Regan's Preschool Program

Finally, it was Regan's turn to have a program. She was so excited! For weeks she had been singing all the songs and telling us that she was going to be a snow fairy in her preschool play. She looked so cute and was just thrilled that we were all there celebrating her! She has grown so much the last few months. We love the preschool Regan attends- the same one Ashton went to. They keep things simple and the focus is really on the kids. After the program, we got to make several simple Christmas crafts. It was a great evening!

Nauvoo, the Beautiful

In all the craziness of December, we really wanted to make it down to the temple and spend some time enjoying the Christmas season in Nauvoo. It is one of my favorite things we have done this month. Each of the sites was decorated for the holidays and the visitors center was stunning. We enjoyed staying overnight and just being together away from our usual routines. Of course, attending the temple is always so rejuvenating and peaceful. We are so lucky to live so close to Nauvoo, a place I love so much and a place that holds so many memories for me.

Ten Years

Even though our ten year anniversary was celebrated in Hawaii, today is the actual, official day! I can't believe it has been ten years...what a ride! We were in love then and we are in love now....Happy Anniversary Tod!

Thanksgiving

Our Turkey Day tradition of going to Missouri continued this year and was even more memorable as we got to celebrate Tod's birthday on the same day. We had a great trip and the kids always love being at the farm. This year, the favorite activity was the rope swing down in the barn. It provided hours of entertainment for all ages! The girls got to go horse back riding with Grandpa which is something they always look forward too. We also did a lot of cooking, of course! Other highlights included Black Friday shopping (Menards!), seeing the movie "Tangled", going to the Amish country store to stock up on spices and yeast, and sewing a skirt with Grandma's help. Thanksgiving was a little bit hard for me this year as I found myself thinking back on all the wonderful Thanksgivings spent in Helper with the ultimate cook, Grandma Betty. Even when we moved away, I still would talk to her on the phone nearly every year. So many good memories. I was so glad this year that we were able to be at the farm enjoying what has become a tradition for our family now. I know we will look back on these farm holidays as wonderful memories.

I Love a Parade!

The Christmas season here in Iowa begins with a big parade. It is always held the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Tod would rather not go, while I look forward to it all year! This year, Tod went with the youth from church down to Nauvoo, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to pack up the kids and enjoy the show. I dragged my neighbor a long for the fun, and we had a great time. There have been years when it has been absolutely bone chillingly cold all through the parade, but this year was surprisingly pleasant which made it even more fun!

My Dream Vacation

What can I say about our dream vacation to Kauai? A vacation that has been in the works for 10 years and was every bit as wonderful as it was supposed to be? It was amazing. It was fun. It was relaxing and eye-opening and exhausting and adventuresome and many, many, many more things! Most of all, it was a chance to be with the one I love, to reconnect, to see new places and beautiful things and to make life-long memories. It was a chance to be reminded of who I am, and who Tod is, and of who we are together. And it was a chance to just enjoy life and feel blessed for opportunities that have come my way. I missed my kids so much more than I thought I would. But on the other hand, I enjoyed being away alone more than I thought I would, too.

Of course, we couldn't have taken the trip without Tod's parents being willing to come and watch our brood. It is such a lot of work to take care of these 4 lively ones, I felt guilty just asking someone to do it! But Grandma and Grandpa really stepped up to the plate and did a great job with the kids. We appreciate it so much. And it was good for our children to realize that they can be okay without us, too! (We were all very happy to be back together and back to our routines!)

I took a TON of pictures, so here are just a few to go along with a little trip recap. If you want to see more, my door is always open!

The beauty of Kauai really was hard to describe. Everyone goes to Hawaii and says it's pretty, but it really is absolutely breathtaking and until you see it, you just can't understand what all the fuss is about.

Tod's friend (The Travel Agent) had us stay at the Waipouli Beach Resort which was a gorgeous resort- so nice with beautiful grounds and a beach area. We had a little balcony with a spectacular view where I ate breakfast several mornings and tried to soak in the warmth and sunshine to get me through winter!

We did a lot of hiking and saw most of the waterfalls on the island. We also took a sail boat ride along the Na Pali Coast and went kayaking to Secret Falls. I was in love with the gorgeous flowers and snapped lots of pictures of the plants. We also savored lots of yummy food. Some of our favorites- ham and fresh pineapple pizza, fish/pork tacos, and tropical burgers. So good!
Some of the things I truly appreciated- long, quiet nights with no sleeping interruptions, going to the hot tub at all hours, going to restaurants without children, watching mindless TV, lots of time to read, quiet air plane rides, buying what we wanted at the grocery store, souvenir shopping and going to church in Kapa'a.

The best part of the trip was just spending time with Tod. Our lives are so busy right now- children, church callings, work, piano, and a host of other things take almost every waking moment. Even when we are home at the same time, there is the constant chatter/needs of 4 other little people. Just to have time together was remarkable. I think we'll do it again sometime soon...(preferably before our 20 year anniversary!)

Halloween Festivities

Halloween really crept up on me this year, especially with our travels to Utah. But we had a lot of fun and managed to fit in lots of things. On Friday, the girls enjoyed Hallween parties at school. I'm actually surprised given the strict nature of our school's environment, they still manage to have a very fun Halloween celebration each year! The parade is my favorite part for sure, and this year we even had decent weather! I loved being able to visit each of the girl's classrooms...we made homemade twix on a stick for Ashton's class- so yummy. In Jordan's classroom, Cole cashed in on the snacks and even jumped in the class picture. Regan also had fun at preschool- she just kept talking about how they played musical chairs.

Friday evening was spent eating chili and carving pumpkins with the Garner clan. We had 7 kids and 7 pumpkins to carve, and it was actually a pretty calm affair. The kids had a great time and we even learned some new carving techniques from the Garners. After the last pumpkin was carved, we took some photos on the porch. It made me think of how we have spent much of our Iowa journey with these special friends- when they moved to Iowa, their youngest was just a baby and Cole and Regan weren't even born. Our numbers have grown, but our friendship has remained strong. It is always fun to get together. We always do a lot of laughing.

Last night was trick or treating and as I have said before, we have the best trick or treat neighborhood! People go all out with decorating and treats. It is a lot of fun. The best moment of the night was when a fake spider dropped down on the side of a house right by Ashton's ear. She screamed so loud- classic!

Just a note about the costumes:

Ashton decided to be Dorothy after seeing Wizard of Oz this summer. Her Grandma Cindy made the costume and it was beautiful. I could not get over how well it turned out. Of course, Ashton wanted all the details down to the braids and red shoes.

Jordan chose to be a witch, and she wore the witch costume my mom had made for me when I was just her age. That was pretty cool. Seeing Jordan in that costume was like looking at my self 28 years ago. Wow.

Regan picked her costume out at Target over a month ago. She spotted that ladybug and that was it. She made it perfectly clear though, she wasn't a lady bug, she was Ladybug Girl, who is a character in a favorite book we read.

What is there to say about Cole? Ashton so wanted him to be her dog Toto. We bought him a dog costume and I knew there would be no way he would wear it. We tried several different times over the last few weeks and he freaked out everytime he even saw the thing. Last night I forced it on him for pictures but he wouldn't even wear it down the street. He trick or treated in his white shirt and jeans. One guy said he went as "the boy next door". That works. Cole was funny to watch because he insisted on walking and he tried to give the people handing out the treats the candy.

All in all, we have had a very fun-filled few days. Let the candy-eating begin!