December

December came and went so fast!  I feel like I missed it!  Christmas is my favorite time of year, but we were so busy this year, I think I forgot to slow down and just take it all in!  Luckily, I took pictures to help me remember!  We went to Jen's annual Christmas party, which is always a blast! 

And of course, we spent time decorating the house and putting up Christmas lights.

These are all of the boxes I brought home from our storage unit.  I didn't take any pictures of the finished product this year.  Probably because I didn't slow down long enough to appreciate how pretty it looks with all of the holiday decor.  Paige enjoyed the view from upstairs with the girls, where she was safe from all of the breakables.

Jessica had some friends over to bake Christmas cookies.

Of course Austin had to come in to make an "awkward" face for the picture.  I must be old because I don't get it.  I get it, but I don't get it. :-) I am enjoying watching Austin and Jessica become close again.  They were so close when they were little and then grew apart during the boys and girls don't play together because they have cooties phase.

Paige would crawl in and look at the Christmas tree as often as she could.  I was surprised that she never tried to pull the ornaments off.

Her four top teeth came in at the same time, so she has a total of 6 teeth now.

She loves to "help" with the laundry and the dishes

Ashlyn still loves to wear a million different outfits a day and often shows up to preschool wearing dress up clothes or some creative ensemble she put together.  She is a girl through and through!

We had our primary program at Church.  Yes, I took a picture while we were practicing!

 We had our last Sunday teaching CTR B.  We loved our primary class!

The big kids went to Washington DC to visit Travis.

 I was so emotional watching them leave!  Putting them on a plane and sending them off was tough! I worry too much! 

They had a great time on their trip, but we were happy to have them back home!

Ashlyn decided she really wanted to have her ears pierced.

 She cried until she looked in the mirror.  Then, she was all smiles!

 We decided to do Paige's ears too.  She was more upset about having to hold still than she was about getting her ears pierced.  I wish I would have done them all as babies!

We took the bus up skiing, even though there wasn't a ton of snow on the hill.

That doesn't include Christmas and New Years and I'm sure I'm forgetting something!!!!

Lauren and Ashlyn's Dance Recital

When Lauren and Ashlyn had a dance recital in December, it was obvious Ashlyn had learned a lot from her big sister, Lauren!  Lauren is a great dancer and performer!  She loves to dance and is very expressive when she preforms.  It was SO funny to watch how animated Ashlyn was during her first dance recital!

Brittney did a great job choreographing a dance for each age group!  Ashlyn's class of 4 year olds was absolutely darling!!  They danced to a cute song about how they would all act like angels before Christmas because angels get more presents.

But AFTER Christmas, "I'll be a devil once again!".  Ashlyn was so excited to get to jump up at the end with the devil horns.  She practiced sticking her tongue out for her devil face for weeks, but when it came time for the performance,  she couldn't help smiling! 

It was SO cute!!  I loved every minute of it!!
It was fun to watch Lauren and see how much she has grown as a dancer.

She looks so happy and confident when she dances!  It's a little scary seeing how fast she is growing up though! 

 I had a harder time getting pictures of her because of where I was sitting.  I got a bunch of pictures with the back of people's heads!  Ug. Jason got both of their dances on video and it was been really fun to watch them!

Having Ashlyn in dance has been good for Lauren and Ashlyn's relationship.  Lauren went to Ashlyn's dance practices each week and learned Ashlyn's dance routine so she could practice with her.  It was really sweet.

Ashlyn and Brynne

Paige

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning we got up and took family pictures and then headed to Sacramento to spend time

with Jason's side of the family at Danale's house.

I love the holidays and getting together with family!

Stephen and Danale carving the turkey

Austin, Danny, Jason, Justin, Mike relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

Cheryl, Colton, Jessica, Ashlyn and Lauren coloring Thanksgiving pictures.

Paige playing with one of the million toys at Danale's house. :-)

Danny with Paige and Carter.  He is loving being a Grandpa!  (It's really cute how excited he is about it!)

Lily, Mindy, and Sam letting the Thanksgiving feast settle in.  Such a cute family.  I love how sweet they are and how perfectly matched they are for each other.

A VERY FIRST!!!  Paige fell asleep on my shoulder!!!  Yeah!  It only lasted about 5 minutes, but it was so sweet!  It was a great day!  I have so much to be thankful for!