Bounce U

We were ready for some rough and tumble fun so we invited the Fosters, Henricksons, and the Bentleys to try out a new bounce place with us. It was a blast! The mom's even got in on the fun. (Good job ladies!!) The kids were all tired and sweaty by the time we left. (Even Olivia was sweaty, I have never seen her sweat before.)
No Kirstie is not crying but is does look like that. The kids were playing slam basketball and Will took her down! Take that Kirstie!

They had a circular shaped apparatus that was filled with web like rings inside that were made of elastic. It was quite a challenge getting to the top but we all made it. Julie and I think we should have one installed in our backyards. A few times up that every day and we'd be in shape in no time!

Sheer bliss!

The boys wanted to have a slam dunk competition. Who do you think won?

Such a fun place, we will definitely be back!

Super Brother

We were getting ready to go and meet some friends and we had all just taken showers. I was the last one in and when I came into the living room I was completely surprised to find Will attempting to do Olivia's hair. So sweet! He actually did a pretty good job to. He'd combed it all back into a pony tail that stayed in. I love what good friends Will and Liv are. It's times like these that melt your heart as a mom.

Little Ballerina

After a super yummy dinner at the Reynold's, Lauren their oldest daughter got out her toe shoes for ballet. Olivia was mesmerized, just look at her little face. She showed Liv what they do first and then she let her try them on. Livvy LOVED it!! We may have a future ballerina on our hands. Thanks Lauren, she couldn't have been happier.

Bring on the Sledding!!

Julie Bentley invited us for a day of sledding and yummy lunch. We couldn't pass that up so away we went. We love to go sledding together. Liv is at a great age for sledding, I don't have to carry her, me and the sled up the hill this year she can do it all by herself. (My back thanks her strong little legs!) Bring on the snow! We hope to sled many more times this winter!On your mark, get set, GO!
Two cool snow boarders!

Liv is always glad when Elliot can come and hang out.

This picture is so interesting to me. It looks like the tube is floating. What do you think?

Will is totally getting the hang of the snow boarding thing. Even when the hills are icy from all the sledders he is able to ride it out. Go Will, you rock!

Merry Christmas!!

I am usually the first person up on Christmas morning. I get so excited that I start climbing into bed with everyone asking them if they want to see if Santa's come. No one ever does, perhaps because I start at 5ish. This year though I was up chatting with my sister until 1ish so when Will came running into the room at 6 announcing at the top of his lungs that Santa came I was still fast asleep. We all wiped the sleep from our eyes and headed for the family room because of course none of the kids were up for catching a few more zzzzz's.
I love to watch the kids open their presents and seeing their reactions. Christmas is such a magical time on so many different levels.

Merry Christmas I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we all did.

Christmas Eve

We always look forward to our Christmas Eve party with the Riches family. It has changed and evolved over the years as the majority of the grandchildren have grown. But we still love getting together especially with our awesome Papa!

Jenna made a bear and named her Skipper for Liv. Liv gave Audra a tub time baby. The older grand kids do a white elephant exchange and this year Jeff ended up with Joshua's gift. The two legged lamp. Will gave it a thumbs down but Jeff knew it would be a hit with his room mates. It really works to is the amazing thing. When it was unwrapped for the first time the room exploded with laughter. Good idea Josh!

Will, Abigail, Olivia, Mason.

Grammy made everyone their Christmas P.J.'s. So cute.

Grandad always reads The night before Christmas to the grand kids before they go to sleep on Christmas eve. I love that tradition.

We sleep at my parents every Christmas eve. Brian was hoping that because they only live a few streets away now that we'd sleep at home but the kids and I nixed that idea. We sleep in the same bed and anxiously await Santa's arrival. So far every year we have been lucky enough to hear Santa's bells on the roof. This year we even heard Santa ho, ho, ho, and say Prancer get back in line. They were so excited, Olivia's little body was shaking with excitement!!

Moose Hill Sledding Party

Mr Beck's first grade class.Front row: Devon, C.J., Lenaia, Jason, Will, Jocelyn, Davis, Chance and Nick.

Back row: Selena, Trinity, Mr. Beck, Kaccie, Riley, Cole (Davis brother), and Jason.
These fellas tore up the slopes on Will's snow board.

Mr. Beck (in the red U jacket) challenged our two awesome special ed. teachers to a race down the hill. Go Mr. Beck, go Mr. Beck!!! (As the kids would say.)

Will got his hands on one of those old fashioned sleds and loved it!

Some of Will's classmates had never been sledding before but they all did really well and had a super fun time. I especially loved Selena's squeal of glee every time she would head down the hill. She went down more times than anyone else I think.

The class race!

Olivia's Preschool Christmas Program

Olivia loved singing her Christmas songs to all of us at the program. She has gone around all month singing the song about Santa in Africa. Doesn't she look adorable!
She had a lot of people come to see just her. Grammy, Lexy, Grandpa, Dad, Mom, Will, Krista, Garret, Laif, Tammy and Jessica Ynda.

The program was very well put together with all of the kids having a talking part and lots of songs both old and new. I love to watch kids in a live performance you never know exactly what they're going to do!! (There were three different classes combined for the performances but Olivia has a lot of her friends in all of the classes.)

First Grade Gingerbread Builders

It's a tradition at Parkside for the first graders to make gingerbread houses. Some parents put the walls together a few days earlier and the kids all brought candy to share. It was interesting watching their little personalities shine through in their decorating. Some put on as much candy as they possibly could. Others were very detail oriented, while others couldn't help but eat most of their candy. We had a lot of mom's come to help and most of them couldn't help but get in on the action too.

Nutcracker

Will has truly had the best time this Christmas performing with Utah's professional dance company, Ballet West in their production of the Nutcracker. He had the part of the spank boy and absolutely loved it!! Will's good friend Andrew had encouraged him to try out so Will thought he would give it a try. He tried out the beginning of September while Brian and I were in New York, so we were not able to be there with him at his first audition. Luckily Grammy and Grandad took him and waited outside while he auditioned. I anxiously awaited his call and when it finally came his excitement at making it was almost tangible. There are four casts of children and Will was placed in the A cast. Which means they perform first. Practice started almost straight away and Will was excited every time. He loved the choreographer Katie. He often came home mimicking things she would say and do at rehearsal. He made fast friends with all of the other boys, his favorite though was the boy cast as Fritz in his cast. He thought Matthew was hilarious and by far the best of all the Fritz's. Though Matthew was an "old" sixth grader he was always very sweet with Will and really made him feel included. Thanks Matthew! Will's cast did four performances in Ogden and six at Capitol Theater. A lot of our friends and family were able to come and see him but the highlight for Will was when his oh so cool teacher Mr. Beck arranged for the entire first grade to come and attend a performance. It was so fun to see his classmates little faces as he performed. This last week he has been the under study for his part for B cast and he is also the urchin at the very beginning of the ballet. He has missed being the spank boy but is happy to get his face all dirty with the makeup that the urchin wears. Tomorrow night will be his last performance and while it has been very time consuming for Brian and I it has been pure delight watching him achieve and shine. I completely enjoyed watching him perform and seeing how at home he was on the stage. I am so proud of all of his hard work. Well done little Will! You were the perfect spank boy.

Busy Blogger

I have officially passed the 100 blogs mark. I can't believe it! Thanks for getting me started Angie, it truly is fast and fun. I had a lot of catching up to do so if anyone's interested take a peak at the November entries too.

Surprise, Surprise!

Will came home this evening to find nutcracker cut outs and starburst candies all over his room. His good friends Macie and McKae Eldrege had come to see him perform in the nutcracker this weekend and to say good job they decorated his room. What fun friends, Will loved it and had a smile from ear to ear. Thanks girls!! ( And thanks to their super cool mom!)

Run Run Rudolph

Olivia and her buddy Cole.

Olivia takes dance at E-Motion and she loves it. Most mornings she will say to me, "is today dancing day?" When it's not she is always a little sad for a while. Olivia is constantly singing and dancing any chance that she gets. I love her spirit and her personality so much! She is such a happy little soul, so full of love and light. Her little group danced to run run Rudolph at the Christmas concert. We had decided to not have her perform but the night before the concert she was telling her aunties and uncles and grandpa how that she was going to be dancing on the stage. So we had to rearrange our schedules in order to make that possible. I'm glad that we did she had a ball!!

Festival of Trees

We love to kick off the Christmas season by attending the Festival of Trees. I love the generosity that makes this festival possible and so worth while. So many volunteers donate time in making the goodies that are sold, the trees that are decorated, and the people who are there to run it and who have put it all together. A true act of love and selflessness, it epitomizes the real meaning of Christmas. ( For those that don't know, all the money made at the festival goes to Primary Children's Hospital to pay for medical treatment for those that can't afford it.)
The kid area at the festival is always a hit. Gavin, Liv ans Will all had a lot of fun doing the various crafts. Gavin and Liv even got manicures.

Liv's favorite tree, I'm sure it had a lot to do with all the sparkles.

Will loved this tree and display because of the hundreds of nutcrackers. Will has collected nutcrackers since he was two and now because of his role in the nutcracker ballet he loves them even more.