A Christmas Wedding

We all trekked down to Vegas the day after Christmas for Syd and Cy's wedding. We traveled to Salt Lake on Monday. To Vegas on Tuesday for her endowment session. Went to the wedding, a luncheon, and a reception on Wednesday. Hung out with family. Traveled back to Salt Lake on Thursday (we were even on the road by 6:00 in the morning). Spent time with John's family there. And finally drove back to Boise Friday for the reception here. It was a whirlwind of a week, and my children now have issues with getting in the car, but it was well worth it!

And even though we look all smiles, we were TIRED!!! (And possibly a little grumpy...I may or may not have been as grumpy as the kids.) The week was great and we loved being with Syd and Cy, but it was exhausting. I'm still tired.Favorite moment of the week:

The night before the wedding we were staying at my cousin Tiffani's house. Emmie woke up crying in the middle of the night. I woke up and couldn't figure out where I was so I woke up John and sent him after her. Apparently John didn't know where we were either. He hopped out of bed and wandered into the closet. I heard hangers rattling and confusion. By this point I had gained by bearings and started calling out, "To the right! To the right?" What made this even more funny was that the next morning I didn't even remember it. Later in the afternoon John reminded me, and I still chuckle every time I think about it.

(As a side note, there are little to no pictures of John because he was the photographer. So for the record, he was there, he was just getting awesome pictures.)

Merry Christmas!

A glimpse of our December...

Since I've been a slacker blogger lately, and I didn't want the month to pass being completely undocumented, here's a few of the month's highlights. All in one post!

After Thanksgiving I had a vision of my family sitting around the table on cold December nights working on a puzzle together. It was very picturesque. So the kids and I searched for a Christmas puzzle and a board to store it on since we would have to store it under our couch. We (I) opted for the 1000 piece puzzle because I wanted it to last all month. Here we are on the 24th, and this is our progress. And it was way too hard for the kids. So this is mine and John's progress (with significant help from my friend Brooke. And I'm not even sure I like puzzles. Now to decide whether to take it apart and try it another year, or keep working on it all year. Puzzle during crazy Christmas time=not such a good idea for non-puzzle lovers like ourselves :)

Ainsley really wanted to join the ward choir this year. And so we joined. And it has been wonderful. I love all that she has learned about music and that she sings her little heart out week after week during practices. There are probably a dozen or so kids in our ward choir and they make it great. I even got a call from the choir director telling me that Ainsley brought tears to her eyes as she watched her sing because she sang so proudly and knew all the words. It made me a little teary eyed. Ainsley really is an amazing kid.

We also got to be involved in a service project with St. Luke's children's hospital. Owen's friend was hospitalized over the summer with an infection that traveled into his jaw and then had blood clot issues as well. He had a pretty traumatic week in the hospital and then 6 weeks of MRI's and twice daily shots. I think his parents were pretty traumatized as well. They decided that they were going to donate some toys and supplies to the hospital for Christmas to say thanks. The lego toys that someone had donated made their little boy's stay a lot easier. We've been friends with this family since we bought our house. Our children are all the same age and we love them! So since I wanted to be involved in a service this Christmas with our children I thought this would be a perfect fit. Each of the kids donated a toy they were asking for for Christmas. Ainsley gave Polly Pockets, Owen gave Legos, and we also gave lots of coloring stuff, puzzles, art supplies etc. It was such a great experience to have the kids pack up the toys in a big Santa Sack and take it to the hospital. We were at the hospital with 2 other families and got a little tour and were able to see where the toys would go. I thought it was very touching that they have a "Santa's Closet" where parents of children in the hospital can come choose toys to give to their children (all of their children) because I'm sure there is very little Christmas shopping going on when you have a child in the hospital. Ainsley was really effected by it all and Owen just had fun with his friend. It was a great experience.

We also had lots of time at home. Eating, making messes, listening to Christmas music, reading, and making messes.

We also went bowling with my family for a fun night out. I may or may not have lost....

Dead last in fact. Somehow I managed 9 gutter balls. It was embarrassing.

John also had some big happenings this month. He spent a week in sunny Florida. Without us. On a conference, so we'll forgive him :)

His book also finally came out. We are currently in possession of 4 copies. I think it's awesome! (Although I have yet to decide if I will be reading the book in its entirety....sorry John.)
Here's a link to a review of the book. They make it sound thrilling!
http://signaturebooks.com/2010/04/the-nauvoo-city-and-high-council-minutes/

Santa

We had a little visit with Santa.

Unfortunately, none of my children asked for what Santa will be bringing them.

But we got this awesome picture...so the night was well worth it.

Our Night in Bethlehem

This year for our ward Christmas party our ward put on a night in Bethlehem. Of all the ward Christmas parties I remember attending as a kid, the one I remember was when we had a night in Bethlehem. I hope that at least Ainsley will remember this one, because it turned out to be a memorable experience.

The gym of the church was completely transformed. There were even calls from the vendors selling their food (okay, the one vendor who got into it. And it was awesome.) We all wore very "authentic" biblical clothing as well. There were all sorts of booths set up. There was a butcher shop where you could purchase a part of your meal. You could also go to the fresh market and get some fruit and veggies. There was a bakery where you could purchase your dessert. A carpenters shop where you could try your hand at carpentry. A toy shop for the kids. An art gallery, a tailor shop, and a "gifts of the magi" second hand store. The second hand store is where my kids had the most fun. Everyone brought donations for the night and for just one token you could "buy" anything you wanted! Anything left over was hauled off to the DI. Once Owen caught on to the concept, and realized he didn't want the food, he used all of his money to buy treasures. And since Owen is mister independent and we barely saw him all night (at the ripe old age of 5 he already has his gang that he hangs out with....instead of his family). He shopped without the supervision of his mother....and got a few awesome things. He got an amazing hat that I'm sure will get much use. And he also got a little 2 foot skateboard. The porcelain stocking is Ainsleys. She's a sucker for all thing porcelain.And last but not least...., Owen "bought" a basketball hoop. Very similar to one he already has that he never plays with. We have yet to convince him that we don't need 2. And in his mind he bought it with his own money. (Forgive the terrible picture...it's still laying out in the garage on the lawn mower. Because we love it that much.)

Our family looking all biblical. Except for Emmie, who would have none of it. (John manned the photo booth so we didn't see much of him either. It was just the girls hanging out most of the night. Because Ainsley is still not one to venture out on her own much, unlike her younger brother.)

What I thought was most amazing was that I don't think Santa was missed a bit.

It must be Christmas time...

Because Jingle is back!

Third times a charm!

Last week I had my third "procedure" on the veins in my right leg. I think I'm going to go for a world record for most surgeries to one leg. It was fun. I didn't have a ton of work that needed done but our insurance coverage will be a lot worse next year. So I decided to go ahead and have it done now instead of wait and pay more than double for the same thing. Sine I was a returning patient I even got a nasty ugly vein removed for free! See, there are benefits to multiple surgeries!

While I recovered, I slept.

And apparently Emmie slept as well.
And Owen entertained himself.

A Bridal Shower.....

Since Syd is officially engaged and getting married in December(to Cy)....

We decided to throw her a bridal shower. Kort and I just did the decorations. We went all out as you can tell. We even made her a cute little kitchen utensil "cake". Thank you pintrest.

Syd got a ton of great stuff. It's weird that she'll be married soon.

On December 28th she'll be Syd Okazaki (I really hope I spelled that right.)

We're very excited for her. Even if we have to leave for Vegas the day after Christmas in order to be a part of the joyous occasion.

John took their engagement pictures. Here are a couple of his 'artsy' favorites. Once again...he did a great job!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the spunkiest and happiest 2 year old I know!

Emmie is such a light in our family. She's so happy and excited about everything (well, most things, unless it's something that she doesn't like.) She's so bright and energetic. It's just her personality. It always has been. I need to be a little more like her.

She's a dramatic little girl. She's easily offended if she gets in trouble. She's bossy. Especially with her babies and Owen. She's always saying, "No! No! Owee!" And we love her for it.

She's easily scared. Currently she's afraid of one of our puppy stuffed animals and the dark. And I love the way she says, "Scawy, dowk, scawy." She might be using this as a ploy to get out of bed however, the jury is still out on that one.

She loves Owen and Ainsley. She's always so excited for them to get home from school.

For a 2 year old I think she's pretty obedient. Of course she often says no. But I'm amazed at how many times she says, "Alright mommy." Plus it's adorable.

Her favorite shows are Martha Speaks, aka: the puppy yow, (weird, right?) and Cinderella.

Her best friends are Suzanna and Elsie (Nanna and Elwie).

We all love her so much. And so does everyone that meets her. She's just a lovable person. It must be because her happiness is contagious!

Here is Emmie with the closest face I can find a picture of for when she is saying something is scary. Except here I believe she is saying, "cold".And this picture encompasses Emmie's spunk...while dancing.

Family Pictures

We headed out for some updated family pictures last week. Just to increase the craziness that surrounds Halloween. The photoshoot was super fast, due to short attention spans. But I think we got a a few keepers.

Now if we can just figure out how to get the colors of our edited photos to match the color of the photos printed at Costco I'll be a happy camper.

Halloween

Our Halloween was a success this year. We had 2 scary vampires and a bat.

Ains lucked out and got to borrow an incredible handmade dress (made by my talented friend Karalenn...who so graciously brought the dress with her on a flight from New York).

Owen got more candy than any child should ever get on Halloween. I offered to buy the kids candy, he refused. And then went and got his money and offered to buy his sisters. Smart kid.

Emmie soon discovered a love for Halloween when realized that people were just giving her candy for no particular reason. Needless to say she got the hand of trick-or-treating quickly.

Oh, and John dressed like a creepy 80's rocker. It was awesome. People didn't even recognize him. Too bad we only got this self-portrait, and not the complete photo shoot that he deserved.