Our New Year's Eve

We spent our traditional New Year's Eve Evening with the kids again. We let the kids stay up and watch the ball drop...New York time. This year the boys realized for the first time that they didn't really get to stay up until midnight. Such a bummer. We had sparkling cider and licorice. Easy night and lots of fun. This little one didn't make it to New York's time:

 I love this guy. Today he let me put together a puzzle (a complete waste of time) while he watched Piper and made dinner. How sweet is that?

We also got to enjoy this oh so lovely weather and played tennis for a couple of hours today. It was a beautiful day. When Piper went down for a nap, Grant and I went down and had a little date. I love that Ben is old enough to be able to "watch the kids." Then a little bit later, they came down and joined us. So much fun. I love this weather. My kids wish there was snow. Normally I love all the seasons, but last year's winter was so long, I have enjoyed the break this year.

Another Project

Piper got a high chair for Christmas. I don't like those big high chairs that can stand on their own--they are so huge. I like the kind that can go on a regular chair. So that means I needed a chair to put it on. The only chair that we had was the chair the Grant used for his remodeling. Here is what it looked like before I started working on it with all the love of texture and paint splatters. It was well used.

I sanded it, painted it (love paint!), and distressed it...because I like things to look old. While I had it upside down so I could paint the bottom of the legs, Karmin was upset that I wasn't painting the underside because it didn't look pretty. When she said this, I was done. I was tired of working on it and tired of it being in the middle of our living room. I told her that nobody would see it anyway, so it was okay. She argued that when her and Lydia are playing on the ground, they would be able to see it--especially if they go underneath the chair. Couldn't argue with that. So I had a brilliant idea...I painted them a note, so anytime they could see it they could think of me and know that I love them.

Here is the end product:

Now Trevor wants his name added to the note too. I'm sure he'll never be under there, but he'll know that it is there. And I guess that is what matters.

Fun Times

Today we went bowling with Nana and Papa. It had been so long since we went bowling. The kids loved it. Lydia was our cheerleader. Anytime someone would go she would start clapping for them and yelling their name. And see that ball that she just threw? It is going just about that fast. (237)

Christmas Day

What a lovely day. I think it is best when Christmas day is on Sunday. It is so nice to go to church and remind all of us why we have this day. 

We all opened our stockings when we got up. We had to finally wake up Karmin so that she would have time to open hers before we went to church. The kids were excited that they each got one toy along with all the much-needed items like socks in their stockings. It was amazing to some of them that Santa knew that they wanted certain things. Lydia loved opening things. She is so funny. She is so smart and advanced in so many areas that sometimes it is easy to forget that she is only 2. So I guess it comes as no surprise that she enjoyed opening the gifts more than she cared for what was inside each thing.

We went to church and then came home. We had brunch with Grandma and Nana & Papa while we waited for Grant to get home from helping the Bishop. I was surprised with how patient the kids were. We had fun opening the presents. Karmin, being the helper that she is, wanted to help everyone. This was a practical year for gifts...new sheets, sleeping bags, books, etc. The kids are so good about making things for each other and filling the tree with homemade gifts. Ben even went and bought some things for his siblings with his own money. It was very sweet of him. They do get into the Christmas spirit every year by giving so much to each other. Lydia's favorite gift that she got all day was a gift from Karmin. Karmin wrapped a phone that Lydia normally plays with all the time. Lydia was really excited to get it--again! 

It was a nice day. I am thankful for the birth of the Savior and this time of the year that we can celebrate together as families. (081, 186)

Christmas Eve

It was a very nice day today. We enjoyed having a relaxing day. I think this was the first Saturday that we haven't worked on remodel stuff since we started about a year and a half ago. It was great.

We have a tradition that my mom buys the kids a new movie every year and we watch it after the kids get their new pjs. However this year she bought them 2 new movies. So in the afternoon we got to watch the first one. (I got to paint my current projects while we watched the movie; which felt like Christmas in and of itself.) Then we had dinner, got cleaned up, and then got new pajamas. I guess we didn't get a picture of all the kids in their new pajamas. Oh well. Then we got to watch the other movie and eat popcorn. We tracked Santa on Norad, and then got out his plate of cookies and egg nog. Karmin remembered that we gave Santa those peach ring things last year, so we had to include those again this year. I love those things--they taste so good. Now it is time to go settle down for a long winter's nap.

Is that noise I hear?

Don't mind the heart--the picture was taken with a purpose.

Piper continues to grow and is now 5 months and 1 week. She has found her voice. And her favorite time to make noise? Well, of course, it is when it is quiet. So let's think of some times when it is quiet...during church, during the MIDDLE of the night--all right those are about the only times that it is quiet. She loves to talk at those times and especially during the night. She sings herself back to sleep at night. It is kind of cute and luckily doesn't last too long. She is getting so tall. She easily wears 9 month clothes for length purposes; which is so odd. None of my kids have ever outgrown their clothes so quickly. She rolled over for the first time this week. Everyone still adores her and I always have many willing helpers to hold or snuggle with her when I need two free hands.

Santa Clause is Coming To Town

Grant's parents invited all the families over to their house to take part in a tradition that they did with their missionaries. First we sang songs and then, Santa came to visit. He chose people to go pick a gift under the tree. Then once everyone had a gift he read "The Night Before Christmas." Anytime he said left or right, we would all pass our gift accordingly. Everybody loved it, and even Lydia had fun passing her gift left or right. I think it helped that she finally understood that the person on the opposite side would give her a new gift to hold. Once the poem was over, everybody got to open their gifts. It was a lot of fun. I think all the kids are hoping that we get to do it again next year.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Look, Santa came to our house! We are so lucky to have been privileged enough to have a personal visit to our own home. Karmin got to sit and tell him what she wanted. Ben, er..Santa, was very creative. When the fun was over, Ben dressed Piper up. I think Ben won this fashion contest.

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas Everybody!             

On July 15^th Piper Ely was born. All cousins (except one) got to see beautiful Piper. We think Piper is funny (because she likes to grab things).

  Lydia has a friend! Lydia loved MaKade (her cousin) coming over to work on our floors. She has been calling him “Keys” ever since. Even at church—Makade was giving a talk at church when Lydia called out “Keys!” It was really funny!

          Karmin has played with me and it is called “Ronco.” We had so much fun. Karmin would be the Ronco and I would be her owner. She started Preschool this year! She is 5.

          I had surgery on January 7. It was kind of scary. I had to blow through a tube and I got dizzier and dizzier. And then I fell asleep. Then I was in a different room and mom and dad were there.

          Ben went hunting 3 times. The third time I got to go. The two other times I did not get to go. The first time, they went to a friend’s house and went hunting. The second time instead of going to the friend’s house, he came to our house. I bet they had fun the first and second time!

          Mom has been watching us do swim lessons. She liked them. The first time, we did swimming lessons, I went with Tyler. The second time Tyler went with Ben and Austin, so I went by myself. It was fun.

         Dad has been working on the floors just like MaKade. He has been working on Karmin’s closet, & Mom & Dad’s closet.

               This year was fantastic!       

            By: Trevor

Mom’s note: In an effort to simplify, I asked Trevor to write our Christmas letter this year. If you want more details about our family, you can look at our family blog at:    elyfamily3000.blogspot.com

We feel very blessed and have enjoyed thinking of all the blessings and miracles that happen to each one of us on a daily basis. We hope that this next year is a wonderful one for you and your family. Merry Christmas!

Woot Woot--I mean Hoot...

Our rodent-control is back! I thought that the owls were gone because I haven't heard them since it got cold, but I guess they are still here, or they came back. Don't know which, but I am so glad they are still around. Seriously the owl is now my favorite animal/pet because they do so well at controlling mice, they don't leave hair on the furniture because they never want to come inside, they don't need to be fed,  and they never have to go to the vet. They are just perfect. Every family should have an owl for a pet.

Our owl...maybe we should give him a name...was just sitting there enjoying the view. The fog was amazing. We enjoyed watching it move and change over the valley.

BANANAS

 Piper got to have her first food last night! I have to leave her with Grant's sister this Friday because we have a party for Grant's work to go to. She won't take a bottle, so baby food was the only other way to feed her. This seems way early to me since I usually wait until they are 6 months before introducing foods. She did pretty well with it. AND since every one wanted a turn at feeding her and their picture taken too, hold on for a lot of pictures--there's a lot of us:

And she obviously has had enough: 

Gingerbread Fun

Every year we decorate gingerbread houses. For Christmas 2010, our gingerbread decorating didn't happen until June of this year, but we got it done. This year an amazing thing happened. My kids are learning to cook. Ben, Trevor, and Karmin are all learning the importance of macaroni and cheese--because if a person knows how to cook that and top ramen, throw in a bowl of cereal for breakfast, they can live forever. We also have been baking a lot of cookies on Sundays after church. They all are getting really good at measuring, learning how to turn the oven on (and most importantly--off), etc. Well Trev wanted to make gingerbread men this week. Soooo...instead of houses we got men to decorate. And it was so much easier. And it was fun. Ben decorated his to the hilt--getting as many treats as possible on to each one. Trevor decorated his very methodically. Karmin decorated hers so they were beautifully girly. And Lydia, decided to not bother with decorating and just went straight for eating the frosting. They all turned out great. And they were addicting to eat.

Best. Day. Ever.

Miss Karmin declared that she had the best day ever today. It was her last day with Miss Jan for this year so she got to do a fun little project with her. They dipped a marshmallow in chocolate--and then put sprinkles on it. Sprinkles make everything perfect. The secretary at the school also gave each of the girls a small chocolate bar. I think the anticipation of Christmas is starting to set in for Karmin. She thinks that this Christmas is going to be her second Christmas because I guess last year was the only one she remembers. We had fun coming home and making hot chocolate. Lydia joined in with some too, but my veggi-loving child didn't care so much for the hot chocolate--she just wanted the marshmallows.

Ward Christmas Party

Whoever was in charge of the ward Christmas party this year was a genius--in my mind. Instead of a party at night--when everybody has their other Christmas parties they have to go to--they had a breakfast. The kids even got to wear their pajamas. We had a lot of fun and the food was yummy.

All He Wants For Christmas...

Is his 2 front teeth!

What do shoes say about a person?

I had a hard time deciding what to title this one.

A Girl's Prerogative?

It all comes down to the shoes?

The shoes make the outfit?

Like mother like daughter? (I say this one because shoe choices are not my forte--some may remember that I wore keds with my wedding dress)

We missed speech on Halloween day because someone was sick--I don't remember who it was--my guess is Piper since we still had the kids around their cousins that night. Anyway, "Miss Jam," Karmin's teacher had told Karmin that she would take a picture of her in her Halloween costume when she came. So when we missed it, Jan told us that they could still come dressed up. I kept forgetting until this week. They dressed up, got their hair done. They looked so cute. Then it was time to go and I told them to go get their shoes on and get in the car. Karmin ran to her closet and got her socks--2 different socks. Then went and put on her tennis shoes. They remind me of Punky Brewster, but they are so Karmin. They fit her personality perfectly. I couldn't resist taking this photo op.

Sweet Dreams

When Karmin was the age Lydia is now, she had her crib full of animals and babies. I never knew how she could find room to sleep comfortably. But at least those things were soft. Lydia, on the other hand, has her crib full--of books and My Little Ponies. But she still manages to sleep. And one day she might not like us for these pictures, but this is how lady-like she sleeps every night:

Now all tucked in:

And since we were in the room, here's Minnie: