Our Elf is Back

Christopher is back! This little guy came to our home one year ago around the end of November. He was left on our doorstep by someone that we can only assume was Santa. He came with a little book that told us who he was and why he had come to our home. Our little elf was to watch all through the month of December and see how the girls were acting. He would then report back to Santa on Christmas Eve so that Santa would know whether they had been naughty or nice.

Well, tonight he reappeared!  He is back to watch for another month and see how good our girls are being.  The girls know the rule that they aren't allowed to touch Christopher or it will ruin the magic and he won't be able to come again.  Nevertheless, they watch him constantly!  They even gave him some small friends that he could take with him as he moved around the house.  These two monkeys were his best friends for an entire week.  He must have gotten tired of carrying them around with him because eventually he was back to just being by himself.  He is a good little elf and we are so glad that he comes to our home each year!

Mowing the lawn: a picture documentary

This is my dad. Better known as, Grandpa Ken.

This is Aeva.  She and Grandpa Ken are good buddies.  They hung out quite a bit this summer as my dad became one of the regular "babysitters."  Aeva was typically the only one home for him to watch.  She took advantage of having Grandpa all to herself.

My dad has a hard time holding still.  That is a good thing for Troy and I.  He could rarely hang out at our house for very long without finding something to work on, do or fix.  Usually when we arrived home from work we would find the lawn mowed, dinner on the table and 3 happy girls running around.

Aeva is usually on Grandpas lap as he mows the lawn.  This day she happened to have my camera in her hand as they made their rounds.  I think Grandpa was happy to have her hands occupied by something besides the steering wheel.  Here are a few of her photos (a few of MANY).

Thanks, Grandpa, for always being around to help!  We love you!

Discovery Time

Discovery Time at the library is one of the ways that Aeva and I pass our Monday mornings. A little singing, dancing, learning... and to top it all off, a craft with a snack at the end! How can you beat such fun?

Did I forget to mention the bubbles?  How could I forget such a thing?  After all, these aren't just ordinary, run of the mill, type bubbles.  These are the super, dooper, magical bubbles that never ever pop.  In fact, if they do pop, it is a prerequisite that they be somewhere in your hair.  Every week Aeva and I leave looking like we have a severe case of dandruff.  A definite highlight.

Darby

This is Darby. She is my oldest niece. This used to be the little girl that I would take everywhere with me.  When I left for my mission, she was just over 2 years old.  After I left, she kept looking for me because she didn't understand where I had gone.  When her mom wrote and told me that Darby had put on her coat and told her to "Come on!  We're going to find Tiffy"... it about killed me.  Now look at her!

These are a few of her Senior pictures.

How'd she get so big?  I guess another way of putting it is...how did I get so old?

We're proud of you, Darby!

Cutest bed ever.

A few weeks ago I stayed over at my moms. When I got home the next morning, I found this.

The girls had slept in our bed in my absence.  Does it get any cuter?

The Bulldog Boutique

Valley Elementary had their annual fund raiser but they did something new this year. They had people "rent" a table for $20 and sell things. The $20 went toward the fund raiser along with 10% of all the sales from each table. Kids had a great time "shopping" and I have to imagine that the school made money off of it. Here are a few of the things we found.

Face painting that actually washed off!  

Hair feathers/colored hair extensions that clamp into hair along with some big daisy flowers.  

We also found some scrumptious caramel apples!  They are one of my favoritest things in all the world.  I must have been too excited to eat them and didn't take time to snap a picture.  My bad.  We also found Geod rocks and of course, candy.  Girls had a great time.  I think I have some professional shoppers in training!  I will never shop alone.

Trapper's Loop

So don't judge me but...I took some pictures while I was driving a few weeks ago. To help you not judge, I will explain. I was going over Trapper's Loop and was running a bit behind schedule. The Fall colors were amazing but I didn't have time to stop.  So...I looked around.  4 lane road, no other cars in site and no large animals waiting to jump in front of my car.  Sure, I thought, I'll snap a few shots. 

They turned out quite well considering I was snapping blindly.  Pretend the guard rails and power lines don't exist :).

The Alphabet

Starting around October, the alphabet became a very big part of Aeva's day. She all of a sudden wanted to know what all the letters were called, what sound they made and how to write them. Since then she hasn't stopped. This little girls loves to write letters and names.

Too bad Kindergarten is still a year away.  This little girl is ready to go!

Park City 2011

Our annual Park City trip has come and gone. Each year, as we drive home, the girls ask the same question, "Can we go back twice a year?"  Apparently once isn't cutting it.  They LOVE hanging out with the entire family, eating junk food, shopping and staying up late.  Can't say that I blame them.  Those are a few of my favorite things to do as well.  Here are a few pics to recap.

The famous and annual tradition of buying, decorating and eating Taggart's cookies.

Aeva said she could see a bunny in her hot chocolate.  Can anyone else see it?  It is mostly just the ears coming up from the spoon.  She is seeing lots of this kind of stuff lately.  I attribute it to her Mu'art preschool.  Very artistic.

They had some foam Halloween cut outs to make pictures with.  Before I knew it, they all had black eyebrows and mustaches.  Funny girls.

Gracie was feeling sad for some reason and went to lie in the bed.  Troy decided to cheer her up by teaching her how to sneak up on herself.  First, the approach.

Second, the pounce.

And finally, the smooosh.  Gracie has a pretty big smile on her face.  I think she likes being smoooshed by her daddy.  I think daddy might like it too.

Since we were lucky enough to have Danny come into our family we have decided that he should be taken advantage of.  We brought up the ukulele and had him teach the girls a few notes.  They did awesome.

Here we have Troy and his dad playing throw things into the air on the baby blanket.  Aeva and Amber thought this should go on forever.

We found this ski chair while walking out to the cars.  Kids thought being orange was cool.  

Kati's birthday lunch at Cafe Rio.  Soooo yummy!  Happy Birthday, Kati.  So glad you were born so that we could feed ourselves every October!

Our annual craft table.

Hangin out on the deck.

Maddie's hot purchase.  How come I don't look good in hats?  Oh yeah, because my ears poke out.  Now I remember.  Maybe this hat would work since it would come down over them.  I may have to try it out if I ever get out of my sweats!

Maddie's self portrait.

Aeva's self portrait.  

All in al,l a fantastic trip (how is it that I didn't get ONE picture of us in the pool????).  I think we may need to have at least an extra Park City shopping trip sometime during the year so that the girls don't lose their newly developed skills!  I, as the mother, will take it upon myself to assure that it happens.  Any sacrifice is worth improving the skills of my children.  May I be blessed in my efforts :)