Christmas Morn

I hope everyone had a wonderful and joy filled Christmas. Ours was pretty quiet. We opened presents and then we all went and saw a late morning showing of the new Nartia movie, which by the way was really good. That evening we had a Christmas party at Ryan's parents home. I forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures though.

This is what the tree looked like after Santa paid our home a visit. And yes...that is a new saw and dry wall so that Ryan will finish the wall he started last year. ;-) You can see the insulation hanging out behind the new dry wall. Our little peanuts opening their gifts.
One of Jax's favorite gifts was this set of hot wheel cars that have launchers that you can use to race them.

A few years ago Emma took a huge liking to Nutcrackers. So each year since we've given her a new one for Christmas. This year I found a glittery purple one that she instantly fell in love with.

Jax got a marble toy that Ryan was dying to get his hands on too. Like father like son.

We are so grateful for all the blessings that we have and for all the love that we have in our lives. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy 2011.

T'was the Night Before Christmas...

So I don't know about anyone else, but I actually prefer Christmas Eve, to Christmas day. I love all the prep work and all the anticipation and excitement the kids have. I love the images I conjur up about what the next day will bring. Plus we seem to have more traditions for that night than for the following day. Some of you may be familiar with the story, Elf of the Shelf. Anyway, we have a similar elf (his cousin) who took his place this year since original Shelf Elf ran away last year. (I think Jax actually threw poor Elf in the garbage.) Anyway, along with keeping an eye on the kids all month our Shelf Elf also sneaks outside on Christmas Eve and leaves their Christmas pj's. This year Emma vowed she's catch him, and another year went by without her noticing. They were excited when the doorbell rang and on the porch were two boxes and card saying only, To: Emma and Jax.

Emma and Jax opening their pj boxes from Shelf Elf.

Emma was excited by her unicorn pjs and Jax loved his polar bear ones.
Hamming it up for the camera.

Next, the kids went outside and scatter the reindeer food we made. Emma was really worried this year, since we didn't have any snow on the ground and the glitter in the food couldn't reflect off of the snow. I said it would reflect off of Rudolf's nose. She was okay with that explanation.

Then it was time to put out the cookies for Santa. They decided they wanted to leave the gingerbread house they'd made too.

When all was completed it was finally time for brushing of teeth and tucking into bed. Emma went right to sleep, but Jax was all wired up and took a few more times of being tucked into bed. But finally...not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Preschool Program

Jax's preschool did their holiday program last week. I wasn't expecting great things, only because he doesn't like people looking at him. But seeing that there were about 30 kids all together he seems okay with the situation. Plus, Ms. Jani had the foresight to place him next to friends he knows. They aren't in his actual class but they are friends and neighbors of ours. He got to sit between Kora and Preston. Jax and Kora pre-program.
Jax looking oh so entertained during the program.

Jax receiving his little gift from Ms. Jani after the program.

We were lucky enough to get to have Ryan's parents come and watch Jax's big day. He was so excited when he looked up and saw them in the balcony above.

You did so great my little man.

Cutting a Rug

At the family party last Saturday night, some of our family members taught some traditional pioneer dances. Emma thought this was the greatest thing EVER. She LOVES dancing and she picked up the moves really quickly. A special thank you to amazing Uncle Roark. He was Emma's partner and was so patient with her and praised her when she was doing a great job. Thanks Roark, she loved every minute of it!!

Celebrating Forever

Last Saturday we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. No this is not a picture from that evening. We actually ended up celebrating the night before because of a family Christmas party and I actually forgot to take the camera with us when we went out. I just can't pass up the opportunity to thank my fabulous husband for all of his love and support over the past 11 years. He has made me so incredibly happy and I'm hoping he'd say the same about me. ;-) Marriage is such a hard thing and we are always having to work to improve it, but who wants a boring marriage anyway. I know that we aren't perfect, but I know that what we have is real and it's worth working hard for. I'm so grateful to such a caring man who takes care of me and our two beautiful children. I can't wait to grow old and sit on our front sitting area together watching our grandchildren play. I can't wait to watch our hair turn grey and laugh lines turn into wrinkles. Although I will be fighting both of those on my end for as long as possible. I'm so grateful for such a loving marriage and I just wanted my husband to know how much he means to me. Happy Anniversary Ry!

Flegal Christmas Party

This past Saturday evening, Ryan's mother's family had their annual Christmas Party. Some of our family members work at This is the Place Heritage Park and were able to reserve one of the old pioneer buildings for the dinner and party. Jax with Santa Clause who made his annual appearance to everyone's delight.
Jax with his Great-Grandma Flegal.

Emma, striking a pose with Santa.

Emma with Great-Grandma Flegal. (Emma calls her Old Grandma...too cute!)

All the kids got an amazing gift this year. When Ryan's grandfather was alive he loved to make and tinker with things. He created these beautiful wood tops that you pull with a handle and string. So this year, 2 of Ryan's uncles took the design and remade one for each of the kids. This is no small feet if you know just how many they had to make. They are beautiful and my kids LOVE theirs. Thanks to all for your hard work on the toys and the party...it was a fun treat as always. Merry Christmas!

1st Graders Know How to Party

Emma's first grade holiday party this year was a "Polar Express" party. They got to bring their pj's and blankets or pillow. They decorated ginger bread houses (which by the way since I helped with the frosting of the houses went home COVERED in the sticky white stuff). I never realized how messy that project could be. They read The Polar Express story and then had hot chocolate and toated English muffins with jam. The kids had a great time and I loved helping! Emma and her good friend Daixa reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas while we were getting all the English muffins ready.
Some of the VERY creative ginger-bread houses. I was impressed at how different they all turned out.

Adventure to the Aquarium

Last week my friend, Meredith, and I took Brady and Jax to the free day at the Sandy Aquarium. It was pretty crowded, but really not as bad as I thought. The boys had such a good time looking at all the marine life together and Meredith and I had fun battling through crowds of older kids to make sure our little ones weren't shoved aside and could see. All in all it was a fun experience...and free too!Jax and Brady watching a tiny crab in the bottom corner of a HUGE tank filled with jelly fish and other amazing creatures. But they kept finding the tiny crabs in every exibit we looked at. ;-)
Jax touching the star fish.

It was really hard to get pictures because it was so crowded, so these were the best ones.

Here Comes Santa Clause

We had a ward Christmas party a little over a week ago and a "surprise" guest came to visit the kids. Can you even begin to imagine who the surprise guest at a family Christmas party might be...we'll I guess I can't fool you! You're right...it was Santa Clause. Emma was all sorts of excited to tell Santa she wants a Diamond Castle Barbie Castle. He was nice enough to notice I was wrinkling my nose when she said that, they don't make that toy anymore, and nicely told her that his elves actually made her something else and it's even better. So, "THANK YOU SANTA!"

Jax is our little man of VERY few words. Not that he doesn't talk, sometimes I can't get him to stop. He just doesn't like to talk to people he doesn't know. So in steps our little translator...Emma. She told Santa for Jax that he wants a Thomas toy. Thank goodness Santa already knew that one and will be able to fill that order. Well, 50% isn't bad I guess.

Cheers to Teachers

So my hat goes off to great teachers. Most especially to Emma's amazing teacher, Mrs. Thomas. Emma came in the house today after being dropped off by carpool and she was sobbing, to the point that she could barely even catch a breath. Needless to say she wasn't able to immediatly tell me what was wrong. She was also wearing an oversized dark red jacket. Okay, thought goes off, this isn't your coat. A flashback to last year when her favorite hoodie was stollen and my fear button goes off. Just then, while trying to get her to calm down, my phone rang. Ah ha...it's the school on the caller id. On the other line is Mrs. Thomas, Emma's 1st grade teacher. She explains that the girl in the class across the hall from their class has the exact same coat as Emma. Their school has the coat racks in the hallways. So apparently when Emma couldn't find her coat Mrs. Thomas took the time to investigate and found out that this other little girl had thought her coat was put on the wrong rack and so she took it, not realizing it was actually Emma's. Mrs. Thomas was calling to make sure that Emma was better and to inform me that the mother of the other little girl had just dropped off Emma's coat and that it would be hanging on their rack if I wanted to come get it. I thanked her and hung up. Just then I realized that I hadn't asked about the coat that Emma was wearing. When Emma calmed down, knowning now that her coat was safe, she told me that Mrs. Thomas wouldn't let her leave into the cold without a coat on. So what does she do, she sends Emma home with her own coat. I mean seriously...how more incredible and loving can you get. We quickly went over to the school, after having Emma make Mrs. Thomas a card, and picked up Emma's coat. We were in luck and caught Mrs. Thomas just on her way home. Emma gave her a HUGE hug, her card, and her coat back. So this is a nod to all those amazing and compassionate teachers out there who love, protect, and teach our children. You are incredible and I want to personally thank you!

The Nutcracker Ballet

The Monday after Thanksgiving the kids and I took a little road trip up to Logan to visit the Davis family. Their oldest daughter, Alyssa, performed with the Cache Valley Ballet in this years production of The Nutcracker. Emma and I went to the last performance with Emma's BFF, Grace, and one of my BFF's too, Martina. We had tickets in the second balcony and we couldn't have asked for better seat. We were right next to the Cache Valley Ballet board members, so you can tell how good our seats were. PS-thanks Ryan for letting Jax stay and play with Callum, you are awesome. Emma and Grace with their pre-performance goodies.
Emma and Grace looking out from the balcony at the stage. They had a large Nutcracker projected on the curtains.

Alyssa was one of the Russian dancers. Her with the other girls that were Russian dancers.

Emma and Grace with Alyssa after the performance at the meet and greet upstairs.

Congratulations Alyssa!!! You did such a fabulous job and we can't wait to see you in your next performance. Thank you Martina and Grace for being such amazing friends and for such a wonderful evening.

Uncle Joe

So it dawned on me the other day that I didn't get a single picture on the actual day of Thanksgiving. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was busy in the kitchen. Oh well...there's always my sister Becky's wedding in January for family photos. This is one picture though that I will always cherish. My brother, Joe, doesn't visit, pretty much ever, and so it was great having him here this past Thanksgiving. The kids think he is the best and goffiest, which he pretty much is. We are so glad you could make it and can't wait to see you again next month. Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving too.

Temple Square Christmas Lights

We went to see the Chrismas lights at Temple Square the Saturday night after Thanksgiving. I seriously think we picked the coldest night ever. We rode Trax downtown and had fun enjoying the lights and the festivities of the season. I think the kids' favorite part was the hot chocolate.

Jax, Emma, Ethan, Caitlin, Maryn, Mallory and Courtney all bundled up. Our family infront of some really pretty red lit trees.

Ryan, Emma and Jax on the train ride home.

My sister Jacque and I on the ride home. You can just make out my dad right behind us.

Mrs. Thomas' Thanksgiving Feast

This year I am the homeroom mom for Emma's first grade class. I'm loving being able to be so involved this year. For Thanksgiving Mrs. Thomas had the kids each bring in something that was healthy and the kids had a huge variety of foods. From cranberry jelly, to apple and pear slices, to cheese and crackers and even gingerbread man marshmellows. A picture of the feast ready to be consumed.
Mrs. Thomas made the kids say what food group each item came from before the feast began.

Since Emma has celiac we substituted the crackers for her Gluten Free ones. However there were actually quite a few things she could have. It ended up being such a great party. And Emma's Nana, my mom, got to come and help too. Both she and Emma LOVED that.

North Pole Express

This past Thanksgiving holiday, while my family were all in town, we took a trip on the North Pole Express.It traveled from Heber City, UT to the North Pole and back home again. Jax is HUGE fan of anything trains and one of his favorite books and movies is The Polar Express.This is Jax with Mrs. Clause.

Jax watching out the dark window. He loved watching the moon lit scenery go past. The train was so beautiful. It was over 100 years old. However, since it was so old there was VERY little heat. But all in all it was a super fun time.
Everyone in the train car sang songs and had cookies and hot cocoa. This is Emma and her cousins, Maryn and Mallory, singing Jingle Bells in front of everyone. As a side note, Emma decided she wanted to tell a joke to everyone. This was an issue to me because her idea of a joke is really not a joke. It's a weird story. So I got a little worried and embarrassed ahead of time for her. Ryan reassured me that she's young and just let her be innocent. So this is her joke, "Why didn't the reindeer fly in the sky?" "Because they were sick." See I told you. Then Mallory, who is 9 months younger than Emma said, "Why didn't the reindeer fly in the sky?" "Because they were dead." Ryan turned to me and said, "see at least her joke wasn't as morbid as dead." It ended up just being funny and everyone were really nice and laughed for them anyway. ;-) Thanks train car friends for making them feel good about themselves.

Mallory, Emma, Jax, Maryn, and Courtney getting to meet Santa when he boarded the train at our stop at the North Pole. Jax was so in awe that he couldn't look away.

Our family picture in front of our train car. Man was it freezing that night. The temp was in the teens in Heber City. This was an awesome family outting and we had such a great time. Somehow though I didn't get a picture of my mom, or my sisters, Jacque and Misty. They went with us too.

Buddies

This is a picture of Jax and his best little buddy, Brady. I came across it last night while organizing last months pictures in my computer. Brady came over one afternoon after preschool and the boys had tons of fun playing outside in the leaves and on the swing set. They get along so great and have such similar easy going personalities. Thanks for coming to play Brady!