Family Photos

A few months ago, my friend Tricia and I decided to take family pictures for each other. I think we got the better end of the deal, although photographing Nate is not an easy task. So, I am finally getting around to posting them! Thanks Tricia!

What most of them looked like...

Crafty Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas in our own home for the first time. It was a little different than Christmases past but it was really nice. On Christmas Eve, we had lunch with friends, the Stevens, and spent the afternoon chatting and playing. Then the kids got to paint while I made Christmas dinner. The girls each painted a ceramic baby Jesus and Nate painted a watercolor nativity. They really enjoyed this (and so did I, as it made for a peaceful Christmas Eve). Then we watched "Joy to the World" to help us remember what Christmas is all about.
 

Santa definitely found us at our new house and Christmas morning was fun and busy as we headed off to church. The kids sang a few songs with the primary children in sacrament meeting, even Nate, while Robert sang with the choir and I played the piano. It was a great Christmas and we felt very blessed to have each other to celebrate it with.

Great to be 8

Carter turned 8 years old yesterday! She is growing up! She really excels in school and loves to read (this might be an understatement). She is an excellent writer as well. Carter loves to imagine and create and craft and plan....anything. She likes lists :) She also likes to dance and sing. Someday, she would like to visit France. She is looking forward to getting baptized next week.

Here are some of her favorites:

Food: Egg Sandwiches

Color: Purple

Animal: Elephant

Thing about school: Science

Movie: Tangled and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2

Song: Dynamite
Treat: Hershey's Chocolate

And finally, here is a little something she wrote a couple weeks ago that I thought was sweet:

About My Family

Five words: Families can be together forever

Four words: Have a fun time

Three words: I love you

Two words: Best friends

One word: Home

Piano Recital

This was Gabby's first piano recital to play in. Kind of amazing since we haven't been real consistent with her lessons. She usually says, "Mom, isn't it about time for me to have a piano lesson?" We'll be better this year! She did great though and played "Jolly Old St. Nicholas".

Carter played two songs, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and "If I Won 10 Million Dollars". She has done so well and loves having a piano around that she can practice anytime she wants.

Festival of Trees

Both of the girls took a field trip to the festival of trees with their classes. They got to walk around and see all of the uniquely decorated trees and then vote for their favorite. They both liked this one behind Carter best...a Christmas palm tree decorated with Hawaiian themed ornaments and a pineapple on top.

We thought it was funny that they had two trees decorated with Cowboys and Cardinals, the great rivalry between my Dad, Brother and Robert! Ha!

101 Dalmatians

It's play time again! Last night was the opening night for 101 Dalmatians. The girls are Dalmatians of course, part of the group that gets rescued and makes up the 101. They have been singing Cruella DeVil nonstop, it may be permanently stuck in their brains!

O Christmas Tree

Got the Christmas lights up Thursday, watched A Christmas Carol with the kids last night, chose a tree today and got it decorated, went to the annual light parade tonight...we are officially feeling merry.

9 years!

Love this guy!

Trick or Treat

We took some pretty cute trick or treaters around the neighborhood last night...Mad Scientist Carter, Nate the Gnome and Hula Girl Gabby. Nate really got the hang of things this year and I think it might be his new favorite holiday (and he did actually smile and have fun!). 

Line o' Dinos

3 Lil' Pumpkins

The kids had lots of fun painting pumpkins this year, as always. They actually gave them some thought and designed them on paper first. Here they are, hard at work...

and the finished product!

3 more lil' pumpkins

Girls Night

It was so fun to spend some kid-free time with friends (because we figured out that there would be 21 kids between us all!). Lots of laughing and catching up and well, it's always a good time hanging out with these girls.

Party like a Rock Star!

Gabby wanted a rock star party this year, so we did our best. The celebrities/guests all got to walk up the star studded entry and onto the red carpet, where they were greeted by the paparazzi.Instead of birthday cake, they got to decorate their own star-shaped cookies (P.S. Kids + sprinkles= empty bottles of sprinkles, my apologies to their mothers). They played dress up games and chased the paparazzi aka Robert and danced and sang to plenty of Justin Beiber songs.

Thanks to all of Gabby's Rock Star friends who made it a fun and special day for her!

Gabby's 5th Birthday

Gabby had been waiting for her 5th birthday ever since Carter's birthday, way back in January for one reason...she wanted breakfast in bed just like Carter had. So her big day finally came and she got her breakfast of choice, Fruit and Maple Oatmeal with toast. Unfortunately, she could barely touch it and looks a little green in this picture. Poor girl, right after she got to school she barfed and had to come home. She ended up sleeping the day away and woke up just as the bus came to drop the kids off (in the middle of a hail storm!) She woke up feeling much better and was soooo excited to try out her new...
bike, complete with a bell, streamers and baby seat for her dolls. The girls had fun riding in the cool weather and if you look closely, you can see their hair standing up from the electricity in the air. (Carter insisted on riding through the gutters and splashing the muddy water all over herself, it was fun though) So, even though the day got off to a rocky start, it ended up being a good day afterall. Happy Birthday Gabby. 5 years old! Wow!

Here's some of her favorites right now:


Color: Gold
Food: Spaghetti
Movie: Gnomeo and Juliet
Animal: Giraffe and Bunny and Cat and Dog
Treat: Cake
Thing about school: Her teacher
Song: The Tangled Song

Nate as of Late

Nate is just a funny boy. Here's a few of his latest quirks...

-He thinks a giant lives in our entry way by the front door. He will run away screaming sometimes but he claims it is a nice giant who likes macaroni and cheese.

-He thinks hiccups are so funny and he hates hangnails.

-After he drinks a big glass of water he will say, "Woah, I a thirsty guy!"

-He loves the ABC's. LOVES them!

-During the girls' soccer practices and games he will yell, "No hands!"

-If he sees a picture of himself he will comment on how handsome or awesome he is.

-He sings this song so much that I had to record it and put it up here...

First Soccer Games

The girls had their first soccer games of the season. They were really fun to watch! Carter's team, the Snowbunnies, tied 3-3! Good job Carter!Carter is right in the middle in this shot with the ball coming her way...
Gabby's team, the Blue Sharks, lost 1-3. However, their team scored 2 of the other teams goals. That pretty much means they won, right? ha.

Here she is throwing the ball back in to play and practicing before the game.

The best part was that both girls gave their best effort and didn't complain about the scorching heat, not even once. It looks like it will be a fun season for them both!

Triathlon

Robert completed his first mini-triathlon this weekend. He started off swimming, then biking and running. He did really well and was happy with his time (which we haven't gotten an official time on yet). We were very proud of him competing ,despite the crazy heat, and he has worked hard to get in shape these last few months. Way to go Robert!!

1 leg done, 2 to go...

I don't have any pictures of Robert riding his bike...just this random guy who we thought was Robert until we drove past. Good thing I rolled up the windows before the kids started yelling "Go Dad!"...
....okay here is, crossing the finish line.

He did awesome!

First Day of School

After much debate, we decided to have Gabby start Kindergarten this year. I was a little sad to drop her off this morning. She is my sunshine girl, always happy and bubbly. It's already a little weird and quiet with just Nate and I at home. But, her teacher is fantastic and I know she will do great!Carter was sooooo ready for the first day of school to get here. She walked into her classroom yesterday and drooled at all of the books her teacher has for them to read. She also has a good teacher, very kind and matter of fact, perfect for Carter.

Carter was a good big sister making sure Gabby knew where to go and had a friend to play with. I also heard her say that she would pick her up after school. Way to go Carter....and now, we just have to wait until school's out to hear how it all went!