Gingerbread Houses

We have really hit a low this year on decorating gingerbread houses. We went from decorating with kits 10 years ago and trying to make it look like a cute candy house to years later the kids dumping all of their frosting on the roof and shoving all of the candy in the mess. I put one together after the fact to show them how it should be done. Hopefully next year will be better.
It's like the parable of the talents. We provided them with all of the supplies to make a successful house but they buried their talents.
James was the first to do it and they all followed him which also shows how much they all look up to him and want to be just like him.

Lowry Grandkid Party

Grandma Lowry is truly a Christlike example. With Grandpa Lowry's passing we weren't sure if she would be up for any Christmas parties. She hosted the Lowry grand kid party with the help of aunts and uncle. It was a delicious dinner and fun spending time with family. We arrived late and sat at a table off to the side of the main table. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone at our table lives in Lehi.
We hit a milestone as far as babysitting goes. James watched our kids at our house. We also invited Bonnie's, Beckie's and Miranda's kids to our house. So there were 14 kids at our house and no adults. The house was still in good condition when we got home. 😄

Aunt Barb made a dozen or more bears out of Grandpa Lowry's shirts. These are two of those bears.

Lynnlee’s Dance Recital

Lynnlee started a dance class in September with her best friend Hannah. It's a combo class. Lynnlee really likes it and was really excited for her performances. She performed last month at the Christmas Gift Expo. The recital was this month.
I really feel strongly about modesty. It's the principle of being obedient to a commandment and respecting our bodies as temples. The Dance Academy strongly encourages modesty so I thought Lynnlee's costume would cover a little more than it did. I noticed a lot of the dance classes had pretty modest costumes but Lynnlee's wasn't the most modest. I realize it could have been worse but I still. We talked about it and she was good with getting a skin colored leotard. I know we probably look like the crazy, extreme parents but we are trying to follow the commandments and it starts with the little details of our lives.

Lynnlee was so happy that Katelyn could see her recital!

The Nutcracker

We braved the wet weather and drove to Brigham City to see cousins, aunts and uncle in The Nutcracker. They all did a great job! It was Lynnlee's and Sienna's first time to see The Nutcracker and they really liked it. We listened to The Nutcracker on the way home.

Kjersi is in the middle.

 Clara and Katelyn were angels.

Anthony and Beckie and Bonnie were guests at the party in the first scene. They are so talented and did a wonderful job.

Cousin besties!

Marshall’s Birthday

Marshall doesn't really get excited for birthdays so that worked well this year because his birthday was on a Sunday and he had early meetings. So we sent donuts with him. The kids were all wondering when he would get to open his presents. Thankfully he got a little break before church. 

That night we had birthday dinner with his parents and his favorite dessert~frozen strawberry squares.

Ward Christmas Party

Our ward put on such a nice Christmas pageant and yummy dinner. I was so impressed by all the sets, props, costumes and time they put into it. James was a wicked nephite. Kaden was a camel. You can see him in the back corner.

Taggart was a sheppard.

Sienna was an angel. She really enjoyed the spotlight and hammed it up a little to much. At one point she was shaking her booty and really dancing hard to get extra attention.

Thanksgiving Weekend

It's stressful leading up to Thanksgiving dinner and then once we are there it's all goes away and we can enjoy the day with family. This year we went to my parent's house. My uncle Joe and aunt Kathy, cousin Megan and her husband Derek, cousin Anthony and Jenny, uncle Ken and aunt Patty, aunt Pat, Ali's family, Betsy, and of course my parents were all in attendance.

Rose, Megan, and Jenny:

It felt more like Christmas dinner with all of the snow coming down. Kaden and Sienna told me to come and see their snowman.
I was expecting 3D...😂

Aunt Betsy is the best and always entertaining everyone.

No shopping for us. Why go out when you can get the same deals online? I also loved how a lot of stores offered black Friday deals the day before so instead of shopping we made a Christmas craft.

This is what we made:

Friday night there was a cousin sleepover at Ali's. They had a really fun time!
We were going to Frozen 2 Saturday afternoon so Ali did an Elsa hairstyle for Lynnlee and Sienna. She's so talented!

We really enjoy our movie tradition and really liked Frozen 2. The songs have grown on us and we have been listening to it a lot. Also, whenever anyone says "What was that?" I automatically think "Samantha" in my head. Ha ha, so funny!

School Food Drive

This year our school decided to have a different Thanksgiving activity instead of the Turkey Trot race. James was the most sad about this because the two fastest boys in his grade moved so he was excited about his chance of winning. Too many parents complained about the races so the principal felt it best to change it up this year. It was replaced with a food drive. I was the PTA board member over the my friend who was heading up the committee for the food drive. It was fun meeting up with her and the committee members throughout the week.

It was a huge success! 3,246 lbs of food were donated at the end of the week! These pictures show just two of the days from dropping food off. We had to take loads each day because there was so much food. 

News 4 Utah was at the food bank doing a story one of the days. The minis and I were filmed moving the food from the car to the baskets.

Lynnlee's Choir Concert

Lynnlee joined the choir this year. They practiced once a week and had two performances.

Two of her friends were also in choir so that made it more fun.

She had lots of support at her Christmas concert.

Quarterly Random Picture Post

It's time for the quarterly post of random pictures that don't really fit anywhere else.

 I made these hats with Ali's help when James was a baby. I have pictures of each of the boys wearing them as babies. Taggart's still fits him five years later. I think he has Marshall's genes for head size.

Sienna got my genes for head size.

Sienna can now receive signals from Mars. She gets better service than my Verizon iphone. Also, the signals are telling her how to dress

This photo will be great when James is a teenager.

"Mom, can we get these?"
"Nope, just enjoy them for a few seconds."

Another random picture with statues in Lehi.