Christmas Letter 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 2009 was much the same as the years before it: we got older, the kids got bigger, and life got busier. We had a few breaks in the routine--a family vacation to the Oregon Coast in August, and a trip to Washington, DC with the "big kids"--Sabrina and Joslyn. Good experiences and memories from both! Our house is up for sale. If/when it sells, we plan to stay here in the greater Boise area. We love hearing from many of you this time of the year and hope that sending you a letter from our family will keep them coming from yours!!

Brett

• Continues to serve faithfully in the ward bishopric
• Works out of town 4 days each week - currently at Hill AFB near Layton, UT

Lori

• Enjoyed having a baby to take care of this past year
• Had 3 kids in car seats (read: didn't get out much)

Sabrina, 10 years, 5th grade

• Almost 5 feet tall
• Mom's favorite babysitter

Joslyn, 9 years, 4th grade

• Loves school and participating in the Challenge program this year
• Starting taking flute lessons--practices diligently

Erin, 4 years

• Big sister in charge when S & J are at school, and usually when they are home too
• Loves to stash things under her bed: favorite toys, half-licked suckers, her sisters' lip gloss, etc.

Blake, 3 in January

• Wants a "real dinosaur egg" for Christmas
• Wishes that we would serve his food on the floor so he can lap it up "like a puppy"

Mallory, 11 1/2 months

• Said "ma-ma" before "da-da" and is therefore in the lead for mom's favorite child
• Mal, Mal-Pal, Mally, Mally-Jane, Marsh-mallory

Thank you for enriching our lives with your love, support, and friendship. May the Peace & Joy of our Savior be your gifts at Christmas and your blessings all year through.

The end of an era...

Now that Brant and Barbara are (almost) home and because my parents have some techinical difficulties with the site I am giving up blogging, at least for a while.

But my greatest fans should not despair: I plan to use my "free time" to contribute to the family newsletters etc. and will find other ways to keep in touch (Facebook, anyone?).

I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted!!

Um..yum, yum!

I think Mallory is trying to decide which is more delicious--her thumb...or her toes!

TA-DAH!

Erin took a few gymnastics classes this spring and her big show was last week. She had a great time and had a blast, finally able to do something she has watched her big sisters do for so long!

Blake even got in on the action!

Check out this medal!

One of my favorite Mother's Day gifts was a project S and J made at Activities Days. Part of it was a list of their favoite things about me.

Mother’s Day Thoughts from Sabrina:
· I love to hear you laugh.
· I like it when you make cornbread for breakfast.
· I love to see your face.
· I like doing the “Denise Austin Complete Workout.”
· I love it when you make time for just me.
· I love to see you happy.
· I like it when you hug me.
· I think you are pretty. I love your hair.
· I like to feel your kisses before bed.
· I like it when you make cookies.

Mother’s Day Thoughts from Joslyn:
· I like it when you make pork.
· I think you are veary pretty.
· I love it when you give me popcicles.
· I love you taking care of me.
· I like it when you hug me.
· I love you to comfort me.
· I feel happy when you sing to me.
· I love it when you read the friend to me.
· I love it when you’re happy.
· You are good at singing.

It also had Hershey's kisses - and you can never go wrong giving me chocolate...!

Baby Love

It is so sweet to see the older kids love and serve Mallory.

We love this baby!

A family tradition that dates back to Brett's childhood, I think. We have pictures of every one of our kids doing this "trick."

First Camp Trip of the Season

We went for a quick overnight stay just up the river, north of Banks. It was beautiful on Friday evening, but rained all morning on Saturday. The kids didn't mind it for a while and did some exploring and hiking around, but by noon we were all soaked so we packed up and headed home.

Sabrina's friend Anna came with us.

Even though she claimed she had a "horrible" experience, Joslyn did have some fun....like when we roasted marshmellows and made s'mores.

This was all new to Blake--he is too young to remember much about last year. He LOVED it!

Erin hadn't forgotten and was quick to show him the ropes.

Mallory was a pro - sleeping pretty well at night and enjoying being outside.