Advent Calendar

A few of you had asked for instructions on our advent calendar. Unfortunately the box we made was a scrap booking kit at Target last year, but this is a great time of year to get one on clearance. I just saw a wood one at Target tonight that was only $8.oo. I was so tempted to buy it only because it was such a good deal (unfortunately I'm good at buying things that are a great deal that I don't need). Here is a list of thing we did each day if anyone would like to copy it. We copied it from a friends blog last year (thanks again Jamie) and we had so much fun doing it this year. This is what we came up with:

Day 1: Wrote a letter to Santa

Day 2: Made Gingerbread Men (Gingerbread houses would be even better)

Day 3: Read A Christmas story together

Day 4: Made paper snowflakes

Day 5: Called Grandma to sing her a Christmas Carol

Day 6: Put up our Nativity and read the story of Jesus birth

Day 7: See who can eat a candy cane the fastest without biting

Day 8: Take a silly family picture

Day 9: Santa Craft (I just found something easy on the internet)

Day 10: Make a Christmas treat

Day 11: Share the Christmas treat with someone and door bell ditch them

Day 12: Drink eggnog and share a Christmas memory

Day 13: Make popcorn and watch a Christmas movie

Day 14: Drive to see the lights

Day 15: Color a Christmas picture

Day 16: Drink hot chocolate by candle light

Day 17: Call another Grandma and sing her a Christmas Carol

Day 18: Go out for a special treat

Day 19: Play M&M game (the one where you roll the dice and when you get 7 or 11 you suck by straw Christmas colored M&M's until another person rolls 7 or 11)

Day 20: Read a Christmas story together

Day 21: Went to see a live Nativity (Our favorite one by far)

Day 22: We were off to Utah to visit family

You can of course make this to fit your family. We had to change a few days here and there because making snowmen and sledding were on the list. I'd like to see us try to do that here in Vegas. Like I said before we absolutely loved ours. I just wish we had taken more pictures along the way. There is always next year I suppose.

I'm really doing it this time. A few months back I mentioned that our blog would be going private. If you left your e-mail before you don't have to leave it again, but if you didn't please leave us your information so we can include you. We want to keep in touch with all of our friends as much as possible. Thanks!!!

Early Christmas

With this being our first year traveling for Christmas we decided to start a new family tradition. Tonight we all put on our PJ's, ate Christmas breakfast for dinner, and had a little Christmas celebration with just our little family. We knew Christmas this year is going to be extra hectic trying to visit all of our family in such a short period of time, so spending this night together, with just us, was perfect.

We opened gifts that we had picked out for each other. Abbie, Avery,and Aliza were able to take a trip to the store with mom or dad to pick out the "perfect" gifts. It turned out to be a great opportunity to learn how to budget their money and think of what someone else would want other than just what they wanted for Christmas.

Dad was surprised with this great #1 Dad mug that Abbie had picked out for him over a month ago. As he opened it she said "it has a special message Dad." She was so ecstatic to hand out each of her gifts. Abbie really had put a lot of thought into each gift this year.

This is Aliza showing off her new dress up shoes. I have loved watching her the last few weeks really get into "dress up." She really thinks she is a Princess.

Can you just see the excitement on Avery's face? Although we opened these gifts a few days early we figure they will have something new to enjoy for a few days. Plus, we don't have to carry these gifts home with us (we are really worried about getting everything home after Christmas.) Having Christmas away from home this year is going to be a very new experience for us. We're very excited and can't wait to spend time with our family!

Christmas Time

I just can't even believe that Christmas time is here again. Though we are still unpacking box after box we have made time for some fun family activities. My parents and sister came into town right after Thanksgiving. We were able to show them our home, and hit the tree lighting in Henderson. They had carriage rides, fireworks, and of course welcomed the big red guy for the Christmas season. We had a lot of fun watching the huge tree light up and had a yummy dinner at Lucille's.

Wearing light jackets all of the time seems so strange to me at Christmas time. I'm looking forward to seeing snow when we travel back to Utah for the Holiday's.

Avery is always in the mood to strike a pose.

Last year a friend of ours blogged about her cute advent calendar. I somewhat copied her idea and made us an advent calendar of our own. Each night after homework is complete and we are ready for bed (that explains the PJs in these pictures) we open a box to find out what activity we will be doing that evening.

Our first night was decorating these yummy gingerbread cookies.

We've called family members to sing Christmas Carols, wrote letters to Santa, read Christmas stories, completed Christmas crafts, and even drank egg nog by candle light while telling our favorite Christmas memories.

Delicious!!!

I have been laughing at all the blow up snow men many people here have on their front lawns. It just seems so out of place for Vegas. But, then for one of the activities we made these snowfalkes to remind us of home. I guess paper snowfalkes on the windows is just as silly (especially with the pool out back).

While watching Mr. Kruger's Christmas we had a competition to see who could eat a candy cane the fastest without biting it. We all had a hard time not taking a bite. We also tried to take a silly family picture. Needless to say it did not go very well so we are not posting any of them at this time. Maybe we will try again another day.

We are all doing really good and can't wait for our trip to Salt Lake for Christmas. Abbie and Avery seem to be doing really well in school, and we are starting to feel a little bit more settled each day. Micah and I spoke in church today and are liking our new ward more and more each week. It's very different, but everyone is really nice and welcoming to our family. Abbie is really excited to go to activity days this week and we are really praying that our girls meet some good friends in our ward soon.

Quick Update

The past few weeks have flown by, and what a whirlwind of events. Here are some of the highlights:

Avery lost her first tooth at school on November 17th. This day just happened to be their last day at school in Utah. It was a fun surprise to see her toothless grin when I picked them up from school. The following day we loaded up our car and the girls and I headed for Vegas (to really stay this time.) The car was so jam packed that we could all hardly move. We couldn't fit everything that we needed, but did get the essentials to make it through a week before my sister and parents drove down with the rest. While the carpets were being cleaned and while waiting a few day for our stored belongings to arrive we stayed in an extended stay hotel where Micah has been staying for the past three months. It was a tight squeeze for a few nights, but we were also just glad to be together.

The first Sunday that we were in Vegas Abbie was having a little anxiety over her first day at the new church. Considering that we were definitely not "settled", nor did we even have our things back we decided that it would be a good idea to just relax. We knew that the following week we would be somewhat more normal, and the girls would have an easier transition to the new ward. We took this time to visit the Las Vegas Temple grounds. The weather was beautiful that day, and we really enjoyed looking at the beautiful "desert" landscape. BTW- Avery was the photographer if you thought we were missing someone.

Me and my girls. I completely had to bribe them to take this picture with me. Isn't that sad?

Monday, November 23rd was the day we felt like took years to come. We FINALLY had our belongings delivered to our new home in Vegas. The girls were so excited to see each piece of furniture arrive. I had to take a picture of them watching the delivery men. They were quarantined to the kitchen to keep them out of the way. We were so excited to just start ripping open boxes and see our things again that were packed away for a few months. I don't know how many times I have heard the phrase "Oh, I remember that" over the past week.

Yes, this was in our house. We have had a total of five scorpions in the home since we received the keys. We are hoping that the cause for so many scorpions is that the home sat vacant for so long. Now that we are living in it we are hoping that they will not be INSIDE any longer. I honestly didn't think about the bugs here until we were in the house. I hear they get really bad in the Spring/Summer. Something to look forward to I guess. Yuck!!!

We did attend church the following week in our new ward. The girls went with no hesitation to each of their classes, and to our surprise both met a friend that they are excited to see again this upcoming week. The following day we started school. They were both very nervous to say the least (mom too), but went with a good attitude. Avery has been saying for a few days that she didn't want to go back, but is slowly making friends and transitioning better than I thought she would. Every day when I pick them up I ask them if Today was easier than Yesterday. They always respond with a big "YES" and are realizing that each day gets a little easier.

Our new school is a public school, but requires uniforms. Finding uniforms after school has been in for a few months was tricky, but we did it. I love the idea of uniforms, and think it will be great for our girls. We are now also on year round school which will be nice for taking trips back to Utah to visit.

On the first day of school Aliza went with us to tour the school before school started. She had to pack herself a lunch, and carry a back pack just like her older sisters. I had such a hard time getting her to come home with me when school started. She just seemed so sad for the first couple of hours that Abbie and Avery were at school then was back to her normal bubbly self. She really loves to be with her sisters.

We are still unpacking box after box, and can't wait to feel like this is home. Just like the girls and school, each day is getting better and better. More pictures and updates will be coming soon.

This Thanksgiving we are thankful for:

Abbie

1) Church

2) Family

3) Temples

4) School

5) Friends

6) Andrew the guinea pig who is my best buddy.

Avery

1) Family

2) Trees

3) Animals

4) Cousins

5) Jesus

Aliza

1) Sisters

2) Mom

3) Dad

Mom

1) Our Families Health

2) My Testimony

3) Wonderful and supportive family and friends.

4) A new home that we can be together in as a family.

(We finally get to move next week. Yipeeee!!!!)

5) The best kids and husband ever!!! ( I am very blessed )

Dad

1) A house

2) Family

3) Good Health

4) Las Vegas Weather

5) Grateful that Andrew (the guinea pig) does not have ring worm after all.

Halloween!!!

Our Halloween celebrations started out this year with school parades and parties. I think the Halloween parade is one of my favorite things all year. I love seeing all of the kids dressed up and so full of excitement. Of course taking a picture of the kids in the parade is close to impossible. Once you get a gymnasium full of family members packed in as tight as sardines, and then add all the kids running by in the parade you only get a quick glimpse (if you are lucky) of your own kids. It still was so much fun, and I do hope that they do parades in Vegas.

It wouldn't be Halloween without carving pumpkins! This year I was smart enough to buy a little carving set. I don't know why I haven't done this in years past, but it was well worth my four dollars. It came with easy to use patterns for the kids, and carving tools they could actually use themselves without me worrying about anyone cutting a finger off. Where have I been all these years?

We carved a total of six pumpkins in all. These huge pumpkins were from Grammie and Gramps garden, and were so much fun to scrape the goo out of. Toasting the seeds has turned into a new tradition at our house also. Yum!

This is my beautiful Vampire, and Minnie Mouse who was telling everyone that she was a cat after Micah did whiskers on her face. So, I guess really she was a meowing mouse to be exact. Aliza was the funniest to watch this year with her not remembering a lot about Halloween last year. She was a little shy at first about the whole thing, but it didn't take long for her to catch on.

Abbie dressed as an artist this year. She had such a great time making this costume. We splattered paint all over her clothes and palette. She wore a sash stating "World's Best Artist."

We were really glad that dad made the trip to come see us for Halloween this year. It was fun to go Trick or Treating around our old neighborhood, and see our old friends. Everyone was doing a double take with Micah around, and many others were really confused to why we were there. We are hoping to hear this week if we get our home or not. But, I think we have said that for a few weeks now. Everything has been sent to the negotiator, and we are just waiting to get his go ahead. We are keeping our finger crossed that we will be in our new home soon.

Fall Fun

There are so many things that we love about this time of year. Here are a few of our favorites.

Pumpkin patches are the best when you can pick the perfect carving pumpkin yourself. We have completely filled up grandma and grandpa's front porch. Can't wait to let the carving begin.

This is a pathetic picture of us on our way into Cornbelly's @ Thanksgiving Point. My lens was dirty, and then my battery went dead right after this picture. This is one of our favorite traditions. There is so much to do that we spent at least four hours jumping, riding, playing, and trying to make it through the corn maze (which we somehow ended up in the big corn maze from the kid corn maze and had to ask for help out. How embarrassing.) I think this is my favorite fall activity by far. We could have spent a lot more time there if it wasn't getting cold and dark. We will have to make a special trip up each year just to hit Cornbelly's.

The witches are always a must see @ Gardner Village each October. Each year we go it gets busier and busier though. We did find all of the witches on our scavenger hunt list so we could get a cookie.

Abbie getting a witch hug.

Our tradition of making carmel apples is a lot of fun. These gooey treats are the best.

Our costumes are ready to go, and the countdown is on for Halloween. We can't wait!!!

Grandparents Day

Today I was able to attend the rehearsal for the big first grade "Grandparents Day." They have been practicing for weeks to prepare for all of their grandparents to come watch them perform. I don't know what it is about these sweet kids singing, but it always brings tears to my eyes. I know it is ridiculous, but I'm always trying to hide my tears whenever there is any kind of performance. Their voices are just so sweet.

I realized after I took pictures that the lens was sooo dirty. So everything has this lovely "blur" look to it. I think she is still cute even if it is blurry (but I'm a little bias.)

It's blurry and shaky, but you get the just of it. They are going to be great tomorrow for the big day.

Another Trip To Vegas

Last week the girls and I took a trip to Vegas to see their dad. Luckily the St. George Marathon was that weekend, so we had other family members making the trip. I decided it would be a great time to head down and visit. I don't know why, but making that six hour trip alone with the girls makes me really nervous. My in-laws were nice enough to follow behind us just in case we needed anything. The girls did great in the car, which was such a relief (since we will be making that trip quite often when we move.) The trip worked out even better when Micah's brother and his wife had their first baby the night before. It couldn't have been better timing. So, of course we made a pit stop in St. George to ooh and aah over cute baby Brooklyn. We were so excited to meet the newest member of our family. We then headed off to Vegas where we met up with Micah and see our new home. It was the first time the girls were going to see it, so I was a little bit nervous to their reaction. Luckily it was a hit. The first words out of Avery's mouth were "Abbie did you see those front doors." From then on out I could hear the excitement in their voices as they ran through the house checking out every room and closet. They had already picked out their own rooms from the pictures on the internet, but to actually see them in person was a lot of fun. Over the past week many friends and family have asked them what they liked best, and they repeatedly answer that the coolest part is the laundry chute. We then went out for dinner with Micah's family celebrate his birthday. It was a perfect evening.

I had to take this picture of Avery entertaining herself. She bought these glasses in the dollar bin at Target, and wouldn't take them off the whole trip. She is too funny.

On Friday morning Micah's family headed to St. George to prepare for the marathon, and we stayed in Vegas to spend a few fun days together. We found this great spot in Henderson where we were able to watch a movie outdoors, ride a carousel, and listened to a live band which the girls loved. All of the kids were just running around in an area by the band just dancing and having fun, and Aliza was hilarious. Boy can that girl groove. Micah and I were just chuckling at her moves throughout the night, but little did I know she was quite the crowd pleaser. When it was time to go I went to pick her up and several people approached me wanting to know how old she was. They kept stopping me just wanting to let me know how entertaining she was. I wish I would have recorded it.

We found a great spot called "Springs Reserve" which was so fantastic. We spent almost the whole day there on Saturday, and didn't see even half of it. Luckily we bought an annual pass, since it was the same price as paying for full admission, so we can come back often. They had all sorts of fun educational activities for the kids. We can't wait to go back and explore again.

This is Abbie's version of Hotel Nevada. They had a area where they could build their own city. The girls together built a small town out of these foam blocks.

At the reserve they had all types of "Nevada" creatures to look at and learn about. We were able to watch them feed the lizards, and we learned a lot about Nevada. We had a fantastic trip, and again can't wait until we can be there together. Micah's sister Myndi did fantastic on the marathon, and we were so grateful to spend fun times together.

Our Move

What an emotional few weeks we have had. We have spent the past few weeks cleaning, moving, and adjusting to life without our home. Just so you know this post is not for complaining because I know this move is the right thing for our family, but it has been very hard. I LOVED our home and neighbors. I think that I am really emotionally attached to this home because of all the hard work we put into it. Over the corse of eight years we truly made it OUR home. Putting in a yard, finishing the basement, and painting every room one at a time to mention a few. We are really going to miss it.

Luckily my parents were kind enough to let us move in with them so that my girls could still attend the same school. We miss our friends and neighbors terribly. They are still so sweet to invite me over every once in a while to just catch up or for the girls to play. I will always miss just heading out my back door to the neighbors any time of the day. Sometimes that was my sanity break. I don't know how I am going to live without that.

In trying to keep the move "fun" we did have a few fun going away parties. We had a few BBQ's with friends and a small going away party for a few of Abbie and Avery's school friends. It's kind of strange because they can still see their friends at school, but we can't just call and invite them over to play anymore.

This is Abbie with her friends Kaycie and Courtney. They had a great time at the party making picture frames to hold each others picture, eating yummy snacks, and just spending some fun time together. They are all excited to be pen pals.

I couldn't for the life of me get a good picture of these three. They were all being too silly.

On the day that they were packing up our house (we were given movers to pack and load our stuff into storage) our hamster of three years died. We knew that she wouldn't last much longer, but she chose that day of all days to die on us. Abbie is always insistent that we have a full funeral when any of our pets die. I will never forget us having this "funeral" in the backyard while the packers were just working around us. They must have thought we were absolutely crazy.

Well, Micah is still in Las Vegas without us. We miss him so much and can't wait for our family to be together again. We did put an offer in on a home but it is a short sale which basically means that it will take a long time to go through the banks process. They gave us an estimate of sixty days. We have heard a lot of horror stories of it taking much longer so lets hope that we are not one of those cases. We feel blessed that our agent in Vegas worked so hard to get us this home. Within days homes are being sold. She really had to do some sweet talking for us to get the contract. The first home that we put an offer in on had fifteen other offers. Needless to say we didn't get that home, but everything happens for a reason I guess. We both feel like this home is where we need to be. It has everything we need, and it's in a great area with one of the best schools in the state. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that it all works out.

On September 5th we were able to attend my nephew Zain's wedding and reception. We were so excited to be in attendance to celebrate this wonderful day with them. It seems as though we were waiting for this day for a very long time. Everything was beautiful.

What a great couple!

They had a beautiful backyard ceremony with the cutest flower girls I have ever seen.

Saying the I do's.

Both of my girls were just ecstatic and honored to be asked to be flower girls. They were practicing walking down the isle for months beforehand. When they got to the end of the isle there were quite a few pedals left in Avery's basket. I looked over to see Abbie giving her a lecture about not using them all and throwing them on the ground right during the ceremony. Nothing like distracting from the bride and grooms marriage vows. Abbie takes the job of flower girl very seriously.

It was a beautiful day. Congratulation Zain and Steph!!!

Back To School

We have been through the rounds of emotions this week. Excited, nervous, happy to see friends and sad to be back in school ALL day. Honestly mom has the hardest time adjusting to each new school year. I hate to have my girls gone for such a long period of time each day.

Abbie was ecstatic to find out that she did get her second choice in 3rd grade teachers. Ms. Deitz was at the top of her list, and she couldn't wait to meet her. Abbie is our little social butterfly that couldn't wait to get back to see all of her friends. She did shed a few tears nervous that she wouldn't have any friends in her class, but we all know that she will be fine. Last year the only trouble she had was keeping her mouth shut because everyone in class ended up being her friend. The night before school started she was showered and ready for bed at 7:00. She had her clothes all laid out and backpack ready to go. When she asked if she could go to bed I wasn't going to stop her. Needless to say she didn't go right to sleep, but had plenty of rest for her first day of school.

Avery on the other hand was very nervous. First grade is such a hard adjustment for all of the kids. I honestly thought having a first grader for the second time would be easier, but it's not. It seems so strange to not have her around the house today. We met her teacher Mrs. Cowley last night and she seems fantastic. Avery thought she looked cute (a huge deal to Avery) and was excited that she had a baby in her tummy. Avery was insistent that we stopped by to say hello to her Kindergarten teacher and then the nerves set in. Mrs. Wengreen (her kindergarten teacher) was hugging her and being so cute with her like she always is, and at that moment Avery wanted to have Mrs. Wengreen again. After a lot of tears and explaining that Mrs. Wengreen picked this new teacher just for her I wondered if I would get her to school the next day. To my surprise she was up bright and early with her school clothes on ready to go. I noticed that she didn't eat a lot, but kept asking if it was time yet. When we drove up to the school I was getting ready to park the car and walk each of them to their class, but she didn't want any help. Her and Abbie hopped out of the car and ran off. Avery is just full of surprises. Let's hope she had a great day so she will do the same tomorrow.

Camping with Grandma and Grandpa

We were so lucky to get one last little get away in before school starting. Grandma and Grandpa Chidester invited us to Trial Lake for a fun camping trip. Though it was cold, we still had a great time.

Abbie was insistent on fishing as much as possible. Her grandpa was so patent with her, and sat by her side the whole time. She never actually caught anything, but had a great time casting her line out over and over again. I don't know how many times he had to redo her line due to bringing it into shore for no reason.

Avery did her fare share of casting also. She didn't enjoy the fishing as much as just hanging out with her grandma. This is a picture of her kicking back and relaxing on the shore.

Aliza was kicking up her feet fishing too. The funny thing was that she would just hold the pole even if the line wasn't in the water. Totally content just thinking she was fishing.

We did sleep in the motor home due to the cold weather. I'm so glad we had a place to keep us warm all night. All six of us crammed into their motor home. We were tightly packed, but warm and cozy.

Avery really enjoyed walking on all the fallen logs. I had a hard time watching her balance beam stunts, but there were no injuries.

Miss copy cat at work enjoying the campfire and smores. Yummy!

This is my cute dad trying to read. I'm sure he didn't get far in his book due to having to fix a fishing line every two minutes.

Yucky worms!!!

What fun memories were made on this trip. I loved how Aliza would say "I saw a munk" whenever the chipmunks came by. Or that Abbie was completely inthralled with lighting and keeping the fire burning. We ate a lot of yummy food, played games, walked, and enjoyed just spending time together. What a great trip!