Happy Birthday Alissa!

Sadly Alissa was sick with Influenza B for her birthday party this year.  We were grateful she felt better on Saturday to go sledding with her friend Lia.  We took them up by Kelly Canyon to the tube run and it was a hit!  They had so much fun sledding!!

I pulled Gracie around on the tube and she had just a fantastic time chilling in the tube and watching the kids.  When the kids are happy, mom is happy. 

She was able to have her friends over for a late night the upcoming week.  They did face masks, fingernails, decorated cupcakes and ate her favorite meal of chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes & corn.

Kennedee, Ashlynn, Alissa & Hadlie - what a group of crazy girls!

Alissa is an amazing daughter.  She has so many gifts and talents and does pretty well to act on them.  She is so organized and has a calendar on her mirror she writes on every evening, has all her clothes neatly folded in her drawers and organized by color or pattern.  She is a great friend and does well to get along with a lot of kids.  

She does still struggle a bit with being slow, but is making huge improvements on speeding it up which is a BLESSING!!  She is also super stubborn which can certainly be a blessing and a curse.  

She is always my go to girl anytime I need something done I know I can ask her and she will agree.  I know I can trust her to get it done too.  She does so well to help me with her younger siblings and takes good care of them.

She is smart and has straight A grades.  Doesn't struggle with much of anything besides a lack of desire to read but she will still make sure she hits those reading goals.  I love her determination.  She is still part of the GATE program (gifted and talented) and goes every Monday.  

Right now she is in gymnastics and is starting volleyball.  She told me she doesn't like to be involved in too many things becuase she needs to leave time for play dates. :)  Love this girl so much and am so thankful she's a part of our family!

Girls Night @ Hilton

I have been bugging mom for years to have a girls night sometime during Christmas break with these cute girls.  I'm glad we could finally make it happen this year.  We met up for dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe and then went to the hotel where we played a game that Kourtney made in Activity Days, did face masks and swam.  These girls love each other so much! So glad we could have this fun time together.

Happy New Years!

We are so happy we could celebrate New Years in our new home with our very best friends Mike & Farrah and a surprise visit from our cousin Mak!  We had fun playing games and hanging out together.  This is going to be a fantastic year!!

Thanksgiving

We ate turkey dinner with the Wheelers this year and played Ticket to Ride and ate yummy food.  We feel so blessed to have great family members that we love!

One of the highlights of Thanksgiving break was rollerskating with friends. 

And this is our current living situation as we pack for moving in a few weeks.  AH! 

Labor Day Camping

We went to Cave Falls with the Hansens over Labor Day weekend and had such a great time.  We stayed in a campground right next to each other and enjoyed relaxing in the hammocks, eating yummy food, visiting the falls and a few got to ride the ATVs to Horseshoe Lake.

At Horseshoe Ella caught tons and tons of caterpillars as they were swimming all throughout the lake and climbing on the lilypads.  We also brought about 10 home which only 5 survived and at this moment 4 have made a cocoon.  We will see what happens when they emerge.  The kayaks were so fun to have there and all the kids were so brave at just taking a plunge into the cold water.

My silly posing girls.

Pictures from the campground.  The kids would swing themselves upside down in the hammocks.  They love them and so do I because they are so entertaining for them and so relaxing for me.

Pictures at the falls. 

After the butterfly museum, she's a pro at catching butterflies. 

These girls spent hours down by the river catching minnows.  They caught 2 and a suckerfish of some sort and put them in the bucket to take home.  I wasn't a huge fan, but in the reverse situation I'd feel the same so I agreed.  :)   Man I love camping and being outdoors together like this; building friendships and making memories together.

I didn't want to come home very badly.  I love getting away with my family like this and enjoying the simple things in life without the distractions of any cell phones or electronics.  Just being together.  :)