Holiday Misc.

It is always a big event to set up the Christmas train!

MaryJane and Frankie decided they wanted to be big helpers too.

Setting up the train was an advent activity.

Surprisingly after the first initial night, Frankie didn't bother with the train much.   

The tracks kept him from the tree too. :)

Making gingerbread houses. 

Last year I found this cute mini village for $10 at Target.  It's perfect for us!  

We each get a house to build/decorate.

Frankie was happy to watch it all.

This picture is a good "before" picture of his left eye crossing.

I had a lot of Lego candy leftover from a YW lesson.  They were the perfect touch on these houses.

Love my village lit up at night.

For the past 5 years I've been a colored light fan.  

I love seeing my hutch all lit up from outside!

Best money I ever spent!

Tree Hunt 2011

This year we got our tree near Heber.  My parents met us at the fun Dairy Keen and we filled up our tummies before our great adventure.

The kids loved all the trains.

Then we drove to a canyon near by and bundled up in our snow gear.

Frankie's first time in a sled wondering if he likes it all that much.  He seemed entertained.  

We gently pulled him around the parking lot.

It was fun to have my mom with us this year.

There's something about being out in the open mountain air.  Fresh crisp air and the peace and quiet makes me feel calm.

There were plenty of trees to choose from even though you can 't tell in the pictures.

Our tree!

Cutting it down.

It is so great to have my dad's ATV.  He forgot his good pulling sled so we had to hike a little but it was  still all good fun!

Nana and the littles getting warmed up in the car.

There are so many things I love about this new tradition of ours!  

The quality family time, a fun snow day (which we needed because we had no snow back at home) and the $10 price tag for my favorite kind of tree!  Tall and skinny.  They are usually $70 at the tree lot.

Last year my dad got us this cute little Department 56 Father/Son cutting down a tree for our village.  

I love it!  A great reminder of the fun tradition we started in our family.  

Thanksgiving 2011

I was sure looking forward to eating a big feast this holiday!  

Because last year I was battling that major breast infection while nursing Frankie and I was on a strict diet trying to get rid of it.  I didn't even get a bite of pie at the yummy pie party:(.

This year I woke up bright and early and hit the gym for a long while.  

I've been getting up at 6:15 everyday to workout since September and it feels great to be back into my routine again!

This year was my side of the family's turn for Thanksgiving. 

My brother in California and Sister in D.C will be out here for Christmas.  

Getting all the kids together for pictures was a headache.  They hated every minute of it.

My Parents, Brother and kids, and us.  

My Brother's family.

Brent, Stacey, Austin, Luke, Kate and Zach

Us.

I love Frankie just hanging out-ah, taking pictures is so relaxing and entertaining. 

See how well behaved the boys were?  Still cute.

I've got the girls TRAINED!

I finally got a little taste of the craft bug again and made these cute Pilgrims and Indian treat boxes for the kids table. 

I got the idea from Pebbles in My Pocket and made them using my Cricut Machine.

I knew my kids wouldn't eat trail mix so I made a yummy treat from the back of the Rice Chex cereal box.

You can find the recipe here.

My parents put on a good spread!  I brought sausage cornbread stuffing and rolls.

We always love the Thanksgiving fish pond!

My mom gave all the kids new jammies to wear for the season.

If we weren't eating or sleeping, we were playing Just Dance.  That is such a FUN game!!  

We loved the new Just Dance 3.  My kids really got into it and so did I!  

Dance, eat pie, dance some more, eat pie. Repeat.

Frankie loved eating all the yummy food.  He has been handling table food really well.  I am thrilled about that!  He's got 3 teeth in the front and 2 molars in the back.  

His favorite toy is a ball.  He loves to pass it back and forth and follow it around as it rolls.  

It was another great year!  Thanks Mom and Dad for having us!  We had a great time!

*******

The day after Thanksgiving we got to go with Kevin's brother Mike and his family to the temple.  They were sealed as a family forever with their sweet Edlawit. 

Afterward we had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant in Edlawit's honor.  It was fascinating to see a little bit of her culture.  It was a lot of fun have them in town and a joy to meet their newest of new additions, Sawyer.   

November Pictures

So I had a little playgroup at my house last month.  

I didn't get a big turn out because I scared everyone away with my 

worry of Frankie getting sick for his upcoming surgery.

I am grateful that everyone has been so considerate on the matter.  

 This is cute Leah.  She is about a month older than Frankie.

She is adorable and her wave hello/goodbye just melted me.  

Such a doll.

I think Frankie was taken by her too.  Leah and her piggy tails.

Max who is 2 came as well.  Sadly I don't have a picture of him. :(

 I accidentally deleted about 30 pictures on my camera thinking I had already downloaded them!!

I'm SO bummed!

These were the only two I have .

Thanks Sharae and Kristin for coming!

I got to volunteer in MaryJane's Preschool Class for Thanksgiving. 

It was so cute to watch all the dressed up Pilgrim and Indians sit down for a big feast. 

MaryJane just loved her costume! 

So did Sadie!  She had to try it on too. 

Cole felt festive and colored a tie-dye turkey.

What's November without playing in a big pile of leaves?

 Fun to have all the kids home the day before Thanksgiving. 

 Sadie's awesome choice of clothing for the day.

Every year I make our family a picture Calendar.  November is always the month that I take the least amount of photos.  Must be an uneventful month.  

Now I have some cute Pilgrims and great leaf pictures.  :)