December

Wow! December was a whirlwind of Christmas activities, all while trying to enjoy a new baby. It was crazy, but I will try to share a few pictures so that although I can't remember much of it, there is some sort of proof that this December did actually happen.

There were all the school Christmas programs.  Mariah made the cutest little red-nosed reindeer I've ever seen when her class performed a reindeer song at the December awards meeting.

Then she switched for "cute" to "beautiful" for the Kindergarten Christmas program.

Mylie got to perform all her favorite songs from FROZEN in her Christmas program. So cute!

And Connor got to rap "Ice, Ice, Baby" in his Christmas program. Why? Their music teacher does an amazing job of incorporating all the kids' ideas into their play each year, with the 5th graders all having a costume and an individual part. It was a super fun show, and he did a great job!

Speaking of Connor being super cool, he finally got his mullet to perfection. And then we cut it the end of the month. But we were sure to get some great pictures first.

With the older kids all busy with school and activities, Brady and Lewis got to spend a lot of time getting to know each other. I think they're going to be pretty good buddies. Oh, and Brady got a haircut.

Mylie, Mariah, and their cousins Hannah and Sarah were finally able to take the money they had been earning to the D.I. to buy clothes to donate to an orphanage in Bulgaria.  They call themselves the G.C.C. (Girls Care Club) and they worked really hard on this project. I was so proud of them, and the checkout ladies even teared up a bit as they scanned over 30 pairs of pants, several jackets and 6 pairs of shoes. Their aunt Haley is going to hand-deliver their purchases to the orphanage when she goes to pick up her son, hopefully soon.

Santa came to our house--ya, right to our house! The kids were super surprised! Lewis even got to sit on his lap. And this picture shows Brady's feeling about Santa so perfectly.

Mylie turned 9. Halfway to 18 already! What? Pathetic that this is the only photo we took. I think we got some video, though.

 We did lots of fun crafty stuff. I didn't take pictures of it all, but I did capture a couple favorites. One day we had cousins over for some sugar cookie painting. The kids loved it, even Brady stayed focused on it for a long time.

 We also were able to go to Cokeville the week after Christmas for a gingerbread house party.  It is a tradition in my family to do real gingerbread houses, and my Grannie was visiting from Alaska, so we just had to do them this year! My sister, Tami, and her kids came, as well as a couple of my cousins with their kids. We had such a good time! The kids all loved it, but so did I. This is one craft that I always enjoy. I can't quite figure out why I don't ever want to try cake decorating, but I LOVE to do gingerbread houses.

Each time Brady would put a piece of candy on, he would say, "Woo-hoo! I did it!"

My Masterpiece

Oh, how I love this lady!  She is so amazing! I am glad that I was able to see her several times during her visit. She even made it over to my house TWICE! Love this picture of her and Lewis.

Christmas Eve, we went to Cokeville for my Grandma Teichert's Christmas party. Each kid performed a talent, and my grandma, who is 95 years old, even played a song on the piano. The kids all dressed Christmas-y for the occasion, even Lewis.

And finally, December wouldn't be complete without our annual trip to SLC for some family fun!  This year, we went to a new place, the Classic Fun Center. We had an AMAZING time there, and will probably go again.

And then, of course, dinner at Tucanos. Brady loves meat and was so excited when the first meat server came around and gave him some meat on his plate. When he saw the next server coming, he yelled out, "More meat!" just as excitedly as a kid could yell it. I thought they should hire him to do an ad for them.  We sure love Tucanos.