School Parties

 After Brielles birthday was over, Christmas was in full swing! Mollie first had her preschool party. Here she is rolling out some dough for a gingerbread man.

And here's the group having a snack.

 We read Christmas stories and sang songs until santa arrived!

 This is the first year mollie would get close to santa. She took it very seriously! I was proud of her for sitting on his lap this year. (Carter wouldn't get close to him this year at all, although he had no problem last year!)

 Brielle wasn't too sure about it either.

 I was asked to help with carter's school party too so I had to come up with a few activities. I made this snowball toss (thanks pinterest!

 

 

And then we made some snowmen!

 This ended up being a hit which I was really grateful for since I was stressing at the last minute on what I should do!

Sure is fun to see kids so excited at Christmas time! It helps me be excited at Christmas time!

Brielles 1st birthday!

 This last year has gone by unbelievably fast! My baby is ONE!! She was a pretty happy little trooper and she loved pushing this little toy around the kitchen to start off her morning. Walking is just around the corner!!

 She wasn't too sure about all the presents. Who wouldn't want a pile of presents taller than you!?

 Giving Minnie kisses

 Getting a few pictures before diving into the cake!

 I could NOT wait to see this little gal dive into her cake. She loves food and she LOVES sweet things. So I knew she would not hesitate at all to get some cake in her tummy.

 And dive in she did! She was a pink and purple mess and she loved every second of it until her hands got to messy to grab anymore cake.

 Then she was done and didn't want anything else to do with it!

 

And as always you have to have your 1 year baby check up. She had 6 shots! poor baby! She is still about 80th for weight, 30th for height and 8% for head. Short, fat, and big headed!

Sure love you little Bri. This last year has brought me so much joy! You are growing into such a beautiful girl and we all love you so much. You're excitement and laugh is contagious and I hope you will always bring happiness to our family. You are the sweetest thing ever and we all can't get enough of you! Much love baby girl!

Christmas Festivities

After our trip we hurried home to decorate our tree and house with lights! Brielle loved looking at all of the ornaments and lights and didn't get in to the tree too much.

The kids ooohed and aaahhhed over ever new ornament that was pulled out. Their joy is most of my excitement at Christmas time.

A new tradition we are starting is the Christmas concert sing a lot and energy solutions. The stadium was packed and everyone sang along. Santa came and many free gifts were passed out including cookies, and tickets to the Jazz and Bees games.

 And of course we had to hit up temple square. Which is always a good time!

 It was fun to watch Brielles face and watch her taking it all in.

 This is the best photo we could get but here is my sweet and growing family!

 Sure love these kiddos and what they mean to me in my life. I hope they will all go to the temple some day and realize the importance of it.

                                                                  I LOVE YOU!

Spokane Thanksgiving Trip Part 2

 On WEDNESDAY we took off to visit my brother, wife, and kiddos in Moscow. He is there for med school right now. He took us to a beautiful arboratorium that was across the street from U of I. Even though everything was dead it was so beautiful!

 The weather was perfect and the kids loved running around, rolling down hills, and collecting leaves, rocks, and anything else they could find!

 It was fun getting these kids together again since they haven't seen eachother since summer time. And little Ty man has grown and changed so much! Carter loved being able to hold him.

 

 On THURSDAY it was of course all dedicated to eating! Chet smoked 2 turkeys and
OH
MY
GOSH
It was the best turkey I have ever had!!

 Chet and Clark got the lucky job of carving the birds.

 We had tons of food! The Hymas' know how to do a feast!!

 I think for thanksgiving my kids ate a roll and some carrots but I wasn't about to ruin my meal by trying to force some food in their mouths!

 Grandma Reed made the kids some cute T day shirts and here they are looking as cute as ever!

 Thursday night we loaded everyone up and went to a movie. Big Hero 6 was a wonderful show! We really liked it and it will be one we buy for sure. Carter laughed so hard in it and Mollie fell asleep!
That night we gave G&G Hymas a gift that all the kids pitched in on. They are getting to have quite a few grandkids and here are most of them!

Friday was all about clean up and pack up. Mindy & I escaped for a few hours to do some shopping in the afternoon. Target is a great stress reliever for 2 tired gals! We came home much happier! and with a lot of Christmas items marked off my list!

The kids by this time were very exhausted. For the most part they did really good with only a few meltdowns. Poor Mollie was so tired one night she fell asleep mid way through her book!

 Saturday morning we hopped in the car and made the 6 hour drive to Butte MT. Half way there we got caught in a snow storm and it really slowed things down for a while. Glad Chad was driving and glad that we were in the other lane of traffic. The other side was at a complete stop.

 We reached MT and stayed the night in a hotel room. We woke up to 7 degree weather and drove on some more slick roads. When we stopped at a rest stop, Carter begged to get out and run around. And that he did! He ran and ran and ran until Dad came back from the bathroom. He even found a patch of ice to skate on for a bit.

After a quick stop in Blackfoot to see my grandpa we then made it home by sunday evening! We were so glad to be home after 10 days but so glad we went too! The kids already are asking when we are going back. Such a good time and such wonderful memories made. We are so grateful to Chet & Mindy for their hospitality and kindness.