Christmas 2015

What a great holiday Christmas season we have had this year!

We got our traditional gingerbread houses made.

We really are getting good at this!

We had our traditional Christmas breakfast at The Grand with Grandma and Grandpa Butler. It was lovely.

And so much fun!

Pretty Girls!

Silly boys!

Once school was finished we got to go see the new Star Wars movie with the Sorenson. Uncle Nate's company had bought out a theater for their Christmas party and they had extra tickets for us. Even met Vader!

And Brittany created this great ensemble complete with Princess Leia buns! So cute!

We did Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so lovely.

I made these  three adorable girls matching mermaid tails.

And then this morning we had one of the best Christmas mornings ever!

I really wish I could freeze time. Our kids are so fantastic and fun at the point. They are always so fun on Christmas morning. They should never be allowed to grow up and be anywhere but here with me on Christmas morning!

I mean look at this enthusiasm!

The weather cooperated so we were able to go down to the Sorenson for dinner. Aren't these three the cutest?

And we even got to hang out with this cutie! The only thing our day was missing was a cute small person and we got to borrow Nate's brother's adorable Aubrey. Perfect! She liked pretty Brittany and her sparkly jewelry.

Such a lovely Christmas full of family and love. I am feeling so blessed and grateful.And tired. Just a little tired!

 

 

Valentine's Day 2015

Well its been a few days but I feel like I should post some of the fun that we had here for Valentine's Day. Josh finally got the chance to make a big fancy Valentine's Day box for school. He wanted to make Iron Man. Of course his big sister helped, and we discovered spray paint was a much more fun way to paint such a big thing. It turned out awesome! 

For Valentine's day there were lots of balloons and heart-shaped treats! I think Valentines Day is such a fun day to show everyone how much I love them. And I received a note from Josh, apparently I'm covering all of his important needs!

Christmas 2014

Such a fabulous Christmas we have had! This last week with the kids out of school has been great! We snuck a few extra holiday things in. Like walking around the light displays at the Laytin City Park. The kids had complained that we always drive through but never get out and walk around. So this time we did get out, and it was fun! But cold!

Then we had Christmas eve at Grandma's house. The kids we sitting so cosy on the loveseat I had to take their picture. Not that they cooperated. And had scary eyes.  Then we came home to our beautiful neighborhood. Two families prepped luminaries for everyone and it was so pretty!

Christmas morning! So fun! That blur is Matt running for his victory lap in the basement, he was pretty excited about the tablet Santa bright him. His siblings were pretty happy too.

That top left picture is the kids opening a family gift together. Like a Tazmanian devil got it! Brittany always makes a present fort around herself. Then we had a great, lazy day playing video games, putting Legos together and eating.

Such a lovely, beautiful day. It even snowed giving us a white Christmas! I'm so grateful for my fantastic family and my knowledge of my Savior's birth and sacrifice, especially on days like today.

Halloween 2014

Another great Halloween has come and gone. We love Halloween! Not so much the scary or the gory but we are big on imagination and pretending to be someone else.

 

I got to help in Josh's class this year where his two buddies had also draws up as Avengers.
 

The next day, on Halloween,  we had no school! I wish this could be how Halloween worked out every year! Because there was no school some of the neighborhood girls planned a fun party. Again, the Avengers struck together.
 

That afternoon we all got ready for the annual Halloween party at the Dopps' house.

We love this party every year! It is laid back and fun, just like the Dopps! Lots of candy and seeing people we love, plus it is a fun place for us all to go dressed up! This year we again judged and presented the awards Brittany made.
 

This is where we get a shot of the whole family. Brittany was the Winter Solider, Matt was Star Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, Josh was Captain America and William and I were the Marvel parents supporting them. This year we again judged and presented the awards Brittany made. It was so hard! Then we went home and Josh trick or treated with the Avengers. Matt went with s friend and Brittany went to a party

I can't believe how big my kids are getting but I an really grateful they still like to hang out with us!
 

I took a few pictures of some of our Halloween decorations before I put them away, just for posterity!

Christmas 2013

Here we are in the new year and I have not documented this great Christmas we have just finished.  Although it was full of an unusual amount of disgusting illness it was still very fun. This post will be long but full of the fun we had this year. 

 We made our traditional gingerbread house village while we watched the new version of The Sound of Music, also a tradition from William's youth.

 The finished village!

 We also had our yearly trip to The Grand, courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa.  It was a beautiful morning full of good food, the best company and all the loveliness on display for the holiday at The Grand.

 The whole crew in our holiday best!

 The grandparents who make it possible for us to have this lovely tradition.

 I was lucky enough to enjoy my yearly Christmas party with my best girlfriends. It is one of my very favorite nights of the year!

 Finally Christmas morning came! Despite Matthew, Josh and I catching a nasty bug which made the night seem extremely long, and which caused us all to sleep in longer than we ever have before on a Christmas morning, we had a fantastic Christmas morning.

Some our favorite gifts. A homemade Fez made by Brittany for Josh, new scrapbooks from Mom for all the kids, Matthew's long wished for artillery vest and new airsoft gun, and the embroidered doll begun by Brittany and finished by Mom.

 There was a great big gift from Dad which came in the form form of a wonderful new family room which was a great place to play games and have nerf wars, since it is still waiting for furniture.

The three kids that make every Christmas so much fun in their new BYU attire. 

It was another great Christmas, so much fun that it makes me sad that it is over. But there is always next year to look forward to!

Halloween 2013

 I haven't blogged in forever but we just had such a great Halloween tonight I just have to document it. I may say this every year  but this one really was our best ever. Here we are at the reinstated, wonderful Dopp family Halloween party. We are so glad to have this tradition back. It is a great gift our friends the Dopps give us and one of the few Halloween traditions we all participate in together. I can't seem to get the great pictures Circe texted me off my phone but I will steal some when she blogs them.

 This year Brittany pretty much took care of herself in the costume department. She came up with this idea, Miss Captain America, all by herself. Then she made the hat and tutu. I did help with the shirt but I have to say this was my easiest Halloween so far. Maybe having older kids is better than I thought.

She even added patriotic makeup!

Matthew was the first of my Duck Dynasty family. The boys love this show and being Willy was perfect for Matthew. He was awesome!

Josh was the younger brother, Jace I think. Isn't he the cutest redneck you've ever seen? The boys helped paint their spray-painted nerf guns with camo to complete their look.

Earlier in the week there was a school Halloween dance. I took the boys and was the mom, Miss Kay.

This is my new favorite picture. William even got into it and dressed up as Phil, the dad.

After Circe's party we hit the streets for trick-or-treating. This is Josh with his best buddies Tavin and Gage. His night was complete because he got to go with them the whole time. They cracked me up because at every house they would yell "attack!" and run at the house. Half the time they hit the ground and army crawled across the lawn. Silly kids. They were so fun though

Brittany was our candy distributor who later went to a party(!) and Matthew started with us an then ditched us to go with a friend. .

What a great night!

 

So how was your Halloween?

These are our best Halloween faces!
We had such a great day. We were so happy to get to go to the best Halloween party around. My friend Circe has been throwing this Halloween party since our kids were babies and she has gotten bigger and better every year. She used to have a pinata but after a few near misses with the bat it has turned into a candy throw. Definitely a highlight. Here everyone is waiting for it to start flying.

Doesn't this face say "Why in the world is that guy throwing candy off the deck at people?" Miss Marie Antoinette said it was definitely the best ever, and I would have to agree!

For some reason this year I really got into dressing up for Halloween. I guess it is more fun to think of Halloween costumes than being homeless! If you click on that picture you can see my super long sparkly eyelashes!

All in all it was a fabulous Halloween, the kind that reminds me why having kids is a total blast!