December 31~Happy 11th Birthday Jolene

 

Well, according to Jolene this was the

"Best Birthday Ever!"

We had a great day celebrating her special day.

We went ice skating, had ice cream at Dairy Queen,

ate prime rib for dinner and played games as the

New Year rolled in. 

This year has come and gone so fast. 

I can only pray I have been present in

everyday, that the memories we have

made will always be close in our hearts.



December 30~New Year Thought

 

A great quote for the New Year. 

 

December 29~True Friends

 

With the New Year only days away,

I found this quote and not only want to

live it for my life, but for my

girls as well.

December 28~Bear Cabin

 

So many hours spent on getting this place ready

for the owners.  Now that it's done, we

have a whole week with the wonderful, hard

working man in our lives.  

December 27~The Season

 

I love the feeling of the holiday season.

I pray it last longer then the month

of December in our home. 

December 26~Games

 

A family game is always a hit.

Even Ella wanted in on the fun.

December 25~Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful day.

So many surprises under the tree for eveyone,

the day with family, full of laughs, food, and fun.



December 24~Christmas Eve

 

The anticipation can be

overwhelming. 

I love Christmas Eve night!



December 23~Small Gifts

 The beauty of the
Christmas tree,
lights and
the gifts.



December 22~Christmas Dresses

 

The Sunday before Christmas and like

every Christmas past the girls each got

a new dress to wear to church. 

They both looked so beautiful. 

December 21~Guinea Pig Elf

 

Even the littlest animals get to enjoy

Christmas.  Jolene was so excited when

she saw these cute little hats for the

Guinea Pigs.  

December 20~Christmas Cookies

 

With the holidays come holiday baking.

There has been so much going that the only

holiday baking we did were sugar cookies.

We was so much fun making and decorating

together.  I love this tradition with the girls.

December 19~Gifts

 

I finished! 

I made all the niece's and nephews Christmas

gifts for us.  They all turned out so cute and in the

child's favorite colors.

December 18~Carpenter

 

With the craziness of yesterday, getting Jolene

picked up from her after school Carpenter class,

getting her dinner, dressed and to the band concert

I forgot to post a picture of the wood box she made.

She was so proud, her box looks amazing, she was

so excited for this class, she even got to use power tools.

The teacher showed them what to do but let them to

everything themselves. 

 Great class and she learned so much

while she had fun.

December 17~5/6 Grade Band Concert

Tonight was Jolene's first

band concert.  She was so nervous and

excited all at the same time.

She had nothing to be nervous about she

did great and look so beautiful too. 

December 16~All School Christmas Concert

 

Raychel looked so beautiful for the

school concert. 

They all performed

so well. 

December 15~Great Quote

 

This quote always makes me stop and think. 

I need to really work hard on making our lives

simpler, taking out all the unimportant things

out so we can concentrate on the important things

 that will bring us closer to Heavenly Father as a family. 

December 14~Party

 

Jolene turns 11 in a couple of weeks,

before school lets out for the holidays and

everyone goes on vacation we

had a birthday party.

The girls has a great time, a fun pizza party and then

we went and saw the Disney movie Frozen.

December 13~Snuggle

 

A usual sight in the morning,

Ella snuggling with Raychel.



December 12~Magic

 

I love walking past the front room

and seeing the beautiful

Christmas Tree standing there.

I wish it could stay up forever. 

December 11~Sewing

 

I was trying to work on the bags and

pillow cases for the niece's and nephews,

but Ella had a different idea. 



December 10~Beauty

 

After I took the girls to school I had to

go to the store, it was a beautiful morning

after a light snow fell last night.



December 9~Lights

 

 

I love having the
Christmas Tree up. 

I love the way the

lights reflect off all

the shiny balls.

December 8~Sunday

 

A perfect Sunday. 

Jolene curled up on the floor by

me and took a wonderful nap. 

December 7~Snow

 

What a cold snowy day. 

We headed out of town for the

day to do a little Christmas

shopping as a family. 

December 6~Jelly Roll

 

 

Finally we made time to get to work on

Jolene's jelly roll quilt. 

Once it is finished we need to go

to the fabric store to pick out material for its

boarder.  She is so excited.

 

I was sent this picture from a friend who was able

to travel with the High School to perform

this weekend.  They did an amazing job and had

stories to tell when they got home.

December 5~Band Trip

 

Raychel left this afternoon for a two day

band concert.  She was pretty nervous but

excited at the same time.  They are performing

for the Governor and all the school boards. 

She will be missed!

They will do great!

December 4~Snow Day

 Drinking hot cocoa in the snow cave

The snow started to fall yesterday and didn't stop

until late this morning.  The best news came at 5am when

the school district called to cancel school.

Definitely the best day ever!

Jolene and Ashley made great use of their day off

and all the snow.



December 3~Warmth

 

Even Ella loves the warmth from

the fireplace.  

December 2~Craft Time

 

While watching movies on a cold winter night

Jolene got busy on her new craft project. 

It is turning out so cute.



December 1~Talent

 

We took a few friends and went and saw the

new Disney Movie Frozen.  It was really

cute, a keeper.

Raychel came home and started working

on this drawing of the two sisters in the movie. 

November 30~Repeat

 

We had our own little Thanksgiving

dinner tonight. 

I love the way the our home smells

while everything is cooking

November 29~Traditions



 

Just like every year the day after Thanksgiving the

Christimas tree goes up.  I love the feeling the

home has once the tree is up.

It's magical.

November 28~Thanksgiving

 

What a wonderful day.

We were able to spend it with

family and even took
Emily home with us for

the night.  The girls
all has so much fun together.


 

November 27~Grateful

 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

My favorite holiday.

It is the only holiday we have to just

reflect on what we have. 

So much to be grateful for.

November 26~Gratitude

 

I love all the quotes about gratitude.

It is a quiet reminder to be

grateful for all that I have.

I love this time of year. 

November 25~Stop and think

I really like this quote. 

Every thing we do makes a memory,

make it a good one. 

November 24~Cookies

These are the best! 

Raspberry coconut cookies.



November 23~Hunting

 

Jolene gets so excited to go hunting with Ward and Drake.

I love helping her get ready, making hot cocoa, packing

their favorite snakes, and getting all bundled up.

Then to wait for her to come home and hear her

version of their adventure.

Priceless. 

November 22~Blessings

Making blessings count.

November 21~Day Out

Jolene had an orthodontics appointment today,

when we finished we did  little shopping. 

She fell in love with this cute earring/necklace holder, but

didn't love the color. 

I love the changes you can make with spray paint.

November 20~Fog

 

What an amazing morning. 

The fog looks so beautiful as it came

through the valley.  

November 19~The Temple

I couldn't help but add one more

Temple picture.  It was a beautiful day to

be outside walking around the temple taking

wonderful pictures with the family.