Kaden and his dinosaurs

Kaden LOVES dinosaurs. And, he knows a lot of them, and a lot about them! He is consantly drawing them, reading about them, playing with them, or quizzing us about them. He'll stay up long after Ky has fallen asleep with his "Dinosaur Encyclopedia", learning more things about them. Or, he'll yell out from his bed, "Mom! What's a dinosaur that starts with 'E' and ends with 'S'?" If I don't know it, I'll make a few guesses then he'll yell, "Give up???" Then he'll tell me the answer. In this picture, he made a T-Rex from his new lego game.

Surprise, Anna!!!!

A few days after Christmas, we decided to make a surprise visit to see Anna in Cedar City. All my sisters, plus my Mom and Dad all made the three and a half hour trek in my mini van. We made a few caffeine and potty stops, and when we got there, we started singing "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". Anna came to the door bawling, and we all gathered around her with hugs and more tears. We had a few rooms reserved at a hotel, and we did some swimming, chatting, laughing, eating, and playing games.

Twins' Birthday!!

How did my babies get to be this old?? Am I that old? Hmmm.... Anyway, the boys' birthday was on a Sunday, so we took them on Saturday to the Living Planet Aquarium after meeting Grammy and Grampy Hofheins and Aunt Ali for lunch at Burger King (their choice...) On Sunday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Thomas' for their birthday dinner.

Christmas

My mom used to say that her happiness on Christmas morning came from watching us girls enjoy opening gifts and seeing our excitement and joy. I, in my childlike mind, thought "yeah, right!" But, now, as a mom, I TOTALLY GET IT! I love to see the exuberance, the eagerness, the total and utter glee as they rip through the paper and discover what it hides. I love every second of it, and I need no more than that to bring me happiness on Christmas morning...

Christmas Eve, at home

After spending the day at the Hofheins', we got our traditional Christmas Eve Chinese takeout (this year-Panda Express!!), and then opened the presents the kids got for each other and for Ty and me. The highlight was Jerrica giving Bailey her present which she was so excited about and spent her own money on. Among other things, she got her a memory foam pad for her bed, which was so thoughtful.

Christmas Eve-2010

Christmas Eve P.J.'s

The Nativity, with the cousins

Grandpa, reading from Luke 2

Showing Grandpa how to "skype" with Anna

Alicia made me this apron out of Grandma Lemon's clothes. I love it!

Grammy's Baking Day

Each year, my Mom has us and all our kids over to bake a few days before Christmas. This year, she made each of the kids their own Gingerbread cake. They all had so much fun frosting and decorating and eating candy and icing!!

Jer's birthday

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Hofheins, Thomas, Uncle Troy and the fam.

Her very own "Michi" bag

Birthday Party with friends

I really cannot believe that I have a teenager! The years flew by way too quickly.

I am so blessed, though. She is an amazingly talented, kind, energetic, beautiful, smart, friendly, helpful teenager. She is very strong-willed, she knows who she is and what she believes in. She has a very mature testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and she makes very good choices. Ty and I feel so grateful to have her as our oldest.

Christmas Sing-Along at the ESA

I have always wanted to go to this-every year since it started. But, we've just never been able to make it. This year, Ty took the day off work so we could go. We went early and did some sight-seeing at Temple Square. We showed them where Ty proposed to me, and took a picture re-creating that moment (ok, maybe we dramatized it just a little!!) The boys were so excited when we got to go to the top of the Church Office Building-they love sky-scrapers! The sing-along was every bit as fun as I thought it would be, and I'm so glad we went. I think it will become a new tradition for us!

A brand new year!!!

So, it's been a year and a half since I've blogged! So, instead of trying to hurry and catch up, I'll just start again, now, and maybe throw in some stuff from the last 18 months here and there, as I go! The last few years have definitely had their challenges, their hardships-and we've definitely shed a few tears. But, we've also been extremely blessed, we've grown together more as a family, and had some fun times together.