GINGERBREAD HOUSES--2009

Jared and I hosted our annual Gingerbread decorating night. Now, I usually really enjoy this night in particular, and in the past have been known to make my very own gingerbread house, from scratch...but when I spotted these I just couldn't pass them up...

Wyatt and Luke decorated their very own house (with huge marsh mellows that were supposed to be for the hot chocolate)...they were so proud! Even little Levi stayed up to enjoy some decorating. Once the kids were tucked away in their beds, the real decorating began! Connie and Carrie were serious and whipped out some pretty awesome houses! I am sad I didn't get a picture...Carrie (and Dan) made a really cool Hawaiian themed house, and Connie (and Tim's) perfect traditional gingerbread house was a beauty!

Not everyone could make it (Cam and Jenny were out of town), but we did get Tim, Lynn, Julee, Misty, Dad, Micky, and the boys! Sooo, since we couldn't all be there for gingerbread houses, Cam and Jenny decided to have everyone over one last time before Christmas (No pictures-boo!)!! Cam and Jenny did not disappoint. Cameron said it would be really "low-key", but their table was full of yummy, homemade Christmas treats!

A MUST SEE!

Once again we rounded up the family, bundled ourselves up (it really wasn't that cold, thankfully), and headed out to the temple to hear Jared's dad sing and look at the beautiful lights! This year we were joined by Porter, Karla, Reed, Elizabeth, and Wade, Kimber and family. Wyatt and Luke love seeing the nativity. What better way to end a great night??... a visit to Neilson's Frozen Custard.

CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIES--2009

Where: Carrie and Dan's new home

Who attended: Cam, Jenny, Stella, Connie, Abbey, Mike, and us. *We missed Tim, Dad, Mickey, and the boys.

We munched on pizza, sugar cookies, and frosting. I laughed watching Wyatt and Luke dip the knife in the frosting, frost, lick the knife, frost some more, then dip the knife back in the frosting. Classic.

The kids were in heaven with all of the sweets!... It was noisy and crazy..., Mike put his hand in hot wax, Abbey made a royal, beautiful mess (Connie was without Tim), the tree was almost knocked over...B UT, the night was a huge success!! Beautiful people, lovely music, festive cookies...

GIVING THANKS 2009

The Sunday before Thanksgiving we had a "pre-Thanksgiving" dinner over at Cam and Jenny's with all of my family. Delicious food and good company...the kids had a lot of fun playing together, and at one point they were all jumping off the couches. They certainly took advantage of adults who were too busy talking to pay attention! It is always fun when all of my family gets together. We have the most interesting and hilarious discussions...Before all of the Thanksgiving festivities began I decided to run in the Turkey Trot! I am training for a 1/2 marathon for the end of January, so I thought this would be good practice since I have never run in a race. I finished just over an hour (1:06 to be exact). I thought I would have a hard time since I had not run 6 miles yet in my training, but I took it slow, and felt good at the finish. It was especially fun seeing my little family half way through cheering me on from the side, and then seeing them at the finish line! After the race we rushed home and got ready for our Thanksgiving lunch with the Williams. Ladd and Janet had everything set up outside and it was a beautiful day! I ate way too much and especially stuffed myself with the dessert. I barely saw Wyatt and Luke the whole day. They ate really fast and then played for hours with their cousins on the trampoline, at the park, and downstairs with all of the toys. Here we have PJ deciding he wanted to get into the pool (Jared was kind enough to throw him in). Although it was a nice day the pool was freezing! Here I am visiting with some of my sisters-in-law. This is when we decided it might be fun to go the the mall at midnight, spend $100 and then get $50 back on a gift card. This was as close to "black Friday" as I wanted to get. Jared's dad took a snooze right there at the table!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

ME AND MY BANGS

Thought I would give bangs a try since I decided my forehead is too big. I think I'm liking them!

REALLY??

Is my 5 month old really sitting up on his own already? Really? Where does the time go? Where's my little baby? I think that the more kids I have, the more I realize how I just want them to stay little longer. I guess Levi just wants to keep up with his brothers...he loves to watch them and if I lay him on the floor he will roll and scoot himself all over the place. He grabs at everything, holds things in his hands, loves to eat rice cereal with fruit/veggies, enjoys his bottle (getting too impatient to nurse), loves to smile, pushes up on his knees and toes, and can now push up to a sitting position without even realizing it. I can't believe how fast he is growing...makes me sad.

A couple weeks ago I decided to give the rice cereal a try...Levi seemed to really be interested in food and I just felt like he was needing a little more nutrition. He liked it OK, but once I added a little fruit he LOVED it... if it's warmed up, even better.