Nutcracker 2010

Jaron and two of his cute cousins (Gretchen and Alida) were in the Nutcracker this year. They practiced all fall their parts for the big production. Jaron got to dance in the Party Scene with a cute partner named Maggie. She was so cute and patient with him. He did pretty amazing for his very first time dancing ever. You could see his dimples from a mile away. That's how we knew how happy he was.










Gretchen got well enough that she could dance and be the Owl. She was also a little snow flake. We were happy she was doing so much better. Alida was also in the party scene with Jaron and a Japanese dancer.

He really is my child....

I am going to look for a picture of me from when I was little and I used to do the exact same thing. I could not stand going to bed when I knew there was a party going on without me. This is not the first time and probably won't be the last. i just think it is so funny to see him do things I used to do. Silly boy!

Christmas Lights at Temple Square

Oh, the weather outside is frightful but the lights are so delightful! We spent the evening downtown with our good friends the Smart's. It was a beautiful fun evening with a little too large of a crowd for me to completely relax and enjoy. i was too worried about losing a little boy. But we still had a good time.





We ended the night with a fun trip to Build a Bear to get a new horse for the family. We have decided it would be fun to start collecting the animals for each state we visit.

Ward Nativity

I love starting off December with a good old fashioned Nativity. It was cold so I dressed my little shepherds warm. So they looked more like stay puffed marshmallows rather than Shepherds. Oh, well.



Grif ended up as a giant snowball by the end.

Grandma's Christmas Concert

The kids were excited to perform with Grandma's Choir this year. They were all so cute. Grif was even reasonable well behaved being on stage without mom or dad. Poor Jaron was wearing a new pair of pants that were a tad bit too big. He is getting taller but not bigger around. His belt was too heavy so it was making his pants fall down. So the whole time he was singing his little heart out he was also tucking his shirt in. The other funny thing was we didn't even mean to match the kids. Alida just matched perfectly on accident. The other cousins couldn't sing because of illnesses.

Thanksgiving Eve

We started our day with a little cooking to get ready for the big day since we were hosting Thanksgiving for the very first time. It was time for a break though so we decided to go sledding in the 13 degree weather. We weren't the only ones with the same idea but we had a good time. It is just too bad that my batteries died after only one picture. Grif didn't want to walk up the hill so he talked anyone he could into pulling him up the hill. Good thing he is cute.

Later we decided that we really needed to keep up our tradition of going to the zoo on Thanksgiving Eve. This was our 3rd or maybe our 4th year in a row. I can't remember. Oh, well it was awesome!

The animals were so alert and playful. We got to see the gorillas and orangutans up close. We even got to have our picture taken with a turkey.

We enjoyed seeing the tigers stretching and waking up from their naps and then we moved on to the giraffes. Jaxon made a new friend that really enjoyed licking his boot. After about 45 minutes of watching their 18 long tongues lick everything around we headed back to see our Tiger friends.













The Tigers were up and ready to play. They were wrestling like all brothers do to get their favorite toys. But then the tigers decided the kids looked like dinner and started stalking them. They would watch them and the crouch down behind a rock and the Spring forward when one would run by. It was a little alarming at first and we were hoping their enclosure was really secure. It was actually quite interesting to see them acting on instinct even though they have been in captivity since birth. Yes, it was still 13 degrees but we had an amazing trip to the zoo. We learned a lot and we even stayed pretty warm with the heaters and indoor exhibits.

Jaxon and Casey loved seeing that the snakes had shed their skins recently in the reptile house. The kids were all so good and once again, when the boys are happy I am happy.

Happy Thanksgiving! I am grateful for my darling family and the joy they are and I am also very grateful for a husband who works hard for our family so I can stay home with the boys. We are truly blessed!

Movie Night

The pictures say it all. We had lots of fun Dragon treats to go with our Movie Night. I am still not sure how Jaron can get so incredibly messy with a sucker.

Gretchen's Hospital stay

Saddly our little niece Gretchen ended up in the hospital because her appendix had burst. The long story short is that she was a very sick little girl and the Dr's had a hard time diagnosing her since her symptoms were a little strange. Finally, they did surgery and she started to heal slowly. It was a long 2 weeks for the whole family. SO we had the other kids over to play.

I think they all needed a little play therapy. There were Dr's, nurses and patients a plenty. They were hillarious! Everyone had to have their appendix out. We also had multiple stitches, a broken face, broken arms and legs, etc. All of the things that have happened to the kids lately were their diagnosis.





We also got to go to My Sweet Tooth Fairy with Aunt Debbi for some delicious treats. Katie made lots of the cupcakes that the kids ordered. Jaron was a lucky little man and got a yummy sucker for his treat. Now we will just have to go back with Gretchen again. Maybe on a day when it is not nearly so windy though.