The First Week of Christmas

The first week of December has flown by, and, according to our new tradition, we must do something merry every day. We don't really do anything extra - it's just a way of pacing ourselves through this busy holiday season. Here's the rundown so far:

Day Eight...

Every year

the Young Men & Young Women

go see the temple lights.

It's so cold

and so beautiful -

one of our favorite ways

to remember the true reason

for the season.

Day Seven...

Who can resist whip cream?

Matthew can,

but Adam loves it with all his heart.

We also love some good old

Charlie Brown Christmas.

Camille wanted to know

if most people knew

{like the Peanuts Gang & Mr. Shultz knew}

what Christmas was really all about.

I told her I thought

most people knew that Christmas started

as a way to celebrate Christ's birth,

but that some of them had forgotten.

{But not us!}

Day Six...

What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon

than decorating the little tree

with some favorite family ornaments.

That way we can talk about

all the wonderful people

who have blessed our lives

over the years!

And, of course, get in a little wresting

while Mom finishes it all!

Day Five...

Every year

on the first Saturday of December,

we have "Breakfast with Santa"

{Brad's office party}

and then pick out our Christmas tree.

We usually drive up the hill

to choose our own tree,

but this year has been way too crazy!!

So, we went to a tree lot.

Boring.

Easy.

Kinda Nice!!

Brad especially appreciated this guy

who wrapped the tree

AND

tied it to the car

with his "mad knot tying skills."

Plus,

we didn't have to stop three times

on the way home

to fix it!

Day Four...

This year we started a new "first" --

a Christmas concert with

The Band of the Golden West

(our local Air Force Band).

It's going to be a new tradition.

Beautiful!

{especially Mobility's rendition of

Feliz Navidad}

Day Three...

Festival of Trees

is our community's fundraisaer

for our local homeless shelter.

The youth in our stake participate every year

by decorating a tree,

{snapshot above -

this year our tree sold for $1,600!),

singing,

and then cleaning it all up.

Such a great event!

Day Two...

Every year we make goodies

to sell at

The Festival of Trees.

This year Camille was my helper.

Thanks, sweetie!

Day One...

For the kids,

December can't start

until the Advent Box is filled.

It's one of their favorite traditions

every year.

They love spreading the candy

all over the table

and deciding what pattern to follow

as they load up the goodies.

Let the holidays begin!

Last Weekend...

Brad and the boys

escaped for a quick day

of outrageous fun at

Six Flags Magic Mountain,

which is, according to Adam,

"crazy awesome" and

"the best place to ride roller coasters

in the whole world!"

If you like flying through the air (literally),

going through loops backwards and sideways,

or going from 0 to 100mph in 6 seconds,

this is your place!!!

They do have some pretty amazing rides there,

including this one...

And whats the only way to top off

such a magical day?

Dinner at this place..

which they have heard their parents

talk about for years!

Anyone else have great memories here?

All in all,

it was a great weekend...

an experience they won't soon forget!

A Thankful Heart

I know I'm a bit late,

but I didn't want the holiday

to go by

without recording

what I'm most thankful for...

1. Our Little Family...

A wonderful and patient husband

who works so hard for us,

three great kids

who enjoy each other's company,

and the chance to be their wife/mom.

2. Our Great Big Family ...

2 sets of aunts and uncles and cousins

whom we adore

and my wonderful Mom & Dad

who are the most devoted grandparents ever.

3. A Personal Relationship with my Savior...

a knowledge of him,

the opportunity to serve him,

and the ability to read and understand

his words.

4. Good Health ...

the blessings of being well,

good doctors to care for our bodies

{especially our minds},

and medicine.

5. You!

My Night Out

Just got home from watching this amazing man

conduct the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra

with this little cutie on the piano. . .



Do yourself a favor
and click here
to watch her play.

Do you see those people in the front row?
The ones who can see every pulsating movement
of her amazing fingers,

the ones who can read her lips

as she talks and sings to herself while she plays,
and the ones who might actually get

flipped in the face with her hair
as she bows after her performance?

That's where I was sitting.

Amazing.

Thanks, Grandma!

Just in case you were wondering...

she plays slow too,

and it's just as thrilling!

Want more?

Try here.

A Halloween to Remember

Sorry (Mom) that this Halloween post is so late. The picture we took of Camille on Halloween was rushed and didn't turn out very well (you all know how that goes...), so I planned on getting her all dressed up again and retaking it (no... that didn't happen either!). That's my excuse, but the real reason I'm late is that I've been a bit emotional over the whole thing. The story goes like this...

Like many other girls her age, Camille is crazy about all things American Girl. It all started a few years back when friends her age started getting them. Then she watched a few of the movies (good, wholesome films for little girls, if you haven't seen them), and she was hooked.

"Do you think I could have one?" she asked. Well, I'm not one for handing out $80 dolls, so I made her a proposition. "I think that if you read all the books (8 dolls x 6 books each = 48 books) and decide which doll you love most, maybe Santa would be willing to bring you one."


Well, to make an already long story short, a few years back Santa brought this...

Felicity is the Revolutionary War doll and Camille absolutely loves her. Ever since then, every Halloween costume has revolved around American Girl. The first year was easy. She decided to be the pioneer girl and so we easily threw this little costume together...

Last year she wanted to look just like her Bitty Baby who happened to have a doggy costume. Luckily there are a few doggy patterns around, and grandma was able to make her this...

This year she came to me and said, "Mom, I want to BE Felicity!" Those of you who know what Felicity's clothes look like will understand why I had to say, "Honey, I'm not sure that's going to work."

Her reply, "Can I ask Grandma?"

And to make a REALLY long story short, without any kind of pattern at all, Grandma came up with this magical outfit...

Pretty amazing, huh? (Trust me, it looks even better in person!) Now you can see why I've been a bit touched by the whole experience. I'm beyond grateful that my little girl trusts so deeply in her grandmother's love that she feels confident enough to ask her to make her biggest dreams come true. And I'm even more grateful that this grandmother loves this little girl so unconditionally that she willingly creates the magic of those dreams. I am one lucky mama and one very fortunate daughter.

Thanks, Mom. I love you...

Soccer Star

Tonight was the next to the last soccer game,

so I thought I'd better bring my camera

and get a shot of that hunky #9...

and let you all see him in action!

This shot is right before he scored his first goal...

Yes!!! I said he SCORED A GOAL!!!

The whole gang -

happy that they played a great game

even though they ended up losing a tight one!

Matt has been so lucky

to be playing with three great church friends this year.

Go Vanden!!

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

No Fall is complete

without a trip to the infamous

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm.

First off (every time!)

is the petting zoo...

where Camille fed the goats while Adam brushed them,
and then this little cutie tried to get Camille to stay
by taking a bite out of her shoe!
The petting zoo is always followed by the wooden trains...
and the rocking horses!

Don't you love how differently

boys and girls

ride these cuties!!

Panning for marbles is

always a success,

not so much for the corn maze though!!

Good thing Grandma was standing on the bridge at the end

giving us her great bird's eye view!

As usual, the day started winding down with a train ride around the orchard

(they ALWAYS ride in the cattle car),

and culminated with the annual

hay ride to the pumpkins.

Every year there's a famous pumpkin pose...

I'm choosing this one for 2009...

even though it's blurry and out of focus!

(oh well...)

Happy Halloween everyone!

My Cutie-Pie Niece

How's this for a classic Kindergartem smile?

I love it!

Sillveyville

I find that one of the challenges

of parenting the last child

is making sure she gets a chance to do

all the fun things that the

older ones did.

So since she is a lover of ALL things orange,

and becuause she and I had a few hours of alone time

this afternoon,

we hopped on over to our local

pumpkin patch.
Luckily, Camille is quite content
entertaining herself.
These hay horses were her favorite...
but she also took a spin in the teepee,

and climbed the giant hay pyramid.

Could there be a more perfect wig

for my crazy orange girl?

It was a darling afternoon,

but it only made us more anxious

to visit a REAL pumpkin patch!!

So,

Bishop's --

here we come!!