Christmas in Color

The kids always ask to go to Christmas in Color but we always get so busy in December I end up pushing it off until it's too late. So this year I decided to get it done early! It was Ethan's birthday so I suggested to Rachael that we take all the kids through it to celebrate and she loved the idea. So after they had dinner and cake we loaded the kids up and headed to the equestrian park. We didn't have to wait which was amazing and the kids all had a great time!

 

No More Underbite!

For the past 6 months our orthodontist has been correcting Britney's underbite. Brayden had the same thing done with lots of success so we were confident that it would be as easy and successful as his treatment was. Britney is all done now with wearing her face mask at night and everything looks great! (Everyone at the ortho office loves Britney of course, but there was one hygienist that Britney loved and always got to be with her whose name was also Britney! She thought that was the coolest thing!)

 

Festival of Trees

Because of the rising Covid cases they decided that we couldn't go to the expo center to decorate our trees. We had to do as much as we could at home then transport the trees and set them up there. ao everyone came over to my house and we spent the day decorating the trees. Celeste and Ali were in charge this year and came up with a beautiful theme "Pretty in Pink." We love how they turned out and they were auctioned off for a lot more than we spent!

Sister Miller

I've only had the opportunity to serve the young women of the ward for one year, so there aren't many that I was able to get close to. However Lindsay Miller is one that I connected with and have continued to stay close with. When she got her mission call to Brazil I was SO excited for her and loved telling her all about my mission there. Unfortunately bc of Covid she served 2/3 of her mission in Missouri but finally was able to make it to Brazil for the last couple of months. I've really enjoyed writing back and forth with her and reading all the wonderful experiences she had. She came home last week and I was able to make it to her homecoming where she gave an amazing talk. Parabens Sister Miller!

 

Last Pool Party

We got in as much swimming as we could this month. But alas it's time to close the pool. We had the Allman's and Tucker's over for one last pool party before it's all shut down. Did I mention we have heated the pool up to 98 degrees all month? That's what has made it SO amazing. It literally is like swimming in a hot tub. The kids stay in for hours since it's warmer in the water than out. We have loved having a pool and already are excited for the spring when we can open it up again!

 

Elfie and Christina

Elfie and Christina showed up right on time! The morning after Thanksgiving they came and brought a couple of fun things for the kids to do. They are super excited to share the next month with the elves and finding all their tricky hiding places!

 

Thanksgiving

After Brayden's bday party we decided it would be fun to keep the pool open for Thanksgiving. We had Josh's family over for the day and enjoyed being with them. We swam, played, ate, relaxed, and watched the new movie Clifford that just came out. We are so grateful for the relationships we have with the Ericson family and for how often we get to spend time with them. After most families left and it quieted down a bit my girls and Natalie's girls got out their tiny Christmas trees. We have spent the week letting each girl pick out their tree and what "theme" they wanted to decorate it with. It's been a lot of fun helping them find stuff to put on their trees and see how creative they are. They spent an hour decorating their trees and they turned out SO cute! 

 

Altitude

A few girls from Brynlee's dance team went to a trampoline park and they had a blast! I love how close they become with the girls they dance with. They are all best friends!

 

Christmas Decor Finished!

It took a couple of weeks but we finally were able to get our Christmas decorations finished up! I am completely in love with all of it and it was definitely worth the money to have them do it. Chris and Pam did an incredible job and I'm excited to be able to have it up for the next 6 weeks. I asked them to wire everything to the tree so I can wrap it up in January and store it until next Christmas. In fact most everything is now wired together so I don't have to re do it every year. I'm fine with it looking the exact same for many years to come!