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We
decorated gingerbread houses with Kristi and her boys. We
did it on a Monday night and had a special FHE(family home
evening) followed by decorating the houses. The kids had a
blast. This year was especially great Christmas because the Park family was here. They live in Colorado so we don't get to see them as often as we would like! We had so much fun while they were here. Mom took the opportunity of us all together to get an updated sibling picture. We
had a lot of parties to go to of course. Dalton's preschool
did a Gingerbread house party. They each had their own
house to decorate. Miss Susan had popcorn and treats for the kids
and parents to enjoy. He also gave me a homemade gift (a box of
love). It was a poem attached to a box he had painted. It was really
sweet. Next Ashby's school party they did a book swap and had a
lot of treats! It was fun t Our ward did a candyland breakfast this year for Christmas. It was really fun. Santa made a special visit and the kids were thrilled. The breakfast was so yummy. The kids loved the hot chocolate table with peppermint candies to put in your cup. We ended by singing Christmas carols together. My brother's birthday is on the 18th, so we all celebrated together at Ballocity with pizza and cake. The kids love that place and it is great because the adults get a chance to visit. It is always fun being together as a family.
Christmas
Eve we spent with the Bellows family in the morning for
brunch and the evening with the Forman Later we headed to my parents for dinner. It was a wonderful meal. My Mom set up activities downstairs for the kids to do. Each child had a sheet of activities to check off. By the end of the night whoever completed the whole sheet earned a special prize. It was a hit. She had some really neat activities set up too. One was making a homemade fleece pillow. Ashby loved it. After dinner the grand kids put on the live Nativity. It turned out very cute. Ashby and Dalton really look forward to this tradition every year. Ashby was an angel and Dalton was a wiseman.
We did a ton of fun activities with all the cousins. One of the favorite things we did was decorate treats and delivering them to my parents neighbors while caroling in the back of a pick up truck. The kids were loving it!
Christmas
fell on a Sunday this year. It is alw After
church we had Ryan's parents, my parents and the Park family over
for Christmas dinner Papa and Grandma Becky gave everyone presents too. Everyone loved the gifts. It was so fun to have everyone over. Papa was getting some good lovin' for Ryder. So cute.
Quite the crew! Another
really fun activity we tried with all the cousins was ice
skating.
Downtown Reno has a great rink right by t
All the ice skaters!
Another fun activity we did was take the kids to a indoor swimming pool. It was so nice and the kids had a great time. We also had a great time visiting! Love my sisters!
We also had a yummy dinner at Kristi's house followed by homemade ornament painting. The kids all did their initials. Then we headed over to a light show near Kristi's house. She even made hot chocolate for everyone in travel cups to take along. The light show was amazing. It was set to music so we tuned in our radio and enjoyed the show.
We also did the Discovery Museum one day. We love that place! It was fun to do with all the cousins. We also did a lot of game nights, late night talks, adult movie nights, and adult dinners. It was so much fun. Ryan took a ton of time off and was able to do most everything with us. It was wonderful!
We also had an amazing babysitter Aubrey on call! It was so nice to have her baby sit the kids when we needed her too. And the kids just absolutely adored her! Especially Ryder and Brooks. She could get Ryder cracking up in no time and Brooks still begs me to come to the door to go see, "Aubrey!". It is so sad he doesn't understand why she is not here anymore.
Ryan is still enjoying his new job at NV Energy. He has been there 1 year now! He received a promotion and is now the director of Human Resources. He is still doing all their legal work too. Way to go Ryan. We are all really proud of him. He has been traveling to Las Vegas a lot (probably every other week) this past month. Ryan is still enjoying his new calling in our ward as a High Counselor. Ryan's assignment is still over the spanish branch in Sun Valley. He is enjoying using his spanish from his mission he served in Chile Ryan is still very much enjoying his Judgeship. It continues to be a welcome change from the same old and even very rewarding.
I am obsessed with the CAMEO. It is the coolest machine. It cuts vinyl, fabric, and paper. I can't wait to make more things on it and discover all the possibilities of it. Thanks Ry! I keeping busy with things at home. 4 kids keep me hopping! My big sis Kristi and I played in the Reed High School Alumni basketball game over Thanksgiving break. It was kind of a joke and really unorganized. But we had fun anyways. I love playing with my sis! I love working out everyday. Every day is busy but such a joy and I wouldn't have it any other way! I am still serving as 1st counselor in the Primary Presidency. I love teaching the children in our ward. I recently started getting into making homemade decor for our house. It has been really fun! My sister Kristi and I are very excited to announce that we have started a Custom Digital Photo Card Business. We have some great custom cards for all occasions, Holidays, or invitations. customphotocards.blogspot.com Here was our card this year(double sided):
Ashby is 7
years old now! She had a great Christmas this
year. She got her American girl doll
she wanted so much. She was also very excited about the
DS and ha Ashby also found out what performance her other dance class will be doing. It is Peter Pan!! Her class are pirates. She is very excited about it. Ashby sang her first solo at church in Sacrament meeting this month. She did a beautiful job. We loved hearing her sing. Ashby is always amazing me with her conscientious attitude and desire to do good. She makes sure she reads everyday and does her homework right away. She loves doing writing, crafts or drawing. My favorite thing she does every month is make new pictures or crafts for her cork board on her desk. It always has a theme for the month. This month during quiet time she made her own "thankful tree" all on her own and attached leaves to it with things she was thankful for. She just amazes me. For Thanksgiving she wanted to make each individual at the dinner a homemade Thanksgiving card made by her. It took a lot of time and effort to make each card. I was impressed how disciplined she was. Such a thoughtful little girl. We sure love her dearly. She has also already started to make homemade Christmas gifts for members of our family.
She loves doing dance still with her friends and favorite teacher at school. She is looking forward to possibly taking piano lessons, and basketball in the Winter. She is a great big sister and loves playing with Dalton and helps watch Brooks a lot. She adores little Ryder and loves holding him. She loves watching Wheel of Fortune with us at night. She is pretty darn good too! One of her favorite things to do is still writing cards to family and friends. She loves drawing, playing games, and swimming! She loves to read new books with her Daddy about presidents of the United States and Politics. She is very creative and is always finding fun things to do.She never gets bored or runs out of ideas. We have noticed she is a very talented writer. She loves to write detailed stories & poems. We are so grateful for a bright, sweet child. Ashby loves to read and is an exceptional reader. She has already passed all the comprehension tests that put her past a 6th grade reading level. We enjoy watching Ashby's spirituality grow. She is very intuitive and sensitive to the Spirit. It is neat to watch this quality in her continue to grow. She loves reading the scriptures with us as a family and loves going to church and learning the Gospel with her friends.
He has had a fun break. Dalton has gone swimming, played with friends, and gone on special outings with Dad. He is loving being at home with Mom and his brothers. He is a great helper and likes to play and "watch" Brooks. He started preschool with Miss Susan again this year. He loves going 2 times a week with all his friends. He is a great little reader already and loves to play the Wii. He read his first talk in Primary last week. He did a great job. We were so proud of him. His writing has really improved and now he is writing a lot of words and he also likes doing his kindergarten workbooks. He has been into Math lately.
He loves to add numbers in his head, and count
and measure things. Dalton
L Brooks is 22 months now! He had a great Christmas. His favorite gifts were a set of little books he got and his tool set. He was funny this Christmas. He really liked playing with the present bags more than what was in them. He
is very busy and fun to have
around. He
is still very He loves going to nursery at church now and is going all by himself! Hooray for that! Brooks loves the Backyardigins show on Nick Jr. He is obsessed! He will sing the opening song nearly perfectly. He loves singing and will attempt to sing any song even if he doesn't know the words. Some songs he does know are Happy Birthday, Twinkle, Twinkle, little Star, and the Eensy, Weensy Spider. It is too cute. He loves playing with animals, star wars guys, balls, or anything he can push or pull. He climbs on everything all day long including the chairs, then onto the kitchen table or countertops. He has taken quite a few spills from all his crazy climbing! He loves
wearing rings and bracelets. He will keep them
on all day if we let him. It is pretty funny. He loves books. He will get a book and plop down in anyone's lap and make them read to him. If you are standing he will grab your hand and pull you to the couch and say, "sit, sit!" until you do it. He loves music and dancing. He moves his shoulders from side to side that is one of his favorite moves. He loves to jump with both feet off the ground and run all over the house. He has discovered the power of a high-pitched scream! He loves giving Ashby and Dalton hugs then tackling them to the ground and playing around rough-housing with them. He loves to be held still. Often times he will let Mommy or Daddy hold him while her watches TV for 30-45 min. It is kind of nice. He loves to vacuum with his little toy vacuum and is obsessed with the real vacuum. If someone is vacuuming he has to be in their arms the whole time watching intently. He is such a joy to have in our family. He smiles and goes to just about anyone. He is such a happy little guy. He loves interacting with people. He is very friendly and smiley to everyone when we are out and about. He started being shy this month and putting his hands over his face to hide it.
He is a very happy baby. When he is awake he just smiles and laughs (!) at us all the time. He is such a joy! He is a great sleeper already(he sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night). We are so grateful for that! He still has a head full of dark hair and blue, blue eyes. He likes the car seat and riding in the car. He is a great napper. As soon as he gets a little fussy we put him in his bed awake with his blanket and nuk and he falls right asleep in a couple of minutes sometimes even seconds. It is awesome! He does not like to be rocked or held when he sleeps. He just wants to be put in his bed! Ryder is such a low maintenance baby! We can go anywhere with him. He usually just sleeps or is content in the carrier. It is heaven! He is a great nursery and does it with ease. Ryder
loves the bouncer or bumbo. He will sit in those and watch
everyone around He started rolling over both ways when I put him on the floor. He likes holding toys now and playing with them.
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All the kiddies in their new Christmas Jammies! |
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The whole family with Santa |
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Ryder is 5 months!! |
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Gingerbread house fun
Aubrey and Ashby
Ty and Dalton
Christmas Eve fun at the Bellows!
Ward Christmas Candy Land Breakfast with Santa! So fun!
Dalton opening his new DS lego Star Wars game. Does he look excited or what?!
Opening their stockings!
Me and my sisters Kristi and Shelli at the ice skating rink.
Ashby and Dalton after ice skating near the Truckee River
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December always
brings so much joyfulness, fun, parties and plenty of family
gatherings! We had a lot of fun decking the halls as usual.
The kids loved
decorating the tree and getting the house all ready for Christmas. This year Dalton and Ashby loved all the countdown Advent calendars
we did. They each were in charge of their own to do each day.
We also read scriptures and answered questions about
the Savior's birth each night and filled up a tree with ornaments for each
one we did.
o be in class with her. We made special
treats for the party that everyone liked. Aubrey and Shelli helped
me make them. It was fun spending time together.
family
for dinner and the live nativity. The brunch was so delish and
the cousins loved playing
together. We opened presents and everyone loved their gifts. Dalton
loved his Mario figures, Ashby her new barbie doll you could dye
her hair, Brooks his new trucks (mostly he just liked the present
bags), and Ryder with his new baby toys. All the kids loved the
remote control helicopter from Uncle Al.
ays
nice going to church on Christmas. It really helps you remember why we celebrate Christmas.
We have 1:00 church so we were able to eat breakfast and open presents
before church. We had yummy homemade sticky buns after the kids
opened their stockings. Then the present opening began! Dalton
and Ashby were left a not by Santa on their cookie plate to look
for a couple more presents hidden in the room somewhere. In the
hidden presents were new DS nintendo's for both of them! They were
sooo pumped! They had no idea they were getting those.
. We made tortilla soup, hot artichoke dip,
and for dessert our famous ice cream crepes. Everything was so
tasty!
he
river. It was a blast. Ashby really got the hang of it. Dalton
decided it was too hard
after giving it a good try. Grandma Becky brought a picnic lunch
and we all enjoyed the beautiful day together.
Ryan
had a great Christmas that included a lot of cash. Hopefully he
will spend some on himself now! 
I
must have been really good this year because I had a great Christmas!
Ryan got me the newest iphone, a home cutting machine called
the silhouette CAMEO, clothes, kitchen stuff, and books. I really made
a haul!
s
been playing it non stop since she got it. She had so
much fun with
her cousins in town. Ashby lives for doing things with
family. It is her favorite thing in the world. Ashby
has been loving break from school. We had done swimming,
play dates with friends, special outings with Dad to
the arcade, and shopping with Mom. She just loves 2nd
grade
and anything to do with school. She
started a new Ballet class this month. It
is more formal and classical ballet than her other dance
class. She LOVES it! Her teacher said she is very strong
and has beautiful lines. We are very excited for her!
Ashby
loves when we do Family Home Evenings each Monday. She
especially likes to give the lesson when it is her turn. Oftentimes
she cons
us into letting her do it every week she likes it so much. I am
always impressed how much she really knows when she gives
the lessons! They are really good. This month
she taught us about keeping the Sabbath Day Holy and Moses, Aaron,
and the 10 commandments. That kid is something else!
Dalton
is 5 years old now! He
had a great Christmas. He
loved his Millennium Falcon
Star Wars ship and his Nintendo
DS. He loves playing it during
quiet time or in the car.
OVES friends and cousins.
He makes new friends quickly wherever we go. It
is really
cute.He is still obsessed with
anything Star
Wars. Dalton continues to love
his CTR 4 class at church and
is learning a lot. He loves to read the scriptures
with us as a family and is really interested in
all the stories. He
is quick to remember things we have read together.
He misses Ashby at school but is enjoying time
with
me
Brooks and Ryder. Dalton
is a
great big brother.
He will get me a diaper when I need one,
hold Brooks, and is very gentle and loving
towards
him. It is really cute to watch
him. He loves
playing games on Daddy's iphone. He has
a great sense
of humor and always
has us laughing
at his antics. He loves playing outside(especially
swinging or having light saber battles)
and riding his bike.
much
a Daddy's boy. We are
sure enjoying this little guy.
He is talking a ton and
cracking us up at his little voice.
He copies
anything we say. Some of our favorites
are, "Alright!" "Quiet!
Okay?!"
"More what?!" of course
he loves saying, "No!" and "Mine!" now!
ha ha. He can say all the kids
names really good. It is too cute.
He now goes down and up the stairs
like a normal person one step at
a time.
Ryder
is 5 months old. He is healthy and doing great now. He
weaned himself this month and is now on formula and rice cereal.
It is much more flexible but I am still sad it happened much sooner
than I wanted it too. Oh well. 
him
or grab at the toys on the toy bar. He is so happy and
I will often catch him just smiling at himself or his hands while
in the bouncer.
