Wendy's Christmas Program

Yesterday was Wendy's Christmas program for her kindergarten class.  LeeRoy, my mom, Lacie, and Emily were all able to join me in going to see her and she said she felt so special.  She was assigned to shake the bells during the very first song of Jingle Bells.  It was so fun watching her sing and do the actions.  Especially since it was not too long ago that Emily stood on that stage for her kindergarten program.  Funny enough......when I was Wendy's age, I also stood on that stage for my kindergarten program.  Great memories!

Santa and Me

Our local photography studio was doing photo sessions called Santa and Me.  As soon as I saw the advertisement I made the girls an appointment.  They had so much fun.  They got one on one time with just them and Santa.  They read a book, drank hot coco, sat on his lap, and gave him their lists.  Santa told them lots of funny stories about the elves and he knew everything about them.  They had the best time.  They laughed and giggled the whole way home and that is all Wendy would talk about for days.  The best part is that I now have some wonderful pictures to hang every year at Christmastime.  I love how they turned out!

 

Weekend in Wendell

This weekend we headed out to Wendell to spend the weekend with the Robison Family!  We made it just in time to meet them at the local high school where Travis was coaching the boys JV basketball team.  They played a great game and thanks to my amazing presence, won!  It may have also had to do with the fact that they have the best coach ever!

The next morning we helped Makenna get ready for her first ever Christmas dance recital.  It was so fun to be able to go and watch her.  She did an amazing job and looked like she had so much fun!  

Later that night we headed outside of Twin Falls to see the South Hills Lights.  Alisha had told me about it but I was not prepared for how amazing it was!  We were all so in awe of everything we didn't know where to look.  Our favorite parts were the animatronics set up everywhere and being able to feed a real camel!  

We had such a great weekend and it was hard when it was time to pack up and head home again but we are so thankful we could spend time with such a wonderful family!  Thank you so much Robisons for letting us take over your home!

It's All About Emily!

Friday was definitely Emily's day!  That morning Wendy and I went to her school for the awards ceremony because she received the Student of the Month award for Citizenship.  It was so fun to watch her do all of her student council duties.  Since one of her jobs was to shake hands with the kids who received student of the month as they walked up she shook her own hand as her name was called.  The principal decided to help her out and let her shake his hand too.  It was pretty funny.  

During the assembly they also announced winners for the Reflections program.  Emily entered in the category of photography this year and we were so excited when they called her up for 1st place.  She received a certificate and $5.00.  

Later in the day was the 5th Grade's D.A.R.E. graduation.  LeeRoy took off work so he could be there to support Emily on such a great achievement.  We are so proud of her decision to make the commitment to be drug free.

We spent a lot of time at Emily's school today and I am so proud of that girl.  She was pretty excited and proud as well.  It was a great day to be Emily!

National Guard FRG Christmas Party

Last night was the Nation Guard HHB Christmas party.  It was held during the normal monthly drill and the girls were so excited they got to go "do drill" with their dad.  Once we got to the armory and found LeeRoy there was so much to do.  The girls got to try on a lot of army gear.  Emily did okay but LeeRoy had to hold Wendy up so she wouldn't topple over.  It was pretty funny.  There was also weapons to hold and a night vision goggle obstacle course.  Emily has been practicing her push-ups and sit-ups for her gymnastics class so she loved being able to do some with the soldiers in LeeRoy's unit.  They were also able to do a craft, eat treats, and see Santa.  They had so much fun but the best part was being able to bring LeeRoy home with us when we left!

O Christmas Tree

Once again we traveled to Knox Canyon in Arbon Valley with the Coxs and the Palmers to cut down a Christmas tree.  There was a lot less snow so we were able to hike a lot higher up the mountain to find the perfect one.  The kids were so excited when LeeRoy cut it down.  Emily even offered to strap on the harness and drag it down the mountain.  While LeeRoy, Wendy and I trailed behind Wendy spotted two tiny baby trees growing close together.  She said they looked like sister trees so we grabbed them too for the girls's rooms.  They were so happy!  

Once at the bottom we built a small fire to warm up and sipped hot coco and treats.  Then Grandpa Cox pulled the kids on a sleigh attached to his 4-wheeler.  They loved that!  Once home we had fun stringing popcorn and cranberries and decorating our tree.  Emily and Wendy think it is the luckiest tree in the forest since it gets to spend Christmas with our family and I definitely agree!

 

 

 

So Thankful

I saw on Facebook how many people were writing what they were thankful for each day of November so we started doing that within our family before bed each night.  It was pretty fun to hear what the kids were truly thankful for, but the main thing that kept coming up was family. On Thanksgiving day we spent the day with the Call Family in Poky.  It was so great seeing them.  Wendy had a blast playing with all the other kids and we all ate sooooo much food!  We visited, played games, and ate more and more.  We truly have so much in our lives to be thankful for!