an update from my iPhone

Since my last post, we've done a few fun things. The kids have been sledding a bunch. We got a lot of snow (for us) and then it stayed cold so the snow stayed around. I love this picture of Levi as he is at the age where if he doesn't want to do something, he really doesn't want to do it. He didn't want his picture taken. He loved the snow and he loved the sledding, but he DIDN'T want his picture taken.








Sarah, Andrew, Spencer and Nathan went skiing twice.




Since we spent a lot of time inside because of the cold weather, on a day off of school we spent three hours at JumpTime. We went with the Allen's and their cousins. The kids LOVED it!!! It's a little tricky to get "action shots".






Levi has a wonderful imagination. On this particular day, he was a magician who pulled invisible rabbits out of his hat. Some days he's a puppy. Other days he's a rock star. Sometimes he's a cat. He loves for others to use their imaginations and play with him.



BSU had a fun exploration day for elementary kids. Our schedule only allowed us to be there for a couple of hours, but we all had a great time!





They got a really good lesson about gravity.

The three oldest boys all tried a Segway and did great riding it!

There you go. Just a little update from my iPhone. Enjoy!

THREE

Jinkies! Look who celebrated his number THREE birthday!! Levi was SO excited to open his presents and eat his Scooby Doo cake. He got a fuzzy blanket and money from Nonnie, money from Grandma and Grandpa, money from Aunt Katie, Uncle Rob and family. He also got "play food" from Sarah and Andrew, Skylanders from Benjamin, a book that makes noise from Spencer, and a slue of Scooby Doo stuff from Mom and Dad.







Levi is such a fun, loving and energetic boy!! Happy, Happy Birthday, Levi!! We love you so much!!!

ELEVEN

Andrew turned ELEVEN this year. He got a lot of nice presents from his family. He got a fuzzy blanket and money from Nonnie, money from Grandma and Grandpa, a futsol ball from Benj, yellow skinny jeans from Spencer, a really cool light from Sarah and Levi and a Sphero ball from mom and dad.




Andrew wanted to have a friend party at the Idaho Aquarium and it was awesome! We had our own marine biologist, who gave us a personal tour and taught us so much about all of the animals at the Aquarium. Everyone got to feed the tropical fish, sharks and stingrays, and birds.



Andrew got to feed the octopus.









We had a small New Years Eve party that evening with the Merchant and Ramey families. We played games, ate yummy food and made lots of noise at ten (when the East coast was celebrating the new year).

Andrew is truly an AMAZING young man!!!!

Winter Break

Winter Break seemed shorter this year, but we were able to do a lot of fun things and spend a lot of time together. Nathan took the same days off from work that the kids had off from school and it was absolutely dreamy!!!

We made bird feeders and put them in our trees so the birds have something to eat this winter.

We got a little bit of snow and the kids played and played in it.

We went for a nice yet very cold hike.

Sarah tried to potty train Levi for one of her Personal Progress projects. Sarah tried really hard and did a great job, but Levi was NOT a willing participate, so she is looking for another project.

We also worked several days on this fun puzzle that Andrew got for Christmas.

Nathan made several different shopping trips with kids that had money burning in their pocket. We had a wonderful time together!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We had a really nice Christmas Eve. We started out early going to the Mall to visit with Santa and put in any last requests. Levi understood that Santa would be bringing him toys, but he still didn't want to be close to him so this year we all got to be in the picture.

We all went to the movies to see Wreck-it Ralph and really liked it! We were invited over to the Merchant's again for Christmas Eve and had a wonderful dinner. The kids loved acting out the Nativity.

Afterwards, we went home and all of the kids opened one present. This year, they got pajamas for their Christmas Eve present.

Then, we put cookies and milk out for Santa and the kids hurried off to bed.

The kids must have made it on the "Nice" list as they all received an iPad mini and a case from Santa and other fun things in their stockings. They got books from each other. Mom and Dad gave them earphones, games, crafts and toys. It was a very relaxing Christmas day playing with their new electronics, playing games and doing crafts. Grandma and Grandpa came over to see what the kids got and we have a yummy dinner. We later Skyped with Nonnie and family in Oregon.












It was a wonderful Christmas!!