only 5 casualties

Tonight we braved the icy roads and met the whole fam up at the Ogio skate park. It was every kids....and some grown mens....dream! The kids hauled out their skateboards, scooters, bikes, blades and anything else with wheels...and went crazy! Besides all the half pipe jumpin' action, there was a massive pit of foam. I think that was the favorite activity of the night!

Ever wonder what would happen if you take a picture on a slide painted with reflective paint?

Something very cool!

Ohhhh yeah!

smilin' and stuck!

Are dads allowed to throw their kids that high?

outta the way!

using Kenzie to dig out of the pit!

What! Is there something wrong with my hair? It feels like it's flying!

Weeee Haaaa!

The landing needs some work.

very.....heavy.....rock.....

a man confident in his ability to land the jump

a man not quite as confident....ya know what Tim is thinking?

Holy crap!

Thankfully, my Tim is alive and well. The kids had the time of their lives. And as for the casualties-- one bloodied hand, three pairs of jeans with the backside ripped out, and one tire rim desperately needing replaced. Not too bad for a night's work! And yes...I am blogging this at 4 a.m.....I was already up late trying to finish a bunch of stuff for relief society...my second wind kicked in, so I just went with it. I'll pay for it in the morning!

merry and bright!

Let me apologize in advance for the many Christmas photos you are about to see....I actually left out many...it was so hard to choose my favorites. Anyway...Christmas was fun and full of traditions. We spent the day taking pictures (ha!ha!) and as usual, the kids got to open a new family game for us to play. We headed to mom's around 5:00 for dinner and "the program". There was singing, playing of piano/guitars, reading of poems/stories, and of course, a reenactment of the Nativity. We finished off with 20 minute slideshow of the past year....not to brag, but it was awesome!

There was serious bribery of the candy sort involved in the taking of this picture!

There is always a fireplace shot...always!

yea...I know...Kenzie is taller than me!

Jace and Ry were taking the wisemen's giving of gifts very seriously...

This is the first year I can remember getting a picture with all the cousins looking and smiling!

Mom and Dad gave the boys matchy jackets and gloves...how could we not force them to take a picture...proud moment for the wives! And yes, the flexing was worse after the camera were turned off!

gonna be an artist...

Tim reading Lady her "Santa letter"....every year on Christmas Eve Tim writes a letter to each of the kids from Santa. Someday they will love to look back and see what their Dad had to say.

Lady gave Kenzie a picture of her riding a horse...that one's a keeper!

Make your own books are way more work than you would think! We've spent a couple of hours and we're not even halfway done!

Jace...A.K.A....Jedi Master

Santa found a $25 desk and convinced me to refinish it.

That face says it all!

Homemade coupons for Disneyland...redeemable in April for $25 at any Disneyland venue.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It was a wonderful week of holiday celebrating! I am always sad to see Christmastime end. I packed up the decorations, put the house back together, and then hit a bunch of Christmas clearance sales...managed to buy all my friend/neighbor/teacher gifts for next year... So glad we have another week of sleeping in and relaxing....well, maybe not so much relaxing for me. I was put in as the 1st counselor in our Relief Society presidency today. Just a few things to do to prepare for that! I've been in primary so long I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. Hopin' to get things together by Sunday! Wish me luck!

all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth....and some other tunes

Well...Lady's teeth were perfect today! The kids were all so fun to watch. Their personalities tend to shine when they are up on stage. Lady looked nervous, excited, and proud all at once. Maddy sang, but truly would have been just as happy doing something else entirely. Carter was on the very back row so he just kept peeking out around the boy in front of him. I 'm pretty sure at one point he was swinging on the bleachers...thank goodness he didn't fall!

Jace helped me figure out which camera settings would get the best lighting.

Toothless girlie

When I sing, my tongue fits right between my teeth!

I am so headin' back to class!

Never could get one of him actually singing....

he was hidden for most of the show.

I love going to watch the kids sing at Christmastime. Getting there an hour early for good seats is always worth it (ya...there is serious parental support at our school...you have to be really early to everything! The school has over 1,000 kids so there are never enough chairs or space.). I am so, so looking forward to Christmas break which officially starts tomorrow around 2:15! Yippee!

sparkle and shine

I had grand plans for a super cute picture of everyone in their Sunday-before-Christmas-attire, but we were in a hurry so we snapped a quick one in front of the tree. Jace was unimpressed with the whole thing, and I was lucky to get one without him pouting. I'll have to do some better time management for the xmas eve pics!

This afternoon, we took the kids and met Lindsey and her family at the Church History Museum. Our parents are in their 4th year of a service mission at the museum. We thought the kids would enjoy seeing grama and papa hard at work greeting all the visitors. If you haven't been their recently, it is absolutely worth the time. The museum has so much to see, an awesome children's area, and there are videos by request in the basement. We spent most of our time tonight in the children's room. The rooms take the children through the plan of salvation.

Jace taking care of the new baby....so sweet.

Maddy in the angel costume, acting out the nativity.


Making a little star/nativity card.

Laityn is taking this mommy business very seriously!

The "three kingdoms" bean bag toss...which of course got all out of hand when the Tim's decided to join in with the kids!

Ty being oh so proud to be coloring all by herself.

Putting together stained glass windows. Betcha didn't know there were so many fun things at the museum? We also watched a short video...true story about a young pioneer girl and her brother being watched over when they were alone. Maddy was excited to tell us about feeling the spirit during the movie...does it get better than that?

Of course, we took everyone over to Temple Square to enjoy the lights. That just never gets old. I even managed to get a picture that didn't blur...a feat in itself. I can't believe Friday is the big day. It seems like I look forward to it for so long, and then before I know it, the holiday is over and it's a new year. Crazy!

Oh....if you were wondering....Lady did manage to lose that second front tooth on Saturday night. She is so proud and can't wait to sing her tooth song in the xmas sing tomorrow!