Tree For All Dance Recital

I love love love dance recitals. It is always fun to watch and see them grow.  Olivia was super sick and missed the night performance.  But she sucked it up and went the next day.

Olivia Barton, Averie Ivins and KayLea Spillman

The peanut gallery.

After the dances, the kids made Christmas crafts and saw Santa to kick off the holiday season.

I am not sure if Cohen was telling Santa he was allergic to the candy cane or if he was listing off his long list!  Mason wanted nothing to do with Santa.

Santa Letters

My kids wrote more letters to Santa this year than ever! It was hard to keep up! I would find the letters stashed all over, ready to be picked up by our Elf Tinsel and delivered to Santa. I had to get a pic of just one! So cute!

Thanksgiving in Arizona

There is something about Arizona weather at Thanksgiving that just calls my name! I love it! We had fun this long weekend doing all the things we love.  McCoy and Lily had the best time.  We wouldn't see them for hours and they pretend played.

We stayed some at Benita's house and loved playing with Luke, although I am pretty sure he was overwhelmed by our loudness!

Mason just loves Bailey, Nana's Golden Retriever.  He literally sits and lays on him all day and Bailey hardly moves enough to notice him.  It's no wonder other dogs want to bite Mason!  He learned on Bailey!

We headed to the park a lot because it was so dang nice!  

At nights, after a long swimming session and shopping till we dropped we were all pretty wiped!

Always fun to see Lori and Benita.  We look alike in this pic!!  

Don't worry, we got enough device time.  ha ha.  Cohen makes sure of it!

Thanksgiving was as beautiful to the eye as it was to eat...and eat.

Olivia - "the trend-setter"

When Olivia gets a vision, you just go with it. I followed all her instructions to do her hair for school. I am not sure I did what was in her head, but she is beautiful just the same. I love that she is getting more involved in how she would like her hair and clothes. It's fun to shop with her and get her opinions.  She's my little buddy!

Heather's Birthday

Let's be honest... Having a birthday isn't about how old you are getting. It's about how good the food is!! Jeremy made me this awesome dinner and Tiff made me this awesome cake. I felt loved.

Cohen turns 7!

Cohen is SEVEN!  No matter how much you would love to stop time...it just keeps going.  Cohen is a spit-fire!  He wears every emotion on his sleeve.  I love it when he learns something new or is having a super great day.  It's contagious and you just want to be around him.   He LOVES to build Legos.  He's super great at building his own inventions, usually having to do with ninjas.

His allergies prevent him from eating a lot of things he loves, but he has a really good attitude about it.  He loves meatballs so that's what he chose for his birthday dinner.

Of course, we cannot leave out his love for creepers from Minecraft.  He loves music, especially the Minecraft songs!  He cannot go to sleep at night unless he listens to lullaby's.

On his birthday we checked him out of school and had a lunch date with us.  I love doing that!

Dear Cohen,

Ahh, your face!  I love it.  You are the coolest kid I know.  You take your trials like a champ and don't let them slow you down.  I am continually impressed by your kindness.  You always want to surprise someone with a little gift or do an extra chore, especially for McCoy.  You are the BEST big brother.  So kind to let your brothers tag along with you and your friends.  You say you just want to be the smartest, but you already are!!  Oh my goodness Cohen! Everyday I have to think of new chores for you to do because all you want to do is get the work done!  You love to work!  You are for sure a leader.  One day while you were walking home from school with a friend, you got lost.  Your first instinct was to pray and you did.  When you were finished with your prayer you looked up and recognized a house down the street.  I was so proud of you!  Never be too smart to pray.  Love your guts little man!  You are just like your awesome Dad.  We love you so much!

Love, Mom