2015 Cell Phone

Just ending with a random cell phone picture dump. All from 2015

The boys love going bowling. I think this is Kaleb

 There was a ward activity. The bishop brought his little kid 3-wheeler and all the kids got to ride it:

Another ward activity. It was a camp out. We went just for dinner. There was a lake that the kids had fun paddling around:

 Evelyn

A local restaurant was doing a pirate night event:

 December ... Utah always includes Menchies:

 April we got Mako:

December Dump

Just a picture dump to make up for the last 9 months I've slacked on. I want them somewhere other than my computer.

Jake and I got to go see the new Star Wars for his work Christmas party. We also had tickets to take the kids. We decided to take them in Utah and invite others to join us:
Didn't take Evelyn. She stayed home with grandma.

One of the treats my mom always makes at Christmas time is Divinity. It was fun to be here this time to help her. The kids really enjoyed tasting to make sure it was good enough:

Some amazing sisters put their Sky Miles together to fly my sister Laurel and her husband Klaus to the U.S. to enjoy Christmas with the family.
We started the festivities with our traditional Christmas Eve dinner:

I almost forgot to give the kids their traditional new Christmas pajamas. After I got them out of the the bath I had them quickly open their new pajamas. I think they really liked them.

The next morning was a big yummy breakfast then presents:

We didn't stay long as we had other family to visit. We next headed a few hours North to grandma and grandpas house. More presents to open and dinner to eat. I ordered presents online and had some shipped to my parents house, some shipped to grandparents house and some to ours so the kids had presents to open all throughout the day:

We were eager to be home to we didn't stay the night. Packed up all our loot and headed North a few hours to get home. It was quite late by the time we got home but after being in the car for so long the kids needed some unwind time. We were planning on during Christmas at our house the next morning but decided there was no reason to wait.
We bought Breahna's gift when we were in Utah so Jake had to quickly assemble it while I quickly filled stockings.
Christmas #3:

One of the fun things about the Austria's coming to visit is the chocolate. We can always expect there will be a suitcase full of chocolate, especially Kinder eggs. Before we took off Christmas morning auntie Laurel passed out an egg to each kid.

 We made them wait until the next morning, when we were home, to open and enjoy their chocolate:

The kids each got a new game for one of their gifts. Alexander was excited to play Sorry. When we play we keep going until everyone has won. It was down to Dad and Alexander ... Dad won.

And another year is complete!

November Digest

Just a few pictures for November.
The kids were excited that snow was here to stay. They played in it as much as possible. We had to get poor Breahna a coat since she didn't have one. Her school had called a couple times asking if she had a coat and if we needed help getting one. No, I just haven't made it to WalMart yet!

Breahna wants to be a chef when she grows up. She loves putting on an apron and helping in the kitchen.

 

Evelyn also love to help, no matter what I'm doing she wants to be right next to me. Sometimes it can be a little draining and I wish she would entertain herself. But, I also love it.  

(don't worry. I hadn't turned anything on yet for those cringing and about to shout that her fingers are too close to the flame. There is no flame or hot things yet)

 

My sister and her family came to visit us for a night. We tried to squeeze in as much fun as we could in such a short visit.
We took them to eat dinner at our favorite Lucy's Pizzeria

 

my nieces showed our kids the joy of sliding down stairs. They were quite entertained by that for several hours:

 

 There was enough floor and beds for everyone to sleep:

 I sure love my sister!

 

Every Friday night we have family movie or game night. The kids rotate each week who gets to pick. Sometimes we'll even have a special dinner and watch while we eat.

Star Wars movies are a popular choice in this house:

  

just a random picture of our always busy Evelyn:

We went South to Jake's grandparents for Thanksgiving dinner. Grandma always has fun activities for all the kids:

There is always, always, always, something to be thankful for
Goodbye November

A Memoire

I hate that I've let myself fall so far behind with this blog. I know I've already forgotten many memories I wanted to cherish forever. I figure, even if I don't have the whole story I should at least record the pictures that some day when I'm old and forgetful I can look back and remember. Oh wait, I already am forgetful.
We made a trip to Utah. Nearly 6 months later now and I can't remember why. But, we went. I was finally able to give Jeff and Mari Eliza's quilt. I am grateful for the talent God gave me that I have been able to make so many quilts, especially this one. I'm grateful I was able to make this cherished memory.
At my nieces funeral I asked all the quests to sign quilt squares. I put those squares together with clothes of Eliza's and a few pictures. For the first time, I sent a quilt out to a professional to finish. She did an amazing job quilting it.

 Evelyn is a bit clingy of a girl. She hardly ever lets anyone else hold her. During this visit I was standing right there but when something happened and she needed comfort she went running to grandma.

We live in the land of potatoes. Every year a lot of farmers, after harvesting, open their fields to the public. Anyone who wants to can come in and dig up whatever potatoes they can. We've never gone before but I thought it would be fun to try. It was very crowded but we were all having fun digging in the dirt and enjoying the sunshine. We weren't digging up many potatoes but then they drove a huge dump truck into the field and dump out a load of potatoes. It was a mass scramble like kids going for pinata treats. We quickly overfilled our bucket with way more potatoes than we needed. That night we gave bags of potatoes to all our neighbors and made french fries for dinner.

We went to a local pumpkin patch. A lot more fun than just going to a grocery store. All the kids had fun, despite the cold, picking out a pumpkin of their very own:

A few days later, Jake, our master carver, designed and cut out as the kids directed him with their imagination:

 Evelyn doesn't care yet so I get to design and carve her pumpkin:

 Jake and I also spent the month helping the kids plan their Halloween costumes.

Our masterpiece was making Kaleb an airplane. Unfortunately, it was way more front heavy than we realized so he was nosediving. But, the propeller spun, and we were proud of it. Also unfortunate, Halloween night was really windy so it was too hard for Kaleb to hold on to the airplane. Jake ended up taking it home. I stayed out with the freezing cold kids and Jake stayed home to pass out candy.
Alexander was a power ranger. Evelyn was a butterfly. And Breahna was a pig. I love Halloween simply because of the smiles on the kids faces. I love helping them create their dream costumes.