The Spirit of Christmas

Ever have those moments when you look at your child and actually SEE how much they've grown and it just takes your breath away?

This was one of those moments.

McKenna started taking ballet in September and has loved every minute of it! It's been so much fun to watch her develop this talent. She has become so graceful and fluid. So when she came upstairs for her first performance in full makeup I was astounded to see my 14 year old daughter looking so grown up. Yes, it's a bit heavy, but it's stage makeup. My favorite part were the lashes! They made her eyes pop!

The performance went well. Kenna was in 2 dances and was beautiful. I wish I had pics of it! The highlight of the evening was when a guest instructor recommended that she take extra classes. I was floored but a little concerned about the money. But Ballet Nevada gave her a scholarship to attend as many classes as she could at a certain level. I was, of course, in tears and Kenna was surprised. We feel so blessed to be a part of a dance company that has been so generous to Kenna. It was by far my favorite gift this year.

Cameron's 6th birthday!!

Wow. 6 years ago, I got the BEST Christmas present ever! I can't believe that my babybigboy is already 6. He is getting so big and grown up. He is changing so much so quickly. Cameron is a sweet, sensitive boy that is also able to wrestle with his brothers and hold his own. He loves to read and be read to. Cameron has ALWAYS been a snuggler. He was carried for most of his first year and still likes to sit RIGHT NEXT to you on the couch. He does a great impression of a Lounge Lizard on weekends and holidays watching movie after movie and reading. I am so grateful for him and what he adds to our family. Love you.

*note- the red slinky was bought for him by Max with Max's own money. He was too excited to wait for Christmas so he gave it to Cameron for his birthday. I guess those are the moments we wade through 'life' for.

Bear Bread

One of my favorite memories growing up was every year in school, my mom would help us make bear bread for our teacher gifts. I'm sure it wasn't HER favorite activity, but I remember getting so excited as they came together-and I'm sure she did more of the work than I did. But she'd always let us poke the bellybutton and put the raisins in place. We've done a lot of different things for the teachers over the years, but this seems to have been a real hit! And come on. Is there really anything better than fresh bread? I think not. So this is going to become a new tradition for our family! Pass it on...

Cameron loses his first tooth!

I think it's a right of passage- especially for Kindergarteners. At some point in Kindergarten my kids start asking me when they're going to start losing their teeth. Cameron was no different. So he was super excited to let me know that he'd lost his first tooth at school! His second tooth was soon to follow (you can probably see it sitting crookedly next to the empty spot). Unfortunately, our Tooth Fairy is pretty delinquent and it took a few days for her to visit. But in the end, Cameron was happy with the 50 cents she left for his tooth!

Pictures with Santa 2009

Another Christmas.... (yes, I realize that I'm actually typing this in July) I really love taking the kids to see Santa Claus. But this year was different. Kenna and Chris decided they didn't want to go. It made me a little sad, but they are old enough to make the decision. Max and Cam were still excited to see him. Max asked for a remote control car and Cameron asked for a new folder for school. Stay tuned for a later post to see if their wishes were granted.....

Max is too cool to smile for the picture!

And Cameron is SUPER excited!

Kenna's 14 birthday

Ok. I admit it. I am a horrible mom. I don't actually have any pictures of Kenna's birthday. *gasp* I know, I know. But we did things a little differently for her birthday this year. As many of you probably know, McKenna and I are serious Twilight freaks. So when we found out that New Moon was opening on her birthday, all she wanted was to go to the midnight showing of it. I am not a big fan of midnight shows, and waiting in line just bugs me. But, it was ALL she wanted. So I did what any die-hard Twi-Mom would do. I said, "OK!" So we headed off to Rue 21 and bought her a New Moon shirt. (I was so proud when she told me she didn't want a shirt with anyones face on it! She got one with the wolf pack tattoo and it says 'Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?' on the back.) So the day came and it began at 6 that evening with a service project with the Young Men/Young Women at the cannery. We were worried about getting a decent place in line but wanted to do the service project anyway. So we raced over to the theater right after and called some friends that were already there. They were running a special that for 5 dollars we could watch Twilight first and get in early to get our seats. So, OF COURSE I sprung for the movie. We got in there and got pretty good seats and it was a ton of fun heckling Twilight on the big screen! Everyone in the theater laughed at the same spots (the ones that weren't MEANT to be funny!) and it was nice to come together as book purists and laugh about the stupid changes they made! Anyhoo... New Moon finally began and it was.... A-MAY-ZING! We even went the next night to see it again. I wish I had gotten pics of us, it was kind of nice for it to be just she and I. (At least I enjoyed it!) So while I wish I had pics of the night(s), the memories are sweet in my mind. She is such an amazing kid. I am so blessed to be her mom. Twilight opened a whole new way for us to bond. Sounds weird, but it's true. We are constantly recommending books to one another and she has learned to appreciate my special brand of weird! (at least in private) She was also able to attend her first Stake dance a day or 2 after her birthday. It was a rocky start to the whole dance thing, but she is enjoying them now. I love her so much. She is a really great kid. Maybe having a 14 year old girl in the house won't be as bad as I've heard! (heehee!)

HALLOWEEN!! OOOOOOO!!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. This year was special because of Max's baptism, but also because we had cousins out from Utah to trick-or-treat with us! So after the baptism, Chris ran to play in part of his game and the rest of us went home to eat and get ready to go trick-or-treating. I thought I had pics of everyone, but I guess not. Chris went as a football player- not sure if it was out of laziness (on both our parts) or what, Max was a bandit, Cam was tigger, and Kenna went as Jane Austen. Kenna came up with her costume and wanted to make it herself, but with time constraints, it became my project. It was fun to work on together. Her original idea was much grander, but making costumes is not much cheaper than purchasing one anymore.

But it turned out well and she looked great! Max came up with his costume all on his own. Love it! And Cam loves going through our old costumes and FINALLY fit perfectly in the Tigger costume he's been dying to wear! So all were

happy. Hayley looked so cute dressed up as Cookie

Monster and Conner was Elmo. We also had our good

friends Anna and Gracie with us dressed up as black cats!

Kenna, Chris and Kenna's friend Maddee went out on their

own. *sigh* That's the first time I've let them do that, and

it was only with the stipulation that they call every 15

minutes. Yes, you read that right. I am perfectly ok with

them growing up and making (some) of their own decisions.

But 3 really cute kids, out alone, without adult supervision,

without me made me nervous. I guess it had to happen

sometime. It was a really great year and we had

grandparents here to help hand out candy and share in the

fun.

Can't wait til next year!

Max's baptism

Max turned 8 this year and was interviewed by the bishop and found ready to be baptized. We were so excited for this, Max especially. He had been talking about this for a long time asking 'how many more days til I'm baptized?' This year the stake baptism day fell on Halloween. At first we were concerned about how this would work out, but it all went really well and I think was a very memorable day for him. We were lucky that Aunt Brittany, Hayley, and Conner, Grannie and Grandpa Greco, and Grandma and Grandpa Thompson came out to see it. We also had his Primary teacher, Primary president, and some really good friends came. It began with all the kids in the stake together in the chapel for a talk about baptism. then we separated into wards for the baptism. Max was the only one from our ward and we got to go first. It was really nice and witnessed by both grandpas. Coming out of the water, Max yelled, 'Holy crap!' which was just Max! Then we had a talk by Grandpa Thompson on the Holy Ghost followed by Max's confirmation to receive the Holy Ghost. Max is such a sweet kid. He makes me happy every day. There are days that I wonder how I got so lucky to have him. I am so proud he made the decision to be baptized. We love you Max! (and could a family pic be more accurate?)