Christmas Letter 2009

Merry Christmas to all of you!

This is for those of you who didn't get a Christmas Card for whatever reason...don't feel bad, we still love you! And besides, if you are checking the blog, you get lots of extras those who don't never see...Or for those of you who were lucky enough to get one, and are kind enough to check in on our family...we love you too! : )

Another year has nearly passed, and we have survived it!

Chris has worked hard this year, and done really well. He enjoys his job, and hopes to continue and excel in what he is doing. He and Wendi team teach the 14-18 year olds at church, and really enjoy that. Last spring, he worked really hard at getting our yard put in, and did a great job. It turned out very nice, and we have enjoyed all of the aspects of it over and over again. Plus, its good to not see dirt and mud anymore! : ) He spearheaded the planting of the garden, and was quite successful. We had lots of tomatoes and squash, and 3 pumpkins. Our poor little watermelon didn't make it, but that's ok, it was fun to attempt. In October he took us to California to visit his sister Debbie, and we had a great time. We went to the beach on a few occasions, which the girls LOVED, and went to Sea World--which they also loved. We went to Laguna Beach, and HAD to stop at the "famous" candy store where Chris would always get salt water taffy when he'd come to visit Deb. He had raved about it for days, so we had to go. We had a great time filling our bucket with the taffy, which was of course exorbitantly priced--but it was vacation, right? We get up to the cash register, and the owner of the store was there. So of course my wonderfully friendly and outgoing husband struck up a conversation with him, and asked where he got his salt water taffy. It had to be somewhere local-along the beach right? The store owner says, we get all our taffy from Salt Lake City--its the best you'll ever find. : ) You're kidding right? Nope. Sweets Candy, and Taffy Town are his suppliers. I guess no more trips to Cali for taffy--we just have to drive down town! : )

Wendi is doing well, and keeping busy with her 3 wonderful little girls. Some days its a little overwhelming, but this is what life is all about right? On the rare occasion that I have a moment to myself, I enjoy crafting and scrapbooking, and keeping up with old and new friends on Facebook.

You can tell who is the photographer in our family--there are very few pictures of mom! : )

Wesley turned 10 in June, and is growing up. He is doing well in school, and learning much. He is dearly loved and adored by his sisters, and he incites riot and chaos whenever he comes to visit, because they are so excited. He enjoys math and science, and likes Bakugan, Yugio, Transformers, and Spiderman.

Aynsli will be 5 in January, and is so ready for school--so is mom. She is currently enrolled in preschool and is loving it. She is a beautiful, happy little girl, who has the dreams and imagination of a giant. She loves anything princess, ponies and horses-especially riding them at Thanksgiving point, and crafting--anything to do with scissors, glue, markers, ribbon, stickers, is her domain. She loves to sing and does very well with lyrics and tunes. She also likes to watch TV, but don't call her a "grouch" potato! : )

Emalie is our spitfire and ham. She will be 2 in March, but has already hit those terrible twos. She loves to climb on anything she can, and usually does. The top of the fridge is about the only place we HAVEN'T found her. She loves her big sister, and copies everything she does. She loves ponies, babies, and Dora, and thinks that she can do anything Aynsli can. She is talking up a storm, and says lots of cute things. Right now its, "Santa Claus, ho ho ho". We sure love her!

Lily joined our family in August. We discovered she was coming Christmas Eve last year, and it was an amazing gift--one we weren't quite expecting, but now can't imagine being without! She is a beautiful, precious little one who has the entire family wrapped around her fingers. She is laughing, giggling, chattering lots, and starting to enjoy her rice cereal and fruit--just don't miss a bite while you are feeding her, or she will let you know!! She is the name sake of two of her great grandmothers, and we can already tell she is blessed with many of their wonderful gifts and qualities.

We hope that you are all healthy and happy, and enjoying this wonderful time of year when we celebrate our Savior's birth. May His choicest blessings be upon you now, and always.

Breakfast with Santa

This year we decided to start a new tradition. Having Breakfast with Santa. It was a great hit too. We went to the Grand America in downtown Salt Lake, and the girls had a fabulous time. For those of you not familiar, the Grand America is an incredibly nice and fancy hotel--I don't think Chris and I had been there since we stayed for our wedding night. They take amazingly good care of you, and Breakfast with Santa was no different. We had our own table, decorated with fine dishes and cute Christmas Candy for the kids. The buffet was AMAZING!!! From pancakes and sausage, to an omelet station, to macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and cookies. They even had an entire table where the food was at child level, and they could dish themselves. And the food was FANTASTIC!!! Yummy!!! We all enjoyed it. Santa and Mrs. Claus made a stop at each individual table, and visited with the kids. Then we got a chance to have our picture taken with them too. We got copies of the picture, and they were kind enough to email one as well. We were very impressed with how we were treated, and plan to make this a yearly occurrence for the children! Maybe next year you will join us too...

The evolution of language

It is funny the things kids come up with. They hear words, and when they speak them, they come out something totally different than what the original word really was.
For instance, when Aynsli was younger, gospel, was bicycle. So when we prayed, and thanked Heavenly Father for the gospel, Aynsli thanked Him for the bicycle.


Well, she's caught on to gospel, but last night Chris was helping her say the prayer:

Chris: We thank thee for the true and everlasting gospel
Aynsli: We thank the for the tree and letters of the gospel


And here is another one:

Aynsli is incredibly adept at picking up song lyrics (and tunes)!

For several months when we would drive in the car, we would listen to the Primary songs that they were practicing for the program. One of those was How Firm a Foundation. One day we were riding in the car, and had just listened to that song...

Aynsli: Mom, isn't foundation cement? (This from countless trips to visit our house as it was being built last year)

Mom: Yes, foundations are usually made of cement.

Aynsli: Then we are singing about cement, aren't we?

Mom: Well, yes, I guess, a different kind of "cement", but yes.

And a little more recently....

Chris grew up on the music of Abba--so when we found a CD for some of their greatest hits, he had to have it. We listened to it on the way home, and got through the first 4 or 5 songs.

The next day we were in the car...

Aynsli: I want to listen to the song about being in jail
Chris: What? There is no song about being in jail
Aynsli: Yes there is. It says, Before I met you, I was in jail....
Chris: No....

Flip through songs....guess what? Number 5 starts...Before I met you, I was in jail!


Too cute! What will she come up with next?

Halloween 2009

I still have so much catch up to do with my posts, its not even funny. However, I figured if I keep putting it off until I am current, it will never happen. So here are a few pictures from Halloween this year...

Mommy's little lamb--isn't she just so cute?

Thank goodness for Grandma--she can sew ANYTHING!!

Little Lamby

This is the only decent picture I have of all four children together. Aynsli is Maleficent, without her "horn hat"; Emalie is a pink panda bear, and that is the only picture with her hat even half on; Lily is a little lamb; and Wesley is the Thing!

More catch up...Vegas Baby! May 2009

In May we made a trip to Las Vegas. It was the first real family vacation we have taken. When we lived in Michigan, vacation was always coming to Colorado and Utah to see family. That was great, but now that we are by family, we get to "go" on vacation. It was kind of a spur of the moment trip, but a good one. The girls had fun, and so did mom and dad. I apologize for picture overload...

Emalie ready to go.

Aynsli set to go.

Dad and girls in front of the horse at PF Changs

Enjoying the Bellagio fountains

The fountains were a big hit with all of us

Amazing stuff

Another favorite...the Bellagio gardens...they are incredible! The flowers were absolutely beautiful, and they had a great butterfly display too.

Ladybug in flowers

Dad and his girls

Some gorgeous tulips

Mommy's pretty girl

Mom and her girls

The lions at the MGM were also fun to see--even though they were asleep

We stayed at the Tropicana--our room was on the top row of black windows, in the very left corner, just to the right of the big cement pillar. It had quite the view...

The Nascar Car at M&M World

We took a little drive up to the Las Vegas Temple

Both of the girls absolutely loved the dolphins at the Mirage

Dolphins are so cute!

The White Lions just wanted to sleep. They were cool to see though.

The Leopards were sleeping too.

Aynsli

For those of you who have known me for a LONG time, might recognize the significance of this picture. I just had to take it when I saw these in a boutique at the Mirage. Back when I was in high school, we found some cool material just like this--except that it also had glow in the dark lips on it too. My mom mad several pair of shorts for me and some of my friends out of it. They were a big hit. I think my brother Mat, might even still have these. Too bad we didn't think of selling them for $40 a pop.

Getting ready to swim. The girls loved the pools at the Tropicana. They didn't love however, being kicked out early, because of a private party for the Association of Professional Piercers, which was being held there---THAT, is a story for another time!!

View from walkway between Excalibur and Tropicana

We had a great time! I must admit, it was certainly different taking a family to Vegas, instead of just going with your girlfriends. It had been a long time since I had been there, and was a totally different perspective. The first thing Aynsli said was, "Eeew, what is that smell?" Cigarette smoke was obviously prevalent, and a new experience for her. Something I had NEVER even thought about...and then, there were those who were there with the Piercers convention. It was quite the site to see so many people dressed in black, with funky hair, and multiple piercings from head to foot. Our first night, as we were waiting at the elevator, there was a man, with a shaved head, who had horns implanted under his skin. There must have been angels surrounding my children, because I kept praying that little miss observant Aynsli wouldn't see that and say anything--because if she did, she would. And she didn't! Thank goodness for little miracles, and big angels! : ) All in all, we had a good time and made great memories!

Oh where to begin? And how to catch up...

I don't even know where to begin...updating the blog has been on my list of to do's for multiple WEEKS now, yet somehow it never makes it to the top. Usually when I have a moment of peace and quiet, I try resting my eyes, which I should be doing now, but this time I am going to try to get in an update or two... sorry the pictures are in reverse...

Front yard- complete with landscaping

Our little garden, growing away--we got several squash, some great pumpkins, and lots of tomatoes. It was wonderful for our first year...

Aynsli and Emalie enjoying the sand and the grass in the backyard. It is a great place for the girls to play.

APRIL-before yard

We put our yard in back in April. It was a lot of work and $$, but so worth it.

This is our front yard before sod.

Backyard, before sod, on a lovely rainy day...

Backyard before sod

Our sandpit, the day 21 tons of sand was delivered. Someday we'll have a trampoline on top, but for now the kids enjoy the sand.

Chris spent several hours and hard work making our garden box. It turned out great!