I can understand now when people say that they want to freeze time and keep things the way they are.  I am at that stage.  My oldest girl is old enough and responsible enough to babysit, which has been soooo nice.  The boys are fun and active and we love watching their sports and seeing them progress in those sports.  Ella of course is spoiled rotten, but we adore her and she can do no wrong.  She constantly is showing off because we are always looking at her and laughing at her.  I could do without the early morning wake ups, but even that isn't so bad.  We are usually up anyways.  They are progressing well and I'm just loving it.  None of the kids is in the giving me attitude stage and we just have a fun time hanging out and playing games. (Uno is our game of choice these days)  I hope that things will go this way forever, but I know it won't, so I'm enjoying the here and now and will look forward to what the future brings as well.  

Christmas 2008

Here is just a little synopsis of what our Christmas was like.  This Christmas was great because it was very low key and I got all my shopping done early.  I loved it because then I had time to do some fun stuff with the kids.  One thing I did growing up and I continue the tradition now is decorating Santa cookies.  These aren't just any cookies.  They take a lot of time but they are so cute and taste delicious. I invite my in laws and friends from the neighborhood and it is a party.  It is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

On Christmas Eve we head to Grantsville to Seth's Mom's House where we have a nice dinner and the kids get to hang out with cousins on this exciting night.  The kids perform their talents and we read the nativity scene.  Grandma always gives them pajamas, which they change into before we head home.  This is a great tradition.  This year Grandma and Anna then joined us at our house to sleep over and be with us Christmas morning.  That made it extra special and we had a lot of fun.

    
Isaac's Christmas was a sports theme.  Everything he got had something to do with sports.  He is our sports nut these days.
McKenna is our techy.  She loves the electronic stuff and she enjoyed her new ipod and other devices.
Micah followed in his brothers footsteps with all the sports gear.  Elias isn't pictured here, but he enjoyed a variety of things.  We aren't quite sure what he is into these days.
Ella received a play kitchen, which is so cute.  She loved it and it is a favorite toy among the children.  Every house hold should have one.  I'm amazed at how long kids will play with it and the creativity it brings out.  We had a great holiday season and are looking forward to what this new year will bring.

A little time off

I am not good at keeping up this blog, but I'm trying to be better so that I can keep some type of record of my life right now.  I have gotten so behind that I kept putting it off because I thought it would take me too long to get caught up.  I will add some things that have happened in the past, but mostly I will just start now.  

I was lucky enough to celebrate Valentines Day a weekend early with my fabulous husband.  We went up to Deer Valley over night where we enjoyed great food and an amazing day of skiing.  Of course it was extra amazing because it was for my dad's company and they picked up the cost.  we had so much fun skiing with my dad and also my sister Laurie and her husband Ryan.  I love to ski especially when the weather is great and the snow is great and we had both.  Skiing with my family is one of my all time favorite things to do.  I can't wait until next month when more family comes into town and we get to ski together for spring break.  This was a family tradition growing up and I'm glad we are continuing that tradition.

Since we had already celebrated Valentines Day we decided to spend the actual day with our kids.  It was really fun and we spent the night dipping strawberries and candy and then watching a movie.  This was the second year in a row that we spent the holiday with our children and I think we are going to make it a tradition.  Valentines day is crazy anyways with so many people trying to go out that I think it is just as fun to spend it with my family whom I love and adore.  Seth and I go out regularly anyways, so I don't feel deprived.