Snowing in Southern Utah

It snowed last night! The little boys were so excited to play in it, Katie and Taylor were much more hesitant since it was literally freezing outside. It was lots of fun outside!

Bedtime Fun!

These little guys are spoiled by a very loving Daddy every night! He likes to carry them on his feet to bed, read them stories and tuck them in with a goodnight kiss. Man are they spoiled!

Christmas Day 2010

Christmas morning started early than last year but not too bad! Katelyn had set her alarm for 6 am but was swiftly put back to bed until 7:30. I am pretty sure Taylor and William had a peak when the house was all quiet, hoping that Santa had stopped by during the night to leave them some gifts. They weren't disappointed! They were all spoiled with treasures galore!

Matthew was not really into getting up early as everyone else so we opened a few presents before he joined the rest of us! Joshua got a little frustrated that he wouldn't open his presents but they all waited and watched when he finally did rouse!

Everyone was delighted by their gifts and us parents loved watching their reactions! Our grandparents sent us money for Christmas which we used to buy the kids a wii. It was hidden behind all the other presents so it wouldn't overshadow all the other fun things.

We headed over to my parents' house to join in the festivities there. We were all spoiled rotten as usual. The kids had drawn names with their cousins who live here in Saint George and enjoyed watching them open their presents.

After visiting for a little bit we went over to Grandpa and Grandma Belt's home to give them presents and have some lunch. The kids were a bit restless as they had toys and games waiting for them at home!

All in all it was a wonderful Christmas with lots of fun times had by all. Everyone was showered with gifts and the Christmas spirit. I am thankful that "God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son."

Christmas Eve 2010

Our Christmas Eve was wonderful! We had all the gifts bought and our Christmas dinner was at Stephanie's house so cleaning up wasn't really my responsibility. Thanks Steph!

Jennifer and Stephanie hosted Christmas dinner this year complete with a full table spread including name tags. It was a regular Christmas feast with ham, funeral potatoes, raspberry pretzel salad, rolls and hot apple cider. We ended with the kids doing a white elephant gift exchange so they all ended with a present before the night finished off.

We started heading back home and went to the temple to watch the nativity and lights. Matthew was pretty tired and didn't last long. It seemed a little strange being Christmas and all but we weren't even in jackets. We got home to make cookies for Santa, read the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2 and let the kids open some pjs before heading to bed. They were so excited for Santa to come!

A visit from the man in red!

The big man from the North Pole made a special appearance at our house! The kids weren't quite so scared of him since it looked so much like Grandpa. Unfortunately their lists for Santa seem to keep changing. Hopefully he'll bring them just what they like! He's pretty good about that at our house! Santa asked each of them what they would like, posed for a picture and then handed them a candy cane. They all enjoyed their time with Santa. Matthew even went up to Santa right before he left and gave him a great big hug. My sweet baby boy!

The best moment of the whole thing was right after Santa left, Joshua says "that wasn't Santa that was Grandma!" We all laughed at that one!

Playdough

I am in charge of sharing time for Primary the whole month of December. I had the kids do an activity using playdough and ended up with way too much so the boys have been very busy creating with playdough. William said he created a sculpture of me and so I needed to take their pictures. Here is the results. They're pretty cute if I do say so!

Katelyn's Christmas Piano Recital

Katelyn performed very well at her Christmas piano recital this year! Miss Amy, her piano teacher, had taught Katelyn a lot this past year and half. Katelyn works her butt off too! It has been a wonderful opportunity to have her take piano lessons. She is very determined! This year she played the Little Drummer Boy and Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Christmas Programs

Taylor's class performed several Christmas songs for two local care centers here in town. We were able to watch the first show and see Taylor singing and dancing! He did a great job!

The fourth grade performed several musical numbers in the gym later that same day. She played her flutophone, sang and played the xylophone. It was a nice performance!

Rough Morning

Matthew has been rather sick lately with a fever and sores in his mouth. I took him over to the doctors to find out that he has a herpes virus! The doctor told me to feed him cold things, like pudding. I think Matthew would rather wear his food than eat it but he's happy and that's what counts!

Gingerbread Houses 2010

We decided to let the kids do gingerbread houses but to let them make their own instead of just using the kit like in years past. We used graham crackers and a great frosting recipe to get things started.

They loaded up their houses with candies and each had a very unique house that showed a little more personality! Joshua's house is voted as the craftiest house and most heavy! William is voted most livable and colorful, as it is a very solid structure even though he kept squeezing the frosting into his mouth instead of the house. He was able to add the most candy to his roof, at one point we almost had a cave in with all the candy being put up on the roof.

Taylor's has the most snow as he poured the remainder of his frosting onto the paper plate and then sprinkles galore, he has the best looking roof! Katelyn's is voted as the most sturdy as she took it apart a few times to make sure it was secure with additional frosting. She added frosted windows and copied Taylor's roof with a little of her own flair!


They all had fun even Dad and Mom, we all ate way too much sugar and laughed most the time! I would say it was a great night! Too bad Matthew slept through the whole thing or maybe that was a good thing?!?

Meet with Santa at the mall

Friday afternoon while Zack was at a conference in Las Vegas, we took the kids over to the mall to meet up with Santa. Jennifer, Stephanie and their kids met us there. First, Jennifer's kids bravely went up and told Santa what they wanted for Christmas things like an ipad, a laptop and a four wheeler, Jaerick sat up on Santa's lap for a picture but when it came to my kids...they wouldn't go. Matthew didn't have a problem with the jolly old elf but the other ones only went when they went together for a quick picture.