A Little Catch Up

I really need to get working on a Hawaii post or two but there are so many pictures (from both our phones, the underwater Nikon and the DSLR—sheesh!)

But in gathering those I found some iphone pics I wanted to add to the blog too, mostly from last month.

First, our girls' night Nutcracker adventure on December 21st. It was such a magical night! I loved having my little ladies there with me and being with my mom and sis and niece. Too much fun. We ate dinner at Kneaders in City Creek beforehand and my mom had part of the girls' Christmas gifts to give them that night—American Girl Nutcracker sets with little velvet shrugs, bracelet watches and a tiny doll's Nutcracker. So cute and such fun to get that night!

 Of course I always think back to my days backstage and dancing up there to that ever familiar music. It gives me chills every time I see it. What a grand dream for an aspiring ballerina! This year Caroline and Maddie learned dances from their ballet teacher from The Nutcracker (not the William Christensen version but close enough :) Those two were adorable watching every move so intently. I could tell those ballerinas on their beautiful pointe shoes were blowing them away. They are so strong and graceful and lovely. My mom was so kind to treat us all to the ballet and my girls and I are so very grateful—we loved our special girls' date so much!

 

 

 

A new tradition I guess, except that it kind of freaks me out: 

helping Joseph put the Christmas lights up

 Home Depot project day in December: Santa was there!

 Fun night out at Hires with my parents while they babysat the Horsley kids:

 A few more shots from the kids' music program at school:

Out in the snow at the mall one Saturday (kids were at Porter's birthday party—isn't having one little babe around for errands just the best? So easy and pleasant. Can you tell I took all 4 kids to the grocery store today? Why or why did I do that?! Darn holiday...)

 Ward Christmas party:

 Caroline's holiday report. She eagerly chose Germany for her country and wrote about Saint Nicholas Day. Loved her little artwork and excitement over a holiday I had actually celebrated as a kid when I lived there.

 I decided to try out some bangs again. So far, pretty good. But in Hawaii they were killing me—too hot! Oh and the humidity made them oh so fluffy and random. We'll see how long they last :)

 Bob was in town for an full 2 weeks. When he first arrived his parents were in Georgia (visting Flori and Rob) so he stayed with us most of the 7 or 8 nights they were gone. It was so fun having him around! We love Bob so much. The brothers fit in like 3 morning spin classes, an adventurous outdoor ride with Tommy too, and some yummy food dates 

(even some homemade ones like Tahitian pancakes):

  

And Bob even sent Joseph and me out on a date while he stayed here with the kiddos:

 

A family dinner date at Texas Roadhouse. This baby was loving it! So many yummy bites and delicious rib bones for gnawing and sucking: 

Caroline's new doll in the mermaid skirt from cousin Gracie (thanks Maggie! It is so pretty and shimmery and Cares loves it). Beans is such a classic big brother...such a silly head.