Merry Christmas 2009

The kids in their Christmas Eve PJ's. Jordyn was delighted!

Teni left a treat for Santa and food outside for his reindeers

Christmas morning!

Our family always has so much fun in Las Vegas and this Christmas was no different. Even our family elf Cody couldn't stay away from the party. He followed us all the way from Spanish Fork. The kids were so surprised and excited to see him. After spending just a couple of days with us, Cody had to return back to the North Pole on Christmas eve night. He must of reported nothing but good news to Santa because come Christmas morning our tree was surrounded by gifts.


I love the "magic" that Santa brings to Christmas but I especially love the "meaning" that our Savior Jesus Christ brings to Christmas. Last year we started a new tradition to help teach our kids the true meaning of Christmas. The kids recieve only 3 gifts from Santa because, when baby Jesus was born he only recieved 3 gifts. Teni has memorized the story of the birth of Christ and knows all three gifts that were given to baby Jesus by the three wise men. The number 3 has helped us in more ways than one. It hugely simplified my christmas list, which has made this Christmas less stressful than other years past. It also has made my kids think really hard of what they TRULY want from Santa rather than brainstorming everything they've seen on tv and in books,magazines, and at friends homes. Not a single child was disappointed and not one strand of hair on my head turned gray. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Our new visitor...

Can you spot our new visitor?

That's right...It's our very own elf "Cody." He is here to visit during the month of December and every night after the kids go to sleep, he goes back home to the North Pole and reports all the good or bad activity to Santa that took place that day. Sadly, Cody will leave us and return back to the North Pole on Christmas eve.

It's amazing how well behaved my kids have been while Cody has been around. Every morning they rush out of their bedroom to find Cody sitting in a different spot from the day before. Every so often I catch Teni and Alyia telling Cody to relay a message they have for Santa. These are just some of the funny things they say to Cody:

Teni-"Please tell Santa that I love him....(pause) and Jesus too."

Alyia- Pointing and screaming at the poor helpless elf Alyia says, "I NOT on the naughty list!" Teni begs to differ of course.

Teni-"Im sorry Cody." Teni is crying now. "I didn't mean to touch you. I wont do it again! Please don't leave!"....sniff sniff. Teni knows that he is not to touch Cody or he will leave back to the North Pole and may not return. When Troy heard Teni's plea to Cody it broke his heart. He almost started crying too...too funny. It's a good thing Cody is a forgiving elf and came back to our home. Teni has definitely learned his lesson!

Alyia-Again pointing her finger at Cody, "Good list,OKAY!"

Thanks Tom! We love Cody!

Can't help but make a snowman with all this snow

The kids were so excited with their snowman. It's too bad that our snowman was knocked over that same night.

Teni loved being buried under snow

LET IT SNOW

We woke up to about a foot of snow tuesday morning. The kids were in heaven. They played outside for hours while Troy was shoveling our driveway and pushing cars stuck in the snow. I was inside of course, drinking hot cocoa and enjoying my view of all the fun from my kitchen window. There's nothing better than sipping hot cocoa on a cold snowy day.

The kids snow angels

Jordyn was so upset! She threw a fit because she was too young to play outside.

Thanksgiving In Page

Our family spent Thanksgiving in Page, AZ this year. We all had such a great time. The weather was perfect and the food was even better! Don't know how you can beat perfection but Chris and Paul did. They never disappoint!

Our kids couldn't get enough of their cousins. They're all so close in age that playing together gets easier and easier for them. Teni even learned how to "hoopa loop" as he would call it, from his cousins Abbey,Paige,and Austin.

Jordyn didn't feel too well one night and was throwing up quite a bit but by morning she was back to normal.

On our very last night in Page all the girls stayed up pretty darn late and worked on the cutest project. We etched a design that Monica had created with Kaye's vinyl stickers, onto a trifle bowl. It turned out awesome. I was thinking about giving it to my mom for Christmas, seeing how she loves to make trifle but it turned out so cute that I think it may just stay at my house permanently.

Our "thankful tree" turned out GREAT! Some of the things my family is grateful for are:

-FAMILY

-THE GOSPEL

-GOOD FOOD

-GOOD DREAMS

-JOSEPH SMITH

-GRANDPARENTS

and

-WORK

New Moon Madness

What a fun Girls Night Out! It was the night of the premiere for NEW MOON and I got together with some of the funnest girls to celebrate the occasion right. We started our LONG night early! We had dinner at Iggies around 6:30 and stuffed ourselves so much that it was hard for us to get up from the table.




It was 8:00 when we finished dinner and so we decided to walk over to the movie theaters to wait in line with the rest of the "crazies." We were only 4 hrs early..ha! but we were equipped with warm blankets,hot cocoa,winter coats,yummy snacks and best of all, good company! Our entourage was 12 ladies deep and boy did we have a good ol' time! I even had some friends travel up from St.George to celebrate with me.

My cousin Candice and I decided to take a picture of us in the theater room showing how elated we were to see New Moon. Everyone else was doing it and we just couldn't help ourselves. This pictures reminds me of our college years. We would take a million face shots and only like one!

The movie was great and it was 3:30 am by the time I got home. I was exhausted to say the least. It was good to get together with my girls and do something absolutely NUTS, like sitting out in the cold for 4 hours just so we could watch teenage boys and girls transform into werewolves and vampires (sounds silly I know) but I can't wait for the next time.

The Kids Getting Their Grove On!

My kids love to dance especially Teni. I recorded his very cool moves. He's incorporated ninja kicks and punches in his dancing and it's pretty funny! ENJOY

All Hallows Eve 09'

Teni diggin in!
Alyia was excited at first until she realized how messy it got and then she didn't want anything to do with it.
Wolverine
Our lil' stinker
Jordyn the elephant