Christmas!

Christmas Eve Dinner

Grandma got all 12 grandkids matching pajamas. Even though we were the only ones who didn't spend Christmas Eve in Vegas, we still got in on the fun. 

Christmas Morning 

Jay literally jumping for joy- absolutely love it!

Laser tag

Ari has been begging for some gears like the ones at her school so she was super excited Santa brought her some.

Hailey got her Dad some cologne and then was telling him to do his smolder face. They have such a cute relationship these two :)

My favorite part is how they always give each other the biggest and best hugs after opening their gifts. I love it. Brings me so much joy!

The kids main gift this year they have to wait until July for. We're all going to Hawaii with my family in celebration of my mom's 60 birthday. So Kevin and I decided to get each kid a carry-on suitcase filled with Hawaii things and see if they get it

Scott of course blurted it out right away when he saw the hula skirts- he puts things together fast :)

Hailey is beyond excited! She has been dreaming of going to Hawaii and wearing a coconut bra all her life lol. Now they just get to wait until Summer!

One last family selfie

And one last picture in their cute jammies

We had such a wonderful Christmas just hanging out as a family playing in the basement all day. We got to go skiing a ton too which is always a great time. So fun! And as always on Christmas especially, just feeling overwhelmed with gratitude over the love and blessings of being in a family. 

Scott Turns 12!!

Scott turned 12 on December 17th!

In our church, turning 12 is pretty big. It means you get to move from primary to the young men and young women organizations. And for boys, it means you get the Priesthood and as a deacon you also have the responsibility of passing the sacrament on Sundays. My parents came for Scott's big day. Grammy would have came to if her health allowed it. His birthday was on a Sunday too so he got to do it all on his big day!

Handsome young man right here!

 We did a little condensed version of "12 days of priesthood" so for the week leading up to his ordination I put something on his bed or by his door each day. Some items were things like a new tie or recommend holder, and some things were notes and/or testimonies from Mom and Dad. One of the days was a dinner date with Dad and on the morning of his ordination he got a new suit coat. We called them "Priesthood treasures". It was fun and a good way to lead up to the big day I think! ;)

The whole fam- everyone is getting so big! Look how tall Scott is!

Scott kept saying I was sad my oldest turned 12. It is totally hard to believe, but I told him no way- I'm super excited for this new next phase in our family. It's going to be awesome! I know 12 is still a young boy at this point, but at the same time I think it helps Scott understand he needs to be a bit more responsible and grown up if that makes sense. Like when we drove home from Colorado usually Kevin as the man of our family would say a prayer that we drive home safely or whatnot. So I reminded Scott since Dad wasn't there- he's next in line as the man of the family. And he proudly said our family prayer for us and we were on our way. It was very sweet. Scott is a sweet and tender boy.

 Just the boys and Grandpa

 Grandma and Grandpa

We got home from church and got right into it with presents and cake!

 

Opening presents

 He got to work right away building a truck he got. He is still as Jay calls him "The Master Builder." His teacher this year threw away a stapler that was broken in a few places and didn't work. I guess Scott told her she didn't need to throw it away because he could fix it. She laughed and said "Well take a shot at it- the tools I have are over there." She was pretty surprised when he placed it on her desk at the end of the day. I loved hearing about that at parent teacher conference along with a few other comments from teachers that he just thinks differently then the other kids. Love it. Maybe he'll be an inventor one day!

This was his face when he started opening a present and it started ringing. Best reaction! 

 He had a great day and it was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa here to celebrate his big day.

Scott is such a good kid. I know he is so different then most boys his age and has different gifts that I am so grateful for. Like I said before he is a tender and sweet boy. He cares deeply in every aspect of his life and wants to be a good boy and do things right. He signed up for basketball this winter which we were so thrilled about. He hasn't played any sports or had the desire to since we found out about his tumor. Such a tender mercy that the same soccer coach he had when he went through that at age 8 happens to now be his basketball coach! He is able to understand all of our emotions going through this basketball journey :) It's just amazing. Anyways his coach was just saying how Scott is a thinker. And if he could just stop thinking so much and worrying so much about messing up and holding the ball just exactly like so, he is actually pretty good. Lol. It's just funny because that's Scott. He wants to do it right. I do have to remind him constantly that he CAN and should make mistakes and that it's okay and we will love him all the same. Such a sweet kid this one! 

Hailey Turns 10!

Hailey turned 10 on December 7th!

She wanted everything mustache, suprised?

 Cutest girl ever right here.

  She is so happy and fun. At school Hailey's silliness takes a back seat and is a very serious hardworking student. I don't think half her class knows just how spunky and fun she is. Actually I don't know if anyone outside of our home really knows her as we do. She has been cracking us all up since she was a tiny little 1 year old dancing on my counters, and I hope she never changes! 

 I love eating out so much so I'm always telling my kids we can go to any restaurant they want for their birthday (plus that was the tradition in my house) Nope. They always want me to cook it cracks me up. And it makes me smile I suppose. I do love cooking. Hailey wanted lasagna and salad for her dinner of choice and carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. 

Opening presents

 She was soooo excited her Dad got her a box full of duct tape- her favorite thing! She makes all kinds of stuff. Even made her teacher at church a wallet in his favorite colors

Shock and excitement! Then she teased that those 18 rolls will last a week :)

 She also wanted a marshmallow gun. It shoots the big mallows and is pretty powerful-shoots like 30 feet I think!  She was a hoot with that!

 Such a beautiful girl. Notice the glasses too. They are her favorite fashion accessory

 Hailey had a great day. She also got a pom pom maker and she was just in the best mood ever. All of the kids went to bed and she was getting to stay up late and was talking to her Grammy on speaker. She was in such a funny mood everything Grammy said she would reply, "Sure thing! Yepper Do! Uh Huh Sweetie!" And was just all giggles. It was seriously hilarious. 

Hailey is truly a gem. She is my little helper and is so nurturing. She's always looking around to see how she can be of help. And she does it without asking and with a smile. When my nieces were here my sister Brooke felt like she was on vacation. Hailey just loves babies and taking care of younger kids and entertaining them and taking care of their needs. She also loves helping around the house. She likes to be my shadow and follow me around. I tell her all the time that I need her around to balance me out. I'm more of a serious person and having her next to me as my shadow with her bubbly fun personality just helps me let loose a little and have fun. Love her to pieces!