Andrew Is Home!!!

My little brother, Andrew, came home from his mission last Tuesday. What a fantastic Christmas present that was for my whole family! Andrew left on his mission just a couple of months before my other brother, Jordan, came home from his. So we hadn't been together as a whole family for almost four years.

Jordan and Andrew, finally able to see each other after four long years.

Andrew with his two best friends, Aaron and Josh. It was so fun that they came to the airport!

A few random pictures that I couldn't help taking. The kids were all so adorable and so excited!

It was a fantastic reunion! The whole big bunch of us went to the airport to swarm and overwhelm Andrew with attention.:)

That evening, we all had a good time together at my parents' house.

Andrew quickly turned into Uncle Jungle Gym:

Uncle Mike even had to get in on the action. It was just like old times. It was so much fun!


Kate loved Nikole and kissed her about a million times with her sticky face. Luckily, Nikole is a good sport and didn't seem to mind.

The kids couldn't get enough of their uncle, Andrew, and he seemed to eat them up as well. Every time one of his nieces or nephews would hug him, he would hug them tight and say, "That's what I'm talking about." It was very sweet.

You gotta love ping-pong with all the kids!


I love how much these kids all love their cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

It was a fantastic night full of laughs and good memories. We love having Andrew home, and the whole family together again. It's been a long wait.

Now that I have caught my breath...

...I can update my blog! Beware...Tons of pictures!!!

The two weeks before Christmas were spent going to ward parties, family parties, and running all over doing the same sorts of projects that I'm sure everyone was doing.

We made a gingerbread house and gingerbread train. Can I just say that I LOVE the kits! It makes such a messy project so much easier.

We had so much fun one night because I was making a gazillion rice bags to give out as gifts, and the kids were getting bored. So I told them to grab a sleeping bag. They were so curious why I needed a sleeping bag, but brought one up anyway.

I told them to get in and slide down the stairs. They loved it! At first they were going down on their bums. Oh no, no, no. That is NOT the way to slide down the stairs. I told them to go on their tummies, feet first. They were scared and asked if they would get hurt. I couldn't convince them to try it until I showed them first. It was so much fun! After they watched me do it and saw that I didn't die, they were willing to give it a try.

Little Lana put together a family home evening lesson for us the week before my little brother came home from his mission. It was all about why we love Andrew (with some shape and color review as well.) It was like church and school all combined into one. It was adorable, and she was so proud of herself.

Two Sundays before Christmas was the dreaded pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits. Why is it such a nightmare every year?!?!?! Getting the kids to cooperate is not much fun.

Kate in her outfit:

She started out cute, and was thinking it was fun to have her picture taken.

She even thought it was funny to really cheese it for me...

The fun lasted about two minutes and she was pouting.

FAKER!!!! She is such a stinker pants.

Then comes Hayden's turn:

What a handsome little dude! He cooperated with me so well...until it was time to take a group shot. I'll take what I can get.

Lana loved posing:

Rylee cooperates too, thank heavens:

But, oh boy, next came the pictures of all of the kids together. They pretty much hated me by the time we were done. Hayden and Kate did not want any more pictures taken. So this was the best we got:

After these, we were just about ready for Christmas and for Uncle Andrew to come home!!! And thank goodness the yearly Christmas pictures are over with for another year. Whew. I'm tired.

My Late Thanksgiving Post...

...Better late than never though, right?

~ I am grateful, for starters, for the lovely gentleman who fixed our computer. This would be the reason I have not yet blogged about Thanksgiving. Stinking virus. But we are back up and running now, and all is right with the world.:)

~ I am also grateful for this little boy.

I am grateful to be able to experience all things "boy" among all of the princesses and dress-ups that we are surrounded by otherwise. There is something so fun about your little boy begging you to play Mario Kart with you when you've been doing hair all day. I am grateful for that grinning, excited face as he holds up his ticket to ride the train with his daddy.

And I'm grateful this sweet boy has a sweet daddy who took him to see the trains - just the two of them. Hayden loved it and still talks about it.

~ I am grateful for these two little girls, who love each other like crazy and couldn't live without one another.

I also love the sweet innocence and spunk they have. They always keep me laughing.

A couple of weeks ago, Lana was talking to her daddy about her day and proceeded to tell him, "Dad, today at school I told my teacher that E____ and C____'s butt cwacks (that is the way she pronounces it, and it is much cuter that way) were showing and she told me not to worry about it right now." I love that I have raised a girl who has deemed herself the butt crack police. Hey, at least she's modest.:)

Rylee is always quick on her feet. She was talking to me about how excited she was for Christmas a couple of weeks ago. I told her to slow down because we need to take time to be Thankful first. Without missing a beat she says, "I'm thankful for Christmas."

I love these kids!!!

~ I'm also thankful for this little stinker. I love that I have a kid who loves cookies and sweets as much as I do. Every time I start to make cookies, she will hop up to the bar and ask what I am doing. As soon as I say that I am making cookies she replies with, "Oooh, I LOVE cookies." Her daddy can't even resist buying her a treat when she says, "Daddy, can we go to the store and pick a treat? Huh, could we?" The 'could we' gets him every time.

~ I'm thankful that my kids have so many awesome aunts and uncles that they love and adore, and who love and adore them in return. This was how Kate stayed for the longest time on Thanksgiving with her uncle, Michael.

~ I'm grateful for a husband who gets up bright and early to go shopping on Black Friday with me, and even acts like he enjoys himself! Then he comes home and helps me decorate for Christmas. What a guy!

~ I'm also grateful that my hubby doesn't want to leave me for a younger, hotter chick on days when I look like this! (Hey, what do you expect after a shopping extravaganza on Black Friday?!) I'm also grateful I didn't have a big ole booger in my nose when Rylee took this picture!:)

~ I'm grateful that my kids have such amazing grandparents, who take the time to play with my kids and love them like only a grandparent can.

I love that my parents came over to watch the BYU/Utah game with us on Saturday. It was lots of fun.

Speaking of the game, last but not least on my gratitude list is this:

~ I am grateful I have a husband who makes it fun to be rivals with during "rivalry week." This year, Lana decided to be on the 'Red team' with her daddy. Rylee was on my team still. Good girl. I had so much fun that week pulling little pranks on Bill. He was even a good sport when he came home from work last Wednesday to find that when I made pies with the girls, I cut a "Y" into the top of one of the pies.

It was even better when my team won (not to rub it in), and he knew he was going to have to "pay up." The bet this year was that if my team won, he has to take me to see New Moon and then shout, "Yeah Buddy" when Jacob takes off his shirt. I know, I'm ruthless. He's a fantastic sport, and so fun to laugh with.

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We are so grateful for the friends and family we have. We always have so much to be thankful for.