It's almost Christmas!

It's almost Christmas Time...and I haven't updated our blog in months...So get ready for picture overload and a super long post!

We have had a good year.  I'm grateful for our little family.  I know we'll probably never travel as much as we did this year...(it'll only get more expensive, and the kids will be in school)...So I'm grateful we were able to get away as much as we did!  I'm grateful for a husband who works so hard for us, and then still makes time to play with the kids, and help me around the house when he gets home from work.  Our sleeping routine is such a breeze now (I wondered when we would ever get to this point) The kids brush their teeth, we get them in their pj's, then we all read the scriptures and say a prayer; Randy takes Anna and reads and finishes putting her to bed, and I take Jacob, we read and sing a song and he's done for the night!  It's during these times at the end of the day, that they say the cutest things!  Jacob prays for everyone, it depends on the day, but it's so cute to hear his heart-felt prayers.  Anna has been praying for her 'mocos' to go away! hahaha We're all getting over colds...but they're hanging on!  I have kept a list of things the kids mispronounce or things they say that are cute/funny...and I'm so glad I have!  The latest one for Anna is 'Monkey Cheese' (Mac n' cheese), and Jacob's latest is 'Awesomest Prime' (Optimus Prime). 

As the Christmas Season approaches, Our goal is to continue to teach our children about the true meaning of Christmas, and the joy you get when you serve and help others...It's been fun to see the excitement and the twinkle in their eyes that they have for Christmas.

These days Anna loves to hang around the house in either her Cinderella, or Snow White dress.  She will only respond to 'Princess' on some days, and corrects me when I call her anything else!  She loves to dress up!  She has become a little chatter box!  I worried a little when she was almost two, and she didn't speak as many words as I thought she should (Randy didn't worry)...and now, I wonder if there will ever be a day when she's able to be quiet for more than 2.1 seconds!  She's also continuing to be fearless!  And has figured out how to give a certain 'look' and use a specific tone of voice to get what she wants from Dad, her uncles, and Bapa (Grandpa Kevin).  She is so sweet and such a mellow girl, we always joke that if all our kids were as mellow as her, we'd have 5 more! (hahaha, Imagine me w/ 7 kids! hahahahaha) I love her so much!

Jacob is a busy, busy, busy little guy.  Everyday he wants to learn, explore, play, sing and dance, and do it over again! He loves sports, and as it gets colder and colder out there, he keeps wanting to play baseball indoors more! (I'm grateful for wii sports!)  He started preschool in September, and has made new friends whom he loves (most days), he loves his teacher as well, especially because he sees her at church on Sundays too!  He cuddles with me every morning when he wakes up, I love starting my day like that!  He is so curious, talkative, and eager to learn...He likes to dress up in his Batman or Buzz costumes, and fights off any dragons that might try to hurt the Queen (me) or the Princess (Anna)...I love him so much!

Now on to pictures etc...
In March we had the opportunity to go to Calgary.  I wanted to go because it would be the last time Anna would be able to fly for free.  I went with both kids for two weeks!  I was able to celebrate my birthday while in Calgary, and that was nice!  In the end, I think 2 weeks were too long to be away from Randy... BUT We had a fun time, and the kids did surprisingly well on the flights (eventhough neither slept!).

In April we celebrated Easter, and had a wonderful time at Randy's Aunt's house...  All of my pics from Easter are on my ipod...

Then came the Summer and we celebrated Anna's 2nd birthday in May, and Jacob's 4th Birthday in June. I can't believe how much my children have grown! They are such a joy (most days). :)

We went on a family fishing trip in July...I caught my first fish all by myself! 

We also went to my sister's wedding at the Cardston Temple. We were only able to stay for the Temple wedding, but that's the most important part!

In August we were able to go to Island Park, and stay at Aunt Kay's cabin for a few nights.  We loved it there!  It made us want to save our money so we can someday have a little cabin of our own!

 We went Camping for the first time as a family too...The kids did so well! We are going to make it an annual tradition!  

September came and we went to San Diego!  What a fun family vacation!  We had been planning it all  year!  The kids loved Sea World so much, we ended up going twice...We had so much fun together...despite the fact that the night we got there, there was a power outage...so we didn't have power until about 3 in the morning the following day! We went to Old San Diego to the only place with a grill for some tacos!  They were the best tacos we've ever had!  We were hungry :)
We hit up the San Diego Zoo, Wild Animal Kingdom, a day at the Beach, and even went and took some pictures at the San Diego Temple...a week flew by quick!

In October we went to Moab for 3 days. It was a quick trip, but it was nice to get away and go to Arches National Park! We hiked to delicate Arch, and the kids did so well! It was 2 miles to the Arch, and 2 miles back to our car. It was mostly uphill, and super windy and cold...but the kids were so good!

For Halloween, the kids were lucky enough to celebrate it 3 times!  We went to the NICU reunion, it was awesome as always....the kids got treats, had some lunch, even made a craft with their picture!  We went to our ward Halloween Party as well, and we had a little Halloween Party/Get-together at one of my sister in law's.  Too much fun!

Last but not least...November...Randy and Jon (his bro) had the opportunity to go to Boston to watch a Patriots game! It's one of those things they'll never forget...and may not do for a long time! I have to admit I'm not a big football fan, and it was super cold while they were there...so it was ok for Randy and Jon to go, and not me! :) I do like Brady ;)

I think that makes up for the lack of posts for the year...Sorry for the long post!

We are looking forward to Christmas!  The kids are, and have been super excited about it (We all are).  We decorated the house together a few weeks ago (the kids and I)...and when Randy came home, Jacob couldn't wait to show him all that we had decorated!  Randy put up the lights outside, and we all put up, and decorated the tree together.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Everyone!