More Birthdays!

Karlee with her super cute new purse from Holly and Jared.  It is totally Karlee!

Blowing out the candles!

What's better than a big kiss on your birthday.  This is the only kind you're allowed to have right now Kar!

It was Karlee's turn to celebrate her birthday and this year it was number 7.  I can't believe she is that old already.  The same night as Kayci's preschool program, we came home to celebrate Karlee's birthday.  She wanted a Tangled cake, so I created this one from an Ariel cake pan I had.  It didn't turn out too bad.  The next day we went to see the new Tangled movie, which was super cute!  She was so excited to get her own ipod shuffle and her super cute new purse.  She thinks she is so grown up.  Karlee has a mind of her own and there's always plenty of drama when she's around.  She definitely keeps life interesting!  Happy Birthday Karlee, We sure love you!

Layne's dad celebrated his 70th birthday this year.  He said that instead of presents, he wanted everyone to write down their memories of him.  So over a few weeks time, Layne's mom and sister got in touch with all of us and had every family member either write a memory or draw a picture to go in a book for his dad.  It turned out awesome!  Everyone that could came over for a little surprise birthday celebration.  He wanted a picture with all of the kids that were there.  He truly is one of the sweetest, kindest, most gentle men I know.  We love him dearly and hope he had many, many more wonderful birthdays to come!

He almost dumped this whole pan full of lit cupcakes in his lap when he went to blow them out.  Notice his big smile, though.  We love that smile!

Christmas Programs and Recitals

Karlee at this year's Christmas piano recital.  She played a beautiful version of Silver Bells and Greensleeves.  She only had to start over once, and that was because her book closed on her!  I helped her to get it opened up a little better and she continued on without any problems.  You can't tell in the picture but she couldn't stop smiling at herself in the mirrors on either side of the pianos.  That's our Karlee for ya!

Abby had some pretty difficult pieces this year, but she played them so well.  She played an awesome version of O Come All Ye Faithful and her favorite - Walking in a Winter Wonderland.

This was Kayci's very first piano recital.  She is so tiny that she couldn't reach to put her music up on the stand.  She played Once There was a Snowman and Shepherd Count Your Sheep.  She was a little nervous but managed to play perfectly and even smile when she was finished.

Kayci also had her preschool program.  The kids sang lots of songs and acted out a bunch of little skits while their amazing teacher, Onda K., told some stories.

But the cutest part was the partner dancing.  Kayci danced with Ruger Larsen (he is actually my sister Holly's nephew).  I didn't get a picture of it, but at one point they turned to face the audience, hugged each other, and smiled at everyone.  Too cute!

Kayci and a couple of her friends, Brooke and Kaya

Christmas Party at Great Grandma and Grandpa Clayton's

The kids performing for everybody at Great Grandma Clayton's

They sang Santa Clause is coming to town.

My Grandma and Grandpa are amazing people.  They are so sweet to hold this get together for all of the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Every year we look forward to a fun evening with my Clayton family at my Grandma and Grandpa Clayton's.  My Grandma is an excellent cook and we always enjoy eating her food.  This year she called and asked if the kids could do a little performance for everyone, kind of like we used to do when we were little.  The kids love to perform so I didn't have to twist their arms to get them to do it.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for all you do for us.  We love you!

My Baby Boy Turns 3!

On November 28th, Jake turned 3.  He had a great birthday and got lots of fun new boy toys (always nice when you're the only boy)

He wanted the football cake again which was just fine with me - it's easy!

Isn't he the cutest!  I'm sure lucky to be his mom.

Included in the new boy toys were tools and a hard hat from Heidi and Corey.  He was so excited to have his own tools, just like dad!

We had another great birthday, surrounded by lots of family.  We are so lucky to have such supportive families.  Jake was so excited to have his cousin Trey come and play.  He's always happy to have another boy come play.  He wanted a football cake and horses for his birthday.  He is such a sweet little boy.  He's always quick to say he's sorry, and he is so polite.  He can be a monster, though, and I don't know if we'll ever master potty training.  But we love him so much and can't imagine life without him.  Happy Birthday Buddy!

So Much to Be Thankful For

Karlee dressed up for the 1st Grade Thanksgiving Program.  There are a whole lot of 1st Graders and they did such a cute job with all of their poems and songs.

The house after the big snow and windstorm that kept us from going to New Mexico for Thanksgiving

It's amazing how something so cold and miserable can look so beautiful!

Layne with Lexie and Great Grandpa Kinghorn (94) - He's still smiling!

The Boys Table (and Kristen).  Jake thought he was so cool to sit at the table with all the big boys this year.

The crazy Girls Table!  I think they did more talking than eating.

I have so much to be thankful for.  From family and friends to good health and so much happiness, I am truly blessed.  This year for Thanksgiving we were supposed to drive to New Mexico to see Layne's brother's family, but with the arrival of the first snow and wind, the roads were a wreck.  We decided at the last minute it would not be in our best interest to drive there.  We were so sad, but thought that going 30 mph all the way through Utah might not be too much fun.  Luckily, we are so blessed to have such wonderful family from both sides that invited us to crash their Thanksgiving parties.  We went to Brian and Debi's which is always a treat.  Mike and Emily, Matt and Liz, Kyle and Malia, and Brian Debi were all there with their families.  Layne's mom and dad went to Kansas for a week or so and managed to leave before the storm hit and came home after it had passed and was clearing up.  We had such a nice time with Layne's family.  I love them dearly and always feel at home with them.  It was also nice to have Layne's grandpa there.  We don't know how much longer he'll be with us.  Because we stayed here, we also got to go up and get Christmas trees by the cabin.  There was so much snow that the guys had to snowmobile back to get the trees and then couldn't walk much more than 100 feet or so in the snow.  It was crazy.  The kids and I, along with Liz and Emily and their kids, had a good time back at the cabin, though.  It's a tradition we never tire of.  Anyway, it was once again a great Thanksgiving weekend.  Thanks to all who made it possible.

Kayci Turns 5!

Our little princess couldn't wait for her birthday to come!

Kayci has the most beautiful smile.

The cousins came for cake and ice cream on Kayci's birthday.

She requested a Tinkerbell cake!

Kayci had her first "friend" party.  It was a Tinkerbell party.

It's hard to believe that five years ago, our little Kayci Jo was born.  In fact, I missed my mom's 50th birthday party because I was in the hospital.  She has been such a little princess ever since then.  Oh, don't get me wrong, Kayci came to us as fiesty as they come, but we sure do love her!  She had a great birthday.  She has been planning her first "friend" party for months and couldn't wait to have her little friends over to celebrate.  It just so happens that two of her other little friends have their birthdays the same week as Kayci.  So she got to go to three parties in one week - a Fancy Nancy party, a Princess party, and her own Tinkerbell party.  It was quite a week.  My family all came over for cake and ice cream on her birthday so that made it even more special.  I sure love them for being so supportive!  We can't wait for another year of fun with our Kayci.  Love you Kayci!

Halloween, Halloween, and more Halloween

FHE at Brittany and Matt's

Carving pumpkins at Holly and Jared's

My cute little monsters!

Doesn't that face say it all!

I had a lot of fun making poodle skirts this year, and the girls looked adorable!

It was Kayci's turn to be the cowgirl.

Abby all ready to head out dancin'!

Our obviously happy little cowboy.

What a crew!  Lexie wore her skeleton shirt so she could be dressed up, too.

Andy and Karlee are truly best friends.

A beautiful evening at the straw maze.

Lexie, in the stroller, AGAIN.  We really do take her out, but she really has gone just about everywhere in it.

It used to be when I was growing up that Halloween was one day.  Not anymore.  We spent the entire month getting dressed up and going to parties.  It started off with Abby's Daddy Daughter Party and from there we had a family FHE at Brittany and Matt's.  They made a fun little haunted house in their garage.  The kids loved it!  We then had a ward party and school parties.  We even went to Holly's to carve pumpkins.  Finally we went to the straw maze in Rexburg with Holly and Jared's family.  It was so fun making our way through that maze despite the fact that I had been sick with the stomach flu for a couple of days.  It really was a fun month!

Camping Trip to Salmon

Jake excited to catch his first fish!

Jake took a nose dive into the river which was a little scary but worth a pretty good laugh once we knew he was okay.

Abby and Karlee enjoying a little bit of sunshine.

Lexie, happy as always!

Kayci loved casting and reeling in her own fish.

The kids found some cool rocks to climb on.

Jared, Andy, and the twins with Grandma and Grandpa and our family at the end of the pack saddle bridge.

Another cool climbing picture.

The beginning of October, we had the opportunity to go out to Salmon with Holly and Jared and my mom and Don to go camping and Steelhead fishing. Jared's family has gone every year for years and we felt very fortunate to get to go with them. The kids had a ton of fun fishing, riding their bikes, and camping. The guys weren't able to catch any Steelhead but they got a few bites and had a lot of fun trying. Thanks for a great weekend!