Christmas 2014

We stayed home this year for Christmas. We are missing a kitchen, but that didn't stop us from preying on the good nature of our friend, the Rileys.  They were kind enough to invite us over for Christmas dinner. We also had our traditional Christmas Eve Bethlehem dinner on the floor, which, as luck would have it, requires little to no cooking.  Here are some other things we did:

 The kids got to decorate their own tree this year.  That was a good idea for everyone.

 We made a gingerbread house (not from scratch, but who cares).

 We went to the ward Christmas Party.

 We caught the lights a day after they turned them off.  At least they left up the tunnel.

And of course we opened presents! We are grateful for the most wonderful gift given by God centuries ago.  Merry Christmas!

Some Unrelated Memories

I love this picture.  The Boy let his sister come sit with him when she got a little sad during primary. His teacher thought it was so sweet, she took this picture and texted it to me.

Here is the Girl with her two little friends that she just loves. I hope they can be close all the way through high school and beyond. They are totally adorable!

And finally, a friend from church owns a shaved ice business.  They serve them at the Boy's school on Friday during let out.  Sometimes we just can't help but grab one.

Letters from the Kids

Just a few of the many letters my kids write me. They aren't always this sweet, but usually.

Brian Regan

I love Brian Regan. He is absolutely hilarious. So when I saw he was coming to town, I quickly jumped on the opportunity to see him.

We went with some friends of ours and ended up with fantastic seats! It was a fun night.

YW Presidency

I will always remember these girls.  They are not only my presidency for Young Women's, they are my friends.  And thank goodness I have them - as both.

Thanksgiving

We headed down to The Man's hometown for Thanksgiving this year.  Since we were going to be hanging around a while, we decided to get tickets to see a Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas with some of the fam.

  

It was a great show! So was the food, of course.

Walk-a-thon!

The Boy did a great job running in his school's annual fundraiser this year.  The "track" was bigger than it was last year but he managed to squeeze in one more lap than last year.  Yay!

She Love Me, She Loves Me Not

Girl: Dad, will you open these chips for me?
Dad: I will if you say you love me.
Girl: .................................................Mom, will you open these chips for me?

SHRED

For the past nine months or so I have been working out with my girlfriends at the church. My friend, April, was a fitness instructor at one point and runs the class for us....for FREE! We call it SHRED.  Here are some of the SHRED girls at the Halloween party this year.

Occassionally, when she can't make it, I'll lead the class. The Girl comes with me on Thursday and Friday mornings, and sometimes gets in the action.  

Way to work those chair dips, sis. Love it!

Hallowen

The Boy and the Girl were superheroes this year.  We hit up trunk or treat at church a few days before.

We did a minimal amount of actual trick or treating because, for the first time in over a year, it decided to rain here. The rain started RIGHT as it was getting dark.  No one complained. Not even the kids.  Everyone knew it was badly needed.

 The Man and I went to our party later that night as dumb and dumber. Unfortunately, this blurry picture is the only one of us I have!

But it was fun making these (non alcoholic) jello "shots" for the party! The kids loved them.

Items on The Girl

Just some random bits of information. She has three sets of butterfly wings.

She loves her new "best friend forever".

She loves her older brother so very much.

And she loves, loves, loves dogs.  If she sees a dog, she must pet it.  It doesn't matter if it's an ankle biter or a Great Dane - she will want to meet, hug, pat, and talk to it. 

Chalk Festival

Every year the Boy's school has a Chalk Festival.  They designate a space on their playground blacktop for every student to draw anything they want.  Such a fun idea! This year the Boy went with a simple but colorful idea, and our good friend Melissa was there to snap some pictures.

Must end blog post and go color my roots now.

Soccer season

Organized soccer.  It's busy.  We are the Green Lightening Hawks and we ain't too darn bad.

2nd Grade

We squeezed in as some beach time before school started.  There were some beautiful waves that day!

 Now it's time to get back to the grind, though. Go get 'em, Boy!

Soccer Camp

 This is Coach Charlie.  He's from England. He was the Boy's coach for the week, and he was great!

And this is Coach James. Since all the coaches are from Great Britain, they need families to put them up for the week.  We tried to keep him entertained with Montana de Oro, the beach, and Taco Temple.

I don't know if you can tell, but we really loved having Coach James around.

15th Anniversary

We decided to go whale watching on a sailboat for our anniversary.  Unfortunately we just missed the whales, but the sail boat was fun nonetheless.

Swim Lessons

More swim lessons this year.  The Boy is learning all kinds of strokes, starts, and flip turns. He did awesome!

The Girl did great, too.  She can't swim quite yet, but she certainly believes she can.

Thanks to Coach Morgan and Coach Ryan!