St. Nicholas Day 2010

Our family has taken on the tradition of eating our Santa Clause gifts on St. Nicholas Day which is December 6. Here are some photos of this event.

Brighton got a train set ....

and a Dora the Explorer game for the computer.......

and a sled!

Our humble tree with all homemade ornaments and garland.

Lilly got a big ol' play kitchen with all the food and dishes accessories to boot!....and her pink tu-tu that she loves!

LA Beach Day

We went to LA for a day trip desperate to get some sunny warm weather.

Leo and Lilly flying a kite on the beach in LA.

These are a couple starfish we found on the beach. We tried to bring one home but the dang seagulls stole it from us when we weren't watching.

Montana Thanksgiving That Wasn't

Quick Story:
We were supposed to go up to Billings to have a nice early Thanksgiving Dinner with Leo's dad and step-mom...The kids and I went up a couple days ahead of Leo since he had to work, well, come the morning of our Thanksgiving celebration, Leo got called into work and missed his flight. On top of that Mari got very sick and spent most of the day in bed, unable to spend anytime with the kids and I. And just to add to our mayhem, the turkey just WOULD NOT cook so what we did have for dinner were things prepped the day before and potatoes and gravy...basically it was a vegetarian thanksgiving that was missing one of the main hosts. We did have missionaries and a friend from Dan's work join us too, so the whole day was labeled. "The Thanksgiving that Wasn't" The kids and I flew back home that night...the turkey still wasn't done by the time we left.

Kids' Photo Shoot @ Papa Dan and Mae Mae's house

Being on a tight budget we set up a small photo shoot for the kids for their Christmas pictures at Papa Dan and Mae Mae's house during our "Thanksgiving That Wasn't" trip

Getting Lilly to stay on her seat was the hardest part. She thought it was hilarious to run toward the camera.

Then getting her to smile was a chore...She just did not want to cooperate.

Finally we got a couple nice ones.

This was the best we could get of the two of them....Lilly refused to let Brighton touch her or put his arm around her in anyway.

Brighton was just goofy. He loves his picture taken, but gets pretty cheesy about it.

This one melts my heart!

Silly boy!

Halloween 2010

Lilly was a cow(unless you ask her, then she was a horse)

My friend dared me to dress up with the kids, she lent me this spider witch costume. I actually had a lot of fun with it, except my dress kept getting caught in the heel of my 3" stiletto boots I had to wear with it since the dress was so long and I'm a shorty.

I took the kids to the local pumpkin patch and let the each of the kids pick out a pumpkin as well as one for me and Leo to decorate. They had a blast pushing(and being pushed) in the cart and finding the best pumpkins.

Our pumpkin creations although Lilly's had a little mis-hap so it's not shown here.
From left to right: Leo's, Liz's and Brighton's which he drew the face but had a little help cutting out.

Brighton's favorite animal lately has been the elephant so he begged and begged for an elephant costume(which wasn't easy to find by the way, but that's what we do for our kids).
He had fun pretending to be a baby elephant that swallowed a boy.

Montana Visit

The kids went with me up to Montana. The kids played at a friend's house while I went horseback riding with Leo's step-mom Mari. Here are a few pics of that trip.

Brighton went fishing with his Grandpa Fritz while we were there.

Logan Home Renovations

Our home in Logan before and after minor renovation photos.

Before After

Family Room

before After

Back Yard

before after

Dining Area

before after

Master Bath

before after

Bedroom

Front Entry Room

before after
Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Our 6th Anniversary-Fishing Lessons

For our anniversary this last year, Leo took me fishing and tried to teach me how to fish. I didn't catch anything but I sure got some good casting practice. Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids for us all day!

Leo and his Dad's Fishing Trip

Leo and his dad enjoyed a 2-day fishing and camping outing together.
First one in a long time and they both had a great time catching up, and catching fish!

Here are just a few photos from that trip.