The Polar Express

We took the kids up to Williams, AZ to ride on the Polar Express & see Santa at the North Pole. The kids had a blast...it was a fun little family getaway.

The Holidays

The first week of December we took the kids to the Temple Lights. They were beautiful!

I couldn't get Caleb to wear his coat...it was nice weather, but not that nice!

One of my favorite light displays is of the Three Wise Men (we're blocking them).

The picture we took of the Temple didn't turn out too great.

Shaylee at her Preschool Christmas Program. She was so proud & did a great job singing!

Caleb & Shaylee playing in the leaves...

Caleb showing off his art projects that he did for Thanksgiving. I helped in his classroom for just a couple of hours (a very LONG couple of hours!). Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the teachers out there!!!!

Be Thankful

This quote was in our church bulletin...I loved it, so I thought I would share it with everyone:


BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would you look forward to?
Be thankful when you don't know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for you mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you're tired and weary,
because it means you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessing!

Good-Bye Summer!

I know I'm weird, but I'm going to miss Summer...the nice HOT weather! No more swimming in the pool or wearing shorts. These pictures were taken the last day of swimming lessons...in October!! I guess I shouldn't brag too much, because we're thinking about moving back to cold, cold, super-freezing cold Utah! We've been talking about it for a while, & now with Kyle working from home we can do it. I also thought we better do it before our kids get old enough to get attached to friends. But this has been a really hard decision. We LOVE it here, but we also miss family & friends back home. Can't we just combine the two places? How nice would that be!

Anyways, Malia was a wonderful swimming teacher & has been a great neighbor. And my kids love to play with her daughter, Braylin. Here are the 3 trouble-makers actually sitting on the step. It was my job to keep them there while each kid had their turn swimming. I seriously wish I had their energy!!! The housework I could get done...

Here's Caleb trying to warm up in the sun. My kids are now good little swimmers & love the water. I feel much, much better now:)

Happy Halloween!!

This year we had a fun, safe, & very busy Halloween! It started off with our Bishop asking Kyle to be in charge of our annual Trunk-or-Treat. We had a chili cook-off, fun house, cookie decorating, pumpkin decorating, a train for the kids, & of course trunk-or-treating! It was a ton of work, but it turned out great & we had a lot of help from our friends. Kyle's haunted/fun house was a big hit & the boys enjoyed scaring the kids:)
Shaylee was a kitty (she LOVES cats) & Caleb was, of course, Indiana Jones. It was great to have such easy costumes this year!

Shaylee getting popcorn at our neighbor's house. Every year they have hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade rootbeer, & popcorn. It's a great neighborhood get-together & we get free dinner!

My mom in front of Melissa & Shane's house. Every year Shane does a haunted house on his front porch area. He's a tall guy, & when he wears his black outfit with mask, it's quite scary! It's funny to hear the kids screaming as they run out:)

Vegas Trip

About 2 years ago for our Girls Getaway a bunch of us flew to Vegas. We went to the Celine Dion Concert...it was amazing!!! We had such a great time. One of the highlights of the trip was stepping off of the tram at the airport, and BAM! Right in your face is this picture... We couldn't stop laughing over it. "It" was huge & so we just had to get our pictures taken with these posters.

When we got home, we were all looking through our pictures at our monthly Family Home Evening with Kyle's family (on the TV screen) when we came across these pictures. We made up a little story about how great the "Thunder from Down Under" show was. The guys were not happy. But we couldn't keep straight faces for long - good thing we don't play poker!

Here we are on the tram that takes you all over Vegas. Great idea, they should do it here:) We had such a great time. Good memories:)

"Who I Am Makes A Difference"