Christmas Memories of 2011

It's been a fun month of Christmas parties, cards from friends & family as well, & way too much candy.  Here's a few of our highlights.

 Josh looking like a stud as a "Wise Man" in the Ward Party.

 Jessi has got to be the "Star" of the show 2 years in a row.  If you can't tell - Halle is an angel.

 Janice Worton created an awesome Christmas party this year with a hilarious "12 Days of Christmas" song that helped us all get involved.  My personal favorite was "5 old high priests!"  (One of them was Grampa Dennis)  

 Dana & I took our girls to David Archuleta's Christmas concert.  We were in row 5!  Close enough that Jessi was just sure he looked right at her!

 I got to go with Jessi on "The Nutcracker" ballet field trip.  I just loved it, big shocker.  Even Jessi was impressed with the costumes & dancing.  Yahoo!

What do you do when it's too cold to ride the motorcycle?  Go to Napa!  All we have to say is, "Motorcycle" and Halle comes running.  Great . . .

 Quinn played her first hymn, "Away in a Manger" at her Christmas concert.  She was amazing.

 That same night Jessi had her first flute concert with the 5th Graders.  She was wonderful too.

Shelby with her Kindergarten Program.

 Josh is in the middle, I promise.

 My kids (like everyone's) just love making sugar cookies.  We even broke out the aprons - WOW!

 Not sure how to flip this pix but Shelby begged to help mop the floor.  So they jumped into their swimsuits, we poured some warm water on the floor, & they had a blast.  My Mom use to let us do this when I was little & I still remember thinking she was just so cool!

On Monday most of the family went skiing at Pebble Canyon.  It was Shelby's first time skiing & she just rocked.  Her new name is "Turbo" because she beat Josh down the hill.  As you can tell Halle really wants to be included next time.

 Electronics are still a hit with my men.

 Jessi got a color yourself bag that she's already finished.  She can't wait to use it for school.

 Quinn got a nice set of drawing pencils - her teammates teased her that she was the only 13yr old that still loved to color.

 Shelby got a fun play dough cake maker - Halle loves it too.

 Josh got a bow & arrow from Santa that he just loves.

All week we've used the crafts, games, & toys to keep busy.  We've visited the library, Napa, & Pebble a few times since the kids don't have school.  Ahh, I love vacation with no schedules.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Halle's 2nd Birthday

So I'm a little behind in my postings, that's normal right?!?  Just thought I'd throw some cute pix out there of Halle's Birthday Bash on Dec. 8.

 Play Dough has got to be Halle's all time favorite toy.  Babies are sweet, stuffed animals are cute, but give this girl play dough & she's happy for at least an hour - that's impressive for a 2 year old.

 I laid out a few pictures of cakes & she picked the puppy - so cute.

 Who's the dweeb in the background?  Has to be Uncle Kade always trying to make himself look more attractive.

 Jessi learned "Happy Birthday" on her flute for Halle.

 We had quite a group gathered again - what can I say, we love birthdays!

Jessi has such a special connection to our Halle.  Halle's face just lights up when she comes home from school.  Awww . . .

Haunted Halloween Bash

This year's annual Halloween Party was a bit crazier than usual.  What can you say when you get this many fun people together with guns, zip lines, & food?  Party!  Luckily Kade & Jesalee helped us plan again - so we could anticipate all the ways people could cheat (what can I say - they've got a gift)

 

 Here's our "Blue Man Group" Kurtis & Deena, Brian & Jami, Hank & Ashlee, Todd & Deborah.

 The "Red Devils" included Lane & Kim, Kirk & Robyn, Matt & Emily.

 The "Green Eye'd Peas/Monsters" were Brian & Dana, John & Kyndra, Steve & Kayla.

As promised we had a very memorable ride from Lava Hot Springs to the Lava Zipline.

I can't figure out why everyone dressed so funny - I guess they wanted to.  Alright, so I awarded points to those willing to embarrass themselves for our enjoyment.  Don't they look fantastic?  I especially loved Kirk's full head of hair.

 We loved the Zipline Adventures - so worth the money & time!  Below in the big hat is Milan (owner) who wasn't afraid to ham it up with us.

 We warmed up with a tug of war to determine which group got to zipline first. 

Then why they were getting their harnesses on we . . . 

 did a few "Minute to Win it" challenges.  Dana & Brian doing a little "Hanky Panky" trying to empty a Kleenex box.

 Kirk & Robyn doing my favorite challenge "Mad Dog."  We attached 2 tic tac containers to paint sticks & they have to shake them all out.

 Todd & Deborah got cold feet doing the "Hanky Panky" with everyone watching.

 Matt & Emily attempting the "Nut Stacker." 

Bonnie & Clyde (aka Kayla & Steve) were fierce competitors!

Here's Kyndra & John attempting the "Dizzy Mummy" where you wrap your partner in an entire roll of toilet paper without breaking it. I love Kyndra's die hard expression and Kurtis' shirt.  Priceless.

Ok this was just plain mean but we gave bonus points to whoever would hold a night crawler in their mouth for 20 seconds.  Then someone asked if they could have double the points if they swallowed it - sure!  I have a great video but couldn't get it to load, sorry.  Come over some time & you can laugh with me.

Here's Jami (I think) playing "Suck it up."  Had to suck up an M&M with a straw & move it to another caldron.

 Kyndra & John are looking pretty hot.  We couldn't get John to take his teeth out all night, wait a minute - maybe those are his real teeth!

 My favorite part about this years party?  That we got to participate!  We ziplined, visited, & laughed with everybody instead of just hearing about it after.  Yahoo.

I'm not really sure who all of these people are but it was quite a rush.  We each got to go 5 times trying to make whatever crazy pose we could.  We even gave each player a water balloon & had them try to hit our life size Napa guy poster.

 

This last one was just for fun.  Dana & I rode together.  The guy who caught us at the end said, "This is the best part of my day.  2 gorgeous women coming at me at 30 mph."  Was he working for a tip?

This was the hardest I laughed all night.  Brian was pulling with all his might while John laughed like a girl (sorry man, but you did) and everyone behind just tried to lift their leg at the same time.  Oh it was awesome.

Teams had to use their sharp shooting skills with their BB guns to destroy their team's clay pigeons. 

Our finale was each team collecting items from each challenge to assemble a sling shot where they tested it out with eggs.  The "Red Devils" dominated this one & were our amazing winners this year.  We ended the night by soaking in the Lava Hot Springs - Ahhh.  Thanks friends - it was great fun!