December is Finally Here

We had so much fun on our Christmas lights outing with Grandma Netta last night.

A few tips for us the next time we do this outing: #1 Bring stuff for the 4 and under crew to do on the Frontrunner #2maybe leave the 4 and under crew at home😝 and #3 Plan on being at least two hours late for school and work the next day or not going in at all.

The girls were so excited to come and show me that Jos did their hair. So cute! I especially liked that they wanted to take a picture with their heads down so I can see how Jos did it.

Supporting Jarom at his game

Church Christmas breakfast, 

Alpine Live Nativity with our kids

Decorating the Christmas Tree

This cute girl is so excited for Christmas and Santa. She was telling Jaycie about Santa coming and then she turned to me and said, " Mom, Santa is real huh? Because we put treats out and he eats them. Cause you and dad can't eat them. Only Santa." Yep 😆

My kids love our Gingerbread house tradition. All 6 of them made one. Sale had a piece of chewed up gum on his😲. Jaycie ate more candy than she used for her house, Jos had so much fun creating by herself, Jarom said he really tried this year since they made it a rule he couldn't just dump candy, Isaac had bears eating people, and Gideon took home the win.

Jos asked Isaac to help her write a letter to Santa. She is very concerned about him finding her on Christmas.

Christmas Break

We had a lot of fun during Christmas break. It seemed to go by very fast this year. The kids got out of school on Wed, December 20th and we were to leave for Vegas for the Cline family Christmas Thursday. Koki was supposed to work Thursday but ended up taking it off so we could get to Vegas at a good time.

 Our kids were so excited for the road trip. Gideon decided we needed to fix the DVD player in the Yukon before the trip. We had the movie Anastasia stuck in there for about 6 months because the eject button broke and the boys DID NOT want to watch it one more time. I was sitting on the couch when Gideon and Jarom ran in screaming that they took the movie out of the machine. That was so exciting. The next day Gideon said he was going to work on it more and actually figured out a way to make a new eject button. He reminds me of his dad. The boys were so excited that Gideon fixed the dvd player for the trip. It was a great way to start the vacation.

Joslyn was very worried that Santa wouldn't know where to send the presents. She had Isaac help her write a letter to Santa to make sure he brought their gifts to Las Vegas. She talked about Santa a lot this year and was so excited about all things Christmas. She made sure to tell me she asked Santa for a doll and Jaycie asked for a train. Christmas eve she ran in to our room and said she talked to Santa because Uncle Gordon had his number. She said she asked Santa for one more thing, green nail polish. I told her Santa would try his best but he was very busy. Luckily Aunt Nancy had an in with Santa and helped make sure she got her nail polish. When she opened it Christmas morning she happily exclaimed, " Santa got me my green nail polish!!!!" It was awesome to see how happy she got. (btw, Santa also got her doll and Jaycie's train so he did really good with the request this year.)

The day before we left I got really sick. I barely got out of bed. The only reason I did was cause there were a few last minute things I needed to get before we left. While checking out at Wal Mart I thre up and had to run out of the store. I pushed myself to one more stop and then went home and straight to bed for the rest of the night. I was really worried I'd have to travel sick but thank to a priesthood blessing and rest by the next day I was better and ready to go.

Everyone in Koki's family was there. It was awesome to see them. The older boys were a little shy the first day or so but by the end of day 2 they all hung out like they had seen each other on a daily basis. Isaac and jarom were fish. They swam everyday but Sunday. They typically woke up and got right in their swim trunks. They would be the last ones swimming at night too. We went to a park, the movies, and Gideon was spoiled by his Aunt Nancy and got to go to a buffet (the rest of us stayed home).

A ton of memories were made. It was a wonderful Christmas break.

Dad's 2017 Journal Entries

2-23-2017

I saw God's hand today with my wife and her windshield wiper blades, well, just the one. She was getting ready to leave the church for a relief society activity and I was coming home from work. I made it to the church just in time. She was going to be gone already but a girl riding with her couldn't find her keys. I pulled up and had just enough time to change Marion's windshield wiper blade. Turns out the keys were in her pocket and she found them as I was finishing up. Good times.
I hope today was okay for Gordon and Malia. A year ago today we spent time with them and baby Jordan in the hospital. It was so sad to see them going through this trial. It strengthened me seeing God strengthen them. I sure hope that strength comes for them in their hard moments.

4-18-2017

Tonight when I was laying down by Jaycie in her room for bed she told me, "Dad, say your prayers." With a big smile I got on my knees and said a prayer. After she and I were both done saying our own prayers I thanked her for reminding me to pray. She said, "You're welcome," closed one eye and said, "I'm a pirate. I have a patch on my eye." She cracks me up.

It's Getting Cold Must Be November

Getting our day at the park in while we still can. Picnic, tag, lounging, lots of slides, and 4 square. Hope we still have a few of these days left before we go to hibernation mode.

First time taking the kids to Scheels. It was fun but probably one of those activities I'll repeat every three years or just enough time to forget and try again😆.

Surprised the boys when they came home from school with tickets to watch Thor. We have all anxiously awaited for it to come out and loved it. Thanks to my niece @dominousbabyq for watching the little kids and letting us enjoy the movie.

 Jarom's last football game. He loves this sport. If he could play it year round he would. This season was extra fun cause he got to play with his cousin and bff's. He also had the best coach, his dad.

First Sunday FHE and dinner at Papa at Gigi's.

While practicing some dribbling drills in the house he paused and said, "Mom, I don't know if I'll do basketball in college. I'm just going to do football." Love hearing his goals and dreams.

Isaac worked on his county report for days. There were numerous times he would come home from school and go straight to work till it was time for bed. I honestly would urge him to go play and leave it. I thought it was ridiculous for a 6th grader to have such a time consuming project. I even emailed the teacher and she told me he was going above and beyond and didn't require the work at home. This kid amazes me. I was definitely not this kind of student, not even close. So glad it's done and I can get my kid back.

Some days with these two consists of tears, fights, more tears, screaming, etc, etc BUT for this moment they asked for a picture and said, " Look! We're best sisters again." More of this please.

Thanksgiving was a little small this year but so fun. We did dinner at Rene's and then went to the church and played games. Jay and Chaz were at a football game and Tor's family was gone. 

Supporting Isaac at his basketball game

When I told this little girl to clean her room she said, " Ughhh, can I just have a magic wand to clean my room for me?" Only 4 and already sick of cleaning 😂😂