Lego Obsession

Ethan got a few Lego sets for his birthday, and Christmas, and bought a couple more with some money he earned selling his outgrown toys (the only way I could get him to part with any of his little boy toys was telling him he could have any money we made...$20 goes a long way to a 6 year old!)

He quickly built each set and yearned for more.  To help him really get the full joy out of Legos Bob sat down one Saturday and played with him.  There was a lot of mining, fire fighting and police chasing going on in our kitchen that day!

Grizzlies Hockey

Thanks again to our Pass of All Passes we met up with cousins and went to the Hockey Game on our extra day off.









The Grizzlies lost, but with a group like this, it's always fun!

2 Degrees

What do you do when it's 2 degrees outside???  Blow Frozen Bubbles!  I'd seen the idea on Pinterest and had to try it.  It actually works.  We blew a few bubbles and some blew away, but a few dropped on to the steps and froze.  You could put your finger right in to it and it would crack, but not pop.  Mommy led science at its best!

Fun Center

Guess who else got Pass of All Passes...Yep, our good buddies!  Jackson had a shorter day of school last week so we met up and headed to the local Fun Center.  Man we love to play!  The kids each tried the rock climbing wall.  Avery didn't like it at all and Leilah climbed the highest...go figure!

We all loved Laser Tag, even if our team didn't win! 



The kids talked us in to playing a few Arcade games.  I couldn't resist...mini bowling and Skee Ball are 2 of my favorites!  They loved playing the games and "shopping" for prizes was icing on the cake!

College Ball

Cousins got Pass of All Passes!  We were so excited to have someone to go play with!  We went to the local college basketball game last week!  We went early to be sure we got seats...turns out we didn't need to be that early!

The good thing about being early was the kids got a basketball shaped backpack full of coloring books and crayons to help make the wait a little easier.


They also got invited down on the court to  "High 5" the starting players as they were introduced.  It was so fun!


We ended the night at Training Table for dinner and loved every minute of it!

Little Baker

Avery got an Easy Bake Oven from Gram and Papa for Christmas so as a break from cleaning up Christmas and Vacation Laundry we baked up a little something yummy!

 She loved being in charge and wanted to do everything herself.  The nice thing about Easy Bake Oven is, she can!  We made Red Velvet Cupcakes with Pink Party Frosting and Rainbow Sugar Sprinkles.  They were actually pretty tasty for just add water and she was tickled PINK!

Washington Vacation

We packed up the day after Christmas for our trip to Washington.  We love to see my side of the family...even if it is a long drive.

This year we were treated to lots of fun with cousins.  We made Cotton Candy with their new Cotton Candy Machine!

We had a couple of Sleepover Movie Parties.  On the second party the kids got smart and split up Boys vs Girls instead of by family.  The boys loved it...


Samantha on the other hand had to sleep with a wiggly Avery. She had a good time, but probably didn't get much sleep!


We made a quick annual visit to the Elk and Big Horn feeding station, but didn't stay long because Uncle Ry planned a sledding trip for us up the mountains.  We made a fire, roasted hot dogs, and tubed to our heart's content.

We had that part of the mountain to ourselves so with the sun, fire, and solitude we sledded away most of the day.


To ring in the New Year we hit the local bowling alley.  The kids have loved bowling this year and showed real skill.  Ethan led most of the time and was only beaten by 2 points by Uncle Ry on his last ball.

After Bowling we headed home for games and food.  Loteria is high on the list of fun at Gram's.  New Year's just wouldn't be the same without Mexican Bingo for fabulous prizes.

All in all we had fun.  Mostly we just loved the days spent hanging out with family at Gram and Papa's.  It's always a good time in T-Town!

Finally Christmas

The build up to Christmas is so fun.  We love all the traditions and family fun packed in to the days before Christmas.  We kept to tradition and joined Bob's family for the annual Nativity play. Ethan got to play Joseph this year and Avery was a Wiseman-Princess (a self chosen roll).

We opened PJs with Cousins.  Avery loved her monkey ballerina jammies and Ethan was thrilled with the Ute PJ bottoms Bob and I hunted down.


At home we got a plate ready for Santa and the Reindeer.  Ethan carefully counted enough carrots for each reindeer who would pull the sleigh including Rudolph because it was a foggy night.

Ethan got some reindeer food at school so he braved the snow in his PJs to sprinkle the oatmeal with sparkles.  I'm fairly certain that if I hadn't convinced him Santa would bring the sleigh down to the grass for the reindeer to eat since our roof is so steep he'd have climbed to the top of the house.

In the morning the kids were thrilled to see that Santa had visited.  Avery got her Stompeez and new baby and Ethan got the Legos he'd asked for.  All together they made quite a haul.

We had a fabulous dinner with Bob's family followed by another amazing pile of gifts to open.  Grandma and Granddad always spoil us all.  Ethan got a new baseball mitt, which he loves because it's a grown up real kind of mitt.

Avery and Angela both got a special gift from Granddad...he built them a doll house and Grandma made the bedding.  Avery loves her house!


It was a great Christmas!  We headed home early to pack up and get ready to drive to Washington in the morning...let the festivities continue!

Special Delivery

The kids each wrote a letter to Santa this year.

Dear Santa,   I hope you have a great Christmas.  I would love for Christmas some more Legos.  From Ethan

Dear Santa,
    I like  you.  For Christmas I'd like Princess Legos and another baby.  Also, maybe some Stompeez.
 Love, Avery

After sending them off the kids watched the mailbox everyday for a return letter from Mr. Claus.  Luckily we mailed our letters in just enough time for Santa to reply.  While he didn't make any promises about what he would bring he did assure the kids they were on the Nice List and would definitely be getting a visit!  What a special delivery!

A Pleasant Surprise

One day after volunteering at Ethan's school I walked out of the office to find a pleasant surprise...Ethan had been chosen as the Kindergarten Student of the Month.  We were so proud of him!

"Ethan is a great student.  He always does his best.  It is so nice to have him in our class."

December 2012

Blurry. Not Blurry

After a few complaints of headaches and dizziness Ethan has some new spectacles. I think he looks sharp and when you ask him what he thinks he moves his glasses up and down over his eyes and says, "blurry, not blurry." so they must do the trick.

December 2012

Christmas Break

To kick off our Christmas Break we planned a playdate with friends for the very first day.  I knew time would fly and fill up quickly.

The kids decorate Christmas Trees made out of ice cream cones.  We started with frosting then added sprinkles and candy. 



Much easier than gingerbread houses and hey, it's still a load of candy and fun.



After the decorating fun we exchanged family games.  Tumbling Monkeys was a hit!

We love crafting, creating and playing with friends so in our book...this was the best way to start off the festivities!

Frontrunner Christmas

We took the kids on the new Front Runner Train to Salt Lake to see Christmas Lights.  It was all part of the experience.



We loved all the lights and being together. Wandering around Temple Square is a great way to kick off the Holiday Season.


Macy's took over the Candy Window displays.  It was fabulous!  The different Christmas Ball Ornaments were amazing.  Santa's candy cane beard was my favorite!

It's a family tradition we love!

It's A Boot Camp Birthday!

Ethan decided on an Army Guy Birthday.  We went to work looking for ideas and party planning.  I think it turned out pretty great and Ethan and the other recruits loved it. 

We played lots of fun games...Sarge Says, Parachute Drop, No Man Left Behind, Wounded Soldier, and an Obstacle Course.



We made camo cupcakes with green frosting and army guy toppers.




In the end the troops got a medal for passing off the 5 star merits.


 Boot Camp Birthday-Mission Complete!
December 1st