Winter Wonderland

We love playing in the snow so when it snowed up north a few weeks ago, we headed up. We ditched school on Friday and met my mom, my sister Julie and her kids in Heber. There was a ton of snow but it was FREEZING!! We bundled everybody up and for the most part we kept warm.

Alli didn't really like it - she mostly cried at the top of the hill and wanted to snuggle with Grandma. When we did force her to sled down the hill, she got really mad when the snow hit her in the face. Hopefully we haven't scarred (or scared) her for life and she'll eventually want to go again. When I asked her what her favorite part of the trip was, she said "walking up the hill". That's like the worst part for me so I guess it must've been pretty bad for her!
We got a new sled board for the trip and Dana thought he'd surf down the hill. I'm pretty sure he chickened out after the first two feet and bailed off.
This is Emma, Thaeden, Alli and Shaelee playing in the snow.
Emma had fun and was such a trooper. Those long legs sure came in handy when she was hiking up the hill in a foot of snow!

Connor totally loves the snow. He never complained once about how cold it was or how hard it was to hike up the hill. He just kept going up, coming down. One time he hit a bump, flipped off the tube and did a 360 landing on a small rock. He had a little bump above his eyebrow that I think he was quite proud of. This was the funnest sled - a double - with Connor and cousin Trey.

Santa's Lap

The kids were so excited about Santa this year. They're finally getting old enough to actually ask for things (and to expect to get them, too!)

Connor asked for a Wii (big surprise) and a transformer.

Emma talked Santa's ear off like he was her best friend. I'm not sure what all she asked for but told me she asked him for a Bratz bus. We don't have any Bratz dolls at our house so I'm not sure where she came up with this one!

Allison was a little leary of Santa. I whispered in her ear that this was one of Santa's helpers and was actually Uncle Kevin dressed up. This got her to at least sit on Santa's lap but she would not speak to him and wouldn't even look at him. By the end of the party, she did warm up and went to give him a big hug. She told me to tell Santa that she wanted a baby and the Disney Princess Nursery.

Dancing with the Stars

Emma and Alli started taking dance lessons this year and they had their first recital in early December. They both did so great and I was so proud of them for getting up on the big stage and not freaking out. I think I was way more scared than they were.
Alli's class performed a cute routine to Mele Kalikimaka and she did awesome!

It was cold the day of the recital but Alli looked so cute in her swimming suit (in December) that I still made her take a few outside pics.

This is Emma and her friend, Kenadee. They've been friends since a few months old and they get along great. They are so cute and looked like perfect angels as they performed their routine.
Emma definitely has the body (all legs) for a ballerina. Hopefully, her coordination will catch up to her legs!!

Sorry to be a Slacker!!

Okay, so before I start posting I have to totally apoligize for being such a lame blogger lately. I've been super busy with all my kids and holiday stuff and I figured if something had to slack, it had to be my blog. Anyway, I will try to get a few posts done in the next week to update you on all the fun stuff we've been up to!

We Are Thankful!

Wow, have we been busy! I finally have time to breathe - or do I? Christmas is right around the corner, so I better take a few quick breaths and get going. We had a great Thanksgiving - lots of food, fun, family and shopping!! We had our 2nd annual Turkey Bowl and it was really fun. Connor & I were on Team Stuffing (aka the winning team =). Dana was on Team Turkey with Emma & Alli but the girls weren't too interested. They had more fun playing with cousins and helping with baby Hailey. We ate at my sister's house and all the food was really good. Dana fried a turkey again this year and it tasted great, even though it looked like the Griswold's burnt offering when he took it out of the oil. Here are just a few pics of the fun times.This is as close as Emma got to football - getting her football make-up on.

Alli "helping" with baby Hailey. Baby Hailey was definitely the cutest football player there.Getting the plays from our QB.

Connor loved hiking the ball!

Team Turkey in action.I couldn't believe how hot it was - I was actually sweating by the end of the game.

A rare score by Team Turkey.Allison turned on Team Turkey (red headbands) and decided to join the winning Team Stuffing (brown headbands).

The kids table - it took 2 pictures to get them all in!

Connor LOVES Soccer

Connor just finished his 3rd year of AYSO Soccer. He has such a fun time and is improving each year. He's really good at defending the goal but does not enjoy getting in the middle of the kicking-fest so it's rare that he actually gets to kick the ball. Oh well, he still has fun and that's what matters most!

Allison Turned 3!

I can't believe it! I still remember when she was a baby and now she seems like such a big girl. Finally, for the first time in 6 1/2 years, WE DON'T HAVE DIAPERS!! Alli is really independent (don't know where she gets that from) and was really easy to potty train when we were finally home long enough to do it. Her main goal in life right now is to be big enough to go to school with Connor & Emma. Luckily for mom, that's still almost 3 years away. She is such a happy little person and we feel so blessed to have our little Allison.

Alli was really into opening her presents - it was so fun watching her!

Her favorite gift - a new baby that drinks a bottle and wets her diaper. As you can imagine, we've already gone through the 3 diapers she came with and the 6 pack of extras!

After looking at about 5 stores for a Care Bear pinata, Alli finally settled on this one - she affectionately called it her "Pooh-yata".

This is Alli & her friend, Ryan Adair. They were due on the same day and ended up being born on the same day - about an hour and a half apart. We think they should get married some day. We went to lunch together and they had so much fun playing in the water!
Aren't they cute??

Halloween 2007

CRAZY DAY! The kids were able to wear their costumes to school so we had an entire day of Halloween fun - this is supposed to be fun, right?? Anyway, the kids were really cute in their costumes and makeup. Alli even added some of mom's makeup to her own face - what a little helper. The best part of the night was how excited the kids were to give out candy to our neighbors when we were done trick or treating. They were very generous and before we knew it, we were out of candy and called it a night!

New Niece!

I have a new niece!! My brother, Randy, and his wife, Amber, had their 6th baby and finally got another girl. Baby Hailey is super cute & I wanted everyone to get a peek at her cute little face!! Congrats, Randy & Amber - we love you!

Club House

The kids were so cute - they decided they wanted to make a club house in the backyard and I helped them put up signs. They love playing outside and I'm glad it's finally cool enough for them. They play so good together (most of the time). I love October and November here. It's still warm during the day but the mornings and nights are so nice and we've been having lots of bike rides and outside play time - yeah!!

Disneyland - October 2007

How is it possible to have that much fun in four days?? Dana and I are getting way too old to keep up with our kids. Connor's favorite ride was, of course, the Tower of Terror. I don't know how he can keep going on that ride over and over. Emma was a ton braver this trip and decided she had two favorites - Space Mountain and the Grizzly River Run. After getting off Space Mountain the first time she said "Mom, that was the best ride EVER!". Alli was very into the rides this trip so Mom got to go on It's a Small World and Winnie the Pooh quite a few times. Alli was just barely too short to do the 35" rides, so maybe by next trip she'll get to enjoy a few more. We had an awesome time with our Shumway cousins from Utah - way too much fun crammed into four days!!

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Summer 2007

The kids have been so much fun this summer! We have been really busy and I can't believe that tomorrow is Connor & Emma's 1st day of school. I'm so lucky to be their mom - I hope they miss me as much as I'm going to miss them.