Happy 80th Birthday Mom!!!!

Steve's mom turned 80 this year - what a great reason to celebrate!!!! All of her children and their spouses got together at her house for a party. We had flowers, a huge cake and everybody brought dinner.



Steve and I put together a slideshow of pictures throughout her life. It was beautiful. We had SO much fun looking at the old pics and trying to figure out whom everyone was and what the time period of each picture was. We set it to music and played it at the party. Everyone loved it and Mom was able to narrate information about each picture.

We also each shared what we admire about Mom and our favorite memory of her. At first, I was reluctant to have the party at her house because I didn't want her to have to clean up for us or clean up after us, but it turned out to be the perfect place because so many of the siblings' favorite memories happened in that house. They would point to a certain area of the house and relate their memory or tell a story. It was a wonderful night.



Happy Birthday Mom - we love you so very much. What an example you are to us of womanhood, family, service, faithfulness and motherly love. You have always been so kind to us and to our family and we love you so very much. May this year be your best ever!!!!!

Christmas Decor

So, you KNOW how I love my Christmas decor!!!! Well, while we were in Hawaii, my wonderful sis came and stayed here for a couple of days. She took down all the Thanksgiving decorations, packed them away, put up the Christmas decorations (except for the Christmas trees as she couldn't move them alone), cleaned the house, and left us ready for the holidays as we returned from our trip. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to return to Christmastime in our house. It was especially great as we were in survival mode after returning. We had to get caught up on laundry, caught up in school, caught up with work, church, family, etc. and then prepare for Christmas - Uggh!!! I never would have had time to put away the Thanksgiving stuff and to get out all the Christmas stuff - it was just too big of a job given all that we had to do when returning from our trip. So, thank you, thank you, thank you sis!!!!!



Plus, she totally implemented my (er... our) vision from last year. Remember last year, I was SO into the pink, purple, blue, green and orange of Christmas. Not just red and green, but festive, bright colors. So, most of our kitchen and family room were bright colors. She had hung ornaments in our kitchen and dining area windows. It was beautiful!!!!!



The rest of the house was red and green, but I have been loving the lime green, rather than the traditional green. SO FUN!!! We added a few new things this year and re-used some of our favorites. Still, one of my favorite things is the red, lime and white Christmas tree in the entry way. Getting that was another of my great stories - I think I recorded it in last year's Christmas Decor entry :)



She didn't just decorate on the main floor, either. Both Reagan and Cole had decorations in their own rooms. They've always had their own little Christmas trees (pink for Reagan - of course - and blue for Cole), but my sis added apothecary jars in each of their rooms with ornaments in them (blue, green and gold for Cole's room and pink, purple and silver for Reagan's room). I love them!!!!!



We seriously had decorations everywhere - hanging on closet doors, hanging on bedroom doors, in the bathrooms, in the stairways .... everywhere. To coin the phrase from Christmas Vacation .... It really "added to my enjoyment of the season." It REALLY did. Thanks Amber - you are the best!!!!

Gymnastics

Reagan (and her friend Jenna) moved up a level in gymnastics in January. Reagan continues to love gymnastics and she is doing really well at it. I can't lie - some of the things they are learning scare me, but I trust that they are in good hands and are learning the right way.

Reagan has really improved at the beam:

She loves the vault:

She is getting better and better at floor. As you can see, Cole spends his "gymnastics" time with a group of friends. They watch the iPad, play games, have snacks and chase each other. Good thing there is an area separate from the gym floor where we can "safely" watch (and play). 

She is doing great on the bars:

Way to go Reagan!!!! Keep up the great work!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Well, 2013 has come to a close. Our family has been so blessed in 2013, despite the loss of our son in law Kevin. We have grown closer as a family, we have learned and grown, we have experienced new things and returned to experience things we already loved. We are happy, healthy and ready for 2014.



Reagan and Cole continue to grow faster than I can imagine. I keep thinking they will always be at this stage, but then they grow, learn and develop and I see them turning the corner into a new stage. I always think that I will be sad and miss the stage they are in, but the next stage proves to be even more fun than the one before. Steve and I are so proud of them and their efforts and their accomplishments. They are our best little friends and we love to be with them above all others.

We are mindful of Rachel and her children as they turn the corner into a new year. We still pray for their peace, their comfort and any blessings they stand in need of. We will continue to try to be there to support them in whatever way we can and in whatever they need. We are also acutely aware of how precious life is and how we must treasure each moment and share our love and feelings because it can be taken away without notice.



We are grateful for our Heavenly Father, for the Atonement of our Savior and for the blessings that our family has received this year. We look forward, with hope, to a new year and new experiences and new growth.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!!!

Temple Square

Rachel, Annie and Stockton arrived in the late afternoon on the 26th. We have a tradition of going during Christmastime to see the lights at Temple Square and to eat dinner at the Garden Room in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Rachel and her kiddos wanted to do the same, so, we waited to go until they came to visit. They arrived, but didn't have much time to get settled before we all jumped in the car and headed downtown.



Since we didn't have reservations, we dropped Steve off at the curb and sent him up to the Garden Room to get on the list. We figured if there was a long wait, we would see the lights first and then have dinner. By the time Rachel and I had parked, packed up the kiddos and walked up to the 10th floor, Steve was shuffling us into the restaurant on the other side of the 10th floor - The Roof. The lobby was totally packed and we knew The Roof was a much nicer restaurant, so, we were pretty confused. He mentioned "We are taking Shannon's table."  What?????  Turns out Shannon and a big group were supposed to have dinner at The Roof. They thought they had scheduled a private room but they only had three tables next to each other. They opted to leave and Steve ran into her when they were leaving and we were arriving. Since they had just freed up three tables, Steve arranged for us to take one of them. Yeah!!!!!



Dinner was great. The Roof is a buffet restaurant and all the kiddos enjoyed their food except when it came time for dessert. I'll bet they had 20 different desserts on the buffet table and yet our little ones (especially Cole and Stockton) couldn't find one that they liked. Black Forrest Cake? Nope. Creme Brûlée? Nope. Red Velvet Cake? Nope. Chocolate Mousse? Nope. Cole asked "Do they have ice cream?" Nope - sorry Cole. Oh well - what could we do? They had eaten enough anyway.

Our view from our table was straight over Temple Square with the temple and the Christmas lights all glowing. It was beautiful!!!



After our dinner, we bundled up and headed out to Temple Square. The lights were breathtaking - they always are. We walked around the temple, to the reflecting pool, to the Tabernacle, to the Visitor's Center and to the nativity with the recorded telling of the Christmas story. We had a great night and loved being together.



When we returned home, we had another gift exchange - this time with Rachel, Annie and Stockton. The kids loved having more gifts and, even better, seeing the faces of Annie and Stockton when they opened what we had wrapped up for them.

We are so excited to have Rachel and her children with us for six days. They have some family obligations, but we will have lots of time to play and to be together.

 

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Christmas this year was very different. We were missing half of our crew. Rachel and her children decided to stay in St. George for the actual holiday and then to come up on the 26th. Then, on Christmas Eve, April got sick and was unable to join us. So, we had Shannon and her boyfriend and our little family. In September, we received a new next door neighbor. He is a single guy and has no family in town, so, we invited him to join us.

Christmas Eve, we had our usual (except for last year) turkey dinner with all the fixings. We sat in the dining room and Reagan and Cole did great with the nice china. After our dinner, we had a program. We sang songs, shared memories, played games and read scriptures. We also watched a nativity video. Our neighbor excused himself part way through our program and returned dressed as Santa Clause, but Reagan and Cole weren't fooled - they pegged him the moment he walked in the door :)

Shannon wasn't going to be able to join us Christmas Day, so, we exchanged gifts with her on Christmas Eve. She always gives Reagan and Cole just the right thing. She asks them, me and I swear that she has some secret sources because she always nails it :)



After our guests left, we watched movies with Reagan and Cole until it was time to go to bed. Cole was so funny. He made sure that we left cookies and milk for Santa. We have always told Reagan and Cole that when they wake up, Christmas morning, they should come upstairs and come right to Mom and Dad's room, so as to not risk "catching" Santa and startling him. Cole was very, very concerned about the whole situation. He asked "Well, what if I wake up and I come upstairs and forget that it is Christmas morning and I walk into the family room?" I told him not to worry and that he would probably just sleep all night anyway. He then asked "Well, what if I wake up in the middle of the night because I'm sick and I walk into the family room and scare Santa?" I assured him that he would probably not get sick. He had scenario after scenario that he was concerned about. After giving him a solution for every possible scenario, he finally went to sleep.

Christmas morning, Cole was the first to come upstairs. I was actually getting ready in my bathroom when he walked in and asked if it was morning (it was about 7:30). I told him it was and asked if he wanted to go wake up Reagan. He was more concerned with whether Santa had come, had left presents and had finished all he needed to do. He asked me to go and make sure Santa was no longer in the family room. So cute! Eventually, we were all up and we headed into the family room to see what Santa had left us. Reagan and Cole were both THRILLED with all of their gifts. I love to see their faces as they open each gift. Reagan is especially expressive (no surprise there!) but Cole's faces were priceless as well.



After we opened gifts, we continued with our tradition of omelets for our Christmas morning breakfast. Kevin would make us custom omelets each year on Christmas. I took over his duties this year with a heavy heart. It just wasn't the same not having him here - it wasn't the same not having everyone here. We love our little family, but wished that Rachel and her children as well as Shannon and April had been able to join us.



Once breakfast was done, we got ready and headed over to Steve's parents. Several of his siblings and their families were there. Reagan and Cole LOVE to see their cousins and their aunts, uncles and grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa had more gifts for them and we ate and talked and played.



Reagan and Cole didn't want to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house, but they were happy to get home and play with their toys some more. Yep - Christmas is different this year, but regardless of who joins us for our celebration, we are thinking of the reason for this wonderful season. Reagan and Cole are very aware that we are celebrating Christ's birth, that the gifts we receive represent the gifts given to the Christ child by the wise men, that the star represents the new star appearing in the sky on the night of Christ's birth and that we all are blessed by the birth, life and death of our Savior. We are so thankful for the Gospel and for the spirit, comfort and peace that we have felt during this year, despite the loss our family has sustained. We are looking forward to Rachel and her children visiting us tomorrow and to the new year that next week will bring. Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Gingerbread houses

Every Christmas-time, Reagan and Cole beg me to make gingerbread houses. I really didn't know how and wasn't too keen to learn, but this year was different. Walking through Costco, I saw a kit with a fully built gingerbread house! All you have to do is decorate with frosting, candy and fondant. Ok - now we're talking. I bought one and so did our friends - the Pescis. We got together one afternoon and made our houses.

Reagan and Cole were WAY more interested in playing with their friends than they were making the house, so, the moms got the frosting and candy out, rolled out the fondant and called the kiddos in just to place everything. Reagan and Cole did a great job (even if we did largely copy the picture on the side of the box).

Yep - we're official gingerbread house makers now - YEAH!!!!

It's time for a belt test!!!

Reagan and Cole continue to progress in karate. They are liking it (especially Cole) and are learning new skills, new forms, self defense moves and power karate.

Their kicks continue to be super high:



They have just started power karate, but so far, they like it:



Their karate forms are getting more complicated:



They have also been sparring (without pads) and sword sparring (with the soft swords) along with perfecting their self defense techniques:

  

No two karate classes are the same. Some days, they have handstand contests (Reagan is pretty good at this one), some days, they have obstacle courses, and some days, they work on cartwheels and back handsprings. They always do pushups and Cole is really good at doing them in proper form and even on his knuckles:



In Black Belt Training, they have been breaking boards:



Also in Black Belt Training, they have been working with the staff (a sword with no sharp edges). It is so cool to see their forms and how they are coming along:

 

December brought another belt test. They did great! It was a bit hard to get back into the swing of things after being gone for 10 days, but they quickly remembered what they had worked on and they performed all their skills well.



They received their purple belts which means they are to the level where they will start sparring with gear on. When it came time to order their sparring gear, Cole requested black, no surprise there. Reagan requested ...... guess..... Pink!! Not sure how pink sparring gear will be received by the boys in her class, but it wasn't a question for her. After all, it's her "signature color".



Getting new belts was the perfect end to a great karate year. We get the next two weeks off for Christmas break and we'll start the new year with new belts, new gear and new weapons. Bring it on!!!!

Artists!!!

Reagan's friend, Sophia, had a birthday party at this place in Sugarhouse called the Paint Mixer. Basically, people come to a class and are walked through how to make a painting. (The "mixer" part of the title is because they also serve drinks to the adults, but at 1 on a Saturday, our table of kiddos was completely oblivious to that fact - they were there to paint!!) Reagan and 7 of her friends were at one table and there were three other tables of adults there that day. Cole was lucky enough to be able to tag along. Sophia, being the birthday girl, had chosen the piece that they would be painting.



I must say that, at first, I was skeptical - seriously skeptical. I looked at the painting of the owl and I thought "There's no way kids can do that." Well, I stand corrected. The lady had a microphone and she walked them through step by step how to paint that piece. It took several hours, but both kiddos were patient. They were with friends and had snacks, so, who cares that we are waiting a bit for someone to catch up?



We brought our art home and hung it in Reagan and Cole's rooms. They are so proud and I am proud of them. They did a great job. I guess we can officially call them artists now, right?