Happy Christmas!!

We have had such a wonderful Christmas! I just love watching how excited the kids are the whole month of December, and finally on Christmas morning they are just so overjoyed! 

Ryan and Cooper both got a Nintendo 3DS; Riley got an iTouch; and Kendall got some lego blocks. It was so fun to watch them open up all their presents! I got Casey a movie and a BYU blanket, and Casey got me P90X3...which I LOVE!!! I can't wait to start on Monday...I'm so excited!!

My parents came over later this morning and we had fun watching the kids open their grandparent gifts. They are pretty spoiled! They sure have an amazing grandma and grandpa. I'm so grateful that we live so close to them, and that my kids get to spend so much time with them!

We've just been hanging out all day and taking it easy. I love my family so much!!

Merry Christmas!!

p.s. I'm a little sad at how blurry these pictures turned out! I think I'll make a goal to use my "real" camera more often, and not rely of my phone to take pictures..especially on such special events!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is finally here! I love seeing how excited the kids get about Christmas. Being parent is so much fun!

This afternoon we went over to my Grandpa's house for our Christmas Eve party. Grandpa and Grandma Riley gave all the kids their own little bean bag. They were all so excited when they opened them. They all just loved them! Such a perfect gift for the kids! 

It was fun seeing our family! After the party we went over to my parent's house so that the kids could open one gift from my parents, and also so we could give each other our sibling gifts.

The kids were so excited to open their gifts from grandma and grandpa. They each got a pair of jammies, and some hot chocolate and a mug. They couldn't wait to put on their jammies and watch the movie when we got home!

After the kids opened their gifts, we surprised Mom and Dad with a couple gifts we went in together on. We got Mom a gift card to Salt Lake Running Company so she could buy a new pair of running shoes. And we got Dad the extended version of The Hobbit. At that time I also gave them the booklet I made about our family service project that we did. The kids liked showing grandpa the pictures and telling him all about what we did.

After we got home the kids immediately put on their jammies they got from grandma and grandpa. They took their new bean bags downstairs and they watched the new Home Alone move that grandma got them. 

We made some cookies for Santa later that evening, and then Casey read them the story of Christ's birth. I just love my family!

Grandma and Grandpa with their cute Grandbabies!

Momma with her gift card to Salt Lake Running Company! I'm excited to see what shoes she gets!

Papa and Allie. I want to watch the extended edition of the Hobbit!

My Love and my baby princess!

I love my family!

We had fun making cookies for Santa!

There's nothing like Christmas Eve!

Watching a movie on their new bean bags. The kids love them!

Listening to Daddy reading them the story of Christ's birth.

Suki was excited for Christmas, too!

Service Project

For our service project we participated in our Ward’s “Angel Tree” program. After picking two ornaments off of the tree, we sat down with the kids and talked to them about service, and how helping others is like giving a gift to the Savior. We showed them the little angel ornaments and talked to them about how some children don’t have all the things they need.

One of the angels was for a 5 year old boy who needed a coat, and the other was for a 4 year old girl that needed a shirt. The kids were shocked to learn that some children don’t even have coats, or all the clothing they need. It really helped them connect with these two little kids, and they were very anxious to help!

We took the kids to Target to pick out a coat and shirt for the two children. They had fun looking at the different coats and shirts, and deciding which ones would be good to give to the kids.

When we got home, we wrapped the gifts together and then took them to church. I think the kids learned a lot about service and why it’s important to help others. I loved watching their excitement throughout the whole process…they were very happy to be able to help!

I’m grateful for these experiences we have with our children, and I know that one of the best gifts we can give the Savior is to serve others!

Pumpkin Patch!

Today we went to Petersen Family Farm to visit the pumpkin patch. We met Casey at the farm a little after 5:00. It was so so cold! It was such a cute little farm. They had chickens running around, a corn maze, a petting zoo, and a shop to buy produce. 

We went through the corn maze first. It was a little run down, but the kids still liked it. The kids could see the petting zoo area after they finished the corn maze and so they knew they wanted to go there next! There were a few goats, a big pig with sign that said "I bite", and they had some bunnies. You couldn't really pet the animals, but the kids had fun giving them some little food pellets.

After looking at the animals we walked through the corn maze and headed over to the hay bales. The kids had a lot of fun playing on them. We would have let them stay a little longer, but it was freezing, so we told them it was time to pick their pumpkins!

We picked our pumpkins and put them in the wheelbarrow and took them over to the scale to weigh them in. We then went into the little shop to pay for them. They had lots of good looking produce...I'll have to go back there in the spring and summer to get some food!

I think next year we'll try to come a little earlier so we can get first pick of the pumpkins...and maybe it won't be so cold! :)

Getting ready to venture out in the cold!

Going through the corn maze.

 Playing on the hay bales.

Picking out some awesome pumpkins!

Zoo Time!

 Today we had a fun trip to the zoo with Daddy!Casey had his planning commision meeting last night, and so he was able to take most of the day off! I love spending weekdays with him! 

So. Tired.

Sick babies

Taking care of sick kids today  I'm grateful for my mom who dropped everything to bring my kids some sprite and crackers from the store. Love you, Momma!

Poor babies  it seems like these two have gotten the worst of it. I don't know why they won't stay on the couch to rest.

Sleeping Princess

I love this sweet baby girl!

Potter Run!

 As soon as I heard about this race I knew I wanted to do it! Harry Potter + Running = Awesome! Riley was also really excited about the race. We have been running together for a while now and so she was really looking forward to doing another 5k.

The race was ok, but it was really cold! Riley had a hard time running because of how cold she was. She ran a lap with me, decided to join the rest of the family on the sidelines. It was fun seeing everyone dressed up, but hopefully next year the race organizer will pick a different location for the race. It was at Veteran's Memorial Park, but we basically just ran 5 laps around the park! It was still fun to get out and run! The kids were cold, but once the sun came up it wasn't too bad. They had a good time playing on the "castle playground" for a while, and then we took some pictures with Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Snape.

 My cute cheering section! I loved having the whole family there!

Riley and me running our first lap...it was cold!

Mischief Managed! I hope that we will be able to run may more races together. I love my sweet girl!