Decorating for Christmas

We decorated early this year so we could have it up for at least a little while before we left to Utah.  We got a big tree this year too!!! The kids all helped decorate and it went pretty quickly....it was a super fun family night.  And yes, it was before Thanksgiving!  I figured since Oliver's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year...we might as well through one more holiday in there too :)

Oliver's Pirate Party!

Oliver had a Pirate Party for his 4th birthday...what else?  He was especially excited about the bounce house and his "REAL" pirates...Luke and Cassi.  The Wood twins who are 14...agreed to be our pirates for the day.  They stole our treasure after the treasure hunt...and then that is when we saw the gang mentality!  One screamed "Let's get em" and they were off!  Cassi saw them first and took off...leaving Luke holding the treasure.  I couldn't even get it on video because I had to peel them off of him!  One had his knee on Luke's head!!! Poor pirates...they walked the plank..and definitely went above and beyond!

Oliver had a super fun day with all of his pirate friends...lots of treasure...and yummy food!  Thanks for all of his friends that came!  It really made his day special!

Thank Thee Dear Father

Isabelle sang for church for Thanksgiving...this is her during practice :)

TAYLOR SWIFT!!!

Isabelle got Taylor Swift tickets for her birthday from Nani & Papa! It was a fast and furious trip to South Carolina (a late night for me :) But so worth it!  Taylor Swift is a great performer...and during the concert gave tips on how girls can deal with peer pressure...and girls being mean...and just being yourself and finding who your are and being proud of that.  It was so uplifting and clean...and so much fun.  We had floor seats...but they were a little far back for the girls to see without standing up...UNTIL...she came back onto a small stage in the middle of the arena.  She was 3 chairs away from us..and she stayed there for 5-6 songs!  She walked right by us and girls got touch her and see her up close!  They had such a great time...and fell asleep before we even left the parking lot :)  Thanks Nani & Papa...we had a blast!

Allie's Native American Presentation

Alexandra had to do her native American presentation this year. Nani and Papa came to the rescue and made Allie quite the star of the show. They mailed native American artifacts including jewelry, a bag made out a turtle shell, sand paintings, beaded arrows, and an amazing turquoise covered skull...she was so excited to have such awesome things to share! She memorized everything I said about them and rattled off all of the details to her class with her arms and fingers covered in the native American jewelry. Thanks Nani & Papa, you made her day!