Dance Recital, Midway and Christmas

December always seems to fly by every year and this year is no different.  So here is a recap of how our December has gone thus far.

Aspen had her dance recital.  She always looks so cute.  Baylee did her hair and Darcee rescued my make up job :)  Aspen is so adorable up there dancing.  She knows every single move.  Looks like she has been dancing for years.  She definitely gets that from her mother :)  Baylee, Alyssa and Alanah were finally able to come to her recital and she was super excited for that.  Great job Aspen!!!!

The Sunday following the recital we had our Chris Christmas party.  Due to Trent's birthday, we had the party at Justyn's house this year.  It was a lot of fun for the kids.  My mom, the saint she is, had gotten little gingerbread houses so each kid could decorate their own.  They loved it.  Celise, Austin, Baylee, Alyssa and Alanah houses were incredibly decorated.  I think it was Alanah's that remind me of a Whoville house :).  Aspen and Colt did a really good job as well.  After dinner, we listened to Grandma read a Christmas story.  Then Hollee and I were able to give Grandpa his gift, How the Grinch Stole Christmas board game.  We told him he could play it with the grandkids :)  He also got a shirt that said "I like to party and by party I mean naps".  The kids all got suitcases that are huge.  They were able to take them up to Midway the following weekend.  All in all it was a fun party.

The kids finished off school the next week.  I was able to go in and read a Christmas story to both Aspen and Colt's class.  It was so much fun to see their excited faces to have me in the classroom.  I am so happy that I was able to arrange my schedule to be able to do it.

The weekend after school got out we headed up to Midway for the Hight Christmas party.  We were able to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Hight.  As always, the kids really enjoyed being at Grandma's house.  It snowed pretty much every day, but throughout the day it would turn into rain so it didn't stay around for very long.  But the kids were able to go out and play in it for a little bit.  Baylee, Alyssa and Alanah were able to go ice skating for one afternoon.  For the party, we were able to chat with everyone.  Then Grandpa took all the kids Christmas caroling to the neighbors.  Mike and Kristina brought some minute to win it games that the kids really had fun playing.  We also celebrated Austin's birthday while we had everyone there.  Can't believe that he is 16 and is able to drive on his own.  Yikes!!!  All in all it was a nice trip and will be waiting for the next trip up.

When we got back from Midway, I got busy in the kitchen trying to make sugar cookies for the kids to decorate.  It was my first time ever making cookies to do cut outs with so I was kind of nervous.  Thanks to my mom, I got a pretty good recipe.  She also helped me with the frosting.  I only had to call her about 10 times with questions of if I was doing it right.  But everything turned out good and the kids had lots of fun decorating them.  The older kids were pretty creative with their decorating.  Aspen and Colt just frosted them and ate them :)

After cookies and dinner, we went looking at Christmas lights.  It seems that everyone else likes to do that on Christmas Eve.  So all the houses with music were jammed packed with cars.  We also stopped by my parents house to wish everyone there a Merry Christmas and grab a couple handfuls of caramel popcorn, well that was probably just me :).  After we went to look at lights, we came back home and opened our Christmas jammies. Everyone was excited for their new jammies. Then the younger kids got the cookies and milk out and wrote a note to Santa.  This year Santa had sent out an email letting them know if they had gotten on the nice or naughty list.  Aspen was on the nice list but Colt was right in the middle just a few days before Christmas.  But he worked really hard to be nice to everyone and luckily got an email on Christmas Eve saying that he had made it onto the nice list.

 After the little kids and girls went to bed, David, Celise, Austin, and I went to watch A Christmas Story.  After 31.75 years, I can check that off my to do list.  Not my favorite Christmas movie, but it was pretty good.  We also played a game of hand 'n foot while we watched it.  Then we all went and got into bed so that Santa could come :)

We were awoken bright and early by the girls and Colten, Celise and Austin had to be woken up.  Anywho, the rest is pretty much standard.  Lots of opening presents.  Aspen got a computer, guitar, glow pad, Frozen poster, Frozen back pack, Frozen lunch box (from Colt), clip on earrings (from Celise), a calendar (from the girls) and a tablet.  Colten got light sabers, soccer goal, soccer ball (from G&G Hight), Wii Mario Kart steering wheels (from Celise), tablet, ninja swords (from Aspen) and a Ninja Skills shirt.  Celise got some indoor lights for her car, lotion, gift cards and some puzzle books.  Austin got lights and interior covers (steering wheel, seat covers, floor mats) for his car, Magic 8 ball and a remote control truck.  Baylee got a penny board, pogo stick, case and keyboard for her tablet, and a portable speaker.  Alyssa and Alanah got a tablet and case, carrying case for their laptop, pogo sticks and some nail polish.  I know I am forgetting stuff but I didn't get their presents :)  David got an iPad mini, some Lakers magnets, a little Dodger figurine, and a razor.  And I got a kindle fire and lots of Bronco stuff (chapstick, cups, dollar bill with Peyton Manning in the middle, and gloves) and a Dodger jacket.  So all in all I would say that we had a very successful Christmas.  The best part was that the kids were entertained for the rest of the day with their new toys.  We will see how long that lasts.  We did head out that night to Mesquite for a dinner together before the kids went to their other parents.  It was fun to sit and chat with everyone.

I am grateful for this time of year to spend with my family.  While I have had to adjust to being in a larger family, I am learning that it is awesome.  I am grateful for the real reason behind this time of year, our Savior.  I have many faults and am trying to do better each and every day.  I fall short most of the time but my Savior is right there with me lifting me back up.  I know that He lives and will return to reign again.  I am grateful for the Atonement and that it allows me to correct my errors and work everyday to become a better person.  I am grateful to have found David and the new perspective he gives me.  We have sure had our ups and downs but he is right there with me and we are doing better each day.

What have we been up too

It doesn't seem like a whole lot but we are always busy.  Since my last post, Aspen finished up her soccer season.  She ended the season with some goals, her first ever.  She got one goal in her last 2 games.  She had been playing with a smile on her face all season, just happy to be on out the field.  But when she got a goal, her excitement escalated.  And she started to play a little bit more aggressive.  We will see what happens for the spring season.

She is still in dance and gymnastics and loving both.  This past weekend she performed her ballet routine at the Dicken's Festival.  That was the first time I had ever been.  While there were some cute things for sale, I don't know that I would go back.  It was VERY crowded and my kids just sat there saying "Can we get this, can we get this?"  It was fun to watch Aspen perform.  We also got to watch Darcee's kids perform.  Alijah and Jeramiah are cute in their hip hop class and Kayleeya did an excellent job in her numbers.  The highlight for Colt was probably when he got knighted by Queen Victoria.  He didn't want to do it at first but after Alijah did it, he wanted to as well.  They gave him a paper that told him he was knighted and man did he make sure to keep track of that.  After the Dicken's, I took my kids to see "Penguins of Madagascar".  It was a cute movie but definitely more for kids.  Then we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Chris' for a little bit and finally came home.

Colten is still loving school.  He recently discovered that his kindergarten teacher is in our ward.  So he is loving that he can see his teacher on Sundays too.  He has grown up quite a bit since going to school.  He is really excelling in math and his handwriting is coming along.  Most of his writing is now readable where as before, you couldn't even make out what letter it was.  He is still taking karate.  We are taking a hiatus in December though.  He is really enjoying watching sports on TV.  He was with Grandma Chris this past Friday night and he came in and asked her if he could watch football.  Grandma isn't too knowledgeable of when football is on TV but he was disappointed when she told him no.  I may have to see about getting him into flag football or something.  He is always pretending to play football in our house.

The kids spent Thanksgiving with their dad this year.  So it was pretty quiet around our house.  David and I went over to my parents for dinner and watching football.  We also participated in the Black Friday (Thursday) frenzy.  I was able to get everything that I wanted and the system now wasn't too bad.  David and I went down to Las Vegas to watch our nephew play in a soccer game and visit with Mike and Christina.  It was fun to catch up on what is going on in their lives.

I got a few Christmas decorations up on Thanksgiving break but we got the tree up after all the kids came home.  Austin helped me put it together and then Aspen and Colt decorated it.  Looks pretty good to me.  Austin also put up some lights outside since our neighborhood is pretty into Christmas.

All in all, we have had a pretty busy season thus far and it will keep up that pace until after Christmas.  But I wouldn't change it for anything.