Here are some of our favorite Christmas 2008 pictures!

Happy Holidays!

This year we did something we haven't done since Jake was a little boy in Houston, we went to Utah for Christmas! Honestly, packing up the car and driving in the snow was not bad at all! We had good weather, just put the backseat down in the van, told the kids not to peak, and we had a great trip! My favorite part of being "home" for the holidays was of course, being with family, but after that, it was playing in the snow! Monday before Christmas Alpine got the most perfect snow! We built a great big snowman and helped Devin make a big snow fort in the back yard. Later on, we went sledding and both Jake and Kate loved it! I had forgotten that if you are warm, snow can really be a lot of fun!

We spent Christmas Eve in Sandy with the Heywoods, and the Nativity was so cute with three angels, (Kate, Lindey, and Amy), and the big hit was Samuel the Lamanite, literally high on the city wall! Jacob was a wise man, which was perfect, because that kid just keeps getting smarter and smarter!

Christmas morning we were in Alpine, and had a wonderful time. Jacob got a iTouch and a big remote control car. Kate got her American Girl doll, and some super fun magnetic dress up dolls. Ryan and I enjoyed watching the kids, because isn't that the best part of Christmas anyway?!

It was a wonderful vacation, although I have to admit, it is nice to be back in California where it is a balmy 50 degrees!

We're Off Track!

At George Kelly Elementary School we are on the Blue Track. This means that we have November, March, and July off from school. I was determined to stay busy, and boy have we ever! We've arranged lots of play dates to keep the kids from getting bored. Today Jacob and his friend Chris Maxfield made a box cart and pushed each other down the street. Kate and her friends Rachel Maxfield and Dallin Silcox had so much fun playing in the fall leaves! We are sure enjoying being able to play all day!

October Memories

We have had a very busy month of October! We started off the month with a quick weekend trip to Disneyland! We had probably our best time ever as a family. Jacob braved every ride and loved them all! His new favorite is the Grizzly River Run and the Mid-town Mania both in California Adventure. It was just a perfect weekend getaway.

The very next weekend, we took a last minute trip to Utah! And by last minute, I mean I had no idea we were making the 12 hour drive until a couple of hours before we left! Ryan decided we could make the drive Friday after preschool and school, and so we left and made it to Winnemucca, NV that night. We woke up to a snow storm and made it to Utah just in time for the BYU football game! We had a blast in the freezing temperatures, and enjoyed seeing our Cougars win a game inLavell Edwards Stadium. We visited with family and then took off Sunday morning to drive back home! Whew!!!

For me, I had another getaway the following weekend to NYC with my four sisters! This was an amazing trip! We got to do all of the things a girl would love to do in the big city! We made a big sign and made it on the Today Show in the morning, we saw Wicked on Broadway that evening, we shopped, we walked Central park, we stayed right in Times Square and saw the city at night, (amazing), we did sealings in the NYC temple, we went to the Museum of Modern Art, we rode the subways, and just had so much fun!!! I will never forget that trip with all of my sisters. It was wonderful!

So of all of the weekends in October, we have only had a couple at home. We enjoy being busy, but this might be a little extreme. Life sure has been interesting, and we are all healthy and happy.

Tomorrow is Halloween and Jacob is Indiana Jones, and Kate is a real Snow White bought at Disneyland, and they will both look amazing! We will then look forward to some quiet time at home, and a trip to Atlanta in November.