Snow Day

All month long the kids wanted to go play in the snow. Living in Texas, they don't get many chances for some good quality snow. So, after Christmas we found a day for them to experience some true snow up in the mountains. I stayed behind with Oakley but our kids went off with Grandpa Ralph and had a grand old time. After putting on layers and layers of clothes, I finally had all three kiddos ready for the snow.

Isaac had a great time throwing snowballs at people. 

Emeri was so excited to go! She looked liked a strawberry golden marshmallow! 

Jenna is so prepared! The kids enjoyed a tasty lunch while playing in the snow. In the other picture Isaac is trying to be silly and climb on the snowman they made.

Hugs for Mr. Snowman

The gang huddled around Frosty.

Emeri was this happy for about twenty minutes I was told, after that it became this.................

a sad cold Emeri. 

Christmas Day 2014

Christmas day at my old house with all my siblings was a Christmas to remember. We sure have grown in number since I was there. I love seeing that growth in this picture. It makes me happy. The picture of Emeri with Aunt Sarah is so adorable. While waiting to go see the Christmas tree, those two were busting out some Frozen songs and impersonations. 

Little Miss Hadlie loved the sorting bucket I got her! Yes! Score! 

Aunt Beka is an incredibly talented person. She crochet these hats for the kids for Christmas. The boys got their favorite Ninja Turtle and Emeri got an Elsa hair hat. AWESOME! I also got a scripture bag to take my scriptures to church in; all made by my sister's magical hands. Thank you Aunt Beka!

These two buster pants were so adorable when saying thank you to each other for their gifts from one another. We had a cousin gift exchange and Nathan gave Andrew that green gun and Andrew gave Nathan that flying Toothless toy. We were able to capture their sweet sides during their embrace. So cute!

Emeri got this microphone from Grandpa and Grandma Ralph. It played the Elsa song that everyone is obsessed with, including our 2 year old. Emeri got into character so well. She loved pretending to be Elsa. Best gift ever for her.

These two cousins had each other for Christmas too. They both got each other a sports ball. Josiah got a soccer ball and Isaac got his first and long awaited basketball.

Here is Oakley during her first Christmas! She loved hearing the paper crinkle and grabbing it to put in her mouth.

This sweet girl got 12 Frozen cardboard books from Miss Gracie. Emeri never let them go throughout the rest of our visit. She loved them, they were the perfect gift for her.

Here are the boys, after our traditional stairway picture, while going through their stockings. The pictures are kind of blurry but that just shows how crazy they went. I couldn't get them to hold still for a second, let alone for a picture.

Christmas Eve 2014

In my family we perform the nativity every Christmas Eve. It is a tradition we all look forward to with great anticipation. My mother was given these costumes during a time in our family that was very difficult so the emotions behind them are deep and real. This is part of the reason why we cherish doing this tradition so much. Plus, the kids have a blast getting all dressed up and acting out their parts. Christmas Eve is a night full of fun, gifts, food, and acting. 

This year Isaac got to be Joseph and Katelyn was Mary. The role of donkey was done by my brother and he did a marvelous job! So funny.

Our two middle children played the role of two of the wise men! Andrew, Emeri, and Nathan were so cute in the baggy costumes while trying to give gifts to the baby Jesus.

 
These cousins are so adorable in their Nativity costumes. They all look so good. I am glad we have cousins on both sides of the family who are close in age and absolutely fun to play with.

Here are the cast members in a group picture!

After the Nativity the kids opened one gift from Grandma and Grandpa Ralph. This is another tradition we did. The gift was always a pair of new pajamas. This year the kids all had a theme with theirs. The girls of course had Frozen pajamas and the boys got super hero ones. The kids were all going crazy, especially the girls.

Even little Oakley got her own pair of Frozen pjs.

Here was how Andrew said thank you to Grandpa Ralph for his new transformers pajamas. He was so excited! Grandpa was also Oakley's favorite too. They cuddled several times throughout our visit.

Loved seeing my sister with her adorable family. I have missed her so much since we left Utah. It was so nice to catch up and see her as a cute little mama. I had Oakley in a Mrs. Clause outfit on Christmas Eve. The picture is a great one of her and Uncle Ben.

2014 Family Pictures

My mother is in love with this new company where you can design  your own shirts with the words, names, or phrases of choice. She even was able to get them to create the Salt Lake Temple where they were married with the names of all of our family members. The shirts are so awesome. It was a fun surprise and they turned out great. 

 After Christmas my family went and did professional pictures to replace the ones in my parent's living room. That was my mom's Christmas gift this year. All of her children and grandchild were home at the same time to finally get some updated pictures. These copies have been tweaked so there are a few things wrongs but you still see everyone fine. Enjoy! 

 Here are Grandma and Grandpa Ralph with all 11 of their grandchildren.  

 Here is my family in the year 2014. The last time we had family pictures I was 8 weeks pregnant with Isaac. My how our family has grown in 6 years.