Kids in December and 10 years

We've had a fun cousin over a few times to play with Brett during the day.  They stay busy building houses and stuff like that.  :)

 Camille woke up from her nap one day with a fever.  You know this busy girl isn't feeling well when she just wants to lay down and snuggle.  Luckily the fever went away that night and she was herself again the next day.

 Eating popcorn from the big bowl.

 Keith was in charge of our ward's breakfast with Santa.  I helped decorate.  Our friends have this awesome Santa chair.  We were so excited to be able to use it.  Keith's dad got to be Santa since the real Santa was busy getting ready for Christmas.  Our boys totally figured it out, but were good at not sharing the secret.

 We scored a rubber ducky nativity set as a white elephant gift.  Camille thinks it's pretty awesome!

 Brett and I made gingerbread men and trees.  We ate a few and then put the rest in the freezer for next week.

 Christmas dancing in the family room!

Keith and I will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary this weekend.

We took our family pictures at the Mesa Temple this year to mark the occasion.

A little over 10 years ago this handsome man of mine proposed to me at this spot.

This is the day I went to the temple for the first time.

Afterwards Keith promptly took me to buy my first set of golf clubs!  :)

 We went to San Diego for our honeymoon.  My, we sure look young here!

 10 years later we've added these three cuties to our family, plus their baby brother who's busy growing in my tummy.  :)

Happy 10 years Keith!  And many more to come!

An update

Thanksgiving....  After Keith and a bunch of other guys played football at the park (and practically killed themselves doing it.  Really, they think they are so young and then they can't walk the next day!), we went on a walk as a family before heading home so I could make rolls.  I had my pies made the night before so it was great to just have one thing to do.  We headed to my brothers house in the late afternoon and enjoyed the best turkey I've ever had.  My brother was in charge of the turkey and he brined it and cooked it to perfection.  I'm still dreaming about that stuff!  All the other food was amazing too!!!

The kids all had tons of fun running around with each other.

The next day we spent at home, with Christmas music playing non-stop, setting up Christmas decor.

Camille loved our Little People nativity this year.  She's played with it a ton!

The boys set up the Christmas train.

We got the tree up.  As much as I LOVE a real tree, it sure is nice to pop it up and have the lights on it already.  Especially when there are eager little people waiting for Mom to get done with the matching ornaments so they can put on all the rest.

Camille playing with the nativity again that night.

She also can't get enough of these Santa hats.  She wears one every day.

Handsome coat boy before heading out to school.  It was so cold here after Thanksgiving!

 Coat girl!

 As I was doing some baking the other day, Camille was busy at the sink "washing" dishes.

I think she's really going to love what I've heard Santa is going to bring her this year!

 Our Relief Society hosted another Backyard Bethlehem complete with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, live animals, shepherds, and music.  It was lovely.  They opened it up for bringing families, friends, and neighbors this past Sunday and there were about 300 people that came!

Keith took our packages and cards to the post office this morning and most of our Christmas treats have been delivered.  I'm excited to make a few more treats just for us and start relaxing a bit more.  Just a week and a half left of school before the kids will all be home.  I'm so excited!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow is the big day and I am so thankful that all I'm making are two banana cream pies, rolls, and whipped cream!  The pies crusts are waiting to go in the oven right now!  I am definitely a side dish/dessert person when it comes to preparing turkey dinner.  Turkey's and I have yet to get along!

We put up this thankful tree last week for Family Home Evening.  We all added things that we are thankful for.  I'm sure we could have come up with more (maybe when the kids are older), but it has been a great reminder to me of being grateful for things, people, and experiences.  I've added a few more myself throughout the past week.

 One of my favorites on there is "Mars."  That was Brett's.  I didn't even know he knew about Mars.

That kid surprises me all the time!  Hope you have a happy day!

Grant's Piano Recital

Grant had his third piano recital this past weekend.  He played three songs, including Jolly Old Saint Nicholas.  He had practiced a bunch, and it paid off.  He sat there in his suit and played with confidence.  It was a proud parents moment for sure!  I love watching him progress and see him enjoy his talents!

I'll start with the biggest news...

It's a boy!!!! We're so excited!  Keith is thrilled that he'll have a foursome for golf.  :)

 Grant invited Keith's grandpa to the Veteran's Day celebration at his school.  He was the oldest Veteran there and had a good time being recognized for his service to our country.

 During Grant's free time at school that day he decided to make a card for Keith's grandpa.  A handful of other kids in his class thought that was a great idea and Grant came home with his card, plus six more.  One of my favorites said, "Dear Veteran, do you like ice-cream?"  Ha!  I love first graders!

 Two peas in a pod.

Grant's school had a color run.  We went to watch him and cheer him on.  He won't let me wash his shirt because he doesn't want the colors to wash out.  So it's just sitting in the laundry room.  I think I'll have to throw it in the wash one of these days or he'll never get to wear it again! :)

 We lucked out one afternoon when the electric company drove three big trucks onto our street and changed out an old electric box across the street.  Brett sat out front with a cookie and cup of water and watched the whole thing.  He was in heaven!

Grant got a new front tire on his bike this past weekend.  His last one split open.  He was so excited about his new tire and quickly organized a bike race around the coul-de-sac.   

 Camille is proving to be quite the athlete.  She is obsessed with throwing balls and can catch a football pretty well.  Her dad is soooo proud!  :)

 We spotted a praying mantis on our neighbor's bush.

 This little girl is also obsessed with having a glove (or a sock if a glove isn't available) on her hand.  It's the first thing she asked for this morning.

 Tub hair!

 It's so fun to see Grant learning to read and write so well.  He's started leaving me notes.  Here are a couple favorites:

This one was left on the bathroom counter after he wiped it down before school one day.

 And this one was after I took him to get a new suit.  I hope he keeps leaving notes like this forever, they really boost my confidence!  :)

 Grant had an awesome baseball season.  Keith coached him again along with some other great dads. Most of the team has been together now for a few seasons and they've really made a lot of progress.

 Grant was selected as his school's town council student of the month.  He got to dress up and get a nice plaque from the Mayor.  His cute teacher submitted a letter for him to be considered for this and she was thrilled that he got picked.  She even came that night with her new husband.  I love how enthusiastic she is.  We're proud of Grant for getting this award.  My camera quit on me right as Grant got his award so I only have this group shot.  You'll just have to take it from me that he was smiling really big and looking very handsome as he received his award.

Family Turkey

 Grant brought home a plain outline of a turkey from school.  We were to decorate it all together as a family.  So that's what we did last night for Family Home Evening.  I think it turned out pretty awesome!

Afterwards Keith pulled out his magic glowing thumbs and taught the boys how to use them.  We were laughing our heads off for a good half hour.