Wrappin it up 2015

I wanted to end this book with a picture of my 6 greatest blessings! What an amazing year we have had. I feel so blessed to have been given so many amazing blessings. I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge it gives me to know that I can be with my family forever. I honestly want for nothing more. Just want to take a minute and give a few highlights of 2015: We spent the year going to St. George, updating the house, our magical trip to Amsterdam, and many more fun memories that are written in this book. I am so grateful for the opportunity to write down a little bit about what goes on each year. These books are so precious to me and it is worth every second of time it takes to do it. Here is a little update on each of us: Luke is 11,in the 6th grade and doing very well. He is such a bright kid. He is working so hard on the swim team. He goes 2 hours a day/ 5 days a week. He works so hard at swimming and never complains. He is a great older brother and is babysitting quite a bit more. We pay him $5 an hour! Luke has a lot of friends but still spends most of his free time with Justin and Tyson. We are so proud of Luke and cannot believe that next year he will be getting the Priesthood, going to Young Men's, and going onto to Junior High. Where did the time go? Harlee is almost nine and in the 3rd grade. She is doing very well in school and is a friend to everyone. She is my chatty girl and comes home daily to tell me everything that went on at school that day. I LOVE it! Harlee is taking dance at Showcase USA. She is in a jazz and a hip hop class. She loves it and is really good at it. Harlee is so sweet and rarely gets upset. I told her the other day that she needs to promise to always stay this nice to me. She has the kindest heart and is a gift to her brothers. Love her! Nash is 7 and in the 1st grade. Nash is super smart and is doing amazing in school. He has such a sweet spirit and loves to come and give me a hug and a kiss multiple times in the day. Nash is our worker and will not stop until a job is completed. Nash is also on the swim team. He goes to practice 2 times a week and is doing great. Cannot believe that he will turn eight and get baptized this next year. So excited for him. He is growing up so fast and we just love him! Gray is 5 and is in kindergarten this year. Gray is our funny kid and often gets away with way too much because he can make a joke out of it. Gray is home in the mornings with Tag and I love it. They have such a love/hate relationship but I just know that Tag has learned so much from Gray. Gray is doing soccer this year and will start up again in spring. He cannot wait until he is six and can try out for the swim team. Love you Gray! Tag is 3 and is attending a special education preschool. He is learning and progressing so much. He speaks in full sentences and loves to do anything that his siblings are doing. He loves Wii and would play it all day if I let him. Tag is more willing to try new foods although he has not found too many that he likes! He will turn four this next year and I cannot believe that my baby will be four! Where has the time gone? He is such a blessing to our family. Joey is still working at Teva and looking forward to the changes that will come early this next year. Teva bought out Watson so hopefully Joey will get a new boss and a little change of scenery. He is working hard on painting the whole house and it looks amazing. He is still serving as the 16-18 year old Sunday School teacher and is ready for a change. I am afraid it might be a while since he is such an amazing teacher and example to those kids. He is truly my greatest blessing and example. He motivates me to be my best and I love him so much. I finished my mortgage courses and passed my tests. I have applied for my license and should be getting it mid January. I have decided to try originating my own loans and hope to do well. I am a little nervous but feel this could be such a blessing for our family. I am still serving as first counselor in the primary and love being in with the kids. I feel so blessed and look forward to a great upcoming year.

New Year's Eve

What a fun night! We love our tradition of family night on New Year's Eve! This year we went and got Goodwood take out, go in our comfy clothes, and settled in for a fun night. We started with a 550 piece Super Mario Bros puzzle. It was so fun to work together. Everyone did a great job and we realized that Gray was born to do puzzles! Comes pretty easy for him! After the puzzle we played Wii and waited for midnight. EVERYONE made it to the new year! I could not believe it. Gray was so tired and grumpy but Tag was still wide awake. Love this family of mine! So blessed to ring in the new year with them. I am so excited for 2016 and many more memories made with the people that I love the most.

Christmas Morning

We had told the kids that they could go down to see what Santa brought at 6:30am. I woke up to take some medicene at 5:00am and could hear a few kiddos talking. It was torturous but we made them wait until 6:30am to go down stairs. Santa did not disappoint. They were all thrilled with what they got. Luke's favorite was his laptop. Harlee's favorite gift was her American Girl doll. Nash's favorite was his skateboard and Gray was equally as excited about his! Tag's favorite is definitely the Wii U and I think his brother's share in this opinion. We had Joey's family over for lunch and more presents. It was such a nice day. I am so grateful for this time of year. I am so grateful for my Savior. Because of Him I can be with this family of mine forever and I truly want for nothing more. I feel so blessed...

Christmas Eve

We started Christmas Eve by modifying our tradition of the family gift exchange. We motivated the cleaning of rooms by telling the kids that if they got their rooms clean then they could open the present from the person that bought for them. I have to admit that this was the fastest their rooms had ever gotten done! This year Luke bought for Tag and he got a minion toy set. Joey bought for Gray and got him a light up rocket and football. I bought for Nash and I got him the set of Captain Underpants books that he wanted. Gray bought for Harlee and got her a new American Girl doll outfit. Harlee bought for Luke and got him a new IPAD case and some elite socks. Tag bought for me and got me the new CIZE workout dvds and some new clothes! Nash bought for Joey and got him some new clothes. It is so fun to watch the kids put so much thought into what they buy each other and I love the feeling this brought about to start our Christmas celebration. We went over to Jenna's for dinner and some gifts for the kids. I was not feeling too well so we only stayed a little while. We came home and let the kids open their new pjs. Then we all snuggled up and watched a Charlie Brown's Christmas. Joey kept making Tag and Gray laugh and I could not help but smile. This family time was definitely my favorite part of the night. I LOVE my family. I feel so blessed to be their mom and to get to raise them with my best friend. All feels right with the world when we are home together.

Goodbye Heel Pain

I have been suffering with plantar fascias for a long time. I have had orthodics made, done stretching, cortisone shots, and nothing seems to help. Since we had met our deductible we figured now would be the best time to have the surgery. My surgery was scheduled for 7:45am on Wednesday morning (Dec 23). Dr. Hoyal made an incision on both of my heels and went in to cut the fascia. It was a bummer way to spend Christmas but I just know that it was the right decision. I five days since surgery and already my heels feel better than before. Cannot wait until they are completely healed. So grateful for Joey and his willingness to handle everything so I can recover. Such an amazing man I married.

Mimi's Train Party

On the Monday before Christmas we had Mimi's annual train party at Jenna's house. Such a fun day for the cousins to get together and to make trains and memories together. It is so fun to have Jeremy's family back in Utah again this year. We have really missed them! Jenna and I showed up wearing the same thing! Too funny. When we were attending college together we use to do this all of the time. Twin minds think alike!

Annual White Elephant Party

Last night we hosted the annual Childs white elephant party. It was such a fun night. Even Hailee and Ty came the night after their wedding!! We had a dinner of enchiladas and lots of treats. Then we did the white elephant gift exchange and it did not disappoint. The funniest gift award would be for the golf practice kit for when you are on the toilet! It was so funny. I just love being a part of this family and I love the fun times that we get to have together.