Piano Recital in PJs

Who gets to perform in their pjs!?!  Luckily Aunt Loriol is the kids' piano instructor and the recital was at her house after a yummy Mexican fiesta.  Both Sara and Garrett are getting better on the piano, we could recognize all the Christmas tunes!  Finding time to practice is always a challenge but the kids hope to improve even more before the end of the school year!

Hard Work!

For months Sara has been preparing for the Christmas Dance Recital.  She danced in seven numbers and did a great job!  I was excited to teach one of the dances for her Jr. Company group...a lively piece where they danced with presents.  I missed a few photos but I did WAY better than last year!  The show was a success and fun for everyone!  Koni, Sara's previous YW leader came to support her.  That was SPECIAL!  She also ran into a ward friend who was there to watch a great grandchild!  Small world!  Aunt Loriol and Stella watched until Stella thought it was great to run through the aisles yelling, "Catch me Mommy!"  She's a sweetie so I'm sure noone in the audience minded : )  James was in charge of flowers and the ones he picked fell petal by petal before we even made it home.  It's the thought that counts, right!?! I'm not sure how much of the dance recital Garrett caught with his iPod in hand!?!?

After all that dancing Sat., Sara loved relaxing and cuddling with Buster in front of the fire on Sunday!
Luckily Sara still had some dancing left in her to perform at a Retirement Home Mon. evening.  She wore herself out and has been home from school and sick in bed ALL day : (  We hope she recovers so she can enjoy Christmas!

There is "SNOW" better month than Dec.

If there's snow outside...my boys love to play in it!

Cute little gingerbread village!

Sara with her hairy, holiday bro.

Sara's b'day is fun...whatever year it is, that's how old she is!

Cub Scout reindeer cookies were soooo yummy!

Wishing one and all the warmth of the Spirit this Christmas!

A couple highlights from this year's Christmas letters!  

Garrett's Busy Week

Cub Scouts was a little extra fun with all the boys joining together for a holiday party.  They made cute ornaments (forgot to snap a photo of the finished product)!  Garrett has been practicing Tues. and Thurs. mornings, before school, with the school choir.  They did a beautiful job...we both really like the ruff, ruff, ruff/moooooo song where the audience got to participate.  Art Through the Ages finished off a fun week.  I'm glad I was able to teach this unit about Egyptian Art.  The kids loved every second (except when I told them to be quieter)! 

Festival of Trees

Sara performed twice at the event.  Since I'm a teacher I don't get to sit in the audience I try to peer from side-stage...BUMMER.  Our dances need some refining.  Hopefully they'll be great by recital time!

The Live Nativity

Luckily our friends invited us to The Live Nativity event hosted by a Stake in the area.  Sara's YW group had gone on Tues. but the rest of the family missed out on the fun that night.  We enjoyed our visit in line with the Andersons as we were warmed by the fire pits.  Outside we enjoyed seeing Isaiah, Mary on a donkey, the shepherds and the wise men with a camel (and some other livestock).  But what we saw last we weren't prepared for...we entered an indoor area that had been transformed into a street in Bethlehem.  The lighting and scenes with live "actors" were just breathtaking!  Some were inspecting chicken eggs, some were making bread, some were weaving, some were doing woodwork...it was DISNEY quality.  At the end you see baby Jesus, held by his parents, with a white light shining on Him.  It was a beautiful way to start off our holiday season.  I wish you all could have been there!!!  Remember...keep Christ in Christmas!  

Sara loves Reflections!!!

This morning Sara received TWO trophies for her creative work in the Reflections program.  Her dance and 3-D entries will be moving on to the next level.  She also did visual arts and photography entries.  WAY TO GO SARA JOY!!!!  There is "Magic in THIS Moment!"

VIKING OF THE QUARTER!!!!!! SARA ALLRED!!!!

We received an email from one of Sara's teacher's over a week before the awards assembly but we had to keep the news a secret!  Sara was one of the twelve 7th graders who received this special honor from her teachers.  Sara really takes school seriously and goes above and beyond for almost every assignment.  We are thankful to have a daughter like Sara, she is a light!  We ran into one of her teachers the day after the assembly and she said she wishes the school had at least 20 more Saras!  News like that warms your heart!!!!

Dry Winter

I felt like we did when we lived in AZ...we had to go on a hunt for snow to sled on!!!  We ended up on a hill on the road that leads to Brighton Ski Resort.  It was not our best sledding outing but the views were sure spectacular!