Let it snow

I have to admit that winter is not my favorite time of the year. However, I do LOVE the fact that my kids have so much fun playing in the snow. They made a cute snow family the last time that it snowed, and were so proud of their creations. Thank goodness that we are going to have snow during Christmas break. I foresee hours of fun on its way...

Christmas Dance recital

Abby switched dance studios this year, and is now taking at AED, which I LOVE! I think she will go wherever she can, because she loves dancing. But I love it because they have great teachers, do technique- yes, even at 6 yrs old, and they are serious about what they do. Do I wish that it was a little cheaper?....... yup. But who doesn't, right?

Abby was so excited for her costumes this time. She just had to model them right when she came home. Anyway, she is in Ballet and Jazz. Both of her dances were darling, and she is getting so good!!
She really has a knack for dancing. Abby always challenges her brothers to arabesque contests, splits contests (now that is a picture for the blog). She has her middle splits down, and is almost there on right and left. Jake loves dancing with her. Here she is warming up right before she had to go backstage.
Friends always make things more fun! Jane is in her class, and they are the cutest ballerinas ever!
Here is her jazz costume. Is it just me, or does she look like she is 16 in the picture?
The boys are always so good to come watch her dance. Riley was so cute, and proud of his little sister after the recital.
Way to go Abs!! You rocked it!

Polar Express

We took the kids to go see Santa and the North Pole on the Polar Express. They were so excited when they finally figured out where we were going. Everyone was so good on the train, and we had so much fun!Jacob was the most excited, due to his love of riding trains.

The conductor was so cute, and the kids were excited they got their tickets punched "just like on the movie!"

The kids were in heaven with their hot chocolate and cookies.

We rode on the train for 45 minutes out to the North Pole. Everyone was so excited to see Santa Claus out the windows! He went from car to car on the ride back, and spent time with each child.
There really was something magical about the trip. I could tell because Jacob actually sang the songs on the train, talked into the microphone, and talked to Santa!! It was such a nice night, and perfect way to start the Christmas season!!

Thankful for...

I have been thinking a lot about Thanksgiving, so I will more than likely do a "thankful list" post. But for now, I just can't imagine a day going by without my kids being silly with me, and just having fun. Now THAT, I am thankful for!

Halloween Festivities!

We had a great Halloween this year. I am happy that it is over... oh yes... I am very happy. The kids had a great time. Riley was a pirate- I don't think he ever wore his complete costume once- oh well. This is him, William, and Eli getting ready for their big night out.

Trick-or-Treating

Abby was a devil. She was happy that she had big Abbie to be with on Halloween, who was a genie. So cute!!

Jake was a pirate by day, and a dragon by night. He was smart and realized that he would be warmer as a dragon.

Preschool Program

Little pirate at his preschool Halloween program. Do you think he sang one song? No! I even bribed him with ANY toy that he wanted at Target. Um... still nothing. At least he was cute.

Trunk-or-Treat
I decided to dress our trunk up cute this year... I don't do spooky. Abby wanted to do a Hawaii theme, so she and I dressed up as Hula girls. I guess as hula-y as you can get w/ long pants and jackets. Tyler dressed as a Hawaiian tourist, but I never got his picture. We had a great turn out, and the kids had a ton of fun!

Halloween Parade at school

Riley, Abby, and Jane as Dorothy right before school. I didn't check my camera battery before we left for their parade, and sure enough, it died on me right before I saw my kids. At least my video camera caught them.

Grandma Price's annual Halloween Bash

My Mom & Dad go all out for Halloween. The kids love being with their cousins. We played fun games, ate great food, had the traditional dance party & parade around grandma's house- this year w/ a twist... you had to slide under the streamers in the doorway.

Here are G & G and all the kids, plus me because Jake wouldn't participate in the picture.

Family picture

Tyler went all out this year... really... this was quite a stretch for him- dressing as a BYU fan.

Grandma was Hermione from Harry Potter, and my cute nephew Tanner was Harry himself.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!

Fall leaves

We decided to go on a Sunday drive this afternoon, and the mountains were so pretty! We had fun going on hikes, watching deer right by us, Abby freaking out and almost breaking her other arm because she was terrified of a little dog, Jacob finding every stick possible to be a part of his weapons collection, etc. Here are a few pics.



We saw a ton of granite, and this one in particular was awesome that the kids are sitting on. You can see clearly the lines from being cut, quite possibly by the pioneers that built the Salt Lake Temple. We had a nice teaching moment w/ the kids, and they all wanted to keep a little piece of granite from the mountain.
I love living close to the mountains!

Ouch!!

One thing a mother hates more than anything, is seeing her child suffer. Last Thursday evening we were at Riley's soccer practice. Abby was playing on the Zip line, and she fell and landed on her elbow. I knew there was a reason I don't like those zip lines on playgrounds. I took her to instacare, where she was x-rayed, then sent immediately to Primary Children's. We got there around 9 p.m. According to the x-ray's, she broke her elbow in 3 places. One in particular was worse than the others, because it hit right on a growth plate. They decided to take her in to surgery, and fix her up with pins and wires- OUCH!! That just makes me cringe. Anyway, the surgery went well, and she was a trooper! The ER nurse gave her this little white bear for being so brave. She didn't let it out of her sight the whole time she was in the hospital.

The doctors told us that she will have the pins taken out when everything is set back in place- thank goodness!

Just after surgery. Tyler stayed with her all night in the hospital. I don't do so well there, knowing what is going on w/ my child. Thanks Ty! He deals with that stuff much better than me!

Abby discovered that she could make a seat belt for her new bear snowy on her arm. Finally, a real smile!

The best part of the whole deal... Abby had a loose tooth right in the front, so the doc asked Tyler if he wanted him to pull it. Why not, right? Good choice. The doctor wrote this cute note to Abby. In fact, she doubled her money at the hospital, then brought the tooth home, put it under her pillow, and got another dollar out of it. What a deal!

Abby is having a hard time getting used to her cast. It is the full length of her arm, so she isn't able to bend it: put on her shoes, jacket, carry lunch tray at school, can't run and play at recess, etc... There are things that she has to figure out how to do. This might be a long road, but she has been ok so far!

Riley's Baptism

Saturday was a great day for our family! Riley was baptised and confirmed a member of the church. He has been preparing for so long, and looking forward to this day. I am so proud of him, and the good decisions that has been making. I am so grateful that Tyler was able to be there with Riley on his special day. There is just something special about Father's baptising their children.

Yes, those are Jacob's hand on my skirt. Has anyone noticed that he HATES cameras?

Riley's friend Abbie was baptised with him on Saturday, so that was fun having their family there with us. We made them pose here, but it looks more like an engagement picture! Hmmm... that could work.

We had a ton of family and friends there with us for the big day. Our ward Primary Presidency makes neat books for the kids being baptised, so Riley has a great account of everything that happened. Also included are testimonies of everyone that was there. They have been so neat to read! Thanks everyone for supporting Riley and our family! We love you!

Happy Birthday Riley- 8 years old!!

Riley's birthday was last Saturday, so we gave him the Mario party that he has been dreaming about for months. Ok, so I'm sure it didn't quite meet his expectations, but we ended up having 16 kids over, so we had to improvise a little. They played some fun games, including Mario Kart (using our roller coaster), Bowser Bash (dodgeball on the tramp), a fun obstacle course, and a few other things.

Jake was so excited for the party, so he could dress up like Yoshi. He is the little green dragon in Mario (at least I think he is a dragon- maybe a dinosaur). Just so happens that we have a costume to kind-of fit the Yoshi description. Jake came up with the idea all on his own. The kids were in heaven as Yoshi chased them around the yard. He even did the Obstacle course. It was too funny!!

Now this is what made me cry... Riley getting his first scout uniform. He was SO excited! He looks so cute in it!

My b-day is right after Riley's, so Tyler was sweet and through me a surprise party for my birthday with a few of our friends. I thought that was a great idea, since I TOTALLY forgot to give Riley candles on his b-day cupcake, AND I forgot to SING TO HIM! Bad mom!! SO, we made the little get-together a Riley and me party.

It was fun having our neighbors over! Our birthdays were both fun- crazy, busy, but fun! Happy Birthday Riley! I can't believe you are 8 years old! Where has the time gone? I love you so much, and I am so proud of the great son you are! You will always be my bud!!