Ho Ho Ho!

This was our first Christmas at home, just our little family . . .  (actually I'm starting to realize our family isn't all that little anymore . . . crazy!)  We had so much fun together!  We love being with grandparents, but there was something special about being in our own home on Christmas morning, and starting our own family traditions.  The kids kept telling me this was their best Christmas EVER!  

Pictures of the excitement (I just realized I did not take a single picture of Jason and I, but I swear we were there!)  . . . 

All dressed up for Christmas Sunday:

We invited Jason's sister, Katie, and her family over for Christmas Eve dinner and the kids put on a nativity play for us. 

The kids in their Christmas jammies:

We set out cookies for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer:

Joshua, Olivia and Ethan had a slumber party in Joshua's room on Christmas Eve.  They stayed up late watching movies and talking about the presents Santa would bring them the next morning.  Oh man, they crack me up!

The goods from Santa:

Opening presents on Christmas morning:

 

And finally . . . what Christmas post would be complete without the Christmas morning video?  I love my kids, and I love Christmas!  Putting the two together . . . there's nothing better!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Family Picture- 2012

Jason, Shanna, Joshua (7), Olivia (5), Ethan (2) and Logan (6 months)

He's a Crawler!

Our little Logan is officially a crawler!  He will stop at nothing to get to a wrapper, a lego, or anything that is NOT a baby toy.  Time to put up the gates!

Gobble 'til You Wobble!

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year.  It was so much fun to have my parents and siblings in town for the week.  Some pictures of the fun . . .

We went to a trampoline gym and jumped all night.  (A few of us may have realized we aren't as young as we thought, but at least we got a good workout!)

 

One night Grandpa and Grandma watched the sleeping kids so we could go to the latest Twilight movie.  Were it not for the one action scene, I think the guys would have clawed their eyes out.  Still fun though!

 

My brother, Brad, opened his mission call!  He has been called to the Richmond, Virginia mission.  We may have shed a tear or two.  He is the baby after all!

We spent Thanksgiving day cooking, playing with cousins, and eating lots and lots of pie! Pie . . . yum!

We went to temple square to see the Christmas lights.  We took carriage rides around the temple.  It was seriously beautiful!  Olivia pretended she was in a parade and practiced her pageant wave with each car we passed. =)

The boys went to a Utah Jazz game.  Nosebleed seats . . . but they still had a blast!

 Seriously, it was an awesome Thanksgiving!  Having family stay with us made us realize how blessed we are to have so much love and support in our lives.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Half-Birthdays for Everyone!

All our kids were born in the spring.  This means that spring is birthday season at our house, and fall is half-birthday season!  It's a good thing we're cake lovers!  We had lots of fun celebrating this fall, especially with Logan on his very first half-birthday.  Here are some pictures of the kids with their cakes:

Joshua: seven and a half

Olivia: five and a half

Ethan: two and a half

Logan: 6 months

Happy Half-Birthday to the best kids ever!

Catching Up

Wow!  I've really been stinking it up in the blog department lately.  My sisters keep reminding me to post, but I feel like I NEVER have a free minute to just sit down and write.  My goal is to get caught up, so I'm starting with a bunch of random photos I found on my iPhone the other day.  I don't want to forget any of these moments . . .

Joshua recently finished another soccer season.  He did awesome, and is looking forward to playing again in the spring:

Olivia was the star of the week in her kindergarten class.  She worked so hard on this poster of all her favorite things:

We found Ethan like this after church one Sunday.  I guess Nursery really takes it out of you!!:

Logan.  He is the joy of my life.  A sweeter little boy would be impossible to find!:

Joshua's obsession with legos continues.  There are about 40 pictures of his creations on my phone:

Olivia.  The girl loves to play dress up!:

Ethan had his first trip to the dentist.  After his check-up, the dentist gave him an alien that grows when you put it in water.  He now asks every day, without fail, if we can go to the dentist:

Logan in his ninja costume.  Is there anything cuter than a baby dressed up for Halloween?  I think not:

Love these kids!  They keep me busy, but it's the best kind of busy!