We've had this tradition for almost 10 years now, of taking our rock hard gingerbread house, the day after Christmas, void of all candy, out to use for target practice. Everyone always looks forward to it and we have a blast (pun totally intended)! :) We drive out into the Arizona desert, and set up. Mark and Josh both brought a bunch of guns. They usually start everyone out with the small caliber stuff, shooting out the stained glass windows and smaller stuff on the … [Read more...]
Yay!!! It’s Christmas Day!!!
Christmas morning is always the wonderful culmination of so much planning and waiting. It's such a blast! My favorite part is seeing all the gifts our kids give each other. They work hard to earn money and save up for just the right thing for each person. They anxiously await to see how excited their sibling will be about the gift they know is "perfect". They are so cute with each other. Bryan designed this poster in Photoshop and had it printed. It had … [Read more...]
Christmas Eve Traditions
Christmas Eve we always have the kids open two presents, one of which is pajamas, and the other is a book. After dressing pajamas, we take a family picture. Then we read "The Polar Express" and "The Night Before Christmas". We finish with the actual Christmas Story read from the Bible. Then the kids sprinkle "reindeer food" on the front lawn to help Santa find our house and to give the reindeer something to eat while they are waiting for Santa. We put out cookies … [Read more...]
Mesa Temple Christmas Lights
Every year, one of our traditions is to go see the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple. They go all out and it is simply BEAUTIFUL! They have different Bible scenes depicting Christ's birth all over the grounds... Afterward, we stopped at a stand across the street to get Fry Bread...yum!! Really fun night! … [Read more...]
Our Annual Gingerbread House
Decorating gingerbread houses is something my mom and dad with our family every single Christmas growing up. My mom had her own recipe for the gingerbread, and her own pattern, complete with a stained glass window made from Livesavers candy! We ALWAYS looked forward to it, and my kids do too! I cut and bake all the pieces, then allow them to harden up for a day or two on the counter. Then we "glue" them together with royal icing, and let that sit for another day or two - … [Read more...]
Our yummy, pReTzEL tradition!
For the past few years we have taken time to make these delicious pretzels to give away to friends and family, but we also keep plenty to snack on as a family during December. They are pretzel rods, wrapped in delicious caramel, dipped in chocolate, then decorated with sprinkles. Yes, they ARE as GOOD as they sound! … [Read more...]
NOW it’s Christmas!
For me, it's not Christmas until the tree is up and decorated. There's just something magical about that tree! I love watching how excited my kids get when they do it. We play Christmas music and drink hot chocolate and just really get into the Christmas spirit. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! … [Read more...]
Happenings from NOVEMBER
The highlight for me this month was the beautiful music in our home being played on this! I have always wanted a grand piano and was SO BEYOND EXCITED about this one. My favorite part is that my kids can record themselves playing a piece, so that the piano can play it back for me when they aren't even here! That means when Bryan leaves on his mission, I don't have to miss hearing him play - I can pretend like he's just sitting in there on the piano playing for me, like I've … [Read more...]
August happenings
As much as Abbey digs up our yard and causes mischief, she is very good for our kids. There's just something about a dog that is wonderful for children. It was so fun to watch Kyle playing with Abbey and the both of them enjoying every second. Look at the smile on Kyle... Mark and I have been married for 18 years! It's crazy to me that it's been that long! I love him even more now than I did the day we were married. I love the children we have and the … [Read more...]
July Fun!
Our fun purchase this summer was an Hawaiian Shaved Ice Machine! The piece on the front is something Mark and Bryan rigged up to keep the block of ice from flying out onto someone's toes if the ice breaks (which it does frequently). It's just a piece of a plastic bucket. We bought a bunch of Torani syrups, and that machine will sit on our counter all summer until the Phoenix heat subsides. Our kid's friends love it (and so do we!)! Morgan asked me to take her and her … [Read more...]
hangin’ at the ZOO
The day after Christmas I decided to take Morgan, Colton, and Kyle to the Phoenix Zoo. We had bought a Pogo Pass this year that gave us two trips to the zoo. Because I didn't have to pay anything at the gate, I decided that this time, we would do all the things we never usually do in the park because we usually have to pay such a steep price just to get in. We started with petting the stingrays... As I was doing some video of the kids, Morgan and Colton totally got splashed … [Read more...]
Christmas Day FUN
CHRISTMAS MORNING! This has to be one of my favorite days of the year. We started out with a present for Bryan. He didn't have a clue what this was about. Mark gave him a broken arrow inserted in an apple. Nothing more. We just kept going with other gifts (there was more to that apple than met the eye). Kyle's gift from Santa... Colton's gift from Santa (an airsoft rifle)... Morgan's gift from Santa (a longboard)... Then Bryan opened his … [Read more...]
SHOOTING THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE, polar bear swim, CHRISTMAS EVE FUN!
Every year at Christmas, rather than throwing away the rock hard shell of our gingerbread house, we take it out in the boonies for target practice. This year was no different. EVERYONE looks forward to it. The Carroll's, and my dad joined us this year... We started out shooting the houses from way back where I took this picture. After awhile we decided to walk over and survey the damage... We stayed a little closer now - we say it … [Read more...]
sLeEpiNg UnDeR tHe ChRiStMaS tReE
I asked the kids two days before Christmas if they would like to sleep by our Christmas tree. They all JUMPED at the chance! I snapped this the next morning before they woke up... Bryan is tucked back between the recliner and the wall. I remember sleeping by the tree when I was growing up. It was always so magical! Nothing like being a kid at Christmas! … [Read more...]
Grandma’s Special SANTA COOKIES
When I was growing up, my siblings and I took piano lessons from Sister Andersen. She was an amazingly talented pianist and teacher. Every Christmas she would hand out these very cute Santa sugar cookies that were so sweetly decorated. We LOVED them and looked forward to them every year. As many times as my mom asked, she would not share the recipe or where to get the special cookie cutter with my mom. Last year my mom surprised my siblings and I with the special cookie … [Read more...]
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