Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was full of family time and busy with projects that I stayed up way too late to finish (pajamas).
I got sick a week before Christmas and lost a week's worth of time to sew, wrap, and finish shopping.
Thankfully, Burke took most of the week of Christmas off of work and we were able to get things done.
We woke up Christmas morning, checked out our stockings, and headed to church. I was a meanie and made the kids wait until after church to open the rest of the gifts.
It sure made it last a lot longer than usual, and we had an opportunity for the kids to focus on the real reason for the season before the gift mayhem commences.

Another 'Do

I have been asked to do a class on hairstyles for our ward Relief Society, so I have been working on trying to figure out some ideas by reviewing old styles we have done, and adding the newer ones I haven't posted, so bear with me.
I have been organizing them on my Pinterest hairstyles board (which is completely amazing).

This style is a waterfall braid done on my youngest. I decided that it wouldn't stand up to a day of playing at school, so I combined it with an inside-out, or a Dutch braid, using the "fallen" pieces added in to the top of the braid. It turned out to be very pretty and relatively easy, although I wasn't completely happy with how I finished it. The bus was on its way, so we had to hurry.

Christmas Hair

Yep, I know I haven't done much with my blog, but I did these cute styles as the kids were headed out the door for their Christmas program at school. The bus was coming down the road as I took these shots, so forgive the blurriness.

We tried some new things, some worked; some not so much. But they were fun.

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and I resolved to exercise more and blog more, so check back and I will try to catch up and keep it up to date.

Getting Noticed

Nathan has finally noticed girls. Kind of. He came home from school and told me he thinks he might want some chlorine.
Hmmm....
Chlorine? I asked him why and he told me he thought it smelled nice.
Really?
Then...
I asked, "Do you mean cologne?"

Yep.

A Road Trip

We got home on Sunday, but I developed a cold and haven't done much besides laundry since we got back.
Our trip was awesome.
And was nine days long. 51 hours of that were spent in the old minivan.
Yes. 51 hours. We have a timer in the van that you can set if you ever want to see how much of your life you have spent in an uncomfortable front seat, throwing food to the kiddos in the back, begging for a potty break, or trying to change the cd to something everyone can agree on.

We got to see Reno, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Monterey Bay, Walmart in Fresno, Sequoia National Park, King's Canyon National Park, Yosemite, and the Walmart in Reno.

It was an adventure.
It was good.
It was hilarious.
It was frustrating.
It was exhausting.
It required multiple loads of laundry to be done in San Francisco's hotel.

But, it was great.
More to come when I finally get the laundry done.

A Special Birthday

Nathan turned 12 this year. Unbelievable. He has grown and changed so much over just the last year alone. It is hard to imagine him as the little baby I brought home from the hospital as a newborn with bowed legs (he was breech for the last 4 months of my pregnancy) and a cone head (vacuum assisted delivery).

He got a new DS for his birthday. We wrapped it in a giant box so he wouldn't know what it was. He was very surprised. So was Kade (and maybe a little jealous).

Here is his happy dance.

He got to pick a couple of friends to take to a little park nearby for a mini party. Burke took them and said they had a great time. I am so grateful for great friends. They are both a good influence on him.Nathan feels a need for speed.His friend Jordan.

His friend, Trevor.

He received the priesthood by his father the Sunday after his birthday. The next week, he got to pass the sacrament. He was so nervous, but did a great job. I think I may have been more nervous than he was (don't drop the tray, don't spill the water, don't trip, don't go to the wrong place, etc.) There was no need to worry. He has been fine (or the mistakes haven't been picked up by my mom-radar).

He now goes to young men's and I find I miss him in Sharing Time. He has a great time with the boys though, and seems to be fitting in well there too.

It is a great thing to have two priesthood holders in my home.

Annika's Dance

Annika is also involved in dance this year. She does one dance with some younger girls that is really cute. Her partner in this dance was a little nervous, so Annika urged her on more than once. It was funny to watch, but also encouraging that Annika knew her dance well enough to know what was coming next.
She likes to play in class a lot, but her teacher this year has been great and helped her a lot. She doesn't love dance though, so this will probably be her last year.
When I asked her what she wants to try next (piano, tumbling, etc.) she told me that she doesn't need to try anything, she would like to just come home from school and read or watch tv or play with her DS.
Then we talked about hiding your light under a bushel.
She still didn't get it.
So I may make an executive decision and try putting her in tumbling. She has had a bit of a motor delay since birth, and still struggles with gross motor skills a little. I am hoping tumbling might help with that. I guess we will see how much she likes it.

Here is her dance: