the other hand was just questioning who Santa even was?!

Since the theme for the party was 'Polar Express' there were some trains on display. And the one in charge let me put together a gingerbread train for display. I'm definitely no artist here but I had a lot of fun doing it. It was the first time I made this from scratch all by myself.

Do you see Santa?

Now our dog has gotten into the festivities. For some reason he LOVES having this gigantic red stocking on his head... LOL... I have no idea why but he left it on for about an hour!

Never 2 Late

I firmly believe...
It is never too late to say thanks and express what you're grateful for.

I am grateful for snow!


...for friendship,


...for adorable, marshmallowy children :)


...I am grateful for good times,


... and most of all my gratitude for family has grown 10 fold!!

First Snow

Tis the Season....
for Hot Chocolate!

The kids were so excited about the snow... we'll see how long it lasts :)

Turkey PoPs

These were fun to make and also made some good memories while making them with my mom and sis. :)

What Keeps me Going

Parenting is hard. Can I just say that? Sometimes you just want to scream and pull your hair out. I could ramble off a never ending list of the things kids do to cause a parent's face to start changing color. From... well I better not get started or I'll loose sight of my point. :) I want talk about the moments that make your heart double in size and sometimes almost cry because of how much we love our kids. Sometimes they do some of the sweetest things that make parenthood priceless.

This was one of my moments recently:
The kids and I went on a walk one day down our gravel driveway into the vineyards nearby. Some of the grapes weren't going to be picked that year so we took off our hats and started to stuff them with pungent smelling grapes. When we got home I told the kids to play nicely so I could take a shower. When I was dressed I came out to get lunch ready, and this is what I found....


Cami and Alex worked together and surprised me with lunch already made!

Making PB n' honey sandwiches.

I was so touched with their thoughtfulness. It was such a sweet surprise.

And I had to take a picture of this because they even cut up Carson's sandwich in 'bite size' pieces for him. LOL... too cute.

I will have to admit, the sandwich was a little dry, (I guess it's better than it dripping in honey :). But I could have cared less... these kids came to me from heaven and I am blessed to be their mother.

GoBBle GoBBle

Doing crafts with my kids is one of the best ways for us to get in the holiday spirit. And so here is one of our creations.