Grandpa Hanks is 90!!

My Grandpa (my mom's dad) had a 90th birthday party while everyone was in town for Thanksgiving. His actual 90th is today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!!
We got a fun family picture taken while we were ALL there!

Here is my Grandpa with my mom and her sisters, Annette, Julie, and Sylvia.

My Grandpa has always been very special to me. We have always had a really close relationship and I count him as one of my best friends in this world. He is an amazing person. He has that rare, incredible quality of making everyone feel like they are #1 on his list. No one ever left his presence feeling anything but good.
I remember my Grandma and Grandpa visiting us when I was younger and he would always talk to me about being good to my mom. I knew she was important to him. He would also always offer me a quarter if I had my shoes straightened in my closet. He had a unique way of making work not seem like work.
As we celebrated my Grandpa's birthday, it was so fun to see person after person come through the door the entire 2 hours of the party - and he was worried that no one would come (the rest of us knew better).
Anyway, I consider myself and my family very lucky to have Grandpa Hanks in our lives. He is a blessing to all of us.
We love you Grandpa!!

BYU Christmas Party

Every year since we have taken the job at BYU, we have gone to the BYU Family Christmas party.  It is usually tons of fun and the kids love it.  This year Nick was supposed to work, but after much begging and pleading, he worked his way out of it so he could go with us... whew, that would have been a fun adventure alone with all 5 kids at a party! 

Our first fun was in line to see Santa.  Luckily, this isn't our first rodeo and we got in line first thing and were right close to the front.  It still warranted getting down on the floor and playing games with the kids to pass a few minutes of time.

Anyway, true to form, we had a great time and even did relatively well seeing Santa (Tyler decided to melt down right as we got up to see him, that had it's adventurous and unsettling moments - however we all recovered nicely and life proceded on as normal-whatever normal is).  

The kids were really fun with Santa, made some crafts, wrote Santa letters, were very engaged in the singing and performing, played some fun games, and even got a doughnut and some juice.  





Lucky for us we were able to see Cosmo on our way out of the party - I can't tell you the utter relief I felt! :)

It was a fun day - and we all lived through it!  Even Emma and Grayce did well

- I didn't say they enjoyed every minute, just that they did well!

Gingerbread Houses

The entire 3rd grade at Abby's school gets together each holiday season to make gingerbread houses.  The kids come with their houses (milk cartons covered with brown paper) already assembled.  Then, they each bring a small bag or two of candy and share it with everyone else at their table.  The brave moms that come and help get to do the frosting detailing.  Then, it is away we go with the decor!  Abby was meticulous and loved every minute of it.  It was fun to be there with her this year and to watch the creative juices flow.

As you can see, she is very focused on the task at hand....

It all ends up being well worth it in the end, what a beautiful house!!

Good job, Abby!!!

Abby's Birthday

Abby had a great birthday this year.  She got a pogo-stick and a Christmas dress.  She was so excited.  It is fun to see her so happy.  I can't believe my little baby is 9.  I still vividly remember when she was a little baby.  Now, she seems so grown up to me.  I can't help but think of how quickly time is passing and will pass.  I guess it is times like these that help us keep things in perspective and to remember to cherish and love the moments we have now.  Anyway, it was a great birthday and so much fun.  Abby is a beautiful 9-year-old now and is actively involved with Knowledge Bowl, Lehi City Children's Choir, Basketball, Violin, Piano, Baseball, Friends, etc. (some of which is seasonal, of course).  She is a great student and LOVES to read.  She is a tremendous help to us here at home and is always one to make us laugh - sometimes she even means to!!  We love our Abby (or as Grayce calls her, "Aba")!!

Owen

My little sister, Jenny, had her first baby on December 1st.  We got to go see him on December 4th.  We also introduced him to our camera - lucky kid!!  Anyway, this is Owen.  We are very glad he made his safe arrival into this world.  

What a DAD!!

I am so lucky to be married to the best man on earth. Nick is such a good-hearted person - a good balance for me. He loves me and he loves his kids too. Every day when he gets home from work it looks like this...

It is so amazing to live in a home where happiness abounds.  We are so lucky.  I thank the Lord every day for giving me Nick.  I don't know how he does it, but he puts up with all of us - EVERYDAY, with a smile on his face!!

Whipped Cream for EVERYONE!!

We were having family home evening treats - Ice Cream Sundays! The rest is probably self-explanatory!!

It seems like sometimes there are just moments that are more picture-worthy than others!!

COUGAR TIME

We finally got to a BYU basketball game.  We were feeling a little overzealous and decided to take all of the kids.  Suprisingly, the twins are BYU fans too and loved the game.  We had a ton of fun together.  The kids got so excited at the game and it was fun to watch them enjoy it so much.  Nick and I found ourselves walking out of the game in a dazed-stupor because we were in so much shock that things had gone well.  Someone might have even overheard us saying that it went so well we may even try it again.

Decorating the Tree

We finally got the tree downstairs decorated a couple of weeks ago. The kids thought it was great when we pulled out their own individual tote of decorations. We have had a tradition in our house to let the kids pick out one tree ornament each Christmas. They pick anything they want and we use write their name and the year on it, use it to decorate the tree and then when Christmas is over we pack their own ornaments into their own totes. Then, when they leave home to be on their own, we will send them with their own collection of ornaments to start with. Anyway, they have a lot of fun discovering and remembering their own ornaments each year.

As you can imagine, our final product is a tree that has ornaments from the middle of the tree and up!!

The Always Eventful Dinner Table

This is not for the weak-stomached viewer!!

Funny happenings around our dinner table...

Grayce and Emma have discovered the fun of smearing food into their hair.  Grayce's new-found love is picking the food out of Emma's hair to satisfy her appetite.

Obviously Emma doesn't mind a bit!

Grayce is proud of her accomplishment and Emma thinks it is funny!  What a pair!!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

This is for all of ye nay-sayers and non-believers!!

Yes, the tree is up.  

Yes, it has been up since my birthday.

No, we wouldn't have it any other way!

WE LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Abby's Poem, "WOW"

As per many requests (mostly grandparents), here is Abby's poem...

Reflections

This fall Abby and Bryant both participated in the nationally sponsored PTA Reflections program.  The theme was "WOW."  Abby wrote a poem and illustrated the background (only the poem was judged).  Bryant painted a piece of wood and decorated it (his is only judged at the school level because of the category he entered).  We went to the awards assembly last night at their school.  Bryant won a ribbon for participation.  Abby won a trophy for the "Award of Excellence."  Abby's is going on to the district level to be judged there.  They both worked hard and did amazingly well.  It was fun to watch them decide what to do - it really reflected their personalities.  Anyway, we are so proud of both of them and think they did GREAT!!  Good job Abby and Bryant!!!

KSL High-5

Last year Bryant had the most amazing kindergarten teacher.  She was the kind that you wish you could tie to your children and untie her at high school graduation.  She truly has a genuine love for the kids that she teaches.  We were so impressed by her and so appreciative of the love and goodness that she both taught to and showed to Bryant.  So, last year Nick and I nominated her for an award that KSL (the Utah NBC affiliate) gives out on their news program.  Well, so much time had passed and we hadn't heard from them so we thought that they must not have chosen her.  Well, out of the blue they called and asked if we were still interested in giving her the "High 5" award.  Of course, we were.  It didn't matter to us that Bryant had since moved on, she still was so deserving.  So, they asked us to organize what we could with the school and gave us the date/time that they would be there to present the award.  Well, we ended up being able to organize an entire school assembly.  It was A LOT of work, but with the help of many other willing parents, the PTA, and our good secretaries, we were able to pull it off without Mrs. Baxley knowing.  She was so cute and appreciative of the award.  She cried all through it and was teary in her TV interview.  They interviewed Lisa (not something she wants to do again soon).  It was just a lot of fun.  The sign in the background was one we made at home the night before.  Anyway, it was great.  

Lunchtime!

Time for lunch.  We don't feed them much, so they get really excited and very happy when they get food!!  Aren't they cute?!  We think they are the most adorable baby girls in the world - we couldn't resist getting those faces on film.

Let It Snow!!

We woke up to heavy snow and ended up with about 6 inches (the official report).  The kids were delighted and we ended up in a frantic as we searched for snow boots, gloves, and hats to wear to school.  To say the least, mom was not prepared for a major snow storm.

We love the snow though.  It is so pretty on the trees.  It is fun to see all of the snowmen being built everywhere too.  There is just something about the snow.

It is going to make putting up the tree on Saturday just seem all that much more appropriate.  LET IT SNOW!!!

Halloween

Emma also got to choose to be a fairy - the pink version. She is trying out her powers as she tries to turn the pumpkin into a coach. Isn't she a little young to be trying things like this already?

Halloween

Grayce didn't get to choose. But, if she would have chosen, she would have wanted to be a purple fairy.