9 Years Old!

Our little girl turned 9 this week! It is hard to believe she is getting so old.

We love having her in our family.

Hannah made up a game- Pin the Wings on the Fairy.

She made lots of wings so each kid could have a few turns.

Hannah loved having her family there to celebrate!

Hannah wanted a Pixie Hollow cake.

She and I put our heads together and this is what we came up with.

Happy birthday Hannah girl!

Eli Beat Mario Galaxy 2

Eli got Mario Galaxy 2 for Christmas and last Saturday he beat it. Less than 2 weeks after Christmas! Granted he got a lot of playing time the week after Christmas because he was sick, but still... this guy is amazing :)

Is it Spring Yet?

The kids got a trampoline for Christmas. We told them that we would set it up in the spring because there is too much snow in the winter. Well, it's been an incredibly mild winter (thus far) so we decided to enjoy the weather and set it up.

I guess if it snows next week you'll know who to blame!

Christmas is finally here!!!

The kids were excited to leave cookies and milk for Santa.

Christmas morning finally came. Since it was on Sunday this year, and we have church at 9:30, we told the kids we would open stockings before church, and then open presents after church. The kids did really well with this plan (I was a little concerned). They opened stockings and played with the big toys that Santa left unwrapped. Then they ate the little boxes of cereal from their stockings and got ready for church (in their new clothes from Santa).

Jonas got his two lawn mowers that he had been dreaming about for the past two months.

Hannah got her vanity. We took it upstairs the day after Christmas and it looks really cute.

Brady wanted to try out all of the kids new stuff too :)

One of our family Christmas traditions is to wear our jammies all day long. This year was a little different, so we told the kids they could change back into their pajamas after church if they wanted. First I grabbed a few pictures in their Christmas Sunday clothes. Everyone changed back except for Eli.

Here's Eli with the Kiddie Zoom camera he wanted.

It even has video and lots of games to play.

The kids had fun putting on shows throughout the day.

More Christmas Miscellaneous

Everyone was excited to get the Christmas decorations out.

I guess Eli was especially excited to unpack this elf he made last year :)

Jonas found a new home for his puppies.

It was Hannah's turn to put the star on the tree.

The kids painted wreaths to hang around the house.

We got to meet Cameron finally! He is too adorable for words.

We love when Luke and Ashley and their kids come to stay.

The kids have a ball just playing together.

Carlie and Conner came to stay with us for a few days.

We had so much fun with them.

My heart melted every time Conner called me Bebee.

It snowed while they were here, so we ventured outside.

Carlie has extremely good aim for a four year old.

We did a little nativity play for family home evening one week.

Hannah was Mary (she is riding a donkey in this picture), Eli was Joseph,

Jonas was an angry shepherd (his interpretation),

Brady was a wise man, and I was an angel.

I like to have the kids use their leftover Halloween candy to make gingerbread houses.

It's a win-win situation. I was impressed with the kids' use of imagination

in constructing and decorating their houses this year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Grandma Skidmore Christmas Party

We look forward to Grandma Skidmore's Christmas party each year. There's always lots of good food, family, and fun. We had a blast. The kids love the piñata (grandma is a pro at filling a piñata!) The kids talk about the party for weeks before and after.

Happy Anniversary

Brady and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this month. It's hard to believe it has been that long, and then it's hard to remember not being together. I couldn't be happier :)