Christmas Cruise

I get emails all the time posting the latest and greatest deals. I received one early in the month of December that sparked my interest. It was for a Christmas Cruise down the Provo river. It sounded so cool, and it was super cheap. They said, "thousands of lights and a visit from Santa Claus." How could you go wrong with that? I hadn't heard anything about it but I thought it would be no loss if it was dumb. So we purchased a bunch of tickets, enough for our family, Mom and Kenny, and Curtis and Whit. I waited all month long to go. I just knew this would be the new family tradition. Before hand we went to the Brick Oven down in Provo (which is always fabulous) to celebrate Whitney and Curtis' birthday (they are only a day apart from each other.) Then it was time to punch the address into the GPS...OH I was SO excited!  It kept taking us west all the way on the other side of the freeway. We were all so confused because the Provo river should be east, but we kept driving and driving and driving. We finally reached the destination out in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a neighborhood. Hmmm. This didn't seem right. It had been snowing all day, so we had to trudge through about a foot of mud to get checked in. I thought for sure we would hop on a shuttle that would take us deep into the canyon for our amazing boat ride. Nope! The "amazing Provo river" was technically a canal in someones backyard.

I don't think we were the only one's fooled by the awesome promo going on. Their were a ton of people and it was SOOOO cold. So we waited and waited and waited. At least they had a fire for us, and hot chocolate (well it wasn't exactly hot so we waited and waited for that too.)

Finally after waiting about 40 minutes it was our turn. The kids had to put on life jackets, you know how rapid that Provo river can get? We didn't want anyone falling out.

Doesn't Kade kind of look like Chris Farley...Fat man in a little coat

We had to trudge through more mud to get to the "river" bank. Then we all hopped on the boat. I just kept thinking their would be more. More lights, bigger river, something exciting??? It didn't happen. The guide pulled us down the "river" nice and slow, so we could take in all the lights. This is the most we got...

We went down a little and then turned around and came back. Lo and behold on our way back, Santa was rowing by in a canoe. He stopped by our boat to offer some treats. All the kids got to give him "five." Kade looked at us and said, "Mom that is fake, he's not weal. He doesn't even have glasses on!" I'm not quite sure why they couldn't fool a 4 year old? He was so authentic looking. Afterwards Kaylee said, "He was not real! His hands weren't even old and crumbly."   Well we decided the best part of the whole thing was the hot chocolate we had to buy, and the Fruities we stole out of Santa's bag. We asked Brayden what the best part was and he replied: "Was their a best part?" Nuff said.

Guess I need to keep working on the new tradition thing. I'm failing pretty miserably at it though.

Polar Express= lame. Christmas Cruise= worthless.

What happens in our home, should stay within our home...

Mike's Grandma came to visit us for a few days before she flew to Portland. I'm not sure she new what she was getting into when she came to our house. Let's just say, I'm glad she has a very bad memory. I'm sure she forgot all about this as soon as she left our home. Thank goodness.

The night started out very normal. We had Sunday dinner together and then the kids decorated a gingerbread house.

Then we sat on the couch to relax while the kids kept themselves busy

That is when things started to get out of hand. Brayden thought it would be funny to try on my really high heels

But that wasn't funny enough. So, he added a tutu

And Kaylee wanted in on the action

And Kade

Then we lost all control of them. They spent the next hour trying on different outfits, dancing and singing. We were all laughing so hard. They will hate me one day for these pictures.

Every time Kade had to make sure he had something "boyish" on a cape, a gun, or a mask. He couldn't bring himself to go all the way.

I don't know if you've ever seen the You Tube video of the 15 year old kid doing singing impersonations, but Brayden and Kade are obsessed with watching his videos. This is Brayden's impersonation of him

The night ended with a few modeling poses. Then I had to call it quits, I was starting to get really worried about my children. In fact this night still haunts me.

 

Christmas Sunday...

On the Sunday before Christmas we had a Christmas program at church. All of us got to be a part, except Mike. The kids sang with the Primary, I got to sing with the Young Women. The kids beamed with pride as they sang about Joseph, Mary and Jesus. And lucky for us Brayden was standing right in front of the microphone. We got to hear him loud and clear:) Lucky for everyone else....I was not.

Great Grandma Davis was in town that day. We got to spend the day with her. She even came to church with us. She made MANY friends while she was there for the short hour.

Santa Claus is coming to town...

Santa Clause comes every year to Grandma Sonia's for a visit. Since Grandma is remodeling her kitchen right now, Santa decided to come to our house instead. Some of the cousins were in town so we got to see them for a few hours.

Here are the boys patiently waiting his arrival

             Here are all the Grandkids present that night. Brayden, Zac, Kaylee, Kasen and Kade
 He finally came and the kids were so excited!!!!! Kade sat on his lap and asked for a real life motorcycle

                         Brayden (the cheeseball) said he wanted anything Santa wanted to bring him.

                             And Kaylee also said she would be happy for anything (easy to please.)

 Kaylee and Kade had spent the morning making pictures and letters for Santa and Mrs Claus. They made sure to give them to him before he had to leave.

 Adrianne thought she was off the hook this year, but no, he wanted her to sit on his lap. You're never too old. Right?

                                    All the kids saying goodbye as he is getting ready to leave.

 After he left, the kids got to open their presents he gave them. Kaylee was THRILLED with Disney Sing It

                              Brayden and Kade both got a soccer ball with a USA world cup t-shirt.

This night got the kids so excited for the big night when Santa would really come.



Morning with Kade...

The month of December was SO crazy. It seems like their were a bazillion things to do. But in the midst of it all, Kade reminded me that things needed to slow down. I love spending time with this boy. He is so funny and so chill. So one morning after the kids went off to school, Kade wanted to play games. We spent a few hours playing many different games sipping hot chocolate. We had a blast together.

 He was very tricky and loved skipping me or making me draw two...or four during Uno. He would laugh and laugh every time!

Thanks buddy for helping me remember to slow down. Their are many precious moments I was missing. 

Company Christmas Party....

This was before going to Mike's company party. We had a fun night away from the kids, yummy food, and good company. I love a good night with my honey!

Cinderella....

Kaylee's class put on a performance of their own version of Cinderella. Kaylee GOT to be a narrator It took much convincing that this was a good part. She was not happy about it! They did a good job. I didn't get many pictures of the actual play because I was filming. But here are the narrators

                             After the play we took a few photo opps. Kaylee and Kade

                               Some of the actors in the play

                              Posing...surprise

                              Kaylee and one of her good friends Avery



Truly Elated...

Nine years ago today, our family was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. It was truly a remarkable day.

Finally, having the peace of mind that my family was forever. They were mine. It is a feeling that is so indescribable. This little kid lit up my world, and I never wanted to lose him. I finally had him forever (as with the additional children we later added to the family.)  This day was worth all the hard work we had to do to get there.

I woke up this morning feeling so much gratitude in my heart. I have been extremely blessed because of the path I have chosen to follow. My life is filled with tender mercies. I recognize my Heavenly Father's hand in my life. He truly guides me and helps me day after day. For some reason I am a person that gets SO stressed out SO easily. My middle name could be anxiety. But I have recently noticed a change in the way I handle things, the way I approach things, my thought processes. I know this change has come as I have learned trust in Him.

Today I felt an urgency to go to the temple. I thought it would be the perfect way to celebrate our sealing anniversary. I felt so much peace as I walked in, and I KNEW it was were I was supposed to be. I have come to love the ladies I see weekly, and I was looking forward to seeing their kind smiles. As I sat waiting, I recognized a voice. As I proceeded through, I was greeted by the sweetest lady from my ward. My heart swelled as I saw her and hugged her. I was quickly reminded that not only will heaven be filled with members of my family, but also with sweet dear friends, and neighbors. It won't be the same without them there. How magnificent it will be. It put peace in my heart knowing I will have many loved ones there.

I will remember this feeling I felt today. I will forever feel a special bond with this sweet sister, because of a sweet moment we shared together. I will forever be grateful for my AMAZING husband and the eternities I get to spend with him. And I will forever be indebted to my Heavenly Father for the many blessings he has given me.

Thanksgiving 2010...

Thanksgiving is one of my very favorite holidays. I LOVE to eat! Going into the holiday I wasn't overly excited. I was in charge of Kaylee's class party, and it totally wore me out. It also seemed like it was going to be a stressful day and I truly wasn't looking forward to it. The day started out very mellow. I slept in a little, Mike went and played Turkey bowl, and the kids played great all morning. That alone put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. We went to my Mom's house and surprising enough, all four kids were able to be there. And it was actually very pleasant. Brayden serenaded us with his guitar (he has made up a new song...it's fabulous:))

The smell of the yummy food just made my heart happy.

Grampsy decided to help Mom with the sweet potatoes. He kept telling her, "Add more marshmallows." Word of warning: If you don't use miniature marshmallows, this will happen. The marshmallows were oozing all over. They even fell to the bottom and caught on fire. We were more interested in getting a picture, then putting the fire out. I guess that's why the fire alarm started going off. Kaylee quickly grabbed her "treasures" and went straight for the door. She was yelling, "FIRE!"

When we asked Kade what he would like to eat, he replied with, "EVERYFING!" Notice the difference in his plate of food, and the other two kids.

After dinner Brayden skipped dessert and decided to try Sill. It's a Swedish pickled herring. My entire family loves this (except me) and Brayden decided he wanted to be a part. He chewed it up and said he liked it. He didn't have us fooled though. About an hour later he told me his tummy hurt from it, and his mouth tasted like fish still. I don't think he'll be trying it again any time soon.

After my mom's we went over to Sonia's. MORE YUMMY FOOD!!! We ate and ate and ate. After we were finished, the kids wanted to eat their dessert in the form of a pie eating contest. Why not? Brayden and Kaylee had done this at school the day before and both took 2nd place. They wanted to have a rematch. Again they both inhaled it and finished at almost the same exact time. Kade decided he didn't like Apple Pie and quit halfway through. They had so much fun playing with their cousins, we don't get to see them often. They were very sad though that the snow storm kept one set of cousins from coming.

After Sonia's we went to my Dad's for dessert. Weird, although I had already had two huge meals, I still managed to squeeze in a piece of pumpkin pie....and banana cream pie. Delicious!!!

But can I say, the only thing better then a yummy Thanksgiving meal, is leftovers! Late that night, I climbed in the car to go to my Mom's. I just had to have one little turkey sandwich. And can I say, it was fabulous.

I just unbuttoned my pants, and smiled. It turned out to be a great day.