S D.A.R.E. Graduation

Every year the 5th graders get a chance to participate in the D.A.R.E. program. It lasts several weeks. They learn about saying no to drugs, alcohol, and violence. They learn songs to help remind them what to do and they each have to write a report. S did a great job on his report. After their class was over, they got to perform the songs for the parents and then had a graduation. S really enjoyed this program and it was fun for us to watch him be excited about what he was learning.

New Years Eve 2011

We celebrated New Years Eve at my MIL's. T spent the evening with a friend and then we picked him up right after we rang in the New Year. We spent the night playing games, eating, laughing, eating, and enjoying our time together. I can't believe how quickly 2011 went by. Here's to another year!

Christmas Night 2011

We went to Grandma and Papas for dinner on Christmas. Dani and I had fun playing around with scarves trying to figure out cute ways to wear them in our hair.

I like the idea of a quick "do", especially for summer!

Ange, Yoho, and Reggie were on their way out as we were coming, so I got a quick pic of Reggie with his new toy!

Baby Jakob is getting SO big. Love his round cheeks:)

Tate enjoying her dinner.

Present time!

Christmas Afternoon 2011

We made our way over to Grandma D.'s for lunch.

We spent a little time there, talking with cousins, exchanging gifts, and eating.

DH took a little snooze.

Nice face M:}

Enjoying the Day

After church on Christmas we came home and enjoyed some fun family time.

The girls had a blast together.

M doing her nails.

J got right to work on her Fancy Nancy puzzle.

The boys building Hogwarts castle.

Christmas Morning 2011

We told the kids that they couldn't wake us up before 6am. They did pretty well, but didn't quite make it until 6. They came in at 5:45, so we decided that since they slept so well, we would get up. Plus I think DH and I get almost as excited for Christmas morning as the kids do.

Everyone was thrilled with their Christmas!

S got a scooter, 2 Harry Potter lego sets, and some other fun stuff!

He's been waiting and wanting a Razor for quite a while.

M really, really, really wanted a leather jacket. She got that and some $$ to go shopping with. I think she was pretty excited about that!

J also got a scooter, a Fancy Nancy doll, and lot of other girlie things. She also got a penguin hat, which she LOVES!!

T loves fish. He has a smallish tank, maybe 15 or 20 gallons. He's been wanting a bigger one, so we decided that that was what we would get him. We got him a 55 gallon tank and gave him some money to go buy some fish! He was thrilled.

Everyone was happy with their morning and spent the next few hours playing with their new stuff. We went to sacrament where M got to speak. She did a great job; the whole meeting was very nice. I thought it was nice to go to church on Sunday and to get a reminder of what the real meaning of Christmas is. It was a great day all around.

Christmas Eve 2011

We went to my moms for lunch on Christmas Eve. The kids played, we made cookies, and Grandma had some ornaments for them to paint. It was a fun afternoon.

Afterwards, we went over to my mother-in-laws for our Christmas Eve tradition.

We had dinner, which was delish and then opened our new jammies!

These 3 girls were all over T. They love him and he is so good with them.

Everyone anxiously waiting to open their jammies.

The kids love this tradition.

S and Wyatt

Grandma read the Christmas story from the scriptures, then we had a Christmas sing-a-long. The girls led the music. It was a fun evening.