September and October

Labor Day had a first for the boys--a triathlon!  I am so proud of them!  They swam across the pool once or twice, biked a bit over a mile, and ran a mile.  It was amazing.  The way they dedicated themselves to preparing for it--practicing daily; the effort they put the day of the race, and the sprint to the finish.  It was inspiring.  I don't know if they will do it again, but maybe just a running race. 

Scott and I attended the James Taylor concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  It was AMAZING.  I love him and to have him sing with the greatest choir was so awesome.  Other things Scott and I have done are planting new trees (one of ours died), harvesting plants (Brennan grew a gigantic watermelon), and Scott even put up the Christmas lights.  He also took Weston to a Real Salt Lake game and has moved his office to our house.  It will be nice to have him around even more, and we will take the money that would normally go into paying for his office space and put it directly into our house!  Scott's dad was called as a temple sealer so we have begun attending monthly with his family to do sealings. 

Every Thursday was soccer practice for the three boys and every Saturday there were three games to attend.  We are soccered out!  But the boys are all doing really well.  Brennan was limping for a long time from his cast, but he has been running around so much, the limp is gone.  Weston has done amazing and Aidan has improved dramatically.  At his last game, his coach really praised him and the way he played so well.  Weston attended a birthday party of the coach's son at a big soccer facility and got a taste of indoor soccer.  He is growing up too quickly.  He is now our "babysitter", mostly if we are only gone for a little while and we are still close by.  But he has done a great job.  Scott and I have really enjoyed being able to get out more often without the kids. He is also rocking it at school.  Great grades and fast reading.  He gave a report on New Hampshire and used the Studio C skit about New Hampshire.  Everybody loved it!

Aidan is busy with scouts and piano--unfortunately they overlap times.  But we get him to scouts as soon as we can, and he is very motivated to do well, especially since he and Weston have been involved in The Century of Honor Celebration (more on that later).  He is also killing it at school--his reading has improved leaps and bounds.  He started reading Bunnicula and hasn't stopped.  He has now finished four of that series.  He is whizzing by in math and his favorite subject in literature.  There is a lot to keep up on in this new school and he is doing great.  He especially loves the routine. He comes home and gets his things done and stays right on target.  One thing he has picked up doing daily is writing in his journal. 

Both Weston and Aidan got to be a part of an amazing experience--the Century of Honor, A Celebration of Scouting.  It was a celebration of the Church being involved in scouting for 100 years.  It was an amazing program--very different than I thought it would be.  The boys went to two local rehearsals, learning the song "The Star Spangled Banner" and "On My Honor".  The choir director was Ryan Eggett, the MTC Choir Director.  He is was so great--explained the story behind the SSB and was very engaging and fun.  They then had to go downtown two times to rehearse at the conference center.  They spent the whole day there on a Saturday.  They received special neckerchiefs and slides for the event.  They got to have an extra part of the show--Aidan was part of the pinewood derby race, and Weston was part of the wall climbing activity.  It truly was an amazing event.  You can go to scouts100.lds.org to view the video of it.  We were able to get four tickets to it so Scott's parents joined us.

If I am not running kids to soccer, then I am running them to/from school, music, piano, and scouts.  The chauffeuring has begun!  I spend way too much time in my car.  We have some neighbors who also go to our new school, so we are able to carpool with them.  She takes every morning, and I pick up from school.  But it isn't as easy as that.  The school has the option of having "extended day", where you can stay after to work on subjects where you need extra time, etc.  So Monday and Thursday we have the kids staying after for 35 minutes.  But, also, instead of having early day on Friday, they do Wednesday and Thursday as an early day.  So, Mondays we pick up at 3:50, Tuesdays at 3:25, Wednesdays at 2:25, Thursdays at 2:50, and Fridays at 3:25.  Whew!  To add to that, though, Brennan has kindergarten in the afternoon, and I drive every other week (and of course take him earlier on Wednesdays and Thursdays...).  The pick up situation is not the greatest since everyone drives (no buses and very very few who walk), so the line gets really long.  I actually arrive about 45 minutes before school gets out (well, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and sit and wait.  It isn't bad though.  Usually Elise naps and I read my scriptures and get emails done, etc.  Anybody jealous of me yet?

Brennan is doing well in music and it is good to have him involved in something, though he is kept busy with school work practicing his cursive--yep you read that right.  He is really improved in reading, too since he started.  He really didn't read anything, and now he flies through the Bob books.  He got straight A+ his first term.  :)  He is enjoying school and has made some fun friends.  Though his favorite person to play with is Elise.  They have so much fun together.  Our next door neighbors have kids their ages (Luke and Hallie) and they are all such good buds.  They play almost daily (their mom, Lindsay, and I exchange the kids so we can go to Jazzercise).  

Elise is now such a big girl (just ask her, she will tell you!) and is very independent.  She chooses her clothes daily.  And guess what?  Usually it is PINK.  In fact, with the school uniforms, I do laundry every day.  So, on Monday she puts on her pink pants and pink shirt.  Tuesday I wash them and she wears other pants and if possible, a pink shirt.  Wednesday, she wears her pink pants and shirt again.  And the cycle continues.  She also loves to dress up, dance, and play make believe. She is also liking to do her hair.  Every time I need to do her hair, I have to convince her that I am doing her hair like Strawberry Shortcake or a Princess. 

We had a week off of school for fall break and I tried to fill it with fun things for the kids.  We have been collecting coupons for free meals, etc at restaurants, so we went for lunch quite a bit.  We also did more geocaching and visited some old home sites and a little town museum in South Jordan.  We also did our pre-Christmas visit to toy stores to find what the kids want.  We also went to Gardner Village--a fun shopping area that decorates for Halloween every year. 

Both Aidan and Weston went on field trips (and I got to go!!!) to the Natural History Museum.  One of my favorite places.  It has a cool new exhibit about natural disasters.  I am lucky I get to be with them on occasions like this.  We have such a great time together.

October of course ended with Halloween.  Weston was a zombie (he is at that age...), Aidan was a jailbird one night (for the ward Trunk or Treat), and a "Geological Engineer" on Halloween night.  It is now one of my favorite costumes!  Brennan was a pirate.  He really wanted to be a cowboy, but we couldn't find the costume, :( so he settled on the pirate, but it is such a great outfit!!!  It is the same costume Scott wore at that age.  Elise was a lion (Scott's costume at that age...) on one night, and Minnie Mouse on Halloween night.  They had a great time trick or treating--Weston went out with just his friends (I hate that he is growing up!).  But, he is so cool and so loving, he came and got Elise and took her to a few houses with him.  Love him!  I stayed behind and handed out candy to kids and caramel apple cider to adults. 

Fall is such a great time of year, I love the colors and the crisp air.  We did family photos and I got some great individual shots of the kids.  I am so grateful that mom keeps up this family letter (so glad I don't have to scrapbook...) so we have a record of all the fun things we do.  And a place for all our photos (so nice to have digital photos now)!!  Much love to you all.

Moab

The kids didn't have school on Friday, so we thought we would surprise them with a spontaneous trip.  Scott's brother and family often go down to Moab and we knew it would be nice weather--and it is close enough, so we figured that was a good place to go.  We arrived Friday around 1 and checked into our cabins.  I really liked the place.  It was only 72$ I think a night--it was a small cabin with a queen, a full, and bunks, so we fit all of us nicely.  There was nothing else in the cabin except a small fridge and a tv and a small chest.  No table, but there was one outside, and a little grill outside.  It was nice though and there was a shared bathroom close by that was really nice--warm, clean and big.  The site had a lot of different cabins, and places to park your rv or tent.  Plus it had a huge area for kids to play--playground, giant chess and checker board, horseshoes, etc, etc.  The kids loved it.  It was between Arches and Moab, so a great location.
We then went right to arches and went right to Park Avenue.  It was probably our favorite thing.  We hiked 3/4 of the way in, then came back.  The kids loved looking for cairns and playing in the little puddles of water in the holes of the rocks.  We then drove to balanced rock and hiked around it.  Pretty fun.
We drove to the Windows section and hiked in to see the North and South Windows plus the Turret Arch.  Didn't do the loop, just headed back down.  Then we hiked to the Double Arches and the kids loved echoing all the way there.  It was so nice that we went when it wasn't crowded at all.  In most places we passed maybe 4-10 people.  We drove to Delicate Arch, but only did the hike to the viewpoint.  The kids were exhausted by this time and couldn't handle another long hike.  We definitely want to hike this a different time, because the view point, although nice, was just not enough!  If we would have had another day, we would have done this one.  At least we have something to look forward to when we go down again sometime. 
We got done around 6:00 and the sun was about to set, so we stopped at the big sand hill right outside of Arches for half an hour.  The kids loved it, as did Scott and they wouldn't have loved even more time there.  But, we were getting hungry, so we headed to Moab and found a little diner.  Amazingly, the kids ate EVERYTHING (a very rare occurrence in our family!).  We had worn them out.  We went back to our site and the kids watched a movie ("Gus" an old Don Knotts movie).  Scott and I promptly fell asleep (what? in bed by 8 o'clock?). 
The next morning (after a nice sleep in) we went straight to Canyonlands.  It was pretty hazy, and we had missed the site of Mesa Arch in the sunrise, so we left that for last, once the haze lifted.  Instead, we went to the Upheaval Dome.  We hiked to both overlooks and it was a nice big hike for the kids.  They did amazing.  They really liked that hike as well.  We drove to the Green River Overlook and took in the amazing view.  There were a lot of amazing views on our drive--over and over again, beauty was surrounding us.  We then stopped at Mesa Arch and made that our last hike.  It was a bit scary for me...  Too close to the edge.  That was also the busiest place we were--lots more tourists.  I am so glad we got to see most of our trip without anyone else around.  I hate crowds, especially when on vacation.
We had done so much hiking and we were ready to take a break.  My fit bit said we had climbed about 50 flights of stairs and walked about 6 miles each day!
We drove down toward Potash and saw the Indian writings on the walls--wow, cool.  We didn't feel comfortable walking up to the dinosaur print though.  Maybe when the kids are older. 
The kids were dying to go to gift shops (argh!), so we went into Moab and walked into a few stores, mostly annoying the people who worked there.  The kids (of course) each came away with something to "remember" Moab (or in Elise's case, a sucker).  Then we ate at Zak's.  We chose the pizza buffet, and unfortunately, it was ... ok...  I was hoping for that honey chicken, but I guess they don't make it for the buffet.  (Scott doesn't like sweet meat, so I couldn't order it for all of us)  We then enjoyed hot showers and another movie ("Inspector Gadget") before bedtime.  Sunday morning, we packed back up and headed home.  We made it to Wellington in time for sacrament meeting and back home for the rest of church.  It was a fun, spontaneous trip.

August

From the Summer Bucket List Book there were 60 things we could do, and we did 16 of them: Make a secret book (totally cool!), make invisible ink, make homemade root beer, ice cream, rock candy, and salt water taffy, build a PVC marshmallow gun, suck a hardboiled egg into a glass bottle, make a bubble cave (kind of a fail...), lava lamp, and glurch (that gross stuff that makes noises when you squish it), wint-o-green sparking trick, pick someone up by their ears, and the "can't lift the hand", "floating arm", and "you think you are strong" tricks.  We found lots of other things to do besides things from the book--Geocaching, bike riding, water playing, swimming lessons (again), visiting the nearby reservoir (hours of fun), and more.  We even got in a trip to Thanksgiving Point to see the gardens.  I love spending time with my kids and I am going to miss them when they go back to school.

Heidi came down with Tallis and Rowan for a bit so that Weston and Tallis could do a basketball camp together.  It was fun for both of them and I am glad that Weston learned the basics of how to play basketball.  We had fun with Heidi while she was here making granola, pancake mix and pesto. 

Heidi was sweet enough to watch Weston and Aidan while I went to girls camp--Elise and Brennan stayed with Elise and Norma.  I am so grateful I was able to go to the entire girls camp.  I love the girls and we had so much fun.  The girls are good girls and have strong testimonies.  All the leaders but myself and one other lady were released, so I am happy I was able to have that time with them before they were released as well.  I loved working with them.  I kept my calling as Mia Maid advisor and I love this calling.  I love preparing lessons and the curriculum is so great now.   My sister in law Liz is also in YW and I was able to watch her kids for two days while she went to camp as well. 

Tis the season and soccer has begun.  All three boys are playing this year and it is a huge scheduling deal.  Practice for all three on Thursdays and games and different times for games on Saturdays.  Brennan has also started Let's Play Music and both Aidan and Weston have piano lessons.  And now school has begun, so life has gone from summer busyness to school/activities busyness.

The big news is, the boys have been accepted into a charter school.  I have struggled with what to do for school for the boys for a few months now and even thought of homeschooling, but when I prayed about it, I didn't feel like it was time for that.  We got a call on the Friday before school began asking if we wanted all three boys in American Preparatory Academy.  We went that day to check it out and Saturday went to buy the uniforms.  It is a good school.  They use E. D. Hirsch books to teach Core Knowledge and they emphasis character development.  They learn cursive in Kindergarten!  It has been a big change for us, and Weston is having the hardest time.  We hope that he will learn to love it.  Aidan really loves it and Brennan is just happy to be in kindergarten.  It is so fun to see him start school and be so excited to learn. 

Scott did the Herriman Triathlon, again.  He has been working hard in the garden and we are getting some good veggies.  It is a learning curve, trying to figure out which soil for what vegetables.  We are wanting to plant more bushes and trees soon, too.  Both Scott and I spoke at church in our new ward for the first time.  I have been busy doing normal mom stuff, loving my summer time with my kids and being busy a soccer mom. 

July

Too many things happened in July to write about! We had Rowan was with us the first week and he did so well away from his family.  It may have been that we kept him so busy there was no time to miss anyone!  The month started out with a bang celebrating the 4th of July.  The night before we went to the Riverton Parade.  It is a big deal here and people set out chairs reserving their seats weeks in advance.  We got a pretty good spot and sat down with small brown paper bags to put our goodies in.  The bags didn't hold up well because they were so full!  The circle behind us held their annual "Cul-de-sac of Fire" and everyone in the neighborhood was invited.  Each family brought at least one firework and that was an amazing fireworks show!  The next day we went over to Daws where they had put up a huge water slide.  Not only did the kids have fun, but the adults really had a blast.  Definitely something we will do again.  We then went to Despicable Me 2.  Somehow they messed up our tickets and all the kids ended up on the front row.   Not a fun way to watch a movie.  So, to make up for it we went and watched another fireworks show in Murray. 

We continued celebrations that weekend with a big party for Aidan after his baptism.  We are so proud of that guy.  He made a great decision to be baptized and he is so ready.  He is a good boy and makes good decisions daily.  He recognizes when someone is doing wrong, and he doesn't want to be a part of it.  We had lots of Scott's family at the baptism, and Uncle Adam, Phil, and Matt and their families.  It was especially fun to have Katie Lear Maxwell come with Maddy.  Debby Reed, Eli Kingsbury, Nolan Allgaier (friends of Aidan's) were there as well.  We had a nice little get together after with some food and treats. 

Because summer wouldn't be complete without some kind of accident, Brennan helped us out with that.  He was jumping on a neighbor's trampoline with Weston and broke his tibia.  It is called the "Trampoline break" because it happens so often.  We weren't sure if he had broken it--maybe he had just popped in out of place.  When Rowan was visiting, he popped his elbow out of joint (nurse maid's elbow).  So we waited through the night, then took him into the doctor the next day.  He was a mess--screaming and crying.  He wouldn't straighten his leg for the x-ray.  It took quite awhile--I was at the doctor's office for about 3 hours.  They put it in a splint and then a week later put it in a cast.  For about two weeks we had to carry him around and I really did a number on my back and shoulders.  I was in quite a bit of pain, but found relief in DoTerra's Deep Blue Rub (I highly recommend it!).  Brennan was a champ though, and never really complained at all about his broken leg (just when he was at the doctor's).  Poor guy--we had just signed him up for swimming lessons, and he had just learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!  He did have fun being pushed around in a wheel chair.

Omi, Opa, and Auntie Heidi returned from Europe (bringing a beautiful tablecloth for us!).  They were able to stay for a few days.  While they were here I had a "Norwex" party.  Glorified kitchen cleaning towels and other cleaning products.  I had eleven people come (which is a HUGE amount!) and it was a great success.  While they were here, we also went to the Bridal Shower for Taylor (Christian Brown's fiancée).  I wish we could have had more time to do things, especially some family history.  It had been such a busy few weeks, that we then got away to Norma and Elaine's cabin.  It was fun to sit around a campfire and just relax.  The kids actually slept in until 10:40!  They are such good ladies and friends.

Weston attended a REAL Salt Lake Soccer camp that was very good.  And I had Aidan and him do swimming lessons.  They are getting ready for a kid triathlon.  Trying to be like their dad.  Scott did two triathlons this summer--one up in Idaho (the Spudman) and the one in Herriman he does every year.  He did well with both.  The Spudman is a longer one and it was his first time doing one that long.  He did it in 2 hours and 23 minutes.  He did great and I am amazed at all the things that he can do!  He has been doing a lot of riding with friends in the neighborhood and really enjoying "smokin'" them on the rides!

I tried to keep the boys really busy with lots of activities (I'll tell about most of them in August), but we did get to the Library almost weekly.  There were some activities at the library we attended, one of them being a geology thing put on by the Natural History Museum.  They got to dig for rocks and learn more about them.  We can't pass up an opportunity to get more rocks!

We went on a family vacation to Yellowstone.  Scott's parents came with and we stayed in Horn Creek Cabin at Cliff Lake.  It is such a great little resort.  I wish we would have had more time actually at the resort, playing around, hiking, etc.  I guess when you go on vacation, you always learn what to do better next time.  We hit all the best spots around the lower loop the first day.  We found a fun pizza place to eat and even found a rock shop (big surprise).  The next day we did the upper loop.  And spent some time looking for animals.  One of our favorite things was when we saw thousands of bison in a field and in the road.  They were right up next to our car and we were stuck in "bison" traffic for quite some time.  My favorite was Norris Geyser--it was a long walk, but it had everything that we wanted to see in one big spot.  On Friday morning we met Cal Murdock and the Browns and Barkers at the Snake River and went canoeing down it.  We had a great time and we are so grateful to Cal for providing the canoes and the good time.  Aidan and Weston were brave enough to jump into the river.  We then had a picnic and went on to Sugar City.  The kids stayed in Sugar while Scott and I (and his parents) went on to Burley for Scott's triathlon.  It was pretty gunky weather--rained most of the time.  And unfortunately, it was bad weather for the Barkers as well.  They had gone to Badger Creek for an activity, but it only lasted an hour or so before they had to pack up.  We met them back in Sugar City, and decided, since it had cleared up, to go to Bear World.  That was cool.  We drove around the loop once, then stopped at the petting zoo area, etc, right in time for it to come pouring down again!  We were soaked, but happy.  We got in the cars and decided to go around the loop again.  And the second time was better than the first.  A bear got right in front of us, so we slowed down and it popped up to say hello to Scott and Elise.  Wow--that was so close!  But, then it batted at Omi and Opa's car--hitting out their blinker light!  It got up and gave the car a good look over and lick.  Yum!  The trip was a success and the kids had a blast!  Definitely a do-again!

We left Weston and Aidan in Idaho to stay with the Barkers so I could go to girls' camp.  Brennan and Elise stayed with Norma and Elaine.  Weston and Aidan got a good lesson in hard work.  They picked cherries (tons of them!), took care of chicks, delivered newspapers, went to Tae Kwon Do, and helped around the "farm".  They had a great time and even ate their dinners!!  Elise and Brennan were totally spoiled on the other hand.  I had a marvelous time at girls' camp--I just love my girls!  And I love the leaders as well.  They girls did little skits where they mocked us (in a good way), and somehow it always involved Jazzercise...  I talk about it way too much, I guess.  It was nice to get close to them and be able to share some good spiritual moments. 

The summer hasn't ended yet, though!  August just means cramming as much in as we can before school begins!

June

June brought the end of the school year and the beginning of a long fun-filled summer.  We have planned a schedule to help us stay UN-bored.  Make it Mondays, Take a Trip Tuesday, Wet Wednesdays, Think about it Thursday, Fun Friend Friday.  So far, we have made a pvc bike rack, a pvc sprinkler/kid carwash, and pvc marshmallow shooters.  On our trips, we have tested out two different parks, gone to a Bee's baseball game, and the dollar store.  We've hit Seven Peaks (water place) and had massive wet time in our back yard.  Each Thursday we visit the Library (which results in hours of reading afterward) and have looked up information about greek mythology and geodes.  Fridays are always fun and we have had many friends over to play.  It is keeping us busy and engaged.  Every Saturday we have something big to do as well.  We've had soccer games, Scott ran a triathlon, Father's and Son's camping trip (details later), a ward breakfast, a yard sale, and more (see below).  Whew!

Our first Saturday was a birthday party.  Weston chose to do a small group of friends from the old neighborhood: Griffin Henrie, Jack Crawford, Brock Welch, and Jacob Twitchell.  They went to Nickelcade and spent two hours playing arcade games.  They ate pizza and had treats.  It was so simple for me to do--all I had to do was drive them there and sit and watch.  And they really had a good time.  They have all been good friends for a long time and Weston really misses them.  It was fun to see them together and having such a good time.  Weston chose to not ask for presents, but they still brought him candy and money.  He was okay with that...  We took him out to The Cheesecake Factory for his birthday dinner because he is always asking about it.  He enjoyed it, and could barely finish his cheesecake.  I helped him out a bit...  He got an ipod (Scott's old ipod) with lots of fun songs on it, a lego toy, a wii game and a soccer ball.  Omi made him the most awesome puff cover--Utah Utes!  He loves the ipod and since it has all of Scott's favorite songs on it, he has really started to like 80's music.  He also listens to Les Mis all the time.  His grandpa took him to see it for his birthday and he loves the music. 

Aidan chose a rock party (of course).  It really was fun--they panned for gold, opened geodes, dug out obsidian or quartz, and painted rock pets.  Everybody went home with several fun rocks and had a marvelous time.  Aidan loved planning it, putting it on, and participating in it.  For their treat, I put candy chocolate rocks in the bottom of a clear plastic cup, then put some brownie on that, and hid a gummy worm amongst it all.  I would have put green frosting on that, but he doesn't like frosting. He also doesn't like cake, so I made a brownie for him for our family party.  I sprinkled the chocolate rocks all over the brownie and then made "geodes".  I took giant marshmallow and ripped them in half and then sprinkled the inside with silver sprinkles.  I then dipped the outside in melted chocolate. They really looked cool.  One of them I ripped in half, but not completely, sprinkled the inside, and then closed it and dipped the entire thing in chocolate.  I stuck all these geodes on the cake and then after we sang to him and blew out candles, I had him "open" the geode!  It was so cool!  He got a lego toy and a really cool, very expensive rock/mineral from Mexico--Santa Eula Calcite.  He also got a suit and scriptures for his upcoming baptism.  We were able to go to yet another rock show and has the funnest summer riding his bike.  He hadn't quite learned how to ride confidently without his training wheels, but then he began scouts and their first activity was a bike ride!  He got all padded up and then took off.  And he hasn't stopped pedaling since!  He is a natural, it just took some pressure...

The boys had a marvelous time on their Father's and Son's camping trip.  They went up on Friday afternoon and set up.  They had tin foil dinner, rode 4 wheelers, went rock hunting, watched other people shoot guns (ha ha), went fishing (all the boys caught fish!), and ate smores.  Sounds fun to me.  Elise and I chose to have a girls weekend.  I told her we were going to do girl things and asked her, "What kind of treat do you want?"  She answered, "Pink."  Then we were going shopping and I said, "What do you want to buy?"  She answered, "Pink."  Hmmmm...  a bit of a pattern here.  We had such a good time.  We ate pink treats and shopped for pink things.  We did our hair and our nails, shopped and also worked in the house...  But still, what a great weekend! 

Although Weston and Aidan finished school at the beginning of June, Brennan didn't finished until near the end.  He had a few really fun days--Pet day, a picnic, and his graduation program.  His program was darling.  They sang lots of songs, showed things they had learned through the year, and "graduated" with honors!  He has been so lucky at school; he attended with so many of his friends: Lincoln Christensen, Kinsey Call, Adam Hamilton, and cousin JJ. He loved preschool, but is so excited for kindergarten.  He hasn't stopped asking when he gets to go (once he turned 5, once 2013 began, countless times in between, and once he finished preschool.  He is counting down the days!   

Weston and Aidan both began piano lessons.  Aidan has a teacher that is pretty intense.  He has begun a 10 year program that prepares him to be able to start a music degree once he graduates from High School.  It will be a lot of work, but he is able to do it and up to it.  Weston's teacher is a sweet girl who is perfect for him, she will be patient and helpful for him.  He is pretty motivated to practice--I have told him that he can't play soccer unless he does piano.  We haven't had as much fighting as before...  Aidan also did a piano camp where he learned about composers and classical music.  It was really fun for him!

The boys also went to scout camp.  Both their first time.  They both loved it and they both earned lots of awards and belt loops, etc.  Weston has moved on to Webelos and Aidan is so excited to begin as a Wolf.

Father's day was nice for Scott.  The kids are so fun about special days.  We have a "tree" that gets put up each special day (it is a tree drawn on a piece of paper that is taped to the wall) and all the gifts are put "under" it.  He loved his special day, mostly because he got to spend time with his kids!  Scott completed his 5th triathlon.  He is an animal!  He has been doing an intense training program.  He has two more triathlons coming up as well.  I have been jazzercising... not as intense, but I have lots of other things going on as well.  I did a yard sale and got rid of a bunch of stuff.  Felt freeing.  I also had my birthday--Scott took me shopping for new capris and went out to eat.  It was a fun day.   Loving this fun summer with the kids!

May

We kicked off May with a trip to the Natural History Museum with Aidan's class.  He loves that museum because of all the rocks and minerals.  Weston also had a field trip there.  It is a pretty fun place, though I couldn't ever pay full price...  We try to do as many "free" things as we can.  Which included, this month, a Real Salt Lake Soccer Game.  That was fun--the weather was perfect, the kids had fun, and our team won! 

Weston is in soccer full swing.  He did a great job this year and we again debated if we should put him in competition.  We will wait one more year.  I don't know if that is the right decision, I waffle daily about it.  There are good reasons to do it, and good reasons to wait.  And I am a Brown, so making decisions is hard for me...  But we will keep him busy with practicing and he will be doing a summer soccer camp as well. 

Aidan had his final recital and did marvelous.  He was so funny during the whole show--excited and goofy.  Definitely the "fun" part of the show...  He entered his piece of music into a Let's Play Music National Contest and got an "honorable mention."  He received a medal of honor.  What a great musician!  He has also been able to go to several Rock Shows and has spent his allowance buying pretty cool rocks.  He also saved up his money to buy a giant Lego Ninjago set. 

Brennan also saved his money to buy a lego set and he is loving playing with Legos.  We all went to the dentist and his teeth look great!  He has been really good about brushing his teeth and doing his nightly routine.  We read from the scriptures nightly and one or two Aesop Fables each night.  He is doing a great job at his "reading program" and is well on his way to being a great reader.

The kids all built an awesome fort in the empty lot across the street.  People have dumped old wood pallets there and they built an impressive fort, they even put old sod on inside to make it comfortable.  We are too excited for school to get out so we can really start playing!

Though really, we have started playing already:  We had a mini mission reunion here with a few people from my mission.  Trina Popenhagen Dye, Aino Kempainnen Larsen, Keena Richmond William, and Todd Beyer all came.  It was so fun to just sit and talk about memories.  The kids had a blast running around and making NOISE.  But, then fun didn't stop there, then the next week we had a party with Scott's high school friends.  Again, lots of talk of memories and fun time.  I am so glad we can keep in contact with all of these people. 

Our biggest party though, was the Saturday before Memorial Day.  We had our first annual "Grandma Bea Memorial Breakfast and Bike/Run".  Scott's whole family came (except his brother and wife who just had their first baby) and all the kids and most of the adults ran or biked a mile (three times around the horseshoe)--and some of them didn't quite make it the whole way, but all gave their best effort.  Then we had a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, hash browns, fruit, orange juice and bacon.  It was great!  A rousing game of soccer began and everyone got involved in some way.  I am excited to make this a yearly tradition.

One other tradition we are continuing is visiting graves over the Memorial Day weekend.  We visited over 17 graves!  I got to Janet's grave and finally saw her headstone.  I feel bad that I hadn't visited it before.  This year we sought out some ancestors that we hadn't visited before.  We found Scott's Great Grandma and Grandpa Daw and Shepherd.  We found his Great Great G&G Berg and Great Great G&G Daw and Bawden and finally his Great Great Great Grandma and Grandpa Daw and Bawden (*Note--we actually visited the great great, and great great great G&G Daw's in Cedar Fort in June, not May.  We have discovered that Caroline Mariah Wayman lived in Cedar Fort the same time Scott's ancestors were there!)  We really looked hard for Joseph and Caroline Ellis.  It says they are buried in a certain spot, but I couldn't find any headstones for them.  I am doing a bit of family history, trying to find Caroline's grandparents to do their temple work.  I feel like I am getting closer.

The best part of the month was the visit from Omi and Opa.  So glad they are "home"!  It was fun to have them at our new house and have them visit for awhile.  The kids have missed them.  We got together with family while they were here and had a little reunion.  They will be busy for the next few months and I can't see that their life is going to slow down at all!

April

We've had a fun April as the snow comes and goes and the sun peeks out every other day.  To celebrate the spring, we finished putting up the kids playset (good job Scott!) and the kids have just been having a great time on it.  The two favorite things are the glider and the zip line (just a small one, but still lots of fun).  We also put in our garden.  We did raised gardens--6 of them 4x8 each.  It was a lot of work to put them together, and Scott has really done a great job making everything come together so beautifully.  We have planted quite a number of things--raspberries, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, carrots, potatoes, and more.  I am unsure if we will be able to keep up with it all summer--and the harvest!  But it is such a good feeling to have our own food just outside our home!

Weston started soccer again and has been doing well.  This team has been different than the past three years and it has been a learning time for him.  He has had to play different positions which has helped him grow.  The other day after a game, a parent from a different team approached us and said that he was putting together a team for Utah Glory--a competition soccer league.  He wanted Weston for his team.  It was very flattering for Weston.  We would love that, but it is quite expensive and very time consuming.  Maybe in another year or two.  He is so naturally athletic.  I signed up the kids for a 2K race.  Weston got 4th overall and 1st in his age group.  His time was 8 minutes and 38 seconds.  I am so proud of him for doing such a great job.  And he even fell right toward the end, but he popped up and sprinted down the finish line. 

Brennan ran the race too, I didn't realize I had signed him up.  I didn't want him to race alone, so I ran with him.  It was the type of race where you run out, turn around and run the same way back.  Well, I was getting tired, and I really wasn't thinking, so once I saw Aidan turn and come back toward us, I just turned Brennan and myself around (we didn't go all the way).  We just finished the race from there.  And he got second in his age group.  Oops.  I didn't mean to push someone else off the podium!  Fortunately, we had to leave early from the race and we weren't there when they handed out awards.  He was such a GREAT runner.  Never gave up and was soooo cute as he sprinted towards the finish line.  He has started reading with me in a program called "100 Easy Lessons to Teach your Child to Read."  He is doing wonderfully.  It is a neat program and it is actually helping him with his speech problems.  We did have a sad moment when Grandma and Grandpa's cat "Smokey" died.  He said randomly, "I am sad that Anakin turned into Darth Vader.  And I'm sad that Smokey died."

Aidan did wonderfully in the race as well, 12 minutes, and came in 6th place in his age group (out of 10).  He was such a trooper and did a great job training for it.  He has also been practing daily for his last recital for Let's Play Music.  He has finished writing his composition.  You'll have to wait for next month's family letter to see how it all turned out for the recital.  But he has already performed it for several friends and at school for the Evening of the Arts.  He has been doing well in school (we have gotten over the problem with his aide) and we really love his teacher.  He has added to his rock collection and we estimate that he has over 1000 rocks!  We love him!

And so does Elise. She says she is going to marry Aidan. Who wouldn't want to? She has good taste. In many things. Including clothes. The other day she and I went shopping together and had so much fun. She kept giving me things and would say, "You try this one mom." Then we would both put on something and laugh. She is ridiculous! She is such a loving girl. We finally figured out what she has been trying to say to us when she gets all dressed up and then takes a big bow--"Your Majesty" (We didn't know for awhile, and thought it might be "Miss Carrie").  She has a hard time if she doesn't get a nap and is so tired that she becomes very irritable.  But if she takes a nap, she can't fall asleep til late. 

We all went to The Leonardo, a museum downtown, where they had an exhibit of mummies from around the world.  It was quite interesting.  I love to be able to take the kids to things like that and then they become interested in it and we study it for awhile.  I have always been interested in archeology--I wanted to grow up to travel the world and go to digs, hunting for lost artifacts.  So this has been fun for me, especially.  And Alison has told me of the great books by Elizabeth Peters--they are so fun. 

Another thing the whole family has done is memorized "The Living Christ".  I wanted to do it for a YW personal progress project and I enlisted the whole family.  All of them did a great job.  Weston and Aidan can both do the whole thing, and Brennan knows quite a bit of it and can usually correct us if we do some of it incorrectly.   

I have been stewing about whether or not I should home school.  It has been interesting to look into, and something I'd love to do, but it was causing me anxiety.  Then Scott said, let's just wait, and I immediately felt better.  So although a cool thing, it is not something we'll do now.

We were so excited for Omi and Opa to come home and so glad we got a few days with them before they go traveling the world.  We went out to dinner with some family and then had uncles over for a Sunday evening.  The kids loved seeing them again and made them a big "Welcome Home" sign and various drawings.  The kids have already demanded several projects out of Omi, keeping her busy until they leave again.  Glad you are home!

March

They say March goes in like a Lion and out like a Lamb--but the whole month has crazy from the beginning to the end.  We had Parent Teacher Conference for Aidan and Weston.  They are both doing well, and both need to work harder on handwriting.  Poor kids--they both received poor handwriting genes from their mom and dad...   I am getting more frustrated with public schools and am trying to figure out what to do about it.  Aidan's class has 31 kids in it and the teacher is completely overwhelmed.  In a two week period Aidan brought home three papers that had EVERYTHING wrong on it.  They hadn't been corrected and so basically, they were told to do a worksheet, never understanding the concepts.  I like the teacher, but the "aide" is not helpful.  We'll see what happens as time passes.

Aidan lost his two front teeth.  They were loose and then one day he and Weston were horsing around and he hit his mouth and one of them really loosened up.  Scott put a piece of floss around it and Aidan popped it out.  Then two days later, he was jumping on the trampoline, when his knee whacked his other tooth loosening it so much that it was twisted sideways in his mouth.  Again, floss and a tug and the other tooth popped out as well.  I was able to take Aidan to a gem faire where there were lots of rocks and minerals and he had a blast.  We took his little reference book and looked things up and found some special stones to buy.  He would like to have his own rock museum some day.

Brennan took a little T-Ball class and he did well.  He says he would rather do soccer though.  We'll see what he ends up doing.  He did get to go to Kindergarten orientation and I don't know how he will wait five more months--he is way too excited.  We are starting a new reading program to prepare him for kinder "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons".  We've made a calendar and daily he will do the little reading class with me.  By the time the program is over, it will be time for kindergarten. Every night we read to him from the Book of Mormon reader, and then one of the "Max" Primary Readers books.  We read a line and then he has to say it as well.  He makes us laugh saying fun things like: "I am Mr. Happiness!"

Elise also keeps us rolling with laughter as she comes up with fun things to say and do.  She was being silly and I said, "You are such a nerd."  She emphatically replied, "I am not a nerd, I am a chicken!"  She also came in late one night, bowed, and said, "I am Miss Carrie."  It actually came out more like, "yammishcare".  We had her say it over and over again (she bowed each time).  We think we understand what she said, but we really aren't sure.  And I'm not sure who Miss Carrie is...  I have been trying out new things with Elise's hair.  The latest is to tie it in rags and leave it overnight.  In the morning it comes out pretty curly.  She loves to dress up and put on "makeup".  She got a little tote of makeup for Christmas (not on purpose--at the store she put her finger in it and messed it up, so I had to buy it) and I have learned to NOT let her have it on her own.  She got it on the carpet, and I cannot get the pink lipstick stain out!

I had my 15 minutes of fame.  A local radio station was having a contest.  I sent in a recipe and they chose me as a finalist in a cooking show at the Home and Garden Show at the Expo.  Really there wasn't much in it.  There were supposed to be four finalist, but only two of us showed up, so they chose someone out of the audience to compete with us.  The other finalist is actually a professional--she has a recipe book out and everything.  They had us cook salmon and instead of choosing a winner based on taste, etc, they just randomly chose a winner.  I didn't win that--I wouldn't have won if they based it on taste either....  But that is ok (actually, the lady from the audience won).  It was a fun thing to do that I wouldn't normally do.  I did win a recycled glass cutting board.  It is really ugly.  Nice...

Scott's dad was released as the Stake President.  It has been a long time and we are excited to have more time with him.  We celebrated with a family lunch--both Lauren and Cam came into town.  Cam is dating a new girl and we got to meet her.  We all like her and hope it works out.  Scott has been busy with work and a new business venture.  An advertising magazine for home building, etc.  He is putting so much work into it and it seems it will be successful.  I am praying that it will be.  He has also been busy with projects.  Now that it is warmer, we are working outside a lot more.  He has started on retaining walls in the garden and the play area.  This past weekend he took 12 hours and put together the new playset for the kids.  It is a fun set with lots for the kids to do--and for us there is no upkeep and it will last forever. 

Weston started soccer already--just practices so far, but it is nice to get him out playing again.  The weather is teasing us though--showing us some beautiful sun, and then snowing!  Our spring break weather was pretty nice and we spent a bit of time outside.  Both Scott and I were sick with a cold and Weston was so helpful and kind.  At one point I was not feeling well and he ran in to me with a  note that said, "You are the best mom.  Don't dou(b)t it."  It made my heart sing.  I love to see my children being kind to others--and it feels especially good when they are kind to me. 

For Easter, we didn't do much, but we did have Hil, Charles, Norma and Elaine all over for dinner.  I made fresh strawberry pie--I happened to be able to buy 16 lbs of strawberries for 12 dollars.  Norma and Elaine helped me make tons of jam and freeze some for smoothies, etc.  We have eaten our fair share of strawberries, but are enjoying every bite!

February

Either I didn't find the photos from February or I lost them, or put them in a folder somewhere in the computer....

We kicked off February with an Eight is Great night for Aidan.  The stake does a special night to introduce the kids that will be turning eight this year to what will happen on their baptism day.  We can't believe he will be getting baptized this year.  He has been reading the Book of Mormon trying to be on track to finish it before he gets baptized.  We tried to grow some sugar crystals, but we weren't too successful.  He is posting something about it in Cuz Chron, so if you try it and are successful, let us know your tips!  He was able to take a geode to school and show the kids and he has been trying to lose a tooth --at school--because they get a little treasure box to put the tooth in.  He is such a sweet sensitive boy.  For Valentine's Day, he made each person in his class a personalized valentine.  He made each member of the family a valentine as well, and really put thought and hard work into what he did to make others happy. 

Weston also made a personalized valentine for each person--even writing or drawing something that the person liked (one girl liked One Direction, so he wrote 1D, and someone else liked moustaches, so he drew a moustache).  Those are real valentines!  He received quite a valentine from an admirer in his class as well.  Who wouldn't love this boy!?  He has also worked extra hard and finished his Bear!  He was able to get all of his requirements for the Bear done 3 months early!  He also earned 4 arrow points.  We are so proud of him for taking this seriously.  He is ready for the snow to melt so he can get out there playing soccer. 

We are all ready for some sunshine--and ready to get into gardening.  I was able to get some branches from the trees in Omi's old house (from where she grew up) and graft them into our apple tree!  We planted the biggest tree we could find (it was very small) in the fall and now that it is almost spring the time came to graft in the branches.  We found a wonderful arborist, James Batton, who happens to live close by and he drove up with us to Omi's house and cute off several branches.  Our tree is a bit small for grafting, but he is hopeful that they will take.  The lady that lives in Omi's old house (Carol Cramer--it happens that her mother is the one who bought the house from Gerbie and once her mother passed away she has lived there.  So really, the house has only belonged to two families.  Pretty cool.)  Anyway, she let us go up and check it all out and she was so nice about it all.  She says if they don't work then we can try again next year.  I feel like this has all fallen into place so well, I am very optimistic that it will work out.  I wish I could have known my grandfather, but hopefully he is happy I have a part of him in my yard (that sounds just a litttle strange...).  I will keep you all updated on how the tree does.

Scott is now teaching the 10 and 11 year old boys at church and I am having lots of fun in Young Women (we have such a good group of girls).  We had a Valentine Party with some friends from the neighborhood and it was great fun getting to know new people.  We also went out with some friends from our old neighborhood--we miss them! 

Brennan loved his first Valentine's Day with a girlfriend (Leah) who doted lots of pictures on him.  He came home from preschool very happy and very full of sugar!  I am proud of him for writing all of the names of the kids in his class on valentines and writing his name.  That is quite a lot of writing.  But, he seems to really love to write and he loves to copy what is written--often in church he will copy words --from the hymnbook or scriptures, etc.  He is working hard on trying to reach a goal of sleeping through the night--staying in his bed.  He does well when he has a goal and I am amazed at the determination he has to reach his goal.  He is definitely a morning person--wakes up so early and isn't tired throughout the day.  What a kid.  One of my favorite things he does is put on his shirt backwards every day!  Even though he knows it is wrong, he still does it--just for fun!

Speaking of silly little kids, our Elise takes the cake!  Wow, what a riot.  She makes the silliest faces.  I love her facial expressions when she is surprised, happy, sad, and every other face!  I want to pinch it!!!  I love how much she loves her brothers and us--Everyone is her best friend.  She said the other day, "I want to be with mom, she is my best friend."  Then again, she also said to me, "Mom, your hair is weird."  One of her jobs is to get out the scriptures for family scripture study and she takes it very seriously and gets angry when others try to help.  She also HAS to open the front door when someone comes to visit and if someone else gets the door, she wants them to go back outside and she will then open the door.  We adore her!

One thing we are doing as a family right now is memorizing "The Living Christ."  I am trying to do it for a YW project and Weston will use it for a Faith in God project.  It has been eye opening--not only because of all the great conversations we have had about Jesus Christ, but also how smart our children are --and how well they memorize!  We are also going to begin our lessons from "Preach My Gospel" to help prepare Aidan for baptism.  We did this with Weston and it was a great reminder for our entire family about the basics of the gospel. 

January

After the whirlwind of December, we were hoping for a nice quiet January.  And although it wasn't too crazy, it was still busy.  We took Weston on a snowshoeing hike to start the year off right.  We went up Yellow Fork Canyon, and then Scott took just Aidan on a quick hike.  I am so glad we have a fun family activity to share with the kids.  Then Scott and I went an a childless hike the Saturday before his birthday.  We had been having a terrible inversion in the valley and it was great to get up into the mountains high enough to breathe good air. 

For Scott's birthday, we made a delicious dinner and had family over to share it.  Our brother in law shares the same birthday, so we joined forces for a party.  I made some "Almond Joy Cupcakes" and they were divine.  He received a tile saw and a nail gun.  He eagerly began a project using the tile saw and made a beautiful backsplash in our kitchen.  It did take us awhile to decide what to do.  We spent 4-5 hours on one day looking and then ended up not liking what we chose, so the next weekend, we spent another hour making our final choice.  We love how it all turned out.  Scott is marvelous at things like this and I can't wait for him to use the other tool to finish our basement...

We took some opportunities to get to know some people in our neighborhood.  We had a few families over for dinner various times.  We really enjoy the people here.  The kids have also been invited to a couple birthday parties and have been able to get out playing in the snow the with neighbor kids. 

The boys are enjoying school.  Weston was chosen to be in a special science group at school.  He gets to attend special classes and participate in events.  He also created a piece of art to enter into a contest.  Although he didn't win, it was a beautiful landscape picture and he spent a lot of time and energy to make it so wonderful.  He and Scott worked all month long on a rocket for the scouts Space Derby.  His rocket won for fastest rocket and most streamlined.  It really was amazingly fast.  I videotaped it going across the line, but wasn't fast enough to keep up with it!  He was so excited to win, but said that his favorite part was working with his dad to make the rocket (awww). 

We also had the opportunity to bring home Weston's class pet hampster, Snowball.  The kids loved having him for the weekend (Scott and I were glad it was just a weekend... :).  We played with him and held him and fell in love.  We got a few good photos.  Then a week or two later, Snowball died (in the classroom, not here).  It was sad for Weston and he wanted to do something, so we put together a collage of the few photos we made and put it in a frame for class to have.  Goodbye Snowball, we will miss you!

Aidan has been "caught being good" several times at school and is really improving in his reading.   He has showed interest in starting the violin so we are looking for a teacher and a violin (Matt and Barbara have offered Grace's old one), and wondering if he will have the determination to practice both the piano and the violin daily.  I think he will be a natural. 

Brennan is loving preschool of course, though he asks all the time when he gets to start kindergarten.  We have read through all of the "Bob Books" Omi gave him for Christmas and now we are starting on the books I had when I was a child (Sam and Al, etc).  He loves to tell stories, but often we can't follow what he is saying--he is very detailed, but un-follow-able...  He also makes us laugh every day because he STILL puts on his shirts backwards!

To end the month we had another birthday; Elise turned three!  She is so much fun.  She has just started liking Strawberry Shortcake, so Grandma and Grandpa gave her a cute Strawberry Shortcake tea set.  She loves it!  Norma and Elaine came and gave her a bunch of rings and a princess coloring book.  Omi and Opa gave her her special dolly, "Princess Sparkle" with the matching dress.  Elise promptly put the dress on and didn't take it off for 24 hours.  I made a bed for her doll with a quilt and pillowcase.  She loves to put her dolly to bed, and then carries her around all day.  Having a three year old party for a little girl is so much fun!  We made an angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries and a few pink cupcakes.  She loves to play with Brennan --they love to play house.  Just today she was pretending that he was the baby and she was the mommy.  She "read" him several books.  She loves all her brothers and at night, once we've put them all to bed, she sneaks out of her room and climbs into bed with one of them!  There have been several nights when Weston comes down complaining of Elise kicking him.  She also says sweet and funny things.  Brennan wanted to be wrapped in his blanket like a taco and Elise said wanted to do it too, so said, "I want a cock-a-doodle blankie".  She loves to help with work around the house.  Her job is to put napkins around the table and she takes it seriously.  We love her happy happy smile, her silly silly faces, and her infectious laugh!  Happy Birthday lovely girl!!!

I am still loving Young Women and I really love the new teaching program the church has in place.  I think it will be so effective.  I really enjoy the girls. 

I cut my hair off and donated it to Children with Hair Loss.  It was a good excuse to grow it out and a good excuse to cut it.  I am loving my hair cut--I was getting sick of the long hair.  And a change is nice, especially at the beginning of the year--to go along with our new resolutions. We'll see how well they go. 

December

The month of December was pretty good considering that we were exceptionally busy.  I was not on top of things and didn't get all the present shopping done early.  It didn't help that Brennan kept
changing his mind about what he wanted (up til the last minute...).  Weston is getting past the toy stage and getting into expensive items.  Aidan is usually easy to shop for, mainly because he always asks for rocks...  and of course Elise is fun to shop for because I get to buy new girl toys!!!

At the beginning of the month we went up to Idaho to spend time with the Barkers and had a marvelous time! (It is so cold up there though!)  Heidi is so good at throwing fun parties--yummy drinks, special desserts, abelskivers, etc.  Cal Murdock and Mr. Bowen were invited so it was fun to get caught up with both of them.  Mr. Bowen was so funny and fun.  We sang Christmas songs and had a talent show from the kids.  Cal gave me an update on his life and one of his good friends is preparing to go back through the temple.  What a great influence he has been!  The kids all had a great time together as well.  Heidi and I made neighbor gifts together (Abuelitas Hot Chocolate) and we plan on doing neighbor gifts together for next year as well.

Scott and I somehow (miraculously) got tickets to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert.  It was with Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw.  Tom Brokaw told the story of the Candy Bomber (Col. Gail "Hal" Halvorsen)--look it up, good stuff.  It was an amazing performance and I was brought to tears (which doesn't happen often.  Scott, of course, was crying...)  When it comes out on DVD next year I suggest you all watch it.  We went with some new friends from our ward and then went out to Cheesecake Factory.  It seems we were out every night this month!

Speaking of music, Scott and I sing in our ward Choir and there was a Stake Night of Music we were a part of.  The songs were really pretty this year.  One was a Brazilian Christmas Folk Song that was beautiful!  The kids also learned another new song for this year (they learn a new Christmas song this year) and we practiced and practiced and then went to a few homes in our neighborhood and sang to some people and then went to our local Nursing Home and sang to them.  It was a great experience.  We do it yearly and sometimes I think, "Why do we do this?  It is such a hassle and the kids don't seem to get it."  This year, it paid off.  Weston could not stop talking about it and what a great time he had.  Yippee!  He loved it!  Weston had a recorder recital at school as well this year and he has done a great job with it.  I am glad my kids love music so much.  And continuing on the subject of singing, Aidan had a very special part in our ward Christmas program in Sacrament Meeting.  He sang the first verse of Silent Night all by himself.  The primary joined him on the second verse and the choir joined on the 3rd.  He did a marvelous job and it brought tears to many people.  Brennan also had a chance to show off his singing when his preschool had a Christmas program and they all sang fun songs.  He has some really good friends in preschool and they are so cute together. 

One of the funnest parts of the month was the Brown Family party which we hosted this year.  Barbara always seems to be hosting and she needs a break, plus we wanted to "show off" our new house.  I always love to host a party because I really clean the house!!!  I know there is clean up after, but paper plates help with that.  The regular clan showed up, Matt and Barb and their kids, Lynn and his kids, Jennie Stephens and clan, and this year Adam and Jan brought some of Jan's family and they were a delightful addition.  Hilary brought her new beau Charles, great to meet him.  We all had a great time and the food was great.  The highlight of the party was the nativity when Lily was Mary, and she had a doll, but then the other three girls (who were angels or etc) all came in with their baby Jesus dolls (Elise's was Minnie Mouse).  So we really had four Mary's...

We had two nights of Christmas parties with the Daws.  One night we took presents to some families in need (instead of getting presents for each other or from Mom and Dad, we took that money and got presents for three different needy families), and then Santa came to visit.  It is such a highlight for the kids.  Then, the next day we had a huge dinner together and visited and watched the movie "Silent Night" (another great DVD I suggest). 

Even though we were busy having fun a lot of the month, we didn't miss out on our share of sickness.  Everyone went through a bout of a stomach bug, and then all the kids had fevers and colds at some point.  That didn't seem to stop us from having fun though.

Christmas eve was full of our usual traditions (this year they got Angry Bird pjs).  It was a really snowy night and so we curled up with hot chocolate and watched Christmas movies together.  Christmas morning was fun in our new house, but different, too.  Before they couldn't see the living room with all the loot, but this year they came out of their rooms and peeked over the banister.  Weston received a soccer trainer and Ute stuff, Aidan got Ninjago Legos toys and rocks, Brennan got an art easel and a donut maker, and Elise got a bike and Minnie Mouse toys.  Weston made us some presents at school and scouts and Aidan gave each person a present he had made or found.  Brennan made some special gifts he left for Santa.  On Christmas Eve he said a special prayer that Santa's sleigh wouldn't crash.  Elise loved getting into all the Christmas fun.

I am curled in my my bed with a heating blanket on me--it is my favorite gift from my husband. He also gave me a entry table (yea!). I got him some foam mats for his workout room and a tiny Moroni. He has a Salt Lake Temple replica from his grandparents, but the Moroni broke off and was lost years ago. I found a tie pin of Moroni and it fits perfectly! 

Ali came in to town and we had so much fun playing and shopping.  We went to City Creek and spent lots of time just window shopping--Anthropologie is the greatest!!  Such cute stuff that costs way too much, but let's us dream...  my dream house is so nice!!! Then we spent time not window shopping, on little girl clothes. Gymboree had a great sale and then we both got an extra 25% off the
total!  Ali is so much fun to shop with.  We also treated ourselves to cute shirts as a reward for being such great shoppers.

They whole Garner clan came over on Sunday and joined us at church and then we had a great afternoon just hanging out together.  We made a delicious dinner of chicken enchiladas and Hil and Charles joined us.  I didn't make enough, things were gobbled up quickly.  We played a really fun game (I don't know what it is called, but it is where everyone writes names of famous/well-known people and then we split into teams and try to guess the names...  It was pretty fun).  I loved having Ali close and spending good time with her!  Elise and Mer had a great time playing and Ethan has grown so much (I am trying to convince him to come live here in the summer and help finish our basement.... :)  Noah was just as fun as always--Thanks for coming to visit!

Over the break we had fun with cousins at grandma and grandpa's, went to a movie (Rise of the Guardians), went out to Tepanyaki (lots of fun, especially cause we put all the adults at one table and the kids at another!), played with all the new toys, played in the snow, and Scott and I went to Les Miserables and went to a party with friends from the old neighborhood.  I am glad we can keep in contact with them.  For New Year's Eve we went to Matt and Liz's house and had a fun party.  We are all getting tired from staying up so late!  I am ready to get back to a schedule.  Happy New Year everyone!