Magic Show

We went to a magic show in Provo for a fundraiser for the fire fighters. James, Lynnlee and Kaden loved it and ate it all up. The minis started a new phase. They didn't want to sit and watch. Instead they were dancing around in the aisle so I took them out in the hallway. They were running around like crazy. We took them back in the auditorium and it was really tricky keeping them in our row.

Marshall's Big Day

We celebrated Marshall's birthday last week. It was a fun day! We love birthdays. All of the kids woke up early on their own. That was perfect so they could see him before he left to work. We had Marshall's favorite breakfast, German pancakes. He opened his presents while we waited for it to bake.

That night we went to a chemistry show at the U of U. My aunt Kathy gave us tickets and we had the best seats on the front row. The minis were too little to go so aunt Pat watched them for us.

Wow! We saw the coolest chemistry experiments ever! We were amazed at the variety of experiments....experiments with dry ice, hydrogen peroxide, helium, salt, sugar, polyurethane, fire, liquid nitrogen, etc. They dehydrated carbohydrate (sugar) and it turned to carbon. It was hosted by a male and female chemistry professors. They were very entertaining. I'm so grateful for the special opportunity we had to go. It was a fun way to celebrate Marshall's birthday.

My uncle Tom's family donated money for this new chemistry building which they named after his family. It is a beautiful building.

Gingerbread Houses

The weekends are so busy during the holidays but it's a good busy. Saturday morning we went to Home Depot and everyone made a gingerbread man dish.

We painted them when we got home.

Then we went to an open house at Edge Homes. There was donuts and hot chocolate while we waited in line to see Santa. Side note: I just love blue eyes. I'm so grateful that I get to look at my kids' and Marshall's pretty blue eyes!

All of the kids loved Santa, even Taggart. Taggart is the most reserved and shy so it's fun to see him come out of his shell.

That afternoon I put together gingerbread house made out of graham cracker. I tried something new by melting sugar and using it as glue. It worked really well but I burned my hand a few times. Ouch! I got too confident and comfortable and then the liquid dripped on my hand.
The sugar glue dripped and ran down the houses so it looked a little sloppy but luckily it all got covered with frosting.

Sunday night we had our friends the Tibbs over for dinner and then decorated gingerbread houses. Taggart loved it and decorated his house for top to bottom. He stayed at the table the longest and wanted to keep going, even when there was no more room for candy or frosting.

Swiss Christmas

I love Fridays. Kaden doesn't have preschool so it leaves all day to go somewhere while James and Lynnlee are at school. I took Kaden and the minis to visit my parents. It happened to be Swiss Christmas that day and so we went with Betsy and my mom. We walked around the booths and saw the gingerbread houses on display.

The kids got to decorate a gingerbread man.

Elsa walked in right when we were leaving. Sienna was completely stunned and mesmerized.

Alpine Living Nativity '16

We went to a living nativity in Alpine at the beginning of December. This was our second year going. Leading up to it I wasn't sure if we would be up for going out in the cold. The kids all wore their snow clothes and thankfully they stayed warm enough. It's always a little stressful getting there and keeping track of everyone once we are there. I was glad we went though. It's good to show my kids why we celebrate Christmas. It leaves more of an impression than watching a video about it. They actually feel like they take a step back in time and walk through Bethlehem.

There is a family in Alpine who has four camels. They've had them for twenty years.

Snow Time

Last Monday we got a few inches of snow. It provided days of fun. Taggart is holding a cup of snow. He took it inside and I poured some apple juice on it to make a snow cone.

Thanksgiving Weekend '16

Our Thanksgiving was anything but normal and traditional but it will definitely be remembered and talked about forever. It was also a day of many firsts.
Due to some unforeseen sickness we were not able to keep with the plans to spend the day with my family. Last minute we thought we would go to Chuck A Rama but had no idea what kind of line would be wrapped around the building and into the parking lot. We kept driving around and saw that IHOP was open. My kids were all for going there. Marshall and I tried their turkey dinner which left much to be desired but definitely kept us laughing through the craziness of the day. The kids loved having pancakes, eggs and bacon for their Thanksgiving feast.

We went to Wal Mart after which was also a first for us. I knew Wal Mart was open Thanksgiving night for shopping but I didn't know it was open all morning/day too. We got some movie treats and food to have our own Thanksgiving dinner(for the next day to make up for this day).

Then we went home and the minis and I took naps. It was so nice to have some good quiet time which I wouldn't have normally gotten.

That afternoon we went to the movie Trolls. This was also a first and helped brighten our day.

 The girls wanted a picture by Boss Baby.

We had some free time after the movie so we found a park and skate park. Even though it was dark, that didn't stop the kids from running around and having fun.

We had missed out on having pie. Ali invited us over to her house and so we were ready to head there after the skate park. We were all so excited to see family and have something normal for Thanksgiving. Sienna had a huge blow out from her diaper and we thought we were going to have to skip Ali and go home. This would go along with the craziness of the day.  We were all so sad thinking we would miss out on dessert at Ali's. So we wiped Sienna down really well and changed her clothes. We were able to go to Ali's still and it ended our bizarre day on a positive note.

Random note: I picked up a pumpkin pie from Costco and worried that they might be out. Not a chance with this huge pallet full plus the refrigerated section.

My homemade rolls with the Lion House roll recipe. This year I used Turkey Flour from Lehi Roller Mills and it made them so light and fluffy. Yum!

Lynnlee's cozy pajamas for watching a movie during Thanksgiving break.

Friday we woke up and got all the Christmas decorations out. The kids had fun decorating the kid tree upstairs.

Ali is a gem. She invited us over Friday night for a Thanksgiving dinner redo. We had delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and pie. She even had her fancy wear out for us.

Sienna found this robe that used to be Lynnlee's. She left it on most of Saturday.

Saturday morning I met up with my friends at Kneaders. I sure love these ladies!

We have a tradition with my family to see a movie on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This year we saw Moana. We all loved it. The minis sit through movies now so it's very enjoyable for the whole family.

Saturday night we went to the Santa parade. It's always so cold but it's a short and quick parade.

Later that night Marshall and James went to the BYU game. It was a cold and windy game but they had fun. BYU won so that made it all the better.

Turkey Trot '16

Our school has a Turkey Trot before Thanksgiving break. James took third place this year. The race was longer this year so it was great that he was still able to be in the top three.

His friend Cohen won the turkey this year for taking first. He and Cohen have quite the friendly rivalry going now. James beat him last year but Cohen has beat him the other two years.

Lynnlee has my genes and with her heart she will probably not win the turkey trot but she still enjoys participating.