Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was wonderful in its own way. Rarely is Christmas on a Sunday and this year was one of those rare days. I had been given the calling of ward music chair person and was lucky or insane enough to be in charge of our sacrament meeting program. It was all music and amazing. As a result of the musically filled program I ended up being really busy with rehearsals and learning all kinds of music. It really helped to keep me focused on the true meaning of the season in addition to being able to work with the most amazingly talented people who were willing to give up their time and share their talents to make the program beautiful. I'm so grateful for the talents a loving Heavenly Father has blessed me with and the chance I have to share those talents with others.

We thoroughly enjoyed the time we had to spend as a family without the structure of school and work and even spent some time in Ohio. It could have been at least a month longer. Have I mentioned how much I love being with my kids? They are my favorite people to spend time with, any time of year. Most of all, I'm so grateful for this time of year I have to remember and celebrate the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!

Nathan turns 37

Nathan turned 37 this year and requested Colts gear. We couldn't settle on just one hat so he got 2 to pick from and a shirt. Just in time for the Colts game he was able to attend a few days later. Happy Birthday!

Mackenzie's birthday often gets celebrated in Ohio. This year was no different. She wanted to go ice skating and requested a hole poke cake. Grandma and Grandpa Dayton gave her a new trico blanket, pink with orange border and a hippo in the middle and ducks in the four corners. She was thrilled! She also got a new purse and a Ty beanie baby hedge hog. It was a great 12th birthday. Mackenzie was welcomed into the young women's program and as part of that celebration Nathan and I got to go into young women's and introduce her. We also brought a flower that reminded us of our daughter. Mackenzie picked out the dark purple wisteria vine. I looked up the information about the wisteria and found out that it grows in large quantities and loves to climb, in addtion to being beautiful and smelling wonderful. I shared with the other young women how lucky they are to get the chance to get to know one of my favorite people. Mackenzie is an amazing person and so much fun to be around. She loves to read and is brilliant. She has enough facial expressions to fill a book, some more pleasant than others. She's beautiful and spunky, creative and hard working. She's growing into an amazing young woman and I am honored to be her mother. Happy Birthday! I love you!

Dayton's Spoon

Dayton finds the invention of things a great past time. We were in Ohio for Thanksgiving and he decided to make a "shovel" that then became a super long spoon. I love how proud and serious he acts as he prepares to take a bite. I missed the picture after where his smile lights up the room. Never a dull moment with Dayton around!

Dayton's artwork

Dayton was messing around with his robe one night and discovered he could "draw" on it. He was entertained for quite a while as he tried out different patterns and shapes. Although the placement of those designs wasn't in the most convenient place, his designs were awesome!

Alexa Braces Off

The day finally arrived! Alexa was pretty excited to be getting her braces off. At the orthodontist office they write your name on the board for your first visit and on the day when you get your braces off. Ironically, Alexa's name was written in hot pink. She was beyond annoyed and I found it just a little bit funny. Everything went well and she came out all smiles with a desire to go to Quiznoes for lunch. After a yummy lunch and her own celebration cake (the ortho office gets the newly braces free person a personalized cake and a bag full of candy), she tried out her trumpet to see how different if felt. This was a huge downer. Alexa was pretty discouraged. It was a completely different feel and she struggled to make the same sound as before. She actually requested I take her back to the orthodontist office and have her braces put back on. Luckily she had all of Thanksgiving break to adjust to her new appliance free mouth and returned to school and band a much happier person. Now she has a beautiful smile with a retainer that sports a "Y" and the color BYU blue!

Itty bitty skittle and the biggest cheeto ever

Dayton happened to find the biggest cheeto ever, according to him not necessarily the Guinness Book of World Records. He was pretty amazed and planned on keeping it forever but I convinced him to eat it so we documented the occasion with a photo.

On a separate occasion, Mackenzie found the smallest Skittle ever. She proved her point by placing the tiny morsel with the regular sized Skittles from the package. Once again, documented with a photo.