Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!

In the morning the kids start to decorate the gingerbread house. Hmmmm...maybe the oranges will help to offset all the candy tasting.Holiday games grinch style...Sara and I are a team!
Lunch after sleigh riding up AF Canyon.
The bowling tradition continues...everyone's excited!
The girls love picking out their pretty colored balls.
After bowling we headed over for pizza at The Pie. Pizza at it's BEST! Derek loves the greek and we ordered lots of cheese for the kids. We were blessed to have both sets of Grandparents & Dan with us this year!Brand New PJs. All the kids requested this kind...
We have our very own Santa...let me explain...I have been helping Kayli make a quilt and as we were trimming away the batting, Madi kept gathering up the scraps. After a few moments in front of a mirror she came out looking like this. The pose with the santa bag was her idea.Christmas Morning...Joy & Happiness!
Madi was thrilled to see a brand new pink cruiser. She has wanted a new bike for so long.
Sara proudly watches as her new barbie house is starting to be assembled.
Two amazing builders put together her 67 piece house. Sara makes a great supervisor. She is excited about the purple satin curtains, pink beds and the best feature of all - a sliding elevator.
We loved spending time with Parents/Grandparents but, we really missed being with cousins on the Butters' side this year.
G Judith & G Sherm spoil everyone with more presents.
Kayli, Tina, Kathy & Me
Each year we eat too much at Aunt Lynda's Famous Christmas Day Buffet. A tradition that has continued on from the time I was a little girl.

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Nothing is more fun than getting to go to school in your Pajamas...

Well, Maybe getting to sing Christmas songs in your pajamas at school.
Or, maybe getting to watch all the cute 2nd graders (especially the one in pink) sing in their pajamas.
LOVED IT!!

Holladay/Carlston Party

Delcious Food, Yummy Desserts, Darling Girls...
Little Amanda gives Kayli a present...
My Mom and Me
Cute cousins gather on the stairs for...
the chaos of opening presents all at the same time.
Santa Dan handing out gifts...
My Wonderful Dad, Jacob and Me...
All the girls singing Christmas Carols...
A Christmas Kiss - Kathy and Dave - Where's the Mistletoe?

what has Jake been up to?

Your looking at an amazing longboard project Jake has been working on at school. He even stayed after on Tuesday to finish the front side. This is just a view of the underside of the board minus the trucks & wheels. Down the front he just added three strips of black grip tape along with stripes of red, yellow and blue paint. Obviously, this is Jakes favorite class and he won't have a hard time pulling an "A" grade in Manufacturing. Great Work!!

Lone Star Taqueria - Fav Food!

We celebrated the end of BYU's first semester by meeting Abby for dinner on her way home from BYU-I. We loved having her stay overnight at our house even though it wasn't quite long enough. Our whole family will always love Abbs. Even Alli and Madi chose to not have a sleepover with cousins so that they could be with her.

Dance Events/Choir Programs

Alli was so happy that her dress came just in time.Alli is on the front row, third from the left.
Timberline Sing

These junior high kids really sing like a High School Choir. They are well taught, trained and disciplined. I wish they could have kept on singing for another hour. What an awesome concert! Mrs. Jolley (their choir instructor) is absolutely fabulous. I'm grateful my three oldest children have had the privilege to work with her. Here's hoping she won't be retiring anytime soon.
Timberline Troubadours.
Jake is in the middle, second row from the top.

The BEST song... The 12 Days of Christmas. After a standing ovation, they sang this song as an encore...
"Seven Swans a Swimming" made everyone laugh over and over again.



We had a crazy schedule packing the night full of both Dance and Choir Concerts...tis the season...The younger girls did a great job too and were so proud of their dances. Sara danced in Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Madi in Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.





NICE JOB EVERYONE!! We enjoyed every minute!

Christmas Boxes

Jake's working on a wooden project for school which sparked the little girls into painting this afternoon. Now, I have all these cute decorated shirt boxes to wrap my presents in.

Just Singin' in the Mall

Madi has been involved with the Ridgeline Singers this year. It's a school choir for 4th-6th graders and they practice once a week before and after school. University Mall was the place for their first Christmas performance. Even with the mounds of snow and icy roads many parents drove over to watch their children sing the beautiful songs of Christmas. I didn't want to miss out on this one and I'm grateful for 4-wheel drive. I really enjoy watching Madi perform. Her whole face lights up when she sings...she just can't stop smiling.
We Love You, Madi!

First Date

Brighton High School Christmas Dance - 25 years ago - December 8, 1984
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CHRISTMASTIME!!

Christmastime is in the air. Last week started the Christmas celebration for me as Kayli & I attended the opening night of Festival of Trees. I love reading about the different stories that are significant to the trees. I love the fact that everything is donated and then the money from everything bought is donated to Primary Children's Hospital. What a great "Gift of Love" that affects so many people.

The last couple of days we have been decorating our home. We started on family night and each day we add a little more. The girls helped set up the tree and Jake is the official train track constructor. I love being home listening to Christmas music...especially on cold snowy days and we've had a few. Today, we made and decorated sugar cookies and tonight we're getting together with some good friends from Albuquerque for holiday games and goodies.


Sunday night Jarrett, Sherm, Judith and Grandma Barber came for dinner. We had a great time eating, visiting and watching the Christmas devotional together.



Love Sac = Many good opportunities for snuggle time with Dad.