Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was great. Isaac woke up before Mike & I (I am not sure HOW early) we woke up to the sounds of him playing with the toys Santa had left for him. When we walked out of our room Isaac said "You woke me up mommy". This is what he says because he thinks he will be in trouble for getting out of bed.

Isaac got his kitchen set :)

Mike and I were spoiled by so many others as well.

The night before Christmas a special thing happened...one/some of my friends who knew I was missing Cassady & Josh and my parents all at the same time this year...left a package for me, Mike & Isaac. It included a poem that explained that we were loved by many. It touched us deeply!

Isaac & Dad Boxing

Mike has always loved boxing and now he loves to teach our children. I snuck in on he and Isaac practicing and...well, I had to take some pictures. How lucky our children are to have a father who loves to spend time with them!!!

Little Family Christmas Party

Each year my sister Nicole and I get our families together for a Christmas party. This year we visited Santa & Mrs. Clause and then went back to Nicole's house for cookies and hot chocolate. Isaac, (even though he had told me "I will NOT be shy to Santa...I will tell him I want a kitchen set for christmas") would NOT sit on his lap.
The kids exchanged gifts from each other and had a great time. We are so lucky to have family to spend time with!

Temple Square Musical

Our friends, Kassie & Jeff, invited us to go with them to the musical at Temple Square. We had so much fun!

What a wonderful, spiritual experience it was to hear beautiful music from the Tabernacle Choir.

Joshua is Student of the Month

Joshua has come a long way...from the beginning of this school year until now. Mike and I are so proud of him!

His teacher picked him as student of the month because he has such great behavior in class and he is doing so well with his school work.

He does not like to be up in front of people because they "Look" at him, this is why he is sporting the grumpy look on his face :)

Piano Recital

Cassady, Joshua & I had a piano recital this weekend. This was my first ever recitals. It was one of the hardest things I have done. I have a new appreciation for what the kids do every time they perform. Joshua & I did a duet to the music "Jingle Bells".

I am living one of my dreams by learning to play the piano. I am so grateful to my family for supporting me.

Thanksgiving

This year Mike, Isaac and I went to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We went there to see Mike's dad Robert, his Uncle Mike and Aunt Sue. Mike's sister Julie her husband Matt and daughter Catherine were there as well.

It was great to see everyone. Isaac was so cute with his grandpa. You will see in one of the pictures that he hurt his finger and is showing it to his grandpa to put a bandaid on. Isaac and Catherine were so cute together. He loved getting his picture with her and wanted to see it right away every time.

We got the opportunity to go to the Arizona Temple while we were there to see the lights. It was so beautiful! Mike was able to go inside the temple but I had the FLU so I could not go with him. He said it was wonderful.

Growing Up Fast

These photos were taken by their dad's friend. I about died when I saw them. These two gorgeous children have grown up before my eyes. I am amazed by how time has flown.

Cassady recently begged me to let her cut her hair. I finally gave in and it turned out so cute!

Making Cookies

I thought it was so cute that Cassady had Isaac help her make cookies. She is such an amazing big sister...so kind, fun & good with Isaac.

The cookies tasted awesome!!!

Halloween

Isaac was a pirate for Halloween this year. He loved the costume!!! Mike took him house to house trick-or-treating. He would not say anything until he got home because he was being shy. He told me about the house with the scary spider that he "DID NOT LIKE". Other than the spider he had so much fun.

The entire month of October he told me "I don't like the OOOO-AHAHAHAH...it scares me".

Cassady & Joshua had fun at their dad's this year. We missed them terribly!!!

Football Season Ends

We were sad to see the end of Joshua's football season. It has been a great growing experience for him. He is, all of a sudden, so grown up. Mike & I are so proud of his dedication and hard work.

He is already looking forward to next year!

Temple Trip

Few of my friends and I were able to attend the Timpanogos Temple together. Maryanne Holtz, Kassie Leavitt, Rheanna Dow and I were the gals who went. It was a beautiful night, I felt so blessed to be there with friends. These 3 ladies have become such great friends to me! We went out to eat after and just talked and laughed until the wee hour of the morning. I wanted our picture but I am always scared to ask people to take it...I tried to split into twos and take more pictures but Maryanne was not going to have it. She asked a man to take our picture. He got a close up of us but you could not see the Temple. So, she asked someone else...this time it was a bit blurry. I was bright red with embarrasement. Thank you ladies!!! I love you!

Nevada Family

The best part of visiting Nevada was the time we got to spend with our family. We stayed with my mom & dad, the kids love to sleep in Nanny & Poppy's room!

We got to have a birthday dinner for my dad at my Aunt Chris & Uncle Tom's house. Chris always makes the BEST most AMAZING food. She always makes my favorite...Bruchetta. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM I did not take a picture of Chris & Tom or my cousin Rick and his daughter Derian. I am not sure what I was thinking! They all look so great and it was good to spend time with them. This was only the 2nd time I have seen Brynn, my cousins Brandon & Erika's daughter. She has gotten so big! Brandon tormented Josh...as usual.

I love babies and so I was in heaven with my sister Sheri's little Gavin and Mike's Sister Julie's little Catherine. They are both about the same age and we have only seen them once before as well. I LOVED holding and kissing them!

On the Lake

We were able to take a short trip to Nevada the end of August. My parents took us out on the lake (Lake Mead). We had a blast. It was really windy and cloudy so most people got off the lake, that made it not so crowded. Also, it was not too hot but the water was warm. We love riding the tube behind the boat so the big waves the wind made were PERFECT. Joshua would do everything but ride the tube...he is afraid for some reason. Isaac rode on the tube with me until the wind sprayed the water into his face...then he was done. Cassady wanted to ride everytime and was so cute with her cousin Kara, making sure she was having fun. It was great using my new camera because it takes great action pictures. I got the kids in mid air jumping off the side of the boat. What a wonderful day!!!

1st Day of School

Cassady & Josh started school the end of August. Don't they both look so old all of a sudden???
Cassady has Mr. Rasband who is very organized and she loves it. She has never been more comfortable in a classroom before. She works really well with good structure. She says he is really funny too.
Josh has Miss Olson. She is amazing! She is the PTA teacher rep so we were already working together. She is really good about telling me the good things he does. He really looks out for others if they are hurt or being bullied. We are working on getting him to tell a teacher and NOT taking matters into his own hands when someone is being bullied.

Josh Starts Football

This year Josh decided he wanted to play football. We have put him in all kinds of sports but this is without a doubt his favorite! They have them run in practice and he is getting really good at it. We am so proud of him! He plays on defense, right on the front line. His team is the Spartans. He looks so grown up when he has his uniform on.

My Birthday

On our Lagoon trip Josh dropped my camera and it broke. My sweet husband let me pick out a new camera for my birthday present, he along with my family paid for it. It is awesome!!! From here on out, the pictures will be great! I thought a picture of my cake would be great...but I deleted it on accident. I have gotten the same cake for every birthday as long as I can remember (an oreo ice cream cake). My friend Wendy also brought me an amazing cupcake from Dipidee's. I ate it too quickly to take a picture :)

Lagoon

For Mike's birthday, he wanted to take us all to Lagoon. Mike & I have not been there since High School. Cassady was really brave and went on SOME of the bigger rides. I forced Josh to go on a kiddy ride that went somewhat high and he swore never to do that again. Isaac loved everything he was allowed to ride. He especially liked the hellicopter. He tells me all the time now that he wants to ride the hellicopter again. Mike and I will have to go again for date night to be able to ride the adult rides together. That is just another excuse for us to get away together. YES!

Lagoon Pictures