Thursday, June 19, 2014

We have skiers!

We took the plunge and started the twins on skis! Considering how long our winters are here in Utah, I knew we had to get the kids involved in the winter sport so we aren't all wishing the winter away. Thanks to Grammy, we were able to enroll them at Alta Ski School for 5 lessons and they were amazing! Roman and Capri went from the Magic Carpet to taking their first green runs. I couldn't be more proud of the both of them. I know it was frustrating and scary at times but they stuck it out and they are excited for next season! Now Tucker and I have got to get going so we can join them...I just hope I remember how to do it...
Check them out, my proud new skiers:




Until next season...

St. George, January '14

So there we were, down in St. George in the middle of January. It's not like it's super warm or anything, it's just a lot better than the frigid cold and nasty inversion of Salt Lake. It was so nice to leave the coats behind and head to some sunshine. My parents, the Curtis', and the Fords all joined us which made for cousin heaven for my kids. Since we weren't about to swim, we spent time at Tonaquint Park complete with a rock wall, teeter totters, and lots of other fun stuff not normally found at your typical neighborhood park.
Clara was happy to be in her stroller as long as she was outside and watching the other kids:
Capri didn't even need her sweatshirt...so nice.
Roman loved this tire thing-it scared me to death. Once you get it turning, the momentum causes everyone to fly off!
Karoline loved the slides, can you tell?
Me and my girl
We brought the tennis ball basket and racquets to hit some balls. We had plenty of time to get the scooters out and the kids loved trying new tricks.
And here is our sweet, sweet, magic baby just soaking it all up!

Merry Christmas Morning!

Where to begin?! I think the kids were most excited about the fact that the tree lights were white all season long, but when they woke up-colored lights! Santa must have made them change colors! It was so fun that they noticed the tree even before the presents.
Again we tried to make it a bit more simple this year. They get plenty from grandparents (as my mom would say, "I wish had a Susie!") so Santa, Tucker and I don't have to do a whole lot.
Karoline's biggest surprise was her easel and paints. She has to be the hardest to shop for because she isn't really in to anything in particular. She does love to get crafty, however, so the easel/dry erase board was perfect.
 Roman, on the other hand, is so easy. Give him an Wii game and he is beyond thrilled!
Capri started asking for Boo the second she saw one in the store. So glad Santa delivered!
After opening presents at home, we all met up for breakfast at my parents house. Can I just say how nice it is that they live in my backyard?! We just walk on over where Rob and Jesse had slept over as well. Here are my parents and all their grandkids!
We have to make this a tradition-going to see a movie on Christmas Day! We did this a lot growing up and we decided to give it a try this year since everyone was pretty excited to see Frozen. We had already seen it and yet we were dying to see it again! Here are my cute kiddos all dressed up in their new gear...
I just love that we have a new sister to join us in these holiday festivities! And thank you Cody for the awesome photobomb.
It was such a great and relaxing Christmas Day!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Christmas Eve

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Christmas Eve is my favorite! I love all of our family traditions, the excitement in the kids eyes, the final wrapping of presents, and just the anticipation of the next morning. I love it all!
This year was no different and we really packed it in with so many fun activities...
First up, with all of the new snow, it was a perfect day to gear up and play outside. Meet Olaf, their new snowman friend...
Snowman building turned into a snowball fight...but seemed to be all of them against me! That's what I get for trying to take pictures!
 Then we got dressed and started in on our gingerbread house building.
The kids loved decorating the giant gingerbread men too!

Look at these cute girls!
Sasha and Clara, they are destined to be great friends being just 3 months apart.
I think Roman wishes he was apart of Rob and Jesse's family, but being the Curtis boys' cousin will have to do!
My family of six. Oh how much I love them!
On to more Christmas Eve to-dos...
Making cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning:
 And this one loves to be my helper!
We couldn't go to bed without making Santa's cookies...
In our Christmas jammies that our Elf on the Shelf brought before he left for the North pole.
Our traditional picture on the big red chair and this year we added one more to the bunch!  
And to all a good night!

Christmas Sunday

In case you didn't know, Christmas Sunday is simply the Sunday before Christmas and it's the day my kids wear their Christmas Sunday attire. It's probably more fun for me than them, but I force the pictures anyway!


 Even their coats are to die for:
After church, the Curtis family got together for dinner and our traditional Christmas Nativity. This is a must for me. Not only does it teach the story of Christ's birth, the real purpose for the holiday, but it is pretty dang funny! This year London was Mary, Kaleb was Joseph, Karoline, the angel, Capri the star, Roman the shepherd, Eli the wiseman, and Spencer the donkey!

The Nutcracker

I love our Nutcracker tradition! Susie takes all of us girls to see Ballet West's Nutcracker and it's such a lovely evening. This year was even better with Isla and Karoline coming for their first time. Too, with Lexy going to BYU now, we were able to enjoy her company as well!
We dined at Red Rock Brewery first...
A bunch of lovely ladies!
These darling little girls with their new nutcrackers:
 And my two in front of the great big Nutcracker in Capitol Theatre.
Thank you Grammy for another great night out!

A smorgasbord of December...

A typical day at the gym with my parents and their favorite instructor, Lindsay Taylor. My parents are religious about Zumba and its so fun to join them sometimes!
My long, long-time friend, Nicole, invited me and my mom to a Christmas Luncheon. Her mother wanted to have her daughters and their closest friends come to catch up and enjoy a lovely lunch. It was so nice to see them and Jessica's mom Charlotte. We all took a trip down memory lane and had so much to reminisce about.
Pictured below are the original moms and daughters (minus Jessica-missed her!) who started our group of best friends that have known each other since we were three. That's almost 30 years ago! These three moms were all friends in the same ward, Charlotte and Jeanette right around the corner from each other, and Robyn right up the street. Such fond memories of Brockbank Dr, Holladay 16th Ward, and Oakridge Elementary.
Here is Charlotte Pratt, Jeanette Sonnenberg, my mom, me, and Nicole:
Nicole and I seated at the gorgeous table Jeanette had done!
Something about decorating Christmas cookies...puts a smile on everyone's face!
I just have to note Capri's hair in a bun for ballet and in her thermals she wears for skiing. Doing it all!
Rather than making things pretty, Roman goes for the "get as many sprinkles on as you possibly can" method:
This girl is amazingly happy with just about any activity, especially if it's with her big brother and sister.
As the room mom for the twin's class, I got to put together the Christmas party. It was an all day Polar Express event. The kids loved it! They would watch part of the movie, then we would stop it to have a treat or do an activity that correlated with the movie. I made a paper train and each of them posted their self portrait to put in the windows-how cute are they?!
Karoline joined me for the day and it just so happened to be a perfectly snowy day:
At the beginning of the Christmas season, our Elf on the Shelf came bearing chocolate countdown calendars and coloring books. The kids were beyond excited to find him every morning and they were so sad to see him go.
We had the kids write letters to Santa and this was the first year that Karoline did her own pictures...so cute!