Christmas Morning...

Christmas Morning was fabulous!  The girls sleep together Christmas Eve night upstairs in the toy room.  Adam and I began to hear the giggly whispers start around 5:30 a.m.  They waited until 6:00 before they came in our bedroom to "wake" us up. :) It was fun seeing the magic and excitement Christmas morning brings!      

Piece by Piece...

Kourtney decided she would tackle a 500 piece puzzle Christmas Eve morning.  By the time I arose that morning, Kourtney had a good start with the perimeter almost complete. She worked on it throughout the day and had it completed by early evening. 

She is already in the process of starting another!

Christmas P.J's

One of our holiday traditions is to open new Christmas P.J's Christmas Eve night. This is probably one of my favorite things to do! I love hiding each gift with a riddle or clues to go along with it. In order for them to find their pajamas, they have to solve the riddle. I realized that I had to make it harder this year than last year. I was glad that some of them really had to search for their gift! The girls loved watching Adam tear into and destroy the wrapping paper. Each of them mimicked him as they opened their own! It was comical and a lot of fun! I wonder what we will think when we look back and reminisce about these fun memories and traditions?! I'm thinking there will be many laughs!

A Little Elf Stopped By...

       We were quite surprised when we pulled in the driveway last night!  Some anonymous elf had stopped by and left a sign so Santa wouldn't miss his stop.  My only wish is that the elf would have been able to see the girls excitement when they noticed it! As Kaitlyn and Kourtney read the sign out loud, Makell's comment was, "We have been good!"  It was a fun moment!  That anonymous elf sure brought excitement to these girls!

Piano Recital

The girls performed in their Christmas piano recital. I love this time of year when the sound of Christmas music fills the rooms of our home! This year has come along with a few changes.  Due to busy school schedules, Jake teamed up with Kaite. The girls love her!  We have seen such an improvement with Kaitlyn. Kourtney is doing amazing!  She is starting to play some fun things and enjoying it even more!

Festival of Lights

Once again this year, we made a trip through the Festival of Lights!  The kids love being able to ride in the back of the truck, as we drive through the thousands of lights.  The weather couldn't have been better!  One of our fun family traditions!

Poke Her Face!

One afternoon while driving in the car with the girls, a song came on the radio called "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. I'm not a fan of the song to be honest.  Before I could changed the radio station, I heard commotion coming from the backseats. I took a quick glance in the rearview mirror and wondered what on earth they were doing?  As the lyrics were being sung, the girls were poking each others faces. I realized that they were interpreting the lyrics as "Poke Her Face"! Oh how I love the innocence of children! This moment made me laugh out loud!  Now when the song comes on the radio I leave it! It gives Adam and I a good chuckle! :)  

Peter's back!

The little ones are stoked that Peter returned this year! It amazes me how much motivation this little Elf's creates. Just the other night Peter was found hiding in the toy room. Wouldn't you know that it wasn't too long after that I found the room spotless! I guess they were afraid what Peter would tell Santa!  I think I'm going to like having Peter around! ;)

Celebrating 100!

   Last night my family all got together for dinner in celebration of my grandpa Deans 100 birthday!  Even though he is no longer with us we still think of and reminisce about him often.  He was a big part of or lives! Some of my fondest memories were of him coming to eat dinner with us every night!  I remember climbing up his knees and then flipping over! He would let us do this over and over again!  Of course my dad has many of the same traits and mannerisms that remind us of our grandfather. It was fun getting together to celebrate his life and the memories that he created and left with each of us!       

Gifts to Christ...

   I tried something new last year with the family and it was such a huge success that it is now our new family Christmas tradition! We call it our "Secret Gifts to Christ!"  I find that I tend to stress myself out during the holidays when I try to make it more complicated than it needs to be.  Last year was so memorable for me and I know it was because I simplified wherever I could.  Instead of spending so much time running around and trying to help the girls come up with gift ideas for each other, we decided that we would do secret acts of services for others instead. Each person received a bag full of "warm fuzzies".  (To know more about warm fuzzies go to  LDS.org   -A Birthday Wish Fulfilled)  Since we are celebrating the birth of the Savior throughout the month, each of us will give our "warm fuzzies" away by doing something nice for someone else and then adding it to our gift for the Savior. (Matthew 25:40)

Every evening we check the box to see how many "warm fuzzies" have been added since the prior evening.  It has made us more aware of what others do for us!

The gift box it placed under the tree. In order to put a fuzzie in you have to be sneaky so you don't get caught!  :)  I love the Holidays and experiencing the true meaning!

Me met our goal for the Holiday's!

Thanksgiving!

This year we spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family.  We all brought assigned items and spent the day at Grammy Great's house.  We all ate until we were sick and then spent the evening playing games, visiting, and realizing just how blessed we are!  Grammy Ann pulled out her famous Bingo game.  Growing up my siblings and I spent many Friday nights playing bingo at the dining room table with mom for penny candy and money.  The tradition has moved on with the grand kids, but now with larger bills!  Grammy Ann had a stack of cash in her purse and  kept pulling out $5 bills for every winner!  The person who got Black Out first received a $10 bill. The kids each came home with a stack of cash!  They thought that was the greatest thing ever!  It was a great day, and fun to hang with the family!  :)   

Call us Crazy...

We did it! Yes, we were two of the many thousands that took part in the craziness this year on Black Friday! Adam told me he thought I was crazy for even thinking about going out, and little did he know at that time he was coming with me! No one else wanted to go and I had to have a partner, so he was the lucky one that was volunteered. He has it pretty easy since every other year we are in southern Utah, and that means all the girls go together while the dads stay and "babysit" kiddos. This year stores opened earlier,so our adventure started at 9:45 p.m. After all our darting in and out of stores shopping, we arrived back home at 6:00 a.m. with everything we went out for! I do this every year and have never seen it like it was this year! There were so many people. We stood in line outside of Target for over 2 1/2 hours before they started letting the first groups through the doors.

A few things we experienced during our evening:
1-Had some interesting conversations with people!
2- Were given free facials at a store where our target line buddy works.
3- Experienced what it would be like stranded next to a cattle truck for over two hours.
4- Pepsi and Dr. Pepper wont keep you going like it used to.
5- Discovered our youthfulness and energy levels are fading fast!

Adam swears he will not do this again!  Ya we will see! :) 

Star Struck...

Yes... we stood in line for over two hours for the opportunity for the girls to finally meet David Archuletta!  I can't complain too much because it initially was my idea.  I had heard earlier during the day that he would be in the Orem area that evening.  I called Adam at work and asked him what he thought about surprising the girls?  He went for it! If you know our girls you will know that they LOVE this guy!  Ever since American Idol, he has been on their radar!  I have to say, of all the people out there to admire, they chose a good one!  Considering it was Monday and family night, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together...standing in a very long and cold line.  I told Adam that I was preparing him for Black Friday.  He didn't think that was too amusing. :)  After a long wait, it was the girls turn to have him sign a Christmas CD and magazine.  He personalized each one, and they thought it was awesome!  With David's initial Hi to each of them, Makell stood there all googly eyed and  responded with a faint Hi.  Kaitlyn initially acted all shy with a perma grin across her face, and Kourtney responded with a Hi back which instantly made her face turn bright red in color!  It was quite comical!  David Archuletta is really nice, and yes... really cute! What you see is what you get with this guy! The girls were so funny after!  I think his song "Crush" has a new meaning around our house now!             

Waiting in the long, slow line outside!  I think our girls were some of the youngest fans, and Adam was one of only a few dads!    

I wish I knew what Makell was thinking at that very moment! I chuckle every time I see this picture! :) 

Definitely star struck! 

Makell's Imagination

I love Makell's play time! She can always come up with something entertaining! She is our child that we very seldom hear how board she is or that she has nothing to do.
   I love the fact that I get to be a kid with her at times! She had a bowl full of water and a slide, so her Polly Pockets could go swimming!  She spent over an hour continuously sending each one down the slide and into the "pool".    

Kourts First Temple Trip!

Kourtney turned twelve a few months ago and received her temple recommend to be able to go inside the temple!  She has been anticipating this experience for a long time!  This was her first opportunity to do baptisms for the dead.  Just recently Adam came across three individuals in his family line that still needed temple ordinances performed. Kourtney had the wonderful opportunity to be a proxy for her two great X4 grandmothers and a great X3 aunt.  It was such a neat experience!  Adam baptized her and I was able to be at the font to watch and help with towels as the confirmations were preformed after.  I have always hoped that when I saw my children make choices that would bless their lives and they themselves recognized it, that it would make for special and unforgettable memories!  This experience with Kourt was more special than I imagined!  I'm sure she doesn't understand the significance now of what she helped her ancestors with, but I know she felt a glimpse of their excitement!     

It was such a special evening!  One of the temple workers made the comment that he had never seen so many different people bring so many family file names to the temple all at one time.  What a wonderful time for so many people! With it being quite busy it gave Adam, Kourtney, and I a lot of time to talk and  enjoy the moment! She can't wait to do it again! 

Reflections 2011!

Kaitlyn and Makell both entered the Reflections Contest this year at school . This years theme was; "Diversity is..."  After talking about it with them, they decided to enter the 3D visual arts category with an idea in mind.  As we talked about how our extended family is very diverse, they came up with the idea to make salt dough people that related to our family.  The diversity in our family consists of Navajo Indian, Pakistani, Samoan, Korean, and Caucasian.  After being judged in their age group Kaitlyn was awarded 1st place in her school!  Her project will go on to the district level for judging!  Makell was awarded 2nd place in the school as well!  They were so excited to hear the good news!  Fantastic job girls!    

Kaitlyn came up with the idea to show diversity of people surrounding the world.  I love what she wrote in her description that she turned in with her project.  She said,  "Even though we all look different, come from different places, and do different things, we really are the same."  :)

  The rules stated that they could not have help from anyone.  With Makell being in Kindergarten, this was her first contest to enter. I was so proud of her! I love her salt dough people! Especially the one with a toothpick sticking out of it's head! lol! :)  I am so proud of the girls and their hard work and creativity!  Good job Kaitlyn and Makell!     

Halloween!

   Our Halloween morning was different than usual. I found myself only taking pictures of Kaitlyn and Makell in their costumes before school. Kourtney's school was not having the students dress up, so Kourt went in her regular every day clothes. It didn't seem to bother her. I guess she was prepared because we have the stipulation that once you enter junior high, your trick-or-treating experience is over. Kourtney was our official candy giver this year! She did dress up to hand out candy to the kids in the neighborhood! She made sure that I bought "good" candy this year because all she would be getting was left overs. To her surprise our sweet friend walked over with a bag full of candy for her. Melissa you made her night!
   It was a perfect evening for trick-or-treating!  No coats or jackets, just giddy kids roaming the neighborhood!  Dad kept trying to hide rocks in Kaitlyn and Makell's buckets. A few nights ago we watched the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  After that he was on a mission to give a few rocks out.  Disclaimer: No rocks were given out to other children! Only his own children. Who knows... you could probably be sued for something like that these days!  Kaitlyn and her friends went around together! Kaitlyn had a ball! With as much candy as she came home with, they must have ran door to door! The kids decided to go with the Wizard of Oz theme this year. Makell made a perfect little Dorthy! We found a stuffed dog that looked like her buddy Harley. She though that was the best! Kaitlyn our comedian totally gets into things like this! She wanted to be the witch but without a green face. Kourtney dressed up as the fortune teller. We had the costume and it worked with their theme.
   I think the kids will be a sugar high for weeks to come! It's a good thing the kids donated half of their candy again this year to the dentist.  He then donates it to kids with MS and the kids at Primary Children's Hospital. It definitely helps the teeth as well!