A Closer look at the Camels and Wise Men

The big boys all wore a backpack filled with blankets and then draped a blanket over it.

 The wise men sat on top of their hump.

Our Nativity

Cast list

Mary................................Lilly (the lovely)

Joseph..............................Slater (so handsome)

Baby Jesus.......................Princess Larkin, aka Eliza's dolly (played her part perfectly)

Donkey............................Sydney (it has always been her dream and she is finally strong enough)

Angel...............................Grammy (because she is one)

Wise Men (l-r)..................Turner, Lane, Eliza (or should we say "wise guys")

Camels (l-r)......................Travis, Price, and Steele (dare I say, the coolest part of the whole show)

Shepherds (l-r)..................Emma and Larkin (they lost their sheep)

Sheep................................Oscar (would rather hang out with the camels than the shepherds)

Cow..................................Marley (whose spots kept falling off)

Snowman building contest

This year on Christmas Eve, we decided that we can have just as much fun as the rest of the world. 

Who needs snow?

We built our own versions of snowmen using only toilet paper, some hats, scarfs, colored paper, and three teenage boys.

We followed up the Snowman building contest with a *snowball fight

*substitute snowball with marshmallow 

Big Babies

Marley:  Hey Mom, will you wrap me up like a baby?

Eliza:  Oooo me too!

Sydney:  Me too!!!

I loved to wrap my little babies up as tight as can be with a blanket so they were all cozy and warm.

It was equally satisfying to wrap my big babies.

Random Conversations #53

Eliza:  Ugh!  There is a fly in here.
Me:  I know, is it driving you crazy?
Eliza:  YES!
Me:  Sorry, it was driving me crazy a minute ago.
Eliza:  Well,... aren't you gonna get the fly wacker?

Family Home Evening

For Family Home Evening our great friends, the Kings, invited a bunch of families to go on a hay (or trailer) ride and look at  Christmas lights.  

We had a fantastic time with some fun people!

I just love this picture

This picture was taken in the amphitheater at the kids school.  We were at Marley's Christmas party and her class played a game outside.  There are a bunch of words painted all over to encourage the kids to do what it right and Eliza just sat down over truthfulness.  I'm thinking it would be a cool place for a photo shoot.  Too bad they lock it up every night and weekend.  

I wonder if anyone would notice if we did it during the middle of the day..... 

Holiday Heroes #2

Lane was one of four younger kids that got to be in the 5th and 6th grade play.

  She was amazing! 

 Lane hasn't always been comfortable in front of an audience.  

She has gone through actually freezing in front of a crowd due to stage fright.  

On this day she said her line perfectly and even looked like she was having a good time.

Holiday Heroes

Marley got to be in the 5th and 6th grade play, "Holiday Heroes".  

These girls were the narrators and let me tell you, they stole the show!

Elder Klippel

My nephew Tanner just left the MTC to go to the Brussels Belgium Mission!!!

He will be amazing!

Random Conversations #52

Me:  Eliza be sweet, Santa can see you right now you know.
Eliza:  Well, you know what.... tears.....sobbing.... tears.... I don't even think that Santa is probably real.

So sad to come to that conclusion at the ripe old age of 4.

Random Conversations #51

Me:  (trying to find my little girls)  Lane, Liza I have a job for you!
Sydney:  You know if you say it like that, they are never going to come.

Random Conversations #50

Lane:  Yesterday was a great day.
Me:  Did you have fun playing with Slater?
Lane:  Yeah, he made a great hippopotamus.

Conversations while doing hair #17

Eliza:  Look Mom, I found Kitty's collar!!!  I bet it will still fit her!!!
Me:  What do you think she might have grown out of it?
Eliza:  Mamaaaa, she's a stuffed animal.  Did you forget or something?
Me:  I didn't forget.  I just thought you might have.
Eliza:  Well, I know she is a stuffed animal because when I put her on the ground she just sits there.

Random Conversations #49

Eliza (holding a plastic shopping bad in her hands):  For some reason I feel like putting this bag over my head.
Me:  Oh Eliza, don't do that it is very dangerous!

after a lot of explaining why and what could happen if you do put a bag on your head and lots and lots of thinking she came to me a little later

Eliza:  How do you know it is bad to put bags over your head?  Did you read in on the internet.
Me:  Nope, I just knew.
Eliza:  I bet your mom taught you.
Me:  She probably did.
Eliza:  Did her mom tell her?
Me:  Yep
Eliza:  When I am a mommy I am going to tell my kids to never ever put bags on their heads because you will die!!!

Conversations while doing hair #16

Eliza:  Mommy do you know what I am going to name my kids?
Me:  What?
Eliza:  Mommy,..... Daddy,...... Pricey,....... Sydney,..... Bubblegum.,..... Marley,... Laney

Random Conversations #48

Lane:  Mom, I know the real name for your funny bone.
Me:  Oh really, what is it?
Lane:  Hilarious
Me:  I think you mean Humorous.
Lane:  Oh yeah.

Lane's baptism

Lane looked forward to her eighth birthday with all her heart.  She was finally able to get baptized.  Lane has an understanding of spiritual things that is beyond her years.  So loves, thinks, and believes with all her heart.  She wants to do what her Heavenly Father would be happy with.
I feel so privileged to be her mother and learn from this sweet girl.

Lane was baptized by her daddy.

Here is Lane dripping wet right after her baptism.  Clean.

The family that was able to join us for the special occasion.

Perks

Sometimes you get to do things in life just because of who you know or who you are related to.

This is one of those things

As I have mentioned before Marley has been dreaming of a teeth full of braces for years.  With her birthday coming up, I asked Rob what he would think about giving Marley braces for a surprise.  Since Rob does braces himself, and has already done the training and has all of the equipment at his office, it only cost us the time for her to be squeezed into his day.

On her birthday we didn't tell her a thing just sent her to school like every other normal day.

A little while later Marley got called out of Choir because her mom was there to pick her up.

She walked out with a confused look on her face.

   

She tried to guess where we were taking her.

"Are we going to lunch?" 

"Nope"

"Are we going home?"

"No"

"Are we going to the mall?"

"No"

Then Eliza pipes up, "We are going to get your..."

I tried to stop her before too much came out.  Little sisters do have a hard time keeping secrets.

Here is the before shot

Then Marley's eyes lit up and she looked at me with the biggest smile on her face and said,

"WE ARE GOING TO GET ME BRACES!???"

She didn't say it with confidence, like she knew she was going to get them, she said it like something that she has wanted for so long and asked for so many times that she might as well throw it in here also.

Dad and Marley

Surprise Mar!!!!  It was a magic birthday that you get the one thing you've been dreaming of and never thought you would get. 

Here is the birthday girl.  Her eyes are sparkling with excitement.  Before the pain sets in.

The only struggle we had with this is she didn't know what kind of pain she would be in by the end of her birthday.  

When I asked her if it was worth it and if she would do it all again knowing the pain she was about to endure.  She said, "Yeah, sure.  I mean they aren't hurting me right now."

District Champions!

It has been a privilege for Syd to be on such a great team.  They just have the State tournament left!

Halloween 2010

Love to dress up the kids for Halloween!

Here they are right before our ward's Trunk-r-Treat!

Cotton Candy

Librarian

Nerd

Bat

Yummy Cotton Candy!!!

"Kick Me!"

This is Price's first year of skipping the dress-up part of Halloween.  I guess we all have to grow up some time. ;(

Cup Shoes

I don't know if there are words.

I'm not sure if you can tell but, Eliza took a couple of QT cups and put them on her feet for shoes.  She has been practicing all day long.  In one way she looks like she is wearing 4 inch high-heals, in another way she looks like a satyr (you know the goat man from Greek mythology.)

Either way that made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.  

Probably a good way to find yourself with another broken arm.

Choir

When Price was younger he loved to sing.  He would never admit it but I could see it on his face.   When he got older and choir wasn't cool anymore he quit.  

Well, the high school he goes to has release time seminary, for those of you who aren't Mormon - he leaves during the school day to go to a religious class - and he needed class to partner with seminary.  His first choice was Jazz Band but that didn't work with his schedule so his second choice was, you guessed it, choir.  

He wouldn't have joined choir if he didn't have to but I think it is safe to say that he is glad he had to.

He was really good.    

This is during his solo.

After it was over someone came up to me and said I didn't know Price could sing like that.  

Neither did I.

How it happened

We aren't really sure.  It had something to do with follow the leader.

A Buckle Fracture

When ever the big kids are babysitting they call me for kind of silly reasons.  

"Mom, can we have some Oreos?"

"Mom, can we watch TV?"

"Mom, can we have some ice cream?"

I don't think they have realized that I don't care if they have Oreos or ice cream.  They haven't realized I'll never know if they watch TV while I'm gone.  Actually I like it when they just veg in front of the TV when we are gone because they don't get hurt doing that. 

When we got home last Friday night Price was gone at something for school.  Sydney fell asleep reading a book, and Marley was asleep in her bed.  Those are my three babysitters.  Most of the time the two little ones would have been fine but not so this day.   Lane was playing with her friend Tanner and Eliza was crying and holding her arm trying to play with them.  I recognized that every time one of my children is holding their arm because gravity is hurting it, that has meant a broken bone.  It is our 5th broken arm in the family. (Syd has had three of them.)

Eliza LOVES her pretty pink cast!

Pierced Ears

She is beautiful.

Ears before any damage was done

Can you tell she was nervous?

The next day when Lane was going to school I gave her a ponytail so everyone could see her new ears.

  She said, "I just know that everyone will notice that I got my ears pierced, I mean that's all I see when I look in the mirror."

Birthday Hair

My sweet Lane turned 8 years old!

Lane is kind and thoughtful.  

She has been able to empathize with others from an early age.  

I remember when Lane was probably 4 years old.  We were driving down the road one day with Lane in her car seat in the back seat.  I heard some sniffles and looked in the rear view mirror to see Lane quietly crying.  I asked her what was wrong and she said, "This song is so sad."  

She feels things with her whole heart.  

She gets to get baptized and is so excited.

I love this girl!

Marley and Eliza made Lane presents and she was so thankful for them.

Countertops - check!

We have been remodeling our kitchen for nearly a year now.  It hasn't been as horrible as that sounds we have just been doing things as we had the time and money to do them.  So after the cabinets were put in (last Christmas) we got pretty sick of writing big checks.  We had the cabinet company cut us some melamine to substitute for real counters until we could get the ones we wanted.  

This is the kitchen prepped and ready for the counters

Here is the island piece, I really do LOVE it!

I wondered how they would be able to get it on top of the cabinets.  They just rolled it over there will a super-duty dolly and then hoisted it up.  Impressive!

Beautiful!

All we have left in the kitchen is the back splash.  I'm not sure what I want yet.  We'll see.