Better than a closet

Ama's camera is either lame, or the girls wouldn't stand still long enough for Ama to snap focused pictures... but you get the gist.  When Ama comes to town, she takes the girls to go play dress-up... at Marshalls.  They're in heaven if you can't tell.  Alexandra & Isabella dressed up in their Sunday best... to go play dress-up.

a re-creation of sledding at the cabin?  Why not.

this is what happens when I let them loose in my bathroom.

and a song Izzie performed for Ama...   Love it.

Gingerbread, earthquakes, and tornadoes...

Everyone needs a kind-hearted child with that extra dose of sensitivity and compassion... Alexandra tends to consistently be that one in our family.  She's concerned for the welfare of others and is more sensitive to other's feelings than any normal six-year-old.  So on her very own, she called Ama and invited her & Kelly to spend Christmas with us because she couldn't stand the thought of them being alone in cold Mt. Pleasant without grandchildren to share the joyF with...  So we have Alexandra to thank for Ama gracing our home at Christmas this year. a

One of our traditions that I just never accomplished this year on my own... was gingerbread houses.  It's one of the kids' faves... because there generally are no rules about two for me, one for the house, three for me, one for the house, etc.  And with individual frosting pouches, eating that was easier too.  So Ama brought the goods...

... But it's the last time she'll ever do it with these six kids, I'm sure.  

Sugar highs and the high-energy with big kids that want to destroy & eat the houses faster than they can make them-- nope, she didn't bargain for that.  I should have snapped a photo of the earthquake that hit Monson's and the tornado that tore through Brayden's.  Then we'd remember why.

Thanks, Mom... for being a sport & carrying on the tradition!

Christmas Eve Traditions

For the last few years, Brayden has taken charge on our Christmas Eve Program.  I always look back...bummed, that I didn't capture the night sufficiently with pictures.  This year was no different... I'm bummed... didn't capture it. I'll learn.  I'll learn.  And that's also bad flash.

Brayden has not had violin lessons in over a year now, but practiced and performed a number especially for us... a treat for me.

McKenzie & Monson both played the piano...

And Alexandra, Isabella, & Viviana performed their 'Gift to You' number from kid karolers for Ama. 

kisses for Ama b

We all contributed... Curt told the story of the Christmas 

Orange... something we traditionally receive in our stockings year after year.  And we all did our Christmas Eve puppets as we read Luke 2 and sang lots of beautiful Christmas melodies.  Again, no photos.  But there's plenty of cute little Vivs fully enjoying our Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve I usually let the kids open their handmade gift from me...

and it usually ends up being their most treasured fave.  Just saying.... 

happiness is homemade

2010 was the year of the magnet boards... all personalized for the boys, and spiffed out to their personalities, for the girls.  These took HOURS.  Especially Brayden & Monson's.  The best part about them was the cost.  Taipan practically paid me to take these off their hands last spring.  

The boys is not only magnetic, but a chalkboard too... that made them even more giddy.

One day, I laid out a whole bunch of different fabrics and had the girls each choose their absolute fave.  That's what they got, so no bad guessing here.  I wanted to do a monogram of their initials on the wood... may still do it later.  Time was running out.

My boys each have like a gazillion teams.  They had no idea what I was doing... but I asked them to rank their teams so I could at least narrow it down to something do-able.  Did I say these took forever?  Cause they did.  

My mom hates cameras.  can you tell?  She'll rarely look at the lense.  But I take the photos anyway.  
I added detail to her corners... and it's polished and just so Ama..

and I couldn't resist making one for me... a bird's egg blue toile.  Lovey.

And another favorite tradition... Christmas Eve Jammies.
We have some pretty great family that watched out for us this year and even down to the PJ's...made that tradition still possible.F  Thank you dearly, you know who you are.  See.. yet again, a picture of all of them would have been nice.  Oh, ya... they were too giddy to even obey long enough to group together for a picture.  Except for these three cuties.

Summer Vacay Starts in Utah

We were on our way to St. George to spend the weekend with our Utah Menzies the second school was dismissed for summer break. Kevin was already there from Arizona, so lucky us, we've had some quality Uncle/Brother time in the last few months!

What was my favorite part of the day? Learning to ride Brett's motorcycle solo! Either Brett's a really great teacher or I'm a fast learner... it was great fun except for the quick burn I got by relaxing my leg a little too much. A few weeks after this, Brett totaled his bike in a pretty raunchy accident (he's still healing from his shoulder contusion and wrist injury).

Motorcycle Mama--might be a new hobby

zoom-zoom okay, I was only going like 10 mph

We hiked to Emerald Lakes at Zion. We had an unseasonably cold and rainy afternoon waiting for us... better than the normal Southern Utah 110 degrees! I'm sure the kids loved shoving 12 of us into my car so we could get into the canyon without having to pay buko bucks. Or we're just cheap. Or trying to stretch the dollar. Something like that.

Cousin Jonas & Alexie giggled and played on the forever long tram ride...

...and hugged again and again because they're such silly & cute cuz's.

This boy is partially responsible for my grays and wrinkles. Love him!

Emily is preggers-- can't tell one bit from the back... she puts all pregnant women to shame. Wish I got a whole family photo-- why do we always forget? Brett & Emily's first little girl (3rd child) is due in September!

I know you're thinking 'those are some hefty arms'... who's the pregnant one again? Gheesh. It's not all Relief Society tricepts-- genetics:)

Impossible to get all of them to look at once

You can barely make out the waterfall next to Monson's head

There's really steep drop-offs on this hike, and Vivs was constantly wanting to see what was down there, you know... down the 100+ foot ravine... little dare-devil. Monson was such a protective bro and made sure he walked on the outside on the way down so she was safe so momma wouldn't have a heart attack.

I love my little bros

Look-alikes... and pretty scenery too

Off to Mt. Pleasant.... in the middle of nowhere Central Utah, USA. While we were there visiting Ama and Kelly, our car broke down one day... and so we spent the whole afternoon waiting for AAA to come from Egypt to rescue us. Ends up that we were blessed to have our breakdown when we did because the caliper bolts were never tightened when we had our rear shocks and brakes done several weeks prior. So in Mt. Pleasant, the brakes and wheels all seized up, and good thing it wasn't while we were doing 90 on the highway or we could have easily rolled our giant SUV and it surely would have been a different scene. Angels watching over us??? I think so.

So update... today I finally told the mechanic who didn't 'finish the job' what happened to us-- you know what he said? 'We're all human!' rEaLly? I'm sure that comment wouldn't fly if the car had rolled on the highway and left some children orphans or some grieving parents... a little peeved at his reaction.

Ama always makes our visits special... with homemade treats, sugary breakfast cereal (the kind I never buy ie cocoa puffs & lucky charms). They love shooting pool, spreading out in her gigantic basement playing with their old toys, waking up and seeing the deer grazing in the pasture, and eating ice cream cones whenever they want {'til their hearts are content... as long as they clean up their messes}! And we can't forget the endless cuddles, loves, and bedtime songs. Gotta love it.

Ama had fun horesback riding lessons planned with the kids in Moroni. It's fun for our city kids to visit the beautiful country and get so excited about the deer, horses, cows, smells... well, not so much the smells. Or the bugs. And there's LOTS of them at Ama's house in the country.

Meet beautiful Bandit... each of the kids had to introduce themselves by letting him sniff them. I think he may have winced at a few of the kids, and I don't blame him one bit... sometimes I wince too:)

Monson's riding lesson

Does it mean anything that Bandit stopped to poop 3 times while Monson was riding?

McKenzie

Alexie loves to pose

and apparently so does Curt... in Kenzie's hat???

Brayden's turn

Bray concentrates in a funky way

Alexandra was a natural!

They could be country girls...

Sanpete really is beautiful {to visit}

View from Ama's front yard...

When the kids turn 10, they each get a special trip... Monson chose instead (and so did finances) to have his his bff from Utah {Seth} join us back in California to spend a week of fun! A million pictures to come of our California adventures celebrating Monson's birthday...