Good Bye, 2010!!!

New Year's Eve turned out to be whole day of partying! We started the party in the morning at the Lamb's house. We played games, ate great food, and enjoyed great company. We hadn't seen them since school started, so it was a visit much over due. Our 5 hours spent there just weren't enough!

Rory and I were invited to a "couple's party" in the late afternoon. We have amazing neighbors. It never fails that our cheeks ache from all the laughing that goes on at those parties. It was a nice reprieve from the craziness of the day.

In the early evening we headed home to be with the kids. We made Dream Board place mats. The kids have wonderful goals and it was fun to see what matters to them. Kali's included a buffalo (go figure) and there were lots of pictures of Christ. Thanks to the wonders of satellite TV we were able to watch the ball drop in New York. Kali and Sabrina rang in the new year with the East coast at 10 pm. We ate our 12 grapes ( a tradition I picked up in Spain), made lots of noise, and shared kisses. Kali and Sabrina were tucked in their beds (with the clock changed, of course) by 10:20. The older three spent the next hour and a half watching the Lighting Thief and ringing in the New Year for the second time in a much more quiet fashion.

We are excited to see the events that 2011 will bring!

Temple Square

Miranda, Rory and I had the opportunity to go with the Young Men and Young Women to Temple Square the week after Christmas. We enjoyed a yummy meal at Chuck A Rama, then raced to see the Joseph Smith movie showing in the Joseph Smith memorial building. It was the first time the three of us had had the opportunity to see it. We were touched. After the movie we all headed over to the Brigham Young house for a tour. Then we had free time to visit the Christus, see the "Our Eternal Family" film, explore the new temple diorama, and tour the top of the Conference Center. We finished off the day by walking around and enjoying the lights. We LOVE our ward YM and YW. What a blessing it was to spend the day with such amazing spirits.

Christmas 2010

Just like years past, our number of Christmas morning pictures is VERY limited. But, just like always, the kids were VERY well taken care of by Santa. Christmas festivities started the night before with our traditional ham dinner, a special Family Home Evening by Grandma Carol, and the opening of PJs. Christmas morning Grandpa Joe and Grandma Carol joined us while we opened presents. Here are everyone's favorite gifts:

Kali: White Bear

Sabrina: White Bear

Jacob: DS

Ari: Forgotten Carol's Bracelet

Miranda: Cell Phone

We loved just staying in our pajamas, gorging on chocolate and peanuts, playing with toys, and
being together. We loved that Grandma and Grandpa Farr were able to come visit us too! We feel beyond blessed this year.

Santa brought suckers as big as Kali's head!

Good thing he also brought spinning toothbrushes!

This makes me laugh. You can tell you have older children, when most of the Christmas budget goes straight to Nintendo.

Other Christmas Festivities

December was filled with memory making activities. We were able to take Miranda, Ari, and Jake to the Forgotten Carols. It's an amazing experience as a parent to watch your child not only feel the Spirit, but also be able to recognize it. This was one of those nights.

Blaine, Necha, and Grandma Mann invited us to their house for dinner and games. The meal was amazing! They shared a beautiful Christmas story with us and we played some fun games. It was great being together, they are amazing hosts.

We also had a Christmas party with the Farr family. Unfortunately, TaVaci always plans their concert on the same night as the party, but we were in time for the sleep over, breakfast and present opening in the morning. Grandma and Grandpa Farr always spoil us, and this year was no exception.

(We didn't take our camera to any of these events, but we had a blast none the less!)

TaVaci Christmas Concert 2010

Arianna did an amazing job at her Christmas TaVaci Concert this year. She is such a beautiful performer. Here is a clip from one of her comedy routines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-aTprw2BB4

Thirteen Never Looked So Good

Miranda turned the lucky number thirteen this year. What a beauty she is! She had several days of celebration. On Saturday her friends, Sage, Adrie, Ariel and Abby thew her a surprise party at Sage's house. They are great friends! She celebrated with her grandparents. Then on Monday, her actual birthday, she started the morning by opening her presents at 6:15am. She decided that for her activity she, Arianna, and I would go to Beadles to make necklaces. Fun! Then we met the rest of the family for dinner at Angie's Restaurant. They ended the meal with a Happy Birthday song and a cinnamon roll the size of a large plate!

Miranda is such an amazing young lady. She is so helpful, loving and spiritual. She is very patient with her siblings and a peace maker in our home. She is continuing with her love for all things artistic. She's already made some amazing pieces with the resin set she got for her birthday. She loves her art lessons and has made some beautiful pictures this year. Miranda is excelling in her piano - even if she just tolerates it. She's enjoyed playing volleyball and basketball with the young women. We are so grateful for the thirteen years she has shared with us. We love you, Miranda!

Mele Kalikimaka

Sabrina had the opportunity to perform at an Christmas open house sponsered by Macey's. It had been a while since she was able to perform, so we were all excited to see her. She did a wonderful job! It's not hard to pick her out of the crowd, as she's the only blonde hair, blue eyed girl. Here is a link to her performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTmvzpfMsf4

 Sabrina is on the far left in the purple outfit.

This is her teacher, Aunty Sheba