Makenna's Preschool Program

Makenna was so excited for her preschool program again this year. Since her preschool is based out of a church, their Christmas program was very much focused on telling the story of the birth of the Savior, which we all loved. Makenna did great, and knew all the words and actions to the songs they sang. She is not shy when it comes to being on stage!

 

She was the STAR of the show...literally. :)

 

Getting ready for her big moment!

 

Leading the wise men to baby Jesus

 



 

 

Family Photos 2012

While my sister was in town for Thanksgiving we had family photos taken. It had been about 5 years since our last family photos, and we had added 8 grandchildren since then! The day we had pictures taken, it was FREEZING!! We tried to brave the cold as best we could, and although we took them as quickly as possible, our photographer (a friend of mine... Melanie Miller Photography) was still able to get some great pictures.

The whole group

Grandma and Grandpa with their 14 grandchildren

Our family

The kiddos

Thanksgiving

We had such a fun Thanksgiving break this year. My sister Amanda and her family came up from Arizona for the week, so it was fun to have the whole family together. The day after Amanda and her family arrived, we loaded up the cars, and drove down to Kansas City to spend a night at the Great Wolf Lodge. We had fun playing at the water park, shopping, eating out, and spending time with our cousins.

My parents celebrated their wedding anniversary while we were there.

My mom ordered all of the girl cousins these princess nightgowns.

They loved having matching nightgowns, and wore them to story time in the lobby that night.

I had one of these exact same nightgowns growing up. I loved it!! Now it is so fun that my girls have the same nightgowns to enjoy!

Thanksgiving day was spent at my parent's house. We had a fabulous meal, and then took all the kids on a hay rack ride.

Clara with her uncle Morgan

The 'big' kids table

After dinner we loaded up for the hayride. It was pretty chilly out, but fun.

We found some large hay bales that the kids had a blast running on.

A picture of the 11 oldest cousins (the 3 babies were at home with Grandma).

Makenna's 5th Birthday Party

A week after having Hudson's birthday party, we had a birthday party for Makenna's 5th birthday. We decided on a Wizard of Oz themed party for her; an obvious choice, since she has been obsessed with it for over a year now. It also gave her a good excuse to wear her Dorothy dress again. Makenna was SO excited to have her party, and was involved in every process of the preparations, including finding the invitations and supplies online, (she loved looking at Wizard of Oz items on amazon, and would beg me to do so almost everyday for the few weeks leading up to her party), making the decorations, making the cupcakes, and getting the activities ready. It was fun to have her so involved.

The cupcakes we made, with 'Rubby Red' sprinkles on top

We also painted a yellow brick road on our sidewalk leading up to the front door, hung balloons in a rainbow pattern in our entry way, and made signs for Munchkin Land, and Emerald City. We were ready to party!

One of our signs that Makenna colored

 A group shot of all her party guests

Our first activity was making lollipops in "Munchkin Land"

Our second activity was making beaded necklaces in "Emerald City"

We also played a few games, and let the girls get their finger nails painted 'Rubby Red'.

Opening presents

Blowing out the candles on her cupcake  

It ended up being a really fun birthday party, and Makenna loved it!!

We had her party on a Saturday, the day before her actual birthday. On her birthday, she took some treats to church for her primary class, and then my parents came over to have cake and ice cream with us. (We didn't invite any of the aunts, uncles, or cousins over, because all of her girl cousins had come over to the party the day before.)

A few facts about our 5 year old: Makenna LOVES to color, draw, and do crafts. I have a pile of cards and pictures that she has colored for me. She likes making pictures for other people, and often wants to send cards in the mail to extended family members who live out of state. She also loves going to preschool. She goes 3 days a week, but would happily go all day, everyday if she could. Makenna tries really hard to be good, and doesn't like when she gets in trouble. She is great with playing with Hudson, and loves helping to take care of Clara. She also loves going to dance. She is a very social, active, happy little girl, and we are so blessed to have her in our family!!

Hudson's 3rd Birthday

Hudson turned 3 on November 9th. His morning started with 3 candles in some french toast; eaten on the "Special" plate...of course.

Later that evening we had a little party for Hudson with some of his cousins. Hudson's party was car themed, as he loves playing with cars, and plays with them everyday.

Makenna and Hudson made this cute car poster, and we played pin the wheel on the car.

The first present the Hudson opened was this construction truck. He was SO excited about it, that he pretty much didn't care about opening any other presents, and he played with this truck for the rest of the night. In fact, John and I didn't even give him the present that we had bought for him (a new bike) until the next morning!  

A few facts about our 3 year old. Hudson is almost always the first person awake, usually before 6:30am. He eats 3 or 4 bowls of cereal every morning (each bowl a different kind of cereal). He loves to play with cars, trucks, and trains. He also loves having Clara sit in his room with him while he plays. He gives her toys to play with, and enjoys having her as his little buddy. Clara loves this too, and is happy to sit and watch/play with Hudson. He has pretty much given up his naps, but will still fall asleep about once a week. Everynight before bed, he wants me to sing him 3 songs: Silent Night (we've been singing it almost every night since Christmas 2011), I've been Working on the Railroad, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Hudson continues to be such a sweet little boy, and we are so blessed to have him in our family!

Halloween

On Halloween, the kids got to go trick or treating twice. First, we drove down to ConAgra, and the kids got to trick or treat around to all of the offices at John's work. Afterwards, we paused outside to take a few pictures of the kids in their cosutmes, before heading home. (Hudson had refused to wear his costume at ConAgra, but luckily we got it on him before trick or treating around the neighborhood.)

My parents came over for dinner, and then went trick or treating with us around the neighborhood. It is fun for us to be able to have them come along. The kids loved, loved, loved trick or treating this year, and were SO excited. They literally sprinted from house to house. We struggled just trying to keep up with them! At one point, Makenna (along with 2 of our neighbors) got a bit ahead of Hudson, and while running after them, he yelled, "Wait for me...I'm a fighter pilot!!" It is so fun as a parent to be able to experience the excitement of Halloween again through the eyes of your children. 

When we got home, Makenna sorted her candy into piles, which is something I always loved doing.

Hudson rolled around in his...

And Clara learned to wave for the first time!! Cute girl!

Trunk or Treat

After spending the afternoon making cookies at my mom's house, we spent the evening at our Ward's dinner and Trunk or Treat. The kids were so excited to wear their costumes, see their friends, and begin collecting candy.

Hudson - the fighter pilot, and Makenna - Dorothy

With some friends

Playing games

Handing out candy

Clara - a butterfly