The Night Before Christmas

Love the glowing lights and looking forward to excited little faces in the morning.  We actually got everything set and wrapped by about 10pm!  Gifts for cousins are under the kids' tree and presents for the kids are under the big tree.  WE even got a can of delicious cat food for Misty--haha!

Brookie's Christmas Dress

I can't help it!  I love dressing up my girl!  I made her bow out of Christmas ribbon and took a page out of Sharie MacKay Baker's book of hair for the top of her head.  She actually sat still very well!  I think her favorite thing is the necklace though.  I found a chain with loops big enough to adjust around her tiny neck.  Sooo fun!!

Getting ready for Christmas with Nana and Papa!

Since all the sisters were planning on being with in-laws for Thanksgiving, and I cannot come to Boise for Christmas due to my greatly expanding waistline, we invited Nana and Papa to come to Vegas for Thanksgiving with us!!  It was so fun to just hang out and play with the kids.  We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the extended MacKay clan, went to the museum, caught a movie, and Dad was sweet enough to put up all of my Christmas trees and garland.

This year we put up a little set of three trees that is exclusively the kids' tree, and the big tree is mommy's tree-- aka no touchie!  The kids LOVED decorating!  So precious to soak in their excitement as they emptied my old box of Christmas ornaments-- I love this time of year!

(And, having their own tree has actually worked pretty well!  Ethan especially loves to "rearrange" his ornaments daily, and except for one broken ball on my tree, has mostly steered clear.)

My tree-- finished product.:)

Babbling Brook

Just a few minutes ago. Singing as always. . .

"Pun'kin bar!
 
PUN'KIN BAAAR!

Hi - ho - da - derry- oh!  Ethan wants a Pun'kin bar!"



A few weeks ago. . .

"I have a poopy bum!

I have a poopy bum!

Hi - ho - a - derry - oh!  I have a poopy bum!



Hahahahahaha!!!  I guess that song has multiple uses!

Chicken Chatter

So, December has been a banner month for egg production.  Seven days in December saw 3 eggs per day; another seven days in December saw 4 eggs per day; and one special day in December - on the 4th to be exact - saw FIVE eggs.  

Then there was today - only two eggs today.  

But what a surprise - one regular egg (which looked bigger than normal), and one GINORMOUS egg!  Holy Buckets!  It must be a double yolk-er!  

I wonder if the hen who laid this humongous egg clucked egg-stra long and loud!  YOWCH!

 

Owl of the Month

Owl of the Month
       The topic for the Owl of the Month was a Love of Learning, congratulations to Jacob, our owl! I chose Jacob because not only is he smart and a hard worker, he always wants to be challenged further and does not settle for the easy work. Jacob sets a great example to his peers about what it means to work hard, do your best and to better yourself through education. Congratulations Jacob, I am so proud of you and keep up the great work!

E - Speaks! with some Babbling Brook

At the ripe ol' age of 2 1/2, Ethan just pops out with the funniest, full sentences sometimes-- and they are pronounced very clearly for such a little guy.

A few frequent favorites:

Mom (or anyone):  Come on Ethan.  You're stinky!

E:  I not stinky.  I'm a boy!  I'm a boy-guy!

OR

E:  No, I'm just good.

OR

E:  I not stinky!  It's Brookie!

Brook (justifiably insulted!):  No, is Ethan!



On the way home from Grandma's house, Brooklynn points up to a beautiful full moon.

Brook:  It's the moon!

E:  No, it's a egg!

Brook: No, it's a MOON!

E:  It's a egg!

Brook:  IT'S - A - MOON!

Mom:  It's called a moon Ethan.

E (grinning and well aware that it's a moon, but just feeling contrary): No . . . It's a egg.

Needless to say, this conversation went back and forth for the rest of the ride home.

Babbling Brook & E - Speaks

I love the way these two interact.  They are too sweet sometimes.  The other day I caught them happily sharing bites from an apple.  Wish I could've gotten some good pictures.  Luckily, Jason recorded this conversation.  Enjoy!

Brook saw Ethan with her sunglasses.

Brook: Those are my glasses!


E: No not your glasses!


Brook: Listen, those are my glasses.


E: Trust me, not your glasses.

Brook: Okay I trust you, those are my glasses.

E: Trust me, not your glasses.

Brook: I can't trust you anymore!

Brooklynn Playing Hide-n-Seek. . . at least the counting part!

Chicken Chatter

The hens have been on quite a roll for the past couple of months.  Even with the cold weather, we are now getting 4 eggs per day - until today, that is ....  Look what I found:

Can you believe it???  FIVE eggs today!  Way to go, girls!  ;oD

A Thankful Family

So we finished our thankful tree and it turned out beautiful!  We have so much to be thankful for and this tree helped us all remember many of those reasons why. 

 Here are a few of my favorites.  I encouraged Ava and Brycen to come up with their own ideas and they came up with some good ones.  

I am so thankful for my sweet husband who supports me and loves me - no matter what comes our way.

I am so thankful for my children who remind me everyday what is really important and give me lots of hugs and kisses.

I am so thankful for extended family and good friends.

I am so thankful for my testimony and my faith in Christ and the blessings that He sends.  I know he is mindful of me and my family and I know Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers.

I am so thankful for this time of year that encourages each of us to remember all the blessings we have been given and then pause and give thanks. 

Jake LOVES Soccer!

Bray-Bray Talk

1.  So the other night, Jakey and Bray were telling jokes on our way home.  Now remember, these are the kind of kid jokes where the punch line is. . . well, whatever they can think of.  Usually Jake tries to think up something funny, while Bray tends to take things more literally and actually answer the question.  At some point they usually resort to potty humor, but this night was pretty good.:)

Jake:  Why does the tree stand still?
Bray. . . thinking:   Because it's a TREE?  (duh!-- in his tone)

We just cracked up.  Jake went on to say something about the tree's roots wearing boots, but I like Bray's answer better!


2.  This morning Braden said, " I know this really cool trick that Uncle Davis told me.  I can wrap my leg around your arm!"  Needless to say, I don't think Uncle Davis has any clue what Bray might be talking about.

A Lesson for Mommy

This past Sunday, I loaded all the kids in the car and we headed home like we normally do, when out of nowhere, Ava says, "Mom, we need to do a service project, like raking leaves or something."  I casually responded with, "That's a great idea,"  and we continued our drive home.  At the time I thought this was just a fleeting thought coming from my 7 year old, but when we got home and she persisted and I realized that if she is asking to "work" outside or wants to do service for others, I better take it seriously.  The next day on our daily drive to and from school, I scouted all the yards along the way looking for leaves.  I only found 1 yard and it was covered!  Perfect!  So on Tuesday, we bought some leaf bags and headed over to our dear friends, the Stimpson's.  They both work and have 2 little kids in daycare, so they are rarely home during the daylight hours.  Ava and Brycen were so excited and quickly got to work.  Even Carter helped carry handfuls of leaves to the bag.  After we finished raking, I asked Ava and Brycen how they felt about the service they provided tonight.  How did they feel inside?  Both of them, but especially Ava, said they felt good and happy.  

I learned a valuable lesson that day.  I learned to listen better and remember to teach my children about serving others, because right now they are willing and want to do it, and will remember how they feel.  It is important to continually teach our children when they are young, because we may not get the chance later if we wait.  Sometimes I get comfortable in my daily routine and forget to reach beyond the "norm" and find opportunities for growth.  

Every day, but especially during this time of year, I am thankful for my children who remind me what's really important, for my husband who supports me, and for my Heavenly Father who has blessed me with the spirit to know what is right.  To all of them, this humble mother says, "Thank you." 

Ava, Brycen and our friend Hudson Stimpson.

Happy Anniversary!

Just want to say Happy 36th Anniversary to Mom and Dad!! 

Hope you guys have SO much fun down in Cancun, Mexico this week and enjoy a great day today.

We love you!

Family Photos 2013

A huge thank you to our best friends, the Dingers.  John did a fabulous job and I am so excited to hang this family portrait on our wall.

The code... deciphered!

A Hint...

 Okay... the code stands for River Valley Xross Country - 21 miles!

Since Ava started school at the end of August - she has been running during recess and PE.  She has a track card and receives a punch in it for every lap around the track that she runs.  3 laps = 1 mile.  1 completed card = 7 miles.  She has completed 3 cards, 7 miles each = 21 miles in 2 months!  

I am still shocked!  I have never run that far in my life and she is only 7!  I couldn't be prouder of my little runner!  I hope she keeps it up - she seems to be pretty good at it  :)

I love this girl!  What an accomplishment!

A Fleet!

So, in case you haven't heard, Jayson has expanded his business! Jayson has been in business for himself with True Blue Plumbing for a little over a year now and has been working SO hard. He's amazing and has kept really busy throughout the year and his business is spreading without really having to advertise - word of mouth is the best and he is the best plumber out there. ;) Lately he had been turning work away and not going for many bid jobs because he was just so swamped, so he decided it was time to look into hiring someone. After a blessing and lots of work, it was amazing to see things falling into place. Jayson was able to get awesome financing for a new truck, and had enough money saved to get everything set up and ready for an employee.When he was at ProDrain, Jayson had an apprentice, Jeremiah. Since Jayson left, Jer has often said that he would come work for Jay in a second. They got along well and Jer is a great worker, so as soon as Jayson said he was ready, Jer was on board! Jer started the first of November, and they've had an amazing start! Jayson has been able to keep their schedules full and now we're just praying real hard that the work keeps coming. Jayson has been a great boss-man/businessman and we are so excited for this new chapter with True Blue Plumbing!!!

The new truck! It's a 2005 F450 diesel...big truck with only about 66K miles on it. He loves it! He's hoping to get it all lettered up soon.

Side view. He loves all the toolboxes and room on the outside of the truck - so convenient - and the inside is perfect for his pipe rack and any other things he needs.

The Fleet! He had a hard time letting someone else take his original truck, but he's loving the new one and it's awesomeness. Jer loves being able to drive the other truck and feels pretty manly in it.

Jayson had to line up "all his diesels". Funny truck guy. ;)

Soccer Kid

This year we finally dove into the sports scene with the kids. I had been thinking about putting Tucker into soccer and Jett wants to do baseball. Tucker's best bud Jacob plays soccer and thankfully his mom told me they were just about to start and there was still room on the team! I didn't totally miss the deadline and squeezed in. Thankfully Tuck got on Jacob's little team and they were SO cute! Their team was called Shockwave and they did so well learning to work together. It was awesome watching Tucker progress throughout the season into quite the little soccer player! His coaches were awesome and his team was great - only losing 1 or 2 games, tying a couple and winning the rest. He is SO proud of his awesome trophy! Tucker LOVED his experience playing soccer this year and can't wait to try other sports and play some more next year!

The official soccer photos - so studly!

Tucker was an awesome goalie!!

Tucker in action! Go Shockwave!

Such a fun team!

So excited to have a real trophy.

Jacob and Tucker

Catching Up

Fall has arrived, and while we had a few days of gorgeous fall weather - it was quikly replaced with the dreary, cold more typical fall weather we see in Idaho.  But the boys took advantage of the nice days and played in the leaves before they got all wet and cold.   

 These two are best buddies - despite the look of aggravation on Carter's face.  :)

This season of Thanksgiving has inspired me to focus more fully on what it means to be thankful and to recognize the many blessings in my life.  So I made a FHE out of the idea and "The Thankful Tree" came to life.  As a family, we talked about what it means to be thankful - and now every day we each take a leaf and write down what we are thankful for.  By the end of the month we should have a tree covered with leaves and hopefully a better understanding of how truly blessed we are!

Finally... Get out your decoder ring!  I am currently taking guesses as to what this code means.  The answer might surprise you.  Look out for my next post for the answer! :)

Good Luck!

Happy Halloween!

Somehow, we ended up having an Asian theme this year.  Braden wanted to be a ninja, Jacob wanted to be a karate kid, and the twins finally fit into these adorable little outfits.  In any case, I think everyone turned out pretty dang cute!

A fun note about Jacob's costume:  We borrowed this costume from Grandma Dawn.  Apparently when Jason was little he loved "The Karate Kid" (what child of the 80s didn't!) and wore this costume till the legs were too short in it!  So fun watching Jacob wear something his daddy enjoyed as a kid! 

The twins' outfits came from an exchange student that Dawn hosted a couple years back when I was prego.  She was so sweet, her name was Re.  I have been dying to for these to fit!


Of course Jacob also wore his costume to school and the kids learned some cute little Halloween songs for the parents.  Jacob loves his school and comes home beaming every day.:)

This is both the AM and PM Kinder classes.  You can see Jake on the right side of the photo.

Jacob's "All About Me!" Project

One of the focusses of Jacob's school is project-based learning.  The kids often do projects, then present them to the class.  This was Jacob's first presentation--"All About Me!"  We picked out pictures of his favorite things, filled in a family tree, drew a floor plan of the house, and mapped out his daily routine.  He was a little nervous going in, but once it was over, he was so excited he said, "I wanna do it again!"  So we took his poster home and presented it again to Daddy.:)

Of course I'm prejudiced, but I think his was the cutest of the class!

Happy Anniversary --can you believe it's been 7 years!

So in the past 7 years we've had. . .
6 vehicles
5 diaper/kid bags
4 beautiful children-- two boys and one set of boy/girl twins
3 employers
2 houses-- technically the first one was a condo
2 birds of prey
2 cats
1 dog
Piles of dirty diapers
Plenty of sticky fingers
Countless laughs and cries
Priceless memories
and LOTS of love!

Love you forever Jason!

Some friends gave us a gift card for a free night at the St. George Inn so this year for our anniversary, we just took the weekend off!  Aahhhhhh!   Dawn and Sid took the twins and Davis and Becca were kind  enough to take the boys.  The kids had a blast while J and I enjoyed an arts and food festival, went to a movie, and toured some church history sites.  Jason bought me the coolest antique silverware ring and took me to a beautiful restaurant for dinner.  It was sooo nice to just rest and spend time with my sweetheart.

Can't Resist the Cuteness!

Just had to post these.:)

 Notice Brookie's sweater includes an attached monkey in her pocket with a pink bow to match her bow!

 I love that they're such cute little pals!