Ringing in 2017!

Since we couldn't get home for Christmas we headed to the ID land for New Years to be with family. I thought I'd kick off the party with a new hair do! My newest SIL, Brittney, hooked me up and I love it! 

 When fun uncle Adam got there he set up a fun "battleship" game for the kids. It was a hit with both big and small.

 We let Carter and Mollie stay up till MIDNIGHT! That is not a normal thing for us so it was a big deal for them!

 The games got started after dinner and we had a blast playing all sorts of games with the fam. And in true Reed fashion, there was enough food and snacks to feed an army.  Twice.

 Counting down and here's the cheers to 2017!

I don't have too many crazy plans for 2017..... but  I do want it to be a great year for our family and with that I want to focus on more family time. More FHE's, more game nights, more kid talks and kid dates and reconnecting with our extended family as well. So here's to the new year and starting things off great!

Christmas Morning!

Before we climbed in bed we noticed Santa had come! 

 Sometimes our excitement as adults isn't containable either! I'd be lying if I said I went to sleep quickly. But I finally dozed off....and was woken at 2:45 with all THREE kids standing by my bed and Brielle already stuffing candy in her mouth! I checked the time and almost died when I saw it! We quickly put all the kids back to bed and I think an hour or so later the girls were back sleeping but Carter never did go back to sleep! Darn kid!

At 6 AM we did finally get up to find that Santa did indeed come and no one was disappointed! Carter begged for the Hot Wheels AI track which actually is pretty cool but usually more money than Santa spends on his gift. I'll just say I'm thankful for online sales. All Mollie wanted was rollerskates and it just took a few days for her to master it. Brielle is way into Barbies and she saw the doctor barbie and she just had to have it! And Ry Ry loves babies and so Santa brought her a baby with a wagon. (Finding girls gifts this year was really hard! We already have all the girly stuff it seems!)

 Rylee wasn't too excited about the early morning but that quickly changed when she saw Santa had brought her treat cups with snacks in them! We also all got oranges so here is Mollie with them all gathered up in her night gown! Silly girl!

 And my famous LOOT pictures are all below. I like to document what we get every year just for fun. I make everyone do it every year. (my mom did it for me as a kid too)

Mollie's gifts

 Brielles gifts

 Rylee's gifts and trying out the new wagon.

 Carter's gifts.

 Chads and my gifts

It was fun getting the grandparents gifts in the mail. Lots of freeze dried food from the G&G Hymas including freeze dried creamsicles and fat boys!

 And more fun stuff from G&G Reed.

 The build a fort kit was a hit and we've all had fun playing in it!

 Merry Christmas to all! We had a wonderful Christmas and just stayed home all day and enjoyed the day! We had so much snow and several of the freeways were closed to Idaho. So we stayed in our warm house all day. We were also fortunate enough to help a family in our ward with some money who were in need and after a fun RS Enrichment activity we decided to start our own Christmas jar already for next year to help another family. We'll see how it goes but so far the kids love looking for spare change around town and adding it to the jar. I love Christmas and the feelings of peace and joy it brings! I am so grateful to my Savior for being so selfless to save my life. I love Him with my whole heart and look forward to the day we will live with Him again. Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Eve 2016

This is twice in a row that our Christmas Eve tradition of sledding had to be canceled because of not enough or no snow. (but don't worry....we had a VERY WHITE christmas) So we had to improvise! Of course we did the sugar cookies and that is always fun. Then we took off to the bowling alley. 

 Ry wasn't really a fan but the rest of us had fun!

 Gosh I love him.

 and all of them.

 Finally it was time for the christmas story and PJs! Carter STILL thinks its a real gift and is always disapointed when it's "just pajamas." Sorry kid.

 The girls were ecstatic to have matching night gowns! As you can see on Mollie's face.

 And little Rylee loves her's too and gets it out of her drawer to wear every day! Carter was a good sport.

 How blessed am I to have all these sweet little bodies. The excitement was through the roof but they weren't too crazy and we had a very enjoyable evening!

 Everyone then got their blankets and we snuggled up on the couch to watch Polar Express.

                                                       <3 love="" nbsp="" p="">

 And when it was bed time the kids all wanted to crash on the couch together so here they all are passed out by 9pm (with a little help of some kids melatonin...which I thought I was awesome for thinking of BUT I will never give to them again on Christmas eve.....)

 BECAUSE 2:45 AM came VERY EARLY!!!!! Stay tuned for Christmas morning! (no you did not read that wrong)

Other December things....

A few other things before I get to Christmas! Carter lost both his front teeth during christmas break. This picture shows one front tooth still barley hanging on but the one behind it was already grown in! We kept teasing him with the song "All I want for christmas is my 2 front teeth!"

 Chad's work had a big celebration of 50 years of no one being hurt at work! That is quite an accomplishment and so they celebrated with providing a nice dinner at Little America! It was a fun night and a yummy dinner!

 Several bosses stopped at our table and told me how great he was and how he was their "go-to" guy. I'm so happy to be married to a hard working man who does his very best at anything he puts his mind to, who is trustworthy and honest in all his dealings.

We got some nice gift certificates from the company and played a fun game and won a stud finder! He is quite the stud, isn't he?!

 Something I worked on all Fall was this beautiful bedroom set and bed! It was a chalk paint project and I love how it all turned out!

 Me and Mollie snuck away to go see Trolls. Perfect for her ......strange and very glittery for me.

 One of our dear friends and Carter's old primary teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer and on her last day of radiation we wanted to celebrate with her! I made up this cute photo and the kids helped me put together a poster to take to her house.

 We love Sis. Huffman and are so proud of all the tough things she went through to beat cancer! Her hair has started to grow back and it makes us all so happy! She is such a strong woman and even came to Carter's baptism the DAY AFTER she had her surgery to remove the cancer! I couldn't believe it! She has such a big heart and we love her dearly.

AND NOW ON TO CHRISTMAS!!!

Brielle is 3!

On Dec. 10 Brielle turned 3! She was so excited and it was the first year she understood what was going on. She wanted a new bike and at first she couldn't ride it but by the afternoon she was whipping around our island at a high speed. 

 We decorated up our christmas tree to help it feel more birthday like around our house. Here is Brielley with her grandpa patiently waiting for her party.

 And she wanted nothing other than a SUPER GIRL party! I have no idea where this fun idea came from and I never thought I'd be doing a supergirl party for my daughter! And she was so happy for it!

 As you can see. Look at that little face!!

 It was a simple party with grandparents and Eash's and it was perfect. She got tons of gifts, A favorite being..

 A super girl cape and mask. She wouldn't take it off for days.

 Cupcakes and friends!!

 And after the party was over she was quickly back on her bike doing circles in the kitchen! She's a pro now and we are looking forward to spring when she can take it outside!

 My little dear Bri...You ARE super girl! You can do anything you put your mind to and your strong and happy personality will take you far. You will be a good friend to many and have the ability to lift many. I love you more than you will ever know. You hold a special place in my heart and I'm so glad you came to our family.

 And just so I can always remember her sweet morning face....here it is. Who wouldn't smile at this sweet pic!Love you Bri Baby!! (woops she would yell at me for calling her baby!)