Christmas 2021

Once Christmas break was here we were in full holiday prep! We enjoyed multiple cousin days and made Christmas cookies...

Saw the lights at Pioneer Park

Enjoyed sledding at Lakeridge and in our backyard

And made gingerbread houses

 Everyone was so excited for the big day!

And then before we knew it, it was Christmas morning!

A good chuck of our presents were homemade. It was actually really nice.

One of Jaxon's presents was a scanner. Like the kind at a checkout stand. That's just Jaxon for you.

But our biggest present for the family was...our very own CABIN! I'll have to make a separate post about that one. ;)

We had an unforgettable Christmas. It was so nice to just spend time together and relax. We are so grateful for this time special of year and for the birth of our Savior.

Ginger Turns 5!

Ginger turned 5! She wanted drumsticks and potatoes for dinner, and was very specific about the kind of cake she wanted.

She loves preschool and is so excited to start kindergarten in the fall and go to the same school as her older siblings. She talks about it every day. Once I told her about kindergarten shots I joked with her that she didn't have to get the shots, that she could just keep going to preschool if she wanted. She very firmly stated she wanted the shots. Pretty sure I was still squirming during my shots at this age.

Happy birthday, Ginger! We love you!

Violet's First Ice Skating Performance

Violet had her first ice skating performance the week before Christmas. Her coach asked her a couple months ago what song she'd like to dance to and she picked "Feliz Navidad". They choreographed a cute dance for her to memorize and perform for the audience.

 

She was a little nervous, and I would have been too if I had been skating in front of so many people. The audience really got into it and really cheered her on. We were so proud! She slipped and fell towards the beginning but got right back up and continued on with her dance.

When she got off the ice Travis went to go find her in the tunnel. Once she saw him she broke down in tears vowing she never wanted to do anything like that again! But once he showed her the flowers he bought for her she perked up a little bit. She's now talking about her next dance. :) Laykin was able to hitch a ride down with my parents. Seeing her also helped Violet feel better.

 Anyway, we were so proud of her for doing something so scary. Way to go Violet!

More Fall Fun

We decided to have a small, easy, baby blessing at home for Talmage. We got special approval from the bishop. ;) It was so nice to use Jaxon's blessing outfit again after so many years. Our parents came to show support.

We have a rather huge tree in our front yard, and it never drops any leaves until end of November. And all within a week. It's crazy.

Where'd she go?

Ugh...science fair...don't ask how late Travis, Jaxon and I were up the night before.

Violet is so kind...and honest. It's always good to feel appreciated.

("You make the best food, maybe not in the whole world, but you do make it really well!")

Fall in a Flash

We had a very full fall! I feel like we've never been busier. Here were some highlights!

If you tell Violet there's a contest, she's the first to sign up to participate. She hadn't had much luck up to this point (not even the monthly library coloring page contest), until she entered the pop bottle contest for the school fair. Basically you decorate a pop bottle any way you want. She planned it all out and it had multiple drafts. Travis helped her put it together.

She got second place in the 2nd grade category. Travis and I were so relieved that after so much trying she FINALLY won something!

We went to the school fair later that afternoon.

Jaxon went to the Space Center for the first time. He LOVES it. Like father like son.

Smart aleck math.

We went to probably my favorite restaurant ever- Leatherbys- for my birthday. My friends and I have a girls night out once every few months and we always come here, so I've been wanting to take Travis for a while. Everybody loved it. Ginger ordered a banana split from the kids menu. Her reaction was priceless. :) Our waiter was actually a former student of mine. As if I didn't already feel too old that day...

We had to get Talmage's pumpkin patch picture before it was too late, so the day before Halloween we ran down to Jakers and had some fall fun.

Talmage didn't feel like cooperating much. Ah well, at least we got it.

The next day was Halloween! Talmage donned Jaxon's first costume as Superman. So glad I finally got to reuse that. Jaxon for the first time didn't really care what he wanted to be. I told him he didn't have to go trick or treating if he didn't want to, but that if he did he'd have to dress up. He was disappointed but finally wore all black and found a pointy stick so...something scary anyway. Violet was a mummy, Ginger was a ghost, and Ivy was a cat.

We love going trick or treating with cousins. It makes it so much fun.

Also during our busy month of October, Violet had her acting class at the Hale Center Theater. It was her experience gift she got at Christmas. She had so much fun, and was able to wear her mummy costume. The kids did a really good job.

And we did enjoy our fall break, albeit a week late...Travis got the dates mixed up when he booked our Park City condo. Oh well! So we technically got two breaks. It was just what we needed for some R&R.

 

Fathers and Sons Backpacking Trip

Travis and Jaxon went backpacking with the Wendels a couple weekends ago and had a blast. 

Jaxon couldn't stop talking about the lake and fields of crazy rock formations that they climbed over and through. He especially liked drinking the lake water from Brad's pump filter.

They were also able to catch lots of fish!

I'm so glad they enjoyed themselves.

Meanwhile the girls and I got Happy Meals, a first for us. Looks like everyone had a fun weekend. :)

Jaxon Turns 10

 Jaxon is now in the double digits! A decade old. :)

We love this quirky, intelligent, funny kid. He's Spock one minute and Goofy the next. Definitely keeps us on our toes. He's such a good, patient, thoughtful big brother. Crazy to think what he might be doing in another 10 years!