Gingerbread Mania

Last night we made gingerbread "houses."  They sure are a lot of work - but we all had a good time.  See all the smiling faces:

Even the kids made some graham crackers ones:

Adalyn:

Mieley:

Daeson:

The kid's final masterpieces:

Really pretty good!

Now onto the adult's finished masterpieces:

Adam's and mine cabin.  (Take note mom and dad how well we constructed that cabin!)  :)

Heidi's:  Aww, so cute.  Don't you just want to go ice skating on that pond??

Todd's:  Pretty cool.  A monster truck rally complete with spectators and stadium lights.

Danielle's stable:  To Danielle's defense, she had BIG plans for a barn, but when she set her barn outside for a minute for the icing to set up, the dogs got to it and ate it all!  She pretty much had to make this from the leftover scraps!

Jandy's:  Simple and sophisticated.

And last, but of course not least, Kaden's train.  

Aunt Jandy surprised all the kids last night with homemade PJ bottoms too!  How cute are they?  (Tora snuck in the picture)

And these two blondies are so adorable together!

Provo Tabernacle Fire

I read about the Provo Tabernacle Fire on another's blog.

I can't believe this picture.
It is a painting by Harry Anderson entitled "The Second Coming."

Just check out that burn pattern.  Amazing.
Coincidence?  Doubt it.

You can read more here and here.

A reminder as to what's really important at Christmastime.

A Smile

I love it when I see this face looking up at me.

Christmas Flowers

My favorite hubby (okay, I know, I only have one) brought this red flowers home to me the other night - just because.  It sure made my day more "merry and bright."  Thanks Adam!  Love you!

Cookie Monsters

Last week, Mieley performed some Christmas songs for the Senior Citizen Center with her TaVaci group. (I didn't want to pull Adalyn out of school, so just Mieley, Tora, and I went.)  Afterwards, a cook came out and gave all the kids these GIANT cookies.  You should of seen all those kids faces light up.  It was so cute!

Y.U.M.

Christmas Program

Just got back from Adalyn's school Christmas program.  She was the cutest little reindeer up there!  She had a spoken part in this program too and she recited it flawlessly.  I'm always so proud of her!  The whole school sang some songs together, and then each grade sang different songs.  The kindergarten sang, "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer."  They were all pretty adorable!  

Grandpa

Today, my family attended the funeral of my Grandpa P.

I wanted to share this will you:



Though this isn't my Grandpa's story, I find comfort in the words of President Monson: "We know, through the revealed word of God, that “the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, … are taken home to that God who gave them life.”


I'm so very grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that families are forever.  I'm grateful for this Grandpa, who after my dad's father past away, entered our lives, and truly became another grandpa to us, and loved us as one of his own grandchildren.  I'm sure he was welcomed with wide open arms into heaven.

We love you.

TaVaci Christmas Concert

On Friday, Adalyn and Mieley had their TaVaci Christmas Concert.  It was really, really cute.  I love seeing my girls all dressed up on the stage singing.  It makes my heart happy.

A lot of family came, but I only got a few pictures:

Tora and Granny G.

The T-man!

Grandma and Grandpa B.  

Time to SING:

Adalyn had a special surprise for all those who came.  She had an extra part in the program this year.  She didn't want to tell anyone, because she wanted to dazzle everyone.  Anyways, she did so great!  I am such a proud mama.

Here's how her part went:

Boy: Hey, Adalyn, what's your favorite part about TaVaci classes?  Besides the fun songs, I mean.

Adalyn: Well, I love the drama activities we do in class.  They're really cool!

Boy: My favorite drama activity is role playing.  Hey, let's show our audience a role-play demonstration.

Adalyn: Okay! Let's role-play um . . .a. . .FAMILY.

Boy: Great! What do you want ME to do?

Adalyn: I want you to. . .communicate your thoughts.

Boy: Communicate my thoughts?  I have no idea what that means.

Adalyn: Perfect!  You can be the husband!

(and insert laughter here)

Okay, back to some more singing:

And here's that big ending again:

After the concert, a special guest came.  I love Mieley's look here.  So excited.

Who was it?  Just this jolly guy:

And to top off their wonderful night, Adalyn's and Mieley's cute cousins Tevan and Daeson were so thoughtful to bring them flowers.

Thanks to all that came and shared this night with us!  We love you!

Merry, merry Christmas!

Christmas Advent Calendar

We finally got the Christmas tree and decor up.  Now I'm really getting excited for Christmas!

Over Thanksgiving, my mom gave this advent calendar to us.  (She did it all.  I only had to sew on buttons.)  It is so cute!  You put on one ornament a day until Christmas.  Love it!  Some day I'll be as crafty as my mom!

Here's how it looks with all the ornaments up:

Tora really loves it:

I got a kick out of her kissing it!

Thanks again mom!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was wonderful as always. Tasty food, awesome family, and fun for all.  I am so thankful for my family!

With Adam's family:

Adam and girls with Adam's grandma.

The whole clan:

The obligatory family picture:

Plaid sisters:

And on Thursday, Thanksgiving with my family:

Adalyn and cousin Kinley

More cute cousins

Smiley Mieley:

So most of kids are pretty photogenic, how about the adults?

The stare down:

Why so sad?  Someone feed them more pie.

Uh - not quite sure what's going on in these pictures:

Mardie trying to coax a smile out of Ellie:

No smiles from Tora either?

Oh wait, there's a smile from Tora:  :)

We actually had a lot of fun at both Thanksgiving meals.  Thank you everybody!

We missed you Matt, Kim and Karlee.  See you soon!