Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is probably my favorite day of December!  I love the anticipation that comes with that day, and the activities are always so fun!

This was actually our Jensen family party held on the 23rd.  Lee and Lisa graciously hosted everyone, and we enjoyed pizza, pop and a white elephant exchange with 

lots of crazy gifts!

We had a daily countdown on our table...

1 more day!!

On Christmas Eve day we headed to the canyon for some old-fashioned sledding with the Baxter cousins.

Rachel and Ashlyn rode together and crashed together on their sled...:)

Beautiful Alyssa!

Beautiful Ashlyn!

There was a small bump on the run..

kids flying in the air!

After sledding, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's home for a delicious dinner.

Then we acted out the Nativity.

Taylor was a Wiseman!

Grandma and Grandpa had a gift for each grandchild, and the cousins exchanged their gifts with each other. 

And what did Ashlyn get??? Footsie zebra striped PJ's!!

Such a fun night with family!

Christmas Countdown!

There was lots to do to get ready for the big day!

My mom helped me tie a quilt for Ashlyn...the little stinker saw it, so we told her it was for Alyssa..:)

We had a fun snow storm, and the kids made an igloo in our back yard.

We helped Grandma and Grandpa decorate their Christmas tree.

I helped with Ashlyn's class party.  My game was to have the kids decorate each other as Christmas Trees.

We filled each of these bags with a 12 days of Christmas countdown.  Each bag held a fun game, treat, family activity, or service idea.

December Activities

We love spending time as a family, and Christmas time provides lots of 

family fun!

We started out the celebrations with our ward Christmas breakfast.  

They set up a photo booth!

We made gingerbread men...

and decorated houses!

YUM!

Karl and Taylor were partners.

We went to the City Creek Mall, and Temple Square and enjoyed the lights, and of course pizza and hot chocolate at Karl's office across the street.

They're growing up!  

It was 

cold, 

but 

beautiful!

Grandma and Grandpa's PARTAAY!

Grandma and Grandpa held their annual Grandkid Christmas party. 

We had a great time!

We started out looking at the lights in the Shops in the Riverwoods...

we found a friend!

Never too old!

The Cousins!

We painted cute little ornaments and put our pictures in them!

Aren't they darling??

Grandchildren Tree!

Family Pictures!

After some complaining and "how long will this take?" We pulled off some great family pics for our Christmas card.  It's so nice when everyone knows how to smile and hold still!!

I love these people more than anything in the WHOLE WORLD! 

So excited to spend the holidays with them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Did you have a good Thanksgiving?  We sure did!  We had a nice mixture of Baxter's and Jensen's over. Officially it was an "in-law" Thanksgiving year, so I invited Lee and Lisa and their family.  I also invited my parents and brothers over for dinner so they wouldn't have to cook for just the four of them.   Lisa invited her sister and brother in law, so it was a great group of folks.

All were welcome!

We started out the day with our traditional Thanksgiving Turkey run.  Allyson, Matt (pushing Emma and Isaiah in a stroller), Adrienne, Connor and I ran the 4 mile run, and Ashlyn ran the 1 mile kid's run.  It was a little chilly, but we plan on that.  :)

Ashlyn did AMAZING!  She ran that mile in under 8 mins.  So proud of my little runner!

We ate in our basement, and enjoyed a delicious dinner!

Food always draws a crowd!

Karl's brother Milo and his family joined us for pie, bringing Karl's parents, Eleanor and Reilly.  Eleanor suffers from severe Dementia and struggles to understand the conversations.  My mom took lots of time visiting with her.  

It was a sweet moment.

The boys had a chess tournament...just some "friendly, brotherly" competition..:)

Is there really such a thing???

Mr. Fix It

It seems in the last few months we've had a ton of home repairs!  Poor Karl has hopped from one project to another.  It all started when Parker went to take a shower in our master bathroom and the door came right off the hinges!  We told him that he had an Incredible Hulk moment, and to lighten up with the crossfit..:)
Karl bought a new part and replaced the rusted hinge.

Next our kitchen faucet was leaking, drip..drip...drip...he took it all apart and it's as good as new!

He built an awning for our chicken coop, so the chickens would stop flying up and over, and they'd get a little shade in the summer...it's beautiful!

Our printer needed help, he fixed that.

Finally we noticed a musty, moldy smell in our craft/storage room and upon digging further, found there has been a leak from our master bathroom toilet, trickling down to the basement, creating BLACK MOLD!  AAagh!  It is a NIGHTMARE!  Karl has ripped out part of the basement wall, the insulation and we're spraying it with tons of Borax.  The upstairs toilet area is torn up and the tile, bead board, subfloor etc. will all need to be cleaned up and put back.  It's a monster project, but the amazing thing, is that Karl is so great at everything, I know it will get done, and look beautiful again.

I love how he make things nice, even for a chicken coop!

Rainy Hike

Today I went hiking with my mom!  

So much fun!  

A little drizzle of rain, but we had our jackets and hoods on and didn't care one bit.  There was about a foot of snow up in the canyon, which made me VERY HAPPY!  Can't wait to get my kids up there to go snow shoeing and sledding!  I love the fall best of all, so it's nice to still see some colored leaves in the valley, but I'm getting excited for the snow and the holiday season!

Yeah for winter!

The Boys...then The Girls!!!!

This past weekend was a PARTY weekend!  On Friday I invited all the kids from my Sunday School class to come to my home for a waffle party.  I taught 10 boys and 1 girl.  Brinley and I are tight!! :)   Almost all of them came and ate up a storm, then watched a video afterwards.  They are awesome boys!  (not so well behaved in the classroom...) but great kids!  I was just released, and called to serve with the Mia Maids in the Young Women Program.

Yay!

Some of the boys opted out of the picture, but basically they came, ate tons of waffles, with yummy toppings and tons of whip cream...which went straight into their mouth...you know, the pressurized canister..they just couldn't resist!  

They all call me "MOM!"

The next morning, I hosted a breakfast welcoming in Brinley to Mia Maids. The girls got up early, went to Brinley's house, woke her up and kidnapped her!  She was such a good sport.  

It was a little snowy outside which made for a fun morning.

Much more civilized!  :)  

The girls are absolutely amazing!  

  We each asked questions to Brinley to get to know her better, and she in turn got to ask each of us one question. The girls are top notch in every way, and so good to each other!

I am so blessed to be able to work with them!

I made homemade Kneaders french toast, with a homemade Kneaders caramel sauce, fresh slices strawberries, whip cream, and bacon.  The girls said it was BETTER than the restaurant! 

 I don't know about that but it was delicious!