Lights!

We went over to *** to look at the lights on the water. The kids had a lot of fun because they had never seen the display before. Afterwards we stopped and had hot chocolate. I think it was a fun start of a new tradition.

Maybe we should pull her crib back out

I think she loves her crib:

I mean really loves it:

Piper has never been a good sleeper. Ever. Our kids were always so good at it, and then Piper came along to humble me. She doesn't go to sleep until really late. She doesn't sleep in. She won't take naps. And she wakes up during the night and comes and sleeps with us. We have tried everything. So when 6:30 rolled around this morning, and she still wasn't in our bed, at first I was thankful--and then I panicked. So I went to check on her, and this is where I found her. She had lined the bottom with 2 pillows, and tucked herself in. And blissfully slept there the whole entire peaceful night. 

Christmas Day

The kids were all up by 8:00 this morning (even the pre-teen kid which is amazing!). So we headed up to the fire place to open up stockings. Ben waited until everyone else was done opening theirs before he opened his. Trevor was super excited about everything he got--including socks. Karmin opened hers just quietly, but efficiently. Lydia took out all of her presents one by one, and then studied them to decide which one she should open first. Piper didn't know what in the world to do. She just looked at everybody else's and would have been completely fine with just her Mike & Ikes candycane.
The kids were so good, and just played with their toy that they got in their stockings while we made breakfast with Grant's parents. I couldn't believe how patient they were. I remember being a kid, and tradition was that everyone had to at least drink a glass of orange juice before we could go in and look at the tree. It seemed like people took forever to just drink their orange juice. My kids are so much better than I was!

Then we went and opened presents. They were excited about their presents, and they were so good about enjoying even what their siblings got. Ben made Trevor a gift:

Raider (our outside dog who is always inside) has been sneaky and getting up on the kids' bed at night. So I bought him a pillow that he can sleep on instead. And a toy. He loved both, and didn't like it when anybody tried to touch his toy. 

And Ben also made a crib for Piper's dolls, but Piper thinks it is for her. Ben did such an amazing job. It really is a beautiful piece of work.

We enjoyed playing and hanging out, and putting new toys together. We played a new Apples to Apples game with Grant's parents. Then after everything died down and we had some things cleaned up (ahem--the Christmas decorations put away), we told the kids that we had a problem. Something was missing and they needed to help us find it. They went on a scavenger hunt and ended up finding the wii game "Infinity." They have wanted that game since it came out. It was a fun surprise.
It was a good day of hanging out with the kids, and just enjoying each other's company. I'm thankful for this time of year, and I'm thankful for my family!

Christmas Eve

The day has finally come! It is such a fun day. I heard a few times in the last week one of the kids say that it really feels like Christmas this year. I think being homeschooled has helped. We didn't have concerts to go to or parties at school (etc). We just got to enjoy the season and not all the busyness that can go along with it.
Everybody got to open up their new pajamas tonight. They looked super cute. Then we watched a movie.

We did some Norad tracking (which we didn't spend more than 5 minutes with that because the new version was not as cool as it has been in years past).

The kids got a plate of cookies and some egg nog ready for Santa:

And then it was time for bed. The kids all slept in the girls' room (since it was the clean room) along with Raider (yes our outside dog, now tends to be a very much inside dog). 

I was surprised at how quickly they went to sleep. It was a nice evening, and everyone is excited for tomorrow!

Sleeping Arrangements

I know I have written about how we sit on a very small amount of chairs at church. After Piper was born we realized that we were a family of 7 sitting on 3 or 4 chairs at church. We are now up to about 5 chairs at church. But lately the girls have taken it to the next level. Karmin and Lydia have been sleeping in the same bed. And when Piper wanted to join in on the action, I drew the line. It was enough having 2 in a small bed. So we put the girls' beds together. It is one huge bed and so they all can sleep together and still get a good night's sleep. I'm hoping that it will also help Piper to sleep in her own bed since she apparently loves to sleep with people. Their room looks even bigger now, and they are super excited to have such a huge bed!

C is for Cookie

We made a bunch of cookies this year. I tried a new sugar cookie recipe again. I found a recipe a few years ago that I really liked, but I can't find it. So I keep trying to find something similar. These were good, but tasted too much like Loft House cookies. I love a Loft House, but sometimes I just want something a little less airy. Alright back to the kids....
They became very creative with their decorating, as I didn't plan ahead for decorating beyond the frosting. We got out the sprinkles. We found frozen M&M's in the freezer, and left over Halloween candy that came in handy as buttons and eyes.

 We had fun decorating...and then fun eating as well!

Our Christmas Letter

2013 was a tough year for us, but we got through it. Even though it was a hard year, we saw many miracles. I am thankful for the blessings that were showered upon us to make it a more tolerable year—one that was still filled with smiles, laughter, and love.

January-We started the year off with a bang by visiting Hawaii for 2 weeks with Grant’s parents. It was beautiful, and we all had a hard time coming back to real life. It was nice that we started it off so wonderfully because when we got back, Grant started his MBA.  

February—Piper’s doctor put her on a crazy diet that eventually everyone in the family had to follow in the house. It consisted of being dairy, gluten, nut, soy, and oat free. Everybody started dreaming of pizza and ice cream. (As of this letter though we are now only dairy free.)

March—This was a month filled with trials and miracles as we spent a week in the hospital with Trevor. After a few long days they found that he has an autoimmune disease that will require trips to the hospital for IV infusions every 8 weeks for a day. But with this trial, we cannot deny the hand of the Lord in our lives and how He uplifts and carries us through life.

April—On April 1^st, Trevor turned 9, and we spent this month recovering from March!

May—Grant and I spent our 13^th anniversary by being spoiled by the kids. They created a restaurant for us in the morning, and then let us go on a super long date. It was a nice break from the MBA program and Grant’s work that was getting busier by the day.

June—School was out, Piper did beautifully at her first dental checkup, Trevor started baseball, and I got to go spend the weekend with my mom and my sister (1^st time away without any kids).

July—July was another crazy month. Lydia turned 4, Piper turned 2, and we adopted the best dog ever. But again it came with some challenges. A late night broken arm, and a surgery to realign it a few weeks later was not what Ben envisioned for his summer.  

August—Grant was working crazy hours (but still loving his job) and doing school, Ben was in a cast, and that just about sums up that month.

September—We were happy to see September come when Ben finally got his cast off, and Karmin turned 7. We started homeschooling all the kids after having so much success with Ben last year.

October—We enjoyed a 6-day long field trip down to Utah and saw Temple Square, BYU, and the planetarium. We got to do fun activities like milking cows and digging for dinosaur bones. When we got back, Karmin got to sing a solo in church.

November-Ben turned 12! The kids enjoy going to their parent partnership “school” 2 days a week, and we continue to enjoy the blessings of being able to homeschool the other 3 days a week.

December—We feel blessed to have our life full of friends and family. The Lord has blessed us abundantly.

We hope this year was wonderful for you and that it will be filled with much happiness in the coming year.

Love,

The Elys

Spicy, Spicy Hot!

Grant loves chips and salsa. He is constantly on a quest to find the best salsa out there. He gets very proud when one of the kids discovers the joy of salsa. Piper had her first taste-test. And she gave it two thumbs up.

The Primary Program

This is a few weeks old, but it is worth noting...
Every year at church the kids in Primary (kids age 3-11) get to share with the congregation what they have learned that year in their classes. The kids all sit up front by the Bishop and wait for their turn to speak. Everybody has a few sentences that they memorize. After a few kids say their lines, then they sing a song--and it goes on until everyone has had a turn. And this year, they decided to have all the kids sit up front without any teachers (aka adults). And do you remember my spunky 4-year-old?

So this is how it went down:
Ben was the first child to speak--he did a marvelous job in his last Primary Program. Then Trevor went a few kids later. He did a great job. Bring on a few songs, a lot more children speaking, a few more songs, and time ticks on. Lydia gets up there, and gets so excited to be up there at the microphone--she forgets her lines. Luckily someone was there to help out. Then Karmin said her line, a few more kids spoke, there were a few more songs, and now we are getting to the end. Lydia is getting antsy. She stands up on her chair and starts waving to us. (All while Grant and I are waving, and then motioning for her to sit down--because we always sit in the second to the last row--there is nothing we can do about this). She proceeds to jump up and down in her seat, and then finally sits down, but then starts practically doing somersaults in her seat. She was losing it, and it was funny and nerve-wracking all at the same time.

Miraculously, Lydia finally calms down, and Karmin got to sing a solo. I don't know where this came from. I cannot believe that she was so brave to get up in front of everybody and sing "Families Can Be Together Forever." I was in tears. I know that families can be together forever. These sweet children were a reminder of how close heaven is. I know that Heavenly Father knows each one of us and helps us and blesses us. I know that miracles happen daily--and they come from a loving Heavenly Father. I love my family. Both the family that I have now, and the family that I came from. I am so thankful for temples that help us to seal those family relations together.

I took this video of Karmin singing her song a few days after the Primary Program. I hope you enjoy:

I'm glad that families can be together forever.

Temple trip

Since Ben turned 12, he got to go to the temple for the first time to do baptisms. Grant and I were both able to go with him. It is a time that I will always cherish. Ben was able to be baptized for a close family member. And I will always be grateful to Ben for being willing to be the person he is so that he could do that for that individual. I will always remember this temple trip in particular.

Thanksgiving

We went up to my Grandma's cabin for the day on Thanksgiving. The weather was beautiful. We had fun talking, playing, and eating.
On this day I am especially thankful for my Grandma and her kindness and understanding of me. I am thankful for my family--my wonderful husband, great kids, and all the other family we got to spend the day with. It was a great day.

Milestones

Since Ben turned 12, he is now in the Young Men's program at church. When a boy moves up to Young Men's in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  he has the opportunity to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. When they receive the priesthood, they are also able to pass the sacrament at church. I am proud of this young man who is growing up to be a responsible and thoughtful individual, who is a natural leader. I sure love him!

Happy Birthday!

Mr. Ben turned 12 today. Can you believe that? I can't.
He wanted cereal for his Birthday breakfast. And we had pizza for his Birthday party for lunch (and left overs for dinner). His Birthday party was the best ever. He planned the whole thing. He invited a bunch of friends over and they played capture the flag, ate pizza, and opened presents. They also played an intense game of ping pong war while they waited for everybody to get there. This game screams of being a boy. Every person has a ping pong paddle, and are split up on to two teams. From there, you hit ping pong balls across the room at the other team as hard as you can. No points, no one gets out--just a lot of welts earned, I'm sure.
It hardly seems possible that he is old enough to be 12, but let's be honest here--it hardly seems possible that I can be old enough to have a 12-year-old. At church, I think they try to soften the blow with milestones. When a child turns 12, they leave Primary (the young children's Sunday school class), and move up to Young Men's or Young Women's. So at least when he turns 13, it won't seem like that big of a deal because he already went up to Young Men's (right? I'll try to read this next year and remind myself that 13 doesn't seem so bad).
Ben is a cool first child. He is extremely patient with us. We totally enjoy his free babysitting services. One of his greatest desires is to be a dad, which helps us a ton because he naturally likes to take care of Piper--even when we don't ask him to do so. He is a hard worker and loves to have fun. When he grows up he wants to be the CEO of the local utility company. At one time he wanted to take his wife on a 2 year honeymoon. Practicality has taken over, and now it is down to 2 weeks. He wants to travel, but he also wants to live across the street from us when he is older. This makes my heart happy. He has always wanted to live close by, and I hope it never changes. He loves learning to play the guitar, he still loves Legos, he loves milk, he asks every night if the girls remembered to feed their fish (he does get that bit of OCD from me), and he is one of those boys that wears shorts every day no matter what the temperature gauge says. He is sweet, has a tender heart, and is very forgiving. We love this cool kid!

Happiest of Halloweens

This year we had a handsome archer...

Ben decided to dress up this year (last year he didn't want to), and be a kid for one more year.
A fighter pilot...

We had a tough time finding this costume. It is so big that he can wear it again until he is probably 15 years old.
THE CUTEST girl ninja ever...

This sweet girl came up with stuff we already had, we added a pink sash, and she was good to go. She even let me do her hair for today (instead of just having it straight down we got to put it in {gasp}a pony tail---it's the little things!)
A princess...

She changed her mind about a million times on what she was going to be---a cowgirl, that morphed into Jessie (from Toy Story), a witch, a bat, and on and on, until we were at Costco and she saw this costume, and there was no turning back (except now she is just planning for her costume for next year).
And Rapunzel...

 Happy Halloween!

What has gotten into her?

I had no idea she was so silly. We have problems with Trevor acting crazy in pictures, but after going through all of our pictures of our trip, I was reminded how similar these two can sometimes be. I don't even remember her doing some of these crazy things, but here you go...

It's like she has her own version of photo bombing.

The Zoo

We thought we would take one last adventure before we headed home. So we before we started the long leg of the trip home, we went to the zoo. It was Lydia and Piper's first time going to a zoo since we don't have one at home. Most of the zoo seems to be under construction so it didn't seem like there was a lot to see, but I guess it helped get some wiggles out before we were stuck in the car.

The elephants were cool. There were monkeys. And sea otters, rhinos, a polar bear, a lot of snakes, and wolves. And that is about it. We live with monkeys. We have coyotes at home, which are almost the same as wolves. We have snakes too. Oh and we even have a bear--that is one of the reasons we have Raider. We have fish which could easily take the place of the sea otters. The zoo doesn't have too much on us!

Down on the Farm

Alright, if I knew about this stop on our adventure, I would have hired a photographer to meet us there, and we could have gotten our long over-due family pictures. This stop was to Wheeler Farms--a historic working farm. This was the stop that Karmin was most excited about. My mom is right that Karmin was born to live on a farm. They had ducks that we got to feed (and in some cases, pet), they had random animals that we could look at, and old rustic barns that we could take pictures in front of. BUT, milking the cow was what we came all the way from home to do! We all got to milk the cow. That was a lovely experience. It was a cute place, and the last stop (besides dinner) on our adventure for the day.