December Wrap-up

1. December flew by in the blink of an eye. Why does it have to be so mean like that:) My chickadees. If I'm remembering correctly, I looked over and saw these three doing a train massage.

2. Bath time for these two boys includes a lot of splashing. They are such good little friends. Maxwell often tells me that Samuel is his "best buddy". Oh how I love them, even though they have both caused me to start graying already.

3. A touring ballet company from Oregon came to the college and performed the Nutcracker. Kathryn and I went on a girls date. It brought back a lot of memories from my childhood. We both loved it. Hopefully we can start a new Christmas tradition. We ended our date with some frozen yogurt.

  

4. We took our preschool co-op to the food bank in our town. We all collected food and then delivered it. The director also let us assemble some food boxes and gave us a tour of the facility. She was a retired kindergarten teacher and did such an amazing job with our busy preschoolers. It was such a wonderful thing for all of us be a part of. 

5. Santa visited story time at the library. I think it was also the same Santa who came to our ward party, but I can't seem to find those pictures anywhere.

6. A quick picture after church. I was lucky to get one good one with how tired and hungry these three where. Oh wait...that was me!

7. Headstands.

  

8. We were so lucky to have Great Grandma Jones visiting for Christmas. She stayed with Michael's parents for several days, and they all came over to our home on Christmas Eve. It has been years and years since she has visited his parents for Christmas. We loved having her in our home and celebrating together. We delivered a few treats to our neighbors, ate dinner and acted out the nativity. After the grandmas and grandpa left and the kids were tucked safely into bed, Michael and I went to work. And then, it started to snow and blow...

Christmas pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa Higbee, and a new robe from Michael.

9. On Christmas morning, we woke up to see snow on the ground which was purely magical, and then we noticed our fence...which was not so magical. It was already on it's last legs anyway.

The children were very excited for their gifts- 

new bikes and a car, binoculars, watches, train set, painting pony and head band set. 

Kathryn and Maxwell worked really hard one afternoon making and wrapping gifts for everyone in the family. It was so sweet to see their excitement as they passed out the gifts on Christmas morning.

We also did a sibling gift exchange and let them pick out a dollar store gift for each other.

November Wrap-up

1. I loved watching the kids huddle around Michael one evening while he read the scriptures. It makes me happier than anything to witness moments like this.

2. Since the boys had their surgeries a few days before Kathryn's birthday in October, I decided to wait until they were fully recovered to have a friend birthday party for her. We went to a local ceramic shop and painted ceramics, and then went back to our house for ice cream sundaes. It was absolutely perfect and the kids had so much fun. Kathryn is so blessed to have wonderful friends.

3. Max did his hair with lotion one morning. He likes a spike, and frequently asks for one. As you can see from his hands, it was more of a hair explosion though.

4. Kathryn took her "All about Me" poster to school.

5. We had our first snow in November. The kids played and played. Since living her, I've learned that you really must take advantage of the snow because you never know how long it will be around.

  

6. We took our preschool co-op to the ceramic shop for a field trip this month too. Max had so much fun painting and did such a terrific job with his truck. 

7. I love all the little notes Kathryn writes me. It is so much fun to watch her learn and grow.

8. Just a little light reading for Samuel. He's also a Clive Cussler fan like his Dad and Grandpa.

9. Building a fort in the living room

10. Kathryn came home from school on her first day of Thanksgiving break and put together a craft. I loved watching her take the lead. She is such a creative little thing.

11. This was a day near the end of November, but it really felt more like spring. And this was even after our snowstorm. The weather is never very predictable where we live.

12. Happy Thanksgiving!

October Wrap-up

1. The fall soccer season went well. Kathryn was a little back and forth the whole time, but she enjoyed it overall. At one point, she told me the reason she didn't like soccer was because of all the running...hmm. She really progressed through the season and did such an awesome job her last game. She actually kicked the ball several times. I was so proud of her for sticking with it. She had a great team and made some new friends. And, she is already planning to play again in the spring.

2. We are so lucky to have an awesome fitness/tumbling class for kids in our town. Mrs. Kristy is a trained dancer and gymnast, not to mention an awesome teacher to young kids. Kathryn participated in this class when she was younger, and we loved it. So, when Max was old enough, we put him in the class too. He really does a spectacular job and has such a knack for this kind of stuff.

3. Kathryn participated in a mini cheer camp that the high school cheerleaders put on. They practiced after school several days and then performed at the high school football game. She was so adorable!

One of Michael's technicians is the assistant coach.

4. A huge part of our month was spent preparing for and recovering from surgery. Maxwell and Samuel both had surgery. These sweet little boys were troopers.

There was a lot of time spent at home in pajamas, watching shows while eating Popsicles:)

5. Our pumpkin carving took on a whole new level this year. Michael got very creative and pulled out his saw to get the hard to carve areas. We ended up with a pirate and a one-eyed monster.

6. Our sweet little girl turned six this month. Oh my goodness, Kathryn is such an angel and such a gem. She is kind, loving, thoughtful and creative. She is a precious spirit. I took treats to her class a few days early because her teacher was going to be gone on her birthday. She LOVES her teacher, so it was only fitting that she wanted her to be there on the day they celebrated. We (Maxwell) had some serious meltdowns on her birthday, so I ended up taking Kathryn out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant while Michael put the boys to bed. It was a fun little girls date. Then, we came home and opened presents and ate cake with Michael. I think she felt pretty special having us to herself. 

7. I took the kids out for some pictures in their Halloween costumes before we went trick or treating. Kathryn was a witch and Maxwell and Samuel were superheros- Mighty Max and Super Sam. 

8. We invited some friends to trick or treat around our neighborhood. It was a perfect night.