Christmas 2015

We had an awesome Christmas!  Christmas eve we went to Derk an Debbie's for a delicious prime rib dinner. The kids reenacted the Christmas story then Debbie read us the story of the Christmas orange and told us a story about grandma Archie and grandpa Hollis and how an orange was one of the few gifts they got on Christmas.  The kids then opened their presents from grandma and grandpa and Kyle surprised his family with a trip to Disneyland!  We had dessert and then headed home to wait for Santa.  The kids had a hard time winding down, especially Kinlee.  It was 11:00 pm before she finally fell asleep.  Then, Connor was up at 2am begging to open presents.  Finally at 5:00 I let him wake everyone up and open presents.   After opening presents we went to Nana and Papa's for breakfast and more presents.  Breakfast was delicious and the morning flew by!  After breakfast we went to Derek and Nicole's to talk to Taylor.  It was so fun to see him and talk with him.  My favorite part was when Nicole asked Matthew if he remembered Taylor, we all laughed and reminded her he's only been gone 7 weeks.  The rest of the day was spent napping, playing with toys and visiting with family.  I can honestly say it was a perfect day.

This has been an amazing year and I'm so grateful to spend it with the people I love.  Here is our top 10 of 2015:

1.  Matthew and Kinlee learned to ride their bikes with no training wheels.  Kinlee tried it first, Matthew saw her do it and decided he was going to do it too and the rest is history!

2.  Rory began his job as a detective for Carbon County and received the Employee of the Month award for the month of May.

3.  Connor received his Arrow of Light in Cub Scouts and promoted to Boy Scouts.  He also received his Hunter Safety certificate and ran for student council President and won!  This is his last year of elementary school before he's in middle school, so crazy!  He is still playing baseball, basketball, and tackle football.  He also does guitar lessons and Musical majors, so he is one busy kid.

4.  Kadee joined Musical Majors (an after school singing group at Wellington Elementary) and got to sing her first solo at the Christmas concert.  She also did cheer for a few months in the Spring and is now in dance and absolutely loves it.  She is still in Gymnastics and is working on perfecting her back hand spring.  She is an awesome student and was picked to be in an accelerated learning program at school called Peak.   

5. Kinlee started Kindergarten!  She has started to read and learn addition and subtraction.  She loves school and loves her teacher, Mrs. Penry.  She also started dance this year and loves Mrs. Tori and making up dances in our living room.  

6. Matthew started his second year of preschool.  He played t-ball for the first time this Spring and totally loved it.  He took it very seriously and even whacked the ball several times, we have another ball player on our hands!  He is our animal lover and outdoorsy kid.  If he has shoes on when he goes outside we are all shocked, lol!   

7.  We finished the new house and moved in April 25, 2015.  It is so wonderful to not be renting and each of the kids has their own room. 

8.  We adopted our puppy Maggie.  She is a German Shepard and is so lovable.  She loves to learn tricks, bite ankles, and play with Connor.  She has been a fun addition to the family.

9.  We were able to go on a few camping trips, a few trips to the Living Planet Aquarium, take in a bee's game and Jazz game, visit Fish Lake, spend a long weekend in Glen wood Springs CO., spend a few weekends in St. George playing ball, playing at Sand Hollow and a girls weekend to the Tuacahn.

10.  We have been blessed with the best family and friends. I am so looking forward to 2016 and what the future holds for our little family.  

Christmas Cheer

 Last Thursday the kids had the opportunity to perform at care centers around the area.  I was invited by their teacher, Mrs. Grant to tag along and run the music.  It was an amazing experience.  The kids sang a handful of the Christmas songs they've learned in musical majors and and completely rocked it.  Kadence even got to sing a short solo.  It was so fun to follow them and be apart of the experience.  I liked it better than their big performance because I could really hear them and watch them on an individual basis.  My very favorite song they sing is, "Over the River" because of the way the music is put together.  Kadee's favorite song is,"This Holiday" because that is the song that she sings her solo in, and of course Connor likes, "Silly Holiday Song" because he gets to tell jokes in the middle of it.

Friday Kinlee's Kindergarten class made their Christmas Candy trains.  I had to work at the school, so grandma Debbie helped her.  They got their aprons on and went to work.  I had bought Kinlee some extras to put around her train so she had gingerbread men and a candy tree as well. She had lots of fun with grandma and was so excited to bring her train home.  At first she wanted to save it until Christmas, but the candy was too tempting, so her and Matthew ate several pieces.  That night Max Powers decided it looked too good to resist and he helped himself to some of it as well.

 
Finally last Saturday Connor got to go to a Jazz game with his dad and grandpa Derk.  They had really really good seats so he got a visit from the Jazz Bear and Matt (Taylor's dad) gave him a basketball and wrist band.  I think it was one of the best days of his life.  This Saturday he played in his first Jr. Jazz game of the season.  He played awesome and his team won!  He loves his sports and is seriously obsessed with basketball right now.  I'm super proud of him and all the effort he puts into school and the things he loves. 

Thanksgiving Fun!

Kinlee had her Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program today.  It was so cute, they do sign language in it so she has been practicing at home.  She thinks sign language is Spanish so every time she practices she says, "Do you want to see my Spanish?"  Haha. Yesterday Kinlee got the Wellington Warrior Award for self control.  They only pick 2 kids out of each class each month so I'm pretty proud of her for getting this award.  Her teacher said she has been working so hard in school and is very well behaved.  

Matthew is so excited for Christmas he can't stand it.  We drew names this year and he got my name so he wrapped a present for me and wanted to put it under the tree so bad.  He begged Rory all day Sunday to put up the tree but Rory kept telling him no, so the next thing you know he's grabbed Kadee's mini tree out of her room, gotten the step stool to get in the totes to get out a few ornaments, and sets the mini tree up in the living room while singing, "Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree..." over and over again.  That kid is a problem solver and was so excited to put the present he got me under the tree.  He had his preschool Thanksgiving Feast today.  They made the cutest tee pees out of ice cream cones and frosting.  We took mashed potatoes and there were a ton left over, he told his teacher he needed to take them home so his dad could eat them.

Kadee and Kinlee both danced at the Helper craft fair this past weekend.  They were so adorable and were so happy to have Nana, grandma Deb, and grandma Rhea there to watch.  Nana even bought some fudge for her and Kinlee to share.    

Connor at our Veteran's day scout program

Kinlee made this Turkey Feather in school

Meet Maggie

Last weekend we had a birthday party for Matthew at McDonald's, it was a week early, but we will be in Mesquite for a baseball tournament on his actual birthday, so we celebrated a little early.  We invited his very best friend Myles and Kadee brought along her friend Baylee.  Nana Kelli, Grandma Debbie, Grandma Rhea, Zac, Devin, Booga, and Landon all met us there to have lunch and cupcakes with the birthday boy.  It was a fun little birthday party and Matthew loved opening his gifts and the blue cupcakes (as you can see in the pictures).  I can't believe he is going to be 4.  He is in such a fun stage!  He loves trucks, dad's phone, riding his bike, preschool, grandma's house, blocks, jumping off the couch (not allowed but he does it anyway), playing cars, house with Kinlee, reading books, and playing any sports the older boys in the neighborhood will let him play.  His favorite people are grandma Debbie, Myles, Logan, & Zac.

Saturday we went and picked up one of Bella's puppies.  She is so happy at her new home, but was so excited to see us!  We miss her so much and wish we could have kept her, but she had no where to run and now that we have a fenced in yard her new owner doesn't want to give her up.  Anyway, we picked one of her puppies and named her Maggie.  She is so adorable and is already so spoiled.  We love cuddling with her and playing with her, except Kinlee, for some reason Kinlee is terrified of her.  She is deathly afraid that the puppy is going to bite her toes!  Luckily we have avoided any serious toe biting and have had a great time getting to know our sweet girl.  

Red Ribbon Week!

Yay!  Our favorite week of the school year is here!  The kids and I love Red Ribbon Week and have had a fun time dressing up and talking about why we don't do drugs.  Kinlee informed me that if anyone ever asked her to smoke she would scream no and run away!  To kick off Red Ribbon week, the PTA had a Halloween carnival last night.  We went after Connor's guitar lessons, the kids all really liked it, but Kinlee loved it.  I have never seen a kid more excited about a fishing pond and sucker pull in my life.  I didn't think we'd ever convince her that it was time to leave!  Connor and Kadee got to scare people in the Spook Alley and Matthew was content digging in the sand with some other boys he met there. 

Today Connor got to go to a Student Council Leadership Training at BYU.  He got to wear his Student Council President shirt and ride the bus up to attend some classes there.  

Monday- Red, White, and Pink day!

Tuesday- Backwards hat and shirt day!

Wednesday- Super Hero day!

Thursday- Crazy Hair day!

Friday- Halloween costume day!

Fall Fun!

Fall is here.  The leaves are changing colors, the mornings are cooler, and the kids have already had their first sickness of the season.  This past fall break Matthew and Kinlee ended up with a nasty stomach flu.  So instead of doing all the fun things I had planned we were stuck inside disinfecting and trying to get the kids feeling better.

The Wednesday before Fall break Kinlee had her Kindergarten Park day.  They had a great time and Mrs. Penry is so much fun!  They played and played, had lunch, played some more, and had a leaf war.  You could tell all the kids really enjoyed themselves and Matthew had a great time too!  Kinlee was also in the the local newspaper!  Our superintendent posed as Christopher Columbus for her class to learn about Columbus day and Kinlee was chosen to be in the picture with him.

That night grandma Debbie had her annual witches (and monsters) party.  The kids love it so much and have really enjoyed this fun tradition.  She made them soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, magic punch, and purple cupcakes.  They played games, did a few crafts, made a magic potion, and then went on a scavenger hunt to find the wicked witch.  Matthew and Kinlee were mesmerized and loved every minute of it.  The girls and Landon had a great time too, they've just done it for several years now so they weren't quite as excited.  Connor got to dress up as the scary witch this year and was so excited to jump out and scare the kids, he looked pretty scary too, he had been hunting and had shot an elk so between the mask, crazy hair, and gross clothes he made quite an impression.  

Connor's last picture of the football season

Kadee's Blog

I think I should rename this blog Kadee's blog, since all my posts have been about her lately.  She has just been doing so well and has been my little super star!  First off, she switched gymnastics groups and absolutely loves her new instructor, she loved her old instructor, but stopped progressing with her so I decided it was time for a change.  She also began a hip hop dance class, it's only a 1/2 hour once a week, but she loves it and can't get enough.  Last week she was chosen to be in the PEAK (gifted and talented) program at our elementary school.  She was the only one in her class who was chosen!  At the end of last year they all took a test and apparently she did really well and was chosen to be a part of this elite group.  They will start meeting weekly and will get to do different activities with her PEAK adviser and the other students who they have chosen to be in the program.  Another fun thing is she received an award at school yesterday.  Each teacher picks 2 students who they feel goes above and beyond in the classroom.  Kadence was chosen from her class and received a certificate and a goody bag.  I sure am proud of her and all her accomplishments!

Connor just finished out football season and has been hunting with his dad.  Rory got a bull elk tag for some private property up Indian Canyon, so they hunted and scouted for elk all weekend.  Connor has been making tons of progress in Boy Scouts and attended his first Court of Honor last week.  He received his first badge for completing the requirements to enter boy scouts.  He has been attending pow wows to earn merit badges and should have his tenderfoot by the end of the month.  He has worked so hard on his sports, scout stuff, and at school.  He also studies daily for the constitution bee and spelling bee.

Kinlee is loving Kindergarten.  She comes home singing songs, doing sign language, and practices teaching "her own class."  She has started reading and I get to volunteer in her class on Fridays.  This last Friday they were learning all about Johnny Appleseed.  They made adorable pot handle hats and I got to give them apples and worms (the apple peelings).  It's been really fun going into her classroom and I love getting to know all her little friends and classmates.

Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, where do I begin?  This kid certainly keeps me on my toes.  He has been going through the "terrible three's" and is a rough and tough boy all the way.  He loves playing barefoot outside and visiting the neighbors across the street without telling me.  He loves preschool and is starting to talk even better.  His speech teacher has helped him tremendously as well as his preschool teachers and the kids in his class.  He loves to have stories read to him and his all time favorite thing is playing on dad's phone.  He is cute as a button and has a smile that melts my heart.  He loves grandma Debbie's house and shopping at me-mart (Wal Mart).