Christmas Cards through the years

I thought it would be fun to post some of our old Christmas cards. I wish I'd kept a copy of each one. Hopefully I can find them all.

2014

2013

2012

2011

My sister had the rest of our cards, bless her soul!

2010
My parents were both taking pictures, which is why we're not looking at the camera. This one just turned out to bea slightly better picture than the others. :)

2009

2008

2007- We must not have done one

2006

Fun in the snow

There is finally snow sticking to the ground and we've been enjoying it. The week before Christmas my parents came to visit. We went skiing up at Brighton with them, Jewel, a girl they're fostering, and our three kids. Mike was supposed to work, but he took a much needed "personal day" and joined us. The kids all did great!

My parents were nice enough to put Adam in lessons for the day but he refused to participate. He and I spent most of the day on the bunny hill. He did really well. Last year he just wanted to ski between our legs or use a harness, but this year we worked on a snowplow and he picked it up quickly. He kept commenting on how fun it was. As a four year old he hasn't yet learned humility, so he let me know over and over again how good he was. It was so cute! After lunch my dad took him up while Mike and I skiid on more difficult terrain. My dad taught him how to "bail out" (fall) if he went to fast, so apparently that's his new favorite thing. :)

Mike joined us for a couple runs

Here's a video of him on his first run. I think his legs got tired quickly, because this was his best run.

A few days later Andy, Aimee and the Smith's joined us for sledding at a nearby hill. Although there should have been plenty of snow, we were the last to show. The grass was surprisingly fun to sled down. Adam and Jewel both go hit by other sledders, but they both got back on the sleds and had fun.

Feliz Navidad

Cha Cha Cha, Feliz Navidad, Cha Cha Cha, Feliz Navidad prospero ano y felicidad... I WANNA WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, I want to with you a Merry Christmas, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart! :)

We had a really wonderful Christmas. It was my parents year to have us, but since Mike couldn't take any vacation, they came to us. They are fostering a nine year old named Jewel, so she joined us. It was great having all three of them with us.

In the beginning of December we visited the Festival of Trees. The kids wanted to buy every tree there, but settled for a picture with Santa instead.

We visited Erik before Christmas and decorated a tree for him.

Mike has wanted a picture of his plane for a while, but he hadn't found one he loved yet. I thought it would be nice to have a custom painting made, so I contacted our friend Justin Anderson and asked him if was something he'd be interested doing. He took on the project and the final product is a beautiful painting Mike and I both love. The pictures don't do it justice, but the sky is beautiful.

There was a big cold front here the week of Christmas so we missed out on seeing the lights at Temple Square which is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. I want to make sure we don't miss it next year.

On Christmas Eve we went to Mike's Grandpa's for their annual Christmas Eve party. It's always great to see Grandpa Starley. When we got back we let the kids open their traditional Christmas Eve pajamas. We then watched "The Nativity" and read Luke 2.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ;)

I wish this picture did justice to Mike's wrapping "skills". A lot of paper was wasted in the wrapping of gifts. Next year I'll put him through present wrapping 101. ;)

The kids didn't wake up that early, so when they did we all headed downstairs for presents. The kids "big" presents were their bikes. They were supposed to be a surprise, but Mike wanted them to pick them out, so they knew what they were getting. (For the record, they all picked out the bikes I was planning on buying them)

After events I alway realized that I forgot to take key pictures. In this case, it was pictures of my parents. They spent a week with us and I failed to get a single picture of them with the kids. I shall do better next time! Having them with us made this year a lot better. Merry CHRISTmas everyone!

Adam's Christmas Program

Adam had his preschool Christmas program a week ago and it was adorable! It was a 100% improvement over his program last year.  It might also have been my preemptive bribe for ice cream afterwards, but I think "being one year older and wiser too" helped.

Here are some pictures. My camera doesn't take good pictures when zoomed in, but since Mike wasn't there I couldn't take video on my phone and pictures with the camera. Next time I'll put Sarah in charge of pictures. (good thing I thought of that two seconds ago)

He REALLY wanted the Christmas star to stand up straight, but it kept falling over. 

Here is the video. It's a little long, but very adorable.

The Talk

Last night I had "The Talk" with Sarah. I've been working up to it for a while. I wanted her to hear it from us first but was waiting for the right time. I read a book called, "How to talk to your child about sex: It's better to start early but never too late"  by Linda and Richard Eyre. I've never worried about having the talk but I wanted some tips on how and when. The Eyres suggest starting talking about anatomy and stuff as toddlers and then having the big talk at 8. They're approach is pretty flowery. You have a get the kids excited about learning about something SUPER COOL AND AWESOME you'll tell them about when they're eight. :)

We bought one of the books they suggested called, "Amazing you!: Getting smart about your private parts" and read it to Sarah and Steven a few months ago. It goes into human anatomy and mentions that a mans sperm needs to join with the woman's egg to create a baby. That was good enough for the kids for the time being. Recently Sarah started asking the HOW. How do the two get together?

Last night while the boys were bathing we sat down to talk. I first asked if she'd heard anything about sex and she said she's heard the word but nothing about it. Lucky for me, I know. I asked her how she thought the sperm and egg met and she giggled and said she didn't know but maybe the man and woman get really close, cut a hole in the belly and they come together. Oh if it could be that innocent! ;) I told her very simply how it happens and then asked if she had questions. She wondered about the grand finale, so I elaborated a little, but once she knew the mechanics she was satisfied. One of the questions she'd asked a few times before last night was how do unmarried people have babies. Now she know.

When Mike got home I told him I'd had the talk with Sarah and he informed me that she told him as soon as he walked in the door. Sarah, then on queue walked in and said, "Even though I think it's gross I'm still going to do it!" Poor Mike! Sarah doesn't care about the act but she's super baby hungry and if that's what has to be done, so be it. When we were putting the kids to bed Sarah looked at Mike and me and said, "You two should..." before Mike cut her off and told her it was inappropriate. :) Even though I've told her we're done having kids she asks on a regular basis. Tonight when I tucked her in I asked her if she had any more questions and she said no, it's still gross but she's still going to do it. Oh my! Thankfully she's on board with not getting married until 25. :)

While googling the exact book title I rediscovered the Eyres have a website where they talk about their books and parenting tips including "The Talk". Linda has a book called, "I didn't plan to be a Witch: and other surprises of a joyful mother" that is my favorite parenting book.

If you haven't had "The Talk" yet, good luck! Mike didn't want any part talking to Sarah, but I'd like to be in the conversation with the boys when the time comes.

Happy Birthday Princess!

Last Friday we celebrated Sarah's 9th Birthday. NINE! One year less than double digits and half way to 18. Our repeated please for her to stop growing once again went unheeded. (yes, I'm going to post this on every single birthday post) :)

For her birthday she decided to do a spa night/sleepover. Once she picked the theme she started planning and letting me know everything we needed to get. The important part was that her brothers would not be allowed in the basement. It was girls only. We would do curlers in the hair, face masks, paint nails and relax while watching Maleficent. Sarah invited eight girls and I was surprised when all eight girls were able to come.

Don't the look relaxed?!

The boys were allowed to see her open presents

She had a problem blowing out the candles for some reason

The mermaid tale she'd been begging for.
 Notfrom us. :)

The next morning they woke up and started crafting. No one was in a hurry to have the fun end. :)

Sarah continues to be a dream child. She's very kind and even tempered. Her brothers are the only ones that get a rise out of her. She loves to read and the only trick is finding a new series that she can blow through. At parent/teacher conference a week ago her teacher said the only problem he has with her is that sometimes she's reading when she should be listening, so she misses out on instructions. Her teacher also said that her level of understanding is superior to her peers and that she is able to comprehend things on a deeper level than kids her own age.

When asked what she wants to be when she grows up she'll answer teacher most of the time. Last week we watched a movie called, "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Movie" and she said she might be undecided in case she wants to be a surgeon. :) We obviously don't expect her to pick a profession right now, but I know that the sky is the limit for her.

We are thankful every single day that we get to ber her parents. Happy Birthday Princess!

Random November pics

It's 2018 but I thought I might as well add these pics of us at a Jazz game with Lynette. Occasionally they have a deal where they sell six tickets and hot dogs for $60, so it makes it more affordable for our ever growing family to attend.

It looks like we also took a trip to temple square and toured the conference center with my mom.

After the conference center it looks like Chrystal joined us and we went to the Leonardo so the kids could get creative. 

It snowed and we played in it. (I'm so good at narrating pictures)

Sarah's piano recital

Last week Sarah had her fall piano recital. She started taking lessons from Youngim Thomas in September and things have gone well. Sarah really wanted to learn to play Fleur Elise, and her teacher was willing to teach her. She learned the piece in a couple weeks and then spent the next month memorizing, playing it with her eyes closed and seeing how fast she could play. A couple weeks before her recital Mrs. Thomas had her work on slowing it down. :)

My camera didn't take very good pictures, but here she is before and during recital.

Mike's phone had a glitch so half the video didn't take. After most people had left we had her play it again so we could have the full video.

Click here for the original video. (it won't add it for some reason)

We're very proud of how hard Sarah has worked at learning the piano. Like all kids and instruments it can be a battle at times, but she enjoys it a lot. Well done Princess!