Getting Ready for Christmas

It started to get colder and we got ready for the holidays! We got a little snow at home...

But we knew we'd get lots more at the cabin.

The kindergarteners put on a great show for parents!

And Violet and Ginger performed a duet for the Christmas ice skating recital! They were so cute. Their song was "We are Santa's Elves" from Rudolph. Our parents and even Kami and Brad came to see them skate.

Violet and Ginger were also part of the ward's Christmas play this year. I chuckled when Violet swatted "Joseph's" hand when he started playing with the straw in the manger.

We went to see the lights at Pioneer Park on the other side of town.

Ivy was feeling a little cold, but she still had a fun time.

Christmas cookies are always a fun tradition!

During Christmas break I took the kids to Provo Beach Resort to kill some time. We spent the second week of the break at the cabin so I had to actually plan some stuff for the first week so we didn't go nuts.

 And of course we have the usual every day fun at our house. Jaxon hit the braces milestone! I'm excited to see the results in a few years. His teeth are pretty crazy.

I love how Jaxon's always been so sweet playing with his younger siblings. He's very patient.

Talmage loves this zebra at the library.

Wednesday is garbage day! Quite the event for these two. Ivy loves to watch and see if the garbage can tips backwards when released from the truck. Talmage just likes the truck.

And sadly, another milestone for Jaxon. This was his last day in Primary. He was ready, for sure. But I'm not sure I was! I remember when he was the only kid in nursery, eating his goldfish crackers at the table with his teacher. And now my last little boy is in nursery. For two weeks we had all our kids in primary! Sniff, sniff! But it's been great having him in Hombres Jovenes with Travis. He's really enjoyed it so far. New adventures, right?

Halloween 2022

Violet and Ginger participated in a Halloween show at the rink a couple days before Halloween. They worked so hard on their pieces and they did great. They even learned a "thriller" group dance with all the other skaters!

Ginger was Bruno from Encantado, one guess what her song was...("No se habla de Bruno...:)

Violet was the crab from Moana and skated to "Brillo".

This is always a fun, no pressure recital. No judges, no worries. :)

A few days later we celebrated Halloween with cousins. This was the first year Jaxon had no interest in going Trick or Treating. Although I felt a twinge of sadness, to be honest, I'm surprised he held out this long. Violet was a skeleton, Ginger a fairy, Ivy a witch, and Talmage a pumpkin.

 

Busy, Busy Fall

We had a fun Labor Day weekend at the cabin. We invited cousins to spend a day with us.

We also spent one last actual Labor Day at the Anderson's timeshare. They're selling it, so it was bitter sweet. We've spent many a Labor Day playing with these Duplo and swimming in the pool. Here the girls spent some time making a zoo.

Things like this remind me that even though they fight and argue and sometimes wish they were an only child, they can actually play well together. If they really want to.

The girls competed in Oktoberfest and had a lot of fun preparing for it.

This little guy is growing up too fast. And he got his first haircut.

Pop bottle contest again...I'd personally like to thank the academy...went through so much hot glue but Violet ended up with a blue ribbon, so I suppose it was worth it. ;)

We had our annual Culture's Night in our ward. This is actually the biggest, and most fun activity of the year for our ward. Everyone comes together to represent the country they come from and make lots of yummy food for everyone to sample and share. There's probably around 12 different countries represented. It's a good learning opportunity for the kids. We contribute to the US table, hence the tricorn hat.

Poor bishop.

Just cutting the lawn with his freshly cut hair.

These two spend lots of time together during the school day.

We have a new tradition of going to Leatherby's on my birthday. Ice cream is my favorite, so it only makes sense. We all look forward to it. ;)

And of course, more time at the cabin.

We all worked together to make a fort of sticks.

We invited cousins up again. These boys love a good game of Monopoly.

And these girls had fun looking for "treasures" with the metal detector.

 

Double August Birthdays!

Jaxon is 11! I can't believe this is his last year in primary. Seems like just yesterday he was the only kid in our ward's nursery. And sunbeam class. And possibly HLJ 4. (Eventually, other kids his age started moving in.) It'll be nice having him in YMs with Travis.

And I can't believe this little girl is 3. She'll always be 2 in my mind.

Ivy has missed having her older siblings home with the start of the school year. She always says, "I miss my brother and sisters." But she's still got poor little Talmage to boss around until the older kids get home.

New School Year

We've got 3 kids going to the same school now!

Jaxon in 5th grade...

Violet in 3rd grade...

And Ginger in full day kindergarten! After two years of preschool she was ecstatic to be in kindergarten and be at the same school as her older siblings.

Can't wait to see what fun experiences they'll have this year!