Let the Christmas traditions begin....

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve started out with breakfast burritos for breakfast(what else, right?), chocolate chip zucchini bread to snack on, and then a good game of football for the boys.

(Teni playing QB for Daniel and Troy)

Meanwhile, the girls played with the little bit of snow we had out back.

We had our traditional Mexican fiesta dinner

Before sprinkling reindeer food on our front steps the kids received their Christmas PJ's, set out cookies and milk for Santa, said their goodbyes to Cody(our elf on the shelf), read the story of Christ's birth in the book of Luke, and talked about the symbols of Christmas.

After sprinkling reindeer food on our front steps the kids watched a Christmas movie and fell asleep together in the same room. Every Christmas the kids sleep together in one room. This year it was in our basement.


Christmas Morning

The kids woke up at 6am. They came in our bedroom to inform us the Santa made it to our house and that it was time to open presents. You see, this year we made it a rule that whatever time the kids get up, they have to first wake us up before opening their gifts. This way, I don't miss a thing and I have time to grab my camera to capture the moments. There is nothing better than watching my kids faces light up when they've seen all that Santa has left them and this year was no different. Troy and I couldn't help but crack up every time our kids opened their gifts. Their reactions were priceless!

Like years before the kids received their 3 gifts from Santa and a stocking full of goodies.

Teni was especially happy about his black U of U football jersey. I don't think he will ever take it off.

Alyia loved getting a Moxie Girl dress up doll

Jordyn loved getting a trunk full of pretty princess dress ups

Lincoln loved his baby treats

The kids once again exchanged names(a tradition we started last year). They had so much fun going out and choosing a gift for each other. This is what they got:
-Teni got Alyia a coloring book set
-Alyia got Jordyn black church shoes
-Jordyn got Lincoln a sleeper outfit
and
-Lincoln got Teni snow boots

Shortly after opening gifts, eating breakfast, and trying out their new stuff we headed straight to Vegas to my parent's house. It was a long drive but we were so excited to get there.

Right when we walked into my parent's house the kids were immediately spoiled with hugs,kisses, and gifts. We also got there right in time for Christmas dinner. We had a traditional Samoan dinner-mussel oka, sweet n sour meatballs,sticky rice,taro,potato salad,ham, masi samoa, and koko. It was delish!

Troy and Lincoln with my brother Tenny and his baby girl Taytum.
Lincoln and Taytum are the same age but Taytum's got some serious chunk factor in her favor.

My brother Tai, sister Janet,cousin Sally, and sister Lynnette with Teni.

Let the games begin....
Troy and Francis playing checkers with oreos and vanilla waffers. My crafty sister actually painted this checkered grid on this coffee table that she stained and refinished herself. It turned out so pretty and fun!

The kids playing their Just Dance 3 game that Santa left in Teni's stocking. We had a Just Dance tournament that lasted all night.

Tai and Troy

Daniel and Francis

The weather was perfect in Vegas. So perfect that we went to the park everyday we were there.
(Zion,Daniel,and Jordyn)

Before driving back home my parents treated us all to lunch at South Point's yummy buffet. Our trip couldn't have ended better. We had so much fun in Vegas and made wonderful new memories.

For Christmas all the kids bought this beautiful picture of Christ for my parents and they loved it! They absolutely deserved it.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Look who we saw while grocery shopping.....

Teni with Santa at Stokes Market.

Alyia was sooo excited to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas.

Jordyn finally jumped into the picture when she noticed Santa's hands were full.

Santa made a pit stop at the Stokes grocery store in Salem right about the same time we decided to do a little shopping. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. My kids were beaming when they walked through the double doors and saw Santa sitting in his comfy chair. Teni totally believed that this Santa was the real deal because his beard is attached to his face and his glasses are squared, just like on TV. Teni said to me, "I bet his reindeer are on the rooftop because they are too big and can't all fit in the store." I then said, "They have to be." Jordyn was terrified and didn't want to get too close. She finally decided to jump in on one picture with Santa because she realized he was holding Lincoln. Alyia and Teni were so excited to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas and then about flew through the roof when Santa told them that he would see them again soon. This typical and ordinary trip to the grocery store turned out to be more exciting than planned.

Pliers....Really?!?!?

Teni had a loose tooth but had no desire to pull it out. He did everything he could to avoid loosening it. I think that he was probably a little scared to have it fall out but, all this didn't matter to Troy because once troy noticed Teni's loose tooth he took his pliers out, held Teni down, and yacked it out. Yep, that's right....pliers! Troy gave Teni absolutely NO time to protest. Granted, it only lasted about 3 seconds but Teni was pretty upset and rightfully so. With a little gurgling and spitting the bleeding quickly stopped and then Teni was more than happy to show off his new smile:)

Christmas Fever

So I finally just put the finishing touches on my Christmas tree, of course with the help of my awesome sis in-law (she is the bomb diggity!) My tree is cool and funky just like our stockings and I LOVE IT!

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...."

I love, love, love this time of year!

Thanksgiving baby!!!

We stayed in Spanish Fork this year for Thanksgiving. It was our first Thanksgiving without the long road trip. Tom and Hayley hosted thanksgiving dinner and let me tell you...it was off the hook good!!! I ate till I was sick to my stomach and then I ate some more:)

Our sweet boy Lincoln

These girls had so much fun together! Thanksgiving night these girly girls came to my house for a slumber party and for breakfast Troy made them pink waffles. They loved it!

The boys had fun playing football. They had their very own slumber party at Tom and Hayley's house.

Thanksgiving was great!

My Boys

Troy and Lincoln taking a well deserved nap

Teni dressed for the UofU football game

All Hallows Eve

Our kids had fun dressing up twice this year for Halloween.

They first dressed up to cruise up and down Main St. in Spanish Fork. All the local businesses set tables out on the sidewalks and passed out candy. Our kids love it!

The kids really enjoyed cleaning out and carving our pumpkin....all except Jordyn:(

Our very own jack-o-lantern pizza

Then our kids dressed up again on Halloween night. Alyia was a cheerleader, Jordyn was a skunk, and Teni a UofU football player.

Lincoln was Superman but eventually became Sleepyman.

Nick and Felicia's family came door to door trick-or-treating with us and I just had to take a picture of their awesome costumes!!!

Lincoln's blessing day

It was a special day for our family. Lincoln received a beautiful blessing from Troy. We had tons and tons of family over for Lincoln's special day. I especially was grateful to have my brother Tony and his family visit from Hawaii. It has been a long time since all 14 of my brothers and sisters have been under one roof. The sweetest part of this beautiful day aside from Lincoln being blessed were the wonderful testimonies that were shared from our family. The spirit was strong and I was moved to tears.

After the blessing we headed to the park for a yummy luncheon and spent time catching up.
We had spaghetti and meatballs w/red sauce and fettuccine and chicken w/ alfredo sauce. We also had salads,rolls, and desserts for sides. It turned out great!

Baby Lincoln's cousins came out to support him

Tom,Grady, and Troy

Grady stepped in for Matt...lol
.....all except for Kaye.

We wish Kaye and Jared were with us!

All 14 kids, Mom and Dad, and Grandma

I feel horrible for not getting any pictures of Lincoln in his blessing outfit. We were soooo busy that I totally forgot. He slept the entire time!!! Sometimes I forget I even have him. He is the sweetest baby and we just love him to pieces!

Bingham loses and Teni cries:(

Teni has grown to love football(you'll see how much) especially since he has been able to attend almost all of Daniel's and Tenny's games. He takes a lot of pride in watching and cheering for his uncles. He thinks the world of them and looks forward to all of their games.

Tonight was a big night for Bingham(Daniel's team) They hosted Lone Peak who are undefeated and fought for the number 1 spot. Instead of going to their game we decided to stay home and watch the game on TV. We thought it would be interesting to hear what the commentators had to say about Daniel. So, I made chocolate chip cookies and we sat in front of the TV to enjoy the game. The game was really close during the first half and it was great to watch Daniel. He did such a great job but unfortunately Daniel got injured during the end of the 2nd quarter and suffered a concussion. He didn't return for the rest of the game. That's when everything fell apart for Bingham. Lone Peak ran all over Bingham and beat them 48-24. Losing Daniel meant losing the game for Bingham. It was a huge upseat!......

.......speaking of upset,Teni was really upset when he found out Daniel wasn't going back in and then got REALLY upset when Lone Peak scored two touchdowns during the 3rd quater. Teni lost it!..I mean really lost it. He cried as if someone punched him in the stomach. I thought I was going to have to give him his inhalar because he was crying so hard. I felt pretty bad for him but not bad enough to miss a recording of it. I know, I know, mother of the year award goes to me but I just couldn't help myself.

Teni got a call from his uncle Daniel later that night. Daniel tried his best to cheer Teni up and promised Bingham would get back at Lone Peak in the championship game. The phone call made Teni feel a little better but he still ended up crying himself to sleep. Poor kid:( Teni's sensitivity is just one of the many reasons we love him so much. He has such a big heart and pours it into everything he loves-including cheering for his uncles. We love you Teni and hopefully next time instead of tears it will be cheers coming from you!

Lincoln

Nikki from Sweet Lilac Photography came over to mi casa and took beautiful pictures of Lincoln. Lincoln did awesome and was so calm through the entire photo shoot.

Here are Lincoln's newborn pictures