Wrappin it up!

I cannot believe that another year has past. Time sure flies when you are having fun and are busier than ever! It has really been a great year. The kids have all grown so much and have brought us so much joy. Here are a few updates about each of them.

Luke



Luke is a busy kid! He is in the 2nd grade and his teacher is Mr. Rocque. This year he has done basketball, soccer, tennis, karate, and swimming. He is just about to start another basketball season and is so excited. He is very into fashion and loves the name brands! He loves his converse, DC shoes, and Volcum. He loves to work out with his Dad and recently ran 3 miles on the treadmill. He is doing great in school. He gets such high grades and is at the top of his class. He is a great brother and loves to lead his siblings in playing. His best friend is still Riley and they could spend every second together. He has such a tender heart and truly desires to make us proud. We love Luke!

Harlee



Harlee is just a sweetheart. She has grown up so much over this last year. She is in her second year of preschool and goes 4 days a week with Mrs. Sherri. She loves being a little mom to her younger brothers. She has been keeping busy this year with soccer, dance, speech, and swimming. She loves to play barbies and house. Her latest source of fun is her camera and her salon doll. Her best little friend is Aubrey and they play so well together. She loves to make us proud and loves to hear that she has done so! She is very helpful and sweet. We are just so grateful for this little girl. If Heavenly Father was only going to bless us with one daughter, He sure gave us His best one. We love Harlee!

Nash



Nash is such a great kid. He has become a little more willing to express his opinions over this year and is not always the mellow guy he use to be. He is very smart! He graduated from his speech classes with Kids on the Move and does not qualify any longer for speech. His favorite color is dark blue and loves everything that is that color. He loves to play with Toy Story toys and Cars 2. He LOVES the IPAD and knows how to use it better than we do. He loves music and his favorite song is Party Rock Anthem. He would spend hours watching videos of that song on the computer. He also can do the shuffle that they do on that video- too cute! We are so grateful for his kind spirit and his honesty. We love Nash!

Gray



Gray is our little stinker. He is always busy and hard to find. Just when you think he is in one room he has already moved on to make the next mess. Gray loves to play with blocks and cars. He recently started sleeping through the night- finally! He is so much happier and so are we. His health has gotten so much better and with that his cute personality has come out. He finally feels good and is happy! He loves to do anything that Nash is doing and we think he feels he is one of the big kids. He hardly ever slows down and can often be found on top of the counter! He is starting to talk so much more and is just so much fun. He is such a funny kid. We love Gray!
*Love this picture. It is typical Gray to not look at he camera when we ask him to.

Joey and I are doing great. His company was bought out and he now works for Teva, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies. He works so hard for our family. We are working on our basement and hope to finish that next year. We are going to celebrate our ten year anniversary in just a few weeks. I can honestly say I love him more today than I did the day I married him. I would have never thought that was possible. He is truly my best friend. He grounds me and strengthens me. I love being part of his team. We are expecting our last little guy in just about 3 1/2 months. We are looking forward to another great year.

Airbourne

Uncle Ryan is the General Manager at Airborne, a trampoline place. For Christmas he gave us some free passes so on Friday we decided to take the kids. They were so excited. What a cool place! They have a little kids section where Nash, Harlee, and Gray hung out. Gray was such a stinker. He would sneak out of the kid area when we were not looking. He is fast. Good thing Joey was there to help me. Then they have tons of trampolines and a foam pit for Luke. They all had so much fun. They were all sweating like crazy and tired out after an hour. Harlee has requested we go back there for her birthday in a few weeks. I think I will leave the little ones at home!

Testing out our Christmas present

For Christmas this year Joey and decided to fore go the presents for each other and buy a new camera. We got a really good deal on a Canon Rebel T2. It is a $1000 dollar camera and we found it on KSL for $400 with an additional lens. We are loving it. The pictures are so clear. Next year our blog book will be full of clear pictures. Guess I better do a good job of cleaning their faces since you can see every little speck of dirt. So grateful for this fancy way to document our memories. We are truly blessed.

Haircuts

Yesterday, after many days of talking about it, I took Harlee, Nash, and Gray to get their haircut. Harlee has not had a trim for about 4 months and her hair was not curling like it use to. She really wanted her hair cut like her BFF Aubrey and it looks so cute.

BEFORE


AFTER



We have been growing Nash's hair for a long time. I LOVE it long. But lately he has been telling me that he has girl hair. I guess that means it is time to cut it! He was so excited. When we got in the car he said: "Look Mom, I have boy hair!" So cute. He looks darling with short hair.

BEFORE


AFTER



It has been so long since Gray has had a real haircut. I have tried to trim it a little over the last 8 months since Michelle moved. He was in desperate need of a haircut by someone who knows what they are doing. He was quite the wiggly nightmare but it looks great. I cannot believe how old he looks when he gets a real haircut. I did not get a before shot on Gray but here are the results.




Such cute kids. Since Luke was at Riley's and Joey cuts his hair, he did not need a haircut.

Christmas Day 2011

We had decided to go to Jamie and Mindi's ward at 9am so at 7:15am I woke all the kiddos up. We headed downstairs to see what Santa had brought. The kids were so excited when they received so much of what they had asked for. Luke's favorite thing from Santa was his basketball hoop. Harlee's favorite thing from Santa was her camera and her salon doll. Nash's favorite thing from Santa was his buzz lightyear bike. Gray's favorite thing has to be his wooden toys. He got a shape sorter and a ball toy. I thought for sure he would LOVE his Special Agent Oso doll or Rockin Elmo but he is a little afraid of both. SO funny! It is so crazy how quickly the organized piles can turn into a disaster.

BEFORE

LUKE



HARLEE



NASH



GRAY




AFTER



Seriously, such a mess. After they saw what Santa brought they opened all the gifts from us. We then enjoyed a yummy breakfast of eggs,ham, and cheese and cinnamon rolls. Then we quickly got ready and actually made it to church on time. Not bad huh?

After church we came home to relax for a few hours before heading down to the Childs for dinner and presents. They were way too generous to all of us. What a great Christmas. I love spending time with family. I am truly grateful for my Savior. I love this time of year to reflect on all that He has done for me. Because of Him I have the opportunity to enjoy time with family for eternity.

Christmas Eve 2011

What a great holiday season we had this year. On Christmas Eve we went over to my family's house for a low key dinner and some presents. It was so nice to go and spend time together. We got home around 7pm and it was time to start our own traditions. We let the kids open three gifts from us: pjs, slippers, and a new pillow pet. Then they got to open up the gifts that they had chosen for each other. Luke got a sock monkey from Harlee and skull candy ear buds from Nash and Gray. Harlee got a cabbage patch doll from Luke and a Lalaloopzy doll from Nash and Gray. Nash got toy story matchbox cars from Luke and a Mater truck from Harlee. Gray got a squeaky animal and curious George movie from Harlee and an animal set from Luke. It was so fun to watch them open the gifts that were picked out for them from their siblings. Loved it! After the gifts were done, they got in their pjs and we watched a Christmas movie together. They all struggled a little to go to sleep, but once they settled down they were ready for a restful night!

Our Visit With Santa

Last night we went to Trolley Square to see Santa. We had heard that this was a great place to visit because there were never any lines. It was perfect. We arrived and had only two other people in line ahead of us. Each of the kids got to take a turn telling Santa what they wanted.



Nash went first and climbed right up on Santa's lap. He told Santa that he wanted a Toy Story bike and a Cars 2 bike. He then asked Santa for a Toy Story Car and a Cars 2 car.



Luke went next to talk with Santa. He had brought a list he had prepared with 23 things on it. Santa listened patiently as Luke read him his whole list. He was a little upset on the way there when I told him that there was a good chance he would not get an IPOD touch that cost several hundred dollars!



Harlee went next to speak with the big man in red. She was so proud that she only asked him for two things. She asked him for a pink camera and a pink video camera.

Gray kind of wanted nothing to do with Santa and was not interested in climbing up on his lap.




The kids were all excited and promised Santa that they would be good so that they might have a chance at getting what they asked for.

Christmas Lights

On Tuesday night we had our traditional Thanksgiving Point Light night! We all got in our comfy clothes, stopped at Maverick for some treats, and it was off to see the lights. I love this idea. To think we use to bundle up and freeze while looking at the lights on Temple Square. This way we get to sit and stay warm to enjoy the lights. Joey even made us a Christmas CD that we listened to as we looked at the lights. I love these outings we get to do as a family. As we drove through the lights I could not help but be overcome with gratitude. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and amazing kids. How lucky am I that I get to enjoy the holidays with them? So so lucky!
*We had just woken Nash up from falling asleep in the car. We did not want him to miss the lights but he was not so happy about it.

Nash's 3 year old checkup

Yesterday Nash had his 3 year old checkup. Joey was off of work so I got to take Nash all by myself. What a quick and quiet appointment. Nash is doing great. Here are his stats:

Weight: 36 lbs - 85%
Height: 39 1/4 in - 90%

Dr. D was so proud of his speech improvement and said that by four he needs to be going on the big boy potty. I am hoping that it is before 3 1/2 that he masters that! Who wants to have three kiddos in diapers. Does not sound fun! So grateful for Nash. We are hoping though that this bad behavior that came on the day he turned 3 quickly disappears. So much for our mellow fellow!

White Elephant Party

On Sunday night we had a white elephant party at Jamie and Mindi's house. What a great night. We had enchiladas for dinner and then went downstairs for a little program. Grandpa talked about the true meaning of Christmas and bore his testimony of the Savior. What an amazing example he is to all of us. We are so lucky to have him in our family. After Grandpa spoke, Jamie shared a few short videos that were really touching. Then to finish up Hailee played the guitar and Mindi sang Silent Night. It was so beautiful and such a great reminder of what we should be focusing on. Then we all went back upstairs and opened the gifts. It was so fun to see what everyone got. Very creative! Aside from Gray splitting his lip open and bleeding all over the place, it was a perfect night. So grateful for Joey and his wonderful family that we get to be a part of.
*At the end of the night we finsihed off Nash's bday with cupcakes!

Nash Turns Three

Our little Nashie is growing up. We cannot believe that he is already 3 years old. He slept in longer than anyone today and woke up to a breakfast of snowman donuts! What could be better for our little guy who LOVES sugar! He opened his presents a little later and was so excited to get a Cars 2 racetrack and a transformer. We went over to Mindi and Jamie's for dinner. After dinner we sang to Nash and had cupcakes. What a fun day! Probably one of the last ones where we can be so low key with the celebrating. We hope you had the best birthday Nash!
*Everytime someone would tell him Happy Birthday he would reply "Happy Birthday!" Too cute!

The Breakfast Club

Since being released from the RS presidency, Janet Serene and I have tried to get together frequently. Since we are in different wards we miss each other! A couple of months ago we decided to start going to Kneaders for breakfast once a month. We have added our friend Deb to the group and I call us the Breakfast Club. Yesterday we went and exchanged presents for Christmas. I am so grateful for these good friends and the great examples they all are to me.

Cookies at Mimi's

On the last day of school before Christmas break my Mom has all of the grand kids over to make a Christmas treat. This year they made cookies that looked like Santa. They were so cute. Since this always seems to fall close to Nash's birthday, we always spend a little time celebrating him.



He got a transformer and I do not think he has put it down since. He loves to figure things out so this toy was right up his alley. The kids had such a good time.



*Not sure why I did not get any pictures of the cookie making but here are a few of Nash getting his present.

The Christmas Sing 2011

Traverse Mountain held it's 2ND annual Christmas Sing. Each of the grades sing a couple of Christmas songs and the parents come to watch. Luke's class performed at 10am to a packed house. They sang "What Child is This" and "Santa Claus! Santa Claus! You are much too fat!" Luke was so not into it. It is crazy how much he has changed since kindergarten. He was so animated and very accurate with all of the actions.




This year, he wore his jacket, hoodie, and kept his hands in his pockets. I told Joey that this was his fault! I could totally see Joey doing the same things years ago!



Harlee had her performance at 1pm. Her class sang "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" with their cute painted noses and reindeer hats. She was so cute and animated. I hope her hands stay out of her pockets in a few years! So fun to watch them grow up. It is happening too fast!

Anything is as good as gel...

Gray puts EVERYTHING in his hair. I am not sure if he thinks he is styling it but he will try anything. I had just given him a bath because he had put blue paint from their art projects all through his hair. He came down all clean and smelling good, ready to eat lunch. He had some cheese and then a gogurt. No sooner did I give him the gogurt that he squirted some on his hands and styled his hair. So much for the clean baby. I am really hoping this is just a phase. I am really having a hard time keeping up with this kid!
*It is hard to tell in this picture but check out the right side of his head! Glossy with yogurt- nice Gray!

She Did It!!

Harlee has been struggling again with going to preschool. She gets really sad to leave me but as soon as she is there she is fine. I made her a promise at the beginning of the week that if she did not cry this week then we would go on a date of Friday night. After school each day we would put a happy face on the calendar showing that she was so brave! She was so good all week and did not cry at all. It was so wonderful to watch her bravely go each day! So proud of her! So on Friday, as soon as she got home from school, we were off for our date. She chose to go to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner. It was so fun to sit and chat with her. I feel so blessed to have her as my daughter! Then we went to Target and she did some Christmas shopping for her brothers. It was so fun to spend this time with her. I know it was the reward she earned but I felt like I was rewarded also. Love you Har!!

They are listening...

Yesterday I was picking up the living room when I saw Luke's take home reader on the floor. I had asked him to put it in his backpack and I don't think he was listening. So I said: "Crap Luke." Not the best thing to say I admit. To which Nash replied: "Mom, we no say crap!" Don't you love it when your own words come back to haunt you? Such examples these kids are. Always helping me to get back on the right path.
*Love this picture of my Nashie! Such a babe!

Festival of Trees

Luke's 2ND grade class made a tree to donate to the Festival of Trees. The Festival of Trees is a big event where trees, wreaths, and other Christmas decorations are donated and all the proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital. This is a place that is dear to our hearts since at one point or another all of our children have spent time there. Luke was there for 10 days when he was so sick at birth, Harlee had tubes put in and removed from her ears, Nash spent a week there when he contracted RSV at 2 months old, and Gray had his tonsils/adenoids out there. We are so grateful for this hospital. So when Luke's class donated the tree we were so excited to go and see it and support this great cause. So we got a babysitter for Nash and Gray so we could just take to two older kids. We went to the festival and it was so great to see all of the amazing trees. Luke's tree was made up of frogs.



Each of the kids made a frog and accessorized it according to a story they had written. Luke's frog was a hiker so we made a backpack and sleeping bag.



After we walked through the trees we took the kids to Crown Burger for dinner.



It was so fun to enjoy dinner and get to talk to them about what is going on in their little lives. I decided we need to do this more often. What a fun night!