Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas - here is a little peak at our morning festivities! It is always fun to see the kids eyes light up as they open their gifts! It was especially fun to have Connor for his first Christmas ... he loved everything that he could put in his mouth. He is now 7months old, sitting up and always smiling and so fun to have around! Madi got her new desk for her room that she has been wanting for over a year - I found it at the DI and then sanded and repainted for hours and then put new handles - it turned out great! Robby was so excited for his new Wii game Super Mario Party 8 and Elli got her Princess castle. James finally got his fire pit for the back yard! For Christmas Eve - we went to Matt and Rebecca's for dinner and the took the kids up to drive aroung the Bountiful Temple where the neighbors have put pictures lit up in their front yards of the story of Christ's birth -- it was a nice reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. The kids loved taking turns reading the story as we drove by each picture!

Tubing at Soldier Hollow

Tubing at Soldier Hollow is always a good time! We haven't been in a couple of years and the kids had a blast - after the first run they all said "that was awesome"! Our neighbors, the Schenks went with us and we had a great weekend at the cabin. The trip was cut a day short due to an early storm that was quite fun to navigate through on the way home (white out until we passed Park City - with nervous Grandpa behind us - calling to see if we should turn around, because that would be fun to drive back through the whiteout!) But very happy to have Grandpa with us since he stayed at the cabin with Connor while the rest of us went tubing!

Halloween '09

A vampire, a Jedi, a ballerina and a pumpkin, oh my!

Connor's Blessing Day

Ok - so I have to back track a little bit - Connor, one day your mom will be up to date on this whole journaling/blogging thing...but until then we do what we can.


Connor Briggs McDougal was blessed by his Dad on August 2, 2009. It was a beautiful Sunday morning and Connor was surrounded by his Grandpas and uncles. It was a beautiful blessing, one of the things from the blessing that stood out to me (and made me laugh a little at my awesome husband) is that he blessed Connor to always be a strong example to those around him, that due to his "special traits" he would stand out to his friends and that he should work hard at making good decisions.
Connor we love you and are so glad that you are part of our crazy family - you have already brought so much joy into our lives. Your continuous smiling, giggling and awesome red hair light up our house.

Goodbye to a special Grandma

When a loved one passes away it really makes you stop and think how fast time goes...it was just the other day that me and all the cousins were riding three wheelers and jumping on the tramp at Grandma Afton's house. Today was Grandma's funeral, she passed away on Monday, September 21, 2009 after a long 3 year fight that the Dr's said would be one year. It was a beautiful Fall day, the service was wonderful...cousin Ashley, myself and a close neighbor spoke. Ashley and I were asked to speak of our memories of Grandma, it was fun to look back and think of the good times we have all had...some mentioned were... Grandma's love of flowers, her cooking talent, indian corn and gourds, shopping and lunch at The Lion House with her and mom, afternoon "dinners" on the back porch, Christmas Eve gatherings with her apple pie, St George trips, lunches at Tasties and many more fun times. It was nice to be with all the cousins and catch up on each other's lives and reminisce of past times. I am worried about Grandpa being alone now after the two of them being together for the past 65 years ... I hope James and I will be so blessed to have each other for so long. We love you Grandma!

Our Crazy Elli!

Why does it seem that our children that can drive us the most crazy can also make us laugh the hardest!?
The other night we went out to dinner with the kids for James' birthday and while we were sitting waiting for our food, Elli took her play cell phone out of the diaper bag and said to me..."excuse me Mom, I have to take a call." We were dying...where does she come from?

Then just this morning, I was trying to get Elli to pick up the Polly Pocket/Barbie/Littlest Pet shop explosion in three different rooms that we do at least 5 times a day (no joke). Like usual I was getting frustrated with her "slowness" and lack of focus until I sat back and just watched for a minute... I love how little kids can make anything into a game and with Elli that also always includes making up songs and singing them. How much happier I bet I would be if I made all my chores into a game ... our little ones definitely have the right idea!

Madi's !0th Birthday!

Madi's Favorite Gift
How crazy is it that we now have a 10 year old - It may sound like a cliche, but where has the time gone, I can't believe that my little Madison Linda is 10years old. She is turning into a beautiful, sweet, fun "big" girl! She loves to be with her friends, loves to get Mom to take her shopping (even to "just look"), she loves playing with her new baby brother and loves to be the big sister and babysit while Mom runs to the store for a quick errand! Madison is a wonderful student and her favorite subjects are art and reading. She loves clogging and playing soccer and is doing awesome with her piano lessons even if she doesn't like to practice! Madi - Dad and I are so proud of the good girl that you are and love the laughter and happiness you bring into our family.

So for Madi's birthday this year she got to go out to ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Gallacher, who also gave her a new beaded watch band for her watch (that we wear everyday now) and or course some new clothes for 5th grade. The next day on her actual birthday she chose to Chili's to go out to dinner with the fam and Grandma and Grandpa McDougal. Mom and Dad gave her a new ipod and more clothes and Grandma and Grandpa gave her Itunes gift cards so she can download her favorite music to her ipod. She thinks she is quite the little teeny bopper with her earphones always in her ears - we have already had to have the discussion about no earphones while we are sitting at the table with the fam!
Then of Friday night it was the "friends" party - the girls had Pizza, did some crafting with buckets, mod podge and paper. They had ice cream cake, opened presents, watched a movie and of course did a lot of running, jumping, laughing and screaming. Madi had a great 10th birthday!