December Fun!

In December, Bryce had a job down in Salt Lake so we tagged along with him and then afterwards we went over to Temple Square to walk around and look at the lights.  It has been years since we have been down to see the lights at Temple Square. It was cold, but it could have been much worse. 

Jocie, Kyle and their kids came down to see us at the temple.  We took pictures, the kids ran around and tried not to get lost in the big crowds.  We ended up going out to eat in Layton at Garcia's afterwards.

To celebrate Ty's birthday, all the kids went to the Jump Zone.  My kids love the Jump Zone.  Even Parker had a great time crawling around and playing in the foam pads. We celebrated our Anniversary the following weekend after things slowed down. Most of the time our Anniversary gets overlooked because of my birthday and Christmas. That doesn't sit well with me.  In fact, it infuriates me.  So, after a good long talk, we ended up going out and trying to make our anniversary special. 

Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve, the boys left out the Legos, so that Santa would build something for them. They also left him a peice of paper so that he would write them a letter. We spent Christmas Eve at the Gabrish's home, where we decorated sugar cookies, created gingerbread houses and watched the "No Ordinary Shepard."

During the Christmas season, I always pull out my small collection of nativity scenes.  This year, Parker was the perfect age and height to be very entertained by these small items. She loved to pick up baby Jesus and the cow every time.  She had her own plastic set, but she would always go for the breakable ones!

On Christmas morning, the boys were so excited about thier letter from Santa, that they ran downstairs past all their presents right to the letter.  They sat down and read it before they even noticed their presents. Clayton received a bow and a camera for Christmas.  Cooper got a new bike.  We had a very mild winter so there was no snow all the way till Christmas morning.  We got quite a bit of snow so Cooper couldn't try out his bike for a couple of days.

Cooper also got some camo for Christmas so that he will prepared next year for the hunting season.  Last May, he was able to go Turkey hunting with Bryce at Grandpa's ranch and he really had a great time.  This year, he will have the camo so that he will blend in. 

Parker got a few little toys and some outfits.  She was still too young to even understand the unwrapping of the presents.  She just wanted some candy and breakfast.  After we opened presents, we ate cinnamon rolls and let the kids play for a few hours before we headed to Cache Valley.

Bryce decided to buy me some camo for Christmas as well.  It fit perfectly and it was nice and warm and comfortable.  Now that I have some camo, I might be able to go hunt with him in 3 or 4 years when Parker gets a little older!  He also bought me new tires for my four wheeler! What an interesting Christmas!

Bryce wanted and needed nice hunting boots, so that is what he got for Christmas.  I also ended up getting him so clothes and a pea coat but none of them fit him.  We ended up exchanging them for some bigger sizes.  It was a fun Christmas morning and the kids enjoyed opening their gifts and helping Parker with her presents.

After breakfast, we headed up to see Grandpa Cooper, Jocie and her family.  We ate Christmas lunch at Grandmas' house and then went up to the Douglas' for Christmas dinner. 

Hayes Sealing Day

Chelsey, Scott, and Payton were sealed to each other in the Logan Temple on December 13th.  Payton looked so cute in her white dress and Scott and Chelsey seemed to be very happy.  The Sealer talked to them about having angels in the room while they got sealed.  This was very emotional for Grandma and all of us.  We knew that Grandpa was a witness at that sealing. As we took this picture above, Jocelynn said, "Why are we taking a picture?" Steph said, "Because we can!" That comment really hit me hard. It is true that we need to take advantage of the moments and time we have with family and friends. In a blink of an eye, they could be gone.

Afterwards, we all headed over to the Marriott to eat a yummy lunch and visit with each other.  WE are so blessed to have the temples to close and to be able to be here on the Earth right now during the Restoration of the Gospel.  We are blessed to have knowledge and to make covenants in the house of the Lord. 

Bandito

In Mid-December, Steph bought tickets for the family to go see the play, "Bandito". They are friends with the owners and main character from the play. They do most of their plays in the Pickleville playhouse in Bear Lake, but during the winter, they are in Logan.  I wondered how Clayton would do for it, but after the first half, he told me it was awesome.

During the intermission, Steph let each one of the kids pick out a hat and a mustache. The play turned out to be amazing.  It was kind of based off of the Christmas Carol.  They did a great job with the acting and music. I loved to watch them try to mess each other up and make each other laugh.  It was very entertaining and I would definitely like to go again.

Douglas Family Pictures

Unfortunately, Bryce's grandma Douglas passed away in November.  She was in her late nineties and was passed ready to go home to her husband and other family.  She ended up passing away in her sleep.  Anyway, all the kids came into town for the funeral.  It ended up being one of the coldest days of the winter.  There was snow and ice everywhere.  They had the funeral in Hyde Park.  It was a nice service. 

While the kids were in town, we decided it was well overdue for a family picture.  We had Jocelynn come take pictures of us.  We took the pictures in a neighbors barn and it was freezing cold. Some of the kids had a hard time sitting still, but for the most part, we did good with that many people.  I was so happy to finally get some pictures I could put up in my house.

Here is a picture of the In-laws. What a great pictures Jocelynn took of everyone.  WE ended up getting this big family picture for Marilyn and Roger for Christmas.  They were so excited about it.  Now, hopefully, relationships won't change and everyone will stay in love and happy with their spouses!

Tae Kwondo

Cooper started Tae Kwando in September at Kimberly Academy in Roy.  He has really enjoyed it and it has been great for his confidence and has allowed him to get more fit. He can go up to 6 days a week, but mostly goes about four times a week.  I like the instructor, Mr Hugh.  Although he is extremely layed back about starting and ending on time, he teaches the boys some good things. 

I love that Cooper is learning new things and that Mr. Hugh expects them to be respectful and courteous to each other and to him.  They are also learning to be disciplined. Cooper was able to test for his first belt advancement in early November.  He did a great job on his kicks, blocks, and breaking the board!

Cooper advanced from a white belt, to a high white belt.  He is looking forward to advancing again very soon.  There are many students in his classes and he enjoys spending time with them.  They are kind to him and he feels safe and comfortable there. On New Years Eve, Cooper spend his evening at a party put on by Mr. Hugh.  The kids had so much fun eating food and playing games. 

Families That Play Together, Stay Together

This Fall, while Steph and Paul were out of town, we took the kids to their house to swim.  It was a great time for the boys to spend with their Dad playing in the water.  Even Parker loved the warm water and all the splashing and fun! We just love spending time as a family and creating these memories that will hopefully carry on in our children's hearts and minds!

 We love to go on family walks.  Almost every Sunday, when the weather permits, we go for a walk around the block.  Sometimes we will take the kids over to the Roy pond to feed the ducks and walk around the pond.  Parker loves being outdoors. 

 The boys really enjoy to wrestle and fight with each other.  For the most part, Clayton is the feisty one and he will haul off and hit Cooper.  But, rarely does Cooper retaliate.  The are both loving to each other.  They pray for each other.  They encourage each other in soccer and taekwondo.  Cooper is starting to give Clayton rides on his back and shoulders.  I love it when they love each other.  Most mornings when Clayton is awake, he will always tell Cooper that he loves him as he goes out to school.  This melts my heart and I hope that they will always have a special bond as they continue to grow.

Cooper had school off on a Friday, so Bryce took it off of work and we spent a night up at the Wolf Creek Condos in Eden. We went on a small Razor ride with the kids and they also had a great time swimming in the hot tub.  Steph and I took them over to play basketball, volleyball, and run around in the grass. Later that evening, we ate dinner at Huntsville BBQ.  The food was yummy and we all had a great time.

We also took the kids to the Great West American Heritage Center.  Alpine bought tickets for our family and so we went out their on a Saturday.  The wind was blowing like crazy, so I stayed close the buildings with Parker.  We went on a small train ride. The boys rode the little horses, played on the hay slides, and then Bryce took them on a quick tour of the corn maze. Side note: I was not sad to miss the corn maze.  I don't care for corn mazes because I hate feeling lost and for some reason that frustrates me!

It was so nice to have some fun family activities this Fall. Bryce was able to take some days off of work and it was great to make these memories with our kids.  WE feel that it is very important to spend quality time with just our little family so our children can build strong bonds with each other.

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year.  We had all the kids activities during the week.  Clayton got to get in his costume for school and Cooper had a Halloween parade at school. We also had our ward Parade and dinner and the kids cashed in on lots of candy.  We couldn't find Clayton afterwards and we were starting to worry because it was getting dark.  Turns out he was going for a second round to get more candy!

I was back and forth of whether I wanted to dress Parker up, but I ended up finding this cute Sunflower costume and she looked so adorable in it.  She wasn't quite sure why she had it around her face, but she smiled and looked so cute in it.  During the parade, I ripped a small hole in the wrapper of a sucker.  She loved eating and sucking on that thing.  It was her real taste of sugar!

Cooper really wanted to be a Samurai for Halloween. We looked for costumes, but we couldn't find anything.  Bryce brought home some stuff laying around the shop and ended up making this awesome costume for Cooper.  He spent a lot of time on it and Cooper loved it.  I thought he did a great job.  He is creative and I am always amazed at the things he comes up with. 

We finally carved pumpkins a couple of nights before Halloween.  The boys had picked their own pumpkins at a patch and then they had a blast pulling and scraping the "guts" out of them.  Parker even enjoyed watching them.  On Halloween night, we actually went up to Steph's house to eat dinner and let the cousins all trick or treat together. 

Fall Leaves

This year we decided to stay on top of the leaf clean up and disposal.  Most years we are lazy and just let them sit on the ground and get gross from all the snow.  We had such warm weather this Fall and so the kids had a good time playing in the leaves.  Parker wasn't quite sure what to think about them, but Clayton had a blast running and jumping into the piles of leaves.

Fall Family Fun

I am assistant den leader for the Bears.  I enjoy doing this because I get to spend time with Cooper and Clayton and they get to have fun experiences and opportunities.  A couple of weeks before Halloween, we took the kids out to Hooper to let them pick their own pumpkin from a pumpkin patch.  All the scouts had a great time picking unique pumpkins. 

In October, we met Mandy and Weston up at the campgrounds in Mantua.  We brought one of the four wheelers and took the kids for small rides around the campsite.  We also started a fire and sat around visiting and eating roasted hot links and smores and drinking Dr. Pepper.  It was so pretty up there and the temperatures were somewhat warm for that time of year.

Later that night, as I was putting Parker in bed, I somehow threw up the hot link back into my throat and it took my breath away. I literally could not breathe and was heaving to get any sort of air into my lungs. It scared me really bad.  Bryce ran into the room and talked me through it.  After I finally caught some air and started into a bit of shock, Bryce gave me a priesthood blessing.  I almost lost my voice, but rested well that night and was fine the next day. 

Also in October, Clayton and his Best Friends Preschool class went to Black Island Farms.  I took Parker and they had a fun time riding on the hay wagon. The driver showed the kids some carrots and a fresh head of cabbage.  He then let them each go out and pick a small pumpkin.  The wagon was packed with people and it stressed Parker out, which stressed me out, but it ended up being ok. 

After the wagon ride, we went out to the field to play.  Clayton loved the big white slides.  He spent a lot of time climbing up the net ladders and going down the slides.  He also went on the little cart ride that was pulled by a small tractor.  We ate some nachos, had a drink, and then went out to the slides again!  He didn't want to go home. The weather was beautiful and perfect!