Christmas #1

jay and i enjoyed a wonderful christmas while in nm but are looking forward to christmas #2 when the girls get home.

we hope you had a very merry christmas!

New Hobby

my sister, corissa, invited me flower making class. i was so excited because i always love to dress up my hair or my girl's hair. we had fun learning to make fabric flowers, yo-yo flowers, rolled roses, and burned roses. the girls were excited to find these cute headbands in the advent calendar the next morning.
since that night was so fun, the girls and i decided to make hair clip flowers, with their school colors, for their teacher's christmas gifts. (no pics but they were super cute!) and to my surprise, on of the teachers emailed me and wanted to order...yeah pay me....for hair clips for her daughter. i was busy that night and here is what she got.
since then, i created a blog to sell a random assortment of crafts that i enjoy making.
check it out:
http://whos-itsandwhats-itsgalore.blogspot.com/

Rapunzel

rapunzel, rapunzel, let down your hair! i don't think this is what that prince had in mind!

i have always felt that ariana looked super cute with short hair but she really wanted to grow it out...so we did. while she was still super cute, i was getting tired of the frizzy hair...it had to go!

julie has magic scissors! they always do exactly what i want them to! thanks julie!
she was more excited to wear another pair of leg warmers i made than for me to get a good shot of her gorgeous new do. i love it ri!

Girls Day

i'm sure my mom loves me but i think she loves her granddaughters even more! she is always talking about girls day. either with her daughters or, in this case, with all her girls! my sisters and i set up a progressive girls day for grandma lori.

1st stop: my house

our activity: sewing

the girls helped my mom sew a quilt while i taught my sisters how to make leg warmers (or arm warmers lol) for our lil ladies.

2nd stop: my sister, bean's house

our activity: making hair clips or headbands

since we all learned how to make these cute clips, we were excited help our girls learn how to make them too!

you girls look awesome i all your new accessories!

3rd and last stop: my sister, corissa's house

our activity: make hot cocoa to take out to see the pretty lights!

we enjoyed a delicious dinner...thanks spencer...and headed out. first, around the neighborhood and then to the temple. it's just not christmas time until you take a walk around the temple grounds and enjoy the different light displays.

we enjoyed our day with each other and most of all with grandma lori!

Ward Christmas Party

we were so glad to have the girls the night of our ward christmas party (they missed it last year). ariana was especially excited to dress up in her new leg warmers i made for her.

we enjoyed an evening of socializing and yummy food and a wonderful christmas program. i love being reminded of our savior's humble birth. he is truly the reason for the season.

but the night would not be complete without a visit from the big man himself.

ariana wants a puppy. mom does not.
caprice whispered to santa so who knows what that kid wants.

alexis was too big for that but did let me take a group photo.

Copperwood Choir

alexis had originally signed up for band but soon changed her mind to choir. she has enjoyed singing and i think it has helped her come out of her shell a little. copperwood had their first choir performance tonight and while it was somewhat painful, i enjoyed seeing alexis give it her best.

Alexis and Rachel Playing Ukrainian Bell Carol

Alexis Playing It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Caprice Playing Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Ariana Playing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Christmas Duet Piano Recital

the girls have been practicing for months to prepare for today. and i have loved every minute of christmas music!

the girls' piano teacher teaches with such love and compassion it's no wonder my girls (and i) love her! the girls even had some friends from school come to support them.
and sweet ellie and her mama made the trip too!

alexis played it's the most wonderful time of the year and ukrainian bell carol

caprice played jolly old saint nicholas

ariana played rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

I Love My Family

Caramel Apple Cider

i thought that my homemade hot cocoa was my favorite warm drink during the winter until i tried this! starbucks makes something similar but mine is not as expensive and it's just as yummy!

all you need:

*a chilly night

*apple cider packet

*caramel syrup

*whipped cream

*sprinkle of cinnamon

cuddle up with your favorite someone and enjoy!

The Party

seeing as we were planning on being in nm for the thanksgiving break, we planned ariana's party for then also. this way she got to party it up with all her cousins!

she requested an oreo cake and her fabulous aunt jacque delivered!

she even decorated for my sweet ri ri!

all the cousins chowing down on pizza.

happy birthday to you!

happy faces!

ri ri is one lucky girl to have so many people who love and care about her! thanks to everyone for all the birthday fun!

*she totally made out with some awesome presents and cash and cards! michelle even made her a wallet to stash it all!*

Ri Ri

today i am thankful for my beautiful daughter ariana, or ri ri as we like to call her. today my baby girl is 8 years old. here she is as happy as can be. her belly is full of yummy thanksgiving food and all the kids are making ornaments to start decorating grandma's tree...but that's not how her day started.....

we drove in to new mexico the night before and were lucky enough to stay with the cutchen family. ariana was happy to share her birthday with her cousins. everyone gathered around to watch ri ri open her first birthday present.
all of the girls look forward to getting their birthday outfit and ri was not disappointed.
andi made yummy muffins and bacon for the birthday girl.

we can't get enough of elly!

sadie insisted that her picture be taken as well!

while cleaning up after breakfast, the smiles quickly faded.

bam! ariana walked right into an open door!

she made the mistake of looking at the nasty little egg and began to cry. we set her up with an ice pack and cuddle time with dad.

she was better pretty quick and we headed to grandma's for the thanksgiving festivities. when everyone had their fill, some of the kiddos hopped in grandma's hot tub. there's my ri ri's smile!

happy birthday!

i love you very much!

Superman

for those of you who don't know my brother, he thinks he's superman. at least that's how obsessed he is with him.

for his last night in az for a while, we threw him a nice 'see-you-soon' party. lots of friends and family came to send him off with love.

i may have complained about his mess, or his hours of coming and going, or not having my guest room open for a year, but i'm sure going to miss him and my girls are too. we have loved having him so close over the past few years.

superman with his super cute niece ellie.
we wish you the best with your new job in arkansas! love you bud!

Family Fun Hike

my brother has been planning to move to arkansas for over a year so when he actually said he was moving out, we wanted to have one last family fun activity before saying our 'see-you-soons'. hike. a family hike. sounds like fun right?! we found a trail on south mountain that we wanted to try out.

here is the group before getting started. nice view of the city!

ariana had to show off her muscles....and legs with those short shorts!
crazy uncle with his crazy nieces.

the clouds were awesome!

the hike was fun and had lots of fun rock formations that made for great photo breaks.

getting ready for our lunch break.

and it was just about then when we felt the first signs of rain so it was also our turn around point.

it made alexis work up quite a thirst...

while it wore sweet ellie right to sleep but...

we all enjoyed our time with christopher this morning!