A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Nan (Alice) turned 5! She is growing up so fast. She had a delightful group of friends over for her "Alice Tea Party" and they had such fun. She celebrated all day- at pre-school, at ballet, and then at home. She even got phone calls from the Woolwines, Grandma & Grandpa Little, and Laurie. She is so loved. What a treasure our sweet Hannah is. She is so helpful, kind, generous, and artistic. Right now she is coloring a picture she has named "the enchanted land"- where does she get this stuff? She has also decided to form the "Girly-girl Club" that will begin in the summer. When asked what they do, she said, "We swim, play sports, eat junkfood, and exercise of course." Who knew?!?
We survived our month of sugar-free living and partied hard on Nan's birthday with cake and ice cream. We all got tummy aches, but Jake toughed it out and went to wrestling anyway. What a trooper. He is doing really well in school and loves computer lab and p.e. the most. He scored above average on his math report card- Richard was so proud. He is working on reading every night so he can earn a free pass at school to "Roaring Springs" a water park, this summer. He is so excited, "I love that place!" He is getting his tonsils and adenoids out on March 24th and is looking forward to all the popsicles.
Lucy is oh-so-two. "No" is the first thing out of her mouth, even when it is followed by a "yes" afterward. She is speaking and signing so well. She makes us laugh all the time- like the other day when we were in the car and Steph smelled something and asked Lu if she was stinky? She said "No" (Of course). Then she smiled and said, "I toot!" You gotta love Lu!
Clara is growing so fast. She has grown out of her infant car seat, boo hoo! She loves to rock in her seat/exersaucer and is blowing raspberries and jabbering all day. She still loves to suck on her two fingers, but has learned that they have to come out in order for the food to go in. So we take turns- a bite of food, a couple minutes of finger-sucking, a bite of food, etc... She is still very smily and just laughs at Jake like he is the funniest thing ever. Like Jake needs any encouragment to act silly?! We have a great family. We will update again soon. Thanks to everyone for the great gifts you gave Hannah. We will write more soon....

Happy New Year!

It is 2009! Wahoo! We had a fun New Year's Eve dancing (see the pix) and playing games like Twister Hopscotch, Sorry, and Good Manners- all while eating junkfood of course! We are now detoxing trying the no junkfood approach to life until Nan's birthday- Steph is just hoping she can survive that long without sugar- aaaahhhh! We went to Grandma Etta's on New Year's Day to watch the USC game- as you can tell from the picture, Jake was happy with the final score. The year is off to a great start- here we go.....

Oh, What Fun!

We had another amazing WHITE Christmas this year. The kids were spoiled rotten and we enjoyed all the time spent with friends and family. On the 17th we had a cookie decorating party. On the 19th we went to a live nativity in Eagle and also went to Hannah's Pre-school program. Christmas Eve we had our annual PJ & Pizza Party and were joined by the Thomas Family, The Adair Family, Danny's Parents, Grandma Etta and Ms. Aleene. The kids were so excited for Santa to come and full of questions. They couldn't believe it when they found some of Santa's leftover cookies and carrots that had been nibbled on by the reindeer with some tracks outside. Magic I tell you! The highlight of this Christmas was definitely our trip to Ms. Aleene's rest home where Lucy stole the show when she put on her dancing shoes- too cute. We also went to the Adair's for Christmas dinner- Danny's mom, Maria, made us a real Italian lasagna- yum! She even made us one to take home- thank you Maria!!! We had fun talking and playing with little Brooklyn who is growing so fast. Thanks to everyone who helped make this yet another wonderful celebration of family, friends, and the birth of our Savior. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

O Christmas Tree!

Saturday, December 6th we made our annual trip up past Idaho City to the Boise National Forest to cut down our christmas tree. Since moving to Idaho almost 5 years ago- the christmas tree trip is one of our very favorite traditions. We listen to christmas music in the car, we take hot cocoa, sandwiches, and popcorn to eat, and hope that there is enough snow to go sledding. This year there wasn't much, so we stopped at the top of the hill for some sledding fun. Richard managed to get three kids and himself down on two sleds at once! We are excited to be celebrating this special time of year. The kids are finally learning how and why the Christchild is so important in our lives. Steph is sad that this is her last Christmas having a baby of her own. Clara will just have to get used to being hugged and snuggled all the more. She is growing up so quickly and loves her brother and sisters. Lucy is loving all the christmas lights and says, "whoa, more lights" when we are driving at night. Her jibber-jabber has all but vanished and sentences are now her norm. Steph will miss the music of her "baby-talk" too, but there are too many blessings to count, so on we go. Have a happy holiday season. Enjoy the pix.

We Gathered Together

What a fun November we had. Lu turned two, Jake turned six, cousin Brooklyn was born, and we had a full table for Thanksgiving. So many blessings! Life just couldn't get better. We know we are so lucky to have four beautiful, healthy children, a warm home, Richard's job, and family and friends who love and support us. Enjoy the pictures and thanks to all those who showered Lu and Jake with the fun gifts. We love you.