Small Christmas

We arrived back from Guatemala on December 30th.  My sister Ally and her family had arrived the day prior to visit.  Together we celebrated a small Christmas.  

This year we tried to choose 1 or 2 things we knew t he kids would enjoy....and here's Emi's.  She's always wanted a poster of herself.  That girl was born with confidence exuding out her ears.  She is such a fun and uplifting spirit in our family. 

Gift certificate all the way from Illinois.  Kayla would much rather save her money than spend it, so gift certificates are a great way to buy things.

Saybia with her new, soft teddy bear.  I think it smelled good to.

Brenna has an affinity for nutcrackers. She loves them all, and now she has her very own. 

Biggest hit if the day....mint ukulele for Kay, and Ally's dog Jet that Emi is holding off to the left.

Pig calendar....pig anything for Emi

Brenna's dream come true.....Heely's.  Tennis shoes with removable wheels on the bottom so she can skate around instead of walking.  She was thrilled.  

The best part was just being together with Al's family after not seeing each other for awhile.  Our time in Guatemala really drove home the focus on people versus things, and even just coming home to our normal lives was a little bit if an overload.  

Guatemala Slideshow

Babysitting Macleod's

The girls are always happy to babysit for families in our ward, especially if they have a baby!  Happy day today that Alasdair and Melissa left the kids with us to go enjoy a special Christmas Music and the Spoken Word uptown at the Tabernacle.  Everyone took turns holding James

and playing games with the twins.  This have to been some of the nicest, most polite preschoolers I have ever met. 

  It was a joy to have them here and to remember the feelings of little ones in our home.  It's been awhile.

Emi's Dance Recital

Look at that cute middle owl

This is Em's 1st recital at her new studio.  She is progressing well and loves everything about the studio, especially her teacher, Jenny.

I'm not a huge dance person, I don;t think I ever took a dance class in my life, but I could sit and watch this girl dance for hours.  I love it!

I'm hoping to get the video of this dance posted either on the blog or linked to YouTube soon.  I'll keep you posted.

Leaper on the left

Front left

That's our Em!

Biz Town

This is Emily. Biztown is a program done by Junior Achievement to help students learn about jobs and adult life. We are all assigned jobs, have real checkbooks and debit cards that we uses to deposit our checks and pay bills. In the picture above, I am recording a live commercial from the KSL studios promoting RSL.

 I was the CFO of ReAl Salt Lake. My best friend was the CEO of ReAl Salt Lake with me. Biztown was a great experience. Now I know that when you are an adult, you will be VERY busy. I loved my jersey that says CFO. (Picture below)

 Here is our mini indoor movie theater. (The only one in the whole building) We had seats just like the real ones in the ReAl Salt Lake stadium. Once you were seated we would play you a free RSL clip.

Here is my best friend (Mia) and me in our room at the end of the day. We had a pretty good day and made a great team!

Christmas Dance

Baylor and Aubs headed to the Christmas dance in their Batman attire. It's fun to see her grow up and go on such fun dates and endless dances with her friends.

Gingerbread House Prize $

Last month Brenna, with the help of her sisters and cousin Katie, created a gingerbread house for the annual South Jordan contest.  She and her older sisters have done this every year when they are off track in November, and then we go see all of the displays down at the Gale Center in early December. We were so busy this season that we never made it down there as a family and never got to vote for her house, but we heard that other did.

  This year they held the  'Awards Ceremony' at City Hall and we were at Emi's soccer game across the street, so we headed over when the game ended.  The awards were over and people were taking their houses from the display tables, so we did likewise, and placed it in the large receptacle outside, as we were not looking to bring home additional Christmas decorations, especially ones that the dog or cat would make a mess of.

Then Monday morning came and I receive an email that Brenna won the "People's Choice Award"  and needed to come down to the Gale Center to claim her prize.  After school we drive down there and they give her an envelope with 5 - 20 dollars bills.  It was all so surprising I never thought to take a picture, but she was sooooo excited.  They had her sign a very formal document attesting to the fact that she had received the money, and she beamed for the rest of the day.  As we drove home, she counted and touched and stared at the money and then said she wanted to share it with her sisters, and use it in Guatemala.  She has a tender heart and is always thinking if others.  The 'People Chose' a really great girl this year.  Thanks to all those that voted for her. 

Festival of Trees

One of our favorite things to do the 1st week of December is visit the Festival of Trees.  Such a great way to kick off the season, see beautiful trees decorated by so many talented people, and to remember those who have passed on.

This was Kayla's favorite pick, she has a thing for 'Big Eyes'

This is Sammie's tree, one of our neighbors young daughters who passed away tragically this year.  She loved butterflies and this tree was so special to her family and friends.

Next best thing about Festival of Trees....Calling and talking to the Elves.

We actually paid $ for Kay, our serious "Christmas Lover"  to call and talk as well.

It's hard to see, but she was thrilled with the experience.  Sometimes it's the simple pleasures that bring them so much joy! 

Our Christmas Ad

Knowing the our holiday season would be jammed pack with parties, activities, and preparations for our Humanitarian trip, we decided to do Christmas pictures early, like the end of October.  I spent lots of time trying to coordinate outfits that each individual liked and also looked good together as a group.   Harder than you might think, but it came together, literally at the last day - when Emily borrowed a mustard skirt from a friend who wore it to school the previous day.  And at the last second, as the kids were already in the car, I ran in and grabbed a mustard cardigan to put over my black shirt.  But it all did come together and we had a good time at Camera Shy, a new studio we had never used.  

After our session, they asked of they could use our picture for possible advertisement or promotional purposes.  They girls all said Yes, as they wanted to be featured in the lobby or in the slide show running on the TV's in the lobby with all the cute, naked, newborn babies. About a month later, Kayla went to the Camera Shy website to see if we were on there, but didn't find us.  Then a few days later, one of her friends posted a picture of this ad on Instagam saying....Look who I found in my mailbox today!

Kayla was thrilled and quickly checked our mailbox to find the ad.  So there you go, the girls made the

 Valu-Pak ad and maybe even the lobby slide show at Camera Shy.  The funny thing is, that's not even the picture we chose as our Family Picture this year, but we do love it!

Papa's Quilts

The girls had to hangout i the kitchen while Papa and Grandmother got their gifts ready.

The were packaged up with love and a big red bow

Brenna was first - Red and Yellow

and Christmas

Emi yellow with her name 

and pinwheels

Lindsay purple and green

So grateful to her Papa

Kayla could hardly contain her excitement.

Hers was made from some of her race shirts. 

Black, red, and white for Aubs to match her room and style

Sincere thank yous

These quilts will be something the girls will treasure fro the rest of their lives.  We so appreciate Papa's  talents, patience, and persistence in completing  5 beautiful and beautifully personalized quilts for his girls!  We love you Papa and Grandmother.

Tree Set-up

With Thanksgiving behind us, time to start setting up the tree.

This year we decided to go with one tree in the living room and one in the family room.  

Double the prep time

Double the enjoyment!

Thanksgiving

It's a Miller Thanksgiving

Drumsticks and all

We also had the  pleasure of having 'Timmy the Pilgrim' with us that day