Santa

I few weeks ago in primary we were having a lesson on faith in our primary class (I, along with a team teacher, teach Addy's class), and the other teacher asked the class if there was anything that they had never seen, but really wanted to see. The first boy said, snow and Disneyland, and then Addy raised her hand and said Santa Clause. She then asked the class how they new that these things really existed.

I know that Addy is the age (she just turned 10) to "have the talk" with, but she was so sweet and innocent when she said that, that I just could not bear the thought of ruining that for her.  She is so sweet and so believing. I just love that about her.   

Christmas Eve Pajamas

We have the tradition of new pajamas every year on Christmas Eve.  We had this tradition when I was growing up, and it had been fun keeping the tradition alive for all of these years!

Alyssa's Favorite Christmas Present!

All of our Christmas pictures were on Justin's camera, and then on his computer.  I didn't know how to transfer them to the family computer that I use.  So, I just got the pictures today.  So now I can post Christmas pictures (2 weeks late)!  Oh well!

Alyssa, asked for Hair Extensions, contacts, and to get her braces off for Christmas!  She is definitely a teenager!  Here she is with her Hair Extensions.  I think she looks great with long hair!  She has tried to grow it long her whole life, and it just does not grow!  She is loving having long hair now! 

Christmas Vacation!

We took complete advantage of our "Christmas Vacation" and took a trip to Utah and enjoyed "The Greatest Snow On Earth"!  We skied 2 days at the BEST SKI RESORT IN THE WORLD - ALTA, and 1 day at Brighton. The trip was great, we had great snow, and can't wait to go again! 

This is our annual picture we take in the giant rocking chair at a gas station in Beaver, Utah.

In line for our first run of the new year!  January 1, 2009!  What a great way to start out the new year. Doing something we all love together, as a family. We tell our kids all of the time "these are the good times"!

Justin with his friend Trever Figgins.  They served together in the Tennessee mission 24 years ago.  Every year when we go to Utah, Trever and some of his kids ski one day with us!  It is always fun to catch up!

Addy taking on the half

pipe at Brighton!

Alyssa and Amanda snowboarded Friday with their cousin Brett who lives in Utah, and 2 friends Kyler and Jessica Figgins, who also live in Utah.  I think both girls decided that they might like skiing better!  After 1 1/2 hours of trying to get down the mountain, they both sat on their board like a sled and slid the rest of the way down!

Fun at the hotel!  The girls wanted to make sure that everyone knew that the snowman they made was a girl!

The snow was incredible! With 13 inches of new snow Saturday morning, we got to make new tracks!

Notice the negative sign in front of the 17.  Yes, it was 17 degrees below zero on our way home!  Burrrrrrrrr!

Flagstaff, on the way home, there was tons of snow!

Happy Birthday Grandpa George!

The day after Christmas is Grandpa George's Birthday.  We had a small party for him.  The cute little dog is Grandma Linda's new favorite thing!  Her name is Khloe, and she is soooo sweet and cute!

The GIRL Cousin Sleep Over!

This weekend Tanner went and stayed the night with Kohlton, while Karrah and Kiley got to come stay with us.  They played Rock Band until the middle of the night, made cup cakes, rode on mini racers for hours, and watched movies on Karrah's new 1 inch screen i-pod nano!  So much fun!

Uncle David Called!

And he said that Makena and Sam could sleep over for the second night in a row!! Yeah!!

I am not sure what it is, but cousin sleep overs are the best!  I remember how much I loved them when I was a kid.  You can go months without seeing your cousins, and as soon as you see each other you are instant best friends.  I love it, and I love having the cousins sleep over!

We had Family Home Evening with them tonight, and we talked about the kinds of gifts we can give the Savior for Christmas.  We talked about Having a Humble Heart, Repenting of a Sin or Weakness, Serving Others, Praying with Sincerity, Studying the Scriptures, Making and Keeping Goals, Having Faith during the hard times, Becoming a Lifetime Learner, Gaining a Testimony of a Gospel Principle, and Giving Thanks to Heavenly Father in All Things.  The best gift we could give Jesus Christ would be to change a part of ourselves that needs to be improved.  As we give Christ the gift of ourselves we will be the ones who are blessed.

Update

Well, it wasn't the "Gingerbread House" that made Tanner sick.  He ended up with a fever and upset stomach for 2 days.  He missed his school Christmas Party, the Sing-a-long, and the Pizza lunch that his class collected change for until they had enough $ to buy the pizza.  We are happy that he is now healed, and just hope that no one else gets the "Gingerbread" illness!!

We were planning to go on a snow ski trip with Jason and Regina (my brother, his wife, and their 3 kids) on Wednesday Dec 17 through Sunday Dec 21.  Jason and Regina had their time share reserved at Powder Mountain, Utah for this week.  B.....U......T...  there is NOT enough snow for the ski resort to open.  We are SOOOOOO bummed.  It would have been so fun for the kids to ski with their cousins.  Hopefully we will be able to schedule a trip with them for another time. For now I think our family is going to leave on Dec 31 and go to our usual Homewood Suites Hotel in Sandy, Utah and ski at Alta, Snowbird, and Brighton.  Justin would be a ski bum if was the responsible thing to do!  And now Tanner is following the lead.  He is a great little skier, and talks about skiing all the time!

Hurry Take the Picture!

Every Christmas we make Gingerbread Houses.  As you will notice Addy is holding the roof up on her house.  As soon as we took the picture, the roof slid off!  So Tanner started eating it, and then he threw up all night!  I wonder?  What could have caused that?  Even if it was the cause, it is still one of our favorite traditions!

Merry Christmas, Friends and Family!

I mailed out most of our Christmas cards today, and will mail the rest tomorrow.  I love taking or finding the perfect picture for our Christmas Card each year!  Justin and I have made it our tradition to have cards made every year since we have been married.  It is fun to see how each year everyone changes.  I love getting picture cards from our friends and family also.  I save all of them in a big box and every year when we get out the Christmas decorations I look at all the family pictures I have collected.  Thank you to all of you who have helped build my collection!  I love it!!!!

2 Students of the Month!

Congratulations Addy and Tanner!!!

Today at an assembly, that I didn't read the letter about parents being invited to attend, Addy and Tanner were both recognized.  Luckily Tanner's teacher is a good friend of mine and she called me to find out where I was!  Thank you Linda! The Character Trait they were recognized for is Responsibility.

Addy's teacher said  "She has been observed many times helping others in need both on the playground and in the classroom. Addy thinks things through before acting."

Tanner's teacher said "He makes responsible decisions to say and do the right thing, even when the right thing is difficult to do."

I am so proud of both of them!  Thank you Addy and Tanner for being such great examples!

The Tradition Continues!

Last night we had the annual Young Women Young Men Christmas Party at our house.  It is always a super fun and well attended party!  I'm not sure what they love more the Soup in a Bread Bowl Dinner or the Hayless, Hayride!  Whatever it is, Good Times is what will be remembered!