This SUCKS....

I was hoping to start our week with the kids off school filled with fun things, but Lakota and Makayla have other ideas in mind.........the stomach flu!! I just hope that we can get them over it before Christmas eve!! (only Payton is left to get it but I hope the 5 day influenza that he had will cancel it out). Here's to a hopeful week!! Wish us luck and any prayers are most welcomed!!!

The fun of cutting down our Christmas tree....

For the past 10 years Mark or I or both, have stood in the freezing cold and snow (the weekend after Halloween) to get a tag to cut down our own Christmas tree. Then a day or two after Thanksgiving we go up by Strawberry to cut our choice of tree down. While the Dads go off to find that perfect Charlie Brown tree, us Moms and kiddos get to hang out and play. This year it was just my family, my parents and my little brother Scott.(AmyLyn bought hers and Stephanie had to get hers the weekend before). The kids had so much fun, sledding, jumping into, throwing and eating snow!!! After all the energy has been exhausted we climb back into the car for movies, lunch and warm hot chocolate! I know this has been one of my kids favorite Christmas traditions and we hope to continue it for as long as we can!

Will it ever slow down??

This month already has been more crazy then I had hoped for....cutting down our own tree, hosting bunco : with dinner, treat and prizes!, decorating the house with 2 trees, class parties, shopping, wrapping,baking, Christmas card making, 2 choir concerts for lakota, neighbor gifts, addis dance performance, Payton's polar express day (and his 5 days of influenza), lakota and makayla's piano recitals and much more on the list to go!!! I promise pictures will come, they will trickle in slowly, but they will get put on here! I hope you will be able to slow down and enjoy your time with your family!! (as i hope to do when school lets out in a week!!)

Makayla's Baptism Pictures

My Brilliant brother Scott, took (my now 8 year old) out and took some amazing pictures of her for her Baptism. Makayla had so much fun posing for the camera! (and it really showed) She loved the attention on her and her special day! With beautiful pictures, she could hardly wait. Mark and I are so proud of her and her decision to be baptized. She has set a great example for her younger brothers and sister! We love you so much Makayla and your Dad and I are so lucky to have you in our family!!

I heart Scott!!

My little brother has taken up photography. And he is amazing!!! With just messing around and taking advice from his friend, Scott has come up with the most beautiful, jaw droping pictures!!! Here is just some of his work of my family!!! ( I can't wait for him to do some of Makaylas baptism pictures!!)

A Good Place to Start!!!

I have soooo much to blog and have been putting it off!!! (if you couldn't tell) So the time has come, here is the first of many!!!
We started our summer off with a huge family vacation. We drove to San Diego, Sea World. This was our first trip as just our family. We did the drive in 2 days stopping both ways in Las Vegas. In Vegas we took the kids to the M & M factory. They had a blast!! Then on to Sea World!!! Surprising to me, the kids did wonderfully in the car!!! While in San Diego we did Sea World and the zoo. We did Sea world 2 days cause the kids has so much fun the first day that we all wanted to go back for another!!! For our first family trip ever, I think things went rather well!!!!

A busy weekend!!

This is what I did this weekend!! I have become a blog stalker and found some really cute things to make!!! These 2 outfits are 2 patterns I put together! I still have to make one for Lakota, but she seems to want to be involved more with the fabric picking process, so I have to take her next time!! I also made a top like Addi's for my niece who we babysat this weekend, one of these days I'll get a picture of her and Addi together!!