Lights at Temple Square

Last night we went to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights with Nathan and Stacy and their girls. We ate some pizza at the Gateway and then rode trax to see the lights. It was really cold, but always super nice to go and see the lights.

Riding Trax was a favorite part of the night for the kids... and at least it was warm on the train. Here is part of our group waiting at the stop.

Some really cute Cardon girls.

Libbie and Gavin near the Assembly Hall... one of my favorite spots since the sidewalk is lined with trees that are wrapped from trunk to limb in lights.

Some of the many Nativities near the Church Office Building.

The kids had tons of fun together. Henry got out and walked for a bit, but he couldn't seem to keep track of which group he was with... so we had to put that to an end and keep him in the stroller for awhile.
Nathan and Stacy... it is almost like they only have 1 kid... almost, but not quite.
Libbie... wants her two front teeth for Christmas.

There was plenty of hand-holding and battling to see who would hold hands with who... it was quite complicated, but the kids didn't seem to want to let go of each other. When they weren't holding hands, they were making a train. I guess we are lucky it wasn't more crowded.

When we got home last night, Gavin said to me (as though it had just occurred to him) "Nathan and Stacy sure have a lot of girls in their family!" Yep, it's true. They do.

Things I never imagined I would say...

Just a few things that I have said in the last week I never imagined myself saying...

"If you two break one more Christmas ornament- We just won't have Christmas at all."

"NO- Angels do Not dive bomb the shepards!"

"I am not always mean, but I am always in charge so you better start listening to what I say."

"Batman and his friends do not live in the Christmas tree. No- It is not their best hiding place. Please keep your toys out of my tree."

"All the crying and whining in the world will not keep the snow from melting."

"There is no way that I can call Jesus to ask him to come to his birthday party at our house... He is very busy and we just can't be sure that he will be able to have cake at our house... and we might not even have cake that day." (this one tends to be the ongoing conversation... Gav is pretty concerned about Christmas and what it all means, and now he is always looking for a new angle on the argument. I am running out of ideas for my side of the discussion.)

Just 'cause it's cute

No matter how cold... we can always find our way to the playground.

Silly Guys

Lately, when we put the boys to bed... Henry gets out of bed and wanders around the room until he lays down somewhere, usually on the floor next to the door, and goes to sleep. The other night this is where we found him when we went in to check on the boys. It was the cutest thing ever.

Henry has also figured out how much fun it is to push a kitchen chair all around the house to use it to get everything that he wants, that is above his head.

The other day he brought down the popcorn from the shelf and this is how Caleb found them.

"Come What May, and Love It"

Just happened to be working with Anne and Joe today when they turned on the 12:00 news, and we immediately heard that Elder Wirthlin, (a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) passed away last night in his sleep. He was 91, and died in his sleep. I can't help, but think what a full life he had and how many amazing messages he shared with us. I know that I will remember him for what he told us last October...

"Come What May, and Love It."

What inspired counsel that will get us all through the hard times now and those that are sure to come. I am grateful for his example and service, and for teaching us how to have the prospective that we need.

And now for a little song...

Haul out the Holly!

Put up a tree before...

My spirit falls again.

Fill up the stockings.

We may be rushing things, but Deck the Halls again NOW!

For we need a little Christmas,
Right this very minute.

Candles in the windows

Carols at the spinet.
Oh Yes, we need a little Christmas

Right this very minute.

We need a little Christmas NOW!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a few of the things that I am grateful for everyday.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!

One Man Stands Alone

This week Gavin attended a Princess Party... that's right... His friend Marlie was having a birthday and decided that she wanted to have Gavin attend. The only problem- everyone was asked to dress as their favorite princess. Luckily, Halloween got him on board with the whole dress up thing and he was more than excited to accept his slightly modified invitation and dress as a Prince Knight. He had a great time, though he did come home and tell me that did not want them to put anything in his hair or any make-up on his face... That's my boy. :-) Someday he will be grateful for the odds, and for being the only boy his age in this crowd.

"Look Mom, It's Fall!"

That is what Gavin says to me every time we go outside and walk through leaves or see them falling on the ground. While he likes jumping in leaves, he really just likes the fact that winter comes after fall and snow seems to be his favorite thing ever.

At the last outside playgroup for the year, I took the camera to try and take some fun pictures of the boys in the leaves. It worked out ok...

Gavin, of course, thought this was super fun and loved the chance to be the center of all attention and get to be messy at the same time.

Henry could tell that there was something that I wanted him to do, and therefore, refused to look at me. Most of the shots with him and Gavin are only the top of Henry's head... not matter how hard I tried. Oh well... He was at least happy when he got to get his photo taken on the playground.

I sure love these cuties.

Ready to Ride

Gavin recently inherited a bike from his cousin Joshua while we were in Arizona. Luckily, we didn't have too much luggage and were able to fit it in the trunk. Friday, I finally got around to putting the training wheels on and getting him out on a ride. I had hoped to find him a new helmet before he went riding (since it is obvious that his old one no longer fits), but when we got to the store we ended up having a huge argument, that ended with me not buying a helmet. And also ended with me promising to check other stores and the computer for a spider man helmet in Gavin's size. It is not a small known fact that Gavin's head size matches his tall and brawny physique, none of which corresponds to his age. So I can't really blame him for not grasping the concept that they don't made the 8 year old size helmet with the 3 year old's favorite characters.

Anyway, despite being slightly reckless, he figured out how to peddle and steer his bike at the same time, within about 2 blocks of riding. What you don't see in this picture is the fact that I was pulling Henry in the wagon while pushing Gavin by the bike seat to keep him from hit his brakes every 10 feet as he tried to figure out the right way to keep the peddles moving forward. It was really fun to see him so excited, and kind of sad to see him looking so old.

More Arizona Sun and Fun

As you can probably tell, the kids had a great time in Arizona with their cousins. They were rowdy and crazy and slept very well when they finally crashed at the end of each day. Gavin would wake up in the morning, and say, "Mom, I need to go and see if my cousins are awake." He even cried to stay at Heidi's house. :-( We had so much fun.

Part of the trip was that Caleb helped Mark and the other men of the family, tear off their garage to get ready for their new renovations and adding on. He pretty much just rolled out of bed everyday and went to work outside, as you can tell from his sweet hair.

Dad was a force to be reckoned with walking around with a crowbar in each in hand.

Gavin and Rachel had a great time running around together, nonstop, especially when the older kids had to go to school. They happened to see that the mailman had delivered the Wal-mart toy ad, and stole in from the mailbox and went running to the backyard to check it out.

Nana kept everyone entertained and laughing by holding as many kids as would fit on her lap and then pretending to sleep, until one of them would snore very loudly and wake her up. This went on about as long as it possibly could.

Josh, Hannah, Rachel, Henry, Cheyenne, Gavin and Morgan (just a few of the 11)

We also went to a pizza place with a huge pipe organ that comes up out of the floor and plays all kinds of music. Gavin spent most of his meal with at least one hand over his ear.

The last day we went to a great train park, with 3 playgrounds and a train and merry-go-round that you could ride on for a small fee. The kids were pretty much in heaven.

Hannah and Gavin

There was a play area that looked like a old jail, so we had to spend plenty of time climbing on top and pretending to be in jail.

Our group took up an entire train car.

A trip to Mesa, AZ

Time Out for Women and Girls!

This weekend we made an 11 hour road trip to Mesa, Arizona to see my family. The occasion was to get all of the girls together to attend a religious event, called Time Out for Women and girls. My mom and sisters had all gone to a similar event before, but this was the first time I made the trip. And it was the first time that the older nieces, Alaina and Cheyenne, also got to attend, so I was really glad to go with all of them. There were some great speakers and musical performances for the entire day. Here are all of us sisters and our amazing mother who brought us to this great event.

Here are Cheyenne and I waiting for things to get going.

A bad self portrait of me and a good pic of Heidi. All weekend we are being told that we look so much alike. I don't see it in this picture though.

Schatzy and her 2 older girls, Cheyenne and Lanie. They were really fun to have along. They always make us feel young and more fun than we usually are.

Heidi and Schatzy with their party faces on! I really love these girls, and that even when we go a long time without seeing each other, you never feel the absence when we get together again. It's like we don't live hundreds or thousands of miles apart.

I'm so grateful that we got to spend this girl time all together. I really needed it, and it was so uplifting to hear the inspirational talks and messages through music that were shared with us. It was just what I needed to remind me of how happy I am in my faith and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful every day that I have the chance to be with my family forever.