Going Private.

I think I'm finally going to go private. I don't know if anyone still reads this, but if you want to follow my blog, give me your email address and I will add you. I'll wait till April or May to do this for those of you who check blogs as often as I do! :) Thanks!

December 2011

On December 3rd, we went up to Temple Square with my family. It was tons of fun despite that it was freezing cold (though my mom insists we've been when it's been lots colder) and James and I were deathly ill with bronchitis. We ate yummy Cafe Rio afterwards! We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We feel so blessed. It's hard to believe we survived all the parties and shopping. It always goes by too fast.

This is Abigail with Santa at my family's Christmas Eve party. There were only 3 kids total this year - Abigail, James, and cousin, Claire (11 months). It was weird, but really nice to not have it so chaotic. Jed was working Christmas Eve and we missed him like crazy! Abigail was such an angel all night!

James on the otherhand....

Here he is with my sister, Mckell. He FREAKED out! Hysterical! Quite embarrassing for his mother. In his defense, he was exhausted.

Daddy made it home Christmas morning at 8:00am. Since we had church at 9:00 am, I had the kids get all ready for church before going down to see what Santa brought. They were so sweet. They got everything they asked for - which thankfully wasn't too much! Here is James with his Buzz Lightyear. It's the real deal. Whenever I asked him what he wanted for Christmas, all he would say was, "Buzz." He's been in heaven with it.

Here's Abigail with her Baby-sitter Barbie. All she asked for this year was Barbies. She got a few of them. Then we went to church. We came home and played with our new toys!

We spent the day at my parents' and at Jed's parents'. What a wonderful day. I love living so close to our families. Here's to a new year!

November 2011

I can't believe November is almost over! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Jed was working again, so we missed him a lot. Here are my beautiful kids before heading up to my parents' for a delicious feast.
I was in charge of making the names for the place settings. How creative am I? My little pilgrim hats and bonnetts worked out pretty good. They took me over 2 hours to make, but hey, I was happy with them! :)

We had eaten dinner and then my cousins came up. We did a cute craft and let the kids decorate gingerbread (well, graham cracker) houses. Then we all went to Spanish Fork's Festival of Lights. We piled in the back of a couple trucks. Here is James with Mckenzee and Bronson in my dad's truck.

Here is Abigail and cousin, Mylee (and Alex and Kallin in window) in the back of Alex's truck. What a fun night! The kids LOVED it!

We finally got James in a "big boy" bed and he LOVES it! Yes, we left the crib up, so there really is no room in his bedroom. He slept in the bed for the first time last night and did awesome! He woke up saying, "I love my big boy bed. It is so fun!" Seriously. My kid is a crack-up.

October 2011

On October 19, my mom and I took the kids up to Gardner Village. We love to see the witches! The kids were both scared of the witches at first and then warmed up.
Happy Halloween! We had our family party on Wed. October 26. This is Abigail (Rapunzel), Me (Mother Gothel) and James (firefighter) before we headed up to the York's house.

We always do a treasure hunt. A couple of my cousins jumped out and scared the kids and Abigail was hysterical! She screamed bloody murder and yelled over and over, "SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" It was hilarious! She's kind of traumatized, though. :)

On Friday, October 28, my mom, my sister, Mckell, and my aunt Lesa made a really quick trip down to St. George to see the production of "Thriller" at the Tuachan. It was a lot of fun! Here is Mckell with a zombie girl. The zombies harrassed my mom and it was hilarious!

We had a crazy Halloween day. Jed was working again. Abi went to school and had her Halloween party. She got home, we at lunch, and then met my sister-in-law, Angie, and her kids at Jed's Grandparents' house. Here is Hallie, Abi, and Sydnie. James and Colton were not cooperating, so I didn't get a picture of all 5 kids. Then we left from there and did Springville's Trick or Treat on Main street. Then I brought James home for a short nap while Abi went with my neighbor to their ward Trunk or Treat. They got back and we took our kids around our neightborhood trick or treating. Then the kids and I went to my parents. It was the busiest day EVER! We were so exhausted!

September 2011

We celebrated Onion Days in Payson on Sept. 5. We went to the car show and the kids got to ride the train. James was in heaven! He was so proud to ride it by himself! Here he is with Abigail and cousin, Sydnie.
Here's my little girl's first day of Pre-K preschool on Sept. 7. She's at the Kinder Garden again and she loves it! She is learning so much!

On Saturday, Sept. 17, Jed and I took the kids up the canyon with our friends, the Mayberry's. We went to Kelly's Grove and had dutch oven dinner and peach cobbler. It was a lot of fun! Here is James and Sawyer not really eating dinner.

Abigail, James, and Zoey being silly up the canyon.

On Sept. 20, we went to P.F. Chang's to celebrate mine and Bronson's birthdays. It was a lot of fun and delicious. My kids love the big horse statues.

August 2011

Jed surprised me this year for our 5th Anniversary! We left the kids with Jed's parents on August 3 and spent the evening in Grand Junction, CO. The next morning, Aug. 4, we shopped Downtown Grand Junction. Then we made our way through a beautiful canyon until we happened upon a gorgeous resort in the middle of nowhere. It's called Gateway Canyon Resort and it was SO much fun! Seriously, it's definitely one of my very favorite vacation destinations. Plus, I had a great few days with Jeddy. It was the best surprise! We came home on Aug. 5.
The next day, August 6, Jed, the kids, and I went boating on Utah Lake with my family. Fun day! Here is James, Abigail, Mckell, and Kenz, relaxing and snacking. My kids LOVE boating!

On August 12, Jed and I took the kids up to the Discovery Gateway children's museum in Salt Lake. We had free passes (thanks, Anna!) and had a great time! We'd never been there before. The kids were in heaven! It was pretty busy, though. Fun enough to do once!

On August 20, i took Abigail with me to the Utah County Demolition Derby in Spanish Fork. Jed was working again. Abigail did really good, though she does not like loud noises. My brother-in-law was in the derby this year - his first time. He did pretty good. It was really fun to watch him. Jed's whole family was with us, so that was extra fun. It started at 8 pm and we got home after 11pm.

On August 30, my little sister, Mckenzee got married! It still is wierd! We adore Bronson, though, and they are so happy. Here are my beautiful kids in front of the Draper Temple before the ceremony.

The Rest of July

We had one crazy summer! On July 15, we went to the Ute Stampede Rodeo with all of Jed's friends. Naturally, Jed was working, but the kids and I had fun. My sister, Kell, came to help me with my monsters. Here is Abigail with her friends, Jackson and Jakelle. We just do not see them enough.
Jed was also working when the kids and I went to Lake Powell with my family from July 17 - 20. We had a great time! It was James's first trip and Abigail's 4th! James had a blast! Here he is helping Grandpa drive the boat.

Both kids were such great sports! They hiked up to these indian ruins with us. They also never complained about having to wear their lifejackets 24/7. :) You can never be too careful - especially on a houseboat. Remarkably, I had a wonderful trip despite having such anxiety!

On Saturday, July 22, I had the bright idea to walk the Hobble Creek Canyon trail with Jed and the kids. I hadn't realized it was so long! It about killed me! We went in the heat of the day, too! We had the kids in the stroller and they were sweethearts. We walked clear up to Kelly's Grove and ate lunch and let my kids cool their cooked bodies in the river. Abi found this potato bug and it had babies in her hand! I'd never seen such a thing. Too bad you can't see all the babies in the picture (they are tiny and white).

On Friday, July 29, we went down to Jed's annual family reunion in Delta, UT. It was a fun evening. We let the kids swim at the hotel and then went to the park for dinner and games. Jed's cousin brought down his pony and gave the kids rides. It was a lot of fun.