Christmas Fun 2011

We had a busy, fun, family filled, Christmas break. It seemed like we went from one fun thing to the next. We started out the break by having a sleepover with the Huls girls and then the next day we went ice skating. The kids did great! I think all the hours of rollerblading paid off for this sport. We will definately go again. Later that night we had our Thornton Christmas party. My dad did a great job making his wooden toys. It is something my kids look forward to each year. Hannah got a sewing machine, Hayden got a top which kind of works like a beyblade and Chloe got some ducks. Heath was in Las Vegas for all these festivities and we were super excited to get him home before Christmas Eve.We ended this part of the week with another sleepover at the Thompson house. Christmas Eve started by making cookies for Santa and then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Thornton's for a Christmas Eve breakfast and a program. When we got home Heath gave us our annual jammies. The kids surprisingly went to sleep really easy with how excited they were. I think we had worn them out the few days before. They even slept in until 7 the next morning which is uncommon for Christmas morning. We opened just our stockings before church which ended up being really fun. They had time to just enjoy what was in there. Grandma and Grandpa Jackson and Laramie came over for breakfast and then we headed to church. It was a great spiritual moment to the day. Then we came home and finished presents. Chloe especially had a great time unwrapping them. She would get so excited with each present and would play with it for awhile before she wanted to open another one. She was so excited about this four-wheeler that she hopped on backwards. We spent the rest of the day enjoying family time and ended the day with a prime rib dinner at Cody's house with the Jackson side. It was a great day. The only downfall was that we were all a bit tired because Chloe had been sick all week and hadn't slept at night. We were glad she was starting to feel better. The next day we headed to Jackson with the Beck family and Cody and his girls. It was a nice drive. We first went on the sleigh ride out to see the elk. It was a great ride and really interesting to listen to the guide but Chloe decided to break a tooth right then and she screamed the whole time. That made it not so great for everyone on the sled. Good thing the guide was so nice about it. After that we took another trip to the rec center pool there. We love it and the kids had a great time swimming. The next day we went sledding at Cody's house behind the four-wheelers. There was just enough snow and a few weeds but it worked. Then my sister, Janet, came from Fruitland and we spent time with them. Another sleepover, watching "We bought a zoo" (which I wouldn't recommend), Orange Leaf (all this was for my kids passing off all of their articles of faith) and then a pizza party at Grandmas.On Thursday, we took off for Utah early in the morning. My sister Jen had Hannah and Hayden and Chloe slept with Heath's parents so Heath and I could celebrate our 14th Anniversary. We went out to dinner and shopping. Our hotel was right across the street from temple square so it was nice to spend time there. Brianne was baptized that weekend so we stayed for that and then we had a New Year's Eve party with Jenn, Laura and Mike's family. We planned fun games for the kids like the donut on a string and making teeth out of now and laters and they even made it up until midnight when they banged pans out of the street.
We had plenty of time with these cute little puppies. We loved snuggling withe them and watching them play. It would be so fun to keep one but we haven't talked ourselves into it yet.We were spoiled with all the fun we had and were almost grateful to get back on a schedule so that we could slow down a little. We love to be able to spend so much time together as a family and have both of our extended families so close.

Gingerbread Houses and Santa

We look forward to the tradition of going to Aunt LarRene's house every year to decorate gingerbread houses and a visit from Santa. The kids have a great time with both.
Heath helping Hayden with his house. The kids anticipating Santa's arrival.
Chloe's new favorite word is Santa and loves to see pictures and figures of Santa. I hoped that this would translate into excitement to sit on his lap. You can tell from the snapshot how well that went but she was excited to get the ball and candy from him. Maybe next year, Santa.
Hannah now for two years in a row was not scared at all to sit on his lap. This is a big thing for this shy girl. She asked for magnetic earrings since she is too scared to get her ears pierced. We did ask her on the way home how cool it was to see the real Santa. Her reply, "Mom, that was just one of his helpers because when we were singing the song when he first came in I saw him pull up his beard." She getting a little two smart for her age. At least the magic is still there.
Hayden was so nervous all day to see Santa because he was so worried he would be on the naughty list. I think this is from a little too much teasing on his parents part. He decided that he just wouldn't ask Santa and hope for the best Christmas morning. However, when he got on Santa's lap Heath asked Santa the big question. Poor Hayden was so scared he started crying (which is a big thing for him because he prides himself on being a tough kid), but luckily Santa told him the good news - He's on the nice list. Whooh, what a relief.
Hannah got to go to YW's with me the other night and decorate gingerbread houses. She had a great time hanging out with the big girls and made a beautiful house.
A quick shot of her new favorite trick to do with Chloe.
We had a few houses left over so they had fun decorating them with some neighbors.
Hayden's favorite new way to sleep. Santa hat on in anticipation of the big day. We can't wait!

Concerts

It quickly became the time of the year for Christmas recitals and progams. The kids each had a singing concert with the school and Hannah had her Christmas recital for dance. She is loving taking dance from Infinity with Ms. Sam. She danced one cute Christmas number and had a great time watching all the competition teams perform.

One shot of the first graders at the Hillview concert. Hayden is in the back row.

Thanksgiving 2011

This is a holiday I usually don't blog about so I decided it shouldn't be skipped this year. I love Thanksgiving because it is a lot more low key and you just hang out and eat. Throw in a little thankfulness and you are set. We had dinner with Heath's family this year up at his Grandma and Grandpa Romrell's.
The rest of the kids getting ready to dish up their food.


The next day after putting up all the Christmas decorations. My sister invited us out to her new house for games and fondue. It was great to see all her kids and their kids.

Chloe had a great time playing with my nephew's daughter Tilly.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Worth waiting for

Hayden has been bugging me for a white shirt and tie for church for awhile now. We have just kept him comfortable with polo's and sweaters. I felt like he was old enough that he could actually stand to keep the tie on so it was time to make the purchase. He was so excited that he looked like the deacons that he could hardly sleep the night before. He was actually excited to go to church for once. We all thought he looked pretty handsome and a little too grown up for my taste.
I feel like I have been stuck in Idaho Falls for a few months and needed a little trip. We didn't really have any plans for the week off so I decided we needed to go for a little drive yesterday. I have been wanting to try the rec center pool in Jackson for awhile now but it has just never worked out. We had a great time. The drive was nice (even though it was a little slick) and we loved the pool. It was nice to get away for an afternoon. We definately need a pool like this in Idaho Falls.