Festival of Trees

After we were SO exhausted from all the baptism stuff, we still had plans to head to the Festival of Trees. It was a crazy week and we couldn't make it any other night. Brayden came down with a fever in the afternoon, but with a little bit of Ibuprofen he was able to make it through the night. We had an enjoyable time and it was neat for the kids to see Samantha's tree. Here the kids are watching the dancers:

 Ethan's tree:

 Sammie's Tree:

Brayden's Baptism

Brayden has been looking forward to being baptized all year. He has gone to all the baptisms of the kids in his class and it was finally his turn. We made it to the church early, took pictures, and had a nice baptism program. There were 4 kids getting baptized, and he was the last one so we had to wait a bit until it was his turn. He did great! Josh did a great job with the confirmation and gave him a beautiful blessing. We had a lot of people come and support Brayden which made the day very special for him.

 After the baptism we headed back to our house for soup, salads, and dessert. In the middle of lunch we had a surprise visit from Santa! Steve arranged it and didn't tell anyone. It was fun for all the kids, except Brielle and the other babies, and we got to take a lot of pictures with him.

Reflections Open House

Brooklyn won the Dance Choreography category of Reflections at her school, Jordan Ridge. We were invited to an open house where they announced the winners that would be advancing to the regional competition. There were a lot of people and the lady didn't talk very loud, so we weren't sure what the 2 different awards they were handing out were for. Brooklyn ended up getting the Award of Excellence for her age group/category. We still weren't sure what that meant...if it was just a participation award, runner up, or winner. So after all the awards were given out I had to go up and ask the lady in charge what it meant. Well she won!!!! We were so excited! So her dance video advanced to the region level and we find out at the end of January how she did! Way to go Brooklyn!!!

Yum Yum Yum

Brielle, like all toddlers, loves suckers. She found my purse one day and found my extra stash of bank suckers that I save for emergencies. Of course she had to open all of them that she found and eat them all...I think there are 4 in her hand in these pictures. And of course she doesn't eat them til they're gone...once she's done she just tosses them on the carpet. Lovely.

Brooklyn's Christmas Program

Brooklyn had her 1st grade Christmas program and it was SO fun to watch. Brynlee came with me while Josh stayed home while the baby was still asleep. She did a great job and was the best cookie dancer!

Christmas Count Down Chains

For family night we made count down chains for Christmas. The kids love doing this and it helps me not get so frustrated when I get asked MULTIPLE times a day how long it is tip Christmas :)

Festival of Trees - Decorating Day

Cindy and I went over to the Expo center to set up Samantha's tree. It was a lot easier this year to decorate it home and carry it in then it was last year to decorate it there. It was an enjoyable morning with Cindy as we set up the tree and walked around looking at all the other trees being put up.