New Year's Eve

New Year's came and went in sort of a blur this year. I was really sick and wasn't up to doing anything. We spent the day eating treats, watching football, watching the kids play the Kinect and watching movies. McKade went to bed at about 10:30 and Harlee fell asleep at 11:30. Trevin and Brynlee held strong and stayed up until Midnight. Happy New Years!!!!

Haircuts

I have been threatening Brynlee with a haircut. She never lets me blow dry it and always wants it pulled up. Dance won't allow her to have short hair for competition so we agreed on just a clean up trim and then a cut after competitions are over. She is beautiful no matter what.

Christmas 2010

Christmas was a little different this year. We didn't have snow and we had 2 sick little girls. Brynlee's nose bled on and off all day and she ended the day with a hacking cough that went on for days. Harlee was still a bit feverish and just didn't feel good. We celebrated by opening our presents and then Brett's family came over for breakfast. Justin and my dad and Joanie came over in the early afternoon for lunch and more presents. We got to spend a couple hours just relaxing before we ended the night at Brett's Grandma's house for dinner. It's funny that it takes months of preparation for the whole thing to be over in just hours. Oh well, Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve crept up on me before I knew it. It was a busy day full of grocery shopping, shopping for a few last minute gifts, lunch and a movie. It is our Christmas Eve tradition to go to a movie with my dad and Joanie and because Joanie didn't have to work this year we went to lunch afterward. We saw "Yogi Bear" and had lunch at the Training Table-super yummy! We topped the evening off at Terra and Clint's house for dinner and Christmas jammies. However, the night was nothing like we planned. We had two girls with fevers. Harlee was coughing and as soon as she got comfortable and asleep she would start coughing and then wake up crying. Brynlee went to sleep but woke up covered in blood from a never ending bloody nose that kept us up the majority of the night. Santa Claus was extremely tired but was able to get everything in place for the next morning.

Las Vegas Bowl 2010

As part of Christmas to each other and to the boys we took them to see the University of Utah play Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl. It was a quick trip in the worst weather ever but we made it. The rain let up long enough for the game to be played and then enough for us to get home the day before Christmas Eve. The Utes ended up losing but the chance to be able to travel to a bowl game was the best memory ever.

Ice Skating and Scones

In our quest to find things to do together as a family I chose Ice Skating. Brett and I haven't been since before we got married which means that the kids have never been. We decided to take advantage of the Olympic Speed Skating Oval in Kearns since it was indoors. Ice skating was not a walk in the park for any of us. Trevin thought he was a professional and stepped out onto the ice and promptly fell on his butt not one but about 300 times. There were a lot of tears shed and a lot of complaints but all in all the kids ended up having fun. We ended the evening with chocolate milk and scones from Winder Dairy!

Ryan Shupe and the Rubberbands

My dad and Joanie purchased tickets for the 4 of us to go see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberbands Christmas show. My dad had surgery but then had to go back in and have fixed what they didn't fix the first time and was in too much pain to be able to go. We ended up inviting Brett's cousin Jed and his wife Kerstin. None of us had ever seen their show before. I am hooked. They were funny and amazing all in the same show. This would be a perfect family show and I can't wait to introduce their show to the kids. Thanks dad and Joanie-if nothing at least Brett and I got a night out!

Harlee Bug

I had to post this picture because she is so stinking cute! We were at my dad's and she is obsessed with all of his Christmas stuff.

Christmas Program

Our school puts on a big Christmas concert each year and this year they didn't disappoint. Each grade sings a few Christmas songs, one of which they learn in a foreign language and then the whole school sings a song at the end. Because of the large turnout last year they split it up into two nights this year. Grades 1-3 were the first night and grades 4-6 on the second night. This made it a lot less crowded and much easier to enjoy. Brynlee learned Jingle Bells in Spanish, Trevin learned Silent Night in Spanish and McKade also sang a song in Spanish but it was not one I was familiar with. Have I mentioned how much I love their school?

Gingerbread Houses

We decided to let the kids decorate gingerbread houses this year. Denice glued them together and the kids decorated. Harlee puts so much time and effort into hers and Trevin got bored and only decorated one side of his roof. We accidentally left McKade's house outside overnight and the roof collapsed. It's so fun to see their personalities come out as they decorate.

Festival of Trees

This year we decided instead of focusing on the craziness of the Christmas season and all the shopping and running around that we would step back and spend extra time with the kids. We started off by taking the kids to see, "Tangled" Thanksgiving weekend and this weekend we decided to brave the crowds and take the kids to the Festival of Trees. We have never taken all 4 kids to the Festival of Trees and Brett and I hadn't been since it moved from the Salt Palace. It was crowded but the kids did really well and had a great time looking at all the creative fun trees. They said that next year they want to make a gingerbread house to donate. I love seeing the magic in their eyes. Harlee even got a wave from Santa that made her day!

Vegas Bowl

Merry Christmas to us. The Utes are going to The Vegas Bowl and so are we!!!!!