Christmas 2015!

Well another Christmas is in the bag and another year is almost over! I can't believe how fast the time flies by. I am making it a goal to go through all my old videos and get them organized somehow… (not sure how…) but it's gonna happen!

Here is the recap of Christmas this year!
It didn't even snow until about mid-December. The boys had a birthday party at their friend, Michael Boyter's, house (they are living in the Meadows now and waiting for their house to get built) but Michael had wanted to go sledding and there wasn't enough snow! Then all of a sudden it started and now it's like it doesn't want to stop! It snowed a TON the week of Christmas. We probably got at least eight inches in the Wednesday and Thursday before Christmas Day (Friday.) I was glad we weren't planning to make any big holiday travels! We did go to the Ashton church on Tuesday night for the Rhodes family celebration, but that was before the big snow started luckily. On Christmas Eve day, we actually did something crazy and drove to the sand dunes and went sledding! I was glad we didn't get stuck!

For Christmas, the kids got WAAAAAY too many presents. I am deciding right now that next Christmas, we are taking the kids on a trip with the money instead. (We will see if I hold myself to that.) It is looking like 2016 is already going to be a year filled with travels to Wisconsin in August for Rachel and Jake's wedding (they just got engaged a few weeks ago!) and we are also planning a little Utah/Zion's/Vegas trip in March! So why not a trip in January 2017 as well? ;)

Here is some of what the kids got for Christmas:

Gabe - LOTS of Legos, including a Lego police truck, helicopter, Star Wars guy ; lots of clothes ; new Nike shoes ; Minecraft books, and more.

Caleb - More Legos, Ninjago one, Bike transporter one, etc. ; some Rescue Bots ; some Star Wars stuff (Star Wars is EVERYWHERE right now. There is no escape from their merchandising efforts since the latest one just came out. Don't ask me what number it is…. sheesh… like 7? I dunno…)

Avery - Princess Magic Clip dolls, Sofia Bath toys, clothes, Peppa Pig Car, Cinderella Carriage, "Pink Picnic basket" (she was so excited for that and kept asking every Santa for it), and lots more.

Like I said, my kids are spoiled.

So now it's the 27th and I am catching the "get organized" bug that seems to hit everyone this time of year! It's like, your house is in total disarray from the holidays and then in January you are like, "Why do I have all this freakin' stuff?! I need to de-clutter!!! And also lose the ten pounds I gained over the holiday!" (So that's about where I am at…) lol

I will probably also re-open my Etsy shop in January. I have been enjoying the break from it though! But I also enjoy making money… so…. I should probably get back on the horse! I know it sounds crazy but we really have a goal of getting out house paid off in the next five years… which sounds like a totally lofty and unattainable goal that sometimes it's like "Why even try?" But I really want to and I can be pretty persistent when I set my mind to something… so we will see!

Here are some pictures!

Almost Christmas!

I wanted to quick write a blog update before the craziness of Christmas sets in! What have we been up to this past month?

First, Gabe had his science fair (yes he did one in third grade too… why do they have them do it two years in a  row? I'm not really sure…) But this year we did an easy experiment that tested "Are dogs' and cats' mouths really cleaner than humans'?" Josh actually came up with the idea. We had Kitty lick a piece of bread, and Piper lick a piece of bread, and Gabe lick a piece of bread, and then had one that NO ONE licked. We put them all in plastic baggies and watched them over the course of three weeks. Kitty's grew mold the fastest! Ewww… But hers and Piper's both got waaaay moldier than the other two. Therefore, do NOT let your pet kiss you. Gross.

What else? Avery finished up her Fall BYUI semester of preschool. In some form of paperwork error or sheer carelessness, somehow her application was "lost" for the Winter semester, so she may or may not be having a place again starting in January. Stinkin' people over there. We can't all be an organized and perfect as me. ;) We are hoping she gets in since she is "first one the waiting list" (they say) but who knows. Maybe she will be home with me on M,W, and F mornings. She will still go to the Burton one across the street though on Tues and Thurs. She also finished her little gymnastics class and even got a little "gold medal" on the last day. If she doesn't end up doing the M,W, F preschool again I may sign her up for a regular weekly gymnastics class. She tried dance for a few months, but I ultimately decided she wasn't quite ready for it and pulled her out in November. She just stood there half the time so I figured I would save myself the $30 a month! But I DO plan to try it again with her next Fall! A highlight for Avery as well was going to ride on the city Carousel for one night that Santa was there. She LOVES the carousel but it has been closed since labor day for the winter. So she was completely elated to actually be able to go ride it again for one night! (She couldn't have cared less about the Santa part)

What can I say about Caleb? He is still our little funny Caleb with his Eeyore attitude sometimes. He is so picked on. (sarcasm) His second grade class did their yearly "Wizard of Oz" Christmas play (it's kind of weird…) and the funniest part was that he was cast by the teacher as Toto. He is the biggest kid in the second grade and yet he was playing the little dog. haha

We have had a TON of snow the past week so the kids have really enjoyed that. They have been off of school since last Friday (today is Wednesday) and they are already bored I think. My Etsy shop has been closed since the 14th so I am pretty bored too! haha But I am enjoying the free time! It has been another successful year! Our goal is to get our house paid off as soon as possible. ;) Josh is still at the police department and people seem to be dropping like flies (quitting…. not dying thankfully…) so maybe he will move up faster in the ranks than we had originally planned on! hahaha He talks about quitting too, but in all reality he is probably a "lifer." I always tell him he's the future chief. ;)

Tonight we are going to the Ashton church for Josh's family's little Christmas shin-dig. We will do a white elephant exchange for the adults and then a separate kid gift exchange. We are also doing breakfast for dinner. It's hard adjusting to other family's weird traditions but oh well. ;) At least my mom sent us her Christmas cookies in the mail! Maybe some day we will go back home to Wisconsin again for Christmas!  Or, if I had my way, to Hawaii…. ;)

Okay, here are some pictures of the past month!